Board Meeting Minutes January 21 2016: Fill & Download for Free

I’ve been working in New York City for nearly 10 years where at different stages of my life and career, my commute has ranged from 25 minutes to over 90 minutes on average. All of my commutes have included riding the New York City Subway which drastically changed the duration and quality of my commute. The amount of time spent in transit has drastically affected my mood, my life balance, health, and happiness. In this post I’ll share the impact my commute has had on my life.2009-2011 (Commute Rating 2.5/5.0)(My commute from Long Island 2009-2011).I graduated from the University of Delaware in June 2009 with a degree in Finance. I took my first job at a prop trading desk in Midtown Manhattan, near 57th and Lexington Ave. I had zero money and had yet to earn enough for an apartment in the city at age 21, so I moved back in with my father on Long Island and commuted in. This is what my commute looked like:Wake up 6:15amDrive to the train station (10-15 minutes).Park the car and walk to the LIRR (5-10 minutes)Board 6:48am train and nap or read for the duration.Arrive at Penn Station around 7:45am.Walk to E train and take it to 53rd and Lexington Ave (10-15 minutes)Walk 5 minutes to 57th and Lex.Arrive by 8:30am.Reverse the process starting at 5 or 6pm, arriving home between 6:30-7:30pm.This commute was brutal. The cost of this commute was over $400/ month, between a monthly LIRR pass, monthly unlimited Metrocard, and gas / car maintenance. Now I was saving money by avoiding rent, but this cost was still no joke. Leaving aside delays, the crowds, car issues and bad weather, there was just so little time left in the day to do anything! Happy hour, dinner, or dates after work? I would get home at 11pm or plan to sleep at a (luckier) friends place in the city. If I went to the gym after work I wouldn’t be home until 9pm. What’s there left to do? Eat dinner and maybe watch an hour of TV. Rinse and repeat. This was an exhausting commute that required early wake ups and sucked up personal time. I do not care to repeat it.2011-2013 (Commute Rating 4.0/5.0)(My commute while in Astoria from 2011-2013).I got an apartment in Astoria, NY (Queens) with my best friend towards the end of 2011. At this point I had moved jobs and was working on 44th and Lex for a time and then 45th and 3rd Ave. The commute was MUCH simpler and shorter, averaging 35 minutes each way.Leave the apartment by 8:10am.Walk to N Q train at 30th Ave in Astoria (5-10 minutes)Transfer at Queensboro Plaza to the 7 train (1-10 minutes)Take the 7 train to Grand Central, 42nd Street (5-10 minutes)Walk to 45th and 3rd (5 minutes) and arrive at work by 8:45am.This commute was pretty great! The cost to commute was substantially smaller, requiring only an Unlimited Metrocard for $130 or so. It was short and simple, and afforded me the opportunity to socialize more after work, hit the gym, and cook dinner (sometimes). The main detractor was the amount of time it would take to get home if I ventured further west or south into the city as the train time home grew substantially. If I leave aside the fact that I was now back to being independent in a great part of Queens with my best friend, I’d say I became much happier on a day to day basis.2014-2016 (Commute Rating 4.25/5.0)(My commute from the East Village to Midtown Manhattan, 2014–2016).My roommate fell in love with our neighbor and moved in with her right around the time one of my UDel friend moved to NYC from Washington DC. We had roomed together in college (literally shared the same room) and we decided to reunite and get a place in the East Village of Manhattan, arguably one of the best neighborhoods for meeting people, and eating and drinking well and in excess. The commute was simple:Leave the apartment by 8:15am.Walk to Astor Place from 7th Street and 1st Ave (10-15 minutes).Take the local 6 train to either 14th street and transfer to the 5, 6 Express trains, or remain on the 6 train to 42nd Street, Grand Central (10 minutes).Walk to office (3-5 minutes).This commute was wonderful. My 10 minute walk to and from my apartment each day took me through one of the most exciting parts of NYC, giving me ideas for where to go out and what to explore further. The time spent on the train was minimal and I gained a ton of time back in my day to socialize, date, and work out. It also happens to be the time I started this site :). This was one of the happiest and exciting times in my adult life and the short commute made a big impact.2016 (Commute Rating 3.0/5.0)(My commute from the Upper East Side to Midtown Manhattan for part of 2016).While I was living in the East Village I fell in love with my now wife, Lauren. She had lived in a spacious studio apartment for some time and we decided to move in together. I moved to the Upper East Side which is in many ways the cultural opposite of the East Village, and started a new commute.Leave the apartment by 8:10am.Walk to the 456 train at 86th Street and Lexington Ave. (10-15 minutes).Take the 4 or 5 Express lines to Grand Central, 42nd Street (15-20 minutes).Walk to the office (3-5 minutes).On paper this commute looked pretty comparable to my previous commutes (35 minutes) but I learned the 456 downtown during rush hour was often a special kind of commuter hell. There were CONSTANT delays where the trains would either stop running, causing overcrowding on the platform, delayed trains while onboard, and general discomfort squeezing into packed cars. The walk to and from the subway was also not nearly as interesting as my prior walk in the East Village, which further depreciated the commute by comparison. But at least I was living with my future wife.2016-2017 (Commute Rating 2.0/5.0)(My miserable commute to work downtown 2016-2017).After nearly 4 years at the same job in Midtown, I was ready for a change at work. I went to work for a small start-up in a similar industry (expert networks) located in the Financial District. I knew the commute would be worse but I decided the challenge and opportunity would be worth it. Boy was I wrong. See the previous commute details about delays on the 456 line? Multiply it by 2x as that was the added distance on that sh*t line.Walk or take the bus to 456 at 86th and Lex (10-15 minutes).Take 4 or 5 train to Wall Street (30-50 minutes).Walk to the office (5-10 minutes).I had briefly worked in the Financial District during my Long Island days but the commute didn’t differ too much. This was different. The slog to and from the office was unpredictable because of the trains, uncomfortable because of the unlikelihood of getting a seat, and made worse by the fact that the job was not what I expected it to be (ever heard of a micromanager boss?). It also made planning after work activities more challenging because of the distance and time it took to get elsewhere in the city. This was one of the worst times in my professional career. I cannot blame the commute entirely, but it exacerbated my malaise and despondency during this time.2017-Present (Commute Rating: 4.5/5.0)(My commute to work while at Sisense, 2017-Present).I found a new job in the summer of 2017 at Sisense, where I have been working since. The office is just south of Times Square in Herald Square. The Midtown location was a draw for its convenience especially as the long awaited Q train opened on January 1, 2017. All hail the mighty Q train! No more green line hell!Walk to the Q train, where there is an entrance on 86th between 1st and 2nd Ave (5-7 minutes).Take it 4 stops to 42nd St, Times Square (10-15 minutes minutes)Walk to the office (5 minutes).Riding the Q train is such a pleasure in the context of NYC subway lines. It is a brand new line so it is clean, well lit, and extremely convenient for the east siders. On top of that, I really enjoy going to work, which makes me lucky. So how do I feel about this commute? It’s GLORIOUS!My experience with different commutes has varied drastically along with its impact on my mood and happiness. I’d say the expectations of the duration and comfort has had the greatest impact on me. I imagine others feel this way too; whether they are driving to work in bumper to bumper traffic one day, and cruising to the office in minutes on other days. Let me know if you agree and what your experience with your commute‘s impact on your happiness has been.

As per the Statement of the Minister concerned while presenting the Amendment Bill it is 'Incongruity' with Constitution and Law.Let us see the logic. The Bill proposed to change the Terms and Conditions of Service to include Tenure, Status and Salary of the Central Information Commissioner (CIC) and Information Commissioners (ICs). The Bill amends Sections 13 and 16 of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. Section 13 of the original Act. Now that it has been passed it is Law now.[1]So what has changed?The tenure was fixed for Five years. It will now be at the pleasure of the Central Government.The Status and Salary was benchmarked with the salary of a Supreme Court judge to Rs 2.5 lakh per month, along with a monthly allowance of Rs 34,000 and the usual perks like rent-free furnished housing and 200 litres of fuel every month. It was at par with Central and State Election Commissioners/State Chief Secretary. The Central Government will fix it now. [2]Pension component will be reduced from the salary as is the current practice for re-employed Government servants.Currently, the CIC and ICs are chosen by a three-member panel of the PM, the Leader of Opposition or leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha and a Cabinet minister nominated by the PM. Similarly, the State Chief Information Commissioners (SCIC) and State Information Commissioners (SIC) are chosen by a three-member panel of the CM, the state's leader of opposition or leader of the largest opposition party in the state assembly and a state Cabinet minister nominated by the CM. Centre will decide appointments, even for state CIC, ICs.What’s the logic?[3]The statement of objects says “the mandate of Election Commission of India and Central and State Information Commissions are different. Hence, their status and service conditions need to be rationalised accordingly”.The Central Information Commissioner has been given the status of a Supreme Court judge but his judgements can be challenged in the High Courts. How can that exist?Besides, the RTI Act did not give the government rule-making powers.What’s got the goat of Opposition parties and RTI activists?Five orders passed by the Central Information Commission against the Central Government has propelled the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill 2019, said Congress MP Jairam Ramesh in Rajya Sabha during the discussion on the Bill. "The timing of the amendment is not so innocuous and innocent. There are five cases that have propelled the government to bring these amendments," he said noting five orders of Central Information Commissioner including one on Prime Minister Modi's educational qualification.[4]The amendments give the power to appoint and decide the term as well as the salary of SCIC and SICs to the Centre - which nullifies the independence of the state legislatures. Even the CIC and the ICs will serve at the pleasure of the government - raising the possibility that they would be more interested in ensuring the longevity of their tenures rather than serving the citizens' interests.If the tenure of the CIC, IC, SCIC and SIC are to be fixed by the Centre, it may follow that their removal from office may also be dependent on the Centre, whereas in the original bill, the CIC and IC may be removed only by the President - and the state governor in case of SCIC and SIC - after an inquiry by the Supreme Court finds reason for their dismissal from office.[5]Seven former Information Commissioners of the Central Information Commission condemned the move of the NDA government to amend the RTI Act through the RTI Amendment Bill 2019. They termed the amendment as a direct attack on the autonomy of information commissions and people's fundamental right to know.[6]Shailesh Gandhi rejected the justification put forth by the government that because decisions of information commissioners are challenged in high courts, therefore their status being equivalent to Supreme Court judges was causing legal hindrances. They said that decisions of all authorities including those of the President and prime minister are challenged before high courts and that their status does not prevent or debar such challenges. [7]He said the genesis of the RTI comes from Supreme Court rulings on how right to information is a pre-condition for informed voting and therefore, parity between information and election commissioners is not an anomaly.[8]Sridhar Acharyulu said that the RTI Amendment Bill was not just an attack on the RTI Act but also on the Constitutional right to freedom of speech as the RTI emanates from there. He highlighted that the Supreme Court has repeatedly said that the right to information is a fundamental right and that is what empowered the central government to even legislate the RTI Act which was even applicable to states.[9]Terming the reasons given by the government for the amendment bill as illogical logic, he said commissions could survive only because their tenure and salary were protected by law. He further highlighted that in the amendments the government was not specifying what status commissioners would be given. Underlining the importance of a high status he said that was crucial to enable commissioners to give directions to even the cabinet secretary or principal secretary.[10]What really got the goat of the Modi Govt?CIC Order on Modi Degree. [11] In January 2017, the then Central Information Commissioner Prof. M. Sridhar Acharyulu directed the Delhi University to facilitate inspection of record. Treating Kejriwal’s letter in the matter as an RTI application, the CIC had directed the PMO to give Modi’s roll numbers to the universities so that they could find out the details of his degrees.“Not prescribing the education (degree based) qualification for contesting electoral offices is one of the great features of Indian democracy. What is needed is education and not degrees. However, when a citizen holding the position of chief ministership wants to know the degrees-related information of the prime minister, it will be proper to disclose. The commission directs the Central Public Information Officers (CPIOs) of Delhi University and Gujarat University to make best possible search for the information regarding degrees in the name of ‘Mr Narendra Damodar Modi’ in the year 1978 (graduation in DU) and 1983 (post-graduation in GU) and provide it to the appellant Mr. Kejriwal as soon as possible,” the CIC order had said.While dealing with another appeal related to the issue, the Central Information Commission (CIC), which had last year directed the universities of Delhi and Gujarat to respond to all RTI applications on the issue and ordered the Prime Minister’s office (PMO) to facilitate their search and disclosure, has this time refused to intervene, saying the matter was pending before the Delhi high court.In a recent order, Central Information Commissioner Manjula Prasher, while dealing with an appeal filed by Rajender Singh, a resident of Delhi, seeking a copy of “all marksheets or degree, copy of degree entry register, copy of register which contains signature of receipt of degree of Modi along with the convocation list of the year 1979,” held that as per Delhi University’s submission, the matter was the same as one pending for adjudication before the Delhi high court and that a stay had been granted by the court on January 23, 2017. Therefore, she held that “no intervention is required on the part of the commission” and disposed of the appeal.The commission noted that the high court too had in January 2017 stayed the CIC’s order of December 21, 2016, directing DU to provide the result of all students who appeared for the Bachelor of Arts, year 1978 with roll no., name of the students with father name, marks and result pass or failed. Prasher said the high court, while granting the stay, placed reliance on the apex court judgement of 2011 in CBSE vs Aditya Bandopadhyay & Others.CIC Order on Demonetisation. In February 2019, the CIC directed the RBI to disclose the minutes of the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India which was held prior to the announcement of demonetization. The minutes revealed that the board had warned the government of its adverse effects in the short term. It was revealed that the board did not agree with the government's justification that demonetization would extinguish black money and counterfeit notes.[12]Order on List of Loan Defaulters. In November 2018, the CIC directed the Prime Minister's Office to disclose the list of wilful loan defaulters which was submitted by the then RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan in February 2015.Order on SIT on Black Money In October 2017, the CIC held that the Special Investigation Team on black money in foreign shores was a 'public authority' under the RTI Act, and directed it to reveal information on retreiving unaccounted money in foreign bank accounts by Indians or others.Disclosure order on Bogus Ration Votes. Jairam Ramesh also mentioned that an order passed by the CIC proved that the claims made by the Prime Minister in Lok Sabha regarding weeding out of bogus ration cards were incorrect. The PM had claimed about 4 crore bogus cards to have been weeded out. However, the RTI information showed that the actual number was nearly 2.3 crores.[13]The verdict is out. Both sides have their reasons. RTI misuse and abuse of CIC/ICs is a problem for the common man looking for Information to fight for his/her right.Footnotes[1] Rajya Sabha passes RTI amendment bill, Opposition walks out[2] Learning with the Times: What new amendments mean for Right to Information Act | India News - Times of India[3] Explained: What has changed in RTI Act? Why are Opposition parties protesting?[4] Govt Taking Revenge On RTI For Five Orders Passed By CIC Against It : Jairam Ramesh In Rajya Sabha[5] Learning with the Times: What new amendments mean for Right to Information Act | India News - Times of India[6] Former chiefs of info panel condemn changes to RTI Act[7] Former chiefs of info panel condemn changes to RTI Act[8] Former chiefs of info panel condemn changes to RTI Act[9] Former chiefs of info panel condemn changes to RTI Act[10] Former chiefs of info panel condemn changes to RTI Act[11] RTI Appeal Seeking Corroborating Details for Modi's BA Degree Blocked[12] Govt Taking Revenge On RTI For Five Orders Passed By CIC Against It : Jairam Ramesh In Rajya Sabha[13] Govt Taking Revenge On RTI For Five Orders Passed By CIC Against It : Jairam Ramesh In Rajya Sabha

I spent a few days trying to figure out how I wanted to format this post, as there are so many events that took place this past decade. I decided I’d make a mini timeline of events, selecting 10 from each year which I believe have shaped our world. Please note that I do not mean this to be a comprehensive list of events. These are just some of many historic events that happened between 2010 and 2019.January 12, 2010 - A major earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.0 struck Haiti. The earthquake affected about 3 million people, killed around 250,000 and injured 300,000 more.On January 20, aftershocks struck the country, causing further destruction to the buildings.The earthquake caused one of the greatest needs for humanitarian relief in history.(image: National Geographic)February 27, 2010 - An earthquake, with a magnitude of 8.8 struck Chile.The earthquake subsequently triggered a tsunami, killing over 500 people.It was one of the largest earthquakes recorded in history.March 26, 2010 - A South Korean naval ship called the ROKS Cheonan sunk off the west coast of the country.Forty-six of the 104 personnel on board died. An investigation blamed North Korea for the attack. North Korea denied all allegations.April 14, 2010 - An Icelandic ice cap called Mount Eyjafjallajökull produced heavy ash after several volcanic eruptions.The ash caused disruptions in air traffic across northern and western Europe.The University of Iceland estimates Mount Eyjafjallajökull erupted over 750 tonnes of magma.(image: Reuters via Telegraph)April 20, 2010 - BP’s oil drilling platform, Deep Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico.Eleven workers died and the oil spill is one of the largest in history.Waters and ecosystems on the U.S. coastline were damaged, prompting international debate about offshore drilling.(image: Reuters/Lee Celano via Gist)May 2, 2010 - After dealing with financial strife, the Eurozone and International Monetary Fund agreed to bail out Greece for 110 billion euros.The bailout package included strict measures Greece needed to follow.June 24, 2010 - Julia Gillard, the first female Prime Minister of Australia, is sworn in after an unopposed election.October 6, 2010 - Popular social media site, Instagram opened to the public.Founders posted test photos earlier in the year.October 13, 2010 - After surviving over two months of being trapped underground, crews rescued 33 miners in the San Jose Mines in Chile.The collapse trapped the miners approximately three miles from the entrance of the mine.(image: Wikimedia Commons)December 22, 2010 - U.S. President Barack Obama signed a bill repealing the controversial “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” bill.This bill disallowed openly gay people from serving in the U.S. military for 17 years.January 25, 2011 - The Egyptian Revolution of 2011 began.Protesters against President Hosni Mubarak and increased police brutality started street demonstrations, rallies, civil disobedience, and other violent clashes in Egypt’s major cities.President Mubarak resigned after 18 days of protest.(image: My Student Voices)February 15, 2011 - The First Libyan Civil war began.The war caused uncertainty over Libyan oil output, increasing oil prices by 20% over a two-week period. This led to the 2011 energy crisis.March 11, 2011 - A 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of Japan, triggering a tsunami.The natural disaster killed thousands of people and destroyed a nuclear power plant, causing the second worst nuclear accident in Japan’s history.(image: Britannica)April 19, 2011 - After serving 45 years on the Communist Party of Cuba’s central committee, Fidel Castro resigned.Castro resigned from his presidency in 2008.April 29, 2011 - Prince William, Duke of Cambridge married Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge at Westminster Abbey. Approximately two billion people watched the couple wed.(image: Billboard)May 2, 2011 - U.S. Navy SEALs captured and killed Osama Bin Laden.Bin Laden was the suspected person behind the September 11 attacks.Until his death, he was the number one person on the U.S. FBI’s most wanted list.July 22, 2011 - Two terrorist attacks perpetrated by Anders Behring Breivik shook Norway.First, Brevik bombed a government building in Oslo, killing eight people.Second, Brevik opened fire at a Workers’ Youth League in Utøya.Brevik received Norway’s maximum sentence of 21 years in preventative detention.September 17, 2011 - The United States’s Occupy Wall Street movement began.The movement against economic inequality inspired over 70 other Occupy movements in other countries.(image: Spencer Platt/Getty Images via Rolling Stone)October 18, 2011 - Israel began a prisoner exchange with Hamas, a militant Palestinian organization.Hamas captured an Israeli Army solider named Gilad Shalit.In exchange for 1,027 Palestinians and Israeli-Arab prisoners being released, Hamas would release Shalit to Israel officials.December 15, 2011 - The United States ended the first insurgency of the controversial Iraq War. Immediately after, the second insurgency began.January 13, 2012 - The Costa Concordia, a passenger cruise ship capsized off the coast of Italy because of the negligence of captain Francesco Schettino.Thirty-two people died because of the incident, making it the second deadliest cruise ship crash after the Titanic disaster in 1912.Schettino is serving sixteen years in prison for manslaughter.(image: Associated Press via Los Angeles Times)February 21, 2012 - Eurozone bailed out Greece for the second time; this time for 130 billion euros.June 30, 2012 - Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood became president of Egypt.The election sparked controversy and protests across the country.July 18, 2012 - Kim Jong-un was officially appointed as ruler of North Korea. Kim sat as the leader since 2011, after his father Kim Jong-il died.(image: New York Times)July 20, 2012 - James Holmes opened fire in a movie theater during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises.Holmes, who claimed he was The Joker, killed twelve people and injured 58 more.Police arrested Holmes on-scene and later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.July 30–31, 2012 - India experienced the worst power outage in world history. The blackout left about 700 million people without power.September 11–27, 2012 - Terrorists targeted United States diplomatic embassies worldwide, killing U.S. ambassador J. Christopher Stevens in Libya.The attacks may have been a reaction to a YouTube trailer for a film called Innocence of Muslims.November 25, 2012 - Typhoon Bopha (AKA Typhoon Pablo) hit the Philippines, killing over 1,000 people. Most of the damage was to the island of Mindanao.Over 800 people are still missing.(image: World Vision / Cryslin Felisilda via World News)December 14, 2012 - Adam Lanza killed his mother in her home then opened fire on Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, United States.Twenty-eight people, including Lanza, who shot himself, died. Most of the victims were children.(image: Britannica)December 24, 2012 - WikiLeaks released a list of names, credit card numbers, passwords, and home and email addresses of employees for major agencies such as Bank of America, Lockheed Martin, and the United Nations.This was a part of an attack on a geopolitical intelligence group, Stratfor. Earlier in 2011, e-mails revealing surveillance of protest groups were released to WikiLeaks.January 16–20, 2013 - Terrorists held workers hostage at a natural gas facility in Algeria. Thirty-nine international workers and one security guard died.February 15, 2013 - Over 1,000 were injured after a meteor exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia. The meteor was the most powerful meteor to strike Earth in over a century.(image: Alex Alishevskikh via NASA)February 28, 2013 - Pope Benedict XVI resigned as pope.Benedict was the first pope to resign voluntarily since 1294. Benedict cited his health and age as the reasons for his resignation.March 14, 2013 - China named Xi Jinping President of the People’s Republic of China.April 15, 2013 - Two Islamist brothers, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev detonated two bombs at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.Three people died and the blasts injured 264 more.The brothers then attempted to escape by killing an MIT officer, kidnapping a man, and stealing his car. Authorities captured the brothers in a shootout, which two officers were severely injured. Police shot Tamerlan several times. Tamerlan ran over his brother in the stolen car while trying to get away from police. Dzhokhar died from his injuries.Four days later, police apprehended the surviving brother. Tamerlan was eventually sentenced to the death penalty for his crimes.(image: Tom Green / Zuma Press via NBC News)May 16, 2013 - Scientists successfully cloned human stem cells for the first time.June 6, 2013 - Edward Snowden, a former U.S. CIA employee disclosed that the United States has a mass surveillance program.Snowden fled the country and Russia granted him temporary asylum.(image: Biography)August 14, 2013 - Egyptian military raided two-anti coup camps following the overthrowing of Egypt’s president, Mohamed Morsi.Over 2,000 people died because of the raids. This was one of the largest killings of protesters in recent history.August 21, 2013 - West Syria attacked East Syria using chemical warfare, killing over 1,400 people. In the early hours of morning,West Syria launched two rockets containing Sarin gas on a suburb called Ghouta. The attack was the worst use of chemical warfare since the Iran-Iraq war.September 21, 2013 - Islamic militants from the group Al-Shabab attacked the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. The terrorist attacks killed over 70 people, including four attackers and injured at least 200 more.(image: BBC)February 22, 2014 - The Ukranian Parliament voted to replace President Viktor Yanukovych with Oleksandr Turchynov after days of civil unrest. A series of violent events killed almost 100 people in Kiev.March 8, 2014 - Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared while flying over the Gulf of Thailand. The flight had 239 people on board.The search for Flight 370 became the costliest search for an airplane in history.In 2015 and 2016, debris from the plane washed ashore off the coast of the Indian Ocean.Still the events surrounding the crash are a mystery, making it one of the greatest aviation mysteries of our time.(image: file photo via Avionics International)March 23, 2014 - The World Health Organization (WHO) announced an Ebola epidemic in West Africa. Over the two-year period of the epidemic, the virus infected over 25,000 people. Of those people infected, over 11,000 people died.WHO named this the worst Ebola outbreak in history.(image: NBC News)April 14–15, 2014 - Terrorist organization Boko Haram allegedly kidnapped over 200 women and girls from a school in Nigeria and held them hostage.Over the next months, authorities rescued 57 of the schoolgirls, however many remained missing. In May 2016, authorities rescued one of the kidnapped girls, who said six of the girls died. They found another in January 2017.The group released 21 girls in 2016 and another 82 in 2017.April 25, 2014 - Government officials changed the water source in Flint, Michigan, United States, starting the Flint Water Crisis.Residents soon reported changes in the color, smell, and taste of water. The water tested positive for both e.coli and c.diff bacteria.Later investigation found lead in the water supply. Government agencies did too little too late to help the people of Flint, causing mass criticism.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the water tested safe in 2017, but as of 2019, there are doubts that this is true.(image: AP/Ryan Garza via Guardian)June 5, 2014 - Islamic terrorist group, ISIS began their reign of terror in norther Iraq. ISIS aimed to capture Iraq’s capital city, Baghdad and overthrow the government.July 17, 2014 - Pro-Russian rebels allegedly shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Eastern Ukraine. The crash killed all 298 people aboard. This was the second incident involving a Malaysia Airlines plane in 2014.August 9, 2014 - A police officer shot an unarmed black man named Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, United States. The events prompted protests and uprisings in Ferguson.(image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images via The Atlantic)November 24, 2014 - A hacker group named “Guardians of Peace” leaked confidential information from Sony Pictures.Data leaked included e-mails between employees, information about employees and their families, unreleased Sony films, plans for future films, scripts, and more. The hackers then erased the Sony Pictures computer infrastructure.The hackers finally demanded for the movie premiere of The Interview to be withdrawn. The film depicted an assassination attempt on North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. Sony Pictures agreed and skipped theater showings of the movie. The movie went straight to Netflix.The U.S. blamed North Korea for the hacks.December 17, 2014 - U.S. President Barack Obama announced that relations between the United States and Cuba would resume as normal, ending 50 years of tension between the countries.January 7, 2015 - Terrorists belonging to Yemen’s Al-Qaeda branch ceased fire on the Paris, France headquarters of Charlie Hebdo.The shootings killed 12 people and wounded 11 more.The attack brought together over a million people and 40 world leaders together for an anti-terrorism demonstration.(image: Remy de la Mauviniere/Associated Press via CBC)April 25, 2015 - A major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 struck Nepal and affected India, China, and Bangladesh.The earthquake caused over 9,000 deaths.On May 12, 2015, less than a month after the first earthquake, another major earthquake affected the same four countries, this time with a magnitude of 7.3.The second earthquake killed over 200 people.May 22, 2015 - Ireland voted to legalize same-sex marriage. The country became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote.June 25–26, 2015 - ISIS claimed responsibility for three attacks on Ramadan, a Muslim holiday.The first of the attacks involved three car bombs in Kobani, Syria. The attackers then opened fire at civilians. Over 220 people died.The second attacks involved a 22-year-old opening fire at a tourist resort in Tunisia. Over 30 people died.The final attack targeted a mosque in Kuwait City. A suicide bomb killed 27 people and injured over 227 others.August 12, 2015 - A chemical fire caused an explosion at a port in the Chinese city of Tianjin. The fire killed 17 people and injured hundreds more.On August 31, 2015, another chemical fire caused an explosion in a factory in Dongying, China. This time, 13 people died. The fire lasted over 5 hours.(image: EPA via Independent)September 24, 2015 - During a hajj (pilgrimage) in the holy city of Mecca, a 10-minute stampede killed over 2,000 people. The stampede injured 900 more, with over 650 people missing.October 23, 2015 - Hurricane Patricia struck the Pacific coast of Mexico.Patricia reached winds of 150 mph and had a pressure of 872 mbar, making it the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere.November 13, 2015 - Nine ISIS terrorists attacked multiple locations in Paris, France.First, three suicide bombers struck outside the Stade De France during a football game.Gunmen then shot outside several cafes and restaurants. A suicide bomber also hit this location.Last, gunmen conducted a mass shooting at the Bataclan theatre where the Eagles of Death Metal were performing.The attacks killed 131 people and seven of the perpetrators. They injured 413 more, with almost 100 of the injuries being critical.(image: Thibault Camus/AP via MSNBC)November 30, 2015 - Global leaders from 147 countries gathered at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) in Paris, France.On December 12, they agreed a global pact to combat climate change. This became known as the Paris Agreement.December 2, 2015 - Two ISIS-affiliated shooters opened fire at a San Bernardino, California office building in the United States.Initial reports said the attacks struck a facility for people with developmental disabilities but were inaccurate.Police killed the gunmen in a shootout. Sixteen people, including the gunmen, died because of the shooting.(image: WRGT)January 28, 2016 - The World Health Organization (WHO) announced an outbreak of the Zika virus.The virus started in Brazil and spread to other parts of South and North America.The virus transmitted via mosquitoes could affect fetal development in pregnant women, causing microcephaly and other brain anomalies in their unborn child.The WHO declared the outbreak a pandemic in February 2016.March 22, 2016 - Suicide bombers associated with ISIS attacked Brussels, Belgium.The first attack affected Zavatem airport. The second attack affected Maalbeek metro station. The attacks killed 32 people and three of the five perpetrators. The attack also injured over 300 people.(image: Le Libre via EurActiv)April 3, 2016 - Offshore law firm, Mossack Fonseca released 11.5 confidential documents called the Panama Papers.The documents exposed illegal activities, including fraud and tax evasion, conducted by the world’s elite. The attacks were named the largest global data leak.May 28, 2016 - Zookeepers shot and killed a 17-year-old gorilla named Harambe after a boy fell in his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio, United States.The incident caused worldwide controversy and debate, with animal rights activists questioning whether Harambe needed to die.(image: Wikimedia Commons)June 12, 2016 - Omar Mateen, a member of ISIS open fire on Pulse Nightclub, a gay club in Orlando, Florida, United States.Mateen killed 49 people and injured 53 others. Officers shot Mateen after a three-hour standoff, killing the mass shooter.The shooting was the deadliest terrorist attack since the September 11 attacks in 2001.It is the second deadliest shooting in United States history.July 6, 2016 - Developers released Pokemon Go, an augmented reality mobile game. The game broke many records in terms of sales and revenue. It was one of the most popular apps ever.(image: Junkee)August 5–21, 2016 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics. The Rio games were the first Olympic games in a South American country.(image: Wikimedia Commons)September 3, 2016 - Both The United States and China entered the Paris Agreement against global warming.The two countries were responsible for 40% of the world’s carbon emissions.October 7, 2016 - Three major events affecting the U.S. Presidential Election came to light.First, the U.S. intelligence agencies accused Russia for hacking computers to interfere with the U.S. election process.Second, The Washington Post released videos showing Donald Trump bragging about sexual exploits.Third, Wikileaks released thousands of emails exposing the inner workings of Hillary Clinton’s campaign.November 8, 2016 - Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.Clinton won the popular vote, but the controversial electoral college elected Trump as president.Trump is the first president in U.S. history who doesn’t have political or military background.January 21, 2017 - The day after Donald Trump is inaugurated as U.S. President, people in 420 United States cities and in 168 countries protested the presidency in Women’s Marches.The marches became the largest single-day protest in the United States’s history and it was the largest global protest in recent history.(image: Samantha Goresh / Reuters via The Atlantic)February 17, 2017 - Discoverers found a mostly underwater continent called Zealandia. New Zealand makes up part of this country.March 29, 2017 - The United Kingdom started negotiations for Brexit. Brexit would break the United Kingdom away from the European Union (EU).In June 2016, popular vote agreed to break the U.K. away from the EU.May 17, 2017 - After U.S. President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey just a few days prior, Robert Muller is named Special Counsel for the United States Department of Justice.Muller became in charge of investigating the alleged Russian interference during the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.May 22, 2017 - A suicide bomber affiliated with ISIS attacked Manchester Arena in Manchester, England during an Ariana Grande concert. The bombing killed 22 people and injured over 500 others.August 12, 2017 - Neo-nazis and other alt-right extremist groups gathered in Charlottesville, Virgina, United States to protest the removal of Confederate statues across the country.The violent protests called Unite the Right injured hundreds and a counter-protester was killed after being hit by a car.(image: Wikimedia Commons)August and September 2017 - Three major hurricanes, Hurricane Harvey (August 25–30), Hurricane Irma (September 6–10), and Hurricane Maria (September 19–20) struck land.Harvey, a category 4 hurricane left damage to Houston, Texas in the United States.Irma, a category 5, struck The Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico as the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded.Maria hit The Caribbean and Dominica as a category 5 hurricane. It then hit Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, as a category 4 hurricane.All three hurricanes left catastrophic damage to the subsequent areas.(image: AFP/Getty Images via ABC News)October 1, 2017 - A gunman named Stephen Paddock opened fire on people at a music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.The shooting injured 869 people, 413 which were injured by gunshot wounds. The attacks also killed 58 people, making it the deadliest mass shooting in United States history.(image: David Becker / KTNV Las Vegas)November 21, 2017 - After a 37 year rule, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe resigned from his presidency. This happened after military placed Mugabe on house arrest after they took control of Zimbabwe.December 5, 2017 - The International Olympic Committee banned Russia from the 2018 after allegations of state-sponsored doping at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014.February 14, 2018 - Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old man, opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The shooting killed 17 people and injured 17 more.Prosecutors charged Cruz with 17 counts of premeditated (first degree) murder. Cruz pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail until his trial in January 2020.If convicted, Cruz faces either death penalty or life without parole.(image: USA Today)March 4, 2018 - A former Russian double spy, Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia were poisoned in Salisbury, England with a nerve gas. Russia found Skripal guilty of spying for the British. Counter-terrorism forces are investigating Russian involvement in the crime.March 11, 2018 - China removed term limits for leaders, meaning Chinese President Xi Jinping can serve in his position for life.June 12, 2018 - U.S. President Donald Trump met North Korea leader, Kim Jong-un, making history as the first U.S. President to meet with a North Korean ruler.(image: Saul Loeb/AFB - Getty Images via NBC News)June 19, 2018 - Days after the United Nations’s human rights leader, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein criticized the U.S. Trump Administration for separating children from their parents at the Mexican border, the United States withdraws from the U.N. Humans Right council.Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu applauded Trump for his actions.July 26, 2018 - Facebook’s share price dropped by almost 20%, devaluing the social media website by over $109 billion. The price drop followed a data leak scandal and was the largest single day loss in corporate history.August 2, 2018 - Apple became the world’s first public company to reach $1 trillion USD in value, beating Amazon in the race to number one.September 23, 2018 - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched “Modicare,” a free health care program for 500 million Indians. Modicare is the largest government-funded healthcare program.(image: Rakesh Tiwari via YouTube)October 16, 2018 - Canada became the largest industrialized country to legalize recreational marijuana use. It is only the second country in the world to legalize its use.October 27, 2018 - An anti-Semite named Robert Gregory Bowers opened fire on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States during Shabbat morning services. Eleven people died, and seven people, including the gunman, were injured.(image Post-Gazette)January 2019 - Wildfires began to ravage the Amazon Rainforest in South America. A combination of slash-and-burn deforestation techniques and an unusually long dry season caused the Rainforest to have record numbers of wildfires.The wildfires continue to burn to this day.(image: Mario Tama/Getty Images via Common Dreams)March 15, 2019 - Brenton Harrison Tarrant, a far-right extremist from Australia opened fire on two mosques in Christchurch New Zealand, killing 51 people and injuring 49 more.A live stream of the attacks made its way on Facebook and spread across social media. Websites such as Facebook, Reddit, YouTube, and Twitter removed the videos off their platforms and warned anyone supporting the attacks would be removed.Police arrested Tarrant, who pleaded not guilty to the attacks. A judge set his trial for sometime in 2020.April 15, 2019 - Paris’s famed historical cathedral, Notre Dame caught on fire. The blaze caused the cathedral’s roof to collapse and destroyed its main spire.Historians estimate there is only a 50% chance Notre Dame can be salvaged.(image: USA Today)April 21, 2019 - Sri Lanka faced its first major terrorist attack in a decade after a series of eight bomb attacks ravaged the country on Easter Sunday.The attacks targeted three churches, four hotels, and one housing complex. The blasts left 259 people dead and over 500 people were injured.ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.August 3, 2019 - Patrick Crusius, an alt-right white supremacist opened fire in a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, United States, targeting Hispanics.Crusius posted his manifesto online, which police found shortly after the attacks. Police arrested the gunman a short time later. He plead not guilty and as of October 2019, is awaiting arraignment.The attacks killed 22 people and injured 24 more.(image: Mark Ralston / AFP - Getty Images via NBC News)August 4, 2019 - Just 13 hours after the El Paso shootings, a man named Connor Stephen Betts opened fire in front of a bar in Dayton, Ohio, United States.In 32 seconds, Betts managed to kill nine people and injure 27 more. Police shot the gunman down and he died from his injuries.September 27, 2019 - Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau led 500,000 people in a protest against climate change in Montreal, Canada. Worldwide, 4,000,000 people went on strike for the cause.TIME Magazine named Thunberg their 2019 Person of the Year for being a powerful activist at such a young age.(image: The Canada Press/Ryan Remiorz via Global News Canada)October 27, 2019 - U.S. President Donald Trump announced that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead.During a U.S. special operations mission, al-Baghdadi detonated a bomb while U.S. troops chased him through a tunnel.December 16, 2019 - Pope Francis took action on the Catholic Church’s sex abuse issue by abolishing pontifical secrecy. The Pope also raised the age of child pornography from 14 to 18 years old.December 19, 2019 - The United States House of Representatives voted to impeach U.S. President Donald Trump based on two articles of impeachment. The impeachment will move to the U.S. Senate sometime in 2020.Trump is the third U.S. president to be impeached, after President Andrew Johnston and President Bill Clinton.Here’s to a [hopefully more peaceful] decade!