title: Pan American Games

text: The athletes or teams who place first, second, or third in each event receive medals. The winners receive gold medals, while the runners-up receive silver medals and the third-place athletes are awarded bronze medals. In events contested by a single-elimination tournament (most notably boxing), third place might not be determined and both semifinal losers receive bronze medals. PASO does not keep statistics of medals won, but National Olympic Committees and the media record medal statistics as a measure of success.


title: Pan American Games

text: The top ten nations all time at the Pan American Games (minus medals won at the Winter Pan American Games):


title: Pan American Games

text: The Pan American Games have been hosted by 16 cities in 11 countries. Mexico and Canada have hosted three Pan American Games each, more than any other nation. Among cities, only Winnipeg and Mexico City have played host to the Pan American Games more than once, each hosting twice.


title: Pan American Games

text: The host city for a Pan American Games is usually chosen six years ahead of their celebration. The process of selection is carried out in two phases that span a two-year period. The prospective host city applies to its country's Olympic Committee; if more than one city from the same country submits a proposal to its NOC, the national committee typically holds an internal selection, since only one city per NOC can be presented to the Pan American Sports Organization for consideration. Once the deadline for submission of proposals by the NOCs is reached, the first phase (Application) begins with the applicant cities asked to complete a questionnaire regarding several key criteria related to the organization of the Pan American Games Games. In this form, the applicants must give assurances that they will comply with the Olympic Charter and with any other regulations established by PASO's Executive Committee. The evaluation of the filled questionnaires by a specialized group provides PASO with an overview of each applicant's project and their potential to host the Games. On the basis of this technical evaluation, PASO's Executive Board selects the applicants that will proceed to the candidature stage.


title: Pan American Games

text: Once the candidate cities are selected, they must submit to PASO a bigger and more detailed presentation of their project as part of a candidature file. Each city is thoroughly analyzed by an evaluation commission. This commission will visit the candidate cities, interviewing local officials and inspecting prospective venue sites, and submit a report on its findings one month before the PASO's final decision. During the interview process the candidate city must guarantee that it will be able to fund the Games. After the work of the evaluation commission, a list of candidates is presented to the General Session of PASO, which is assembled in a country that must not have a candidate city in the running. The members of PASO gathered in the Session have the final vote on the host city. Once elected, the host city bid committee (together with the NOC of the respective country) signs a Host City Contract with PASO, officially becoming a Pan American Games host nation and host city.


title: Pan American Games

text: As of the 2019 edition, 41 nations (35 countries and 6 territories) whose National Olympic Committee is recognized by the Pan American Sports Organization compete at the Pan American Games.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: Amrullah Saleh (Pashto/, ; born 15 October 1972) is an Afghan politician who served as the first vice president of Afghanistan from February 2020 to August 2021, and acting interior minister from 2018 to 2019. He was the head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) from 2004 to 2010.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: A member of the mujahideen during the civil war against Afghanistan's communist government, Saleh later joined Ahmad Shah Massoud's Northern Alliance, an anti-Taliban coalition in the northeast of the country. In 1997, Saleh became the head of the Northern Alliance's liaison office inside the Afghan Embassy in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, handling contacts with international non-governmental organizations and intelligence agencies. As head of the NDS, Saleh directed efforts to infiltrate the Taliban and locate Osama bin Laden. Saleh resigned from the NDS in 2010 amidst worsening relations with President Hamid Karzai, founding Basej-e Milli ("National Movement"), a pro-democracy and anti-Taliban political party, shortly afterward. In March 2017, he was appointed State Minister for Security Reforms by President Ashraf Ghani, serving until his resignation in June of that year. Saleh became the acting Minister of Interior Affairs in December 2018, but resigned less than a month later to become Ghani's running mate for first vice president in the 2019 presidential election. Ghani's ticket won the election, and Saleh became first vice president in 25 February 2020.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: Saleh was a powerful political figure in Afghanistan and has been the target of numerous assassination attempts. An outspoken critic of the Taliban and Pakistan, Saleh has been described as combative and as having a hard-working nature.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: Following the 15 Aug 2021 fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Ghani fled the country and Saleh relocated to the Panjshir Valley. There, Saleh proclaimed himself the caretaker president of Afghanistan and announced the formation of the National Resistance Front, an anti-Taliban resistance movement, alongside Ahmad Massoud. Saleh fled to Tajikistan shortly after the Taliban seized control of most of Panjshir on 6 September 2021.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: Saleh was born on 15 October 1972 in the Panjshir region of what was then the Kingdom of Afghanistan. He is an ethnic Tajik. Saleh spent much of his childhood in the capital city of Kabul. He was orphaned at the age of 7, resulting in severe financial hardship for his family.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: Saleh is the youngest of five brothers. In his youth, two of his brothers died in politically-motivated killings. Another of his brothers, Rohullah Azizi, was executed by the Taliban in September 2021. His elder sister, Mariam, who died in 2015, was tortured by the Taliban in 1996 in an attempt to uncover his location.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: Saleh has three daughters and two sons with his wife. He speaks fluent English and has a basic knowledge of Russian.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: In 1990, in order to avoid being conscripted into the Soviet-backed Afghan army, Saleh joined the opposition mujahideen forces. He received military training in neighboring Pakistan and fought under mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: In the late 1990s, Saleh was a member of the Northern Alliance (also known as the United Front) and was fighting against the Taliban expansion. In 1997, Saleh was appointed by Massoud to lead the United Front's international liaison office at the Embassy of Afghanistan in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, where he served as a coordinator for non-governmental (humanitarian) organizations and as a liaison partner for foreign intelligence agencies.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: In October 1996, Amarullah Saleh arranged a meeting between Bharath Raj Muthu Kumar and Ahmad Shah Massoud to arrange equipment and help from New Delhi.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: After the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, Saleh participated in leading intelligence operations of the United Front on the ground during the toppling of the Taliban regime.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: After the formation of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in December 2004, Saleh was appointed as head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) by President Hamid Karzai. Saleh initiated structural reforms and helped rebuild the Afghan intelligence service. Saleh and former interior minister Hanif Atmar were viewed by the international community as two of the most competent cabinet members in the Afghan government. A western security expert told "The Guardian" that both men had a reputation for "clearing corruption within" their organs.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: In 2005, Saleh engaged several NDS agents infiltrating the Pakistani tribal areas to search for bin Laden and other al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders. Several al-Qaeda members could be identified, but it was determined that Bin Laden was not in the area. In 2006, Saleh was presented with evidence that bin Laden was living in a major settled area of Pakistan just 20 miles from the town of Abbottabad, Pakistan. He shared the intelligence with former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf who angrily brushed off the claim, taking no action.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: After Saleh sent Pashto-speaking agents to infiltrate the Taliban's operations in Pakistan, the NDS gathered information on militants' homes, mosques, businesses, and families. In the spring of 2006, Saleh conducted numerous interviews with Taliban commanders, and determined ISI began increasing aid for the militants the year before. Based on the evidence, Saleh predicted that by 2009, the Taliban would mount assaults on major southern cities and wage a full-fledged insurgency.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: Following the 2009 Afghan presidential election, Afghan President Karzai's views about the security issues confronting Afghanistan and how best to deal with them reportedly changed. This affected the working relationship between the President of Afghanistan and some of his cabinet ministers including his intelligence chief. Saleh said, "He [Karzai] thought democracy had hurt him as a person. His family had been attacked by the media unfairly, and the West was criticizing him unfairly. So after a presidential election, he was a changed man, and we could not have the same relationship as before the presidential election." Political analyst Ahmed Rashid in 2010 observed the same, "Karzai's new outlook is the most dramatic political shift he has undergone in the twenty-six years that I have known him." Both Saleh and Interior Minister Hanif Atmar subsequently had strong disagreements with Karzai on how to proceed against the Taliban, who Karzai began referring to as "brothers". At that point Saleh and Atmar were increasingly isolated in the Karzai administration.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: President Obama visited Kabul in late March 2010 to address the Afghan cabinet and repair ties with Hamid Karzai. Obama reiterated US commitment to Afghanistan, saying, "The United States does not quit once it starts on something." Saleh explained to Obama that the "Pakistanis believe the West has lost" in Afghanistan, and that ISI seeks to exploit the "division between Europe and the United States." He recommended "intense cooperation" between the US and Afghanistan to prevent extremist groups from regaining power.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: In early 2010, an Afghan man approached the NDS claiming to represent senior Taliban commander Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour. Offering a letter allegedly written by Mansour, he said Mansour was interested to open a channel for negotiations. Saleh's people started testing the credentials of the supposed messenger, and judged them to be false, closing the case. The man then approached other Afghan government institutions. Saleh recounts, "When I learned ... that he was going through a different avenue, I warned the government that if it is this Aminullah, if he claims this, and if it is this guy, trust me, he is not representing anybody; it's a scam. ... Be careful. This is not Mansour. But there was a perception that Amrullah is against talks, so let's sideline him." The Afghan man, who lived in Pakistan where the Taliban's leadership council is based, subsequently held three meetings with NATO and Afghan officials. Having been flown from Pakistan to Kabul on a NATO airplane, the man met with President Karzai in the presidential palace. In late 2010, it turned out, that the supposed representative for Mansour was an impostor as Saleh had previously warned. "The New York Times" writes: "In an episode that could have been lifted from a spy novel, United States and Afghan officials now say the Afghan man was an impostor."


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: On 6 June 2010, Saleh resigned from the NDS while Atmar resigned from his position as interior minister after a militant attack against the national peace jirga, although nobody had been killed or wounded and the attackers had been arrested. A few days after the jirga, Karzai had summoned Atmar and Saleh to discuss the attack against the jirga. After the meeting both men officially resigned because of the failure to stop the attack on the jirga. The two men's resignation led to widespread concerns among Afghanistan experts. Concerns were voiced over the direction the country was moving in.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: According to Ambassador Hank Crumpton from the CIA, who led the Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2001, Saleh possessed "good technical skills and emerging leadership traits". Ambassador Crumpton also writes in his recent book that he found Saleh to be "young, brilliant, honest, and devoted to a free Afghanistan".


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: The resignation of Saleh and Atmar came amidst heavy disagreement between Hamid Karzai and Amrullah Saleh on how to proceed against the Taliban. Daoud Sultanzoi, a member of the Afghan parliament, said, he had observed that disagreement between Karzai on the one side and cabinet members such as Saleh and Atmar on the other side had been going on for a while. Saleh publicly blamed Pakistan for its support to the Taliban and other extremist groups and said talks with the Taliban should take place but not at the cost of democratic structures. Meanwhile, Karzai had increasingly been placing his hopes on his attempts to reach a secret deal with the Taliban and Pakistan. Pakistan had repeatedly urged Karzai to oust Saleh from his position.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: The Afghan media extensively covered the resignations with the daily liberal newspaper Hasht-e Subh headlining an article: ""Resignation of Atmar and Saleh: Accountability to the People or Tribute to Pakistan?"" Saleh said he considered Karzai a patriot, but that the president was making a mistake if he planned to rely on Pakistani support as Pakistan was trying to reimpose the Taliban.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: Saleh on the BBC's Hard Talk explained and reiterated that Karzai in hoping to reach a deal with the Taliban and Pakistan's ISI through appeasement policy had alienated his internal allies as well as Afghanistan's external allies and had undermined the morale of Afghan security forces.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: It was reported in 2010 that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Taliban "regarded Saleh as their fiercest opponent." He subsequently founded the Basej-e Milli (National mobilization) and Green Trend as a pro-democracy and anti-Taliban movement.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: A December 2011 analysis report by the Jamestown Foundation, however, came to the conclusion that "in spite of denials by the Pakistani military, evidence is emerging that elements within the Pakistani military harbored Osama bin Laden with the knowledge of former army chief General Pervez Musharraf and possibly current Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani. Former Pakistani Army Chief General Ziauddin Butt (aka General Ziauddin Khawaja) revealed at a conference on Pakistani–US relations in October 2011 that according to his knowledge the then former Director-General of Intelligence Bureau of Pakistan (2004–2008), Brigadier Ijaz Shah (retd.), had kept Osama bin Laden in an Intelligence Bureau safe house in Abbottabad." Pakistani General Ziauddin Butt said Bin Laden had been hidden in Abbottabad "with the full knowledge" of Pervez Musharraf. Butt later denied making any such statement.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: In 2011, Saleh launched a peaceful campaign to warn that Hamid Karzai had lost conviction in the fight against the Taliban and was pursuing a compromise that could come at the cost of democracy, stability and human rights, especially women's rights. He criticized Karzai's policy, which he called a "fatal mistake and a recipe for civil war".


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: Amrullah Saleh consequently founded the Basej-e Milli (National Movement), also known as Afghanistan Green Trend, a political movement which has successfully established itself in Afghanistan. In May 2011, a mass of followers took part in an anti-Taliban demonstration in the capital Kabul.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: In December 2011, Saleh also criticized the corruption of the Karzai government. He warned that if the Afghan government did not commit itself to necessary reforms and to battling corruption, the year 2014 – when international troops plan on having finalized their exit strategy – would be "a year of challenges rather than opportunities". Saleh especially emphasized the need for fundamental reforms in Afghanistan's Independent Electoral Commission.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: Amrullah Saleh has been speaking and writing extensively on these issues in both local and international media. He maintains that the Taliban need to disarm and honor the integrity of the Afghan constitution before they could be considered for any reconciliation process.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: In an article that he wrote for the Wall Street Journal in February 2012, he mentioned, "Talks and a potential ceasefire may provide the US and its NATO allies their justification for a speedy withdrawal, but it won't change the fundamentals of the problem in Afghanistan. Striking a deal with the Taliban without disarming them will shatter the hope of a strong, viable, pluralistic Afghan state."


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: In his commentaries, Amrullah Saleh also discusses the negative influence of parochial politics and lack of incentives on the development of the Afghan National Security Forces. In an article for Al Jazeera in April 2012, he wrote, "Idealism and belief in values are crucial to strengthening the ranks. But when the security forces witness the decay of values at the leadership level, the incentive for sacrifice plummets. The effectiveness of the force declines. And in such situations ethnic and regional divides, personal connections, and mistrust creep in."


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: He warns that ethnic politics and internal fragmentation are serious challenges for Afghanistan. In an article for Al Jazeera in June 2012, he wrote, "Pan-Afghan parties don’t exist. Afghans of all ethnic groups have stood together for a common cause but they have failed to share a common platform."


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: With the imminent draw-down of the international assistance to Afghanistan and its implications on the programs and projects supporting Afghan economy and public institutions, Amrullah Saleh warns that, "The task of absorbing tens of thousands of low-quality degree holders, hundreds of thousands of unskilled, unemployed youth, and an ever-increasing ethnic quota in civil service and development projects will be monumentally difficult. This internal stress can only be overcome if Afghanistan diversifies its income sources and expands its extractive industries."


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: He also mentions, "The Afghan Local Police should be strengthened... but be insulated from political influence of current government stakeholders."


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: Explaining the reason why the West has not succeeded in Afghanistan, Amrullah emphasized the lack of effort towards creating an anti-Taliban constituency. He wrote, "The anti-Taliban constituency is not an ethnic alliance against the south, but rather a political umbrella for all Afghans who seek a pluralistic society and oppose the Talibanization of the society as part of a so-called reconciliation deal. Perhaps 80 percent of Afghans oppose the Taliban. Such an umbrella will be Afghans’ best representative in any talks with the Taliban, since Karzai and his High Peace Council lack credibility among Afghans who experienced the Taliban's oppressive rule."


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: Speaking during the inauguration of an Islamic foundation in Kabul, Saleh said the Karzai government and the United States of America cannot represent the anti-Taliban Afghan civilians and initiate peace talks while simultaneously excluding them. The former Afghan Intelligence Chief insisted on considering the views of the Afghan people during the peace talks process, as a majority of Afghans both in the northern and southern regions, he said, have negative views of the Taliban. He also questioned the honesty of the Taliban's involvement in peace talks. The recent objections by nearly all major opposition parties come amid growing efforts by the US and Hamid Karzai to make headway in secret talks with the Taliban and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-i Islami. In these talks representatives from the anti-Taliban United Front, which fought the Taliban from 1994 until 2001 and unites leaders representing roughly 60% of Afghanistan's population, are being excluded. Criticizing the secretive nature of US talks with the Taliban, which they suspect might end in a return of the Taliban to power, opposition leaders have asked for a transparent UN-led peace process.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: In a recent article for "Foreign Policy", titled, "What went wrong with Afghanistan?" published in March 2013, Amrullah Saleh mentioned that the key reason for the current problematic situation in Afghanistan was the West's (US and NATO's) mistaken belief that Pakistan would change its policies in Afghanistan.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: Starting with a rhetorical question—Is NATO losing and the Taliban winning?—Amrullah Saleh discusses the uncertainty among the Afghans about 2014—when NATO ends its combat mission in Afghanistan. He then mentions Afghans’ perception that the US is funding both sides of the conflict because Pakistan remains the key country supporting the insurgency. Amrullah Saleh also discusses why the NATO and the US remain unwilling to confront Pakistan because of their own security concerns. He advocates for a surge in the capacity of the Afghan National Security Forces. Amrullah Saleh highlights the importance of both training and equipment to ensure that cleared areas of Afghanistan are held, communication lines are kept open, and major population centers are defended.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: He specifically mentions, "Maintaining military pressure on the Taliban is key for survival of the pluralistic state in Afghanistan. Otherwise, the democratic space will shrink, and the Taliban's bargaining power in future talks will increase further."


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: He then concludes presciently, "Some analysts have tried to paint this war as a conflict between Afghans. It isn't. In reality, it is a war between a Pakistan-supported militant group and the rest of the world. There are only two possible solutions: A Western-backed Afghan government decisively defeats the Taliban, or the Taliban agree to demilitarize and join the political process. The United States, however, should understand one thing very clearly: It would be making a huge error – and confirming the Afghan people's worst fears – if it picked up and left Afghanistan to the Taliban's brutal ways."


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: On 3 May 2013, the Afghan Green Trend – the grassroots movement led by Amrullah Saleh – organized a large athletic demonstration in support of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). It also aimed at denouncing corruption, calling for a clean city and a clean municipality. The demonstration passed through the Afghan parliament building. The demonstrators chanted against the parliament's alleged corruption and denounced MPs who take bribes.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: They ended their run at the steps of the historical Darulaman palace and read a declaration: "Our aim is to announce our political and moral support for those who are in the trenches defending the country's sovereignty." Amrullah Saleh said, "To the soldiers who are martyred in line of duty – you lost your lives, but your dreams live on". He also warned against the "politicization of the country's security forces and their misuse towards political means."


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: On 9 June 2013, in the 10th annual US-Islamic forum organized in Doha by the Brookings institution in partnership with the state of Qatar, Amrullah Saleh spoke in a plenary session titled "Transitions in Afghanistan and Pakistan". Amrullah Saleh warned, "While America's war on terror may be winding down, the war between democratic forces and extremist groups in Afghanistan has not come to an end due to the widespread presence of terrorist sanctuaries, ongoing hostilities between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the rising momentum in the Taliban's insurgency."


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: He added, "A British soldier was cut into pieces [in] broad daylight in London or near London. Will [the] British government ever, instead of putting that guy to justice, put him in a five-star hotel and say, 'Brother, what made you do this? Can we accommodate your grievances?' That is what the West is expecting [of] us – to bring the killers of our brothers, to bring those who cut the noses of the Afghan women, to bring those who do suicide bombings in our wedding parties, to put them on the other side of the table and say, 'Brother, you represent our religion and I have lost my direction. Let us talk.' That is because there is not much respect for the dignity of the nation called Afghanistan when it comes to geopolitics."


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: President Ashraf Ghani appointed Saleh to become the new interior minister on 23 December 2018, in a major shake up in the government's security positions. At the same time, Asadullah Khalid was appointed the minister for defence. Media have claimed that Saleh and Khalid's vocal anti-Taliban critics could help curb the Taliban both military and in their ongoing peace talks.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: "The New York Times" reported that Saleh had vowed to minimize the influence of warlords and strongman over the state police in Kabul. Saleh and generals have taken steps such as seizing vehicles belonging to powerful politicians. In addition, a nationwide order came into law that bans visible armed guards on pickup trucks trailing someone unless they are military, interior or intelligence officials.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: On 19 January 2019, Saleh resigned as the Interior Minister to join Ashraf Ghani's election team. Following Ghani's re-election, Saleh was appointed as First Vice President of Afghanistan.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: Following the fall of Kabul into Taliban control, Saleh's office disputed rumors on 13 August that he was hiding in Tajikistan during the ongoing Taliban offensive. On 15 August, Saleh was erroneously reported to be among those who fled the country by plane along with President Ashraf Ghani. Later on the same day, Saleh stated on his Twitter page that he "will never be under one ceiling with Taliban". He accused Pakistan of supporting the Taliban.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: On 17 August, Amrullah Saleh surfaced with Ahmad Massoud, the son of anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, and former Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi in Panjshir Valley. He was claimed to be forming a resistance force against the Taliban.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: On 17 August 2021, Saleh proclaimed himself the acting president of Afghanistan, in accordance with articles 60 and 67 of the Constitution of Afghanistan which stipulate that the First Vice President assumes the duties of the President in the absence of the President. He also criticized US President Joe Biden and NATO, declaring in a tweet that "It is futile to argue with @POTUS on Afg now. Let him digest it. We d Afgs must prove tht Afgh isn't Vietnam & the Talibs aren't even remotely like Vietcong. Unlike US/NATO we hvn't lost spirit & see enormous oprtnities ahead. Useless caveats are finished. JOIN THE RESISTANCE." In a second tweet he wrote that "as per d constitution of Afg, in absence, escape, resignation or death of the President the FVP becomes the caretaker President. I am currently inside my country & am the legitimate care taker President. Am reaching out to all leaders to secure their support & consensus."


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: On 19 August, Twitter banned Saleh's and his party Afghanistan Green Trend's accounts (@AfghPresident and @AfgGreenTrend), while Taliban accounts were active and unrestricted.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: On 6 September, as the Taliban reportedly took full control of the Panjshir Valley, Saleh had reportedly fled to Tajikistan. Mohammad Zahir Aghbar, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's ambassador to Tajikistan, however denied these reports on 8 September. Saleh's son Ebadullah told Reuters on 10 September that his father's brother Rohullah Azizi had been executed a day earlier in Panjshir by the Taliban.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: According to U.S intelligence, two senior former Afghan government officials, and a Pentagon consultant, Saleh escaped into Tajikistan shortly after the Taliban seized control of Panjshir Valley on September 6, along with Ahmad Massoud. On September 29, the Afghan Embassy in Switzerland released a statement from the officials of the ousted government, though no one's name was mentioned, saying that the Government in Exile of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan led by Amrullah Saleh is the "only legitimate", democratically elected, government of Afghanistan and that no "external force" shall be accepted as the Afghan government whose support shall be extended to the National Resistance Front. It also stated that all the Afghan embassies under the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan shall carry on their regular work and that the activities of legislature and judiciary will be initiated soon with Saleh acting as the president of Afghanistan.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: Saleh has become a target of assassination a number of times. During a "60 Minutes" interview in the United States in December 2009, Saleh stated:


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: On 28 July 2019, three militants entered Saleh's office in Kabul after a suicide bomber blew himself up. At least 20 people were killed and 50 injured in the suicide bombing and gun battle at his office. Saleh was not injured in the attack. Saleh lost many colleagues and 2 nephews in the attack. The attack on Saleh was condemned by the international community, including the European Union.


title: Amrullah Saleh

text: On 9 September 2020, Saleh was wounded by a roadside bomb attack in Kabul, in which ten people were killed. Fifteen civilians were wounded, including some of his bodyguards. The Taliban denied responsibility. Saleh posted a video on Facebook after the explosion with bandages on his left hand and burns to his face. Saleh said he was traveling to his office with his son when the attack took place. There was no claim of responsibility for the bombing.


title: +44 (band)

text: +44 (read as Plus Forty-four) was an American rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles, California in 2005. The group consisted of vocalist and bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker of Blink-182, lead guitarist Shane Gallagher of The Nervous Return, and rhythm guitarist Craig Fairbaugh of Mercy Killers. Hoppus and Barker created +44 shortly after the initial 2005 breakup of Blink-182 and before it was later reformed. The band's name refers to the international dialing code of the United Kingdom, the country where the duo first discussed the project. Early recordings were largely electronic in nature, and featured vocals by Carol Heller, formerly of the all-girl punk quartet Get the Girl.


title: +44 (band)

text: The band's sound gradually took on a heavier tone as Hoppus and Barker purchased a studio in which to record. Although anticipated by the music press, the band's debut—the album "When Your Heart Stops Beating" (2006)—did not match commercial expectations and received mixed reviews from the critics. The group toured worldwide throughout 2006 and 2007, including a summer slot on the Honda Civic Tour alongside Fall Out Boy. Hoppus later began preparing material for a solo album, put plans for a second +44 album on hold in 2008, and the group entered an extended hiatus with the reunion of Blink-182 in 2009.


title: +44 (band)

text: By 2004, Blink-182—consisting of bassist Mark Hoppus, guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker—had emerged as the biggest pop punk act of the era, releasing the multiplatinum album "Enema of the State" (1999) and "Take Off Your Pants and Jacket" (2001), which reached number one. The band took a brief break in 2002 when DeLonge suffered a herniated disc in his back. During this time, he collected several darker musical ideas he felt unsuitable for Blink-182, compiling them in the album "Box Car Racer". This latter was recorded with the help of Hazen Street guitarist and longtime friend David Kennedy, and was intended as a one-time experimental project, but evolved into a full-fledged band, with Barker behind the kit. This side project would cause great division between DeLonge and Hoppus, who was not included and felt betrayed. The moody subject matter and music on "Box Car Racer" edged its way into the Blink sound as well, and the band explored experimentalist elements on their next effort, the eponymous fifth studio album "Blink-182" (2003).


title: +44 (band)

text: The trio embarked on a European tour the following fall, during which DeLonge felt increasingly conflicted both about his creative freedom within the group and the toll touring was taking on his family life. He eventually expressed his desire to take a half-year respite from touring, in order to spend more time with his family. Hoppus and Barker were dismayed by his decision, which they felt was an overly long break. DeLonge did not blame his band-mates for being disappointed with his requests, but was himself dismayed that they could not seemingly understand. In addition, DeLonge protested the idea of Barker's reality television series "Meet the Barkers", which was being produced for a 2005 premiere. He disliked television cameras everywhere, feeling his personal privacy invaded.


title: +44 (band)

text: Following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, DeLonge agreed to perform at Music for Relief's Concert for South Asia, a benefit show to aid victims. Further arguments ensued during rehearsals, rooted in the band member's increasing paranoia and bitterness toward one another. He considered his band-mates' priorities very different, coming to the conclusion that the trio had simply grown apart as they aged, had families, and achieved fame. The breakdown in communication led to heated exchanges, resulting in his exit from the group. It was announced on February 22, 2005 that Blink-182 would be going on an "indefinite hiatus". DeLonge would not speak to Barker or Hoppus—whom he once considered his greatest friends—for several years. Despite this, Geffen Records president Jordan Schur reportedly told Barker that "any press you do, make sure you say everything is cool".


title: +44 (band)

text: Hoppus and Barker began laying down new ideas. Recording in Barker's basement and Hoppus' dining room, by necessity everything was electronic, with the two musicians experimenting with electronic drums, samples, keyboards and direct computer recordings. While away on a trip in April 2005, Hoppus participated in an interview with MTV News in which he revealed the band's existence. When the two regrouped, they decided to stop giving interviews about the new project. The band's name is a reference to the country code needed when placing a phone call to the United Kingdom, where Hoppus and Barker first discussed making music alone. The basement recordings were ambient and quiet by necessity.


title: +44 (band)

text: The addition of other members to +44 came gradually. In April 2005, Barker invited his friend Carol Heller to provide vocals on a track. Formerly of the all-girl punk quartet Get the Girl, Heller traded and shared vocals with Hoppus on most of the band's early demos. Meanwhile, Hoppus invited friend Shane Gallagher to play the guitar on a few tracks the band began working on, and he was soon drafted as a member. Production of the record moved along swiftly once the duo purchased their own North Hollywood studio, which they dubbed Opera Music. The space—which featured two recording rooms, a lounge, and a small outdoor courtyard—was purchased in October 2005 from former Poison guitarist Richie Kotzen. After moving all band gear into the new recording center, the entire direction of the band evolved into a more organic sound. Heller became uneasy with the new direction and, with a desire to start a family, parted ways with the band by the end of the year. Shortly afterward, friend Craig Fairbaugh came in to observe, listen, and to play songs; by the end of the day, Hoppus and Barker asked him to become the fourth member of the group. The band's debut album, "When Your Heart Stops Beating", was produced by Hoppus and Barker, with longtime associate and friend Jerry Finn in the role of executive producer.


title: +44 (band)

text: The release date for "When Your Heart Stops Beating" was anticipated and publicized by the music press. As early as August 2005, Internet rumors began to circulate that the album would be released in January 2006, although the band's management denied the claims. Thanks to Hoppus' and Barker's silence on press interviews, misinformation flooded the Internet in the months prior to the record's release, and countless impostors posted fake songs online. "No, It Isn't" was leaked in December 2005 and caused speculation, as it addressed the break-up of Blink-182 head-on. Hoppus did not give any formal interviews prior to the release of the album, instead working on it in relative secrecy, spending time updating his blog, and producing tracks for Motion City Soundtrack. "During that time, their former bandmate, Tom DeLonge, did the opposite, peppering blogs and magazines with quotes hyping his new band and putting the blame for the Blink situation squarely on their shoulders", reported James Montgomery, of MTV News. Even though it pained them to do so, Hoppus and Barker refrained from speaking to the media, instead burying themselves in the studio for the recording of the album.


title: +44 (band)

text: "When Your Heart Stops Beating" was officially released November 13, 2006. In the United States, the album debuted at number 10 on the "Billboard" 200, with approximately 66,000 copies sold in its first week. The album received generally mixed reviews from music critics. "The New York Times" described it as "zippier and catchier" than Angels & Airwaves' debut studio album "We Don't Need to Whisper", but concluded that neither band was as good as Blink-182. As of September 2011, the album sold over 274,000 copies in the US. +44's first show took place at the Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, on September 7, 2006, with a second appearance following at the London Astoria. The band embarked on a promotional tour in the United Kingdom shortly thereafter. Barker was in constant pain but soldiered through the performances, altering his kit set-up to accommodate. A doctor informed Barker he had broken a bone in his arm during the band's video shoot, and was instructed to immediately rest and not take part in the band's upcoming live dates, including early 2007 jaunts to Australia and Europe. Barker nevertheless took part, but after an excruciating Amsterdam gig, the band drafted Gil Sharone, then of The Dillinger Escape Plan, to fill-in for him.


title: +44 (band)

text: The tour rolled on to Australia and Japan, where the band busied itself with press junkets and appearances. Crowds were, according to journalist Joe Shooman, mainly Blink-182 fans. Hoppus relished the opportunity to return to smaller, more intimate club dates, rather than the massive arenas of latter-day Blink. The band spent April to June 2007 on the Honda Civic Tour of the US and Canada alongside Fall Out Boy, The Academy Is... and Paul Wall. The band began slipping old Blink songs—"What's My Age Again?" and "The Rock Show"—into set lists, despite the band's rather adamant stance against doing so months before, apparently due to Hoppus and Barker fond feelings with Blink-182.


title: +44 (band)

text: Further August 2007 dates were postponed. Hoppus stated the band had decided to re-enter the studio in preparation of a second studio album. Hoppus and Barker spent the remainder of the year in discussions with record companies before announcing that the planned next +44 album would see its release via Interscope Records. According to journalist Joe Shooman, little work commenced on the album. Barker started releasing hip-hop remixes on May 9, 2008, and he hoped to collate his growing collection of remixes with a bunch of new tracks on which he was working. Eventually, the project became a solo album, with Barker producing it all himself. By the following August, Hoppus began recording material for a possible solo studio album at Opera while Barker worked on his solo too, although the duo continued to work together.


title: +44 (band)

text: In September 2008, Barker and collaborator Adam Goldstein (DJ AM) were involved in a plane crash that killed four people, leaving the two the only survivors. Barker sustained second and third degree burns and developed post-traumatic stress disorder, and the accident resulted in sixteen surgeries and 48–hour blood transfusions. DeLonge visited Barker in the hospital, and an October 2008 visit at Opera Music laid the grounds for what was to be Blink's reunion.


title: +44 (band)

text: After Blink-182 reunited in February 2009, Hoppus told "Alternative Press" that +44 was on hiatus, although in an interview with "Blunt Magazine" in March 2009, he indicated that it would continue.


title: +44 (band)

text: During an interview with Hoppus' side-project Simple Creatures, "Wall of Sound" asked him if he would ever consider reuniting +44 to play shows again, to which he replied:


title: +44 (band)

text: +44's original electronic influence is an undercurrent throughout the band's music, although electronic has been overtaken by guitar. Many tracks display a traditional punk sound (with a much more melodic touch), but also highlight electronica as a key influence. Many critics noticed the similarity between the sound of the music of +44 and Blink-182's final album before their break-up, "Blink-182" (2003). Its similarity is featured by the soft verse and loud chorus explosion as heard on their single "Stay Together for the Kids".


title: +44 (band)

text: The band's debut studio album was largely inspired by other bands such as The Postal Service, Missing Persons, and The Cure.


title: Hannah Stocking

text: Hannah Stocking-Siagkris (born February 4, 1992) is an American internet personality who first gained recognition from the social media platform Vine. She later became known for her comedy videos on YouTube.


title: Hannah Stocking

text: Stocking has over 8 million subscribers on YouTube, 23 million followers on Instagram, and 26.7 million followers on TikTok. She is the host of Mindie, a YouTube Music talk show produced by Shots Studios.


title: Hannah Stocking

text: Hannah Stocking was born on February 4th, 1992, in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Holly and Jon Stocking. She has a sister, Ruby. She is of Greek, Armenian, Ukrainian, and Hungarian descent. She attended Ashland High School in Ashland, Oregon, where she was a three-year varsity volleyball player. Afterward, Stocking moved back to California to attend Dominican University of California in San Rafael, where she studied biology and chemistry and continued playing volleyball.


title: Hannah Stocking

text: She appeared in G-eazy's music video "Tumblr Girls" in 2014 and starred in Blink-182's "She's Out of Her Mind" video in 2016 with Lele Pons and Vale Genta. She also played the role of Anna in Tyler Perry's horror-comedy sequel "Boo 2! A Madea Halloween".


title: Hannah Stocking

text: Stocking partnered in February 2018 with ATTN, a media company focused on creating content surrounding important societal topics, to create science-based videos for her YouTube channel. In April 2018, she created and starred in the official lyric video for Poo Bear, Justin Bieber, and Jay Electronica's single "Hard 2 Face Reality", which also featured Lele Pons. In June 2018, she launched the educational series "The Science of Beauty" on Instagram's IGTV platform.


title: Hannah Stocking

text: In 2019, Stocking was the first creator to receive the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Pioneer Award at the United Nations.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: A sequel, titled Rosario + Vampire: Season II, was serialized in "Jump Square" from November 2007 to February 2014. An epilogue chapter was published in "Jump SQ.19" in April 2014. The chapters were collected in fourteen "tankōbon" volumes. Both manga series were licensed in North America and in the United Kingdom by Viz Media, and in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment. The series also spanned three CD dramas, two visual novels, a novel adaptation, and two internet radio shows.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: A 13-episode anime adaptation of "Rosario + Vampire" aired in Japan between January and March 2008. A second season of the series, "Rosario + Vampire Capu2", aired in Japan between October and December 2008. The anime is licensed in North America by Funimation, which is now known as Crunchyroll, who released both seasons on December 20, 2011. The anime is also licensed in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment, who released both seasons in 2012.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: Tsukune Aono is an average teenager who is unable to get into any local high schools due to his poor grades. As a last-ditch effort to secure his education, his parents enroll him in a private school called Yokai Academy, which he discovers is a boarding school for monsters. The school teaches monsters how to coexist with humans, including disguising them as them, but any real humans found on campus are to be killed. Although he fears for his life, Tsukune befriends a beautiful vampire girl named Moka Akashiya, who enjoys his company and especially the taste of his blood. During a fight with a school bully, Tsukune accidentally removes the rosario around Moka's neck and discovers that she transforms into a powerful vampire with a completely different personality.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: Because of Moka, Tsukune decides to stay at Yokai. He befriends formerly antagonistic students, including succubus Kurumu Kurono and child prodigy witch Yukari Sendo. They join the school's Newspaper Club and wind up fighting a variety of students and teachers, who use their monstrous powers to bully or to control one or more of the members for their own selfish or destructive ends. On a club trip to the human world, they meet a witch, Ruby Tojo, who defends a field of sunflowers from being torn down by developers. They meet Mizore Shirayuki, a snow fairy student who becomes Tsukune's "stalker". A group of "Monstrels" harass the club. Ruby, having recovered from injuries, joins the school's staff as the Headmaster's assistant. An evil group called the Anti-Schoolers threaten to break down the barrier between the human and monster worlds. When Tsukune's cousin manages to sneak onto the school grounds, the club has a hard time keeping the monster school a secret. When the school is temporarily closed because of damage, Tsukune returns home to the human world only to have Moka, Kurumu, Yukari, and Mizore follow him and hide in his room.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: In "Rosario+Vampire: Season II", Moka's younger half-sister Koko Shuzen enrolls. She, Ruby, and Mizore join the Newspaper Club. On an excursion to Mizore's homeland, they learn of a dangerous organization called Fairy Tale, which seeks to destroy the human world. The Newspaper Club visits the human world where they meet San Otonashi, a former club member, and run into trouble with adversaries from Fairy Tale's 7th Branch office. Chinese transfer student Fangfang Huang tries to recruit Tsukune to join his mafia family. When Moka spends a school day as her inner personality, she is unable to return to the seal, so the Newspaper Club heads to China to get her Rosario fixed.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: In Hong Kong, Tsukune and the gang learn the truth about Moka's identity: she was infused with First Ancestor blood by her mother Akasha Bloodriver, who sacrificed herself to protect them from Alucard, the original First Ancestor vampire. Moka's eldest half-sister Aqua infiltrates the Huang manor and captures Moka to bring to Fairy Tale, which suspects that Moka is the key to reviving Alucard. While his friends train their powers, Tsukune has his body altered by Tohofuhai to handle the upcoming challenges.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: Tsukune and the gang infiltrate the Hanging Garden: a sky fortress that serves as Fairy Tale's headquarters. They face opposition from their leader and matriarch of the Shuzen family Gyokuro Shuzen, who sends the leaders of the Fairy Tale Branches after them for a series of fights. The group eventually reaches Moka, but must face her half-sisters Aqua and Kalua. Gyokuro snatches Moka's rosario in order to control Alucard. A character called the Masked King reveals himself to be a clone of Alucard's original vampire form. He reveals that he has manipulated both Fairy Tale and its opposition to determine whether the rosario could control him, and then merges with his monster self, who goes on a rampage in Tokyo.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: Moka is mortally wounded, but Tsukune revives her by removing all his holy locks and transforming himself into a First Ancestor vampire. They beat down Alucard, but he revives and reveals that he has hatched eggs in Japan's major cities. Tsukune's friends and allies, along with the two other Dark Lords, band together to fight Alucard and his clones. Tsukune puts Moka's rosario on Alucard, which awakens Akasha inside his monster body. Akasha tells Alucard to give up the fight, and they cast a self-disintegration spell. Now that the existence of monsters is known in the human world, coexistence is now even harder to achieve; however, Tsukune is confident that he and his friends can do it.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: Ikeda drew inspiration from the monster manga series "Kaibutsu-kun" and has incorporated some references later into the first serialization of the "Rosario+Vampire" manga. In an interview at Lucca Comics 2012, Ikeda said he is a big fan of Tim Burton and was inspired by his works, including "The Nightmare Before Christmas", and particularly "Edward Scissorhands" because the monster has a sensitive soul. His first character design was Moka, a beautiful girl vampire with a crucifix around her neck; he then created the school of monsters and Tsukune afterwards. He credits the beautiful girls for the series' popularity and added the fighting elements. After the series ended in "Monthly Shōnen Jump" but was going to be featured in "Jump Square", he retitled the second series to give it a sense of renewal.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: Written and illustrated by Akihisa Ikeda, "Rosario + Vampire" was first published with one-shot chapters in Shueisha's "shōnen" manga magazine "Monthly Shōnen Jump" from 2003 to 2004; it debuted as a serialized manga in the same magazine on July 6, 2004. The magazine ceased its publication on June 6, 2007. An extra chapter was published in "Weekly Shōnen Jump" on September 22, 2007. Shueisha collected its chapters in ten "tankōbon" volumes, released from October 4, 2004, to October 4, 2007.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: A sequel, titled , was serialized in "Jump Square", the successor to "Monthly Shōnen Jump", from November 2, 2007, to February 4, 2014. An epilogue chapter was published in "Jump SQ.19" on April 19, 2014. Shueisha collected its chapters in fourteen "tankōbon" volumes, released from June 4, 2008, to May 2, 2014.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: Both manga series were licensed in North America and in the United Kingdom by Viz Media under its "Shonen Jump Advanced" imprint, and in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment. Viz Media released the first series between June 8, 2008, and November 3, 2009, and the second between April 6, 2010, and May 5, 2015.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: A 13-episode anime adaptation produced by Gonzo and directed by Takayuki Inagaki aired in Japan from January 3, 2008, to March 27, 2008, on Tokyo MX, Chiba TV, and TV Kanagawa, with later runs on TV Saitama, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, Aomori Broadcasting Corporation, and Kids Station. Six DVD compilation volumes were released between April 25 and September 26, 2008, and a DVD/Blu-ray box set was released on January 29, 2010. The anime quickly became notorious for its extensive use of fanservice in the form of panty shots, leading the series to be censored on certain channels during its TV broadcast.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: A second 13-episode season, , aired on TV Osaka between October 2 and December 24, 2008, with subsequent runs on Tokyo MX, Mie TV, Chiba TV, TV Kanagawa, TV Saitama, Gifu Broadcasting System, Inc., Aomori Broadcasting Corporation, and Kids Station. Six DVD volumes were released between December 21, 2008, and May 22, 2009, and a DVD/Blu-ray box set was released on March 19, 2010.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: For the first season, the opening theme is "Cosmic Love" and the ending theme is called "Dancing in the Velvet Moon". For the second season, the opening theme is "DISCOTHEQUE" and the ending theme is "Trinity Cross"; all songs in the series are performed by Nana Mizuki, the voice actress for Moka Akashiya in the series.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: The anime was licensed in North America by Funimation, and released both seasons on December 20, 2011. Funimation initially encountered production issues from the Japanese licensors, causing a series of delays with their release date. Originally intended for release on March 19, 2011, the release date was pushed back to May 17, 2011, and later to July 19, 2011. Following Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll, the series was moved to Crunchyroll. The anime is also licensed in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment, who already holds licensing rights to the manga, and released both seasons in 2012. MVM holds the anime license in the United Kingdom and has released the first season of Rosario Vampire on 10 September 2012.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: A series of character singles from the first season of the anime was released by King Records. The first set of singles, featuring Moka Akashiya (Nana Mizuki), Kurumu Kurono (Misato Fukuen) and Yukari Sendo (Kimiko Koyama), was released on February 14, 2008. The second set of singles, featuring Mizore Shirayuki (Rie Kugimiya) and Ruby Tojo (Saeko Chiba), was released on March 26, 2008, along with a compilation album called . An original soundtrack was released on December 25, 2008.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: A set of character singles from the second season was also released by King Records. The first set of singles for Moka Akashiya, Kokoa Shuzen (Chiwa Saito), Kurumu Kurono, and Yukari Sendo was released on October 29, 2008, while the second set of singles featuring Mizore Shirayuki and Ruby Tojo was released on November 26, 2008, along with another "The Capucchu" compilation album. A "Best Of" album entitled was released on February 18, 2009.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: A drama CD of "Rosario + Vampire" was released by Shueisha on August 31, 2006. A second drama CD was later released by Shueisha on December 14, 2007, and a third drama CD based on the anime adaptation was released by Marine Entertainment on July 25, 2008. Most of the voice actors from the CDs were carried on to the anime series.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: An internet radio show promoting the anime entitled aired on Onsen between December 27, 2007 and March 27, 2008. Another radio show promoting the second anime called also aired on Onsen between October 23, 2008 and April 23, 2009. The shows are hosted by Misato Fukuen and Kimiko Koyama, the voices of Kurumu Kurono and Yukari Sendo, respectively. A CD based on the first radio show was released by Sony Music Entertainment on August 6, 2008, and another CD based on the second radio show was released on June 24, 2009.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: A novelization of "Rosario + Vampire" written by Fumihiko Shimo was released by Shueisha on April 4, 2008 under their "Jump j-Books" imprint.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: A visual novel entitled was developed by Capcom and was released on March 30, 2008 for the Nintendo DS. Another visual novel entitled was developed by Compile Heart and was released for the PlayStation 2 on July 23, 2009. The player assumes the role of Tsukune Aono in both games, and both games feature new characters.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: In North America, the second volume of "Rosario + Vampire" was featured on BookScan's Top 20 Graphic Novels, ranking at #6 in August 2008 and #16 in September 2008, with the fifth volume ranking at #7 in February 2009. Season II Volume 8 reached number 5 on BookScan and was the top manga in April 2012 Season II Volume 11 ranked number 10, and Season II Volume 12 reached number 3.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: Carlo Santos of Anime News Network gave the first volume of "Season II" a C rating and the second volume a B− rating. When he gave volume 1 a C, he stated that "you could do a lot worse". He felt that "Season II" has all the things that made the series good, but the attempt to reboot the series for the new semester caused it to lack intense feeling, reintroducing all the characters and going against weak enemies once again. For the second volume, Santos was more pleased with the introduction of a major villain and the fanservice artwork in the lighter story, but lamented the lack of any visually threatening monster.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: Matthew Warner of Mania.com gave volumes 1 through 3 of "Season II" ratings between B+ and A−. In his review for volume 1, he felt the first part was a bit weak with "predictable and bland stories," but remarked positively on the volume's cover art and artwork in general, especially the character artwork. For the second volume, he said it was better focusing on two stories and while noting the second story with Koko was weaker, it still delivers "quite a few solid laughs" and helps develop her character. In his review for volume 3, he stated while it starts out slow, he really enjoyed the story with Mizore, specifically the character development and seeing the characters put aside their disagreements for a common goal: to save Mizore.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: Leroy Douresseaux of Comic Book Bin gave volumes of "Season II" an A− rating. He opined the emphases on sexual innuendo, comparing it to "Strawberry 100%", and that the series is like "The Addams Family" mixed with "X-Men": "cool, creepy folks at a secret school where they can live and learn in a place free of the prejudice against them." In volume 11, he changed his overall view and deemed it solidly a battle manga.


title: Rosario + Vampire

text: YALSA included "Rosario + Vampire, Vol.1" in its list of the 2013 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults under the subcategory Boarding Schools to Summer Camps: Leaving home to find yourself.


title: Matt Osborne

text: Matthew Wade Osborne (July 27, 1957 – June 28, 2013), known professionally as Matt Borne, was an American professional wrestler. Osborne was a second generation wrestler, the son of Tony Borne, and is best known as being the first wrestler to portray the character of Doink the Clown.


title: Matt Osborne

text: Under the ring name Matt Borne, Osborne debuted on December 6, 1978 and wrestled for various National Wrestling Alliance territories, most prominently for Pacific Northwest Wrestling, where he was their heavyweight and four-time tag champion. Borne also would regularly referee matches while in Portland as that territory had only one primary referee (Sandy Barr) and it was not uncommon for wrestlers there to ref when not working a match: his officiating indeed became part of several major angles. In Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling on June 6, 1980, he won his first championship, also the first of two tag titles he would hold with Buzz Sawyer. In Mid-South Wrestling, he allied with Ted DiBiase and Jim Duggan as a member of The Rat Pack, a heel stable, and won their tag title with DiBiase. In Canada, he worked for and Maple Leaf Wrestling.


title: Matt Osborne

text: Borne debuted in the WWF on March 2, 1985, wrestling Rick McGraw to a time-limit draw in the Boston Garden. This was followed four days later by another draw, this time to eventual WWF Champion Bret Hart in Elizabeth, NJ. Two days later Borne suffered his first recorded defeat, losing to David Sammartino in Hershey, PA.


title: Matt Osborne

text: He was primarily a jobber, though occasionally beat other jobbers at house shows. He made his television debut for the WWF on March 23, 1985 edition of All Star Wrestling, teaming with Frank Marconi in a losing effort against WWF Tag-Team Champions Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham. Throughout the year Borne would face a variety of opponents on television and at live events, and the highlight of this stint was losing to Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat at the first WrestleMania in Madison Square Garden. His last match was a loss to George Wells in the Cow Palace on April 29, 1986.


title: Matt Osborne

text: In May 1986, Borne joined World Class Championship Wrestling. That September, he reformed his tag team with Buzz Sawyer under the management of Percival Pringle III to win a one-day tournament to crown new World Tag Team Champions. He also won the Texas Heavyweight Championship and defended the title at the Christmas Star Wars event against The Iron Sheik. Borne and Sawyer feuded with fellow Pringle protege Dingo Warrior after falling out with him during a six-man tag match, with Warrior turning babyface as a direct result of the incident.


title: Matt Osborne

text: In 1989, World Class merged with United States Wrestling Association based in Memphis, Tennessee. He and Jeff Jarrett won the USWA Southern Tag Team Titles defeating Cactus Jack and Scott Braddock. On May 25, 1990 he defeated Kerry Von Erich for the USWA Texas Heavyweight Title and dropped the title back to Von Erich on June 1. He left USWA in 1991.


title: Matt Osborne

text: In 1991, Osborne signed with World Championship Wrestling and debuted as "Big Josh", an outdoorsman who danced with bears and was friends with Tommy Rich. He debuted as a fan who would run in from the crowd with an axe handle to save babyfaces from villainous attacks by heels. During his stint with WCW, Osborne won the United States Tag Team Championship with Ron Simmons and the World Six-Man Tag Team Championship with Dustin Rhodes and Tom Zenk. Borne made his final pay-per-view appearance for the company on May 17, 1992 at WrestleWar, where he defeated Richard Morton; and continued to make sporadic WCW TV appearances throughout the summer of 1992 before leaving the company.


title: Matt Osborne

text: After leaving WCW in 1992, Osborne returned to the World Wrestling Federation on September 21, 1992 in Manitoba, Canada at a WWF Superstars taping. Competing as himself, he defeated Bill Jordan. Borne would shortly thereafter become Doink the Clown, in a villainous clown gimmick that would frequently pull tricks on wrestlers at ringside as well as fans. He made his in ring televised debut on the January 31, 1993 edition of Wrestling Challenge defeating Bob East. He would also briefly use the character in United States Wrestling Association in February before returning to WWF television in March. Soon after his televised return, he began feuding with Crush after attacking him with a prosthetic arm on an episode of "Superstars of Wrestling", which subsequently resulted in a match at WrestleMania IX. During this match, another Doink (Steve Keirn) came out from under the ring and attacked Crush with another prosthetic arm, allowing the real Doink to pin Crush.


title: Matt Osborne

text: In the spring of 1993, Doink was given the opportunity to enter the King of the Ring tournament, facing Mr. Perfect in the qualifying round. After two time-limit draws, Mr. Perfect defeated Doink in their third match. At the Pay Per View itself, Doink (or rather, two Doinks) distracted Crush causing him to lose to Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels. Doink spent the summer months of 1993 continuing his feud with Crush as well as successful house show runs against Marty Jannetty and the 1-2-3 Kid, as well as occasionally losing to higher profile opponents like Bret Hart or Tatanka. At SummerSlam, Jerry Lawler hired Doink to wrestle Hart as he feigned injury, which "the Hitman" won by disqualification when Lawler interfered. Several days later, Doink turned against Lawler, by inciting a mocking chant from the fans directed at him.


title: Matt Osborne

text: On the September 13, 1993 Raw, Doink poured a pail of water over Bobby Heenan, marking his fan favorite turn. On a December episode of Raw, Doink was given a present from Santa Claus in the form of a midget in the Doink costume, which he named Dink. Shortly afterward, however, Osborne was fired for re-occurring drug abuses. His final TV appearance in the WWF for that era was on the December 27, 1993 episode of Raw. Osborne cited in a shoot interview that Bam Bam Bigelow did not like putting over Osborne. Osborne said this subsequently led to Bigelow snitching on him for smoking weed in the hallway of his hotel and getting him fired from the WWF. Following his departure, Doink was played by Ray Licameli (also known as Ray Apollo).


title: Matt Osborne

text: Following his departure from the WWF, Borne appeared in Extreme Championship Wrestling for a handful of matches as Doink. However, the fans hated this, as ECW was viewed as an alternative to the WWF and WCW and seeing a gimmick like this made Doink a villain for a completely different reason.


title: Matt Osborne

text: After Doink lost a match to then-World Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas, Douglas went on to criticize Vince McMahon for turning a talented wrestler like Borne into a comic relief character, and claimed that he knew how to bring out Borne's full potential. Borne then changed his ring name to Borne Again, and continued wearing the clown suit, albeit without the wig, wearing a minimal amount of face paint, as well as growing out his hair and beard. After beating his opponents, he would make them dress in clown outfits. However, his tenure with the company was short-lived due to personal problems.


title: Matt Osborne

text: After leaving ECW, Osborne wrestled on the independent circuit, for several reunion shows and for various independent promotions under his Matt Borne ring name. In 2005, at WrestleReunion II Borne participated in an eight-man tag team match alongside Andrew Martin, Steve Corino and The Masked Superstar. However, his team lost to Dusty Rhodes, The Blue Meanie, Tom Prichard and D'Lo Brown. On December 10, 2007, Osborne reprised the role of Doink at "Raw"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s 15th Anniversary as he took part in a Legends Battle Royal. In early 2010, Osborne reinvented the Doink character to resemble Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker in "The Dark Knight", nicknaming the incarnation 'Reborne Again'. The new character debuted on March 27 for ISPW in New Jersey. On May 23, 2010 Doink the Clown, portrayed by Dusty Wolfe, interfered against Skandor Akbar and his men Dr. Knuckles and Rommel. This caused them to lose the Wrecking Ball Wrestling tag titles. In retaliation Akbar called on the original Doink (Matt Borne). They were scheduled to meet on August 15, 2010. At that time Wolfe no-showed the event to avoid the wrath of Borne. On August 8, 2010, Borne won the Wrecking Ball Wrestling Championship.


title: Matt Osborne

text: After this, Osborne returned to a full-time schedule, continuing to compete on a semi-regular basis all over the United States for the last several years until a few days before his death on June 28, 2013.


title: Matt Osborne

text: Osborne was found dead on June 28, 2013, in the Plano, Texas apartment he lived in. He was 55 years old. Though no weapons were found near his body, and police said the death appeared accidental, they launched a precautionary homicide investigation. The cause of death was later determined to be an accidental overdose of morphine and hydrocodone. He also suffered from heart disease, which had been a contributing factor in his death.


title: Matt Osborne

text: In June 2015, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed against WWE, alleging that "WWE created a culture of violence and sacrificed Matt Osborne's brain for its own profit" which "led to further illnesses and injuries, including depression and drug abuse, which ultimately resulted in his untimely death." WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt said the suit was without merit and blamed the attorneys for taking advantage of the families involved. The suit was filed by the mother of two of Osborne's four children, and was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE. The lawsuit was dismissed by US District Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant, who ruled that they failed to show that his death was linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy.


title: Matt Osborne

text: Matt Osborne (as Doink) appeared in "" and several versions of the video game "WWE Raw". Osborne's "Evil Doink" persona also appeared in "WWE 2K22" in 2022, as DLC.


title: Betsy Palmer

text: Betsy Palmer (born Patricia Betsy Hrunek; November 1, 1926 – May 29, 2015) was an American actress, who was known as a regular supporting film and Broadway actress and television guest star, as a panelist on the game show "I've Got a Secret", and later for playing Jason Voorhees' mother, Pamela Voorhees, in the slasher film "Friday the 13th" (1980).


title: Betsy Palmer

text: Palmer was born Patricia Betsy Hrunek on November 1, 1926, in East Chicago, Indiana, the daughter of Marie (née Love), an adoptee, who launched the East Chicago Business College before she married, and Vincent Rudolph Hrunek (1894-1969), an industrial chemist who immigrated from Czechoslovakia, and became a stay-at-home father. She performed in school plays all through childhood, graduated from East Chicago's Roosevelt High School in 1944, then attended East Chicago Business College. After graduation, she worked as a stenographer and secretary for the car foreman on the RIP track of the B&O Railroad. She hated it, she said, because she was shut off from people. Some time after Palmer took an aptitude test at the Chicago YWCA, which indicated a flair for the arts, her father brought a coworker home for dinner, a former New York actor who recommended she study with David Itkin. Working days and commuting to night classes from East Chicago, she graduated from the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago (now at DePaul University).


title: Betsy Palmer

text: Palmer began working in summer stock in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, then in winter stock at the Woodstock Opera House in Woodstock, Illinois, with Paul Newman, and then summer stock in Chicago with Imogene Coca. Having saved $400, she told her parents she was changing her name to Betsy Palmer and moving to New York City with Sasha Igler, who had a job in advertising.


title: Betsy Palmer

text: Palmer got her first television acting job in 1951 when she joined the cast of the 15-minute weekday television soap opera "Miss Susan", which was produced in Philadelphia, and all actors traveled each day from New York City by train. She was "discovered" for this role by Norman Lessing while attending a party in the apartment of actor Frank Sutton, who was married to Toby Igler, the sister of Palmer's roommate, Sasha Igler. She had been in Manhattan less than one week.


title: Betsy Palmer

text: A life member of the Actors Studio, Palmer's stage work included a tour of "South Pacific" (as Nellie Forbush) and a summer-stock season in the title role in "Maggie", the 1953 musical adaptation of "What Every Woman Knows" by William Roy and Hugh Thomas.


title: Betsy Palmer

text: In 1953, she created the role of Virginia in the original teleplay version of Paddy Chayefsky's "Marty". Also in 1953, she appeared in a Studio One television broadcast of "Hound-Dog Man" with Jackie Cooper and others. She became a familiar face on television as a news reporter on "Today" in 1958 (the "Today" Girl), and a long-running regular panelist on the quiz show "I've Got a Secret". She joined the show's original run, replacing Faye Emerson in 1958 and remaining until the show's finale in 1967. She did not reprise her role in any of the various revivals of the show. Palmer was the last surviving member of the "I've Got a Secret" first version's cast.


title: Betsy Palmer

text: Palmer appeared as Kitty Carter in "The Long Gray Line" (1955), starring Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara. She also played nurse Lt. Ann Girard (the main female character) in "Mister Roberts" (1955), starring with Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon, James Cagney, and William Powell. In the same year, she played Carol Lee Phillips in "Queen Bee", which starred Joan Crawford.


title: Betsy Palmer

text: Palmer starred alongside Anthony Perkins and Fonda again in the Paramount production of "The Tin Star" (1957).


title: Betsy Palmer

text: In 1958, she played undercover agent Phyllis Carter/Lynn Stuart in the film "The True Story of Lynn Stuart", co-starring Jack Lord and featuring Kim Spalding as her husband, Ralph Carter.


title: Betsy Palmer

text: Palmer appeared in seven Broadway shows. All the original productions had short runs, but she replaced other actresses in long-run shows, notably Lauren Bacall in "Cactus Flower" in 1967, and Ellen Burstyn in "Same Time Next Year" in 1977. In 1976, Palmer was the actress whom Tennessee Williams chose to embody the frustrated lead, Alma Winemiller, in his "The Eccentricities of a Nightingale."


title: Betsy Palmer

text: Palmer's Mercedes-Benz stopped working on the highway to her home in Connecticut after a performance in New York City. She arrived home at five o'clock in the morning, so she resolved to replace her car, and later, her daughter suggested that the Volkswagen Scirocco was a cute car and it was $10,000. The offer of $1000 a day for 10 days work on location at a Boy Scout camp in New Jersey, to fund the car purchase, was a reason for taking her most famous, recent role, "Friday the 13th". She recounted, in an interview, that her initial reaction to the experience was: "What a piece of shit! Nobody is ever going to see this thing." Despite her distaste for the film, she reluctantly consented to a cameo appearance in "Friday the 13th Part 2". She ultimately came to accept and celebrate her participation in the franchise, as it made her more famous rather than infamous; she eventually commented "I was dumb, 'Friday the 13th' is an excellent film." Palmer was asked to reprise her role as Mrs. Voorhees in "Freddy vs. Jason" in 2003 and agreed to return, but she ultimately turned down the role after being offered a surprisingly low salary.


title: Betsy Palmer

text: In 1982, Palmer created the role of Suzanne Becker on the CBS daytime soap opera "As the World Turns." From 1989 to 1990, the actress appeared on "Knots Landing" as Virginia "Ginny" Bullock, the aunt of Valene Ewing (played by series star Joan Van Ark). Palmer acted in a Mayfield Dinner Theatre production of "On Golden Pond" in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1997.


title: Betsy Palmer

text: In 2002, Palmer provided the voice of the title character, the ghost of a witch, for the horror film "", released in 2007.


title: Betsy Palmer

text: In 2005, at around 79 years old, she appeared as Trudie Tredwell in the horror short "Penny Dreadful", and in 2007, at 81, as the older version of the title character in "Waltzing Anna".


title: Betsy Palmer

text: Palmer appeared in the 2006 documentary, "Betsy Palmer: Scream Queen Legend", as part of the publicity for the 2007 release of "Bell Witch: The Movie".


title: Betsy Palmer

text: Palmer married Vincent J. Merendino, an obstetrician-gynecologist, in 1954, whom she met in New York on a blind date. They divorced in 1971 after 17 years. She had one daughter, Melissa.


title: Betsy Palmer

text: Palmer died of natural causes on May 29, 2015, at a hospice care center in Danbury, Connecticut. She was 88.


title: Betsy Palmer

text: From 1953 to 2001, Palmer was a guest star on 73 television programs, including (in no particular order):


title: One for Sorrow (nursery rhyme)

text: "One for Sorrow" is a traditional children's nursery rhyme about magpies. According to an old superstition, the number of magpies seen tells if one will have bad or good luck.


title: One for Sorrow (nursery rhyme)

text: The rhyme has its origins in ornithomancy superstitions connected with magpies, considered a bird of ill omen in some cultures, and in Britain, at least as far back as the early sixteenth century. The rhyme was first recorded around 1780 in a note in John Brand's "Observations on Popular Antiquities" on Lincolnshire with the lyric:


title: One for Sorrow (nursery rhyme)

text: One of the earliest versions to extend this was published, with variations, in Michael Aislabie Denham's "Proverbs and Popular Saying of the Seasons" (London, 1846):


title: One for Sorrow (nursery rhyme)

text: On occasion, jackdaws, crows and other Corvidae are associated with the rhyme, particularly in America where magpies are less common. In eastern India, the erstwhile British colonial bastion, the common myna is the bird of association.


title: One for Sorrow (nursery rhyme)

text: A version of the rhyme became familiar to many UK children when it became the theme tune of the children's TV show "Magpie", which ran from 1968 to 1980. The popularity of this version is thought to have displaced the many regional versions that had previously existed.


title: One for Sorrow (nursery rhyme)

text: The name of the rock band Counting Crows derives from the rhyme, which is featured in the song "A Murder of One" on the band's debut album, "August and Everything After".


title: One for Sorrow (nursery rhyme)

text: The first track on Seanan McGuire's album "Wicked Girls", also titled "Counting Crows", features a modified version of the rhyme.


title: One for Sorrow (nursery rhyme)

text: The artist S. J. Tucker's song, "Ravens in the Library," from her album "Mischief", utilizes the modern version of the rhyme as a chorus, and the rest of the verses relate to the rhyme in various ways.


title: One for Sorrow (nursery rhyme)

text: David Dodds used the rhyme as the chorus for his song "Magpie"; it also included the lyric "Devil, Devil, I defy thee", having been inspired by an older woman he gave a lift to once in his new car. As a supposed counter-curse to the bad luck brought by witnessing a magpie, the woman would say the expression and spit whnever she saw a one during their journey. The English band The Unthanks recorded a version of this song on their 2015 album "Mount the Air".


title: One for Sorrow (nursery rhyme)

text: Anthony Horowitz used the rhyme as the organizing scheme for the story-within-a-story in his 2016 novel Magpie Murders and in the subsequent television adaptation of the same name.


title: One for Sorrow (nursery rhyme)

text: The American alternative rock band, The Innocence Mission, featured a song called "One for Sorrow, Two for Joy" on their 2003 release, Befriended. It was written and sung by Karen Peris.


title: One for Sorrow (nursery rhyme)

text: The nursery rhyme's name was used for a book written by Mary Downing Hahn, "One for Sorrow: A Ghost Story". The book additionally contains references to the nursery rhyme.


title: Savannah (actress)

text: Shannon Michelle Wilsey (October 9, 1970 – July 11, 1994), better known by her stage name Savannah, was an American pornographic film actress who starred in over 100 videos during her career. One of the most prominent adult industry models of her time, she achieved notoriety within her short (1990–1994) career due to her onscreen presence and personal life. In January 2002, "AVN" ranked her at #19 on its list of the top 50 porn stars of all time.


title: Savannah (actress)

text: Wilsey reportedly took her stage name from "Savannah Smiles" (1982), a movie she enjoyed. Following a car crash that broke her nose, she attempted suicide by firearm and died at the hospital after being removed from life support.


title: Savannah (actress)

text: Wilsey was introduced to the adult film industry by actor and director Rex Cabo. She started at first in photo spreads for "Cheri", "Hustler", "Swank", and "Penthouse", and then she signed an exclusive contract with Vivid Entertainment in 1991 and became one of the early Vivid Girls. Wilsey began using drugs and spending large amounts of money, and she reportedly had severe financial troubles despite her substantial income. She also garnered a reputation for arriving late to film shoots, being temperamental and acting like a diva, and sometimes getting drunk or abusing drugs during the film/video shoots. These antics eventually led to Vivid severing its association with her in 1993. She ended her career by mainly freelancing for lower-budget porn companies by capitalizing on her still big but clearly fading name in the industry. Wilsey also appeared in a variety of minor roles in B movies (mostly comedy, horror and/or sci-fi) in which she was credited with her real name. These roles included "The Invisible Maniac" (1990) and "Camp Fear" (1991). She also had a credit for her performance on a soundtrack in the video "The Spectacle" (1991). After her death, Wilsey continued to appear via archival footage. She appeared as Santana on Joe Bob's "Drive-In Theater" when the show aired "Sorority House Massacre II" (October 1994).


title: Savannah (actress)

text: In a video interview for Vivid, Wilsey stated that the first time she saw "erotic material" was when she was "snooping through her parents' things" and found some magazines when she was 11 years old. She later stated that she used to watch porn videos with her boyfriend on his tour bus (presumably referring to Gregg Allman).


title: Savannah (actress)

text: Wilsey became involved in a long-term relationship with fellow pornographic actress Jeanna Fine, with whom she later claimed to have fallen deeply in love. In a 1999 interview, following the airing of the "E! True Hollywood Story" about Wilsey's life and death, Fine commented: "We had an ongoing, on-again, off-again, volatile, loving relationship. At that time, I was having a lot of problems myself. Between [male porn actor] Sikki Nixx and Savannah pushing and pulling, I pretty much at one point ran away from them both. I couldn't take it any longer. But I feel I left her behind when she needed me most. It's very sad."


title: Savannah (actress)

text: Savannah also had relationships with singer Billy Idol, Mötley Crüe member Vince Neil, Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth, bassist Billy Sheehan who was in Roth's solo band, comedian Pauly Shore, guitarist Slash, and actor Mark Wahlberg, According to an interview with "Adult Video News", Wilsey stated: "I love sex, and I love sex with rockers more than anything else."


title: Savannah (actress)

text: Wilsey died by suicide in 1994 by shooting herself after a car accident. On the evening of July 11, Wilsey was involved in an auto accident with her Corvette in which she reportedly broke her nose and injured her face. Upset over the accident and worried that she would suffer permanent scarring on her face, she went home to Universal City, California, asked a friend to walk her dog, and then called her manager Nancy Pera. It was Pera who later discovered Wilsey in the garage of Wilsey's home. Wilsey did not die immediately; she died hours later in the hospital after her father decided to shut down her life support systems once it became obvious that she would not survive her injury. Wilsey's ex-boyfriend, comedian Pauly Shore, stated that he was with her when she died in St. Joseph's Hospital.


title: Savannah (actress)

text: Wilsey's funeral, two days later, was attended by friends, family, and limited numbers of adult industry associates. Shore was the only one of her ex-boyfriends to attend the service. Of Wilsey, Shore said "She was the nicest, most beautiful girl I ever met...[her death] was a very dramatic thing for me." When asked why she killed herself, he said "She became Savannah. She became her character, who was into drugs, and needed reassurance all the time. She forgot who Shannon was...I knew she wanted out [of the porn business]." Wilsey's death was the third high-profile suicide in the adult industry. After her death, Bill Margold founded Protecting Adult Welfare (P.A.W.), a non-profit organization that provides counseling for adult performers in need. Her body was cremated and the ashes given to family & friends.


title: Adoption

text: Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from the biological parents to the adoptive parents.


title: Adoption

text: Unlike guardianship or other systems designed for the care of the young, adoption is intended to effect a permanent change in status and as such requires societal recognition, either through legal or religious sanction. Historically, some societies have enacted specific laws governing adoption, while others used less formal means (notably contracts that specified inheritance rights and parental responsibilities without an accompanying transfer of filiation). Modern systems of adoption, arising in the 20th century, tend to be governed by comprehensive statutes and regulations.


title: Adoption

text: While the modern form of adoption emerged in the United States, forms of the practice appeared throughout history. The Code of Hammurabi, for example, details the rights of adopters and the responsibilities of adopted individuals at length. The practice of adoption in ancient Rome is well-documented in the Codex Justinianus.


title: Adoption

text: Markedly different from the modern period, ancient adoption practices put emphasis on the political and economic interests of the adopter, providing a legal tool that strengthened political ties between wealthy families and created male heirs to manage estates. The use of adoption by the aristocracy is well-documented: many of Rome's emperors were adopted sons. Adrogation was a kind of Roman adoption in which the person adopted consented to be adopted by another.


title: Adoption

text: Infant adoption during Antiquity appears rare. Abandoned children were often picked up for slavery and composed a significant percentage of the Empire's slave supply. Roman legal records indicate that foundlings were occasionally taken in by families and raised as a son or daughter. Although not normally adopted under Roman Law, the children, called "alumni", were reared in an arrangement similar to guardianship, being considered the property of the father who abandoned them.


title: Adoption

text: Other ancient civilizations, notably India and China, used some form of adoption as well. Evidence suggests the goal of this practice was to ensure the continuity of cultural and religious practices; in contrast to the Western idea of extending family lines. In ancient India, secondary sonship, clearly denounced by the Rigveda, continued, in a limited and highly ritualistic form, so that an adopter might have the necessary funerary rites performed by a son. China had a similar idea of adoption with males adopted solely to perform the duties of ancestor worship.


title: Adoption

text: The practice of adopting the children of family members and close friends was common among the cultures of Polynesia including Hawaii where the custom was referred to as "hānai".


title: Adoption

text: The nobility of the Germanic, Celtic, and Slavic cultures that dominated Europe after the decline of the Roman Empire denounced the practice of adoption. In medieval society, bloodlines were paramount; a ruling dynasty lacking a "natural-born" heir apparent was replaced, a stark contrast to Roman traditions. The evolution of European law reflects this aversion to adoption. English common law, for instance, did not permit adoption since it contradicted the customary rules of inheritance. In the same vein, France's Napoleonic Code made adoption difficult, requiring adopters to be over the age of 50, sterile, older than the adopted person by at least 15 years, and to have fostered the adoptee for at least six years. Some adoptions continued to occur, however, but became informal, based on ad hoc contracts. For example, in the year 737, in a charter from the town of Lucca, three adoptees were made heirs to an estate. Like other contemporary arrangements, the agreement stressed the responsibility of the adopted rather than adopter, focusing on the fact that, under the contract, the adoptive father was meant to be cared for in his old age; an idea that is similar to the conceptions of adoption under Roman law.


title: Adoption

text: The next stage of adoption's evolution fell to the emerging nation of the United States. Rapid immigration and the American Civil War resulted in unprecedented overcrowding of orphanages and foundling homes in the mid-nineteenth century. Charles Loring Brace, a Protestant minister, became appalled by the legions of homeless waifs roaming the streets of New York City. Brace considered the abandoned youth, particularly Catholics, to be the most dangerous element challenging the city's order.


title: Adoption

text: His solution was outlined in "The Best Method of Disposing of Our Pauper and Vagrant Children" (1859), which started the Orphan Train movement. The orphan trains eventually shipped an estimated 200,000 children from the urban centers of the East to the nation's rural regions. The children were generally indentured, rather than adopted, to families who took them in. As in times past, some children were raised as members of the family while others were used as farm laborers and household servants. The sheer size of the displacement—the largest migration of children in history—and the degree of exploitation that occurred, gave rise to new agencies and a series of laws that promoted adoption arrangements rather than indenture. The hallmark of the period is Minnesota's adoption law of 1917, which mandated investigation of all placements and limited record access to those involved in the adoption.


title: Adoption

text: During the same period, the Progressive movement swept the United States with a critical goal of ending the prevailing orphanage system. The culmination of such efforts came with the First White House Conference on the Care of Dependent Children called by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1909, where it was declared that the nuclear family represented "the highest and finest product of civilization" and was best able to serve as primary caretaker for the abandoned and orphaned. As late as 1923, only two percent of children without parental care were in adoptive homes, with the balance in foster arrangements and orphanages. Less than forty years later, nearly one-third were in adoptive homes.


title: Adoption

text: Nevertheless, the popularity of eugenic ideas in America put up obstacles to the growth of adoption. There were grave concerns about the genetic quality of illegitimate and indigent children, perhaps best exemplified by the influential writings of Henry H. Goddard, who protested against adopting children of unknown origin, saying,


title: Adoption

text: Taken together, these trends resulted in a new American model for adoption. Following its Roman predecessor, Americans severed the rights of the original parents while making adopters the new parents in the eyes of the law. Two innovations were added: 1) adoption was meant to ensure the "best interests of the child", the seeds of this idea can be traced to the first American adoption law in Massachusetts, and 2) adoption became infused with secrecy, eventually resulting in the sealing of adoption and original birth records by 1945. The origin of the move toward secrecy began with Charles Loring Brace, who introduced it to prevent children from the Orphan Trains from returning to or being reclaimed by their parents. Brace feared the impact of the parents' poverty, in general, and Catholic religion, in particular, on the youth. This tradition of secrecy was carried on by the later Progressive reformers when drafting of American laws.


title: Adoption

text: The number of adoptions in the United States peaked in 1970. It is uncertain what caused the subsequent decline. Likely contributing factors in the 1960s and 1970s include a decline in the fertility rate, associated with the introduction of the pill, the completion of legalization of artificial birth control methods, the introduction of federal funding to make family planning services available to the young and low-income, and the legalization of abortion. In addition, the years of the late 1960s and early 1970s saw a dramatic change in society's view of illegitimacy and in the legal rights of those born outside of wedlock. In response, family preservation efforts grew so that few children born out of wedlock today are adopted. Ironically, adoption is far more visible and discussed in society today, yet it is less common.


title: Adoption

text: The American model of adoption eventually proliferated globally. England and Wales established their first formal adoption law in 1926. The Netherlands passed its law in 1956. Sweden made adoptees full members of the family in 1959. West Germany enacted its first laws in 1977. Additionally, the Asian powers opened their orphanage systems to adoption, influenced as they were by Western ideas following colonial rule and military occupation. In France, local public institutions accredit candidates for adoption, who can then contact orphanages abroad or ask for the support of NGOs. The system does not involve fees, but gives considerable power to social workers whose decisions may restrict adoption to "standard" families (middle-age, medium to high income, heterosexual, Caucasian).


title: Adoption

text: Adoption is today practiced globally. The table below provides a snapshot of Western adoption rates. Adoption in the United States still occurs at rates nearly three times those of its peers even though the number of children awaiting adoption has held steady in recent years, between 100,000 and 125,000 during the period 2009 to 2018.


title: Adoption

text: Adoptions can occur between related or unrelated individuals. Historically, most adoptions occurred within a family. The most recent data from the U.S. indicates that about half of adoptions are currently between related individuals. A common example of this is a "step-parent adoption", where the new partner of a parent legally adopts a child from the parent's previous relationship. Intra-family adoption can also occur through surrender, as a result of parental death, or when the child cannot otherwise be cared for and a family member agrees to take over.


title: Adoption

text: Adoption is not always a voluntary process. In some countries, for example in the U.K., one of the main origins of children being placed for adoption is that they have been removed from the birth home, often by a government body such as the local authority. There are a number of reasons why children are removed including abuse and neglect, which can have a lasting impact on the adoptee. Social workers in many cases will be notified of a safeguarding concern in relation to a child and will make enquiries into the child's well-being. Social workers will often seek means of keeping a child together with the birth family, for example, by providing additional support to the family before considering removal of a child. A court of law will often then make decisions regarding the child's future, for example, whether they can return to the birth family, enter into foster care or be adopted.


title: Adoption

text: Infertility is the main reason parents seek to adopt children they are not related to. One study shows this accounted for 80% of unrelated infant adoptions and half of adoptions through foster care. Estimates suggest that 11–24% of Americans who cannot conceive or carry to term attempt to build a family through adoption, and that the overall rate of ever-married American women who adopt is about 1.4%. Other reasons people adopt are numerous although not well documented. These may include wanting to cement a new family following divorce or death of one parent, compassion motivated by religious or philosophical conviction, to avoid contributing to overpopulation out of the belief that it is more responsible to care for otherwise parent-less children than to reproduce, to ensure that inheritable diseases (e.g., Tay–Sachs disease) are not passed on, and health concerns relating to pregnancy and childbirth. Although there are a range of reasons, the most recent study of experiences of women who adopt suggests they are most likely to be 40–44 years of age, to be currently married, to have impaired fertility, and to be childless.


title: Adoption

text: Although adoption is often described as forming a "forever" family, the relationship can be ended at any time. The legal termination of an adoption is called disruption. In U.S. terminology, adoptions are "disrupted" if they are ended before being finalized, and they are "dissolved" if the relationship is ended afterwards. It may also be called a "failed adoption". After legal finalization, the disruption process is usually initiated by adoptive parents via a court petition and is analogous to divorce proceedings. It is a legal avenue unique to adoptive parents as disruption/dissolution does not apply to biological kin, although biological family members are sometimes disowned or abandoned.