title: Bur

text: Some have however been used for such purposes as fabric fulling, for which the fuller's teasel is a traditional resource.


title: Rampage (franchise)

text: Rampage is a series of video games released by Midway (1986–2009) and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (2009–present) for the arcade and various consoles. The basic premise of the games is that, due to experiment-related accidents, the player controls a human transformed into a giant monster. The gameplay revolves around the player using their chosen monster to destroy cities around the world while attacking or avoiding police and military forces.


title: Rampage (franchise)

text: Humans have been undergoing strange transformations into giant animalistic kaijus due to experiments conducted by the evil and corrupt Scumlabs. These monsters proceed to travel through the United States, around the globe, into space and eventually through time itself destroying (and occasionally devouring) everything in sight. Heavy inspiration is drawn from various monster movies such as "King Kong" and "20 Million Miles to Earth". George was turned into a giant ape, Lizzie was turned into a giant dinosaur, and Ralph was turned into a giant werewolf.


title: Rampage (franchise)

text: A live-action film adaptation was released on April 13, 2018, directed by Brad Peyton and starring Dwayne Johnson. The film features the classic trio of George, Lizzie and Ralph, this time as mutated animals rather than transformed humans.


title: Rampage (franchise)

text: To tie into the film four separate video games were created. One is an arcade game created exclusively for "Dave & Buster's" who co-created the game alongside Adrenaline Amusements for their restaurant chain, another is an app called "RAMPAGE: AR Unleashed", while the third is a free-to-play browser game called "Rampage City Smash". The fourth is a virtual reality game called "Project Rampage VR".


title: Landsat program

text: The Landsat program is the longest-running enterprise for acquisition of satellite imagery of Earth. It is a joint NASA / USGS program. On 23 July 1972, the Earth Resources Technology Satellite was launched. This was eventually renamed to Landsat 1 in 1975. The most recent, Landsat 9, was launched on 27 September 2021.


title: Landsat program

text: The instruments on the Landsat satellites have acquired millions of images. The images, archived in the United States and at Landsat receiving stations around the world, are a unique resource for global change research and applications in agriculture, cartography, geology, forestry, regional planning, surveillance and education, and can be viewed through the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) "EarthExplorer" website. Landsat 7 data has eight spectral bands with spatial resolutions ranging from ; the temporal resolution is 16 days. Landsat images are usually divided into scenes for easy downloading. Each Landsat scene is about 115 miles long and 115 miles wide (or 100 nautical miles long and 100 nautical miles wide, or 185 kilometers long and 185 kilometers wide).


title: Landsat program

text: In 1965, William T. Pecora, the then director of the United States Geological Survey, proposed the idea of a remote sensing satellite program to gather facts about the natural resources of our planet. Pecora stated that the program was “conceived in 1966 largely as a direct result of the demonstrated utility of the Mercury and Gemini orbital photography to Earth resource studies.” While weather satellites had been monitoring Earth’s atmosphere since 1960 and were largely considered useful, there was no appreciation of terrain data from space until the mid-1960s. So, when Landsat 1 was proposed, it met with intense opposition from the Bureau of Budget and those who argued high-altitude aircraft would be the fiscally responsible choice for Earth remote sensing. Concurrently, the Department of Defense feared that a civilian program such as Landsat would compromise the secrecy of their reconnaissance missions. Additionally, there were also geopolitical concerns about photographing foreign countries without permission. In 1965, NASA began methodical investigations of Earth remote sensing using instruments mounted on planes. In 1966, the USGS convinced the Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall, to announce that the Department of the Interior (DOI) was going to proceed with its own Earth-observing satellite program. This savvy political stunt coerced NASA to expedite the building of Landsat. But budgetary constraints and sensor disagreements between application agencies (notably the Department of Agriculture and DOI) again stymied the satellite construction process. Finally, by 1970 NASA had a green light to build a satellite. Remarkably, within only two years, Landsat 1 was launched, heralding a new age of remote sensing of land from space.


title: Landsat program

text: The Hughes Aircraft Company from Santa Barbara Research Center initiated, designed, and fabricated the first three Multispectral Scanners (MSS) in 1969. The first MSS prototype, designed by Virginia Norwood, was completed within nine months, in the fall of 1970. It was tested by scanning Half Dome at Yosemite National Park. For this design work Norwood is called "The Mother of Landsat."


title: Landsat program

text: Working at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Valerie L. Thomas managed the development of early Landsat image processing software systems and became the resident expert on the Computer Compatible Tapes, or CCTs, that were used to store early Landsat imagery. Thomas was one of the image processing specialists who facilitated the ambitious Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment, known as LACIE — a project that showed for the first time that global crop monitoring could be done with Landsat satellite imagery.


title: Landsat program

text: The program was initially called the Earth Resources Technology Satellites Program, which was used from 1966 to 1975. In 1975, the name was changed to Landsat. In 1979, President of the United States Jimmy Carter's Presidential Directive 54 transferred Landsat operations from NASA to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), recommended development of a long term operational system with four additional satellites beyond Landsat 3, and recommended transition to private sector operation of Landsat. This occurred in 1985 when the Earth Observation Satellite Company (EOSAT), a partnership of Hughes Aircraft Company and RCA, was selected by NOAA to operate the Landsat system with a ten-year contract. EOSAT operated Landsat 4 and Landsat 5, had exclusive rights to market Landsat data, and was to build Landsats 6 and 7.


title: Landsat program

text: In 1989, this transition had not been fully completed when NOAA's funding for the Landsat program was due to run out (NOAA had not requested any funding, and U.S. Congress had appropriated only six months of funding for the fiscal year) and NOAA directed that Landsat 4 and Landsat 5 be shut down.


title: Landsat program

text: The head of the newly formed National Space Council, Vice President Dan Quayle, noted the situation and arranged emergency funding that allowed the program to continue with the data archives intact.


title: Landsat program

text: Again in 1990 and 1991, Congress provided only half of the year's funding to NOAA, requesting that agencies that used Landsat data provide the funding for the other six months of the upcoming year.


title: Landsat program

text: In 1992, various efforts were made to procure funding for follow on Landsats and continued operations, but by the end of the year EOSAT ceased processing Landsat data. Landsat 6 was finally launched on 5 October 1993, but was lost in a launch failure. Processing of Landsat 4 and 5 data was resumed by EOSAT in 1994. NASA finally launched Landsat 7 on 15 April 1999.


title: Landsat program

text: The value of the Landsat program was recognized by Congress in October 1992 when it passed the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act (Public Law 102-555) authorizing the procurement of Landsat 7 and assuring the continued availability of Landsat digital data and images, at the lowest possible cost, to traditional and new users of the data.


title: Landsat program

text: Landsat 1 through 5 carried the Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS). Landsat 4 and 5 carried both the MSS and Thematic Mapper (TM) instruments. Landsat 7 uses the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) scanner. Landsat 8 uses two instruments, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) for optical bands and the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) for thermal bands. The band designations, bandpasses, and pixel sizes for the Landsat instruments are:


title: Landsat program

text: <nowiki>*</nowiki> Original MSS pixel size was 79 x 57 meters; production systems now resample the data to 60 meters.


title: Landsat program

text: <nowiki>*</nowiki> TM Band 6 was acquired at 120-meter resolution, but products are resampled to 30-meter pixels.


title: Landsat program

text: <nowiki>*</nowiki> ETM+ Band 6 is acquired at 60-meter resolution, but products are resampled to 30-meter pixels.


title: Landsat program

text: <nowiki>*</nowiki> TIRS bands are acquired at 100 meter resolution, but are resampled to 30 meter in delivered data product.


title: Landsat program

text: An advantage of Landsat imagery, and remote sensing in general, is that it provides data at a synoptic global level that is impossible to replicate with in situ measurements. However, there are tradeoffs between the local detail of the measurements (radiometric resolution, number of spectral bands) and the spatial scale of the area being measured. Landsat imagery is coarse in spatial resolution compared to using other remote sensing methods, such as imagery from airplanes. Compared to other satellites, Landsat’s spatial resolution is relatively high, yet revisit time is relatively less frequent.


title: Landsat program

text: The Multispectral Scanner (MSS) onboard Landsat missions 1 through 5 was originally built with an engineering solution that allowed the United States to develop Landsat-1 at least five years ahead of the French SPOT. The original MSS had a fused silica dinner-plate mirror epoxy bonded to three invar tangent bars mounted to base of a nickel/gold brazed Invar frame in a Serrurier truss that was arranged with four "Hobbs-Links" (conceived by Dr. Gregg Hobbs), crossing at mid-truss. This construct ensured the secondary mirror would simply oscillate about the primary optic axis to maintain focus despite vibration inherent from the beryllium scan mirror. In contrast, SPOT first used charge-coupled device (CCD) arrays to stare without need for a scanner. However, LANDSAT data prices climbed from US$250 per computer compatible data tape and US$10 for black-and-white print to US$4,400 for data tape and US$2,700 for black-and-white print by 1984, making SPOT data a much more affordable option for satellite imaging data. This was a direct result of the commercialization efforts begun under the Carter administration, though finally completed under the Reagan administration.


title: Landsat program

text: The MSS Focal Plane Array consisted of 24 square optical fibers extruded down to square fiber tips in a 4 x 6 array to be scanned across the Nimbus spacecraft path in a ±6° scan as the satellite was in a 90 minute polar orbit. The fiber optic bundle was embedded in a fiber optic plate to be terminated at a relay optic device that transmitted fiber end signal on into six photodiodes and 18 photomultiplier tubes that were arrayed across a thick aluminum tool plate, with sensor weight balanced vs the telescope on opposite side. This main plate was assembled on a frame, then attached to the silver-loaded magnesium housing with helicoil fasteners.


title: Landsat program

text: Key to the success of the multi spectral scanner was the scan monitor mounted on the underbelly of the magnesium housing. It consisted of a diode light source and a sensor mounted at the ends of four flat mirrors that were tilted so that it took 14 bounces for a beam to reflect the length of the three mirrors from source to sender. The beam struck the beryllium scan mirror eight times as it reflected eight times off the flat mirrors. The beam only sensed three positions, being both ends of scan and the mid scan, but by interpolating between these positions that was all that was required to determine where the multi spectral scanner was pointed. Using the scan monitor information, the scanning data could be calibrated to display correctly on a map.


title: Landsat program

text: Landsat data provides information that allows scientists to predict the distribution of species, as well as detecting both naturally occurring and human-generated changes over a greater scale than traditional data from field work. The different spectral bands used on satellites in the Landsat program provide many applications, ranging from ecology to geopolitical matters. Land cover determination is a common use of Landsat imagery around the world.


title: Landsat program

text: Landsat imagery provides one of the longest uninterrupted time series available from any single remote sensing program, spanning from 1972 to present. Looking to the future, the successful launch of Landsat-9 in 2021 shows that this time series will be continued forward.


title: Landsat program

text: In 2015, the Landsat Advisory Group of the National Geospatial Advisory Committee reported that the top 16 applications of Landsat imagery produced savings of approximately 350 million to over 436 million dollars each year for federal and state governments, NGO’s, and the private sector. That estimate did not include further savings from other uses beyond the top sixteen categories. The top 16 categories for Landsat imagery use, listed in order of estimated annual savings for users, are:


title: Landsat program

text: Further uses of Landsat imagery include, but are not limited to: fisheries, forestry, shrinking inland water bodies, fire damage, glacier retreat, urban development, and discovery of new species. A few specific examples are explained below.


title: Landsat program

text: In 1975, one potential application for the new satellite-generated imagery was to find high yield fishery areas. Through the Landsat Menhaden and Thread Investigation, some satellite data of the eastern portion of the Mississippi sound and another area off the coast of the Louisiana coast data was run through classification algorithms to rate the areas as high and low probability fishing zones, these algorithms yielded a classification that was proven with in situ measurements – to be over 80% accurate and found that water color, as seen from space, and turbidity significantly correlate with the distribution of menhaden – while surface temperature and salinity do not appear to be significant factors. Water color – measured with the multispectral scanners four spectral bands, was used to infer Chlorophyll, turbidity, and possibly fish distribution.


title: Landsat program

text: An ecological study used 16 ortho-rectified Landsat images to generate a land cover map of Mozambique's mangrove forest. The main objective was to measure the mangrove cover and above ground biomass on this zone that until now could only be estimated, the cover was found with 93% accuracy to be 2909 square kilometers (27% lower than previous estimates). Additionally, the study helped confirm that geological setting has a greater influence on biomass distribution than latitude alone - the mangrove area is spread across 16° of latitude but it the biomass volume of it was affected more strongly by geographic conditions.


title: Landsat program

text: The shrinking of the Aral Sea has been described as "One of the planet's worst environmental disasters". Landsat imagery has been used as a record to quantify the amount of water loss and the changes to the shoreline. Satellite visual images have a greater impact on people than just words, and this shows the importance of Landsat imagery and satellite images in general.


title: Landsat program

text: The Yellowstone fires of 1988 were the worst in the recorded history of the national park. They lasted from 14 June to 11 September 1988, when rain and snow helped halt the spread of the fires. The area affected by the fire was estimated to be 3,213 square kilometers – 36% of the park. Landsat imagery was used for the area estimation, and it also helped determine the reasons why the fire spread so quickly. Historic drought and a significant number of lightning strikes were some of the factors that created conditions for the massive fire, but anthropogenic actions amplified the disaster. On images generated previous to the fire, there is an evident difference between lands that display preservation practices and the lands that display clear cut activities for timber production. These two type of lands reacted differently to the stress of fires, and it is believed that that was an important factor on the behavior of the wildfire. Landsat imagery, and satellite imagery in general, have contributed to understanding fire science; fire danger, wildfire behavior and the effects of wildfire on certain areas. It has helped understanding of how different features and vegetation fuel fires, change temperature, and affect the spreading speed.


title: Landsat program

text: The serial nature of Landsat missions and the fact that is the longest-running satellite program gives it a unique perspective to generate information of Earth. Glacier retreat in a big scale can be traced back to previous Landsat missions, and this information can be used to generate climate change knowledge. The Columbia glacier retreat for example, can be observed in false-composite images since Landsat 4 in 1986.


title: Landsat program

text: Landsat imagery gives a time-lapse like series of images of development. Human development specifically, can be measured by the size a city grows over time. Further than just population estimates and energy consumption, Landsat imagery gives an insight of the type of urban development, and study aspects of social and political change through visible change. In Beijing for example, a series of ring roads started to develop in 1980s following the economic reform of 1970, and the change in development rate and construction rate was accelerated in these time periods.


title: Landsat program

text: In 2005, Landsat imagery assisted in the discovery of new species. Conservation scientist Julian Bayliss wanted to find areas that could potentially become conservation forests using Landsat generated satellite images. Bayliss saw a patch in Mozambique that until then had no detailed information. On a reconnaissance trip, he found great diversity of wildlife as well as three new species of butterflies and a new snake species. Following his discovery, he continued to study this forest and was able to map and determine the forest extent.


title: Landsat program

text: Landsat 8 launched on 11 February 2013. It was launched on an Atlas V 401 from Vandenberg Air Force Base by the Launch Services Program. It will continue to obtain valuable data and imagery to be used in agriculture, education, business, science, and government. The new satellite was assembled in Arizona by Orbital Sciences Corporation.


title: Landsat program

text: Landsat 9 launched on September 27, 2021. During FY2014 financial planning "appropriators chided NASA for unrealistic expectations that a Landsat 9 would cost US$1 billion, and capped spending at US$650 million" according to a report by the Congressional Research Service. United States Senate appropriators advised NASA to plan for a launch no later than 2020. In April 2015, NASA and the USGS announced that work on Landsat 9 had commenced, with funding allocated for the satellite in the president's FY2016 budget, for a planned launch in 2023. Funding for the development of a low-cost thermal infrared (TIR) free-flying satellite for launch in 2019 was also proposed, to ensure data continuity by flying in formation with Landsat 8.


title: Landsat program

text: In the future, there may also be more collaboration between Landsat satellites and other satellites with similar spatial and spectral resolution, such as the ESA’s Sentinel-2 constellation.


title: Landsat program

text: Landsat NeXt is planned to be launched in 2029. NeXt will measure 25 spectral bands; current Landsat's 8 and 9 can measure only 11.


title: Pitted keratolysis

text: Pitted keratolysis (also known as Keratolysis plantare sulcatum, Keratoma plantare sulcatum, and Ringed keratolysis) is a bacterial skin infection of the foot. The infection is characterized by craterlike pits on the sole of the feet and toes, particularly weight bearing areas.


title: Pitted keratolysis

text: The infection is caused by "Corynebacterium" species bacteria and "Kytococcus sedentarius". Excessive sweating of the feet and use of occlusive footwear provide an environment in which these bacteria thrive and therefore increase the risk of developing pitted keratolysis.


title: Pitted keratolysis

text: The condition is fairly common, especially in the military where wet shoes/boots are worn for extended periods of time without removing/cleaning. Skin biopsy specimens are not usually utilized, as the diagnosis of pitted keratolysis is often made by visual examination and recognition of the characteristic odor. Wood's lamp examination results are inconsistent. Treatment of pitted keratolysis requires the application of antibiotics to the skin such as benzoyl peroxide, clindamycin, erythromycin, fusidic acid, or mupirocin. Prevention efforts aim to keep the feet dry by using moisture-wicking shoes and socks as well as antiperspirants.


title: Pitted keratolysis

text: Pitted keratolysis typically presents with white discoloration of the skin and numerous discrete, "punched-out" pitted lesions or erosions, usually located on the soles of the feet. The pits are typically 1–7 millimeters in diameter. These circular and shallow pits are characteristic of pitted keratolysis, and often overlap to produce larger areas of erosion. The appearance of this condition’s characteristic lesions becomes more pronounced when the affected area is wet or submerged in water. Occasionally these lesions present with a green or brown hue around and within the pits.


title: Pitted keratolysis

text: These superficial erosions are found under the toes and on the soles of the feet, and especially at the pressure bearing points such as the heel. Typically, both feet are equally affected. Rarely, the condition affects the palms.


title: Pitted keratolysis

text: The most common cause of pitted keratolysis is "Corynebacterium" species. However, several other bacteria may also cause the condition, particularly "Actinomyces keratolytica", "Dermatophilus congolensis", "Kytococcus sedentarius", and "Streptomyces". Less frequently, it is due to "Acinetobacter", "Clostridium", "Klebsiella", and "Pseudomonas" species.


title: Pitted keratolysis

text: Pitted keratolysis is associated with excessive sweating of the palms or soles (palmoplantar hyperhidrosis.) The pits seen in pitted keratolysis are caused by bacteria secreting proteinase enzymes which cause the breakdown of the keratin proteins in the stratum corneum layer of the affected skin. This results in the formation of sulfur compounds which leads to a very strong and foul foot odor. The bacteria that cause pitted keratolysis thrive in warm and humid environments. Irritation is generally minimal, though occasionally burning, itching, and soreness are experienced with pitted keratolysis.


title: Pitted keratolysis

text: The diagnosis of pitted keratolysis is based primarily on the physical examination, with recognition of the classic pitted lesions and pungent odor. Dermoscopic examination can facilitate visualization of pits and pit walls. A Wood's lamp may show coral red fluorescence, as seen in erythrasma. However, this finding is not uniformly present, as the condition may be caused by bacteria that do not produce fluorescent pigments. Further laboratory testing is not typically required for the diagnosis. However, a potassium hydroxide preparation can help rule out the presence of a fungal infection. Imaging and biopsy are not necessary.


title: Pitted keratolysis

text: As of 2014, there is little high-quality evidence to provide guidance and support one treatment method over another. Therefore, the optimal treatment approach for pitted keratolysis remains unclear as the condition has not been well-studied. One review suggested a treatment approach requiring modification of risk factors (e.g., keeping feet clean and dry) and treating the underlying bacterial infection. Effective antibiotic options include clindamycin, erythromycin, mupirocin, and fusidic acid. Topical clindamycin is generally preferred as the first-line choice due to lower cost and better availability. Fusidic acid is preferred over mupirocin in most cases due to less resistance to fusidic acid amongst "Methicillin-sensitive staphylococcus aureus" and "Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus". Benzoyl peroxide is an effective alternative over-the-counter option and is thought to be as effective as topical clindamycin. Clinical cure was typically seen after 2.5–3 weeks. Oral antibiotics are not typically recommended.


title: Pitted keratolysis

text: Foot hygiene is important. The feet may be washed at least daily with soap and water, and dried thoroughly afterwards. Moisture-wicking socks and shoes may be worn and antiperspirants, such as aluminum chlorohydrate, may help to keep the feet dry. Injections of botulinum toxin have successfully induced cessation of sweating (anhidrosis) of the soles of the feet and led to resolution of pitted keratolysis. These injections are typically reserved for refractory cases of pitted keratolysis that have failed to respond to environmental modifications and antibiotics due to the high cost and pain associated with botulinum toxin injections.


title: Pitted keratolysis

text: Pitted keratolysis can be reduced and eventually stopped by regularly applying a liberal amount of antiperspirant body powder to the inside of the shoes and socks of the affected person. Regular powder application will greatly reduce foot perspiration and keep the plantar surface of the foot dry therefore creating an environment hostile to the "Corynebacterium".


title: Pitted keratolysis

text: Pitted keratolysis occurs worldwide and in various climates. The infection is more common in people who live in tropical climates and walk barefoot, and those who spend a lot of time wearing occlusive footwear (e.g., tight shoes, rubber boots), such as in the military where wet shoes are worn for a prolonged period of time without removing and proper hygiene.


title: United Torah Judaism

text: United Torah Judaism (, "Yahadut HaTora"), often referred to by its electoral symbol Gimel (), is a Haredi, religious conservative political alliance in Israel. The alliance, consisting of Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah, was first formed in 1992, in order to maximize Ashkenazi Haredi representation in the Knesset. Despite the alliance splitting in 2004 over rabbinical differences, the parties reconciled in 2006, in order to prevent vote wasting. In April 2019, the party achieved its highest number of seats ever, receiving eight seats.


title: United Torah Judaism

text: Unlike similar religiously-oriented parties like Shas, The Jewish Home, Tkuma, and Noam, UTJ is non-Zionist. Unlike some other Haredim, the party is notable for its usage of technology and electronic communication.


title: United Torah Judaism

text: Before the establishment of Degel HaTorah and the formation of United Torah Judaism, the two factions were united under one united Agudat Yisrael party, but the late mentor and supreme guide of the non-Hasidic group, Rabbi Elazar Shach, broke away from the Hasidic wing when he concluded that the party was not representing all Ashkenazi Haredim. At that point, he split from them, and created the "Degel HaTorah" party for the "Lithuanian" Haredi Jews (also known as "Mitnagdim" by some). He chose the name Degel HaTorah, meaning "Flag of The Torah", to be a contrast to the well-known flag of Israel and its connection with the secular-dominated State of Israel (an "anti-Torah" entity, in his opinion). Rabbi Shach was known as an outspoken critic of the secular Israeli way of life.


title: United Torah Judaism

text: The UTJ party also had considerable influence on the Israeli Sephardi Jews' Shas party. In fact, the Shas party was founded by Rabbi Shach at an earlier juncture when he was previously also frustrated with the policies of the Hasidic rebbes; so, he turned to the Sephardic Jews, and urged his own Ashkenazi followers at that time, to vote for the new Shas party, which they did in record numbers. Later, Shas broke with Rabbi Shach, as it adopted its own independent political stance under Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. Yet, Shas generally goes in the same direction, as it has similar values, needs and interests within the state.


title: United Torah Judaism

text: "Haaretz" cited that some women activists have protested the fact that UTJ, along with other Haredi parties, refuses to run female candidates for office. UTJ responded that they have the right to follow the Jewish laws of modesty, which separates roles of men and women, and maintain that they do not deny women the right to vote for any other Knesset parties of their choice. They add that Haredi women will not vote for them if they elect women.


title: United Torah Judaism

text: In January 2004, the party split back into its two factions following a disagreement over how to join Ariel Sharon's coalition, which had been negotiated by Rabbi Yosef Shalom Eliashiv. Rabbi Eliashiv wanted the five MKs to have a three-month "waiting period" before accepting jobs in the government. Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter, the Gerrer rebbe, however, thought that all Agudat members should accept positions immediately. The Agudat MKs argued that they should be entitled to follow their own rabbis' ruling, while their Degel HaTorah counterparts accused them of disrespecting Rabbi Eliashiv. The Agudat faction proceeded to follow the rebbe of Ger's instructions, with MK Yaakov Litzman accepting the position as chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee. This infuriated Degel HaTorah and its leaders, and in response, they left the party, dissolving a twelve-year-old partnership.


title: United Torah Judaism

text: In December 2005, there was a meeting between representatives of the two factions, presumably to smooth over the ill-feelings of the previous year and to attempt to re-group before the March 2006 elections. A number of issues were worked out, such as Degel HaTorah's insistence on the joint list being equally divided between the two parties. (In the past, Agudat Israel has received slightly more votes than Degel HaTorah.) Degel HaTorah has re-organized itself. It has a fully equipped modern party office on Hamabit Street 10 in Jerusalem's Geula neighborhood. It conducted a party convention, its first in 15 years, in December 2005.


title: United Torah Judaism

text: In early February 2006, Agudat Israel and Degel HaTorah agreed to run together as United Torah Judaism, despite the fact that the contentious "sixth seat" issue remained undecided. The two groups finally compromised by proposing dividing the sixth seat between two representatives on a rotating schedule (as was done in the last Knesset between the Belz and Vizhnitz communities for the fifth seat). This solution seemed to mollify the respective groups, and paved the way for the re-establishment of a joint list for the 2006 elections, although the Belz court was reportedly irked that once again, it was being asked to sacrifice part of its representation.


title: United Torah Judaism

text: UTJ MKs told reporters that any decision to join future government coalitions will be dependent on achieving two "central posts" to be split between Agudah and Degel. Similarly, in order to avoid the problems that led to the 2004 split, disagreements about joining a coalition will not be determined by a majority vote of MKs, but rather taken to the party's rabbinic leaders.


title: United Torah Judaism

text: Various media interviews with the party's Knesset members confirmed that it would strongly consider joining a coalition with the Ehud Olmert-led Kadima party, should it be offered to them after the elections. In March 2006, the rabbinical leaders of UTJ, including Rabbi Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, issued public declarations urging the Haredi public to vote for the party's list. In the election, the party increased its mandate by one, to six seats.


title: United Torah Judaism

text: United Torah Judaism ("Yahadut HaTorah" – UTJ) is a coalition of two Haredi parties, Agudat Israel and Degel HaTorah, which submitted a joint list in the 1992 election, in which it won four Knesset seats. In the 1999 elections, UTJ won five Knesset seats. UTJ wants to maintain a status quo relationship in regard to religion-and-state issues. The party has no uniform opinion on the issue of increasing settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.


title: United Torah Judaism

text: UTJ has always been a coalition of two individual parties, choosing to take advantage of Israeli election law in order to maximize the number of seats it can gain in the Knesset (and thus maximize its influence):


title: United Torah Judaism

text: The Agudat Yisrael faction takes its directions from the Hasidic rebbes of Ger (Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter), Vizhnitz (Rabbi Yisroel Hager), and Belz (Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach). Policy decisions are also weighed and decided by a Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah ("Council of Torah Sages"), a council of communal rabbis, made up of mostly senior and elderly rebbes.


title: United Torah Judaism

text: Degel HaTorah's pre-eminent sages are Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky and Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, of Bnei Brak. Policy decisions are also weighed and decided by their own "Moetzes" (Council) of experienced communal rabbis, made up of mostly senior and elderly rosh yeshivas.


title: Jack Cohen (businessman)

text: Sir John Edward Cohen (born Jacob Kohen; 6 October 1898 – 24 March 1979) was an English grocer who founded the Tesco supermarket chain.


title: Jack Cohen (businessman)

text: Cohen was born in Whitechapel in the East End of London and grew up at 91 Ashfield Street. His family were Jewish: his father, Avroam Kohen, was a Polish immigrant from Łódź who worked as a tailor, and his mother was Sime Zaremba. He was named Jacob but was known as Jack from an early age. He was educated at Rutland Street School until he was aged 14 and then began his working life as an apprentice tailor to his father. His mother died in 1915 and his father remarried. He became estranged from his father after an argument about his career choice as a grocer.


title: Jack Cohen (businessman)

text: In 1917, he volunteered to join the Royal Flying Corps where he used his tailoring skills as a canvas maker for balloons and other aircraft. He served in France, and also in Egypt and Palestine. In December 1917, he was on board , a passenger and cargo ship that had been taken over by the Royal Navy as a supply ship and troopship. The vessel had sailed from Southampton carrying soldiers and medical personnel. But just as it reached its destination, Alexandria on the 31st, it struck a mine that had been laid at the harbour entrance a few days earlier by the German submarine . The ship sank in less than seven minutes with the loss of 209 people, including soldiers, nurses, ship's crew and the ship's captain. Cohen survived, thanks to a nurse who helped him stay afloat in the water.


title: Jack Cohen (businessman)

text: He married Sarah (Cissie) Fox, daughter of an immigrant Russian-Jewish tailor, in 1924. Cissie was a great supporter of her husband's business interests, so much so that the money they received as wedding gifts was invested in a wholesale venture. They had two daughters, Sybil Irene (1926–2005) and Shirley (born 1930). Irene married Hyman Kreitman (1914–2001) and Shirley married Leslie Porter (1920–2005).


title: Jack Cohen (businessman)

text: He continued to work after a colostomy operation in 1958, even after standing down as chairman of Tesco in 1969. He died on 24 March 1979 at the age of 80 in Westminster and is buried at Willesden Jewish Cemetery.


title: Jack Cohen (businessman)

text: Cohen was reluctant to return to tailoring after the First World War, and he established himself as a market stall holder in Hackney, in London's East End by purchasing surplus NAAFI stock with his £30 demob money. At each market the traders would gather and, at a signal they would race to their favoured pitch. Cohen could not run fast so he simply threw his cap at the spot and this could beat anyone. He soon became the owner of a number of market stalls, and started a wholesale business. Initially the other stalls were run by members of the family but gradually non-family members were added. Cohen and his wife Elizabeth worked seven days a week, starting at dawn and counting money until late.


title: Jack Cohen (businessman)

text: In 1924, he created the Tesco brand name from the initials of a partner tea supplier, T. E. Stockwell (formerly Messrs Torring and Stockwell of Mincing Lane), and the first two letters of his surname. The market trading business became difficult to expand because partners tended to be unreliable so eventually he changed to high street shops without doors, looking and sounding as far as possible like market stalls. The first two Tesco stores opened at Becontree and Burnt Oak in 1931. By 1939, Cohen owned a hundred Tesco stores. His expansion was helped by the growth of new shopping centres. Retailers are often reluctant to be the first to sign a contract in a new centre lest they become the only ones. With his market experience and courage, Cohen was often the one to take that risk and he had ways of drawing a crowd. Developers became keen to help him with his start-up costs because of his ability to get people into a new centre, benefiting the other shops.


title: Jack Cohen (businessman)

text: The first Tesco bank account was opened at the Midland Bank in the Narroway, Mare Street, Hackney. A plaque in the branch later marked this event. Sometime around 1930 he changed his name by deed poll to John Edward at the suggestion of his bank manager, whose staff had trouble distinguishing between the many Jacob Cohens banking at the branch in Hackney.


title: Jack Cohen (businessman)

text: In 1932, having opened his first Tesco-named shops, Cohen travelled to the United States to review their self-service supermarkets. At the time he was not impressed and felt they would never be accepted in the UK. After the war he took another look and listened to his son-in-law Hyman Kreitman, who was very keen. He opened one of the first British supermarkets. The new strategy was led by Kreitman who understood how to manage this new style of shop and the crucial tasks of mass buying, selling and logistics. Tesco grew strongly. It gradually drew ahead of its rivals and took over many of them.


title: Jack Cohen (businessman)

text: He expanded the company by take-overs and mergers, making it the fourth largest chain in the United Kingdom by 1968 (behind Co-op, Fine Fare, and Allied Suppliers). He campaigned against retail price maintenance, tackled in the second half of the 1960s by the Resale Prices Act 1964, and was a leading instigator of the Green Shield trading stamps scheme in 1963.


title: Jack Cohen (businessman)

text: Cohen was appointed Knight Bachelor in the 1969 New Year Honours. He was master of the Worshipful Company of Carmen in 1976–77. Sir John and Lady Cohen supported a range of charities in Britain and in Israel, giving their name to the Jewish Care facility, Lady Sarah Cohen House, at Friern Barnet, north London.


title: Jack Cohen (businessman)

text: In 2009 an English Heritage blue plaque was placed at 91 Ashfield Street, Whitechapel, London, where Cohen lived as a child.


title: Jack Cohen (businessman)

text: In 2018 Tesco founded a new discount chain named after Cohen, called Jack's. In addition, the name T.E. Stockwell was introduced the same year for use on selected food products, replacing the Tesco Value brand on these goods.


title: History of same-sex marriage in the United States

text: The history of same-sex marriage in the United States dates from the early 1970s, when the first lawsuits seeking legal recognition of same-sex relationships brought the question of civil marriage rights and benefits for same-sex couples to public attention though they proved unsuccessful. However marriage wasn't a request for the LGBTQ movement until the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Washington (1987). The subject became increasingly prominent in U.S. politics following the 1993 Hawaii Supreme Court decision in "Baehr v. Miike" that suggested the possibility that the state's prohibition might be unconstitutional. That decision was met by actions at both the federal and state level to restrict marriage to male-female couples, notably the enactment at the federal level of the Defense of Marriage Act.


text: The first legal same-sex marriage ceremony in the United States happened on February 12, 2004 between Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, when mayor of San Francisco Gavin Newsom ordered city hall to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. This decision resulted in the celebration of the first gay marriage in the United States, when Martin and Lyon became the first gay couple to tie the knot and get official recognition of their fifty year relationship (Marriage Equality New York).


text: On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the first U.S. state and the sixth jurisdiction in the world to legalize same-sex marriage following the Supreme Judicial Court's decision in "Goodridge v. Department of Public Health" six months earlier. Just as with the Hawaii decision, the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts provoked a reaction from opponents of same-sex marriage that resulted in further legal restrictions being written into state statutes and constitutions. The movement to obtain marriage rights for same-sex couples expanded steadily from that time until in late 2014 lawsuits had been brought in every state that still denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples.


text: By late 2014, same-sex marriage had become legal in states that contained more than 70% of the United States population. In some jurisdictions legalization came through the action of state courts or the enactment of state legislation. More frequently it came as the result of the decisions of federal courts. On November 6, 2012, Maine, Maryland, and Washington became the first states to legalize same-sex marriage through popular vote. Same-sex marriage has been legalized in the District of Columbia and 21 Native American tribal nations as well.


text: The June 2013 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in "United States v. Windsor" striking down the law barring federal recognition of same-sex marriage gave significant impetus to the progress of lawsuits that challenged state bans on same-sex marriage in federal court. Since that decision, with only a few exceptions, U.S. District Courts and Courts of Appeals have found state bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, as have several state courts. The exceptions have been a state court in Tennessee, U.S. district courts in Louisiana and Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear appeals from that circuit's decision.


text: On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state bans on same-sex marriage, legalized it in all fifty states, and required states to honor out-of-state same-sex marriage licenses in the case "Obergefell v. Hodges".


text: Historical documents do record numerous examples of same-sex couples living in relationships that functioned as marriages even if they could not be legally sanctified as such. Historian Rachel Hope Cleves documents one such relationship, that of 19th-century Vermont residents Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake, in her 2014 book "Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America".


text: Same-sex marriage was, however, rarely mentioned or recognized as a political issue before the 1970s. In August 1953, officials of the U.S Post Office delayed delivery of that month's issue of "ONE" magazine, with the cover story "Homosexual Marriage?", for three weeks while they tried to determine whether its contents were obscene. Few mentions of the subject have been documented in the decades that followed. In June 1971, members of the Gay Activists Alliance demanded marriage rights for same-sex couples at New York City's Marriage License Bureau.


text: The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in October 1971 that Minnesota's laws prohibiting marriages between same-sex partners did not violate the federal constitution. In October 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider the case, "Baker v. Nelson", "for want of a substantial federal question." "Baker" set federal precedent that blocked federal courts from ruling on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage for decades. The next year, the National Coalition of Gay Organizations called for the repeal of all statutes limiting marriage to different-sex couples and for extending the legal benefits of marriage to all cohabiting couples.


text: Several states enacted bans on same-sex marriage in the late 1970s as well, including Virginia in 1975, and Florida, California, and Wyoming in 1977.


text: In the late 1980s, activists debated whether marriage rights should be at the forefront of the broader campaign for LGBT equality. Some of the oldest groups saw marriage as a contradiction of the radical origins of the gay rights movement in the sexual liberation movement of the 1960s. Others raised the tactical objection that a step-by step campaign that focused on near-term potential victories like anti-discrimination statutes stood a greater chance of long term success.


text: In 1989, as a contribution to this debate, Andrew Sullivan's essay "Here Comes the Groom: A (Conservative) Case for Gay Marriage" appeared in the "New Republic". In late 1993, Bruce Bawer in "A Place at the Table" contended using traditional moral arguments that same-sex relationships merit legal and religious recognition as marriages. He identified himself as part of a "silent majority" of non-radicals unrepresented in media depictions of gay and lesbian life and criticized the gay community for identifying homosexuality with sexual behavior.


text: The issue of marriage had enough appeal within the gay and lesbian community that in April 1993, as part of the demonstrations surrounding the gay rights march in Washington, D.C., about 1,500 same-sex couples staged a mass wedding ceremony with "a dozen ministers, organ music, photographers and rice" at the National Museum of Natural History to call for marriage rights for gays and lesbians.


text: The Hawaii case of "Baehr v. Miike" attracted national attention when the Hawaii Supreme Court on May 5, 1993, ordered a trial court to consider whether the state could demonstrate that denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples "furthers compelling state interests and is narrowly drawn to avoid unnecessary abridgments of constitutional rights."


text: Congressional reaction to that ruling, partly in anticipation of the approaching presidential election, resulted in the enactment of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denied federal recognition of same-sex marriages. President Bill Clinton signed it into law on September 21, 1996. In November 1998, Hawaii voters approved a state constitutional amendment allowing their legislature to ban same-sex marriage, and Alaska voters approved a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.


text: In parallel with the campaign for same-sex marriage, LGBT civil rights gained legal recognition. In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Texas' "Homosexual Conduct" law in "Lawrence v. Texas". The ruling rendered same-sex sodomy laws in Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri and broader sodomy laws in nine other states unenforceable.


text: On November 18, 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in "Goodridge v. Department of Public Health" that denying marriage rights to same-sex couples violated the Massachusetts Constitution. Massachusetts became the first United States jurisdiction to license and recognize same-sex marriages beginning May 17, 2004 after Chief Justice Margaret Marshall wrote the majority opinion in the court ruling.


text: In February and March 2004, city officials in San Francisco issued marriage licenses to about 4000 same-sex couples before being ordered to stop by the California Supreme Court. On February 20, 2004, the clerk in Sandoval County, New Mexico, issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples for a day until the state attorney general issued an opinion that they were "invalid under state law". Similar actions occurred in New Paltz, New York (February 27); Multnomah County, Oregon (March 3); and Asbury Park, New Jersey (March 8).


text: On November 2, 2004, voters in eleven states—Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Utah—approved state constitutional amendments defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Kansas did so on April 5, 2005, as did Texas voters on November 8 of that year.


text: The adverse reactions continued in 2006. Alabama voters approved a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman on June 6. Voters in Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin adopted similar amendments on election day, November 7. The only exception that day was Arizona, where voters rejected an initiative banning the recognition same-sex marriages and civil unions.


text: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger twice vetoed legislation that would have made same-sex marriage legal there, in September 2005 and October 2007.


text: On May 15, 2008, the Supreme Court of California issued a decision that legalized same-sex marriage in California, holding that California's existing opposite-sex definition of marriage violated the constitutional rights of same-sex couples. To overturn the decision, opponents of same-sex marriage placed a state constitutional amendment on the November ballot. Known as Proposition 8, it passed in November 2008, ending the licensing and recognition of same-sex marriages in California after less than six months.


text: In two more states, Arizona and Florida, voters approved constitutional amendments defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.


text: On October 10, 2008, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that the state's civil unions statute discriminated against same-sex couples and required the state to recognize same-sex marriages. On November 12, 2008, the first marriage licenses to same-sex couples were issued and the following year, the state enacted gender-neutral marriage legislation.


text: In August and September, the national political parties addressed same-sex marriage in their party platforms. The Democratic National Convention adopted a platform that "oppose[s] the Defense of Marriage Act and all attempts to use this issue to divide us" and suggested support for same-sex marriage: "We support the full inclusion of all families, including same-sex couples, in the life of our nation, and support equal responsibility, benefits, and protections." The Republican National Convention platform said that judges are "undermining traditional marriage laws", endorsed the Federal Marriage Amendment and state initiatives that support "traditional marriage", and referenced "the right of states not to recognize same-sex 'marriages'".


text: On April 3, 2009, a unanimous Iowa Supreme Court ruling upheld a lower court ruling in "Varnum v. Brien" that denying marriage rights to same-sex couples violated the state constitution, and licenses became available on April 27. In the next judicial retention elections in November 2010, Iowa voters removed three of the justices that participated in the "Varnum" decision, following a campaign by groups opposed to same-sex marriage including the National Organization for Marriage.


text: On April 7, 2009, Vermont legalized same-sex marriage through legislation. The Governor of Vermont had previously vetoed the measure, but the veto was overridden by the Legislature. Vermont was the first state in the United States to legalize same-sex marriage through legislative means rather than litigation.


text: On June 3, 2009, New Hampshire by enacting legislation became the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage, effective January 1, 2010.


text: On December 18, 2009, the Council of the District of Columbia enacted legislation legalizing same-sex marriage and same-sex marriage licenses became available on March 3, 2010.


text: On May 6, 2009, Maine Governor John Baldacci signed a law legalizing same-sex marriage, becoming the first state governor to do so. Nonetheless, the legislation was stayed pending a vote and never went into effect. It was repealed by referendum in November 2009.


text: In September 2009, several Democratic members of Congress proposed legislation to repeal DOMA. Barney Frank opposed the move because he thought its enactment impossible. Nancy Pelosi had warned earlier in the year that the legislative calendar had no room for the issue.


text: , 29 states had constitutional provisions restricting marriage to one man and one woman, while 12 others had statutes that did so. Nineteen states banned any legal recognition of same-sex unions that would be equivalent to civil marriage. Voters had approved 28 out of 30 popular referendums in which states asked voters to adopt a constitutional amendment or initiative defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Arizonans voted down one such amendment in 2006, but approved a different amendment to that effect in 2008.


text: On June 24, 2011, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the state's Marriage Equality Act into law. It took effect a month later.


text: Washington Governor Christine Gregoire signed same-sex marriage legislation into law on February 13, 2012. Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley did the same on March 1.


text: The Republican National Convention approved a platform that asserts the right of the federal government and each state to deny legal recognition to same-sex marriages and endorsed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The Democratic National Convention adopted a political platform that supported marriage equality for the first time in its history and opposed all constitutional amendments that would exclude same-sex couples from marriage.


text: On May 8, 2012, North Carolina voters approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage as well as all other types of same-sex unions.


text: In the regular November 2012 elections, voters for the first time approved the legalization of same-sex marriage by popular vote in three states: Maine, Maryland, and Washington. Maine's law took effect on December 29, 2012. Maryland started allowing same-sex marriages on January 1, 2013, In Washington state, the first licenses were distributed on December 6, with the first marriages on December 9 following the mandatory three-day waiting period. In the same election, Minnesota rejected a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.


text: On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5–4 decision in "United States v. Windsor", ruling Section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional "as a deprivation of the equal liberty ... protected by the Fifth Amendment." The decision was widely quoted by both sides in same-sex marriage lawsuits.


text: On August 4, 2010, a decision by a U.S. District Court in "Perry v. Schwarzenegger" ruled that California's Proposition 8 was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court dismissed the case for lack of standing on June 26, 2013, after which the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples resumed on June 28, 2013.


text: New Jersey began issuing same-sex marriage licenses on October 21, 2013, following a September 27 state superior court decision that found an equal protection right of same-sex couples to marry. It reasoned that with the U.S. Supreme Court's recent action in "United States v. Windsor", couples in New Jersey civil unions lacked access to federal benefits they could now receive if married. Governor Chris Christie, who had vetoed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in February 2012, filed an appeal to the New Jersey Supreme Court, but withdrew it after the court refused to stay the lower court's ruling.


text: Eight New Mexico counties, either on the basis of a court decision or their clerks' own volition, began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in August 2013. On December 19, 2013, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled unanimously that same-sex marriage would be permitted throughout the state, effective immediately.


text: Several jurisdictions enacted same-sex marriage in 2013. Rhode Island enacted legislation on May 2, which took effect August 1; Delaware enacted legislation on May 7, which took effect July 1; and Minnesota enacted legislation on May 14, which took effect August 1. In October and November 2013, the Hawaii legislature enacted legislation legalizing same-sex marriage, which Governor Neil Abercrombie signed on November 13. The law took effect on December 2, 2013. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage on November 20, effective June 1, 2014, though in practice marriage licenses became widely available to same-sex couples in March.


text: On December 20, 2013, U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby found Utah's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional in "Kitchen v. Herbert." Salt Lake County began issuing marriage licenses immediately, followed by other counties, until the state obtained a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court on January 6, 2014.


text: On January 10, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the federal government would recognize the marriages of same-sex couples who married in Utah between December 20, 2013, and January 6, 2014.


text: On May 19, 2014, U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane ruled in "Geiger v. Kitzhaber" that Oregon's voter-approved constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. He ordered marriages to begin immediately and Governor John Kitzhaber applauded the decision. The National Organization for Marriage sought without success to intervene to seek a stay and appeal the decision.


text: On May 20, 2014, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III struck down Pennsylvania's same-sex marriage ban in his ruling in "Whitewood v. Wolf". Governor Tom Corbett said he would not appeal the court decision, allowing same-sex marriages to be licensed in Pennsylvania. One county clerk has tried repeatedly to intervene in the lawsuit until U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, Circuit Justice for the Third Circuit, denied the clerk's application for a stay on July 8, 2014, and the Third Circuit denied the clerk's petition to rehear her case for intervention on August 4, 2014.


text: On September 3, District Judge Martin Feldman ruled against the plaintiff same-sex couples in "Robicheaux v. Caldwell", upholding Louisiana's ban on same-sex marriage. It was the first decision of a federal court since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in "Windsor" in June 2013 to uphold the constitutionality of a state ban on same-sex marriage.


text: On October 6, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take action on all five cases it had been asked to consider from appellate courts in the Fourth, Seventh, and Tenth Circuits, allowing the circuit court decisions striking down marriage bans to stand.


text: The Supreme Court's action allowed the decisions of the lower courts to take effect. It resulted in the prompt legalization of same-sex marriage in several states with cases at issue:


text: Same-sex marriage bans were expected to end in six other states in the three circuits affected by the Supreme Court's action.–Colorado, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Wyoming–but at first officials in South Carolina, Wyoming, and Kansas said they would continue to defend their states' bans.


text: In Colorado, Attorney General John Suthers asked the Tenth Circuit to dismiss his appeal and lift its stay in "Burns v. Hickenlooper". He asked the State Supreme Court to lift a stay preventing certain clerks from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Both courts lifted their stays on October 7, 2014, and Suthers ordered all county clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.


text: In West Virginia, on October 9, Governor Ray Tomblin announced he was ordering state agencies to act in compliance with the decision of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in <nowiki>"</nowiki>Bostic v Schaefer<nowiki>"</nowiki> on the unconstitutionality of same-sex marriage bans.


text: In North Carolina, District Court Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr., ruling in "General Synod of the United Church of Christ v. Cooper" on October 10, 2014, struck down North Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage, citing the Fourth Circuit's ruling in "Bostic v. Schaefer". Some North Carolina clerks began issuing marriage license to same-sex couple immediately.


text: In Wyoming, on October 17, U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl ruled for the plaintiff same-sex couples in "Guzzo v. Mead", but stayed enforcement of his ruling until October 23 or until the defendants informed the court that they will not appeal to the Tenth Circuit. The stay was lifted on October 21 when the state notified the court it would not appeal, ending enforcement of Wyoming's ban on same-sex marriage.


text: In South Carolina, on November 12, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel ruled South Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional in "Condon v. Haley". He issued a temporary stay of his ruling, which took effect on November 20 after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to extend it.


text: As of February 2015, Kansas remains the only state in the circuits affected by the Supreme Court's October 6 refusal to grant cert to continue to enforce in large measure its denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples. Many judges of the state's district courts issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Some began doing so based on their reading of Tenth Circuit precedent, others a few weeks later on the basis on a ruling against Kansas' ban on same-sex marriage issued on November 4, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Daniel D. Crabtree in "Marie v. Moser", following Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt's failure to win a stay of that ruling from the Tenth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. A Kansas Supreme Court decision in a state case, "State v. Moriarty", affirmed the right of a circuit judge to determine the validity of the state's ban. The state contends that it need only recognize licenses issued in the two counties whose officials were named in the federal lawsuit and subject to the order issued in that case.


text: On October 7, 2014, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in two cases, overturning a district court in Nevada that had found that state's ban on same-sex marriage constitutional and affirming the decision of a district court in Idaho that had found that state's ban unconstitutional. Following precedent in that circuit, it reviewed the states' bans against a higher standard than used by other courts, "heightened scrutiny". Idaho Governor Butch Otter announced the state would no longer attempt to preserve the state's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples, though he continued without success to seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court. On October 13, 2014, the Ninth Circuit lifted the stay it had imposed in "Latta v. Otter", allowing the district court decision to take effect, preventing further enforcement of Idaho's ban on same-sex marriage as of October 15, 2014.


text: On November 6, 2014, the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in a 2-1 decision, upheld the same-sex marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. The cases were:


text: In Kentucky, on February 12, U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn declared Kentucky's refusal to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions unconstitutional. On February 27, he ordered the state to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, but the next day he stayed that order until March 20, and on March 19, he stayed it pending action by the Sixth Circuit. On July 1, a judge ruled in "Love v. Beshear" that Kentucky's refusal to license same-sex marriages was unconstitutional and stayed that ruling.


text: In Michigan, on March 21, U.S. District Court Judge Bernard A. Friedman found Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. He did not stay enforcement of his decision. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette filed an emergency request with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals for a stay pending appeal. Hundreds of same-sex couples obtained marriage licenses and some married in Michigan on the morning of March 22 before the appeals court temporarily stayed enforcement of the ruling. On March 26, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder said the Sixth Circuit's stay meant that "the rights tied to these marriages are suspended". On January 15, 2015, U.S. District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith ruled in "Caspar v. Snyder that Michigan must recognize the validity of more than 300 marriages of same-sex couples married the previous March in the time between a district court found the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed that ruling.


text: The same-sex couples in all these cases asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review them, and the state officials in Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio who had won in the Sixth Circuit endorsed those requests in order to have a Supreme Court ruling on the subject of same-sex marriage.


text: In Missouri, on November 5, 2014, a state judge in St. Louis ruled Missouri's ban unconstitutional. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced plans to appeal the ruling to the Missouri Supreme Court, but not to seek a stay of the ruling's implementation because "[f]ollowing decisions in Idaho and Alaska, the United States Supreme Court has refused to grant stays on identical facts." The ruling directed St. Louis to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and the city's marriage license department immediately complied. St. Louis County, where an official said "We believe it's a county-by-county decision", began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples the next day. Koster and the Recorders' Association of Missouri said the decision only applied to the city of St. Louis. On November 7, a U.S. District Court judge ruled in "Lawson v. Jackson County" that Missouri's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. He stayed enforcement of his ruling pending appeal, and the Attorney General announced plans to appeal to the Eighth Circuit. In Jackson County, which includes Kansas City, officials began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples the same day.


text: On November 25, 2014, U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker struck down Arkansas' ban on same-sex marriage in "Jernigan v. Crane", and she stayed enforcement of her ruling pending appeal.


text: On November 25, 2014, in "Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant", U.S. District Judge Carlton W. Reeves found Mississippi's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional and issued a 14-day stay, and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay pending appeal on December 4.


text: U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle, ruling in "Brenner v. Scott", had found Florida's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional on August 21, 2014, and stayed enforcement pending further appeals. On December 19, the U.S. Supreme Court refused the extend his stay, the first time that the Supreme Court refused to stay a marriage equality ruling by a district court in a circuit that had not yet ruled on the issue of same-sex marriage.


text: On January 1, 2015, after he had been challenged by some court clerks who believed he could not use the case to require them to license same-sex marriages, Judge Hinkle explained the scope of his injunction in "Brenner v. Scott", writing that the Constitution rather than his order authorizes all Florida clerks to issue licenses to same-sex couples and that while clerks are free to interpret his ruling differently they should anticipate lawsuits if they fail to issue such licenses. In response, the law firm advising the Florida Association of Court Clerks reversed its earlier position and recommended that all clerks issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Same-sex marriage became legal throughout Florida when Hinkle's injunction took effect on January 6.


text: On January 16, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear four cases on appeal from the Sixth Circuit, consolidating them as one and setting a briefing schedule to be completed April 17. The cases were: "Obergefell v. Hodges" (Ohio), "Tanco v. Haslam" (Tennessee), "DeBoer v. Snyder" (Michigan), and "Bourke v. Beshear" (Kentucky). Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Department of Justice would file an amicus brief in the case asking the court to "make marriage equality a reality for all Americans". The Court refused a request for certiorari before judgment in a Louisiana case, "Robicheaux v. Caldwell", on January 12.


text: In the weeks that followed, some federal courts suspended proceedings while awaiting a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals did so in cases from Florida case, "Brenner v. Scott", Georgia, "Inniss v. Aderhold", and Alabama, "Searcy v. Strange". A U.S. district court did so in North Dakota, "Ramsay v. Dalrymple".


text: On January 23, 2015 U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. Granade ruled in "Searcy v. Strange" that Alabama's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. On January 25, Judge Granade stayed her ruling for 14 days to allow the state to seek a longer stay from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. A stay was denied by both the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. On January 27, Judge Granade ruled in a second lawsuit, "Strawser v. Strange" in favor of a male couple seeking the right to marry on Alabama. She stayed her ruling to coincide with her stay in "Searcy". With a conflicting order from the Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore ordering county clerks to not comply with the federal rulings, the Probate Judges Association acknowledged that the order in "Searcy", if lifted, requires them to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and said it would encourage its members to comply. A week after the rulings went into effect, the majority of counties began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.


text: On March 3, 2015, the Alabama Supreme Court ordered all counties in the state to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.


text: Granade issued an injunction on May 21, 2015, clarifying that her order for same-sex marriage applied statewide. However, she stayed the ruling pending the outcome of "Obergefell v. Hodges" at the U.S. Supreme Court.


text: The Pacific island of Guam was set to be the first U.S. territory to offer legal same-sex marriage after Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson, Guam's attorney general, directed the territorial Department of Public Health and Social Services to begin processing same-sex marriage licenses on April 15, 2015. However, the department director and Governor Eddie Calvo pushed back on Barrett-Anderson's directive, which they said was not binding.


text: In May, the Guam District Court denied territorial officials' request to delay the case until the Supreme Court ruled in "Obergefell".


text: Decided on June 26, 2015 in a 5–4 decision, "Obergefell" requires all states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and to recognize same-sex marriages validly performed in other jurisdictions. This held all state same-sex marriage bans to be unconstitutional and legalized same-sex marriage in all remaining states.


text: The decision came on the second anniversary of the "United States v. Windsor" ruling that struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denied federal recognition of same-sex marriages. It also came on the twelfth anniversary of "Lawrence v. Texas" which struck down sodomy laws in 13 states. Each justice's opinion on "Obergefell" was consistent with their opinion in "Windsor". In both cases, Justice Kennedy authored the majority opinion and was considered the "swing vote".


title: Fold change

text: Fold change is a measure describing how much a quantity changes between an original and a subsequent measurement. It is defined as the ratio between the two quantities; for quantities "A" and "B" the fold change of "B" with respect to "A" is "B"/"A". In other words, a change from 30 to 60 is defined as a fold-change of 2. This is also referred to as a "one fold increase". Similarly, a change from 30 to 15 is referred to as a "0.5-fold decrease". Fold change is often used when analysing multiple measurements of a biological system taken at different times as the change described by the ratio between the time points is easier to interpret than the difference.


title: Fold change

text: Fold change is so called because it is common to describe an increase of multiple "X" as an ""X"-fold increase". As such, several dictionaries, including the Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster Dictionary, as well as Collins's Dictionary of Mathematics, define "-fold" to mean "times", as in "2-fold" = "2 times" = "double". Likely because of this definition, many scientists use not only "fold", but also "fold change" to be synonymous with "times", as in "3-fold larger" = "3 times larger".


title: Fold change

text: Fold change is often used in analysis of gene expression data from microarray and RNA-Seq experiments for measuring change in the expression level of a gene. A disadvantage and serious risk of using fold change in this setting is that it is biased and may misclassify differentially expressed genes with large differences ("B" − "A") but small ratios ("B"/"A"), leading to poor identification of changes at high expression levels. Furthermore, when the denominator is close to zero, the ratio is not stable, and the fold change value can be disproportionately affected by measurement noise.


title: Fold change

text: There is an alternative definition of fold change, although this has generally fallen out of use. Here, fold change is defined as the ratio of the difference between final value and the initial value divided by the initial value. For quantities "A" and "B", the fold change is given as ("B" − "A")/"A", or equivalently "B"/"A" − 1. This formulation has appealing properties such as no change being equal to zero, a 100% increase is equal to 1, and a 100% decrease is equal to −1. However, verbally referring to a doubling as a one-fold change and tripling as a two-fold change is counter-intuitive, and so this formulation is rarely used.


title: Fold change

text: This formulation is sometimes called the relative change and is labeled as "fractional difference" in the software package Prism.


title: Fold change

text: In the field of genomics (and more generally in bioinformatics), the modern usage is to define fold change in terms of ratios, and not by the alternative definition.


title: Fold change

text: However, log-ratios are often used for analysis and visualization of fold changes. The logarithm to base 2 is most commonly used, as it is easy to interpret, e.g. a doubling in the original scaling is equal to a log fold change of 1, a quadrupling is equal to a log fold change of 2 and so on. Conversely, the measure is symmetric when the change decreases by an equivalent amount e.g. a halving is equal to a log fold change of −1, a quartering is equal to a log fold change of −2 and so on. This leads to more aesthetically pleasing plots, as exponential changes are displayed as linear and so the dynamic range is increased. For example, on a plot axis showing log fold changes, an 8-fold increase will be displayed at an axis value of 3 (since 2 = 8). However, there is no mathematical reason to only use logarithm to base 2, and due to many discrepancies in describing the log fold changes in gene/protein expression, a new term "loget" has been proposed.


title: Reference electrode

text: A reference electrode is an electrode which has a stable and well-known electrode potential. The high stability of the electrode potential is usually reached by employing a redox system with constant (buffered or saturated) concentrations of each participant of the redox reaction.


title: Reference electrode

text: There are many ways reference electrodes are used. The simplest is when the reference electrode is used as a half-cell to build an electrochemical cell. This allows the potential of the other half cell to be determined. An accurate and practical method to measure an electrode's potential in isolation (absolute electrode potential) has yet to be developed.


title: Reference electrode

text: While it is convenient to compare between solvents to qualitatively compare systems, this is not quantitatively meaningful. Much as pK are related between solvents, but not the same, so is the case with E°. While the SHE might seem to be a reasonable reference for nonaqueous work as it turns out the platinum is rapidly poisoned by many solvents including acetonitrile causing uncontrolled drifts in potential. Both the SCE and saturated Ag/AgCl are aqueous electrodes based around saturated aqueous solution. While for short periods it may be possible to use such aqueous electrodes as references with nonaqueous solutions the long-term results are not trustworthy. Using aqueous electrodes introduces undefined, variable, and unmeasurable junction potentials to the cell in the form of a liquid-liquid junction as well as different ionic composition between the reference compartment and the rest of the cell. The best argument against using aqueous reference electrodes with nonaqueous systems, as mentioned earlier, is that potentials measured in different solvents are not directly comparable. For instance, the potential for the Fc couple is sensitive to solvent.


title: Reference electrode

text: A quasi-reference electrode (QRE) avoids the issues mentioned above. A QRE with ferrocene or another internal standard, such as cobaltocene or decamethylferrocene, referenced back to ferrocene is ideal for nonaqueous work. Since the early 1960s ferrocene has been gaining acceptance as the standard reference for nonaqueous work for a number of reasons, and in 1984, IUPAC recommended ferrocene (0/1+) as a standard redox couple. The preparation of the QRE electrode is simple, allowing for a fresh reference to be prepared with each set of experiments. Since QREs are made fresh, there is also no concern with improper storage or maintenance of the electrode. QREs are also more affordable than other reference electrodes.


title: Reference electrode

text: A pseudo reference electrode is a term that is not well defined and borders on having multiple meanings since "pseudo" and "quasi" are often used interchangeably. They are a class of electrodes named pseudo-reference electrodes because they do not maintain a constant potential but vary predictably with conditions. If the conditions are known, the potential can be calculated and the electrode can be used as a reference. Most electrodes work over a limited range of conditions, such as pH or temperature, outside of this range the electrodes behavior becomes unpredictable. The advantage of a pseudo-reference electrode is that the resulting variation is factored into the system allowing researchers to accurately study systems over a wide range of conditions.


title: Reference electrode

text: Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) membrane electrodes were developed with a variety of redox couples, e.g., Ni/NiO. Their potential depends on pH. When the pH value is known, these electrodes can be employed as a reference with notable applications at elevated temperatures.


title: Asif Basra

text: Asif Basra (27 July 196712 November 2020) was an Indian actor who worked in Bollywood films and TV serials. He is best known to Western audiences for his role in "Outsourced". He also appeared in many other films. Basra died of suicide by hanging in 2020.


title: Asif Basra

text: Basra was born on 27 July 1967 in Amravati, Maharashtra, India. In 1989, he moved to Mumbai and attended Mumbai University, and acted in college productions. He regularly won prizes for the characters he played in college time. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree of Physics.


title: Asif Basra

text: Basra performed in Anurag Kashyap's "Black Friday" and Rahul Dholakia's "Parzania", which received much critical appreciation. He appeared in Michael O. Sajbeland's "One Night with the King" with veteran actors like Omar Sharif and Peter O'Toole. He played a tailor in the Hindi movie "Lamhaa"; he was in Bollywood's 2010 top grossing film "Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai" as Shoaib's (Emraan Hashmi) father. Basra was also known for his theatrical performances from playing five characters in Feroz Abbas Khan's production of "Mahatma v/s Gandhi". Other performances include a child with spina bifida in "Main Bhi Superman" and Horatio in "Hamlet".


title: Asif Basra

text: In 2020, Basra appeared in two web series: "Paatal Lok" streamed on Amazon Prime and "Hostages" on Hotstar. He worked in Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, and Malayalam films. He was last seen in the second season of the Amazon Prime Video web series "The Family Man" which released on 4 June in 2021.


title: Asif Basra

text: Basra was found hanging in a private complex in McLeod Ganj, in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh on 12 November 2020. , the police and a forensic team are investigating the matter.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: Cohiba is a brand for two kinds of premium cigar, one produced in Cuba for Habanos S.A., the Cuban state-owned tobacco company, and the other produced in the Dominican Republic for US-based General Cigar Company. The name "cohíba" derives from the Taíno word for "tobacco".


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: The Cuban brand is filled with tobacco that comes from the Vuelta Abajo region of Cuba which has undergone an extra fermentation process. Cuban Cohiba was established in 1966 as a limited production private brand supplied exclusively to Fidel Castro and high-level officials in the Communist Party of Cuba and Cuban government. Often given as diplomatic gifts, the Cohiba brand gradually developed a "cult" status. It was first released commercially for sale to the public in 1982. The Cohiba Siglo VI has received some of the highest scores in the line from blind reviews, including a 93 from "Cigar Aficionado" and a 90 from Blind Man's Puff.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: The US Cohiba brand name was registered in the United States by the General Cigar Company in 1978 and cigars using that trademark have been produced for the American market in the Dominican Republic on a large scale from 1997. This Cohiba is related to the Cuban product in name only, containing no Cuban tobacco, and thus is the only "Cohiba" that can be sold legally in the United States.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: Cuban Cohiba's origins trace back to the middle 1960s, when a bodyguard of Fidel Castro shared some of his private supply of cigars made by a local artisan named Eduardo Rivera. These cigars pleased Castro so much that a special production of the unbranded blend, produced under tight security, was made for Castro and other top government officials.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: "I used to see the man smoking a very aromatic, very nice cigar, and I asked him what brand he was smoking. He told me that it was a special blend, but that it came from a friend who makes cigars and he gave them to him. I said, let's find this man. I tried the cigar, and I found it so good that we got in touch with him and asked him how he made it. Then we set up the house [the El Laguito factory], and he explained the blend of tobacco he used. He told which leaves he used from which tobacco plantations. He also told us about the wrappers he used and other things. We found a group of cigar makers. We gave them the material and that is how the factory was founded. Now Cohiba is known all over the world."


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: The production of special cigars for top officials under conditions of tight security was given extra impetus by fears of ongoing CIA assassination efforts against Fidel and Raul Castro and Che Guevara. The technical services department of the agency is now in fact known to have worked on the development of exploding cigars as a means of assassination from the early 1960s.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: The Cuban Cohiba brand was formally launched in 1968 at the direction of Cubatabaco, the Cuban state tobacco marketing bureau. The head of Cubatabaco asked Avelino Lara, head of the El Laguito factory, to create a new super-premium blend which differed from all previously existing Cuban cigars. During the first few years of production only a few thousand boxes were produced annually, reserved for the use of high government officials and frequently given away as diplomatic gifts.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: The Cuban Cohiba brand was launched as a premium cigar brand into markets outside of the US in 1982 in conjunction with the 1982 World Cup held in Spain. At the time of its first public launch, the Cohiba marque consisted of just three "vitolas" (sizes): the Panetela, the Corona Especial, and the Lancero. In 1989 three more "vitolas" were added: the Robusto, the Exquisito, and the Espléndido. These first six are now collectively known as the company's "Línea Clásica" (classic line).


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: In 1992 Habanos SA launched the first sizes in what it calls the "Línea 1492", commemorating Christopher Columbus and his voyage to the Americas, with each size named for a century since Columbus' discovery. The initial launch included the Siglo I, Siglo II, Siglo III, Siglo IV, and Siglo V, with a Siglo VI added in 2002.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: Besides regular production, Habanos SA regularly releases limited release Cohíba cigars for such events as the annual Habanos Festival, brand anniversaries, and their annual "Edición Limitada" (limited edition) release of special sizes of their various cigar brands wrapped in a darker vintage leaf. In 2007, Habanos released a new line of maduro-wrapped Cohibas, called "Maduro 5," in three sizes.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: Habanos SA have used their Cohiba brand name for non-cigar products, manufacturing Cohiba cigarettes since 1987 and Extra Cohiba Cognac since 1999.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: In 1992 approximately 3.4 million cigars were produced in Cuba bearing the Cohiba label, out of a total Cuban cigar export production of approximately 60 million pieces.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: Cuban Cohibas have historically been known to use some of the finest cigar tobacco available in Cuba. The tobacco for Cohiba is selected from the finest "Vegas Finas de Primera" (first-class tobacco fields) in the San Luis and San Juan y Martinez zones of the Vuelta Abajo region of Pinar del Río Province. In 1992 just 10 carefully selected fields totaling about 700 acres were used for production of the Cohiba brand, their exact location a carefully guarded trade secret. The production of these fields is further selected for quality, with the output of just five of these fields used in Cohiba production in an average year.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: The tobacco used to fill the cigars is unique among Cuban brands owing to a special third fermentation in wooden barrels at the El Laguito factory, aimed at producing a smoother flavor than other cigars. Originally all Cohibas were made at the El Laguito factory, a mansion located on the outskirts of Havana converted into a cigar-rolling school for women in 1961. Production of some Cohiba vitolas was later expanded to the Partagas factory in Havana, which manufactures its Cohiba product from pre-blended tobacco received from El Laguito.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: The following list of "vitolas de salida" (commercial vitolas) within the Cohiba marque lists their size and ring gauge in Imperial (and Metric), their "vitolas de galera" (factory vitolas), and their common name in American cigar slang.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: With the nationalization of the Cuban tobacco industry along with other businesses after the Cuban Revolution, many cigar makers fled the island and began growing tobacco in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Nicaragua, taking the brand names of their cigars with them. The Cuban industry contended that the brand names were the property of the nation, however, and parallel use of the same brand name resulted. Additionally, post-revolutionary trademark uncertainty and a US embargo against all Cuban goods made possible the relaunch of other Cuban brand names by private companies in other countries.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: The General Cigar Company, a private firm having no relation whatsoever to the Cuban cigar industry, first registered the name Cohiba in the United States in 1978 and subsequently began selling cigars under the Cohiba brand in that country in the 1980s. Manufacture and sales of General Cigar's brand was significantly expanded during the 1990s cigar boom, with General Cigar's product known colloquially as "Red Dot Cohiba," owing to the red dot in the middle of the "O" in "Cohiba" on its bands and boxes.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: In response to General Cigar's use of the Cohiba name, Cubatabaco, the government-run company in charge of cigars, and half-owner of Habanos SA along with Altadis SA, launched a long-running legal campaign to have General Cigar's trademark revoked.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: These legal fisticuffs were resolved on June 19, 2006, when the U. S. Supreme Court [ denied] Cubatabaco's petition. As a result, the February 2005 decision of the U. S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals (Docket #04-2527), which confirmed General Cigar Company’s exclusive ownership of the Cohiba trademark in the United States, is final. The General Cigar-made Cohiba cigars now have a disclaimer on boxes that they are not affiliated in any way with the Cuban brand.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: However, the United States government, in an "amicus curiae" brief filed in the Supreme Court, acknowledged that Cubatabaco could request U.S. government permission for judicial protection of the brand from the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers the U.S. embargo. Cubatabaco has stated that they intend to pursue this course of action.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: In a November 1992 interview, director of Cubatabaco Francisco Padrón indicated that in the event the American embargo of Cuban products were ended, return of the Cohiba brand name to Cubatabaco would be a prerequisite for any future distribution agreement with General Cigar Co. "The first condition is that they must pass the brand name to us. This is the first condition. Immediately. If not, forget about it," Padrón declared.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: On February 25, 2015, the US Supreme Court handed Cuba a victory over its cigar litigation. The US Supreme Court declined to intervene in a long-running battle between a US and Cuban company over the Cohiba cigar trademark. By refusing to hear an appeal, the country's highest court leaves intact a ruling in favor of the Cuban firm.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: Due to a US trade embargo with Cuba, Cubatabaco cannot sell its Cohiba cigars in the United States while they are sold worldwide and in Cuba. US company General Cigar sells its Dominican Republic-produced Cohiba cigars in the US. The legal dispute is over whether the Cuban company has to the right to challenge General Cigar’s trademark in the US, despite the embargo, as reported by Agence France Presse.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: General Cigar obtained a US registration for Cohiba in 1981 and a second registration in 1995. Cubatabaco had the trademark registered in Cuba in 1972. In the late 70s, it began registering the logo outside Cuba – in 115 countries – but was prohibited from selling merchandise in the US by the Cuban Assets Control Regulation (CACR).


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: In the case, Cubatabaco argued the CACR not only prevented the company from selling in the US, but also prevented it from challenging General Cigar's registrations.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: In June 2014, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of the Cuban company by giving it standing to seek a cancellation of the registrations that block its own ability to register trademarks. The case will now move forward to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: The challenge comes two months after President Obama announced in December that he planned to loosen some of the US-Cuba restrictions, including the easing of the decades-long trade embargo.


title: Cohiba (cigar brand)

text: Under an easing of travel restrictions between the US and Cuba, American visitors will be able to buy and take home as many as 100 cigars.


title: People's Socialist Party, Nepal

text: The People's Socialist Party, Nepal (abbr. PSP-N; ), also known as Janata Samajbadi Party is the sixth-largest political party in Nepal. Since the 2022 local election, the party has been limited to stand only as the third largest party of Madhesh Province after the Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) respectively. Recently the party faced multiple splits under Mahantha Thakur, Baburam Bhattarai, Mahendra Ray Yadav and Resham Lal Chaudhary.


title: People's Socialist Party, Nepal

text: With 12 out of 275 seats in the lower house House of Representative and 3 out of 59 seats in the upper house National Assembly, the party is the fifth-largest and one of the most powerful bargaining political parties in the Federal Parliament, after CPN (UML), the Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Centre) and CPN (Unified Socialist).


title: People's Socialist Party, Nepal

text: The Rastriya Janata Party Nepal and Samajbadi Party, Nepal were in constant negotiations throughout 2019 with talks failing or being in limbo because of issues relating to power sharing and Samajbadi Party, Nepal not withdrawing support from the K.P. Oli led government.


title: People's Socialist Party, Nepal

text: Samajbadi Party finally quit the government in late on 24 December 2019 after the Prime minister rejected the party's proposals on constitution amendments while demoting Yadav from the post of Health Minister. The failure to quit the government despite repeated calls before had put a deadlock on the negotiations between the two parties. Hopes of unification suffered a further blow when RJPN announced an electoral alliance with the ruling Nepal Communist Party for the 2020 National Assembly elections while the Samajbadi Party, Nepal announced electoral alliance with Nepali Congress. Negotiations for unification still continued through early 2020 with issues relating to power sharing and leadership still becoming a major sticking point for both parties rather than ideology.


title: People's Socialist Party, Nepal

text: As per trusted sources and national media's, Renu Yadav wanted to split the party with seven other MPs which included Bimal Prasad Shrivastav, Surendra Kumar Yadav, Mohammad Estiyak Rai, Pradeep Yadav, Umashankar Argariya, Kalu Devi Bishwakarma and Renuka Gurung. Though the plan went unsuccess do to last moment merger of Samajbadi Party, Nepal and Rastriya Janata Party Nepal to form People's Socialist Party, Nepal it was highly covered by national medias.


title: People's Socialist Party, Nepal

text: The deadlock finally broke on 23 April 2020 after this incident and the two parties finally reached an agreement for a merger just two days after the government issued an ordinance that amended the Political Party Act which made it possible for a party to split if supported by 40% of either the party's central committee or its parliamentarians, The new party, People's Socialist Party, Nepal was officially registered with the Election Commission on 9 July 2020.


title: People's Socialist Party, Nepal

text: It was formed by the merger of the two parties in Nepal, the Samajbadi Party, Nepal, led by Baburam Bhattarai and Upendra Yadav, and the Rastriya Janata Party Nepal, led by the presidium of Mahantha Thakur and five others.


title: People's Socialist Party, Nepal

text: The party faces a major setback in the 2022 Nepalese local elections when it had to loose majority of places it contested. The party had to loose Hanumannagar Kankalini municipality and Balan Bihul rural municipality to newly formed Janamat Party led by CK Raut. Among these, son of provincial minister Nawal Kishor Sah Sudi lost as mayor in Hanumannagar Kankalini.


title: People's Socialist Party, Nepal

text: Party's leader and chief minister Lalbabu Raut lost his own home town, Jagarnathpur Rural Municipality to Nepali Congress. Even his wife Jalekha Khatun lost as deputy chairperson candidate. Similarly, the party lost its security deposits in various local levels of Madhesh Province and all over Nepal which it had contested for not attaining even 10% vote. Party's candidate for mayor in Janakpur, Lal kishor Sah could attain only fifth position and lost to Nepali Congress leader Manoj Kumar Sah. As a result Nepali Congress stood as single largest party in Madhesh Province. As a result the party was limited to become only the third largest party of Madhesh province being able to win just 28 local levels in province compared to 45 which it had before elections. This was seen as an effect of split in party forming Loktantrik Samajwadi Party and the rise of Janamat Party, Terai Madhesh Loktantrik Party in eastern terai while Janata Pragatisheel Party and Nagrik Unmukti Party in western terai of Nepal.


title: People's Socialist Party, Nepal

text: The party had to bear a huge loss all over Nepal. Party's Chairman Upendra Yadav lost his seat Saptari 2 to CK Raut of Janamat Party. Similarly the party was limited to 4 of 32 seats in Madhesh Province.