title: New World Order (conspiracy theory)

text: Skeptics argue that fears of population control can be traced back to the traumatic legacy of the eugenics movement's "war against the weak" in the United States during the first decades of the 20th century but also the Second Red Scare in the U.S. during the late 1940s and 1950s, and to a lesser extent in the 1960s, when activists on the far right of American politics routinely opposed public health programs, notably water fluoridation, mass vaccination and mental health services, by asserting they were all part of a far-reaching plot to impose a socialist or communist regime. Their views were influenced by opposition to a number of major social and political changes that had happened in recent years: the growth of internationalism, particularly the United Nations and its programs; the introduction of social welfare provisions, particularly the various programs established by the New Deal; and government efforts to reduce inequalities in the social structure of the U.S. Opposition towards mass vaccinations in particular got significant attention in the late 2010s, so much so the World Health Organization listed vaccine hesitancy as one of the top ten global health threats of 2019. By this time, people that refused or refused to allow their children to be vaccinated were known colloquially as "anti-vaxxers", though citing the New World Order conspiracy theory or resistance to a perceived population control plan as a reason to refuse vaccination were few and far between.


title: New World Order (conspiracy theory)

text: Social critics accuse governments, corporations, and the mass media of being involved in the manufacturing of a national consensus and, paradoxically, a culture of fear due to the potential for increased social control that a mistrustful and mutually fearing population might offer to those in power. The worst fear of some conspiracy theorists, however, is that the New World Order will be implemented through the use of mind control—a broad range of tactics able to subvert an individual's control of their own thinking, behavior, emotions, or decisions. These tactics are said to include everything from Manchurian candidate-style brainwashing of sleeper agents (Project MKULTRA, "Project Monarch") to engineering psychological operations (water fluoridation, subliminal advertising, "Silent Sound Spread Spectrum", MEDUSA) and parapsychological operations (Stargate Project) to influence the masses. The concept of wearing a tin foil hat for protection from such threats has become a popular stereotype and term of derision; the phrase serves as a byword for paranoia and is associated with conspiracy theorists.


title: New World Order (conspiracy theory)

text: Skeptics argue that the paranoia behind a conspiracy theorist's obsession with mind control, population control, occultism, surveillance abuse, Big Business, Big Government, and globalization arises from a combination of two factors, when he or she: 1) holds strong individualist values and 2) lacks power. The first attribute refers to people who care deeply about an individual's right to make their own choices and direct their own lives without interference or obligations to a larger system (like the government), but combine this with a sense of powerlessness in one's own life. One gets what some psychologists call "agency panic," intense anxiety about an apparent loss of autonomy to outside forces or regulators. When fervent individualists feel that they cannot exercise their independence, they experience a crisis and assume that larger forces are to blame for usurping this freedom.


title: New World Order (conspiracy theory)

text: According to Domhoff, many people seem to believe that the United States is ruled from behind the scenes by a conspiratorial elite with secret desires, i.e., by a small, secretive group that wants to change the government system or put the country under the control of a world government. In the past, the conspirators were usually said to be crypto-communists who were intent upon bringing the United States under a common world government with the Soviet Union, but the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 undercut that theory. Domhoff notes that most conspiracy theorists changed their focus to the United Nations as the likely controlling force in a New World Order, an idea which is undermined by the powerlessness of the U.N. and the unwillingness of even moderates within the American Establishment to give it anything but a limited role.


title: New World Order (conspiracy theory)

text: Although skeptical of New World Order conspiracism, political scientist David Rothkopf argues, in the 2008 book "Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making", that the world population of 6 billion people is governed by an elite of 6,000 individuals. Until the late 20th century, governments of the great powers provided most of the superclass, accompanied by a few heads of international movements (i.e., the Pope of the Catholic Church) and entrepreneurs (Rothschilds, Rockefellers). According to Rothkopf, in the early 21st century, economic clout—fueled by the explosive expansion of international trade, travel, and communication—rules; the nation-state's power has diminished shrinking politicians to minority power broker status; leaders in international business, finance, and the defense industry not only dominate the superclass, but they also move freely into high positions in their nations' governments and back to private life largely beyond the notice of elected legislatures (including the U.S. Congress), which remain abysmally ignorant of affairs beyond their borders. He asserts that the superclass' disproportionate influence over national policy is constructive but always self-interested and that across the world, few object to corruption and oppressive governments provided they can do business in these countries.


title: New World Order (conspiracy theory)

text: Viewing the history of the world as the history of warfare between secret societies, conspiracy theorists go further than Rothkopf, and other scholars who have studied the global power elite, by claiming that established upper-class families with "old money" who founded and finance the Bilderberg Group, Bohemian Club, Club of Rome, Council on Foreign Relations, Rhodes Trust, Skull and Bones, Trilateral Commission, and similar think tanks and private clubs, are illuminated conspirators plotting to impose a totalitarian New World Order—the implementation of an authoritarian world government controlled by the United Nations and a global central bank, which maintains political power through the financialization of the economy, regulation and restriction of speech through the concentration of media ownership, mass surveillance, widespread use of state terrorism, and an all-encompassing propaganda that creates a cult of personality around a puppet world leader and ideologizes world government as the culmination of history's progress.


title: New World Order (conspiracy theory)

text: Skeptics of New World Order conspiracy theories accuse its proponents of indulging in the furtive fallacy, a belief that significant facts of history are necessarily sinister; conspiracism, a world view that centrally places conspiracy theories in the unfolding of history, rather than social and economic forces; and fusion paranoia, a promiscuous absorption of fears from any source whatsoever.


title: New World Order (conspiracy theory)

text: Marxists, who are skeptical of right-wing populist conspiracy theories, also accuse the global power elite of not having the best interests of all at heart, and many intergovernmental organizations of suffering from a democratic deficit, but they argue that the superclass are plutocrats only interested in brazenly imposing a neoliberal or neoconservative new world order—the implementation of global capitalism through economic and military coercion to protect the interests of transnational corporations—which systematically undermines the possibility of international socialism. Arguing that the world is in the middle of a transition from the American Empire to the rule of a global ruling class that has emerged from within the American Empire, they point out that right-wing populist conspiracy theorists, blinded by their anti-communism, fail to see is that what they demonize as the "New World Order" is, ironically, the highest stage of the very capitalist economic system they defend.


title: New World Order (conspiracy theory)

text: Domhoff, a research professor in psychology and sociology who studies theories of power, wrote in 2005 an essay entitled "There Are No Conspiracies". He says that for this theory to be true, it required several "wealthy and highly educated people" to do things that don't "fit with what we know about power structures". Claims that this will happen to go back decades and have always been proved wrong.


title: New World Order (conspiracy theory)

text: Partridge, a contributing editor to the global affairs magazine "Diplomatic Courier", wrote a 2008 article entitled "One World Government: Conspiracy Theory or Inevitable Future?" He says that if anything, nationalism, which is the opposite of a global government, is rising. He also says that attempts at creating global governments or global agreements "have been categorical failures" and where "supranational governance exist they are noted for their bureaucracy and inefficiency."


title: New World Order (conspiracy theory)

text: Although some cultural critics see superconspiracy theories about a New World Order as "postmodern metanarratives" that may be politically empowering, a way of giving ordinary people a narrative structure with which to question what they see around them, skeptics argue that conspiracism leads people into cynicism, convoluted thinking, and a tendency to feel it is hopeless even as they denounce the alleged conspirators.


title: New World Order (conspiracy theory)

text: Alexander Zaitchik from the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote a report titled "'Patriot' Paranoia: A Look at the Top Ten Conspiracy Theories", in which he personally condemns such conspiracies as an effort of the radical right to undermine society.


title: New World Order (conspiracy theory)

text: Concerned that the improvisational millennialism of most conspiracy theories about a New World Order might motivate lone wolves to engage in leaderless resistance leading to domestic terrorist incidents like the Oklahoma City bombing, Barkun writes that "the danger lies less in such beliefs themselves ... than in the behavior they might stimulate or justify" and warns "should they believe that the prophesied evil day had in fact arrived, their behavior would become far more difficult to predict."


title: New World Order (conspiracy theory)

text: Warning of the threat to American democracy posed by right-wing populist movements led by demagogues who mobilize support for mob rule or even a fascist revolution by exploiting the fear of conspiracies, Berlet writes that "Right-wing populist movements can cause serious damage to a society because they often popularize xenophobia, authoritarianism, scapegoating, and conspiracism. This can lure mainstream politicians to adopt these themes to attract voters, legitimize acts of discrimination (or even violence), and open the door for revolutionary right-wing populist movements, such as fascism, to recruit from the reformist populist movements."


title: New World Order (conspiracy theory)

text: Hughes, a professor of religion, warns that no religious idea has greater potential for shaping global politics in profoundly negative ways than "the new world order". He writes in a February 2011 article entitled "Revelation, Revolutions, and the Tyrannical New World Order" that "the crucial piece of this puzzle is the identity of the Antichrist, the tyrannical figure who both leads and inspires the new world order". This has in turn been the Soviet Union and the Arab world. He says that inspires believers to "welcome war with the Islamic world" and opens the door to nuclear holocaust."


title: New World Order (conspiracy theory)

text: Criticisms of New World Order conspiracy theorists also come from within their own community. Despite believing themselves to be "freedom fighters", many right-wing populist conspiracy theorists hold views that are incompatible with their professed libertarianism, such as Christian dominionism, authoritarian ultranationalism, white supremacy and eliminationism. This paradox has led Icke, who argues that Christian Patriots are the only Americans who understand the truth about the New World Order (which he believes is controlled by a race of reptilians known as the "Babylonian Brotherhood"), to reportedly tell a Christian Patriot group, "I don't know which I dislike more, the world controlled by the Brotherhood or the one you want to replace it with."


title: New World Order (conspiracy theory)

text: The following is a list of non-self-published non-fiction books that discuss New World Order conspiracy theories.


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: The Sinner is an American police procedural anthology television series developed by Derek Simonds for USA Network. It is named after Petra Hammesfahr's 1999 novel, which served as the basis for the first season. Bill Pullman stars as a police detective who investigates crimes committed by unlikely culprits and attempts to uncover their motivations. Only Pullman appears in every season, while the rest of the cast mostly changes for each season's story.


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: Intended as an eight-part miniseries, "The Sinner" premiered to critical acclaim and high ratings. The show's success led to USA Network turning it into an anthology series, which aired for four seasons from August 2, 2017, to December 1, 2021.


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: The first season of "The Sinner" received nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film and Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film for Jessica Biel. Biel was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie.


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: In the first season, Detective Harry Ambrose delves into the past of Cora Tannetti, a troubled woman, to determine why she stabbed a man to death.


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: In the second season, Ambrose returns to his hometown after a young boy named Julian Walker confesses to poisoning a couple and learns secrets that the inhabitants are determined to keep buried.


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: In the third season, Ambrose investigates a fatal car accident in Upstate New York and uncovers a much larger and disturbing case behind it.


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: In the fourth and last season, the now-retired Ambrose travels to northern Maine to recover from the previous case. A tragedy occurs there involving the daughter of a prominent family, and he is recruited to help the investigation.


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: The series, described as a "close-ended series" by the network, was adapted from the novel of the same name by Petra Hammesfahr; however, the book's darker outlook was toned down and the location shifted from Germany to Upstate New York in the United States. It is the first time that Biel has served as an executive producer on a series, a role she said was "gold". Biel stated that she moved into production so that she could develop projects with challenging and interesting roles rather than wait for them to happen.


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: The series was ordered on January 17, 2017, and the eight episodes were broadcast on USA Network between August 2 and September 20, 2017. Originally, the series was created as a miniseries; however, in March 2018, it was announced that "The Sinner" would return for a second season. The second season premiered on August 1, 2018, comprised eight episodes and concluded on September 19, 2018. On March 6, 2019, USA Network renewed the series for a third season. which premiered on February 6, 2020. On June 15, 2020, USA renewed the series for a fourth season, which premiered on October 13, 2021. On November 17, 2021, it was reported the fourth season would be its last.


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: In May 2018, Carrie Coon, Natalie Paul and Hannah Gross were cast for the second season as Vera, Heather and Marin respectively. During the third season renewal, it was announced that Matt Bomer would star in the third season. On August 16, 2019, Jessica Hecht, Parisa Fitz-Henley, and Eddie Martinez were cast in starring roles for the third season. On March 17, 2021, Alice Kremelberg was cast for the fourth season as Percy Muldoon, a member of a fishing family who faces a tragedy. On April 21, 2021, Michael Mosley joined the cast as a new series regular for the fourth season. On June 9, 2021, Cindy Cheung, David Huynh, Ronin Wong, and Neal Huff were cast as series regulars for the fourth season.


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: The series is primarily filmed in New York state; various towns were used in the first season to depict the fictional Dorchester in New York. The exterior of the Mt. Pleasant Justice Court building in Valhalla, New York, was used for the Dorchester police building.


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: The fictional Beverwyck Club in the first season was filmed at the Belvedere Estate, a private residence surrounded by forest in Tarrytown, New York. The production used some of the rooms, the basement, the Agora House building, and the wooded area on the property. Some filming for the first season was also completed in Summerville, South Carolina, and in North Charleston, South Carolina. The county jail scenes were filmed at the former county detention center in St. George, South Carolina, 30 miles from Summerville. At that time, the first episode was still considered to be the pilot for the series.


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: The hamlet of Purchase, New York, was used to film "a sizeable chunk" of the second season; one location is the Cobble Stone Restaurant. The Pier 701 Restaurant & Bar in the village of Piermont, New York, was used for some filming in the first season. Some filming was completed at Prospect Point in Niagara Falls, New York; Bill Pullman was included in those scenes.


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: In the third season, Dorchester is specified as being "by the Hudson River in Somerset County". The third season was mainly filmed in New York State, especially in the town of Hartsdale, New York, in Westchester County. Some filming for the third season was completed at the Hartsdale train station, rebranded as Dorchester. Crews were also filming in summer 2019 at Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, at the Found Herbal Apothecary Herb shop, and at the Hastings Center Diner. A car chase was shot in Queens, New York, and scenes set at the fictional Briarton school were shot at the Synod of Bishops Russian Church on East 93rd Street. Other New York City locations included the STK Midtown Steakhouse and the City College of New York, both in Manhattan.


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: The fourth season began filming in late April 2021 in Nova Scotia and wrapped in August 2021. Most of the town and harbor scenes were shot in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: Critics acclaimed the first season and praised Biel's performance. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 90% based on 41 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Smartly unpredictable and led by powerful performances from a talented cast, the darkly compelling "The Sinner" sinks its hooks in fast and doesn't let go." Metacritic, which assigns a rating to reviews, gave the series an average weighted score of 71 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". It was the number one new cable series of 2017, according to Nielsen delayed viewing data.


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: A 97% approval rating for the second season was reported by Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7.54/10 based on 33 reviews, and a critical consensus reading, "In its second season, "The Sinner" establishes itself as an engrossing why-dunnit thriller series with staying power." Metacritic assigned a score of 75 out of 100 based on 16 critics for the second season, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: Once again praising the writing and performances, several critics noted that the follow-up season surpassed expectations, as star Jessica Biel's character did not return from the first season.


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: Alex McLevy of "The A.V. Club" wrote a rave review of the first few episodes, in particular the performance of Carrie Coon as the mysterious Vera Walker. McLevy wrote that the second season could be even better than the first, noting,


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: "Two things keep it from feeling like a rehash of season one: the excellent choices in new narrative twists made by writer-creator Derek Simonds, and the caliber of talent involved in bringing it to life. Chief among the latter group is Carrie Coon, who ... brings a wonderful fusion of frazzled humanism and sinister duplicity to the part, another magnetic performance by the actor that elevates the material and lends gravitas to some of the more daffily implausible turns."


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: "Derek Simonds assembled a helluva team for an intriguing follow-up season. The first three episodes of Season 2 match the tone and intensity of the writer's gripping debut, while new cast members Tracy Letts, Natalie Paul, and Carrie Coon more than make up for any holes left by the original cast. ... Season 2 has enough going on it could spin off the rails, but the mere fact it has so much working for it thus far is a big win for everyone involved. "The Sinner" is no one-hit wonder."


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the third season has an approval rating of 85% with an average rating of 7.28/10 based on 13 reviews. Metacritic has assigned a score of 81 out of 100 based on five critics for the third season, indicating "universal acclaim".


title: The Sinner (TV series)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the fourth season has an approval rating of 86% with an average rating of 7.8/10 based on 13 reviews.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the world, after Nike. It is the holding company for the Adidas Group, which consists 8.33% stake of the football club Bayern München, and Runtastic, an Austrian fitness technology company. Adidas's revenue for 2018 was listed at €21.915 billion.


title: Adidas

text: The company was started by Adolf Dassler in his mother's house; he was joined by his elder brother Rudolf in 1924 under the name "Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik" ("Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory"). Dassler assisted in the development of spiked running shoes (spikes) for multiple athletic events. To enhance the quality of spiked athletic footwear, he transitioned from a previous model of heavy metal spikes to utilising canvas and rubber. Dassler persuaded U.S. sprinter Jesse Owens to use his handmade spikes at the 1936 Summer Olympics. In 1949, following a breakdown in the relationship between the brothers, Adolf created Adidas and Rudolf established Puma, which became Adidas's business rival.


title: Adidas

text: The three stripes are Adidas's identity mark, having been used on the company's clothing and shoe designs as a marketing aid. The branding, which Adidas bought in 1952 from Finnish sports company Karhu Sports for the equivalent of €1,600 and two bottles of whiskey, became so successful that Dassler described Adidas as "The three stripes company".


title: Adidas

text: The company was founded by Adolf "Adi" Dassler who made sports shoes in his mother's scullery or laundry room in Herzogenaurach, Germany after his return from World War I. In July 1924, his older brother Rudolf joined the business, which became "Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory" (). The electricity supply in Herzogenaurach was unreliable, so the brothers sometimes had to use pedal power from a stationary bicycle to run their equipment.


title: Adidas

text: Dassler assisted in the development of spiked running shoes (spikes) for multiple athletic events. To enhance the quality of spiked athletic footwear, he transitioned from a previous model of heavy metal spikes to utilising canvas and rubber. In 1936, Dassler persuaded U.S. sprinter Jesse Owens to use his hand made spikes at the 1936 Summer Olympics. Following Owens' four gold medals, the name and reputation of Dassler shoes became known to the world's sportsmen and their trainers. Business was successful and the Dasslers were selling 200,000 pairs of shoes every year before World War II.


title: Adidas

text: Both Dassler brothers joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in May 1933 and also became members of the National Socialist Motor Corps. Furthermore, Adolf took the rank of "Sportwart" in the Hitler Youth from 1935 until the end of the war. During the war, the company was running the last sport shoe factory in the country and predominantly supplied the Wehrmacht with shoes. In 1943 the shoe production was forced to cease operations and the company's facilities and workforce was used to manufacture anti-tank weapons. From 1942 to 1945 at least nine forced labourers were working at both sites of the company.


title: Adidas

text: The Dassler factory, used for production of anti-tank weapons during World War II, was nearly destroyed in 1945 by US forces, but was spared when Adolf Dassler's wife convinced the American soldiers that the company and its employees were only interested in manufacturing sports shoes. American occupying forces subsequently became major buyers of the Dassler brothers' shoes.


title: Adidas

text: The brothers split up in 1947 after relations between them had broken down, with Adolf forming a company formally registered as Adidas AG, from "Adi Dassler", on 18 August 1949, and Rudolf forming a new firm that he called Ruda – from "Rudolf Dassler", later rebranded "Puma". An urban myth has promulgated the backronym "All Day I Dream About Sports".


title: Adidas

text: Adidas and Puma SE entered into a fierce and bitter business rivalry after the split. Indeed, the town of Herzogenaurach was divided on the issue, leading to the nickname "the town of bent necks"—people looked down to see which shoes strangers wore. Even the town's two football clubs were divided: ASV Herzogenaurach club was supported by Adidas, while 1 FC Herzogenaurach endorsed Rudolf's footwear. When handymen were called to Rudolf's home, they would deliberately wear Adidas shoes. Rudolf would tell them to go to the basement and pick out a pair of free Pumas. The two brothers never reconciled and although they are now buried in the same cemetery, they are spaced as far apart as possible.


title: Adidas

text: In 1948, the first football match after World War II, several members of the West German national football team wore Puma boots, including the scorer of West Germany's first post-war goal, Herbert Burdenski. Four years later, at the 1952 Summer Olympics, 1500 metres runner Josy Barthel of Luxembourg won Puma's first Olympic gold in Helsinki, Finland.


title: Adidas

text: At the 1960 Summer Olympics, Puma paid German sprinter Armin Hary to wear Pumas in the 100 meter sprint final. Hary had worn Adidas before and asked Adolf for payment, but Adidas rejected this request. The German won gold in Pumas, but then laced up Adidas for the medals ceremony, to the shock of the two Dassler brothers. Hary hoped to cash in from both, but Adi was so enraged he banned the Olympic champion.


title: Adidas

text: In 1952, following the 1952 Summer Olympics, Adidas acquired its signature 3-stripe logo from the Finnish athletic footwear brand Karhu Sports, for two bottles of whiskey and the equivalent of €1600.


title: Adidas

text: The Trefoil logo was designed in 1971 and launched in 1972, just in time for the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich. This logo lasted until 1997, when the company introduced the "three bars" logo (that had been designed by then Creative Director Peter Moore), initially used on the "Equipment" range of products.


title: Adidas

text: After a period of trouble following the death of Adolf Dassler's son Horst Dassler in 1987, the company was bought in 1990 by French industrialist Bernard Tapie, for ₣1.6 billion (now €243.9 million), which Tapie borrowed. Tapie was at the time a famous specialist of rescuing bankrupt companies, an expertise on which he built his fortune.


title: Adidas

text: Tapie decided to move production offshore to Asia. He also hired Madonna for promotion. He sent, from Christchurch, New Zealand, a shoe sales representative to Germany and met Adolf Dassler's descendants (Amelia Randall Dassler and Bella Beck Dassler) and was sent back with a few items to promote the company there.


title: Adidas

text: In 1992, unable to pay the loan interest, Tapie mandated the Crédit Lyonnais bank to sell Adidas, and the bank subsequently converted the outstanding debt owed into equity of the enterprise, which was unusual as per the prevalent French banking practice. The state-owned bank had tried to get Tapie out of dire financial straits as a personal favour to Tapie, it is reported, because Tapie was Minister of Urban Affairs ("ministre de la Ville") in the French government at the time.


title: Adidas

text: Robert Louis-Dreyfus, a friend of Tapie, became the new CEO of the company in 1994. He was also the president of Olympique de Marseille, a team Tapie had owned until 1993. Tapie filed for personal bankruptcy in 1994. He was the object of several lawsuits, notably related to match fixing at the football club. During 1997, he served 6 months of an 18-month prison sentence in La Santé prison in Paris. In February 2000, Crédit Lyonnais sold Adidas to Louis-Dreyfus for a much higher amount of money than Tapie owed, 4.485 billion (€683.514 million) francs rather than 2.85 billion (€434.479 million). They also purposely bankrupted Tapie's company that owned Adidas, because only the company had the right to sue them.


title: Adidas

text: In 1997, Adidas AG acquired the Salomon Group who specialized in ski wear, and its official corporate name was changed to Adidas-Salomon AG. With this acquisition Adidas also acquired the TaylorMade golf company and Maxfli, which allowed them to compete with Nike Golf.


title: Adidas

text: In 1998, Adidas sued the NCAA over their rules limiting the size and number of commercial logos on team uniforms and team clothing. Adidas withdrew the suit, and the two groups established guidelines as to what three-stripe designs would be considered uses of the Adidas trademark.


title: Adidas

text: As CEO of Adidas, Louis-Dreyfus quadrupled revenue to €5.84 billion ($7.5 billion) from 1993 through 2000. In 2000, he announced he would resign the following year, due to illness.


title: Adidas

text: In 2003, Adidas filed a lawsuit in a British court challenging Fitness World Trading's use of a two-stripe motif similar to Adidas's three stripes. The court ruled that despite the simplicity of the mark, "Fitness World"s use was infringing because the public could establish a link between that use and Adidas's mark.


title: Adidas

text: In September 2004, top English fashion designer Stella McCartney launched a joint-venture line with Adidas, establishing a long-term partnership with the corporation. This line is a sports performance collection for women called "Adidas by Stella McCartney", and it has been critically acclaimed.


title: Adidas

text: Also, on 3 May 2005, Adidas told the public that they sold their partner company Salomon Group for €485 million to Amer Sports of Finland.


title: Adidas

text: In August 2005, Adidas declared its intention to buy Reebok for $3.8 billion (US$). This takeover was completed with partnership in January 2006 and meant that the company had business sales closer to those of Nike in North America. The acquisition of Reebok also allowed Adidas to compete with Nike worldwide as the number two athletic shoemaker in the world.


title: Adidas

text: In 2005, Adidas introduced the Adidas 1, the first ever production shoe to use a microprocessor. Dubbed by the company "The World's First Intelligent Shoe", it features a microprocessor capable of performing 5 million calculations per second that automatically adjusts the shoe's level of cushioning to suit its environment. The shoe requires a small, user-replaceable battery that lasts for approximately 100 hours of running. On 25 November 2005, Adidas released a new version of the Adidas 1 with an increased range of cushioning, allowing the shoe to become softer or firmer, and a new motor with 153 percent more torque.


title: Adidas

text: On 11 April 2006, Adidas announced an 11-year deal to become the official NBA clothing provider. The company has been making NBA, NBDL, and WNBA jerseys and products as well as team-coloured versions of the "Superstar" basketball shoe. This deal (worth over $400 million) took over the previous Reebok deal that had been put in place in 2001 for 10 years.


title: Adidas

text: In November 2011, Adidas announced that it would acquire outdoor action sport performance brand Five Ten through a share purchase agreement. The total purchase price was US$25 million in cash at closing.


title: Adidas

text: By the end of 2012, Adidas was reporting their highest revenues ever and Chief Executive Herbert Hainer expressed optimism for the year ahead. Adidas now has global corporate headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany and many other business locations around the world such as London, Portland, Toronto, Tokyo, Australia, Taiwan and Spain.


title: Adidas

text: In January 2015, Adidas launched the footwear industry's first reservation mobile app. The Adidas Confirmed app allows consumers to get access to and reserve the brand's limited edition sneakers by using geo targeting technology.


title: Adidas

text: On 24 March 2015, Adidas and McDonald's unveiled the 2015 McDonald's All-American uniforms. For the third year in a row, players will be wearing short-sleeved jerseys, made with the same lightweight and breathable material as the ones used in the NBA.


title: Adidas

text: In May 2017, Adidas sold TaylorMade golf company (including Ashworth) to KPS Capital Partners for $425 million.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas manufactures a range of clothing items, varying from men's and women's t-shirts, jackets, hoodies, pants and leggings.


title: Adidas

text: The first Adidas item of apparel was the Franz Beckenbauer tracksuit created in 1967. Adidas AG is the largest manufacturer of sports bras in Europe, and the second largest manufacturer in the world.


title: Adidas

text: One of the main focuses of Adidas has always been football kits, and the associated equipment. Adidas remains a major company in the global supply of team kits for international association football teams and clubs.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas makes referee kits that are used in international competition and by many countries and leagues in the world. The company has been an innovator in the area of footwear for the sport, with notable examples including the 1979 release of the Copa Mundial moulded boot used for matches on firm dry pitches. It holds the accolade of the best selling boot of all time. The soft-ground equivalent was named World Cup and it too remains on the market.


title: Adidas

text: Since 1970, FIFA, the world governing body of football, has commissioned specially designed footballs for use in its own World Cup tournaments. The Adidas Telstar was the first ball commissioned for the World Cup in 1970. The balls supplied for the 2006 World Cup, the "Teamgeist", were particularly noteworthy for their ability to travel further than previous types when struck, leading to longer range goals. Goalkeepers were generally believed to be less comfortable with the design of the ball, claiming it was prone to move significantly and unpredictably in flight.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas introduced the Jabulani for the 2010 World Cup. The ball was designed and developed by Loughborough University in conjunction with Bayern München. The Adidas Brazuca for the 2014 World Cup was the first World Cup ball named by the fans. In 2022, for the 14th time in a row, Adidas created the 2022 World Cup ball, Al Rihla.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas is one of the official sponsors of the UEFA Champions League, and the Adidas Finale is the competition's official match ball. Along with the aforementioned Adidas Predator boot, Adidas manufactures the adiPure range of football boots. Adidas named an official match ball of the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament the Adidas Beau Jeu which translates to "The Beautiful Game" in English. Adidas provides clothing and equipment for all teams in Major League Soccer.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas has also provided baseball equipment and sponsors numerous players of Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas's Superstar and Pro Model shoes, affectionately known as "shelltoes" for their stylized hard rubber toe box, were fueled by, among others, coaches such as UCLA's John Wooden. Adidas drew about even with Converse in basketball by the mid-1970s before both started to fall behind then-upstart Nike in the early 1980s. Subsequently, Adidas Superstar became very popular in the 1980s hip hop streetwear scene alongside Adidas's stripe-sided polyester suits.


title: Adidas

text: From 2006 to 2017, Adidas was the uniform supplier of all the 30 teams in the National Basketball Association, replacing the Reebok brand after Adidas's acquisition of Reebok. Adidas was replaced by Nike as the official uniform supplier of the league after the 2016–17 season.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas began manufacturing cricket footwear in the mid-1970s, with their initial target market being Australia. Their shoes were a radical departure from traditional leather cricket boots which had remained basically unchanged for decades, being lighter and more flexible but also offering less toe protection, so that it became not uncommon to see batsmen who had been struck by the ball on the foot hopping around in pain. Having continued to manufacture cricket footwear for many years, in 2006 the company finally entered the field of bat manufacture in 2008 and currently their bat range includes the Pellara, Incurza, Libro and M-Blaster models.


title: Adidas

text: In the 1990s, Adidas signed the superstar Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar and made shoes for him. From 2008 until his retirement, Adidas had sponsored the cricket bat used by Tendulkar. It created a new bat, 'Adidas MasterBlaster Elite', personalized for him.


title: Adidas

text: In 2008, Adidas made a concerted move into English cricket market by sponsoring English batting star Kevin Pietersen after the cancellation of his lifetime deal with Woodworm, when they ran into financial difficulties. The following year they signed up fellow England player Ian Bell, Pakistan opening batsman Salman Butt and Indian Player Ravindra Jadeja.


title: Adidas

text: In the Indian Premier League (IPL), Adidas sponsored the team Mumbai Indians from 2008 to 2014 and Delhi Daredevils from 2008 to 2013. They were the official sponsors of Pune Warriors India in 2011 and 2012, however the team was banned from IPL due to payment issues. In 2015 Season, Adidas sponsored Royal Challengers Bangalore.


title: Adidas

text: "Adidas Golf" manufactures golf clothing, footwear, and accessories. Men's and women's equipment includes footwear, shirts, shorts, pants, outerwear (wind suits), base layer and eyewear.


title: Adidas

text: From 2000 to 2012, Adidas has provided men's and women's gymnastics wear for Team USA, through USA Gymnastics. USA Gymnastics and Adidas sponsorship concluded at the end of 2012. In 2006, Adidas gymnastics leotards for women and Adidas men's competition shirts, gymnastics pants and gymnastics shorts have been available in the United States, with seasonal leotards offered for Spring, Summer, Fall and Holidays. Adidas previous collaborated with GK Elite, since Spring 2013, Adidas gymnastics products have been available worldwide through Elegant Sports. USA Olympic team members McKayla Maroney, Jordyn Wieber, Jake Dalton and Danell Leyva are all sponsored by Adidas gymnastics.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas has been providing uniforms for the National Hockey League since the 2017–18 season, replacing Reebok.


title: Adidas

text: In 2007, Adidas announced its entering to the lacrosse equipment, also sponsoring the Adidas National Lacrosse Classic in July 2008 for the top 600 high school underclassmen players in the United States. The company made their self into their own brand such as "Adidas Lacrosse", getting several scholarships, Bucknell (men and women), Bryant (men), Delaware (men and women), New Jersey Institute of Technology (men), and D3 powerhouse Lynchburg (men and women in fall of 2016 with soft good only)". Materials that Adidas provided were jerseys, shorts, shoes, shafts, heads, gloves, and protective pieces.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas currently manufactures several running and lifestyle shoes, including the Energy-boost, and the spring-blade trainers. The brand has built a strong runners' network within big European capitals, such as Paris' "Boost Energy League". In 2016 the 3rd season launched. In Paris, the Boost Energy League gathers 11 teams representing different districts of Paris.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas launched two new color ways of the NMD R1 and one new color way of the NMD XR1 in September 2016.


title: Adidas

text: In November 2016, Adidas teased a sneaker made from ocean plastic. The shoe is created from a fabric called "Biosteel". The shoe is called the "Adidas Futurecraft Biofabric." The material used is 15% lighter than conventional silk fibers, and is 100% biodegradable. The shoe only begin to dissolve when it is put in contact with a high concentration of the digestion enzyme proteinase, which occurs naturally. Once this happens, the shoes can decompose within 36 hours. The shoe was never released.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas EQT is a style of sneakers from Adidas. It originated in the early 90s and was relaunched in 2017. The latest Adidas EQT line released in a "Turbo Red" Pack on 26 January 2017, and included models such as the Adidas EQT Support 93/17, EQT Support ADV, and EQT Support Ultra. Adidas.com is one of the few online retailers.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas Skateboarding produces shoes made specifically for skateboarding, including the redesign of previous models for skateboarding. The brand also releases signature models designed by team riders.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas has been involved with tennis equipment since the mid-1960s and has historically sponsored many top tennis players, beginning with two of the most dominant male tennis players at the start of the professional era in the late 1960s, Stan Smith and Ilie Nastase. During the 1980s and 1990s, not only were they exclusive apparel and footwear sponsors of world number one men's tennis players Ivan Lendl and Stefan Edberg and ladies' world number one Steffi Graf, but each player had their own, exclusive graphic styles designed for their use during play, which were in turn marketed to the general public. Ivan Lendl even spent the vast majority of his dominant career playing with several different models of Adidas tennis racquets, primarily using the legendary Adidas GTX-Pro and then later the Adidas GTX Pro-T. In 2009 the company introduced a new line of tennis racquets. While the Feather was made for the "regular player", and the Response for the "club player", Adidas targeted the "tournament player" with the 12.2 oz Barricade tour model.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas entered Kabaddi which is still a non-Olympic sport but highly popular in the Indian subcontinent and Asian countries. In 2014, with the launch of Pro Kabaddi League a city based franchise league in India, Kabaddi took the region by storm. In 2015, they tied up with Mumbai-based franchise U Mumba.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas also designs and makes slide-style sandals, mobile accessories, watches, eyewear, bags, baseball caps, and socks. As well, Adidas has a branded range of male and female deodorants, perfumes, aftershave and lotions.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas announced they would be launching a new $199 Fit Smart wristband in mid-August 2014. The wristband will pair with Adidas's miCoach app, which acts as a personal trainer.


title: Adidas

text: Adilette was the first ever pair of sandals made by Adidas, originally developed in 1963. Adidas claims that a group of athletes approached Adi Dassler requesting a shoe be made for the locker room. To this day, the resulting sandals are a best-seller. Since the original navy blue and white Adilette sandals were created nearly fifty years ago, more varieties have been created in different colours (black, red, green, grey, orange, brown, yellow, pink, golden, silver). Most recently, Adidas has introduced a colour scheme that goes along with its Predator and adizero line; the scheme is dubbed warning (orange) and purple. Usually, the three stripes appear in the contrasting colour on the strap of the classic models. The most common Adilette livery is in navy blue or black, mixed with white colours. Also the Woodilette and Trefoil models follow a similar design but without stripes on the strap.


title: Adidas

text: The model provides a contoured orthopedic rubber sole with synthetic upper, and was designed as an after sport slide sandal, but the Adilette were quickly adopted outside of the sporting world.


title: Adidas

text: Adissage is also a slide sandal. Available in black, navy, light blue, black with pink, and other assorted colors, the sandal has the trademarked three stripes on a velcro strap toward the front of the shoe. On the side of the shoe, toward the heel on either side, the manufacturers name appears, as well as on a round emblem in the actual heel of the footbed. Notably, there are tiny black massage nubs throughout the foot-bed for the purpose of massaging foot aches after sport, although popular as a casual sandal amongst non-athletes as well.


title: Adidas

text: The Santiossage is a slide-style sandal. The sandal has the trademarked three stripes on a velcro strap toward the front of the shoe. Santiossage comes in black, navy, or red. On the side of the shoe, toward the heel on either side, the manufacturer's name appears, as well as on a round emblem in the actual heel of the foot-bed. Like the Adissage there are tiny clear massage nubs throughout the foot-bed for the purpose of massaging after-sport footaches, although the sandals are worn casually among non-athletes. Seen through these clear nubs are Adidas's three stripes.


title: Adidas

text: During the mid to late 1990s, Adidas divided the brand into three main groups with each a separate focus: Adidas Performance was designed to maintain their devotion to the athlete; Adidas Originals was designed to focus on the brand's earlier designs which remained a popular life-style icon; and Style Essentials, which dealt with the fashion market; the main group within this being Y-3 (which is a collaboration between Adidas and renowned Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto - the Y representing Yamamoto and the 3 representing the three stripes of Adidas).


title: Adidas

text: Launched in 2004, ""Impossible is Nothing"" is one of the company's most memorable campaigns. The campaign was developed by 180/TBWA based in Amsterdam, but significant work was also done by TBWA\Chiat\Day in San Francisco. A few years later, Adidas launched a basketball specific campaign -- ""Believe in 5ive""—for the 2006-2007 NBA season.


title: Adidas

text: In 2011, ""Adidas is all in"" became the global marketing strategy slogan for Adidas. The slogan aimed to tie all brands and labels together, presenting a unified image to consumers interested in sports, fashion, street, music and pop culture. There appears to be connection with the phrase "all-in" meaning "exhausted" in some English speaking nations.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas has done several collaborations with well known designers, including Alexander Wang, Jeremy Scott, Raf Simons, and Stella McCartney. They have also reached out to several celebrities, such as Beyoncé, Jonah Hill, Karlie Kloss, Ninja and Pharrell Williams to create some of the company's most notable and coveted pieces.


title: Adidas

text: The brand is featured in several games, including "Daley Thompson's Olympic Challenge" (Commodore Amiga), "Adidas power soccer" (Sony PlayStation) and "Adidas Championship Football" (Commodore 64, ZX spectrum, Amstrad CPC).


title: Adidas

text: India has been a very speculative market for Adidas. Despite this Dave Thomas, managing director of Adidas in India is ambitious for the country's potential. The company hoped to double its revenue from Rs. 805 crores by 2020. In 2015, the company signed Ranveer Singh a prominent Bollywood actor as a brand ambassador to the company's products. Ranveer then was a budding actor. The company later decided to use the people's almost religious adoration for the game of cricket to promote their brand. It soon launched a new cricket campaign in the country. The campaign was called FeelLoveUseHate with prominent Indian cricketer Virat Kohli. However, in 2017, Virat Kohli was removed as the brand ambassador of the company. The cricketer later signed a major deal with Puma India. The company also sells its products online through e-commerce websites such as Myntra, Snapdeal, Jabong and Amazon. Adidas also has a website dedicated to the Indian audience that markets and sells products to its consumers in India.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas has numerous major kit deals with football clubs worldwide, including their main sponsor Bayern München. Moreover, their sponsored national teams include Germany, Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Sweden, Japan, Hungary, Belgium, Colombia and Wales.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas has sponsored numerous players, including Lionel Messi, Zinedine Zidane, Kaká, David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Gareth Bale, Thomas Müller, Xavi, Mesut Özil, James Rodríguez, Iker Casillas, Arjen Robben, Paul Pogba, Dele Alli, Luis Suárez, Ivan Rakitić, Diego Costa, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Paulo Dybala, Mats Hummels and Manuel Neuer.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas is one of the official sponsors of the UEFA Champions League, and the Adidas Finale is the competition's official match ball. Along with the Adidas Predator boot, Adidas manufactures the adiPure range of football boots. Adidas provides clothing and equipment for all teams in Major League Soccer (MLS).


title: Adidas

text: In July 2014, Adidas and Manchester United agreed to a ten-year kit deal, beginning with the 2015–16 Premier League season. This kit deal has a guaranteed minimum value of £750 million (US$1.29 billion), making it the most valuable kit deal in sports history, and replaced rival Nike as the club's global equipment partner.


title: Adidas

text: In November 2009, World Number 4 tennis player Andy Murray was confirmed as Adidas's highest-paid star with a five-year contract reportedly worth US$24.5 million. In Cincinnati, at the ATP Tennis Tournament in Mason, they have also sponsored the ball-boy and ball-girl uniforms. Adidas is also partners with Malibu Tennis Camp, Green Fitness GmbH and with Schöler & Micke Sportartikel Vertriebs GmbH.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas has sponsored numerous basketball players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Chauncey Billups, Tim Duncan, Brandon Knight, Jeremy Lin, Tracy McGrady, Iman Shumpert and present players like James Harden, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, Candace Parker, Derrick Rose, John Wall and Trae Young. Adidas also endorsed Kobe Bryant with the Adidas Equipment KB8 as his first signature shoe until July 2002. The company also endorsed Kevin Garnett until he opted out of his contract in 2010. Gilbert Arenas was an Adidas endorser until 2010. In August 2015, James Harden left Nike for Adidas by signing a 13-year contract reportedly worth US$200 million.


title: Adidas

text: In rugby union, Adidas is the current kit supplier to the All Blacks, the France national team, the Italian national rugby team and the South African Stormers and Western Province rugby union teams among others. Adidas is also the New Zealand Rugby Union clothing sponsor and supplies clothing to all Super Rugby franchises, a selection of domestic teams and national referees. Adidas are also the official match ball supplier to the Heineken Cup. Adidas was the British and Irish Lions kit supplier from 1997 to 2013. They are the jersey manufacturers of the Gold Coast Titans Rugby League club in the Australasian National Rugby League. Dual rugby and league international and former boxer Sonny Bill Williams is a global ambassador for Adidas.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas has provided field hockey equipment and sponsors numerous players of Germany, England, Netherlands, Australia, Spain and Belgium. The company has been the kit provider of Argentine women's and men's teams for over 15 years. The company also sponsored clubs Reading, Beeston and East Grinstead.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas also sponsors pro golfers including Daniel Berger, Sergio García, Dustin Johnson, Danielle Kang, Collin Morikawa, Joaquín Niemann and Xander Schauffele. Since Adidas does not make golf equipment the sponsorship is more limited to clothing and shoes.


title: Adidas

text: In ice hockey, Adidas signed an agreement with National Hockey League (NHL) to be the official outfitter of uniforms and licensed apparel, starting in the 2017–18 season.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas's cricket sponsorships include cricketers Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and K. L. Rahul. Adidas's volleyball sponsorships include Ivan Zaytsev and Earvin N'Gapeth, who advertises as a model and brand ambassador for Adidas.


title: Adidas

text: In 2016, Adidas filed lawsuits against Skechers for making a duplicate Stan Smith design and for Adidas replicas such as "Springblade".


title: Adidas

text: Adidas's business practises/ethics and commitment to worker welfare have been scrutinised and often criticised.


title: Adidas

text: Unhappy with the local price of the Adidas replica All Blacks jersey, New Zealand-based All Blacks fans have asked for price cuts and begun purchasing the jersey from overseas vendors after it was revealed that the local price of NZ$220 was more than twice the price offered on some websites.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas has responded by enforcing cross-border agreements to stop overseas retailers from selling to New Zealand residents. It has been labelled a public relations disaster by leading New Zealand PR firms and Consumer advocate groups. The largest New Zealand sportswear retailer Rebel Sport has stated it is angry and is considering selling the All Blacks Jerseys to the general public below cost.


title: Adidas

text: On 14 June 2012, Adidas posted on their Facebook page a picture of a pair of Jeremy Scott-designed shoes containing shackles. The picture was of a planned shoe line that Adidas intended to release in July. The photo quickly caused controversy including that of Jesse Jackson who was quoted as saying "The attempt to commercialize and make popular more than 200 years of human degradation, where blacks were considered three-fifths human by our Constitution is offensive, appalling and insensitive". Jackson threatened a boycott, and NBA commissioner David Stern was at one point reportedly contacted in hopes that he would intervene. Shortly after the outcry, the company cancelled the product.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas has been criticized for operating sweatshops, particularly in Indonesia. Between 2006 and 2007, Adidas rejected many of its suppliers that supported unions in favour of subcontractors with worse labour rights records. By subcontracting work to different suppliers, it is more difficult for Adidas to ensure company labour standards are enforced. Adidas's policy includes the freedom for workers to take part in collective bargaining and a non-retaliation policy towards workers who express concerns. In practice, however, many of Adidas's suppliers have not upheld these standards. At the Panarub factory in Java, 33 workers were fired after striking for better pay in 2005. PT Kizone is another Indonesian factory where Adidas has been criticized over treatment of workers. They produced products for Adidas as well as Nike and the Dallas Cowboys until they closed in January 2011. 2,686 workers who were laid off are owed $3 million in severance pay and benefits. Nike has contributed $1.5 million but Adidas has not acted. A campaign has been initiated by United Students Against Sweatshops calling for universities to cut contracts with Adidas. On 16 July 2012, War on Want organised activists in London to replace Adidas price tags in sports stores with 34p ones, a reference to the low hourly wage rate paid to the Indonesian workers who make Adidas goods. The campaign group Labour Behind the Label claimed that the basic pay of Indonesian Adidas workers was only £10 a week. William Anderson, head of social and environmental affairs for the Asia Pacific region, posted an entry on the company blog in which he claimed that total wages including bonuses and overtime were often double the hourly wage, and drew attention to purchasing power parity.


title: Adidas

text: In April 2014, one of the biggest strikes on mainland China took place at the Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings Dongguan shoe factory, producing amongst others for Adidas.


title: Adidas

text: In 2022, researchers from Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences identified cotton from Xinjiang in Adidas shirts.


title: Adidas

text: In 2018, Adidas promoted a line of Soviet themed items. After a social media outcry, they were taken off the market.


title: Adidas

text: Adidas executive James Gatto was indicted in the 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball corruption scandal.


title: Adidas

text: In June 2020, the head of global human resources at Adidas voluntarily stepped down after black employees raised concerns about her failure to address racism and discrimination in the workplace. The former HR chief had also made a comment about racism being "noise," in addition to not adequately addressing workforce diversity. Upon her resignation, she made a statement saying that she supports the company's continued progress towards racial justice and offered an apology.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty; bassist Stu Cook; and drummer Doug Clifford. These members had played together since 1959, first as the Blue Velvets and later as the Golliwogs, before settling on Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1967.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: CCR's musical style encompassed roots rock, swamp rock, blues rock, Southern rock, and country rock, among others. Belying their origins in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area, the band often played in a Southern rock style, with lyrics about bayous, catfish, the Mississippi River and other elements of Southern United States iconography. The band's songs rarely dealt with romantic love, concentrating instead on political and socially conscious lyrics about topics such as the Vietnam War. The band's most prolific and successful period between 1969 and 1971 produced fourteen consecutive top 10 singles (many of which were double A-sides) and five consecutive top 10 albums in the United States – two of which, "Green River" (1969) and "Cosmo's Factory" (1970), reached number one. The band performed at the 1969 Woodstock festival in Upstate New York, and was the first major act signed to appear there.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: CCR disbanded acrimoniously in late 1972 after four years of chart-topping success. Tom Fogerty had left the previous year, and John was at odds with the remaining members over matters of business and artistic control, all of which resulted in lawsuits among the former bandmates. Fogerty's disagreements with Fantasy Records owner Saul Zaentz led to more court cases and John Fogerty refused to perform with the two other surviving members at Creedence's 1993 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Though the band has never officially reunited, John Fogerty continues to perform CCR songs as part of his solo act, while Cook and Clifford have performed as Creedence Clearwater "Revisited" since the 1990s.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: CCR's music remains a staple of U.S. classic rock radio airplay; 28 million CCR records have been sold in the U.S. alone. The compilation album "", originally released in 1976, is still on the "Billboard" 200 album chart and reached the 500-weeks mark in December 2020. It has been awarded 10× platinum.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: John Fogerty, Doug Clifford, and Stu Cook met at Portola Junior High School in El Cerrito, California. Calling themselves the "Blue Velvets", the trio played instrumentals and "jukebox standards", and backed John's older brother Tom at recordings and performances before he joined the band. The band had also released three singles, the second of which was picked up by Casey Kasem, who worked at KEWB, Oakland. In 1964 they signed with Fantasy Records, an independent jazz label in San Francisco. The band was attracted to the label after hearing a recording by Vince Guaraldi called "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" which the label had released to national success.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: For the band's first release, Fantasy co-owner Max Weiss renamed the group The Golliwogs (after the children's literary character Golliwog). Prior to the Golliwog name, Weiss had renamed them to Vision. Bandmembers' roles changed during this period: Cook switched from piano to bass guitar and Tom Fogerty from lead vocals to rhythm guitar; John became the band's lead vocalist and primary songwriter. In Tom's words: "I could sing, but John had a sound!"


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: In 1966, John Fogerty and Doug Clifford were conscripted into the U.S. armed forces; Fogerty joined the U.S. Army Reserve while Clifford joined the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. Speaking of his experience in the US Army Fogerty has said: "I would become delirious and go into a trance. And I started narrating this story to myself, which was the song 'Porterville'." John Fogerty eventually took control of the group by singing lead vocals, and blossoming into a multi-instrumentalist who played keyboards, harmonica, and saxophone in addition to lead guitar. By 1967, he was producing the group's recordings.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: In 1967, Saul Zaentz bought Fantasy Records and offered the band a chance to record a full-length album. Having hated the name "The Golliwogs" from day one, the band decided on their own name, Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), which they took in January 1968. According to interviews with band members twenty years later, the name's elements came from three sources: Tom Fogerty's friend Credence Newball, whose name they changed to form the word "Creedence" (as in creed); a television commercial for Olympia Brewing Company ("clear water"); and the four members' renewed commitment to their band. Rejected contenders for the band's name included "Muddy Rabbit", "Gossamer Wump", and "Creedence Nuball and the Ruby"; however, the last was the starting point from which the band derived their final name. Cook described the name as "weirder than Buffalo Springfield or Jefferson Airplane". In early 1968, the band began appearing regularly at local San Francisco area clubs and venues including Deno and Carlo's, the Avalon Ballroom, and the Fillmore West. Later that year, the band began touring nationally across the US and made their first appearances in New York City at the Fillmore East.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: By 1968, AM radio programmers around the U.S. took note when CCR's cover of the 1956 rockabilly song "Susie Q" received substantial airplay in the San Francisco Bay Area and on Chicago's WLS-AM. It was the band's second single, its first to reach the Top 40 (No. 11), and its only Top 40 hit not written by John Fogerty. Two other singles were released from their May 1968 debut self titled album: a cover of Screamin' Jay Hawkins's "I Put a Spell on You" (No. 58) and "Porterville" (released on the Scorpio label with writing credited to "T. Spicebush Swallowtail"), written during Fogerty's time in the Army Reserve.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: After their breakthrough, CCR began touring and started work on their second album, "Bayou Country" (released January 1969), at RCA Studios in Los Angeles. A No. 7 platinum hit, the record was their first in a string of hit albums and singles that continued uninterrupted for two years. The single "Proud Mary", backed with "Born on the Bayou", reached No. 2 on the national "Billboard" chart. The former would eventually become the group's most-covered song, with some 100 versions by other artists to date, including the No. 4 1971 hit by Ike & Tina Turner, two years to the week after the original peaked. John cites this song as being the result of high spirits on gaining his discharge from the Army Reserve. The album also featured a remake of the rock & roll classic "Good Golly, Miss Molly" and the band's nine-minute live-show closer, "Keep On Chooglin'".


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: Months later, during April 1969, "Bad Moon Rising" backed with "Lodi", was released and peaked at No. 2 in the US. In the United Kingdom, "Bad Moon Rising" spent three weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart during September and October 1969, becoming the band's only number one single in the UK. The band's third album, "Green River", followed in August 1969, was their first album to top the Billboard 200, and went gold along with the single "Green River", which again reached No. 2 on the Billboard charts. The B-side of "Green River", "Commotion", peaked at No. 30 and the band's emphasis on remakes of their old favorites continued with "Night Time Is the Right Time". CCR continued to tour constantly with performances in July 1969 at the Atlanta Pop Festival and in August 1969 at the Woodstock Festival. Their set was not included in the Woodstock film or soundtrack because John felt the band's performance was subpar. Four tracks from the event (out of a total of eleven) were eventually included in the 1994 commemorative box set "". Cook, however, held an opposing view, saying, "The performances are classic CCR and I'm still amazed by the number of people who don't even know we were one of the headliners at Woodstock '69." John later complained the act that preceded them, the Grateful Dead, had put the audience to sleep; as John scanned the audience he saw a "Dante scene, just bodies from hell, all intertwined and asleep, covered with mud".


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: After Woodstock, CCR were busy honing material for a fourth album, "Willy and the Poor Boys", their second top 3 LP, released in November 1969. "Down on the Corner" and "Fortunate Son", both of which they performed on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on November 16, 1969, climbed to No. 3 and No. 14, respectively, by year's end. The album was CCR in standard mode, featuring Fogerty originals and two reworked Lead Belly covers, "Cotton Fields" and "Midnight Special". The year 1969 had been a remarkable chart year for the band: three Top Ten albums, four hit singles (charting at No. 2, No. 2, No. 2, and No. 3) with three additional charting B-sides.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: CCR released another double A-side hit, "Travelin' Band"/"Who'll Stop the Rain", in January 1970. The speedy "Travelin' Band", with a strong Little Richard sound, however, bore enough similarities to "Good Golly, Miss Molly" to warrant a lawsuit by the song's publisher; it was eventually settled out of court. The song ultimately topped out at No. 2. The band also recorded its January 31, 1970, live performance at the Oakland Coliseum Arena, which would later be marketed as a live album and television special. In February, CCR were featured on the cover of "Rolling Stone", although only John was interviewed in the accompanying article.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: In April 1970, CCR were set to begin their first European tour. To support the upcoming live dates, John wrote "Up Around the Bend" and "Run Through the Jungle"; the single reached No. 4 that spring. The band returned to Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco in June to record "Cosmo's Factory". The album contained the earlier Top 10 hits "Travelin' Band" and "Up Around the Bend" plus popular album tracks such as the opener "Ramble Tamble".


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: "Cosmo's Factory" was released in July 1970, and it was number one in the US for nine weeks. It was released along with the band's fifth and final No. 2 national hit, "Lookin' Out My Back Door"/"Long as I Can See the Light". Although they topped some international charts and local radio countdowns, CCR have the distinction of having had five No. 2 singles without ever having had a No. 1 on the Hot 100, the most of any group. Their five No. 2 singles were exceeded only by Madonna, Taylor Swift, and Drake with six each, and tied with Elvis Presley and the Carpenters. Conversely, on station WLS-AM the band had three No. 1's, four No. 3's, and two No. 4's, but no No. 2 singles, with "Down on the Corner" the only top ten CCR single registering the same peak position (No. 3) on the Hot 100 and on WLS.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: Other cuts on the "Cosmo's Factory" album included an 11-minute jam of the 1968 Marvin Gaye "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (a minor hit when an edited version was released as a single in 1976), and a nearly note-for-note homage to Roy Orbison's "Ooby Dooby". The album was their biggest seller and went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album charts and No. 11 on "Billboard's" Soul Albums chart.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: "Pendulum", released in December 1970, was another top seller, spawning a Top 10 hit with "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?" John included Hammond B3 Organ on many of the "Pendulum" tracks, notably "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?", in recognition of the deep respect and influence of Booker T. & the M.G.'s, with whom the members of the band had jammed. The single's flip side, "Hey Tonight", was also a hit.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: Around this time, an overwhelming perception among other band members that John was being overly controlling and domineering within the group was approaching a boiling point. Tom Fogerty decided he had enough and resigned from CCR in early 1971 after the recording of "Pendulum"; his departure was made public the following February. At first, the remaining members considered replacing him but ultimately continued as a trio.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: In the spring of 1971, John Fogerty, frustrated with his remaining bandmates' constant complaining that they were not allowed to write and produce their own songs, did an about-face and informed Cook and Clifford that CCR would continue only by adopting a "democratic" approach: each member would now write and perform his own material, with each band member contributing three songs apiece to the next album. Fogerty would only contribute guitar parts to his bandmates' songs.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: There are conflicting views regarding Cook and Clifford's reaction to this proposed new arrangement, though all parties seem to acknowledge that Cook and Clifford had wanted more input in CCR's artistic and business decisions. For his part, Fogerty recounts that Cook and Clifford were initially excited about this new opportunity to write and perform their own songs free of his meddling, as they had been the ones who asked for it in the first place, and that they only soured on the concept after the record's lack of success (although, Fogerty also mentions a time while recording the album when he refused Cook's request to "fix" one of his (Cook's) songs to make it sound more like other Creedence material, which may have also played a role in the band members' attitudes toward the project). However, other sources imply that Cook and Clifford were resistant to this approach from the start. Allegedly, Fogerty at one point insisted they accept the arrangement or he would quit the band. Despite the conflict, the trio put its new work ethic to the test in the studio, releasing the Top 10 single "Sweet Hitch-Hiker" in July 1971, backed with Cook's "Door To Door". The band toured both the U.S. and Europe that Summer and Autumn, with Cook's song a part of the live set. In spite of their continuing commercial success, however, relations among the three had become increasingly strained.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: The band's final album, "Mardi Gras", was released in April 1972, featuring songs written by John Fogerty, Cook, and Clifford, as well as a cover of "Hello Mary Lou" (a song Gene Pitney had originally written for Ricky Nelson). Each member sang lead vocal on the songs written by that member. The album was a critical failure, considered by critics to be of inconsistent quality and lacking in cohesion. "Rolling Stone" reviewer Jon Landau deemed it "the worst album I have ever heard from a major rock band". The sales of "Mardi Gras" were weaker than previous albums, ultimately peaking at No. 12, though it still became the band's seventh consecutive studio album to be certified Gold. Fogerty's "Someday Never Comes", backed with Clifford's "Tearin' Up the Country", also cracked the U.S. Top 40.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: By this point, Fogerty was not only at direct odds with his bandmates, but he had also come to see the group's relationship with Fantasy Records as onerous, feeling that Zaentz had reneged on his promise to give the band a better contract. Cook—who held a degree in business—claimed that because of poor judgment on Fogerty's part, CCR had to abide by the worst record deal of any major U.S. recording artist. Despite the relatively poor reception of "Mardi Gras" and deteriorated relationships among the remaining band members, CCR embarked upon a two-month, 20-date U.S. tour. However, on October 16, 1972—less than six months after the tour ended—Fantasy Records and the band officially announced its disbanding. CCR never formally reunited after the breakup, although Cook and Clifford eventually started the band Creedence Clearwater Revisited. John Fogerty later commented on the demise of CCR in a 1997 edition of the Swedish magazine "Pop":


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: In 1973, John Fogerty began his solo career with "The Blue Ridge Rangers", his one-man band collection of country and gospel songs. Under his old CCR contract, however, Fogerty owed Fantasy eight more records. In the end, he refused to work for the label. The impasse was resolved only when Asylum Records' David Geffen bought Fogerty's contract for $1 million. In 1975 he released his only Asylum album, the self-titled "John Fogerty". His next major hit was "Centerfield", a chart-topping success in 1985. On tour in 1986, however, Fogerty suffered complaints over his steadfast refusal to perform CCR songs and suffered with recurring vocal problems which he blamed on having to testify in court. Fogerty's explanation for not playing CCR material was that he would have had to pay performance royalties to copyright holder Zaentz, and that it was "too painful" to revisit the music of his past.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: With the "Centerfield" album, Fogerty also found himself entangled in new, tit-for-tat lawsuits with Zaentz over the song "The Old Man Down The Road" which was, according to Zaentz, a blatant re-write of Fogerty's own 1970 CCR hit "Run Through the Jungle". Since Fogerty had traded his rights to CCR's songs in 1980 to cancel his remaining contractual obligations, Fantasy now owned the rights to "Run Through the Jungle" and sued Fogerty essentially for plagiarizing himself. While a jury ruled in Fogerty's favor, he did settle a defamation suit filed by Zaentz over the songs "Mr. Greed" and "Zanz Kant Danz". Fogerty was forced to edit the recording, changing the "Zanz" reference to "Vanz".


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: On February 19, 1987, at the Palomino Club (North Hollywood) in Los Angeles, Fogerty broke his self-imposed ban on performing CCR hits. Bob Dylan and George Harrison (along with Taj Mahal and Jesse Ed Davis) had joined him onstage, admonishing, "If you don't, the whole world's gonna think 'Proud Mary' is Tina Turner's song." At a 1987 Independence Day benefit concert for Vietnam veterans, Fogerty finally ran through the list of CCR hits, beginning with "Born on the Bayou" and ending with "Proud Mary". In 1986 he also released his second Warner Bros. album, "Eye of the Zombie". Fogerty retreated from music again in the late 1980s but returned in 1997 with the Grammy-winning "Blue Moon Swamp". Fogerty still tours frequently and now does perform CCR classics alongside solo material.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: Tom Fogerty released several solo albums, though none reached the success of CCR. His 1974 solo album "Zephyr National" was the last to feature the four original CCR band members. Several tracks sound very much like the CCR style, particularly the aptly titled "Joyful Resurrection" on which all four members played, even though John Fogerty recorded his part separately.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: Tom Fogerty died at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona, in September 1990 of an AIDS complication, which he contracted via a tainted blood transfusion he received while undergoing back surgery. Tom and John barely reconciled before Tom's death, and in the eulogy that he delivered at Tom's funeral, John said, "We wanted to grow up and be musicians. I guess we achieved half of that, becoming rock 'n roll stars. We didn't necessarily grow up".


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: Junior high school friends Doug Clifford and Stu Cook continued to work together following the demise of CCR both as session players and members of the Don Harrison Band. They also founded Factory Productions, a mobile recording service in the Bay Area. Clifford released a solo record, "Cosmo", in 1972. Cook produced artist Roky Erickson's "The Evil One" and was a bassist with the popular country act Southern Pacific in the 1980s.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: Clifford also produced "Groovers Paradise" for former Sir Douglas Quintet and Texas Tornados frontman Doug Sahm. Both Clifford and Cook played on the album which was released on Warner Bros. in 1974. Clifford continued to perform and record with Sahm through the 1980s.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: Following a relatively long period of musical inactivity, Cook and Clifford formed Creedence Clearwater Revisited in 1995 with several well-known musicians. Revisited continues to tour globally performing the original band's classics. John's 1997 injunction forced Creedence Clearwater Revisited to temporarily change its name to "Cosmo's Factory", but the courts later ruled in Cook's and Clifford's favor.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: After CCR, Fantasy Records released several greatest-hits packages such as 1972's "Creedence Gold", 1973's "More Creedence Gold" and 1975's "Pre-Creedence", a compilation album of the Golliwogs' early recordings. Fantasy also released the highly successful double album "", a collection of Creedence's twenty hit singles, in 1976. Several years later, the label released a live recording entitled "The Royal Albert Hall Concert". Contrary to its title, the 1970 performance was recorded in Oakland, California, not at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Subsequent issues of the original 1981 album have been retitled simply "The Concert". Another double album of their best material was issued in 1986 as "".


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: The success of CCR made Fantasy and Zaentz a great deal of money, and Fantasy built a new headquarters building in 1971 at 2600 Tenth Street in Berkeley, California. Zaentz also used his wealth to produce a number of successful films, including Best Picture Oscar winners "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", "Amadeus", and "The English Patient". In 2004, he sold Fantasy to Concord Records. As a goodwill gesture, Concord honored the unfulfilled contractual promises Fantasy made nearly forty years earlier, finally paying CCR a higher royalty rate on their sales and restoring John's ownership of his songs.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: John, seeing that Zaentz was no longer involved with the company, also signed a new contract with Concord/Fantasy. In 2005, the label released "The Long Road Home", a collection of CCR and Fogerty solo classics. After "Revival" came out on the Fantasy label in October 2007 but before his following album "Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again" (a sequel to his 1973 album) was issued in 2009, Fogerty switched from Fantasy to his own label, Fortunate Son Records, distributed by Verve Forecast Records.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: The original CCR lineup rarely reunited after their breakup. All four members are present on Tom's 1974 album "Myopia", and later at his wedding on October 19, 1980. John, Cook, and Clifford played at their 20th El Cerrito High School reunion in 1983, but as their original incarnation, the Blue Velvets. In the 1980s and 1990s, new rounds of lawsuits between the band members, as well as against their former management, deepened their animosities. By the time CCR was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, John refused to perform with Cook and Clifford. The pair were barred from the stage, while John played with an all-star band that included Bruce Springsteen and Robbie Robertson. Tom's widow Tricia had expected a CCR reunion and even brought the urn containing her husband's ashes to the ceremony. Furious, Cook and Clifford, who were seated with their families at a table across the room from Fogerty's, walked out of the ballroom just as the performance began, and would later write separate letters to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's board of directors, saying it was "hurtful" and "insulting" to allow the performance to continue without them.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: In a July 2011 interview with the "Calgary Herald", John admitted that he would at least be willing to consider reuniting with Cook and Clifford:


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: When asked again in October 2011 about the prospect of a reunion, he said: "I'm saying it's possible, yeah. I think the call [laughs] would maybe have to come from outside the realm. Somebody would have to get me to look at things in a fresh way." However, Cook and Clifford both stated in the February 2012 edition of "Uncut" magazine that they are not interested in a CCR reunion. "Leopards don't change their spots. This is just an image-polishing exercise by John. My phone certainly hasn't rung", Cook said. Added Clifford: "It might have been a nice idea twenty years ago, but it's too late."


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: In May 2013, Fogerty once again said he would be open to a reunion, but he does not see Cook and Clifford being willing to change their stance. He told Charlie Rose on "CBS This Morning": "From time to time, I'll say something and it'll get in print that maybe that will happen, and then immediately I'll hear back stuff that doesn't sound like it's possible. ... I think it's a possibility in the future, you know. It's not something I'm actively seeking, but I'm not totally against the idea either." In September 2017 Clifford again ruled out any chance of Cook and himself reuniting with John, restating, "It would have been great twenty, twenty-five years ago. It's way too late now."


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: CCR's catalog of songs has frequently been used or referenced in popular culture, partly because John Fogerty signed away legal control of his old recordings to the band's record label, Fantasy Records. In an NPR interview, Fogerty objected to what he regarded as a misuse of his music:


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: Of particular interest was the use of his protest song "Fortunate Son" in a blue jeans commercial. In this case, the advertiser eventually stopped using the song, as Fogerty related in a later interview:


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: In 2003, "Rolling Stone"s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list included "Green River" at number 95, "Cosmo's Factory" at number 265, and "Willy and the Poor Boys" at number 392. And in 2004, on their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, "Rolling Stone" included "Fortunate Son" at number 99, "Proud Mary" at number 155, "Who'll Stop the Rain" at number 188, and "Bad Moon Rising" at number 355.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: "Fortunate Son" was added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important" in 2013.


title: Creedence Clearwater Revival

text: "Fortunate Son", "Proud Mary", and "Cosmo's Factory" have all been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. "Proud Mary" is ranked at number 39 on VH1's "100 Greatest Rock Songs" list. "Bad Moon Rising" is ranked at number 363 on NME's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list.


title: Taliban

text: The Taliban (; or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pashtun nationalist political movement in Afghanistan. It ruled approximately three-quarters of the country from 1996 to 2001, before being overthrown following the United States invasion. It recaptured Kabul on 15 August 2021 after nearly 20 years of insurgency, and currently controls all of the country, although its government has not yet been recognized by any country. The Taliban government has been criticized for restricting human rights in Afghanistan, including the right of women and girls to work and to have an education.


title: Taliban

text: The Taliban emerged in September 1994 as one of the prominent factions in the Afghan Civil War and largely consisted of students () from the Pashtun areas of eastern and southern Afghanistan who had been educated in traditional Islamic schools (). Under the leadership of Mohammed Omar Mujahid (), the movement spread throughout most of Afghanistan, shifting power away from the Mujahideen warlords. In 1996, the group administered roughly three-quarters of the country, and established the First Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with the Afghan capital transferred to Kandahar from Kabul. The Taliban's government was opposed by the Northern Alliance militia, which seized parts of northeast Afghanistan and largely maintained international recognition as a continuation of the interim Islamic State of Afghanistan. The Taliban held control of most of the country until being overthrown after the United States invasion of Afghanistan in December 2001. Subsequently, the Taliban launched an insurgency to fight the United States–backed Karzai administration and the NATO–led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the War in Afghanistan.


title: Taliban

text: The mass persecutions of Taliban members left the group weakened and many ultimately fled to neighboring Pakistan. In May 2002, exiled members formed the Council of Leaders () based in the city of Quetta. They soon gained strength in the country and reportedly galvanized support from and unofficially established a political office in Qatar in 2012. Under Hìbatullah Akhundzada's leadership, in May 2021, the Taliban began a military offensive, and soon seized control of several areas from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Following the Fall of Kabul on 15 August 2021, the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan and established the Islamic Emirate once again.


title: Taliban

text: During their rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban enforced a strict interpretation of "Sharia", or Islamic law, and were widely condemned for massacres against Afghan civilians, harsh discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities, denial of UN food supplies to starving civilians, destruction of cultural monuments, banning of women from school and most employment, and prohibition of most music. Following their return to power in 2021, the Afghanistan government budget has lost 80% of its funding, food insecurity is widespread and Taliban leaders urged the United States and other countries to recognize its régime. The Taliban returned Afghanistan to many policies implemented under its previous rule, including requiring women to wear head-to-toe coverings such as the burqa, blocking women from travelling without male guardians, and preventing women from attending school past 6th grade.


title: Taliban

text: The word "Taliban" is Pashto, (), meaning 'students', the plural of . This is a loanword from Arabic (), using the Pashto plural ending "-ān" . (In Arabic () means not 'students' but rather 'two students', as it is a dual form, the Arabic plural being ()—occasionally causing some confusion to Arabic speakers.) Since becoming a loanword in English, "Taliban", besides a plural noun referring to the group, has also been used as a singular noun referring to an individual. For example, John Walker Lindh has been referred to as "an American Taliban", rather than "an American Talib" in domestic media. This is different in Afghanistan, where a member or a supporter of the group is referred to as a "Talib" (طالب) or its plural "Talib-ha" (طالبها). In other definitions, Taliban means 'seekers'.


title: Taliban

text: In English, the spelling "Taliban" has gained predominance over the spelling "Taleban". In American English, the definite article is used, the group is referred to as "the Taliban", rather than "Taliban". In English-language media in Pakistan, the definite article is always omitted. Both Pakistani and Indian English-language media tend to name the group "Afghan Taliban", thus distinguishing it from the Pakistani Taliban. Additionally, in Pakistan, the word "Talibans" is often used when referring to more than one Taliban member.


title: Taliban

text: In Afghanistan, the Taliban is frequently called the (), Dari term which means 'Taliban group'. As per Dari/Persian grammar, there is no "the" prefix. Meanwhile, in Pashto, a determiner is normally used and as a result, the group is normally referred to as per Pashto grammar: () or ().


title: Taliban

text: After the Soviet Union intervened and occupied Afghanistan in 1979, Islamic mujahideen fighters waged a war against Soviet forces. During the Soviet–Afghan War, nearly all of the Taliban's original leaders had fought for either the Hezb-i Islami Khalis or the Harakat-i Inqilab-e Islami factions of the Mujahideen.


title: Taliban

text: Pakistan's President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq feared that the Soviets were also planning to invade Balochistan, Pakistan, so he sent Akhtar Abdur Rahman to Saudi Arabia to garner support for the Afghan resistance against Soviet occupation forces. A while later, the US CIA and the Saudi Arabian General Intelligence Directorate (GID) funnelled funding and equipment through the Pakistani Inter-Service Intelligence Agency (ISI) to the Afghan mujahideen. About 90,000 Afghans, including Mohammed Omar, were trained by Pakistan's ISI during the 1980s.


title: Taliban

text: In April 1992, after the fall of the Soviet-backed régime of Mohammad Najibullah, many Afghan political parties agreed on a peace and power-sharing agreement, the Peshawar Accord, which created the Islamic State of Afghanistan and appointed an interim government for a transitional period. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin, Hezbe Wahdat, and Ittihad-i Islami did not participate. The state was paralysed from the start, due to rival groups contending for total power over Kabul and Afghanistan.


title: Taliban

text: Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin party refused to recognise the interim government, and in April infiltrated Kabul to take power for itself, thus starting this civil war. In May, Hekmatyar started attacks against government forces and Kabul. Hekmatyar received operational, financial and military support from Pakistan's ISI. With that help, Hekmatyar's forces were able to destroy half of Kabul. Iran assisted the Hezbe Wahdat forces of Abdul Ali Mazari. Saudi Arabia supported the Ittihad-i Islami faction. The conflict between these militias also escalated into war.


title: Taliban

text: Due to this sudden initiation of civil war, working government departments, police units or a system of justice and accountability for the newly created Islamic State of Afghanistan did not have time to form. Atrocities were committed by individuals inside different factions. Ceasefires, negotiated by representatives of the Islamic State's newly appointed Defense Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud, President Sibghatullah Mojaddedi and later President Burhanuddin Rabbani (the interim government), or officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), commonly collapsed within days. The countryside in northern Afghanistan, parts of which were under the control of Defense Minister Massoud, remained calm and some reconstruction took place. The city of Herat under the rule of Islamic State ally Ismail Khan also witnessed relative calm. Meanwhile, southern Afghanistan was neither under the control of foreign-backed militias nor the government in Kabul, but was ruled by local leaders such as Gul Agha Sherzai and their militias.


title: Taliban

text: The Taliban are a movement of religious students ("talib") from the Pashtun areas of eastern and southern Afghanistan who were educated in traditional Islamic schools. There were also Tajik and Uzbek students, demarking them from the more ethnic-centric mujahideen groups "which played a key role in the Taliban's rapid growth and success."


title: Taliban

text: In September 1994, Mullah Mohammad Omar and 50 students founded the group in his hometown of Kandahar.


title: Taliban

text: Since 1992, Omar had been studying in the Sang-i-Hisar madrassa in Maiwand (northern Kandahar Province). He was unhappy because Islamic law had not been installed in Afghanistan after the ousting of communist rule, and now, he and his group pledged to rid Afghanistan of warlords and criminals. Many of the students, involved in the formation of Taliban, were former commanders in the Afghan-Soviet War.


title: Taliban

text: Within months, 15,000 students in Pakistan, mostly Afghan refugees who were studying in religious schools or madrasas (or as one source calls them Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-run madrasas) joined the group.


title: Taliban

text: In an effort to aid the anti-Soviet insurgency and inculcate a hatred of foreign invaders in Afghan children, the US government covertly distributed schoolbooks which promoted militant Islamic teachings and included images of weapons and soldiers. The Taliban used the American textbooks but they scratched out the images of human faces which were contained in them in keeping with their strict aniconistic and fundamentalist interpretation of Islam. The United States Agency for International Development gave millions of dollars to the University of Nebraska at Omaha in the 1980s and the university used the money to fund the writing and the publishing of the textbooks in local languages.


title: Taliban

text: The early Taliban were motivated by the suffering of the Afghan people, which they believed was being caused by the power struggles which were being waged by rival Afghan groups which were not adhering to the moral code of Islam; in their religious schools, they had been taught to believe that they should strictly adhere to Islamic law.


title: Taliban

text: Sources state that Pakistan was heavily involved, already in October 1994, in "creating" of the Taliban. Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI), strongly supporting the Taliban in 1994, hoped for a new ruling power in Afghanistan favourable to Pakistan. Even if the Taliban received financial support from Pakistan in 1995 and 1996, and even if "Pakistani support was forthcoming from an early stage of the Taliban movement's existence, the connection was fragile and statements from both the Pakistani ISI as well as the Taliban early on demonstrated the uneasy nature of the relationship. The ISI and Pakistan aimed to exert control, while the Taliban leadership manoeuvred between keeping its independence and sustaining support." The main supporters in Pakistan were General Naseerullah Babar, who mainly thought in terms of geopolitics (opening trade routes to Central Asia), and Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), as "the group represented Deobandism and aimed to counter the influence of the Jama’at-e Islami and growing Wahhabism."


title: Taliban

text: On 3 November 1994, the Taliban, in a surprise attack, conquered Kandahar City. Before 4 January 1995, they controlled 12 Afghan provinces. Militias controlling the different areas often surrendered without a fight. Omar's commanders were a mixture of former small-unit military commanders and madrassa teachers. At these stages, the Taliban were popular because they stamped out corruption, curbed lawlessness, and made the roads and area safe.