title: Teen patti

text: The order of ranking from highest (defined by highest card in the sequence) to lowest is:A-K-Q, A-2-3, K-Q-J, Q-J-10, and so on down to 4-3-2. A wraparound (K-A-2) is not considered a straight flush, but is a valid flush.


title: Teen patti

text: Three consecutive cards not all in the same suit. A straight is also referred as a round or sequence.


title: Teen patti

text: The highest to lowest ranking is (as with straight flushes): A-K-Q, A-2-3, K-Q-J, Q-J-10 and so on down to 4-3-2. As with straight flushes, K-A-2 is not a valid hand.


title: Teen patti

text: All the 3 cards are of same suit. If two players both have flushes, the player with the high card wins; if they match, then the next highest card is compared, then the third card if needed. If two players have the same card values, then the hands are ranked by suit, with spades first and clubs last.


title: Teen patti

text: Two cards of the same rank. Between two pairs, the one with the higher value is the winner. If the pairs are of equal value, the value of the third card decides the winner. Therefore the lowest pair is 2-2-3 and the highest is A-A-K.


title: Teen patti

text: If two players share a common high card, then rest of the cards are compared based upon their values.


title: Teen patti

text: The probabilities of the various ranking combinations are described below. All these probabilities are described for 52-card "teen patti", without the two Joker cards. In Joker versions, the probabilities change widely, most importantly for pairs.


title: Teen patti

text: There are 52 cards in the deck. The sequence in which the cards are dealt does not matter, it is the combination of the three cards that matters. The total number of combinations of any elements, taken r at a time, from a set of n elements is given by the combination formula nCvar>r (codice_1 in Microsoft Excel and compatible spreadsheets). Thus, the total number of three-card hands, from a deck of 52 cards, is calculated by the formula 52C3 = 22,100.


title: Teen patti

text: Although the probability of being dealt a pure sequence is slightly less than that of a trio, trios are considered higher hands in most versions of the game. Because of this variance from strict rarity, a popular house rule is to treat 2-3-5 of the same suit as a straight flush, thereby increasing the number of possible straight flushes to 52, the same as a trio, bringing the probabilities even.


title: Teen patti

text: Similar to lowball in poker, the rankings of the card combinations are reversed: The least ranking combination has the highest rank and vice versa.


title: Teen patti

text: Example: If A-Q-3 and A-K-2 are compared in normal game A-K-2 is the winner <both have A but K is higher than Q> but in lowball A-Q-3 is the winner <both have A but Q is lower than K>. 3-2-5 is the best hand in this game.


title: Teen patti

text: The dealer pulls out one card at random after dealing and nominates all other cards of the same rank as wild cards.


title: Teen patti

text: Each player's lowest-ranking card (and all other cards of that same rank) are wild cards in that player's hand only. If the two lowest cards are a pair then that pair is considered as two wild cards.


title: Teen patti

text: Each player's highest-ranking card (and all other cards of that same rank) are wild cards in that player's hand only. If the two highest cards are a pair then that pair is considered as two wild cards.


title: Teen patti

text: Each player is dealt four cards and the two lowest cards taken together forms a virtual wild card in that player's hand only. If the two lowest cards are a pair then that pair may be considered as a single wild card. In this version, if the two middle rank cards are a pair, then the player does not have any wild cards.


title: Teen patti

text: The dealer pulls out one card at random after dealing and nominates all other cards of the same rank as bust cards. Any player holding any of the bust cards has to fold.


title: Teen patti

text: This variation is similar to stud poker. Each player receives a preset mix of combination of face-down and face-up cards. The cards dealt face down to each individual player are called hole cards (which in poker gave rise to the common English expression "ace in the hole", suggesting that one has something valuable that is not apparent to others). The cards dealt face-up are called street cards.


title: Teen patti

text: Different versions in this variation include three-card stud, where each player is dealt two face-down cards and one face-up card, and five-card stud (not to be confused with the poker variant of the same name), where each player is dealt two face-down cards and three face-up cards; some versions of five-card may require players to compulsorily select one face-down cards and any two face-up cards to make a three-card hand.


title: Teen patti

text: Players are dealt an incomplete hand of face-down cards, and then a number of face-up community cards are dealt to the center of the table, each of which can be used by one or more of the players to make a three-card hand. This variant was inspired by Texas hold 'em poker.


title: Teen patti

text: A complete hand is dealt to each player and, usually before (or after, but not both) betting, players are allowed to change their hand by discarding unwanted cards and being dealt new ones. Players may have to "purchase"/"buy" the new cards by putting a prearranged amount into the pot for each new card. Another version of draw allows players up to three chances to buy and change their hand, one card at a time, in the first three rounds of betting.


title: Teen patti

text: In traditional "teen patti" games, the player with the best traditional hand wins the whole pot. Lowball variations award the pot to the lowest hand. High-low split games are those in which the pot is divided between the player with the best traditional hand (called the high hand) and the player with the low hand. In this variation, there could be multiple players remaining in play at "show," unlike the traditional or lowball where there are usually only two players left at show. There are no sideshows and players may opt out from betting by folding. Usually there are three or four mutually agreed upon rounds of betting where no player opts out, before having the showdown. Also, there is a limit of six-to-ten rounds of betting at the end of which there is a compulsory showdown.


title: Teen patti

text: There are two common methods for playing high-low split games, called "declaration" and "cards speak". In a declaration game, each player declares (verbally or using markers such as chips) whether he wishes to contest for the high hand or the low hand. The lowest hand among those who declared low wins that half of the pot, and the highest hand among those who declared high wins that half. In a cards speak game, all players simply reveal their cards at show and the hands are evaluated by all players; high hand wins half of the pot and low hand wins the other half.


title: Teen patti

text: In the event more than one player ties for either high or low, the pot can be further split into quarters or smaller fractions. For example, if one player has the high hand on show and two other players tie for the best low hand, the high hand wins half of the pot and each low hand wins only a quarter of the pot.


title: Teen patti

text: It is common, especially in cards speak games, to require a certain hand value or better to win the low half of the pot, called a "qualifier". For example in an "eight or better to qualify low" game, a player with an eight-high hand (or lower such as seven-high) is entitled to win the low half of the pot (assuming his hand defeats all other low hands), but a player with a 10-high or 9-high hand cannot win, even if his hand is the lowest. In this case, the high hand wins the entire pot. There is generally no qualifier to win high, although one common variant is "any pair/no pair", where a hand of at least a pair is required to win high and any hand with no pair is required to win low.


title: Teen patti

text: Five cards are distributed to each player. In this version, a player can make three types of "virtual" wild/joker cards:


title: Teen patti

text: A player can make any combination of the above three as a part of their game and consider it as virtual wild card, but a player can use each type of combination only once in a hand. For example, a player may end up having one individual card, a kiss, and a miss), while another might have an individual card plus a kiss and a bliss, but it would not be possible to use two kisses with an individual card.


title: Teen patti

text: Each player is dealt a single card. All players put in a pre-determined amount into the pot. All players, without seeing, pick their card and place it on their forehead. This way, each player can see everyone else's cards. No player can see their own card. This variation is usually played as the very last hand of the game.


title: Teen patti

text: Each player is dealt three or four cards. In this variation, any king or jack who has a side profile and only one eye visible (e.g., the king of diamonds, the jack of spades) is considered a wild card. This round generally begins when someone gets a trio, and is continued until some player has asked for a show to the player holding the applicable king or jack.


title: Shiloh Fernandez

text: Shiloh Thomas Fernandez (born February 26, 1985) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the television series "Jericho" and "United States of Tara", and the films "Deadgirl", "Red Riding Hood", and the 2013 remake of "Evil Dead."


title: Shiloh Fernandez

text: Fernandez was born in Ukiah, California. His father is of half Portuguese and half Russian Jewish descent, whereas his mother has British ancestry. He has a younger sister and a brother. His stepfather is a contractor. Before becoming an actor, Fernandez began working as a dishwasher, and an American Apparel catalog model hand-picked by the company's CEO, Dov Charney, for his then-fledgling company. Later arriving in Los Angeles, he asked Charney for a job and was hired as a stock boy. His first acting gig was a commercial for First 5 California that was directed by Vadim Perelman.


title: Shiloh Fernandez

text: After completing a short film, Fernandez made his debut television appearance in a 2006 episode of "Cold Case", followed by minor roles in "Drake & Josh" and "Lincoln Heights". His screen debut came two years later, in 2007, when he landed the role of Edgar in "Interstate" before returning to TV. He landed his first recurring role in "Jericho" as Sean Henthorn between 2006 and 2007. The series was cancelled after just one season before a campaign by fans saw it return for a second before being cancelled once again.


title: Shiloh Fernandez

text: In 2008, Fernandez became one of the front-runners to play Edward Cullen after he auditioned for Catherine Hardwicke in her Venice Beach garage, during the casting of "Twilight". Fernandez was allegedly Hardwicke's first choice, but it was up to Kristen Stewart who had the last say. Shiloh later recalled on his narrowly missed opportunity, "At the time, it was just another audition. I didn't realize I was missing out on stardom and giant paychecks. Now, looking back on it, I certainly wouldn't have been mentally stable enough to deal with all that. Lucky for me, not getting that part led to other work that was a much better fit for me." Fernandez, who had no formal training, admitted being bashful around other actors during rehearsals. Having done an array of television shows ("", "The United States of Tara") including starring in the "Gossip Girl" episode "Valley Girls" as Owen Campos, alongside Brittany Snow and Krysten Ritter. He eventually landed his first big break playing a troubled small-town Texas rink manager in the 2010 Sundance hit "Skateland" with "Twilight" alum Ashley Greene.


title: Shiloh Fernandez

text: Though he lost the "Twilight" role to Robert Pattinson, Hardwicke liked Fernandez enough to cast him in what would be his first romantic lead, in "Red Riding Hood", opposite Amanda Seyfried. The role became his Hollywood movie breakthrough, making him a hot commodity. MTV Networks' NextMovie.com named him one of the 'Breakout Stars to Watch for in 2011'. As he shot into the spotlight, he was the cover model of "Nylon Guys"' March 2011 issue, introducing him as "Hollywood's New Rebel", and was the cover man for the April/May 2011 issue of "Da Man" magazine.


title: Shiloh Fernandez

text: In 2013, Fernandez starred in the remake of "Evil Dead" and in the independent film "Syrup", based on the novel of the same name by Max Barry. In March 2015, Fernandez earned one of the leading roles in the Canadian thriller film "Edge of Winter", who will star along Rossif Sutherland, Joel Kinnaman, Tom Holland, Percy Hynes-White and Rachelle Lefevre.


title: Shiloh Fernandez

text: His favorite movie of all time is "The Thing Called Love" and River Phoenix is his idol. Fernandez has stated that if he were not acting, he would have majored in Spanish, moved to South America, and run a banana farm or worked in construction, because he is good with his hands; or, if he was better at it, a writer. Fernandez has an affinity for country music, and his dream role is to play a country music star. He is a friend of actor Thomas Dekker.


title: Internet censorship

text: Internet censorship is the legal control or suppression of what can be accessed, published, or viewed on the Internet. Censorship is most often applied to specific internet domains (such as Wikipedia.org) but exceptionally may extend to all Internet resources located outside the jurisdiction of the censoring state. Internet censorship may also put restrictions on what information can be made internet accessible. Organizations providing internet accesssuch as schools and libraries may choose to preclude access to material that they consider undesirable, offensive, age-inappropriate or even illegal, and regard this as ethical behaviour rather than censorship. Individuals and organizations may engage in self-censorship of material they publish, for moral, religious, or business reasons, to conform to societal norms, political views, due to intimidation, or out of fear of legal or other consequences.


title: Internet censorship

text: The extent of Internet censorship varies on a country-to-country basis. While some countries have moderate Internet censorship, other countries go as far as to limit the access of information such as news and suppress and silence discussion among citizens. Internet censorship also occurs in response to or in anticipation of events such as elections, protests, and riots. An example is the increased censorship due to the events of the Arab Spring. Other types of censorship include the use of copyrights, defamation, harassment, and various obscene material claims as a way to deliberately suppress content.


title: Internet censorship

text: Support for and opposition to Internet censorship also varies. In a 2012 Internet Society survey 71% of respondents agreed that "censorship should exist in some form on the Internet". In the same survey 83% agreed that "access to the Internet should be considered a basic human right" and 86% agreed that "freedom of expression should be guaranteed on the Internet". Perception of internet censorship in the US is largely based on the First Amendment and the right for expansive free speech and access to content without regard to the consequences. According to GlobalWebIndex, over 400 million people use virtual private networks to circumvent censorship or for increased user privacy.


title: Internet censorship

text: Many of the challenges associated with Internet censorship are similar to those for offline censorship of more traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, books, music, radio, television, and film. One difference is that national borders are more permeable online: residents of a country that bans certain information can find it on websites hosted outside the country. Thus censors must work to prevent access to information even though they lack physical or legal control over the websites themselves. This in turn requires the use of technical censorship methods that are unique to the Internet, such as site blocking and content filtering.


title: Internet censorship

text: Views about the feasibility and effectiveness of Internet censorship have evolved in parallel with the development of the Internet and censorship technologies:


title: Internet censorship

text: Blocking and filtering can be based on relatively static blacklists or be determined more dynamically based on a real-time examination of the information being exchanged. Blacklists may be produced manually or automatically and are often not available to non-customers of the blocking software. Blocking or filtering can be done at a centralized national level, at a decentralized sub-national level, or at an institutional level, for example in libraries, universities or Internet cafes. Blocking and filtering may also vary within a country across different ISPs. Countries may filter sensitive content on an ongoing basis and/or introduce temporary filtering during key time periods such as elections. In some cases the censoring authorities may surreptitiously block content to mislead the public into believing that censorship has not been applied. This is achieved by returning a fake "Not Found" error message when an attempt is made to access a blocked website.


title: Internet censorship

text: Unless the censor has total control over all Internet-connected computers, such as in North Korea (who employs an intranet that only privileged citizens can access), or Cuba, total censorship of information is very difficult or impossible to achieve due to the underlying distributed technology of the Internet. Pseudonymity and data havens (such as Freenet) protect free speech using technologies that guarantee material cannot be removed and prevents the identification of authors. Technologically savvy users can often find ways to access blocked content. Nevertheless, blocking remains an effective means of limiting access to sensitive information for most users when censors, such as those in China, are able to devote significant resources to building and maintaining a comprehensive censorship system.


title: Internet censorship

text: The term "splinternet" is sometimes used to describe the effects of national firewalls. The verb "rivercrab" colloquially refers to censorship of the Internet, particularly in Asia.


title: Internet censorship

text: Various parties are using different technical methods of preventing public access to undesirable resources, with varying levels of effectiveness, costs and side effects.


title: Internet censorship

text: by one of the following items: keywords, domain names and IP addresses. Lists are populated from different sources, ranging from private supplier through courts to specialized government agencies (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, Islamic Guidance in Iran).


title: Internet censorship

text: As per Hoffmann, different methods are used to block certain websites or pages including DNS poisoning, blocking access to IPs, analyzing and filtering URLs, inspecting filter packets and resetting connections.


title: Internet censorship

text: Enforcement of the censor-nominated technologies can be applied at various levels of countries and Internet infrastructure:


title: Internet censorship

text: Technical censorship techniques are subject to both over- and under-blocking since it is often impossible to always block exactly the targeted content without blocking other permissible material or allowing some access to targeted material and so providing more or less protection than desired. An example is blocking an IP-address of a server that hosts multiple websites, which prevents access to all of the websites rather than just those that contain content deemed offensive.


title: Internet censorship

text: Writing in 2009 Ronald Deibert, professor of political science at the University of Toronto and co-founder and one of the principal investigators of the OpenNet Initiative, and, writing in 2011, Evgeny Morzov, a visiting scholar at Stanford University and an Op-Ed contributor to the "New York Times", explain that companies in the United States, Finland, France, Germany, Britain, Canada, and South Africa are in part responsible for the increasing sophistication of online content filtering worldwide. While the off-the-shelf filtering software sold by Internet security companies are primarily marketed to businesses and individuals seeking to protect themselves and their employees and families, they are also used by governments to block what they consider sensitive content.


title: Internet censorship

text: Among the most popular filtering software programs is SmartFilter by Secure Computing in California, which was bought by McAfee in 2008. SmartFilter has been used by Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iran, and Oman, as well as the United States and the UK. Myanmar and Yemen have used filtering software from Websense. The Canadian-made commercial filter Netsweeper is used in Qatar, the UAE, and Yemen. The Canadian organization CitizenLab has reported that Sandvine and Procera products are used in Turkey and Egypt.


title: Internet censorship

text: On 12 March 2013 in a "Special report on Internet Surveillance", Reporters Without Borders named five "Corporate Enemies of the Internet": Amesys (France), Blue Coat Systems (U.S.), Gamma (UK and Germany), Hacking Team (Italy), and Trovicor (Germany). The companies sell products that are liable to be used by governments to violate human rights and freedom of information. RWB said that the list is not exhaustive and will be expanded in the coming months.


title: Internet censorship

text: In a U.S. lawsuit filed in May 2011, Cisco Systems is accused of helping the Chinese Government build a firewall, known widely as the Golden Shield, to censor the Internet and keep tabs on dissidents. Cisco said it had made nothing special for China. Cisco is also accused of aiding the Chinese government in monitoring and apprehending members of the banned Falun Gong group.


title: Internet censorship

text: Many filtering programs allow blocking to be configured based on dozens of categories and sub-categories such as these from Websense: "abortion" (pro-life, pro-choice), "adult material" (adult content, lingerie and swimsuit, nudity, sex, sex education), "advocacy groups" (sites that promote change or reform in public policy, public opinion, social practice, economic activities, and relationships), "drugs" (abused drugs, marijuana, prescribed medications, supplements and unregulated compounds), "religion" (non-traditional religions occult and folklore, traditional religions), ... The blocking categories used by the filtering programs may contain errors leading to the unintended blocking of websites. The blocking of Dailymotion in early 2007 by Tunisian authorities was, according to the OpenNet Initiative, due to Secure Computing wrongly categorizing Dailymotion as pornography for its SmartFilter filtering software. It was initially thought that Tunisia had blocked Dailymotion due to satirical videos about human rights violations in Tunisia, but after Secure Computing corrected the mistake access to Dailymotion was gradually restored in Tunisia.


title: Internet censorship

text: Organizations such as the Global Network Initiative, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Amnesty International, and the American Civil Liberties Union have successfully lobbied some vendors such as Websense to make changes to their software, to refrain from doing business with repressive governments, and to educate schools who have inadvertently reconfigured their filtering software too strictly. Nevertheless, regulations and accountability related to the use of commercial filters and services are often non-existent, and there is relatively little oversight from civil society or other independent groups. Vendors often consider information about what sites and content is blocked valuable intellectual property that is not made available outside the company, sometimes not even to the organizations purchasing the filters. Thus by relying upon out-of-the-box filtering systems, the detailed task of deciding what is or is not acceptable speech may be outsourced to the commercial vendors.


title: Internet censorship

text: Internet content is also subject to censorship methods similar to those used with more traditional media. For example:


title: Internet censorship

text: Deplatforming is a form of Internet censorship in which controversial speakers or speech are suspended, banned, or otherwise shut down by social media platforms and other service providers that generally provide a venue for free speech or expression. Banking and financial service providers, among other companies, have also denied services to controversial activists or organizations, a practice known as "financial deplatforming".


title: Internet censorship

text: Law professor Glenn Reynolds dubbed 2018 the "Year of Deplatforming", in an August 2018 article in "The Wall Street Journal". According to Reynolds, in 2018 "the internet giants decided to slam the gates on a number of people and ideas they don't like." On 6 August 2018, for example, several major platforms, including YouTube and Facebook, executed a coordinated, permanent ban on all accounts and media associated with conservative talk show host Alex Jones and his media platform InfoWars, citing "hate speech" and "glorifying violence."


title: Internet censorship

text: Most major web service operators reserve to themselves broad rights to remove or pre-screen content, and to suspend or terminate user accounts, sometimes without giving a specific list or only a vague general list of the reasons allowing the removal. The phrases "at our sole discretion", "without prior notice", and "for other reasons" are common in Terms of Service agreements.


title: Internet censorship

text: Internet censorship circumvention is one of the processes used by technologically savvy Internet users to bypass the technical aspects of Internet filtering and gain access to the otherwise censored material. Circumvention is an inherent problem for those wishing to censor the Internet because filtering and blocking do not remove content from the Internet, but instead block access to it. Therefore, as long as there is at least one publicly accessible uncensored system, it will often be possible to gain access to the otherwise censored material. However circumvention may not be possible by non-tech-savvy users, so blocking and filtering remain effective means of censoring the Internet access of large numbers of users.


title: Internet censorship

text: Different techniques and resources are used to bypass Internet censorship, including proxy websites, virtual private networks, sneakernets, the dark web and circumvention software tools. Solutions have differing ease of use, speed, security, and risks. Most, however, rely on gaining access to an Internet connection that is not subject to filtering, often in a different jurisdiction not subject to the same censorship laws. According to GlobalWebIndex, over 400 million people use virtual private networks to circumvent censorship or for an increased level of privacy. The majority of circumvention techniques are not suitable for day to day use.


title: Internet censorship

text: There are risks to using circumvention software or other methods to bypass Internet censorship. In some countries, individuals that gain access to otherwise restricted content may be violating the law and if caught can be expelled, fired, jailed, or subject to other punishments and loss of access.


title: Internet censorship

text: In June 2011 the "New York Times" reported that the U.S. is engaged in a "global effort to deploy 'shadow' Internet and mobile phone systems that dissidents can use to undermine repressive governments that seek to silence them by censoring or shutting down telecommunications networks."


title: Internet censorship

text: Another way to circumvent Internet censorship is to physically go to an area where the Internet is not censored. In 2017 a so-called "Internet refugee camp" was established by IT workers in the village of Bonako, just outside an area of Cameroon where the Internet is regularly blocked.


title: Internet censorship

text: The use of HTTPS versus what originally was HTTP in web searches created greater accessibility to most sites originally blocked or heavily monitored. Many social media sites including, Facebook, Google, and Twitter have added an automatic redirection to HTTPS as of 2017. With the added adoption of HTTPS use, "censors" are left with limited options of either completely blocking all content or none of it.


title: Internet censorship

text: The use of HTTPS does not inherently prevent the censorship of an entire domain, as the domain name is left unencrypted in the ClientHello of the TLS handshake. The Encrypted Client Hello TLS extension expands on HTTPS and encrypts the entire ClientHello but this depends on both client and server support.


title: Internet censorship

text: There are several motives or rationales for Internet filtering: politics and power, social norms and morals, and security concerns. Protecting existing economic interests is an additional emergent motive for Internet filtering. In addition, networking tools and applications that allow the sharing of information related to these motives are themselves subjected to filtering and blocking. And while there is considerable variation from country to country, the blocking of web sites in a local language is roughly twice that of web sites available only in English or other international languages.


title: Internet censorship

text: Censorship directed at political opposition to the ruling government is common in authoritarian and repressive regimes. Some countries block web sites related to religion and minority groups, often when these movements represent a threat to the ruling regimes.


title: Internet censorship

text: Social filtering is censorship of topics that are held to be antithetical to accepted societal norms. In particular censorship of child pornography and content deemed inappropriate for children enjoys very widespread public support and such content is subject to censorship and other restrictions in most countries.


title: Internet censorship

text: Many organizations implement filtering as part of a defense in depth strategy to protect their environments from malware, and to protect their reputations in the event of their networks being used, for example, to carry out sexual harassment.


title: Internet censorship

text: Internet filtering related to threats to national security that targets the Web sites of insurgents, extremists, and terrorists often enjoys wide public support.


title: Internet censorship

text: The protection of existing economic interests is sometimes the motivation for blocking new Internet services such as low-cost telephone services that use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). These services can reduce the customer base of telecommunications companies, many of which enjoy entrenched monopoly positions and some of which are government sponsored or controlled.


title: Internet censorship

text: Anti-copyright activists Christian Engström, Rick Falkvinge and Oscar Swartz have alleged that censorship of child pornography is being used as a pretext by copyright lobby organizations to get politicians to implement similar site blocking legislation against copyright-related piracy.


title: Internet censorship

text: Blocking the intermediate tools and applications of the Internet that can be used to assist users in accessing and sharing sensitive material is common in many countries.


title: Internet censorship

text: The "right to be forgotten" is a concept that has been discussed and put into practice in the European Union. In May 2014, the European Court of Justice ruled against Google in "Costeja", a case brought by a Spanish man who requested the removal of a link to a digitized 1998 article in "La Vanguardia" newspaper about an auction for his foreclosed home, for a debt that he had subsequently paid. He initially attempted to have the article removed by complaining to Spain's data protection agency—"Agencia Española de Protección de Datos"—which rejected the claim on the grounds that it was lawful and accurate, but accepted a complaint against Google and asked Google to remove the results. Google sued in Spain and the lawsuit was transferred to the European Court of Justice. The court ruled in "Costeja" that search engines are responsible for the content they point to and thus, Google was required to comply with EU data privacy laws. It began compliance on 30 May 2014 during which it received 12,000 requests to have personal details removed from its search engine.


title: Internet censorship

text: Index on Censorship claimed that ""Costeja" ruling ... allows individuals to complain to search engines about information they do not like with no legal oversight. This is akin to marching into a library and forcing it to pulp books. Although the ruling is intended for private individuals it opens the door to anyone who wants to whitewash their personal history...The Court's decision is a retrograde move that misunderstands the role and responsibility of search engines and the wider internet. It should send chills down the spine of everyone in the European Union who believes in the crucial importance of free expression and freedom of information."


title: Internet censorship

text: Various contexts influence whether or not an internet user will be resilient to censorship attempts. Users are more resilient to censorship if they are aware that information is being manipulated. This awareness of censorship leads to users finding ways to circumvent it. Awareness of censorship also allows users to factor this manipulation into their belief systems. Knowledge of censorship also offers some citizens incentive to try to discover information that is being concealed. In contrast, those that lack awareness of censorship cannot easily compensate for information manipulation.


title: Internet censorship

text: Other important factors for censorship resiliency are the demand for the information being concealed, and the ability to pay the costs to circumvent censorship. Entertainment content is more resilient to online censorship than political content, and users with more education, technology access, and wider, more diverse social networks are more resilient to censorship attempts.


title: Internet censorship

text: As more people in more places begin using the Internet for important activities, there is an increase in online censorship, using increasingly sophisticated techniques. The motives, scope, and effectiveness of Internet censorship vary widely from country to country. The countries engaged in state-mandated filtering are clustered in three main regions of the world: east Asia, central Asia, and the Middle East/North Africa.


title: Internet censorship

text: Countries in other regions also practice certain forms of filtering. In the United States state-mandated Internet filtering occurs on some computers in libraries and K-12 schools. Content related to Nazism or Holocaust denial is blocked in France and Germany. Child pornography and hate speech are blocked in many countries throughout the world. In fact, many countries throughout the world, including some democracies with long traditions of strong support for freedom of expression and freedom of the press, are engaged in some amount of online censorship, often with substantial public support.


title: Internet censorship

text: Internet censorship in China is among the most stringent in the world. The government blocks Web sites that discuss the Dalai Lama, the 1989 crackdown on Tiananmen Square protesters, the banned spiritual practice Falun Gong, as well as many general Internet sites. The government requires Internet search firms and state media to censor issues deemed officially "sensitive," and blocks access to foreign websites including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. According to a study in 2014, censorship in China is used to muzzle those outside government who attempt to spur the creation of crowds for any reason—in opposition to, in support of, or unrelated to the government.


title: Internet censorship

text: There are international bodies that oppose internet censorship, for example "Internet censorship is open to challenge at the World Trade Organization (WTO) as it can restrict trade in online services, a forthcoming study argues".


title: Internet censorship

text: Generally, national laws affecting content within a country only apply to services that operate within that country and do not affect international services, but this has not been established clearly by international case law. There are concerns that due to the vast differences in freedom of speech between countries, that the ability for one country to affect speech across the global Internet could have chilling effects.


title: Internet censorship

text: For example, Google had won a case at the European Court of Justice in September 2019 that ruled that the EU's right to be forgotten only applied to services within the EU, and not globally.


title: Internet censorship

text: But in a contrary decision in October 2019, the same court ruled that Facebook was required to globally comply with a takedown request made in relationship to defamatory material that was posted to Facebook by an Austrian that was libelous of another, which had been determined to be illegal under Austrian laws. The case created a problematic precedent that the Internet may become subject to regulation under the strictest national defamation laws, and would limit free speech that may be acceptable in other countries.


title: Internet censorship

text: This appears to have been the case on 27 and 28 January 2011 during the 2011 Egyptian protests, in what has been widely described as an "unprecedented" internet block. About 3500 Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routes to Egyptian networks were shut down from about 22:10 to 22:35 UTC 27 January. This full block was implemented without cutting off major intercontinental fibre-optic links, with Renesys stating on 27 January, "Critical European-Asian fiber-optic routes through Egypt appear to be unaffected for now."


title: Internet censorship

text: Full blocks also occurred in Myanmar/Burma in 2007, Libya in 2011, Iran in 2019, and Syria during the Syrian civil war.


title: Internet censorship

text: Almost all Internet connections in Sudan were disconnected from 3 June to 9 July 2019, in response to a political opposition sit-in seeking civilian rule. A near-complete shutdown in Ethiopia lasted for a week after the Amhara Region coup d'état attempt. A week-long shutdown in Mauritania followed disputes over the 2019 Mauritanian presidential election. Other country-wide shutdowns in 2019 include Zimbabwe after a gasoline price protests triggered police violence, Gabon during the 2019 Gabonese coup d'état attempt, and during or after elections in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Benin, Malawi, and Kazakhstan.


title: Internet censorship

text: Local shutdowns are frequently ordered in India during times of unrest and security concerns. Some countries have used localized Internet shutdowns to combat cheating during exams, including Iraq, Ethiopia, India, Algeria, and Uzbekistan.


title: Internet censorship

text: The Iranian government imposed a total internet shutdown from 16 to 23 November 2019, in response to the fuel protests. Doug Madory, the director of Internet analysis at Oracle, has described the operation as "unusual in its scale" and way more advanced. Beginning Saturday afternoon on 16 November 2019, the government of Iran ordered the disconnection of much of the country's internet connectivity as a response to widespread protests against the government's decision to raise gas prices. While Iran is no stranger to government-directed interference in its citizens’ access to the internet, this outage is notable in how it differs from past events. Unlike previous efforts at censorship and bandwidth throttling, the internet of Iran is presently experiencing a multi-day wholesale disconnection for much of its population – arguably the largest such event ever for Iran.


title: Internet censorship

text: Detailed country by country information on Internet censorship is provided by the OpenNet Initiative, Reporters Without Borders, Freedom House, V-Dem Institute, Access Now and in the U.S. State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor's "Human Rights Reports". The ratings produced by several of these organizations are summarized in the Internet censorship by country and the Censorship by country articles.


title: Internet censorship

text: Through 2010 the OpenNet Initiative had documented Internet filtering by governments in over forty countries worldwide. The level of filtering in 26 countries in 2007 and in 25 countries in 2009 was classified in the political, social, and security areas. Of the 41 separate countries classified, seven were found to show no evidence of filtering in all three areas (Egypt, France, Germany, India, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States), while one was found to engage in pervasive filtering in all three areas (China), 13 were found to engage in pervasive filtering in one or more areas, and 34 were found to engage in some level of filtering in one or more areas. Of the 10 countries classified in both 2007 and 2009, one reduced its level of filtering (Pakistan), five increased their level of filtering (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, South Korea, and Uzbekistan), and four maintained the same level of filtering (China, Iran, Myanmar, and Tajikistan).


title: Internet censorship

text: The "Freedom on the Net" reports from Freedom House provide analytical reports and numerical ratings regarding the state of Internet freedom for countries worldwide. The countries surveyed represent a sample with a broad range of geographical diversity and levels of economic development, as well as varying levels of political and media freedom. The surveys ask a set of questions designed to measure each country's level of Internet and digital media freedom, as well as the access and openness of other digital means of transmitting information, particularly mobile phones and text messaging services. Results are presented for three areas: Obstacles to Access, Limits on Content, and Violations of User Rights.


title: Internet censorship

text: The results from the three areas are combined into a total score for a country (from 0 for best to 100 for worst) and countries are rated as "Free" (0 to 30), "Partly Free" (31 to 60), or "Not Free" (61 to 100) based on the totals.


title: Internet censorship

text: The 2014 report assessed 65 countries and reported that 36 countries experienced a negative trajectory in Internet freedom since the previous year, with the most significant declines in Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. According to the report, few countries demonstrated any gains in Internet freedom, and the improvements that were recorded reflected less vigorous application of existing controls rather than new steps taken by governments to actively increase Internet freedom. The year's largest improvement was recorded in India, where restrictions to content and access were relaxed from what had been imposed in 2013 to stifle rioting in the northeastern states. Notable improvement was also recorded in Brazil, where lawmakers approved the bill Marco Civil da Internet, which contains significant provisions governing net neutrality and safeguarding privacy protection.


title: Internet censorship

text: On 12 March 2013, Reporters Without Borders published a "Special report on Internet Surveillance". The report includes two new lists:


title: Internet censorship

text: The five "State Enemies of the Internet" named in March 2013 are: Bahrain, China, Iran, Syria, and Vietnam.


title: Internet censorship

text: The five "Corporate Enemies of the Internet" named in March 2013 are: Amesys (France), Blue Coat Systems (U.S.), Gamma International (UK and Germany), Hacking Team (Italy), and Trovicor (Germany).


title: Internet censorship

text: The V-Dem Digital Societies Project measures a range of questions related to internet censorship, misinformation online, and internet shutdowns. This annual report includes 35 indicators assessing five areas: disinformation, digital media freedom, state regulation of digital media, polarization of online media, and online social cleavages. The data set uses V-Dem's methodology of aggregating surveys of experts from around the world. It has been updated each year starting in 2019, with data covering from 2000-2021. These ratings are more similar to other expert analyses like Freedom House than remotely sensed data from Access Now.


title: Internet censorship

text: Access Now maintains an annual list of internet shutdowns, throttling, and blockages as part of the #KeepItOn project. These data track several features of shutdowns including their location, their duration, the particular services impacted, the government's justification for the shutdown, and actual reasons for the shutdown as reported by independent media. Unlike Freedom House or V-Dem, Access Now detects shutdowns using remote sensing and then confirms these instances with reports from civil society, government, in-country volunteers, or ISPs. These methods have been found to be less prone to false positives.


title: Internet censorship

text: A poll of 27,973 adults in 26 countries, including 14,306 Internet users, was conducted for the BBC World Service by the international polling firm GlobeScan using telephone and in-person interviews between 30 November 2009 and 7 February 2010. GlobeScan Chairman Doug Miller felt, overall, that the poll showed that:


title: Internet censorship

text: In July and August 2012 the Internet Society conducted online interviews of more than 10,000 Internet users in 20 countries. Some of the results relevant to Internet censorship are summarized below.


title: Internet censorship

text: Among the countries that filter or block online content, few openly admit to or fully disclose their filtering and blocking activities. States are frequently opaque and/or deceptive about the blocking of access to political information. For example:


title: Internet censorship

text: During the Arab Spring of 2011, media jihad (media struggle) was extensive. Internet and mobile technologies, particularly social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, played and are playing important new and unique roles in organizing and spreading the protests and making them visible to the rest of the world. An activist in Egypt tweeted, "we use Facebook to schedule the protests, Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to tell the world".


title: Internet censorship

text: This successful use of digital media in turn led to increased censorship including the complete loss of Internet access for periods of time in Egypt and Libya in 2011. In Syria, the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA), an organization that operates with at least tacit support of the government, claims responsibility for defacing or otherwise compromising scores of websites that it contends spread news hostile to the Syrian government. SEA disseminates denial of service (DoS) software designed to target media websites including those of Al Jazeera, BBC News, Syrian satellite broadcaster Orient TV, and Dubai-based Al Arabiya TV.


title: Internet censorship

text: In response to the greater freedom of expression brought about by the Arab Spring revolutions in countries that were previously subject to very strict censorship, in March 2011, Reporters Without Borders moved Tunisia and Egypt from its "Internet enemies" list to its list of countries "under surveillance" and in 2012 dropped Libya from the list entirely. At the same time, there were warnings that Internet censorship might increase in other countries following the events of the Arab Spring. However, in 2013, Libyan communication company LTT blocked the pornographic websites. It even blocked the family-filtered videos of ordinary websites like Dailymotion.


title: Internet censorship

text: During the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2022, Russia was reported to have blocked the internet websites Twitter and Facebook. Facebook was noted as being suspended due to an objection to its policy of reviewing news stories for authenticity where they were produced by Russian state-backed media before allowing them to be published on its platform. It was subject to a total ban whereas Twitter was suspended regionally. Reports have identified that VPN use has enabled people to circumvent the restrictions by installing software.


title: Internet censorship

text: It been reported that the European Union would seek to censor Russian media outlets regarded as producing propaganda.


title: Internet censorship

text: Cop27 climate meeting in Egypt blocked access to a number of key websites such as Human Rights Watch. The information was shared by the attendees who complained of the conference internet connection blocking access to key websites that were significant for gathering data for talks during the event. According to the HRW environment director, Richard Pearshouse the Egyptian authorities blocked approximately 700 websites’ access, which included independent news media and civil society groups.


title: Chief of the Naval Staff (India)

text: The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), also known as the Navy Chief, abbreviated to CNS, is a statutory position in the Indian Navy held by a four star admiral. As the highest ranking officer to serve solely in the Indian Navy, the chief is the professional head of the naval branch and the principal naval adviser to the Minister of Defence. The CNS, in a separate capacity, is also a member of the National Security Council and thereby an advisor to the president and the prime minister. The CNS is typically the most senior naval officer in the Indian Armed Forces, unless the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee is a naval officer.


title: Chief of the Naval Staff (India)

text: The CNS heads the military staff of the Indian Navy and advises both the president of the Republic and the prime minister on naval affairs. The current CNS is Admiral R. Hari Kumar. The 25th Navy Chief, he took over from Karambir Singh, who retired on 30 November 2021 after four decades of service from the navy.


title: Chief of the Naval Staff (India)

text: At Independence, the head of the Navy was designated the "Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy." On 21 June 1948, the title of "Chief of the Naval Staff" was added, with a re-designation to "Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy".


title: Chief of the Naval Staff (India)

text: The "Royal" designation was dropped when India became a republic on 26 January 1950. Thus re-designating the head of Indian Navy to "Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy".


title: Chief of the Naval Staff (India)

text: The "Commanders-In-Chief (Change in Designation) Act, 1955" re-designated the head of Indian Navy to "Chief of Naval Staff". The post was held by a three-star rank Vice Admiral until 1968, when it was upgraded to the four-star rank of a full Admiral.


title: Chief of the Naval Staff (India)

text: Appointments to the office are made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). The Chief of the Naval Staff generally reaches superannuation upon serving three years or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier.


title: 2011–12 NBA season

text: The 2011–12 NBA season was the 66th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), which began with the signing of a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the owners of the 30 NBA teams and the NBA's players. The previous CBA, which was ratified in 2005, expired at 12:01 AM EDT on July 1, 2011, resulting in a lockout. With the new deal in place, the regular season was shortened from the normal 82 games per team to 66, because of nearly two months of inactivity. This was the league's first season since 1991–92 without Shaquille O'Neal, who announced his retirement on June 1, 2011 via social media. A 4-time champion, O'Neal played 19 years for the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics. The season began on Christmas Day 2011, and ended on April 26, 2012. The playoffs started on April 28 and ended on June 21 when the Miami Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of their series, 121–106, winning the Finals, 4–1 and to capture the franchise's second NBA title. LeBron James was named both the season MVP and the NBA Finals MVP. The NBA regular season would not begin again in December until the 2020–21 NBA season.


title: 2011–12 NBA season

text: The lockout was the fourth work stoppage in the history of the NBA. It began at UTC (12:01 am EDT) on July 1, 2011. The main issues dividing the owners and the players were revenue sharing and the structure of the salary cap. During the lockout, teams could not trade, sign or contact players and players couldn't access NBA team facilities, trainers, or staff members. All preseason games (scheduled to begin October 9) and the first six weeks of the regular season (scheduled to begin November 1, through December 15) were canceled. Some players signed contracts to play in other countries, and most had the option to return to the NBA as soon as the lockout ended. On November 26, 2011, after 15 hours of talks, a tentative deal was reached; once officially ratified, the NBA started a revised 2011–12 season. Owners allowed players to have voluntary workouts at team sites starting December 1. On December 8, 2011, the lockout ended when the owners and players ratified a new CBA agreement.


title: 2011–12 NBA season

text: A revised 66-game regular season began on December 25, 2011, with five Christmas Day games, two more than the original schedule. The league built a new schedule from scratch based on available arena dates. In October, the league allowed arenas in Los Angeles and Chicago to reassign NBA dates for other events. The number of games between conferences was affected as was the case in the 1999 lockout, when each team played only five or six interconference games in a 50-game schedule. Normally, each team plays teams in the other conference twice each. Teams played 48 conference games and 18 non-conference games in a 66-game schedule, compared to 52 conference games and 30 non-conference games in a normal 82-game season. Teams played on average two more games per month and also were required to play three-consecutive games at least once in the season. In total, the league had 42 sets of back-to-back-to-back games throughout the season, with 11 teams playing two such sets. The exception was the then champion Dallas Mavericks, who never had a set of 3 consecutive back to backs. The three-game set, or "triple", also occurred during the shortened 1998–99 season, which featured 64 triples and sloppier play due to tired players. Before that, the last occurrence was two decades earlier. On 29 occasions during the season, teams played a stretch of five games in six days. With fewer off days during the season, the level of play was lower due to fatigue, and some older players rested to avoid burnout and recuperate from injuries. When the San Antonio Spurs rested Tim Duncan for a game in March at the end of a back-to-back-to-back, coach Gregg Popovich submitted the description of Duncan's injury as "Old".


title: 2011–12 NBA season

text: The 2012 NBA playoffs began on April 28, and concluded on June 21, 2012 when the Miami Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder.


title: 2011–12 NBA season

text: The Chicago Bulls were eliminated after losing Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah to injuries, and the New York Knicks lost to the Miami Heat while losing Baron Davis and Iman Shumpert to knee injuries. The Heat were not immune, losing Chris Bosh for most of the playoffs en route to their championship. Commissioner David Stern initially said there was no connection between the injuries and the 66-game schedule compressed into 124 days; however, he backed off those comments a week later, saying more research was needed.


title: 2011–12 NBA season

text: This season also marked the final time that Kobe Bryant appeared in the playoffs as an achilles injury the following season resulted in him not being fit enough to join the Lakers for the 2013 first round.


title: Mukarram Jah

text: Nizam Mir Barkat Ali Khan Siddiqi Mukarram Jah, Asaf Jah VIII (born 6 October 1933), less formally known as Mukarram Jah, has been the titular Nizam of Hyderabad since the death of his grandfather in 1967.


title: Mukarram Jah

text: He currently chairs the H.E.H. The Nizam's Charitable Trust and Mukarram Jah Trust for Education & Learning (MJTEL).


title: Mukarram Jah

text: Mukarram Jah was born to Azam Jah, the son and heir of Osman Ali Khan, the last reigning Nizam of Hyderabad state, by his wife Princess Durru Shehvar, daughter of the last Caliph of the Ottoman Empire, Abdulmejid II. Jah was educated in India at the Doon School in Dehradun and in England at Harrow and Peterhouse, Cambridge. He also studied at the London School of Economics and at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.


title: Mukarram Jah

text: Jah was a friend of India's first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, and stated in 2010 that Nehru had wanted him to become his personal envoy or the Indian ambassador to a Muslim country. His two main palaces in Hyderabad, Chowmahalla and Falaknuma, have been restored and opened to the public, the former as a museum showcasing the era of the Nizams and the latter as a luxury hotel. The Taj Falaknuma Palace Hotel opened in February 2010, having been leased to the Taj Group, after some ten years of renovations.


title: Mukarram Jah

text: Like his father, Mukarram was the richest man in India until the 1980s. However, in the 1990s he lost some assets to divorce settlements. His net worth is nevertheless estimated at $US1 billion.


title: Mukarram Jah

text: Mukarram Jah married five times. His first wife was a Turkish noble woman, Esra Birgin (b. 1936), and they married in 1959. Jah left his Hyderabad palace for a sheep station in the Australian outback and divorced his wife, who did not want to move with him. In 1979, he married a former air hostess and employee of the BBC, Helen Simmons (b. 1949 – d. 1989); she converted to Islam and changed her name to Aysha. After her death, he married Manolya Onur (b. 1954 – d. 2017), a former Miss Turkey in 1992, and divorced her after a five-year marriage in 1997.


title: Mukarram Jah

text: He married Jameela Boularous (b. 1972), from Morocco, in 1992. In 1994, he married Princess Ayesha Orchedi (b. 1959), who is Turkish.


title: Mukarram Jah

text: "His Exalted Highness" Prince Rustam-i-Dauran, Arustu-i-Zaman, Wal Mamaluk, Asaf Jah VIII, Muzaffar ul-Mamalik, Nizam ul-Mulk, Nizam ud-Daula, Nawab Mir Barakat 'Ali Khan Siddiqi Bahadur, Sipah Salar, Fath Jang, Nizam of Hyderabad and Berar.


title: Mukarram Jah

text: Nawab Najaf Ali Khan another grandson of 7th Nizam, met the Police Commissioner of Hyderabad and submitted a complaint along with supporting documents alleging that Prince Mukarram Jah, his ex-wife Princess Esra, (who is also the General Power of Attorney (GPA) holder of Prince Mukarram Jah), his son Prince Azmet Jah and his brother Prince Muffakham Jah had used false documents in the UK High Court to lay claim over the £35 million Nizam’s Fund lying in NatWest Bank there.


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: Most water in Earth's atmosphere and on its crust comes from saline seawater, while fresh water accounts for nearly 1% of the total. The vast bulk of the water on Earth is "saline" or "salt water", with an average salinity of 35‰ (or 3.5%, roughly equivalent to 34 grams of salts in 1 kg of seawater), though this varies slightly according to the amount of runoff received from surrounding land. In all, water from oceans and marginal seas, saline groundwater and water from saline closed lakes amount to over 97% of the water on Earth, though no closed lake stores a globally significant amount of water. "Saline" groundwater is seldom considered except when evaluating water quality in arid regions. THERE IS MORE LAND UNDER THE WATER.


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: The remainder of Earth's water constitutes the planet's "fresh water" resource. Typically, fresh water is defined as water with a salinity of "less than 1 percent that of the oceans" - i.e. below around 0.35‰. Water with a salinity between this level and 1‰ is typically referred to as "marginal water" because it is marginal for many uses by humans and animals. The ratio of salt water to fresh water on Earth is around 50 to 1.


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: The planet's fresh water is also very unevenly distributed. Although in warm periods such as the Mesozoic and Paleogene when there were no glaciers anywhere on the planet all fresh water was found in rivers and streams, today most fresh water exists in the form of ice, snow, groundwater and soil moisture, with only 0.3% in liquid form on the surface. Of the liquid surface fresh water, 87% is contained in lakes, 11% in swamps, and only 2% in rivers. Small quantities of water also exist in the atmosphere and in living beings.


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: Although the total volume of groundwater is known to be much greater than that of river runoff, a large proportion of this groundwater is saline and should therefore be classified with the saline water above. There is also a lot of "fossil" groundwater in arid regions that has never been renewed for thousands of years; this must not be seen as renewable water.


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: The total volume of water on Earth is estimated at 1.386 billion km³ (333 million cubic miles), with 97.5% being salt water and 2.5% being fresh water. Of the fresh water, only 0.3% is in liquid form on the surface.


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: Because the oceans that cover roughly 63% of the area of Earth reflect blue light, Earth appears blue from space, and is often referred to as the "blue planet" and the "Pale Blue Dot". Liquid freshwater like lakes and rivers cover about 1% of Earth's surface and altogether with Earth's ice cover, Earth's surface is 75% water by area.


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: Collectively, Earth's lakes hold 199,000 km of water. Most lakes are in the high northern latitudes, far from human population centers. The North American Great Lakes, which contain 21% of the world's fresh water by volume, are an exception. The Great Lakes Basin is home to 33 million people. The Canadian cities of Thunder Bay, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Toronto, Oshawa, and Kingston, as well as the U.S. cities of Detroit, Duluth, Milwaukee, Chicago, Gary, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Rochester are all located on shores of the Great Lakes System.


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: Fresh groundwater is of great value, especially in arid countries such as China. Its distribution is broadly similar to that of surface river water, but it is easier to store in hot and dry climates because groundwater storage are much more shielded from evaporation than are dams. In countries such as Yemen, groundwater from erratic rainfall during the rainy season is the major source of irrigation water.


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: Because groundwater recharge is much more difficult to accurately measure than surface runoff, groundwater is not generally used in areas where even fairly limited levels of surface water are available. Even today, estimates of total groundwater recharge vary greatly for the same region depending on what source is used, and cases where fossil groundwater is exploited beyond the recharge rate (including the Ogallala Aquifer) are very frequent and almost always not seriously considered when they were first developed.


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: The total volume of water in rivers is estimated at 2,120 km³ (510 cubic miles), or 0.49% of the surface fresh water on Earth. Rivers and basins are often compared not according to their static volume, but to their flow of water, or surface run off. The distribution of river runoff across the Earth's surface is very uneven.


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: There can be huge variations within these regions. For example, as much as a quarter of Australia's limited renewable fresh water supply is found in almost uninhabited Cape York Peninsula. Also, even in well-watered continents, there are areas that are extremely short of water, such as Texas in North America, whose renewable water supply totals only 26 km³/year in an area of 695,622 km, or South Africa, with only 44 km³/year in 1,221,037 km. The areas of greatest concentration of renewable water are:


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: The oceanic crust is young, thin and dense, with none of the rocks within it dating from any older than the breakup of Pangaea. Because water is much denser than any gas, this means that water will flow into the "depressions" formed as a result of the high density of oceanic crust (on a planet like Venus, with no water, the depressions appear to form a vast plain above which rise plateaux). Since the low density rocks of the continental crust contain large quantities of easily eroded salts of the alkali and alkaline earth metals, salt has, over billions of years, accumulated in the oceans as a result of evaporation returning the fresh water to land as rain and snow.


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: Variability of water availability is important both for the functioning of aquatic species and also for the availability of water for human use: water that is only available in a few wet years must not be considered renewable. Because most global runoff comes from areas of very low climatic variability, the total global runoff is generally of low variability.


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: Indeed, even in most arid zones, there tends to be few problems with variability of runoff because most usable sources of water come from high mountain regions which provide highly reliable glacier melt as the chief source of water, which also comes in the summer peak period of high demand for water. This historically aided the development of many of the great civilizations of ancient history, and even today allows for agriculture in such productive areas as the San Joaquin Valley.


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: However, in Australia and Southern Africa, the story is different. Here, runoff variability is much higher than in other continental regions of the world with similar climates. Typically temperate (Köppen climate classification C) and arid (Köppen climate classification B) climate rivers in Australia and Southern Africa have as much as three times the coefficient of variation of runoff of those in other continental regions. The reason for this is that, whereas all other continents have had their soils largely shaped by Quaternary glaciation and mountain building, soils of Australia and Southern Africa have been largely unaltered since at least the early Cretaceous and generally since the previous ice age in the Carboniferous. Consequently, available nutrient levels in Australian and Southern African soils tend to be orders of magnitude lower than those of similar climates in other continents, and native flora compensate for this through much higher rooting densities (e.g. proteoid roots) to absorb minimal phosphorus and other nutrients. Because these roots absorb so much water, runoff in typical Australian and Southern African rivers does not occur until about 300 mm (12 inches) or more of rainfall has occurred. In other continents, runoff will occur after quite light rainfall due to the low rooting densities.


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: The consequence of this is that many rivers in Australia and Southern Africa (as compared to "extremely few" in other continents) are theoretically impossible to regulate because rates of evaporation from dams mean a storage sufficiently large to theoretically regulate the river to a given level would actually allow very little draft to be used. Examples of such rivers include those in the Lake Eyre Basin. Even for other Australian rivers, a storage three times as large is needed to provide a third the supply of a comparable climate in southeastern North America or southern China. It also affects aquatic life, favouring strongly those species able to reproduce rapidly after high floods so that some will survive the next drought.


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: Tropical (Köppen climate classification A) climate rivers in Australia and Southern Africa do not, in contrast, have markedly lower runoff ratios than those of similar climates in other regions of the world. Although soils in tropical Australia and southern Africa are even poorer than those of the arid and temperate parts of these continents, vegetation can use organic phosphorus or phosphate dissolved in rainwater as a source of the nutrient. In cooler and drier climates these two related sources tend to be virtually useless, which is why such specialized means are needed to extract the most minimal phosphorus.


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: There are other isolated areas of high runoff variability, though these are basically due to erratic rainfall rather than different hydrology. These include:


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: It has been hypothesized that the water is present in the Earth's crust, mantle and even the core and interacts with the surface ocean through the "whole-Earth water cycle". However, the actual amount of water stored in the Earth's interior still remains under debate. An estimated 1.5 to 11 times the amount of water in the oceans may be found hundreds of kilometers deep within the Earth's interior, although not in liquid form.


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: The lower mantle of inner earth may hold as much as 5 times more water than all surface water combined (all oceans, all lakes, all rivers).


title: Water distribution on Earth

text: The amount of water stored in the Earth's interior may equal or exceed that in all of the surface oceans. Some researchers proposed the total mantle water budget may amount to tens of ocean masses. The water in the Earth's mantle is primarily dissolved in nominally anhydrous minerals as hydroxyls (OH). These OH impurities in rocks and minerals can lubricates tectonic plate, influence rock viscosity and melting processes, and slow down seismic waves. The two mantle phases at the transition zone between Earth's upper and lower mantle, wadsleyite and ringwoodite, could potentially incorporate up to a few weight percent of water into their crystal structure. Direct evidence of the presence of water in the Earth's mantle was found in 2014 based on a hydrous ringwoodite sample included in a diamond from Juína, Brazil. Seismic observations suggest the presence of water in dehydration melt at the top of the lower mantle under the continental US. Molecular water (HO) is not the primary water-bearing phase(s) in the mantle, but its high-pressure form, ice-VII, also has been found in super-deep diamonds.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: The Emancipation of Mimi is the tenth studio album by American singer Mariah Carey, released through Island Records on April 12, 2005. The album was considered Carey's "comeback album" by critics and became her highest-selling release in the US in a decade. In composing the album, Carey collaborated with many songwriters and producers throughout 2004, including Jermaine Dupri, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Twista, Nelly, Pharrell Williams, and James "Big Jim" Wright, many of whom appeared as featured guests on select tracks.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: Carey opted to use her personal nickname 'Mimi' in the title, revealing a more intimate side of the singer, as seen in the album's declarative theme of emancipation from her personal and commercial setbacks.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: "The Emancipation of Mimi" garnered critical acclaim, with praise towards its production, Carey's vocal performance, with critics noting the theme of independence and lack of restraint, dubbing the album a "party" record. Although it has similar vocal production to her previous works and an inclination towards her signature ballads, the album encompasses dance-oriented and uptempo styles in keeping with its celebratory motif. The album garnered eight nominations at the 48th Grammy Awards, including for Album of the Year, and won three awards, including Best Contemporary R&B Album. It became Carey's first album since "Butterfly" (1997) to debut at number one on the US "Billboard" 200, selling over 404,000 copies in its first week and becoming the country's best-selling album of 2005. Internationally, it topped the charts in Greece, and reached the top-five in Canada, Denmark, France, and Japan, and was the world's second best-selling album of the year. "The Emancipation of Mimi" has sold over 10 million copies worldwide making it one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: "It's Like That" became one of her highest-charting songs in years, reaching the top twenty in several countries. "We Belong Together" accumulated 14 weeks at number one in the US, and was later hailed "song of the decade" by "Billboard". It reached number one in Australia, number two in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, and achieved top-five positions in several European countries. To promote the album, Carey embarked on her sixth concert tour, entitled The Adventures of Mimi, starting on July 22, 2006, and ending on October 28, 2006.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: In 2001, Carey had experienced critical, commercial, personal, and professional struggles, following the poor reception to her debut film "Glitter" (2001). The picture was panned by critics and earned less than eight million dollars at the box office. After posting a personally expressive letter on her official site, Carey checked into a hospital in Connecticut because of an "emotional and physical breakdown". Following the film's and soundtrack's poor performance, Virgin Records America bought out Carey's unprecedented $100 million recording contract. The company paid her $28 million to part ways. Carey flew to Capri, Italy, after her two-week hospitalization. During her five-month stay, she began to write a new studio album, using experiences she had gone through in recent months as inspirational themes. After being signed by Island Records and starting her own imprint, MonarC Entertainment, Carey released her intended "comeback" album "Charmbracelet". Critics deemed it a strong improvement over "Glitter", but not something that would re-establish her popularity as in the early stages of her career.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: After enduring three years of "carping" from critics, Carey planned her return to music. On November 18, 2004, she revealed on her website that the name of the album would be "The Emancipation of Mimi". While Carey was recording the album, Island Records executive L.A. Reid had learned that close friends referred to the singer as "Mimi". He had told Carey, "I feel your spirit on this record. You should use that name in the title, because that's the fun side of you that people don't get to see – the side that can laugh at the diva jokes, laugh at the breakdown jokes, laugh at whatever they want to say about you and just live life and enjoy it." Carey explained that Mimi is a "very personal nickname" only used by those in her inner circle, and thus the title meant she was letting her guard down and inviting her fans to be that much closer to her. She thought that naming her album "The Emancipation of Mariah Carey" would be "obnoxious".


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: During a visit to a recording studio, Carey was given a beat by The Legendary Traxster. On a later date, she met with American rapper Twista backstage after a show. When Carey mentioned the track, Twista told her that the beat had been originally intended for him, and that he had already written lyrics for it. They decided to collaborate on the track, which later was titled "One and Only". In the following months, Carey wrote and co-produced several songs including "Say Somethin' (with Snoop Dogg and The Neptunes), "To the Floor" (with Nelly), and "Fly Like a Bird" with James "Big Jim" Wright. By November, she felt that she had composed enough good material for "The Emancipation of Mimi". After Reid listened to the album, however, he suggested the singer compose a few more "strong" singles to ensure the project's commercial success. Based on his recommendation, Carey met with Jermaine Dupri in Atlanta for a brief studio session, since Reid felt she had written some of her best work with him. During this two-day trip, Carey and Dupri wrote and produced "Shake It Off" and "Get Your Number", which were released as the album's third and fourth singles. Following this recording session, "Shake It Off" was briefly selected as the album's lead single, replacing the other contenders, "Stay The Night" and "Say Somethin'". Carey later returned to Atlanta for a second meeting with Dupri; they then penned the last two songs for the album: "We Belong Together" and "It's Like That". In an interview for "Billboard", Carey described her sentiments regarding "It's Like That" during the production stage:


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: I had the chills. I had a great feeling about it when we finished writing the song, and I was flying back from Atlanta at some crazy hour of the morning ... But we were listening to it on the plane ride on the way home, and even from the demo version, I really felt something very special.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: Carey and her management then decided to release "It's Like That" as the album's lead single, calling it "the right fire-starter". The singer has praised Dupri for being "focused", and felt that together they had composed some of her favorite songs on the album. She has told MTV, "The album is not about making the older executives happy by making a bring-down-the-house, tearjerker ballad, or [something] steeped in the media dramas of my life. What I tried to do was keep the sessions very sparse, underproduced, like in '70s soul music ... " According to Reid, Carey intended for the album to feature a more unpolished sound than her previous releases. The singer had been frustrated with the overproduction on many of her previous records, due to the inclusion of what she considered unnecessary "bells and whistles". She opted to record the majority of "The Emancipation of Mimi" live, alongside the band. Reid agreed with this decision and felt that the live vocals made the album sound more authentic.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: "The Emancipation of Mimi" was Carey's most expressive album to that point according to Fox News; it signified her creative freedom, as she had been oppressed by the expectations of record executives in the past. They noted the album's motif of professional and cultural emancipation throughout many songs. In an interview with the "Hartford Courant", Carey spoke about the album's lack of creative restraint she felt was not featured on "Charmbracelet". The latter album harbored on reviving Carey's popularity among the adult contemporary radio audience, following her decline with "Glitter", which found the singer sampling 1980s melodies. While featuring ballads similar to those on "Charmbracelet", the songs on "The Emancipation of Mimi" drew influence from R&B and hip hop, and were composed at an elevated tempo. According to Dimitri Ehrlich, an editor from "Vibe", the album includes many musical facets:


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: "Mimi" pulls Carey in two opposite directions. Most of the tracks find her paired with the hottest hip hop producers of the day; there, she exercises restraint and settles into a groove. But on the rest, she does what comes most naturally to her—belting to her heart's desire, perhaps to mollify those who don't care much for her detours into raunchier rap territory.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: "The Emancipation of Mimi" explores various genres; Greg Kot of the "Chicago Tribune" felt that the album effectively combines "elements of hip-hop and rhythm and blues into pop songs that appeal to a broad cross-section of listeners." According to "Billboard" staff, "Carey's emancipation is drenched in hip-hop and old-school R&B ballads". Alyssa Rashbaum of MTV deemed the record "a predominantly pop and R&B effort [...] tinged with hip-hop inflections. Meanwhile, AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine considered "The Emancipation of Mimi" "a slick, highly crafted piece of dance-pop". Aside from the ballads and uptempo tracks, "The Emancipation of Mimi" incorporates elements of soul and 1970s-inspired genres, as evident on the gospel-tinged closing track, "Fly Like a Bird". While most tracks derive instrumentation from live bands and musical instruments, some of the uptempo songs feature computerized arrangements and synthesizers. Stylistically, critics considered the album Carey's most diverse record in years, and one that highlighted many different production choices and techniques.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: "It's Like That" was written and produced by Carey and Jermaine Dupri. It features hand claps and whistles, as well as ad-libs and verses from Dupri and Fat Man Scoop. The song's bassline and chord progression are aligned with piano and string notes. Its lyrics are arranged to portray the singer during a celebration: "I came to have a party / Open off that Bacardi ... Purple taking me higher / I'm lifted and I like it." Sal Cinquemani of "Slant Magazine" praised its lyrics and beat, and felt the song prepares listeners for the album's "party theme". Lyrically, "We Belong Together" was described as a "broken-hearted lament for love"; it features finger-snaps, kick drums, and a piano-driven melody.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: Carey composed the gospel-influenced ballad "Fly Like a Bird" with James Wright. The lyrics are in the form of a prayer that conveys a message of unconditional love for God. The song features a verbal recording of Carey's pastor, Clarence Keaton, who reads two verses from the Bible. The singer wrote the album's fifth cut "Say Somethin, which features rap verses from Snoop Dogg and was produced by The Neptunes. "Vibe" writer Dimitri Ehrlich described it as "a musical oddity", and characterized the production as "strange instrumentation, weird melodic shifts, hectic drum patterns and a bed of synths." Lyrically, the protagonist makes sexual advances to a romantic interest with the line "If it's worth your while, do something good to me." When interpreting the lyrics in the female role, Cummings noted "a shy woman who doesn't need to say anything at all to get a man's attention."


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: Carey wrote "Mine Again" alongside producer James Poyser. The ballad has electronic keyboard notes, a rhythmic vinyl sound, and melodies from gospel and R&B genres. "Stay the Night" was produced by Carey and Kanye West, and samples a piano loop from Ramsey Lewis's 1971 cover version of "Betcha by Golly, Wow". In the lyrics, the protagonist faces the dilemma of spending the night with an ex-lover, although he is in another relationship. "Get Your Number" samples the hook from British band Imagination's 1982 single "Just an Illusion", and derives its production from "'80s-esque synthesizers" and computerized musical instruments. Lawrence Ferber from the "Windy City Times" described "Shake It Off" as a "playful approach to bitterness—and, more specifically, a cheatin' bad apple", with lyrics such as "I gotta shake you off / Just like a Calgon commercial". In an interview with Ferber, Carey described the track as her favorite from "The Emancipation of Mimi": "'Shake It Off' can apply to anything. Whatever personal dramas we go through, put that song on and you lose the anxiety or intensity of the moment. I'll listen to that song when I've just come out of an annoying meeting. I gotta shake this off." Editor Jon Pareles from "The New York Times" felt that the album follows a formula that was most apparent on "Shake It Off": "On this album, the verses stay in a narrow range, the choruses glide higher, and at the ends of some songs, Ms. Carey gives herself a few of her old sky-high notes as a background flourish."


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: "The Emancipation of Mimi" was released by The Island Def Jam Music Group for download and as a CD in Mexico on April 12, 2005. On April 4, 2005, the album was released in Australia and New Zealand. In the United Kingdom, "The Emancipation of Mimi" was distributed through Mercury Records. The following day, the album was made available in Canada through the Universal Music Group. On April 12, 2005, it became available in France, Japan, and the United States, and was released on May 11, 2005, in China. On British and Japanese versions of the album, "Sprung" and "Secret Love" were included as bonus tracks.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: A reissue of "The Emancipation of Mimi", subtitled "Ultra Platinum Edition", was released on November 15, 2005, accompanied by the reissue's lead single "Don't Forget About Us". The reissue was released in two versions. The first was a CD with four bonus tracks: "Don't Forget About Us" (co-written and co-produced by Carey with Jermaine Dupri), the album's only single; "Makin' It Last All Night (What It Do)", featuring Dupri; the "We Belong Together" remix, featuring American rappers Styles P and Jadakiss; and a new version of the 2006 single "So Lonely" by Twista (which originally featured Carey), in which she sings an additional verse. The second version of the album was a limited-edition set of the CD and a DVD, which includes the videos from "The Emancipation of Mimi" that had then been released ("It's Like That", "We Belong Together", "Shake It Off", and "Get Your Number"), along with the then-recently filmed video for "Don't Forget About Us". The album became the first domestic release of the video for "Get Your Number", which had previously been released only in Europe."Sprung" and "Secret Love" were later included as bonus tracks in the 2020 digital reissue of "Ultra Platinum Edition".


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: Carey began a promotional tour in support of the album, beginning on April 2, 2005, at the German Echo Awards. Two days later, she performed "It's Like That" on the game show "Wetten, dass..?". In the UK, the singer filmed a two-part appearance on the British music program "Top of the Pops", performing the album's first three singles. Carey launched the stateside release of the album on "Good Morning America" with an interview and a five-piece outdoor concert. Taking place in Times Square and attracting the largest crowd to the plaza since the 2004 New Year's Eve celebration, the concert featured the first three singles from the album in addition to "Fly Like a Bird" and "Make It Happen" (1991). During the following week, she performed "We Belong Together" at the 2005 BET Awards, and appeared at the annual VH1 Save the Music special, which was broadcast live on April 17. Throughout May, Carey performed "We Belong Together" on the "Late Show with David Letterman" (May 5), "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (May 11), "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" (May 13) and on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" (May 24).


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: During the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, Carey performed at the National Hotel in South Beach. Accompanied by Dupri, she sang "Shake It Off" and the official remix version of "We Belong Together". She was a headlining performer at the 2005 Fashion Rocks, in Monaco. On November 15, 2005, Carey performed "Shake It Off" and her newly released single from the album's re-release, "Don't Forget About Us", during half-time of the Thanksgiving game between the Detroit Lions and the Atlanta Falcons. On November 22, 2005, she opened the 33rd annual American Music Awards with "Don't Forget About Us". Two months later, she placed as the featured performer at the Times Square Ball drop on New Year's Eve in New York. At the 48th Grammy Awards, on February 8, 2006, Carey returned to the Grammy stage for the first time since 1996. Her performance began with a pre-taped video in which she discussed the importance of God and religion in her life. She then came to the stage, and sang a shortened version of "We Belong Together", followed by "Fly like a Bird". The performance induced the only standing ovation that night, and earned praise from critics.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: "It's Like That" was released as the album's lead single on January 7, 2005. Critics predicted that the song would re-ignite Carey's popularity among MTV viewers. It became her highest-charting song internationally in years, and peaked at number sixteen on the US "Billboard" Hot 100.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: "We Belong Together", the album's second single, became one of the biggest hits of Carey's career. It became her sixteenth chart topping single in the US, spending fourteen weeks on the Hot 100's peak; the longest stay of any song during the 2000s. Aside from breaking several Nielsen BDS records, the song was named "song of the 2000s decade" by "Billboard". "We Belong Together" also topped the charts in Australia and attained a top-five peak in New Zealand, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: "Shake It Off" was the third single released from "The Emancipation of Mimi". It peaked at number two on the Hot 100, being barred from the top position by Carey's previous single, "We Belong Together". It became the first time in "Billboard" history that a female artist occupied the top two spots on the chart as a lead artist. It was released as a double A-side with "Get Your Number" in the UK and Australia, where it reached the top ten.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: "Don't Forget About Us" was released as the lead single from "Ultra Platinum Edition", and overall fourth single from the album. The song became Carey's seventeenth chart topper in the US, tying her with Elvis Presley for the most number-one singles by a solo artist (a record she surpassed in 2008 with "Touch My Body"). "Fly Like a Bird" was released as the fifth single from the album in the US, followed by "Say Somethin'". "Mine Again" was not released as a single, but peaked at number 73 on "Billboard"s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart due to sales.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: Sixteen months after the release of the album, Carey announced her first headlining tour in three years, named The Adventures of Mimi: The Voice, The Hits, The Tour after a "Carey-centric fan's" music diary. Beginning on July 22, 2006, and ending on October 28, the tour spanned forty stops, with thirty-two in the US and Canada, two in Africa, and six in Japan. The tour featured the singer's long-time friend Randy Jackson as the musical director. In an interview for the Associated Press, Carey described the tour's direction, as well as the music she would perform:


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: With this tour, I'm going to be working on some different arrangements for some of the older songs, to ... give it a little more life to them. That's not to say they're going to sound totally different and to freak anybody out ... I love re-singing songs to different music. I genuinely want to tour with these new songs, as well as older hits. These new songs mean so much to me, this time of my life has been so wonderful for me, and I want to experience that with my fans.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: The tour received a generally mixed reception from critics who praised the singer's vocal performances but called the show's excesses, such as the singer's frequent costume changes and pre-filmed clips, distracting. In Tunis, Carey played to 80,000 people during two concerts. Midway through the tour, she booked a two-night concert in Hong Kong, scheduled for after her Japanese shows. The performances were cancelled after tickets went on sale; Carey's then-manager Benny Medina said the cancellation was because the concert promoter refused to pay the agreed compensation. The promoter blamed poor ticket sales (allegedly, only 4,000 tickets had sold) and "Carey's outrageous demands". Medina later disputed the promoter's ticket sales figure, saying that 8,000 tickets had been sold. He said Carey would have performed as long as she was compensated, regardless of attendance. Carey ultimately sued the promoter, claiming one million in damages for the concert's abrupt cancellation.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: "The Emancipation of Mimi" received a 64 out of 100 (indicating "generally positive reviews") on Metacritic, a website that averages professional reviews from critics into a numerical score. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called the album a "highly crafted piece of dance-pop" and "relative comeback" for Carey Michael Paoletta from "Billboard" was less critical of her vocals, writing that "while her voice has lost some of the power through the years, "Mimi" deftly showcases her still-considerable pipes with strong lyrics and slick production." Paoletta praised "The Emancipation of Mimi" as Carey's best album since "Butterfly" (1997). Michael Dougall Bell from the "Calgary Sun" called Carey's voice "very impressive". He concluded: "While "Emancipation" may not send Carey's stock or star back up to where it once was and where that voice deserves to be, at least she's not plummeting – she's merely levelled off." "Entertainment Weekly" editor Tom Sinclair noted that almost every song "showcases Carey's undeniable vocal strengths". Reviewing "Fly Like a Bird", Sinclair concluded, "It's so moving that we'll resist the temptation to be crass and interpret the song as a plea for heightened record sales. Help from above is always welcome, but "Emancipation" sounds like it just might do fine all on its own."


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: Jennifer Vineyard of MTV News considered the album's title to be influenced by Janet Jackson's "Damita Jo", which was also based on an alternate persona. According to Jenson Macey from BBC News, "The Emancipation of Mimi" was Carey's strongest effort from the 2000s; he said that the album "took her straight back to the top of the A-List." Caroline Sullivan from "The Guardian" gave the album four stars out of five, calling it "cool, focused and urban." "The New York Times"s Jon Pareles complimented how Carey wrote all of the album's material. He felt the record's sound was fresh and innovative: "on "The Emancipation of Mimi", she disciplines herself into coherence, using fewer tricks and sounding more believable. She also finds what lesser singers can take for granted: a certain lightness that eases her constant sense of control." Cummings from PopMatters gave the album seven stars out of ten, claiming it to be Carey's redemption from the manacles of her previous two releases. He praised the album's singles, but called some of its music "corny" and "unnecessarily overproduced". Todd Burns from Stylus Magazine gave the album a B−, admiring its assortment of beats and tempos. Burns, however, called some of The Neptunes and Dupri's production "ill-advised". He called some of Carey's vocals "strained, thin and airy". While considering it as an improvement over her previous releases of the decade, he concluded that it "suffers from the fact that her vocals have deteriorated – a simple fact of the ravages that her voice has undergone in the past fifteen years." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine gave "The Emancipation of Mimi" three and a half stars out of five, calling it "redemption". He complimented its array of beats and its production. Critic Andre Meyer of CBS News thought the material on the album was "stronger" than on "Charmbracelet", and described it as a move in Carey's long-term plan for pop domination, while giving off the "jittery R&B vibe that made Destiny's Child so potent." He added that "Mariah has returned to singing – while still pushing the limits of good taste with her barely there outfits." In the updated edition for The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time published in 2020 by American magazine "Rolling Stone", the album ranked at number 389.


title: The Emancipation of Mimi

text: "The Emancipation of Mimi" became Carey's highest-selling album in the US since "Daydream" (1995). In its first week of release, it debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200 (ousting 50 Cent's "The Massacre" from the top position) with 404,000 copies sold, the highest first-week sales in Carey's career, until "E=MC²" opened with 463,000 in 2008. On its second week on the chart, the album moved a spot down to number two and moved a further 226,000 units. It became her fifth number-one album in the country and her third album to debut at the top. The album returned to number one in its eighth week after selling 172,000 copies. It remained in the top ten for many months before dropping to number eleven on September 28, 2005. The album remained in the top twenty for thirty-one consecutive weeks, and stayed on for 74 weeks in total. It returned to the top five after the release of the "Ultra Platinum Edition", which helped the album rebound to number four, with sales of 185,000 units. "The Emancipation of Mimi" was the best-selling album in the US in 2005, with nearly five million units sold. By the last full week of the year, the album outsold "The Massacre", which had been released more than six weeks earlier. It was the first album by a solo female artist to become the year's best-selling album since Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill" in 1996. It reached the six million sales mark in the US in October 2013, and in September 2022, the album was certified seven-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.