text:
_CHICAGO BY NIGHT_ is a tabletop role-playing game supplement originally released by White Wolf Publishing in 1991 for the first edition of their game _Vampire: The Masquerade_. It was released in updated versions for the game's second and fifth editions in 1993 and 2020. As a sandbox-style setting sourcebook for gamemasters to use in campaigns, _Chicago by Night_ describes the city of Chicago as it is portrayed within the game's setting, reinterpreted as having a large population of vampires.

The supplement was originally developed by Andrew Greenberg and Mark Rein-Hagen; Greenberg returned to develop the second edition, and the third edition was developed by Matthew Dawkins. _Chicago by Night_ was well received by players and critics, who considered it among the best _Vampire: The Masquerade_ books, and among the best settings in role-playing games. Its style and format were influential on later role-playing games and supplements, and it was followed by a series of _By Night_ books for other cities.

Overview

_Chicago by Night_ is a setting sourcebook for the tabletop role-playing game _Vampire: The Masquerade_, which details Chicago and gives gamemasters information to build a campaign set there,[1][2] with its history and geography reinterpreted for the setting as one of the cities with the largest populations of vampires, and home to some of the most powerful.[3] The vampires and other supernatural beings inhabiting Chicago, and the relationships between them, are detailed as non-player characters for gamemasters to use in their campaigns, along with descriptions of the local vampire politics and hierarchies;[4][5] characters include recurring ones from the story “Forged in Steel” in the _Vampire: The Masquerade_ first-edition rulebook and from the adventure module _Ashes to Ashes_.[6] _Chicago by Night_ has a sandbox-style design,[7] with encounters, intrigues, local urban legends and story hooks for gamemasters to use.[8][9][10][11]

The setting is updated between editions to account for the passage of time and for events that have occurred in the overarching narrative in _Vampire: The Masquerade_: for example, the character Lodin is killed in the 1993 book _Under a Blood Red Moon_, which is reflected in the second edition of _Chicago by Night_;[12] the third edition advances the setting further to account for the time that has passed since the previous editions,[13][14] and covers the vampire clan Lasombra's entry into the Camarilla sect in the _Vampire: The Masquerade_ continuity.[15] It also adds Lasombra vampires as playable characters to _Vampire: The Masquerade_{{'s}} fifth edition (_V5_),[16] with rules for their game mechanics, including their Oblivion discipline.[17]

Production

First and second editions

thumb|upright=0.7|left|The first edition was developed by Mark Rein-Hagen (pictured, 2015) and Andrew Greenberg.|alt=2015 photograph of Mark Rein-Hagen

The first edition of _Chicago by Night_ was developed by Mark Rein-Hagen, the designer of _Vampire: The Masquerade_, and Andrew Greenberg, the _Vampire: The Masquerade_ line developer at the time.[18][19] Rein-Hagen also wrote the introduction for the supplement; Greenberg wrote the history chapter, and co-wrote the chapter on the characters with Stewart Wieck, and the chapter on encounters with Josh Timbrook, Travis Lamar Williams, and Chris McDonough. The geography chapter was written by Steve Crow,[20] with maps by McDonough, Rob Dixon, and Margaux Schaffer; other artists include Tim Bradstreet, Josh Timbrook, Richard Thomas, Ron Spencer, and Craig Cartwright, and cover artist Clark Mitchell.[21] Several of the vampire characters appearing in the first edition were based on characters from Upton Sinclair's novel _The Jungle_ (1906).[22]

Greenberg returned as developer and writer for the second edition, Crow again handled the geography, and McDonough, Dixon and Schaffer returned to make the maps. They were joined by René Lilly, who worked as a consultant for the Chicago setting. The art team again included Thomas, who this time served as art director, and Bradstreet and Timbrook, but also Steve Casper, Jesper Myrfors, and Robert McNeil; the cover art was created by Doug Gregory.[23]

Third edition

[The third edition's cover by Tomas Arfert was used as a segue into the book's take on the _V5_ visual format.|alt=A modified photograph of buildings in Chicago from an aerial view]

The third edition was developed by Matthew Dawkins, with art direction by Mike Chaney,[24] and was Onyx Path Publishing's third time pitching a _Chicago by Night_ book: they had previously pitched one for the _20th Anniversary Edition_ of _Vampire: The Masquerade_, and for the canceled Onyx Path Publishing-made _Vampire: The Masquerade 4th Edition_.[25] Dawkins aimed to make the book a useful tool, focusing on including a lot of story hooks for gamemasters. He also aimed to create a book that evoked particulars of Chicago, reflecting its diverse range of culture, politics, people, and not just make a generic _By Night_ book.[26] At the same time, a goal was to create a book that was universal and could be used by gamemasters to construct other city settings for their own _Vampire: The Masquerade_ campaigns.[27] The book was also written to be a good context for clan Lasombra's introduction in _V5_.[28]

The character Kevin Jackson was written with the character Stringer Bell from the television series _The Wire_ (2002–2008) as an inspiration; Dawkins felt that Jackson's portrayal in the previous editions was stereotypical – a Black man with ties to criminal gang activity – and that he needed to have something more to him. As such, he was turned into more of a white-collar criminal, based on the archetype of “a politician who donates to the right charities”.[29] Eddy Webb, one of the writers on the book, wrote the character Michalis Basaras of clan Lasombra as a rabbi: the clan had traditionally been portrayed as linked to faith, but almost always Catholicism, and so he wanted to portray it as more spiritually diverse.[30]

The book was produced to fit in with the visual format of previous _V5_ books, which was something new for Onyx Path Publishing, who did not have a photography or costuming department for their books; they ended up using illustrations, with a modified photograph as the cover art used as a segue into their take on the visual format, created by the art director Tomas Arfert at series owner Paradox Interactive. Arfert also gave Onyx Path Publishing advice on the interior art, to make it fit into the format.[31]

Release

_Chicago by Night_ was originally published by White Wolf Publishing in 1991 for _Vampire: The Masquerade_{{'s}} first edition, as a 192-page hardcover book;[32][33] they released a second edition of the supplement, for the second edition of _Vampire: The Masquerade_, in July 1993, as a 200-page softcover.[34][35][36] Both were reprinted in unaltered form from their original releases in 1996 as part of the _Chicago Chronicles_ line: the first edition was re-released together with _The Succubus Club_ in volume 1,[37] and the second edition together with _Under a Blood Red Moon_ in volume 2.[38] The first and second editions have since been released as e-books.[39][40] The first edition was released in French by Hexagonal in September 1993,[41] and in Italian by Das Production in 1994.[42]

The third edition of _Chicago by Night_ was announced at Gen Con 2018 in August, as Onyx Path Publishing's first _V5_ book.[43][44] Its production, and a print run of it for retail stores, was financed through a highly successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter,[45][46] which reached its goal of US$40,000 within 24 hours; by the end of the campaign, at November 29, 2018,[47] it had raised over $119,000.[48] It was released by Onyx Path Publishing as a full-color, hardcover book on February 19, 2020;[49][50] it was additionally made available as an e-book and in a print-on-demand version.[51] The third edition was released in Italian by Need Games on April 3, 2020 at the Modena Play 2020 trade show.[52]

White Wolf Publishing followed _Chicago by Night_ with a series of _By Night_ setting sourcebooks for various cities, such as _Milwaukee by Night_ (1992) and _Los Angeles by Night_ (1994).[53] The third edition of _Chicago by Night_ was followed by the book _The Chicago Folios_, which was released by Onyx Path Publishing on April 1, 2020, and contains mysteries, story hooks, character biographies, and blood sorcery rituals.[54]

Reception and legacy

_Chicago by Night_ is the most popular setting book for _Vampire: The Masquerade_,[55] and was described by _Tom's Hardware_ as a beloved and historical sourcebook;[56] _Arcane_ called it a classic, and among the best and most complete settings for any role-playing game system, recommending it “unreservedly”.[57] In 1996, _Casus Belli_ called the first and second editions the best books in the _By Night_ series,[58] and in 1997, _Backstab_ called _Chicago by Night_ one of the three most essential _Vampire: The Masquerade_ supplements, along with _The Players Guide_ and _Ashes to Ashes_;[59] two years later in 1999, _Casus Belli_ still considered _Chicago by Night_ the most important _Vampire: The Masquerade_ supplement, and recommended new players to begin with it.[60] _ICv2_ and _Tom's Hardware_ considered it an iconic and influential sourcebook, that established a format, style and look that later supplements and role-playing games followed.[61][62]

_Arcane_ found the cast of characters strong, and enjoyed how their complex relations together with the political intrigue opened possibilities for stories to tell and mysteries for players to explore; they wished that the _Chicago Chronicles_ reprint would have corrected the errors in it and updated it for _Vampire: The Masquerade_{{'s}} second edition, considering the supplement otherwise “perfect”.[63] _The Games Machine_ found the first edition “very interesting”,[64] and _Computer + Videogiochi_ called it a masterful work that continues to surprise, with well crafted stories and situations in a detailed setting.[65] _Casus Belli_ called it a model work, praising the detail of the characters and plots, and particularly recommended it to French players due to how most _Vampire: The Masquerade_ materials published in French at the time were set around the Chicago region.[66] _Dragon_ was more critical, considering the first edition's visuals to look “borderline amateur” in retrospect, compared to later supplements like _Constantinople by Night_ (1996), but still found the writing highly imaginative. They also thought that the second edition was slightly “bloated”.[67] _Nerdist_ considered the third edition brilliantly written, and thought that its writing and amount of content made it “no wonder” that the crowdfunding campaign was as successful as it was.[68] _Casus Belli_ called it “beautiful”, and liked its cast of characters and the amount of story hooks.[69]

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title: Chicago by Night

question: Why was Jackson's part changed to that of a white-collar criminal?

answer: Dawkins, the developer of the third edition felt that Jackson's part in the previous edition had been too stereotypical. He had previously been portrayed as a black man with ties to criminal gangs. So, he was changed to a white-collar criminal, based on the archetype of “a politician who donates to the right charities

question: What happens from one edition to the next?

answer: The setting is updated between editions to account for the passage of time and for events that have occurred in the overarching narrative. For example, the character Lodin is killed in the 1993 book _Under a Blood Red Moon_, which is reflected in the second edition of _Chicago by Night_


split: test

text:
I am hoping to become an author one day, so any advice would be greatly appreciated please and thank you(:

       Against the blood red sky, a lone helicopter hovers around the city looking for any trace of survivors that might be below. Down on what used to be the peaceful city, (now referred to as ground zero) the horrific cries of death and fear bellow throughout the city. Never stopping.. Like a record stuck in a loop. The dead have poured out from the deepest depths of hell and returned to the living. Devouring every living soul that they come across. The city is in ruins. Overturned and abandoned cars littler the street, buildings turned to ash from the riots and looting, death and gore fill the streets turning the once pure black asphalt now to a deep murky red. Over the pain filled screams of the living and the mindless groans of the undead, Kenton and Elizabeth hear a desperate shriek from the helicopter, “Any survivors that can hear me, get to the roof tops NOW!!” Elizabeth’s eyes and face light up with a hopeful glee. “We can get out!” she exclaimed. “They’re here to save us.” Kenton’s face however, had that horrified look that had been there since the infection ravished the city. “Yeah, if we can even make it that far” he silently said to himself. Kenton gazed around the corner of the hunting supplies shop they had been trying to gain access to. “There is an old grocery store about a block from here that they should be able to see us from.” Kenton said. “I don’t care what it is, as long as we get the hell out of here.” Elizabeth murmured. “We’re going to need guns if we are even going to stand a chance at getting over there.” Kenton exclaimed. So, Kenton pulled the last bobby pin out of his pocket and slowly slipped it into the lock on the door  Saying a prayer under his breath he ever so carefully and slowly maneuvered it until he heard the slight clicking sound. “Thank you” he whispered. He placed his sweaty palm around the knob and slowly turned it being careful not to make a sound. With it opened, he and Elizabeth let out a sigh of relief as there was no one in the store. Luckily this one hadn't been looted in the chaos in the beginning. They slowly moved in, Elizabeth so close behind Kenton, he could feel the warmth of her moist breath. They found where the weapons had been displayed. Kenton picked off a twelve gauge from the wall along with four boxes of shells, from the display case he picked a .454 magnum up surprised by the weight and the how the cool steel and plywood felt in his grip than walked behind the counter, and picked up three boxes of ammunition. When he noticed the M-16 automatic rifle propped up against the back of the counter. The owner of the store was obviously planning to use but never got the opportunity to. “Good, better for us.” He thought. When he did he hated himself a little for being so heartless. But quickly dismissed the feeling and found where the ammunition had been stored and picked it up along with the sling that had been placed next to it and attached the sling and placed it around his back. After loading the weapons and putting the rest in a place where he could easily access, he put the .357 in the gun holster he had looted off a corpse that had been thoroughly executed with a bullet to the back of the head. Kenton could still vividly see the pool of blood and skull fragments that had quietly settled around the poor man in the back of his subconscious. He snapped out of the gruesome thought and placed the excess ammunition in his bag and decided there wasn’t anywhere else to hold another gun and began to gather up his newly stocked bag. As he and Elizabeth were exiting the shop, he noticed a door that he somehow missed upon first arrival. On the other side of the door, he heard a wet slurping noise that almost sounded like a dehydrated dog attempting to drink from its bowl. He didn’t know why, but he had to know what was on the other side of that door… He felt the cool metal against his sweaty anxious palm. He slowly turned the knob and the door opened. He immediately regretted the decision. What he seen would forever burned into his memory. In the dark crowded room, a man with a noose around his thick neck hung a foot off the ground. And around the poor souls feet was a thick pool of blood with bits and pieces of torn flesh and a… a half-eaten hand with three missing fingers… It was then that Kenton noticed one of the undead on the man. Its hands digging into the stomach of the man ripping it open with ease. Kenton stared in shock as the man’s small intestine slowly slip out and dangled inches off the ground slowly swaying back and forth and the undead man took giant bites into the poor man’s flesh. And in a hypnotic gaze Kenton watched as the blood poured out of the man like a waterfall hitting the ground making the pool bigger. He had failed to notice Elizabeth screaming at him and the undead man now absent from the scene and who was now shambling towards him. And when he did, it was too late. The undead man fell onto Kenton with his full weight, taking all the breath out of him. In a panicked set of motions he desperately reached for the .454 that was in its holster. But as he did, time seemed to freeze. He stared into its lifeless eyes that were now pure glossy white, no pupil or lens left, which terrified Kenton. But when he looked upon the mouth of the creature he felt a fear that he had never experienced before, a mind numbing fear that sent a cold shiver to his very core. The undead man was grinning at him. An evil, soulless, demonic grin that took the color out of his face… He then seemed to float out of his body and watch the events unfold. Like a dream. He watched as he pulled out the .454, centered the gun against its temple, cocked the hammer back, and pulled the trigger spraying the opposing wall with thick murky blood, brain matter, and bits of skull fragment. He snapped back into reality. He quickly jumped to his feet knowing the gunshot that still buzzed in his almost deafened ears would certainly alert more to their presence. He quickly grabbed Elizabeth and turned to run out the door. It was then he noticed the man who hung himself had reanimated, and was desperately trying to break free of the noose but to no success. He felt pity on the man. He pointed his magnum at his head and shot. There was now a gaping hole where the man’s left eyes once was. With that, they quickly evacuated the shop and made a desperate run towards the old grocery store. By the time Kenton and Elizabeth got halfway to the store dozens of the undead were running after them. “FASTER!” Kenton shouted as he was firing rounds off into the crowd. They reached the store, and put a little distance between themselves and the horde. But once they stepped inside they looked upon the store with horror. The undead were here. Hordes of them. They looked up from the piles of dead they were feasting on eyes fixed upon Kenton and Elizabeth. “Run!” screamed Kenton. They broke into a sprint with the undead not far behind running after them. Kenton managed to blow the heads off a couple with the .454 while firing into the horde behind them. They had finally reached the stairs and only one appeared on them. Kenton ran up next to it, took the 12 gauge that Elizabeth had been holding and shoved the barrel into its mouth as it let out a high pitched moan and fired. Completely blowing of the lower portion of the undead’s head sending it spiraling over the railing doing acrobatics as it flew down. They ran up the emergency stair well all the way to the roof and quickly slammed the door shut. Kenton took the opportunity to reload his various weapons. The nearby hovering chopper saw them and quickly flew over to the roof the couple was on. It flew close enough for the couple to get on board. Kenton picked up Elizabeth’s small figure with ease and quickly handed her to the soldier who was completely decked out in full protective body gear and a gas mask making him appear bulky and overweight. As she safely got aboard, Kenton slowly stepped back and gazed at her. She looked at him with confused gaze. “Kenton what in the hell are you doing?! Get up here NOW!!” She screamed almost crying now. He didn’t say anything. He just stood and looked at her perfect features. Her soft red hair flowing in the wind, her flawless complexion, her gorgeous face… Everything about her perfection he took in one last time. “I’m sorry my love I can’t go…” He said with tears rolling down his cheeks. Elizabeth only than noticed the deep bite mark that protruded his neck already making the skin around the wound decay. “NO!!!!” She screamed at the top of her lungs she was now bawling. She attempted to jump out to hug him but was stopped by the solider. “Please don’t cry my love. You are safe, that’s all that matters… I promised I’d keep you safe and I did. Be happy my love. I love you so much and I always will Elizabeth.” He took the wedding ring off his finger, and placed it in the palm of her hands and kissed her goodbye. That’s when the door broke down and dozens of the undead poured out. “I love you” he cried as the helicopter lifted into the air and took off.
       He then turned and faced the now approaching undead horde. The 12 gauge in his hands and the M-16 dangling carelessly around his back. He opened fire into the horde blowing off limbs and sending groups of them spiraling backwards. Through the thick red mist created by their blood, he could see that demonic grin they all seemed to have. “Damn out of ammo he said.” He then dropped the weapon to his feet and pulled the M-16 from around his back and opened fire into the oncoming horde. He was unsure of how many he had actually killed. The blood spurting out of the undead bodies like water erupting from a geyser.  Spraying bullet after bullet into the undead mass that was now sprinting towards him, Kenton heard the distinct ping sound indicating that the gun was now out of ammo. Not wasting any time Kenton dropped the M-16 and pulled his .454 magnum out. Glancing down upon it the looking at the undead horde sprinting at him, he slowly lifted the gun to his temple, cocked the hammer back, whispered the words “I love you Elizabeth” one last time and gently pulled the trigger. The last thing that Elizabeth saw as the helicopter escaped the building that’s rooftop was now painted red was the faint red mist coming from Kenton’s skull and his body slowly falling into oblivion, than hitting the ground with a horrid thumping noise that would haunt her forever..

title: Against The Blood Red Sky

question: Summarize the events leading to Kenton's death.

answer: As helicopters hovered around the city looking for survivors amidst the wreckage and decay cursed by the living dead, Kenton and Elizabeth plotted how they will escape the zombies and climb up to one of the helicopters. They both scurried into one of the abandoned grocery stores nearby. They tiptoed around and found M-16 automatic rifles and a few weapons and ammunition. As they forage around, Kenton heard a strange sound coming from the other side of the door. Against his best judgment, he opened it to find a few undead in the room. He shot at them but the sound attracted more of them. The couple left the grocery store and ran to the nearest aircraft. Elizabeth got on but Kenyon stayed behind, pointing to the bite mark on his neck. Elizabeth tried to hug him but one of the soldiers held her back. As the helicopters departed, Kenton professes his love for Elizabeth and shot himself in the head.

question: Aside from the soldiers, who else left with Elizabeth on the helicopter?


text:
[Totteridge War Memorial] [Darland's Lake] TOTTERIDGE is a former village (historically in Hertfordshire),[1] now a residential area in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is a mixture of suburban development and open land (including some farmland) situated 8.20 miles (13.05 km) north north-west of Charing Cross. It is part of the Whetstone postal district (N20).

It gives its name to a ward in the borough and to the _St Andrew, Totteridge_ ecclesiastical parish of the Diocese of St Albans.[2]

History

                 1881                   657
  ----------------------------------- -------
                 1891                   785
                 1901                   844
                 1911                   895
                 1921                   801
                 1931                  1,024
                 1941                  war #
                 1951                  4,500
   1.  no census was held due to war
           source: UK census

  : TOTTERIDGE (PARISH) POPULATION

[A map showing Totteridge parish in 1935.] This area was called Tataridge in the 13th Century. It may have been named after someone called Tata.[3] The ridge is the high ground between the valleys of the Dollis Brook and Folly Brook. Over the centuries the rural qualities of Totteridge have attracted well-to-do families. Cardinal Manning was born at Copped Hall in Totteridge in 1808.[4] With the opening of the Great Northern Railway station in 1872, late-Victorian and Edwardian mansions were built around the old village. In line with overall trends in the late 1930s, following the conversion of the railway station (in operation from 1872 until 1941) into a London Underground station (from 1940) on the Northern line, smaller properties were built within walking distance of the station (Totteridge and Whetstone tube station). In 1968 much of Totteridge was designated a Conservation Area, and no major developments have taken place since then.

Totteridge was a civil parish of Hertfordshire covering an area of [5] and formed part of a thin protrusion into Middlesex. It became part of Barnet Rural District and had a parish council from 1894 to 1914. It then formed part of Barnet Urban District from 1914 to 1965. In 1965, the parish and urban district were abolished by the London Government Act 1963 and the area was transferred from Hertfordshire to Greater London, to become part of the London Borough of Barnet. In 1901 the parish had a population of 844 and by 1951 it had risen to 4,500.[6]

Geography and landmarks

The boundary to the north and east is the Dollis Brook and the boundary to the south is that river's tributary, the Folly Brook. While these rivers define the area covered by the residents' association, the southern part of the area (with postcode N12 rather than N20) is often regarded as being in Woodside Park.

The main road is the A5109, which runs roughly east–west. The western part is called Totteridge Common, the next part is called Totteridge Village, the central part by the village green is called Totteridge Green, and the eastern part is called Totteridge Lane; the Lane continues into Whetstone, terminating at its junction with High Road, Whetstone (the A1000). At the western end of Totteridge Common is a set of traffic lights; the road to the north from these lights, Hendon Wood Lane, is just to the west of the western boundary.

St. Andrew's Church stands on the ancient circle site, with a chapel known to be located here from 1250. The rounded boundaries of the churchyard imply an underlying mote and ancient meeting place. The ancient yew tree in the churchyard is about 2,000 years old (as estimated by Kew garden's experts) and is the oldest tree in London (also included in the book "100 Greatest Trees of London). The Tithe Barn and the adjacent animal Pound, now both part of the Pound House estate, date from 17th and 16th centuries respectively. In 1790-1791, during the church renovation, all church services were conducted in the Tithe Barn. The West End House barn and Laurel Farm barn were built in the 17th century, and have now been converted into private houses. Timber-framed buildings existing from the Tudor era also include Willow House and Rose Cottage.

Totteridge has many spacious detached properties in a green setting that are highly valued; some of them are among the most expensive houses in London. Its past and present residents have included the rich and famous, including Arsène Wenger, Frankie Vaughan, Des O'Connor, Cliff Richard, Mickie Most, Hank Marvin, David Dein, Mike Ashley and many top footballers. More modest housing, much of it semi-detached, predominates at the eastern end of Totteridge.

Transport

Buses

Transport for London bus route 251 towards Edgware bus/tube station (westbound), or towards Arnos Grove tube station (eastbound), passes through Totteridge Village along the A5109.

Route 326 towards Barnet (the Spires), or towards Brent Cross Shopping Centre, skirts the eastern fringe of the area, operating a service along the eastern section of Totteridge Lane, and a hail and ride service along Longland Drive.

Tube station

The nearest tube station is Totteridge and Whetstone - Northern line on Totteridge Lane, Both bus routes 251 and 326 stop outside the station, on either side of Totteridge Lane. Woodside Park tube station is also situated at the Southern edge, bordering North Finchley.

Railway station

Nearby:

-   Oakleigh Park - Govia Thameslink Railway (383 bus)

Demography

  TOTTERIDGE COMPARED
  --------------------- ----------------- ---------------- ------------
  2001 UK CENSUS
  Population
  Foreign born
  White
  Asian
  Black
  Christian
  Jewish
  Muslim
  Hindu
  No religion
  Unemployed
  Retired

At the 2001 UK census, the Totteridge electoral ward had a population of 14,449. The ethnicity was 75% white, 2.5% mixed race, 14% Asian, 2.6% black and 5.9% other. The place of birth of residents was 69.3% United Kingdom, 1.8% Republic of Ireland, 4.2% other Western European countries, and 24.7% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 47.2% Christian, 2.5% Buddhist, 5.6% Hindu, 0.6% Sikh, 16.7% Jewish, and 4.5% Muslim. 12.5% were recorded as having no religion, 1.8% had an alternative religion and 8.7% did not state their religion.[7]

The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 38.3% in full-time employment, 9.9% in part-time employment, 14.7% self-employed, 2.3% unemployed, 1.9% students with jobs, 7.6% students without jobs, 11.1% retired, 8.8% looking after home or family, 2% permanently sick or disabled and 3.4% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 15.1% retail, 6.9% manufacturing, 3.2% construction, 23.2% real estate, 9.8% health and social work, 8.9% education, 6% transport and communications, 6.9% public administration, 3.5% hotels and restaurants, 8.5% finance, 0.4% agriculture and 7.6% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in finance and real estate. According to Office for National Statistics estimates, during the period of April 2001 to March 2002 the average gross weekly income of households was £880, compared with an average of £660 in South East England. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 39.2% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.[8]

In the 2011 census, the population of Totteridge ward was 15,159. 66% of the population was white (49% British, 15% Other, 2% Irish), 10% Indian and 8% Other Asian. 40% of the population adhered to Christianity, 17% were irreligious and 16% were Jewish.[9]

Sport and leisure

Totteridge Millhillians Cricket Club, formed by the merger of Totteridge Cricket Club and Old Millhillians Cricket Club over the winter of 2007/2008, forms a central part of the local community. Located just off Totteridge Green, it fields 4 teams in the Saracens Hertfordshire Cricket League, as well as a Ladies team, a Sunday XI and a Colts section for future players, which consists of the U15 Tornadoes, U13 Warriors and the U11 Sharks.

Nature reserves

The area has a number of Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation: Darland's Lake Nature Reserve, Totteridge Green, Totteridge Common, Totteridge Fields, Dollis Brook, Folly Brook and Totteridge Croft Field (or Dell's Down Acre).

Nearest tube stations

-   Totteridge and Whetstone tube station

Notable residents

-   Mike Ashley (businessman)
-   David Dein, Former Vice-Chairman of Arsenal FC, Premier League Ambassador
-   Peter Meyer, merchant
-   Arsène Wenger, Former Arsenal FC Manager
-   Fiammetta Wilson, astronomer

[1] https://wikishire.co.uk/map/#Totteridge@51.635,-0.2/centre=51.635,-0.200/zoom=14

[2] Church of England - St Andrew, Totteridge in the Diocese of St Albans

[3]

[4]

[5] Vision of Britain - Census report - area of Totteridge parish

[6] Vision of Britain - Census report - population of Totteridge parish

[7]

[8]

[9]

title: Totteridge

question: What was the reason behind much of Totteridge being designated a Conservation area in 1968?

answer: It may be because it contains a few late-Victorian ad Edwardian mansions which are rare. The government might be interested in preserving these buildings as a cultural heritage.

question: Why is there a higher percentage of people working in the financial sector living in Totteridge parish when compared to other parts of the country?

answer: The parish is not far from London, which is the financial hub of the country. This may be one of the reasons why there are a lot of finance sector workers living there.


text:
The 2019 CYPRUS RAPE ALLEGATION CASE was a high-profile case of alleged gang rape in Cyprus. In July 2019, a British woman on holiday in Ayia Napa alleged she had been gang raped by twelve Israeli tourists. The Israeli men were subsequently arrested and investigated over the allegation by the Cyprus Police, but they were subsequently released without charge and the woman was charged for making a false allegation. In January 2020, the woman was convicted of “public mischief” in a Cypriot court and received a suspended sentence. The woman has maintained that she was pressured to retract her statement, something contested by Cypriot authorities. The case triggered intense international scrutiny.

Alleged crime and police investigation

During the 2019 summer break, the 19-year old British woman had traveled to Pambos Napa Rocks resort in the Cypriot resort town of Ayia Napa on a working holiday organised by the British tourism company Summer Takeover.[1][2] On 17 July 2019, the British teenager filed a report with the Cyprus Police in Ayia Napa claiming that she had been raped by several Israeli youths in her hotel room. The following day, the Cypriot authorities arrested 12 Israeli youths, aged between 15 and 22 years, for eight days. The police investigation was led by Detective Sergeant Marios Christou. Police questioned the suspects and took DNA samples from all twelve. Police found five used condoms and thirteen condom wrappers in the room.[3]

The woman was examined by Cypriot state pathologist Dr. Sophocles Sophocleus, who found no evidence of gang rape. He subsequently testified that he found a few light bruises on her thighs and scratches on her legs but in his opinion, they were not consistent with gang rape. He also examined the woman's vagina together with a gynecologist and reported finding no lesions or other injuries.[4] However, private forensic pathologist Dr. Marios Matsakis, who was hired by her family to participate in the case, reported that there was clear evidence of gang rape. Later testifying for her defense at trial, he stated he found bruising across her legs, arms, and buttocks from photographs of her injuries shown in court, claiming that he identified 35 separate bruises, and that the injuries left “no doubt” of gang rape.[5][6] [7] He also criticized Sophocleus for allegedly improperly investigating her.

On 25 July, five of the youths were released due to a lack of DNA evidence connecting them to the alleged incident.[8] Seven remained detained. In addition to the allegation of gang rape, they were suspected of conspiracy to commit a crime, including those whose DNA was not found on the complainant.[9] Following DNA testing, police linked three of the detained to the case and also found three more DNA samples not matching any of the accused. Police suspected that three Israelis had participated but had subsequently returned to Israel, and prepared to send a team to Israel to work in coordination with the Israel Police and Israeli travel agencies to identify them.[10] On 27 July, it was reported that three of the suspects were set to be charged, with police likely to release at least two other suspects. There were conflicting reports over whether or not police would offer immunity from prosecution to one or two of the suspects in exchange for information on other suspects still being sought. Police said they had taken statements from 36 witnesses and that they were planning to interview 20 more.[11]

However, the investigation turned toward the British woman. According to an attorney for some of the Israelis, they were able to provide convincing evidence of their innocence.[12] On 27 July, the British teenager visited a police station to give a statement but was instead accused of lying about allegations. Following eight hours of questioning without a lawyer, the woman signed a statement retracting her rape allegations:

  The report I did on the 17th of July 2019 that I was raped at ayia napa was not the truth. The truth is that I wasnt raped and everything that happened in that appartment was with my consent. The reason I made the statement with the fake report is because I did not know they were recording & humiliating me that night I discovered them recording me doing sexual intercourse and I felt embarrassed as I want to appologise, and say I made a mistake.[13][14]

The defence has contended that the defendant made the statement while under duress. Cypriot authorities charged her with “giving a false statement over an imaginary offence.” On 28 July, the remaining Israeli suspects were released from custody.[15] Cypriot Police claimed that the woman had got angry when her alleged attackers had filmed her having consensual sex with some of the alleged attackers and alleged she had been raped. Nir Yaslovitch, a lawyer representing several of the Israeli youths, said that his clients would seek legal damages against her for false rape allegations.[16][17]

Legal proceedings

On 30 July, the woman appeared at the Famagusta District Court in Paralimni, where she was charged with acts of “public mischief” and remanded into custody for eight days.[18] On 6 August 2019, the defendant repudiated her retraction statement, claiming that she had been coerced into producing it by the Cypriot Police. Her lawyer Andreas Pittadjis resigned due to a “serious disagreement” with his client regarding her line of defence.[19] The trial judge Tonia Antoniou adjourned the case until 19 August to give the woman time to find a new lawyer. He also remanded the defendant into custody. The defendant was supported by the legal aid group Justice Abroad, which supported her claims that she had been coerced into producing a retraction statement.[20]

On 27 August, the defendant pleaded not guilty to falsely claiming she was gang-raped and was bailed by a court on condition that she visited a police station in Nicosia three times a week before her trial.[21][22] The woman was represented by British lawyer Lewis Power QC and two Cypriot lawyers, who were supported by Justice Abroad. The defendant had reportedly spent a month at the Central Jail of Nicosia, where she had reportedly shared a cramped cell with nine women.[23][24] Michael Polak, the Director of Justice International and a member of the defence team, claimed that the defendant's interrogation violated the Constitution of Cyprus and European Union human rights legislation.[25]

On 2 October, the defendant's trial began. While the defence maintained that the woman had been raped and had been coerced into issuing a retraction, the prosecution insisted that the police had acted properly throughout the investigation. Judge Michalis Papathanasiou adjourned the defendant's trial by two weeks to allow the defence to produce new evidence including text messages and images circulated by the alleged attackers to support their contention that she had been raped. The defendant was also reportedly suffering from Post-traumatic stress disorder due to her legal ordeal.[26][27]

The teenager's trial resumed on 15 October 2019.[28] On 28 November, the trial judge Michalis Papathansidi rejected the defence's claim of a forced confession and defended the police investigators who had conducted investigation. He ruled the defendant an “unreliable witness”, claiming that she had provided the police with “contradictory, inconsistent, exaggerated and inflated” versions of the night of the alleged crime. The judge also dismissed the defence witnesses as unreliable and rejected the testimony of expert witnesses from the UK, including a forensic linguistic expert's testimony that the woman's confession was unlikely to have been written by a native English speaker. The trial proceeded with the testimony of police officers who had spoken to her on the night she had reported the alleged sexual assaults.[29][30]

On 3 December 2019, the court heard the defendant's testimony, who maintained that she had been gang-raped by the Israeli youths and that she had been coerced by police into dropping the rape allegations. The case concluded on 6 December with testimony by defence witness, well-known pathologist Marios Matsakis.[31] On 12 December, the defendant was told that she would have to remain in Cyprus over Christmas, with the final judgment expected on 30 December. On 30 December, the court found the defendant guilty of causing public mischief with her sentencing date set for 7 January 2020. In response, the defence said that they would appeal the verdict.[32][33]

On 4 January 2020, the Famagusta District Court released their 70-page verdict defending their guilty verdict in response to criticism of the court's handling of the case from both Cyprus and abroad.[34] On 7 January, Judge Papathanasiou sentenced the young woman to a four month suspended sentence, with the defendant being allowed to leave Cyprus.[35][36] In response, the defence announced that they would be appealing the conviction at the Supreme Court of Cyprus, a process expected to take several years.[37][38][39][40]

Reactions

The Ayia Napa rape allegation case attracted considerable media coverage and commentary in the British and international news media.[41][42][43]

Israeli youths

Following their release in late July, several of the Israeli teenagers were greeted by their cheering families at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. According to media reports, the boys were dressed in kippahs and they and their male relatives popped champagne, let off a confetti cannon and chanted “_Am Yisrael Chai_” (“the people of Israel lives”) and “the Brit is a whore.” This heroes' welcome was criticized by several Israeli journalists, social media users, and parents for engaging in unethical behaviour including filming their sexual encounter with their alleged victim, which is illegal under Israeli law banning “revenge porn.”[44][45][46]

Defendant's parents and human rights activists

On 9 August 2019, the British teenager's parents established a GoFundMe campaign to raise £15,000 (US$18,000) to cover their daughter's legal fees following the resignation of her first lawyer Andreas Pittadjis. Aryeh Fraser, an Israeli man living in Miami, had donated £7,500 (US$9,000) to the GoFundMe campaign, describing it as a humanitarian donation.[47] By 3 January 2020, the teenager's GoFundMe campaign had reach £120,000, exceeding its £105,000 target.[48]

In October 2019, Michael Polak, the director of the legal aid organisation Justice Abroad and a member of the defence team, criticised the Cypriot Police's handling of the investigation into the rape allegations including allegedly coercing a retraction from the defendant without a lawyer present and not making any audio or video recordings of the defendant's interrogation.[49][50] He also criticised the Cypriot Police for failing to download data from the alleged Israeli attackers' 11 mobile phones; the Police had downloaded videos from five of the Israeli youths' phones but had neglected to collect text messages and social media data.[51]

On 14 October, several human rights and feminist groups urged the Cypriot attorney general Costas Clerides to dismiss the case against the British teenager. Susana Pavlou, the Director of the Mediterranean Institute for Gender Studies, criticized the brutal ordeal experienced by the British teenager and her family.[52][53] Several Cypriot and Israeli feminists and women's rights activists also picketed the sentencing of the defendant on 7 January 2020, criticizing Judge Papathanasiou for victim blaming and siding with the alleged rapists.[54][55][56]

Governmental responses

The United Kingdom Government has also raised concerns about the fairness of the teenager's trial in Cyprus. In response to the British teenager's guilty verdict, a British Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson issued a statement on 30 December 2019 that “the UK is seriously concerned about the fair trial guarantees in this deeply distressing case and we will be raising the issue with the Cypriot authorities.”[57][58][59][60] The British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab also stated that the UK Government was examining guidelines for British tourists to Cyprus in light of the rape allegation case.[61] Raab later welcomed the British teenager's suspended jail term sentence but ruled our revising British tourism guidelines to Cyprus.[62]

In early January 2020, there were media reports that the President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades was considering pardoning the British teenager prior to her sentencing on 7 January.[63][64][65]

Boycott Cyprus campaign

In January 2020, a campaign was launched on the social media platform Twitter with the hashtag #boycottcyprus.[66][67] On 1 January, the British teenager's mother expressed support for a boycott campaign against Cyprus, stating that the country was unsafe for tourists and condemning her daughter's guilty verdict as a miscarriage of justice.[68] On 6 January, protesters expressing support for the teenager picketed the Cypriot High Commission in London. In addition, solidarity protests with the teenager were also planned in Nicosia and Tel Aviv to time with the teenager's sentencing.[69]

On 3 January 2020, Summer Takeaways, the tour company behind the working holiday in which the British defendant had been allegedly gang raped, announced that the company would no longer provide services to Ayia Napa. The company removed all references to Ayia Napa on its website and offered refunds to customers who had booked for the upcoming 2020 summer tour to the destination.[70][71]

Media commentary

_The Independent_{{'s}} columnist Harriet Hall opined that the case reflected a long tradition of ignoring or punishing female rape victims.[72]

Notes and references

Category:2019 in Cyprus Category:2019 in international relations Category:2019 in Israel Category:2010s crimes in Cyprus Category:Cyprus–Israel relations Category:Cyprus–United Kingdom relations Category:Gang rape in Europe Category:Israel–United Kingdom relations Category:July 2019 crimes Category:July 2019 events in Europe Category:Rape in the 2010s Category:Sexual misconduct allegations

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[7] https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-british-woman-plans-tappeal-verdict-she-lied-about-cyprus-gang-rape-20191230-6evewm2stbhhlbt42wujlx7vhu-story.html

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title: 2019 Cyprus rape allegation case

question: Why, according to the girl's confession, did she claim to have been raped?

answer: In the retraction of the claim, the girl said that she had engaged in consensual sex with the Israelis. She said that she claimed rape because she found out the men had been filming the incident. She was humiliated and so she reported them.

question: What were the arguments of the defense and the prosecution in the girl's trial?

answer: The girl's defense lawyers claimed that the girl had retracted her statement as a result of coercion. They claimed that the interrogation violated the Constitution of Cyprus and European Union human rights legislation. The prosecution insisted that the police had acted properly throughout the investigation.


text:
WILLIAM GERARD ANTHONY HOLOHAN is an Irish public health physician who has served as Chief Medical Officer of Ireland since May 2008.[1][2][3][4][5]

On 2 July 2020, he temporarily stepped back from his position as Chief Medical Officer due to family issues. Deputy Chief Medical Officer Ronan Glynn was temporarily appointed to the office until his return in October 2020.[6][7]

The CMO chairs the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), a group responsible for the state's responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland from the beginning of the pandemic until temporary hiatus in early July 2020.[8][9][10]

Background

Holohan was born in Limerick. His primary education was at Monaleen N.S.; his secondary education took place at the Christian Brothers school at Sexton Street, Limerick.[11]

Medical career

Holohan graduated from medical school at University College Dublin in 1991.[12] After training in general practice, he also trained in public health medicine, graduating with a Masters in Public Health (MPH) in 1996. Holohan was appointed Deputy Chief Medical Officer in 2001, followed by promotion to Chief Medical Officer in December 2008.[13][14][15][16]

Holohan holds a diploma in healthcare management from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He is a member of the Irish College of General Practitioners (MICGP) and is a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (FFPHMI).[17]

Holohan played a prominent role in the CervicalCheck cancer scandal. Holohan stated that the decision not to escalate the matter to the Minister for Health was a fair and reasonable decision, telling the panel:

-   “It was reasonable because the information provided in the briefing notes provided by the HSE to the Department was evidence of ongoing improvement to how the service was being delivered, rather than the identification of a problem which, of its nature, required escalation to ministerial level.” [18]

Holohan also said he believed the characterisation of the Department of Health, of himself and _his colleagues in the media_ in recent days had been unfair, telling the committee:

-   “The Department is far from an organisation that is unwilling to seek proper disclosure to patients, that is unwilling to directly performance manage the HSE, and to escalate appropriately to ministers.”
-   “Any fair assessment of our work record will show that this is simply untrue.” [19]

The day after Vicky Phelan publicly criticised CervicalCheck outside the High Court, Holohan advised in an email – dated 26 April 2018 – against any external review of the cancer screening programme, instead asking the Minister for Health, Simon Harris to go for a report “prepared by Holohan himself”.

Holohan told Harris the “appropriate way forward” was to “state that you have asked me to provide a report on the matter, including whether further actions or steps are required... I strongly advise that you do not commit to a review of CervicalCheck arising from the recent court case”, that to announce a review “could unnecessarily undermine public confidence in CervicalCheck” when, wrote Holohan, there was “no evidence at this stage that there are quality or patient safety concerns with the CervicalCheck programme”. Harris ignored Holohan's advice.[20]

The HSE confirmed that, as of May 16th 2018, 18 women out of a total of 209 women affected by the Cervical Check programme have subsequently died. This number has increased since this was reported.[21]

On 29 February 2020, Holohan announced the first case of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the virus responsible for coronavirus disease 2019, and that the resulting pandemic had spread to Ireland.[22] He gave a televised interview to _The Late Late Show_ on 17 April 2020.[23]

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[5] Dr. Tony Holohan - HRB30.ie

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title: Tony Holohan

question: What does the text say about the qualities that make a good doctor?

question: What does the text say about Tony Holohan?

answer: William Gerard Anthony "Tony" Holohan is an Irish public health physician who has served as Chief Medical Officer of Ireland since May 2008. He was born in Limerick, Ireland, and studied at Monaleen N.S. and Christian Brothers school at Sexton Street (primary, secondary education). Holohan attended medical school at University College Dublin in 1991. He trained in general practice and public health medicine, graduating with a Master's in Public Health (MPH) in 1996. He also holds a diploma in healthcare management from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He is also a member of the Irish College of General Practitioners (MICGP) and is a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (FFPHMI). Holohan was appointed Deputy Chief Medical Officer in 2001 and got promoted to the top spot in 2008.

question: What does the text say about Holohan and the CervicalCheck cancer scandal?

answer: Holohan played a prominent role in the CervicalCheck cancer scandal. He stated that his decision not to escalate the matter to the Minister for Health was a fair and reasonable decision. He also believed that the media's characterization of the Department of Health, of himself, and his colleagues had been unfair. A day after Vicky Phelan criticized CervicalCheck outside the High Court, Holohan advised in an email to Minister for Health, Simon Harris, to go for a report that he (Holohan) prepared, instead of any external review of the cancer screening program because it could unnecessarily undermine public confidence in CervicalCheck. Harris ignored Holohan's advice. Holohan said that there was no evidence of quality or patient concerns with the CervicalCheck program, but HSE confirmed that as of May 16, 2018, 18 out of 209 women affected by the CervicalCheck program have died.

question: What does the text say about the CMO position and its role during the COVID-19 pandemic?

answer: The Chief Medical Officer of Ireland (CMO) chairs the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), the group responsible for the state's responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland. Tony Holohan has served as CMO of Ireland since May 2008 but temporarily stepped back from his position in July 2020 due to family issues. He returned as CMO in October 2020. On February 29, 2020, Holohan announced the first case of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the virus responsible for COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), and that the pandemic has spread to Ireland.


text:
SIR RALPH JOSSELYN (or Jocelyn) KB (died 25 October 1478) was a 15th-century English politician who held several political offices, including two terms as Lord Mayor of London.

Family background

Ralph Josselyn was the son of Jeffrey Josselyn of Hide Hall in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, by his wife Katherine Bray.[1] His eldest brother, Thomas Josselyn, was the ancestor of the Earls of Roden.[2]

Career

As Josselyn's elder brother inherited their father's lands on his death, he went to make his career in London. He became a member of the Worshipful Company of Drapers, of which he would become the Master in 1457-8.[3] He became an alderman, of Cornhill Ward, in 1456.[4] In 1458 he was elected one of the Sheriffs of the City of London. In 1464 he was elected to the first of his two mayoral terms.[5] During this term, he was one of four London citizens made a Knight of the Bath, at the coronation of Edward IV's queen, Elizabeth Woodville.[6]

After his first mayoral term, Josselyn continued to be active in the city's affairs. He was elected to Parliament, representing the City of London, in 1467.[7] In 1471, he raised a force to repel the assault of Thomas Neville, Bastard of Fauconbridge, when the latter attacked the city in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue the imprisoned King Henry VI from the Tower of London.[8]

Josselyn was elected to a second term as mayor in 1476. During this term, he initiated a huge effort to repair the city's walls, which had fallen into grave disrepair. He procured massive quantities of bricks and lime, levied taxes to pay for the significant costs of the repairs, and provided for the work to be supervised by a hand-picked panel of citizens representing each of the city's wards.[9] He also took measures to curb the abuses of bakers and victuallers within the city.[10]

Personal life

Josselyn seems to have married three times. His first wife, Margery, may have been either the daughter or the widow of another draper, Thomas Aylesby.[11] His second wife, Philippa, was the daughter of Philip Malpas, another London alderman and (unlike Josselyn) a staunch Lancastrian; her sister married Thomas Cooke, another mayor of London.[12] His third wife was Elizabeth Barley, daughter of William Barley and sister of Henry Barley, MP for Hertfordshire; she survived him and married Sir Robert Clifford, son of Thomas Clifford, 8th Baron Clifford.[13] She and her new husband were sued by her father over ownership of a manor in Linslade, previously owned by Josselyn.[14]

Josselyn died on 25 October 1478 and was buried at St Swithin's Church in London, of which he had been a benefactor; a memorial erected to him in Sawbridgeworth church has caused some authors to state he was buried there. He seems to have had no surviving children, as his heir was his nephew George Josselyn, son of his elder brother Thomas.[15]

Literary representation

Josselyn appears in the Elizabethan playwright Thomas Heywood's _Edward IV_. In the play, Josselyn is portrayed as a comic, buffoonish character, quite at odds with historical reality.[16]

[1] “The New England Historical and Genealogical Register”, pg. 239-240

[2] “Notes on the aldermen, 1240-1500”

[3]

[4] “Aldermen of the City of London: Cornhill Ward”

[5]

[6] Sharpe, Reginald R., “London and the Kingdom”, pg. 307

[7] “Aldermen in Parliament”

[8] “The Spectator, Vol. 39”, pg. 717

[9] “The Development of the Post of City Architect and Planning Officer, 1478-1954”

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13] Breverton, Terry, “Henry VII: The Maligned Tudor King”

[14] “Linslade Manors”

[15]

[16] Rowland, Richard, “Thomas Heywood's Theatre, 1599-1639: Locations, Translations, and Conflict”, pg. 45

title: Ralph Josselyn

question: Who was Ralph Josselyn?

answer: Ralph Josselyn was a 15th-century English politician who held several political offices, including two terms as Lord Mayor of London.

question: Who was Elizabeth Barley?

answer: Elizabeth Barley was Ralph Josselyn's third wife.

question: Why did Ralph Josselyn leave his father's house?

answer: It seems that Ralph Josselyn went to make his career in London because his elder brother inherited their father's lands.

question: Has Ralph Josselyn had children?

answer: Ralph Josselyn seems to have had no surviving children, as his heir was his nephew George Josselyn.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Ralph Josselyn was a 15th-century English politician who held several political offices. He was a member and a Master of the Worshipful Company of Drapers, an alderman, one of the Sheriffs of the City of London, a mayor of London. He was elected to Parliament, representing the City of London.


text:
First try at a short story, I would love to hear what you think!

The story of James Butler

This is the story of James Butler. Now James Butler is a very ordinary man, living in an ordinary house with an ordinary wife and two of the most ordinary children in the world. James Butler works an ordinary job in an ordinary office, and an ordinary plant sits on the edge of his ordinary desk. When he gets home at exactly 6 in the evening, James Butler enjoys reading ordinary books or watching ordinary shows on his ordinary television. Now nothing would give us the impression that something is out of the ordinary in this man’s ordinary life. Nothing but a giant glass wall that separates James Butler from another world. Now in that other world, there lives a James Butler. Now James Butler lives a very extraordinary life. James Butler lives in the most extraordinary house with an extraordinary wife and two of the most extraordinary children in the world. James Butler works an extraordinary job in an extraordinary workplace. When he gets home, at whichever time suits him most, James Butler enjoys doing extraordinary things, like rock climbing or playing extraordinary chess championships at his extraordinary local chess club.

Now, apart from the fact that James Butler is a very extraordinary man, and the other James Butler is a very ordinary man, there’s one more thing that separates these two James Butlers. When James Butler wakes up on an ordinary Monday morning, and looks in his ordinary mirror before an ordinary Monday morning shave, there is no smile on his face. There’s sadness in his eyes, and bags under his eyes from a lack of sleep. When James Butler goes to work on this very ordinary Monday morning, there is no smile on his face. When James Butler works his ordinary 8-hour shift for his ordinary job, there is no smile on his face. Now the evening, that’s where it gets interesting. In the evening, when James Butler sits in an ordinary bus to make his way home, something not quite ordinary happens. Every evening, when James Butler returns to his ordinary house from his ordinary job, he looks through the window of the bus, trying to catch a glimpse of the James Butler on the other side of glass. Trying to catch just a small glimpse of the smile that sits upon the other James Butler’s face. Now that glimpse, that small of part of joy on the other side of the glass, that is what keeps the ordinary James Butler from going insane. Now going insane would be extremely extraordinary, and an ordinary man like James Butler wouldn’t want to go extraordinary now, would he?

But there’s another reason why James Butler tries to catch a glimpse of that smile every evening. The extraordinary James Butler, who leaves his job with a smile on his face every day, had a very ordinary past. It was a fun past, but an ordinary past. He watched his children grow up in a very ordinary fashion, and he loved his ordinary wife. When his children grew up and left the house to become adults themselves, James Butler started picking up hobbies for himself, and his life became extraordinary, filled with action, suspense and fun. Now our ordinary James Butler misses this kind of ordinary past. When James Butler was still a young, energetic man, and his wife was expecting their second child, something extraordinary happened. When our ordinary James Butler was working his 8-hour shift one day, he got a very extraordinary call from the hospital. His wife and first child had been in a car accident, and both had passed away on site. After hearing this news, James Butler excused himself and made his way home, where he drank an extraordinary amount of whiskey. This excessive amount of whiskey was the last extraordinary thing to happen in James Butler’s life. From that moment onwards, joy was hard to find for James Butler, and he lived from ordinary day to ordinary day, ordinary moment to ordinary moment, trying not to succumb to his grief. Eventually, maybe as a way of dealing with the sadness, but no one could quite tell, James Butler’s wife and children returned to him. They sat at his ordinary dinner table eating an ordinary spaghetti, and they slept in their ordinary beds at night. Now James Butler kept living like this until he was an old man, but he never became the happy man he once was. The presence of this wife and children gave him some comfort, but it was an empty shell, for every evening he would look at the other side of the glass and see what his life could have been.

But when James Butler was old and dying, something extraordinary happened once more, for the last time in his life. He got up and left his ordinary old man’s chair for the first time in a long while. James Butler then made his way outside, but left his coat and his hat hanging on their ordinary hooks in the hallway. He made his way along the glass wall, looking inside the entire way. On the other side sat an old man, wearing his coat and his hat. James Butler’s grand children came to visit him often, and even after the death of his wife joy still had a place in his life. Upon seeing this sight, our ordinary James Butler clenched his fists and started hitting the glass that had separated him from joy his entire life. It hurt, but he kept on hitting and hitting. Until finally, a crack appeared on the wall. As James Butler kept punching, the crack kept getting bigger and bigger, until finally after what seemed to be an eternity, it shattered. Billions of little pieces of glass came crashing down, and for the first time since that terrible accident, James Butler stepped to the other side of the wall.
On that other side of the wall is where James Butler died, with a smile on his face and a sea of glass surrounding him, while the other James Butler was nowhere to be found.

EDIT: Lay-out

title: [MF] The story of James Butler

question: How did the extraordinary James Butler become ordinary?

answer: He lost his zest when his wife and daughter died.

question: When does ordinary James Butler see extraordinary James Butler?

answer: Reflected in the window of one of the buses.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: James Butler lives an ordinary life, but fantasizes about a version of himself that lives an extraordinary one. He lives an ordinary life because he is in mourning after his wife and daughter dies. Finally he reunites with his extraordinary self in death and they become one again.


text:
JAY BOCOOK is a professional composer and arranger, and also the Director of Athletic Bands at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. He was born in Clearwater, Florida in 1953 and received a Bachelor of Music degree from Furman University in 1975, and went on to receive a Master of Music degree from University of Louisiana at Monroe, (formerly Northeast Louisiana University). He is an alumnus of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the national men's music fraternity. Bocook became a Sinfonian at Furman University, joining the Gamma Eta chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia in 1972. He was also inducted into the Theta Lambda chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota as a National Arts Associate in 2006.

Mr. Bocook began his composing and arranging career in graduate school, and began to write for Jenson publications while serving as the band director at a small but well-known high school in Travelers Rest, South Carolina, leading them to become the South Carolina AAA state marching band champions in 1978. He served as the Director of Bands at Furman University from 1982 until 1989, where he continued his rise to fame as an arranger. His arrangements were featured at the 1984, 1988, 1996, and 2002 Olympic Games. He writes for a wide range of ensembles, from elementary bands to the United States Marine Band. He was recently inducted in the ABA (American Bandmasters Association), and in 2009, was inducted into the DCI (Drum Corps International) Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the (SCBDA) South Carolina Band Directors Association Hall of Fame.

In addition to serving as Furman's Director of Athletic Bands, Mr. Bocook works as a staff composer/arranger for Hal Leonard. He previously served as the chief arranger for the ten-time DCI World Champion, the Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps, and currently serves in a similar role with perennial DCI Finalists, the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps, from Denver, Colorado. Other groups include the fifteen-time DCA World Champion, the Reading Buccaneers Drum and Bugle Corps. He also composes music exclusively for a select group of high schools. Namely the Avon High School Marching Band of Avon, IN, three time Grand National Champions and 9 time ISSMA State Champions. Mr. Bocook is also a regular arranger for the Lassiter HS Marching Band of Marietta, GA (two-time BOA Grand National Champions), The James F. Byrnes High School Rebel Regiment of Duncan, SC ( SCBDA 3A State Champion, 9 time SCBDA 4A State Champion, 2 time SCBDA 5A State Champion 2016, 2018>ONE< time BOA Grand National Semi-Finalist, 6 time BOA Regional Class Champion, BOA Regional Champion, and Sudler Shield recipient), Wando HS Band of Mount Pleasant, SC (SCBDA 5A State Champions, BOA Grand National Finalist), The Boiling Springs HS Bulldog Band of Boiling Springs, SC(1 time Grand National Semi-Finalist, SCBDA State Finalists, BOA Regional Class Champions)Wakeland HS Band of Frisco, TX[1] (two-time BOA Class Champions and BOA Grand National Class Medalists) Lexington HS Band of Lexington, SC (SCBDA 5A State Champions), Dartmouth HS Band of Dartmouth MA (five-time USSBA National Champions) Foothill HS Band of Henderson, NV (12 time BOA regional finalist). Since 2008 he has arranged for the Fort Mill HS Band of Fort Mill, SC ( 24 Time SCBDA 3A, 4A State Champions, BOA Regional Champions), and Lafayette HS of Lexington KY (BOA Regional Champion, KMEA 5A State Champions, and BOA Grand National Finalists).

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title: Jay Bocook

question: What does the article say about who is Jay Bocook?

answer: Jay Bocook is s a professional composer and arranger, and also the Director of Athletic Bands at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. He also works as a staff composer/arranger for Hal Leonard.

question: What does the article say about Bocook's education?

answer: Bocook received a Bachelor of Music degree from Furman University in 1975 and went on to receive a Master of Music degree from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. He is an alumnus of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the national men's music fraternity.

question: What does the article say about Bocook's music style?


text:
more choice is good —

258-mile range and a "smart deceleration" mode we love.

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    The traffic-packed drive from Malibu to West Hollywood was not conducive to getting some photography done, so please enjoy the following selection taken by Hyundai's more talented photographers.

     Hyundai

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    The Kona EV gets a very distinct interior to the non-electric version.

     Hyundai

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    The Kona EV's 201hp electric motor/generator unit.

     Hyundai

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    There's 33.4 inches of rear legroom—just less than a Leaf (33.5 inches), a lot less than a Bolt (36.5 inches).

     Hyundai

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    There's a decent amount of cargo space, though.

     Hyundai

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    You can pick from three different levels of coasting regeneration (level 0 is no regen).

     Hyundai

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    Underneath the bridge-type console there's a place to put phones; this is where the wireless charging pad is.

     Hyundai

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    The Kona EV can charge at up to 75kW and 200V.

     Hyundai

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    A charge from empty to 80 percent at 75kW will take 54 minutes.

     Hyundai

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    The Kona EV is relaxing to drive but does not demand you take it by the scruff and carve some canyons.

     Hyundai

LOS ANGELES—If you believe we'd be better off with more people driving electric vehicles, any increase in the variety of those EVs is a welcome event. The latest option for the would-be EV owner certainly hits most of the right notes to be a hit. The Hyundai Kona EV is a crossover, the body style so on-trend that it made Ford kill all its old-fashioned cars. The 64kWh battery gives it a range of 258 miles, and on the latest fast-chargers it will go from flat to 80 percent state-of-charge in 54 minutes. And it comes with all the latest advanced driver assists and a rather funky interior. The only thing we still don't know is the exact price. But since Hyundai told us it's meant to be competitive against the Chevrolet Bolt, Nissan Leaf, and that elusive standard-range Tesla Model 3, expect a pre-incentive price to start somewhere around $37,000.

Our first experience of the little Kona crossover was back in April when we tested a pair of its gasoline-powered variants. The Kona EV is built on the same bones, but Hyundai's design team has given it a unique styling treatment inside and out to distinguish this all-electric one from its internal combustion engined siblings. Most noticeable is the new nose. Hyundai is eschewing the idea of making all its models look identical, and battery EVs don't need to suck in lots of fresh air to feed an engine. So the Kona EV ditches the big grille for a much more aerodynamic front end.

It slips through the air

You can see the quest for aerodynamic efficiency elsewhere. The underbody airflow is managed by covers and air deflectors. The actual air intake (in the lower part of the front bumper) is active and closes when appropriate to further cut drag. And the alloy wheels are mostly flat, with few openings to minimize turbulence. The result is a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.29. That's better than the regular Kona (0.34) and the Chevy Bolt (0.32) and on a par with Jaguar's I-Pace, but it's not as good as the Leaf (0.28), Audi e-tron (0.27), or Tesla Model 3 (0.24). (CdA, where the drag coefficient is multiplied by frontal area, is the figure that really matters, but OEMs never give out those numbers.)

Under the skin, the layout is conventional for an EV—the battery pack is between the axle and underneath the occupants, with additional reinforcement (versus the regular Kona) to protect the battery (and the passengers). Like the Bolt and Leaf, the Kona EV is front-wheel drive, with a 201hp (150kW), 291lb-ft (395Nm) permanent magnet synchronous motor coupled to a single-speed reduction gear. The 64kWh battery pack is liquid-cooled, and, as with other EVs we've seen, this system is looped into the car's climate control system to exchange heat with the radiator and air conditioner. (This reduces the need to draw energy from the battery to heat or cool the interior). It's rated at 170kW and has an energy density of 141Wh/kg.

The Kona EV can DC fast-charge at up to 75kW and 200A (which will require plugging it into one of the newest fast chargers like the kind Electrify America is building). That will take a flat battery to an 80-percent state of charge in 54 minutes. This isn't Supercharger-fast, but it is sufficient to add another 125 miles of range in 30 minutes, Hyundai says. On an older 50kW fast charger, that same 80 percent will take 75 minutes. The Kona EV also features an onboard 7.2kW charger, and, plugged into a 240v outlet, will fully recharge in 9 hours 35 min. While we weren't able to test the entire 258-mile range claim, the car's range calculator seemed to be pretty accurate when compared to our drive route.

It's loaded to the gills

Things actually get a bit more distinct compared to the gasoline Kona on the inside. This is probably a good thing, considering the fact that the cheapest Kona EV is likely to cost almost double the price of the cheapest internal combustion version. There's an all-new center console that stretches out like a bridge between the front seats, and if you opt for the Limited or Ultimate trims, all the seats are trimmed in leather. One thing that isn't really changed is the amount of available space on the inside. There's no getting around it: the Kona EV is a small car. Front seat occupants will have about as much room as in a Bolt, and rear-seat occupants will be slightly more squished than in a Leaf. With the rear seats in use, there's 19.2 cubic feet (544L) of cargo space, which grows to 45.8 cubic feet (1,297L) with the seats folded flat.

Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are standard, and Hyundai's infotainment system is actually not bad. The graphics are clear, and I like the UI, which reminds me somewhat of a pre-OS X Macintosh. The Ultimate, which was on hand for our drive, also gets a bigger (eight-inch versus seven-inch) touchscreen. As its name suggests, it comes with _all_ the bells and whistles—the base SEL Kona EV is also well-specced, even when it comes to driver assists.

Forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping, blind spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic collision warning is all standard across the range, which is gratifying to see, as most OEMs lock these options up in the more expensive trims. As you move to the Limited trim, you get exterior LED lighting, wireless phone charging, and a sunroof, with the Ultimate gaining a heads-up display, pedestrian detection, a better adaptive cruise control that will come to a complete stop in traffic, and ventilated front seats, among other goodies.

But you could have discovered all that just from looking at Hyundai's website. The reason I flew to California was to find out how the Kona EV drives, and I can report that my impressions were rather good. There are three different drive modes: Eco, Normal, and Sport. Eco has the least responsive accelerator and by default the most aggressive regeneration under coasting. In Normal, the accelerator is more responsive, and the car coasts more and regens less when you cruise, and Sport has the sharpest accelerator response and a coasting regen setting somewhere in between the other two. (In fact, there's actually a fourth mode, Eco+, which limits all other power draws from the battery to extend range as far as possible.)

Smart deceleration brings a new trick to the EV party

Hyundai has thought a lot about maximizing regen; after all, every kWh you can recover from deceleration is a kWh you don't need to suck out of a charger. Where you might find paddles to change gear in some cars, here you find paddles to alter the regen through four settings (0/1/2/3). Holding the left paddle (as opposed to just clicking it to cycle through levels) engages the most aggressive regen, braking the car at up to 0.25G. This will illuminate the brake lights and bring the car to a full stop.

But the Kona EV has a clever party trick up its sleeve that means you'll use the regen paddle a lot less than the similar feature in Chevy's Bolt or Volt. (This is good, because there was a noticeable delay between using the paddle to increase the level of regen and the rate at which the car slows.) It's called the Smart Regenerative System, and the idea is to keep a consistent rate of deceleration when coasting. On an incline, it will regen less than coming down a hill, and since every Kona EV has a forward-facing adaptive cruise control radar sensor, it will even take into account any cars you're following. That last bit does wonders for cruising in traffic, particularly since the car was able to more finely judge the rate of deceleration than this unfamiliar driver.

Hyundai hasn't released a curb weight, but we don't need that number to know the center of gravity is nice and low, and that means a stable ride and little body roll once on the move. The Kona EV feels zippy, but it never encourages you to hustle it down a twisty road the way a Bolt does. Much of our test route (from West Hollywood to Malibu) was spent in traffic anyway, where the combination of that smart deceleration feature and a very quiet interior did much to counter the psychological toll inflicted by Southern California stop-and-go traffic.

The Kona EV won't be for everyone, but then no car really is. It's cheap and cheerful in the way that any sub-$40,000 EV has to be, because lithium-ion batteries are still very expensive, even when you're subsidizing the model with non-EV versions. Sales will start in California at the beginning of next year and will then spread to the Zero Emissions Vehicles states. A nationwide launch remains TBD; Hyundai North America told me that there's a lot of global demand for the car, and it has to compete with other regions. Expansion outside the ZEV states may happen with sufficient demand and dealer readiness.

_Listing image by Hyundai_

question: Summarize the features of the Hyundai Kona EV.

answer: The Hyundai Kona EV has a 201hp electric motor and has a distinct interior as compared to the non-electric version. There's also 33.4 inches of rear legroom which is just slightly less than Leaf and a lot less than Bolt. You also get a decent amount of cargo space. Additionally, you can choose from 3 levels of regeneration and there's also a place to put phones and charge them wirelessly. It takes about 54 minutes to charge it from 0 to 80 percent.

question: Summarize the aerodynamics of Hyundai Kona EV.

answer: The underbody airflow is managed by covers and air deflectors. The actual air intake closes when appropriate to reduce the drag. Additionally, the alloy wheels are flat with few openings to reduce turbulence. It has a drag coefficient of 0.29 which is lower than Kona and Bolt. However, it's not as good as the Audi e-tron, Tesla Model 3, and Jaguar I-Pace.


text:
Picture a scene. A researcher looks at unsuspecting ants trough a looking glass, the ants working away above and beneath the earth, suspended in a narrow glass box. The tunnels under the ground are visible at the side of the glass box. Weaved into a complex cacophony of roads all intertwined. Above ground they surge upon their dead prey. Bit by bit eating away at the now rotting corpse.

Imagine now this as a whole. The ants above ground a representation of a persons outer layer, and the underground maze the inner layer.

Impacts are first placed upon the outer layer. The food, the interactions, a small shake of a hand, the way you look someone in the eye. In our lives it takes the same meaning as the prey does to the ants. It is then soaked into the inner layer. Our personality, the way we emphatize, our morality....

It all weaves into a person.

And every other person is that researcher. He who tries to study the ants trough a looking glass instead of simply watching them burrow beyond the light.

Sometimes i look at how the sun breaches the clouds, its rays shining with a force of a thousand suns. I wander if our little universe isn't an ant farm.

title: [NF] Inner thoughts

question: Who is the narrator?

answer: It is not clear from the text. It is someone who wonders if our little universe isn't an ant farm.

question: What are the major events of the story?

answer: The narrator asks that you imagine the scene of a scientist studying an ant farm. The narrator then suggests that a human is an ant farm, with outside influences being slowly assimilated in deep tunnels. Other people being the scientist studying the ant farm. The universe might be one big ant farm.

question: What is the relationship between ants and humans?

answer: The ants in the ant farm build and live under the watchful eye of the scientist. The narrator uses the ant farm as a metaphor for a human.

question: Explain why the researcher is looking at the ants through a looking glass?

answer: The scientist is studying the ants, how they live and build their colony.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator asks that you imagine the scene of a scientist studying an ant farm. The ants build complex networks underground and fetch small pieces of prey from aboveground. The narrator then suggests that a human is an ant farm, with outside influences being slowly assimilated in deep tunnels. In this metaphor, the scientist is other people studying the ant farm. The narrator wonders if the universe is an ant farm.


text:
“Brother Bear, me-oh-my.” He followed this with a wheeze on his harmonica and then threw a grenade at me.

It was not the first time a grenade has been thrown at me. Not by a long shot.

The first time a grenade was thrown at me was when I was 11. I was walking with my mother in a safe zone and BOOM. Totally out of nowhere, my mother and I got in a doorway and heard the hollow sound of a skull rolling passed just in time to look away. It’s about the 11th worst situation I’ve been in.

The next time was after the final round of nukes and I didn’t really care about it. I think I was hoping to get hit, but I can’t really remember. It was years ago. Everyone just walked around like zombies then…I don’t even know why anyone had any reason to throw a grenade. It could have been an accident.

But this guy – the harmonica guy – was trying to kill me. I had seen him in the Free Zone before. I had stepped over him more than once and he had shouted obscenities at me every time. That’s why I was surprised that he had a grenade. That’s why I didn’t have time to duck. That’s why my leg is over there.

Everyone is homeless now, but this guy was really homeless. He slept on streets. I slept in abandoned apartment complexes, but I needed money to do it. Money is typically food or drugs or weapons. How did he get the grenade?

I’m thinking all of this as I stare at my leg across the street and watch him slowly move towards me. He’s still playing the harmonica. “Oh, say, can you seeeeeeeee, the sweet afterbirth, that so proudly declared our true country’s worth.”

“You sing like an angel!” I’m yelling.

He grins.

Across the street there used to be a McDonald’s. It’s like this big hole now. Above me used to be sky, now it’s just this big hole now.

The pain seeps in and I vomit. I try to think of anything. Like the pitch black night before the war when everyone was just waiting to see who would fire first, secretly thinking that nothing bad would happen like usual…that first news report that America had actually been attacked with artillery…with advancing soldiers…schoolyard empty…teachers crying.

He’s standing above me and pulling out a cigarette. How did a homeless guy get a cigarette. “I bet you want your leg back? Sorry, Jack.”

“Why did blow my leg off, Mister?” I’m like 40-years-old or something. I haven’t eaten a cheeseburger in a quarter of a century. I have a cat somewhere around here that has managed to not be eaten. I think that’s a sense of pride. That I somehow raised a cat in all this. There’s barely rats left. My mother’s name was Vickie. “I said, why did you blow my leg off?”

He blows on the harmonica and then shouts “BECAUSE!” right into my face.

The last book I read was a Skymall catalogue. It fell out of a tree one day. I think it was a book. It could have been a magazine. There were about five pages of it left. The last book I ever saw. There was a sky up in the sky once.

The cat’s on my lap now. I’m pretty sure the homeless guy is going to kill it somehow. My mother died of suicide. I never met my Dad. I think I used to have a sister. It’s all very cold out now. My cat is dead.

title: My Cat is Dead

question: Who is committing the attacks and bombarding the people with bombs and grenades?

answer: This information is not found.

question: Who is playing the harmonica?

answer: A guy who was trying to kill the narrator amidst the attacks.

question: Where is the narrator forced to live?

answer: Everyone became homeless and the narrator sleeps in abandoned apartment complexes.

question: How does the narrator's cat die?

answer: Presumably killed by the homeless guy.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator describes terrible situations where they would evade bombardments and grenade attacks numerous times. Even in the safe zones, they were not safe. Living in abandoned apartments, the narrator's cat becomes her only companion after her mother commits suicide. Then the cat dies.


text:
We all have those moments of utter brain freeze. You go to do something but your brain turns into a cabbage and you mess up the intended task to varying disastrous degrees. The most memorable time this happened to me was a few years back. I finished up on the toilet then threw my phone in the bog and stuck a wad of used tissue paper in my back pocket. I had to throw out the jeans and even when I finally managed to fish my phone out the toilet it was completely non-functional. So that was the worst one. But it happens. Every few days or so.

Last week, though, I heard about a friend of a friend – Mikey. He woke up, kissed his alarm clock and clapped his wife over the head. She was, of course, raging but Mikey hadn’t a clue what just happened. After frantically apologising, he got out of bed and went into the bathroom. He returned a few minutes later to his wife in the bedroom with white dried toothpaste spread throughout his hair and a blue sticky liquid in the gaps between his teeth. The day continued just like this. Mikey pissed in his Weetabix, poured milk down the toilet, told his boss he fancied her daughter and stubbed his cigarette out in his mother-in-law’s urn.

It reached the point where Mikey, the poor bastard, locked himself in his bedroom after he finished work and tried to shut out all possible occurrences of him making a hash of things. But he dreamt of it. He dreamt of making toast for spiders and crushing his daughter with his clenched fist. He couldn’t go on like that, if it continued the next day he’d seek professional help.

The next day came and Mikey was petrified to do anything. He pulled over his duvet then opened his curtains. Good start but these things are largely interchangeable. Next, he carefully opened the door and took the bins out. Again, easy stuff – but promising nonetheless. He returned to his bedroom and stuffed his wife’s face into a bowl of dog food then fucked his dog. Yes, everything truly was back to normal for Mikey.

title: [HM] Cabbagehead

question: What is the "bog"?

answer: The feces in the toilet.

question: What would have been the correct thing for Mikey to do when he woke up?

answer: To slap the alarm clock and kiss his wife.

question: Explain the story's punchline.

answer: The punchline is that it is normal for Mike to mix things up. After getting a handful of things correct, he feeds his wife dog food and has sex with his dog.

question: What is the significance of the title?

answer: The title refers to the phenomenon where a person's brain functions improperly, causing them to do stupid things.


text:
[Screen Shot 2015-12-15 at 11.56.56 AM]
IPT/FBI FOIA Release
An FBI chart has surfaced depicting connections between the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Obtained by the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the chart shows CAIR falling under the umbrella of the jihadi outfit.

[Screen Shot 2015-12-15 at 11.56.56 AM.png]

This FBI chart details the Hamas-related groups, which included CAIR, that were created to ultimately support the Palestinian terrorist organization. It also established Nabil Sadoun’s (former CAIR national board of directors member and vice chairman) connections to Hamas.

The IPT also obtained groundbreaking new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) documents that trail CAIR back to its roots as a subversive Hamas-related group.

In 2007, CAIR was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) trial, a Hamas financing case that would result in the FBIceasing its working relationship with CAIR. The HLF trial was the largest terror-financing case in American history. In 2008, during a retrial of the HLF case, an FBI Special Agentlabeled CAIR as “a front group for Hamas” during her trial testimony. In 2010, a federal judge reiterated that his court had “ample evidence” that CAIR wasinvolved in “a conspiracy to support Hamas.” CAIR, which relies uponmillions of dollars in Saudi cash, was recently listed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a terrorist organization.

The group, whichfashions itself as a civil rights voice for American Muslims, was founded by members of the Palestine Committee (PALCOM), an organization “established to support Hamas,” according to the chart. Nihad Awad, currently CAIR’s executive director, was previously an official at PALCOM.

The FBI declaration submitted in connection with removal proceedings for Nabil Sadoun (a former top CAIR official) said PALCOM members usedcoded language to discuss the “true nature” of their clandestine operations in support of Hamas. During a Philadelphia conference, which was being wiretapped by the FBI, they “referred to Hamas as ‘Samah’–Hamas spelled backwards–or simply as ‘the Movement,’” the FBI declaration said.

[Screen Shot 2015-12-15 at 1.37.50 PM.png]

_IPT FOIA_

“It is clear that the true nature of the PALCOM meeting was to discuss the means to support Hamas’ goal to undermine the peace process (between Israel and the Palestinians) and to thwart law enforcement in the United States,” the FBI declaration read.

According to the FBI declaration, attendees of the Philly meeting “discussed how ‘Samah’ would one day be labeled as a terrorist organization by the US government,” the document said, adding they “discussed the need to create a new, uncompromised front group in the United States under the veil of some cover palatable to the American public.”

CAIR was “subsequently founded” after the Philly Conference, where attendees discussed the “need to create a new front organization” for Hamas, the FBI declaration said, with PALCOM tasking Omar Ahmad and Nihad Awad to chair the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). A third founder, Nabil Sadoun, would join shortly thereafter as Vice-Chairman of CAIR. According to the FBI, Sadoun was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and “was affiliated with Hamas.” Sadoun was also involved with other organizations that solicited funding for Hamas. At one point, he brought Hamas chairman Khaled Mashaal to keynote a conference in Oklahoma City, the FBI declaration reveals.

[Screen Shot 2015-12-15 at 1.41.17 PM.png]

_IPT FOIA_

[Screen Shot 2015-12-15 at 3.10.09 PM.png]

_IPT FOIA_

Before becoming CAIR’s Vice-Chair, Sadoun was motivated by violent jihad, IPT found. Asked about the Middle East conflict with “the Jews” (Israel) in a 1993 interview, Sadoundescribed the conflict as “the first priority for Muslim[s] until the Holy Land is liberated and the backbone of the Jews is broken.” He alsodiscussed “raising the spirit of jihad and the struggle amidst the Palestinian people… to form a tight Islamic front to face the Zionist Existence and put an end to it.” Sadoun would later be deported from the country, ordered removed from the U.S. by an Immigration Court after authorities alleged he lied about his affiliation with organizations linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.

question: What does the article say about PALCOM?

answer: Palestine Committee is an organization found to support Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist group. Its members were found to use coded language in discussions to hide their true aims, which are to undermine the peace process between Israel and Palestine and to thwart law enforcement in the US. To that end, PALCOM members founded a new group as a front for Hamas' interests, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). CAIR was intended to be a funding source that appears more palatable to the American public.

question: What does the text say about Sadoun?

answer: Sadoun is the former vice-chairman of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), a group founded by the Palestine Committee (PALCOM) to support Hamas financially. CAIR was founded to establish a front palatable to Americans, and Sadoun joined the two ex-PALCOM members as vice-chairman and founder. FBI claims Sadoun was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and was affiliated with Hamas in addition to other organizations that solicited funding for it. The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) found that Sadoun was motivated by violent jihad based on old interviews. After the Immigration Court found that he lied about his ties to organizations linked with the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, Sadoun was deported from the US.

question: What does the text say about school shootings in the US?