text:
I used to look at people when I was younger;

Right in their eyes...

I would try to understand if they were there, being able of thought abstract and minus self. I used to wish and hope that maybe they were. That something would dawn upon one and they would look at me and I would see, feel, taste anything that would show me. I looked for year's, I got older and older and I still couldn't find it. Every so often i would see intelligence and glimmers of something better described as a twitch of a muscle you didn't know you had.

I gave up, I stopped looking. What I couldn't stop was thinking. I grew wary of what I deemed was called hope. That thing that drives people to want and love and fuck, before greed sets in and once was love turns to lust and they forget what they had held once dear.

That conditioned morality that was what they thought of as I themselves. Their flawed idea of uniqueness dissolves.
As with all things lost, the human condition prevails and one must search.
I thought maybe i wasn't looking right. Was it a given? Was there a mass presumption ingrained into us? If that was so then why did I not have it.

Why.

That was my fall. I turned on my self and I couldn't stop. I kept cycling and cycling in the true fashion of Einstein's definition. I could control it, which only created more whys. Was it really control? If that was up there standing on the soap box, that idea of being able to stop mid breath, Harness one away from want. Then everything was.

Sweet opioid.

Love.

Quite.

I could look up now. I felt what i deemed control, that wary thing I carried with me,not for the sake of other as most do, but for myself to keep me from falling away no longer necessary.

I could look at someone in the eyes and not wonder or search, but see exactly how they did; feel, touch, taste, be. The notion of my singularity was null.
Well for as long as it lasted. It was worse now. I saw I wasn't wrong to question and look. I wasn't asking the wrong thing or not looking the right way.
Alone again. Though with more knowledge. I have conditioned others to act differently why not me?

I tried so hard. tearing bit by bit away.

Using more and more to see were work was needed.

I slowly unraveled it all and put it back.

Then kept using more and more. less breaks. It had to stick I had blend it and life together. Had to forget what I was doing to myself or it would never work.
Then I stopped.

Time went by. Calmness and ease, that frolic on the beach.

But nothing last....

A itch was starting to form...

title: [NF] Opioid Dreams.

question: What's the overall theme of the story?

answer: It's opioid addiction fueled through isolation and loneliness.

question: What are the implications of the story's end?

answer: It seems to imply the beginning of withdrawal symptoms.

question: What does the narrator mean when they talk about being able to see how people felt after starting their use of opioids?

answer: The narrator's depressed state was associated with their lack of recognition of a special spark they wanted to see in someone. After starting to use opioids, the narrator seems to have felt like they saw it. That's probably how the narrator's opioid high manifests itself.


split: test

text:
Democrats are embracing Michael Avenatti’s call for the party to get more aggressive in the Trump era and hit back harder than the GOP when responding to attacks.

Avenatti, the attorney for adult-film star Stormy Daniels who is now considering a White House run, said at an event in Iowa on Friday that “when they go low, I say hit back harder.”

It was a nod to former first lady Michelle Obama[]Michelle LeVaughn Robinson ObamaObama says he leans on daughters to create year-end playlists An immigrant to get the job done at Homeland Security Obama: 'Hopeless' to try to sell as many books as Michelle MORE’s “When they go low, we go high” mantra — a more hopeful, optimistic slogan that an increasing number of Democrats say belongs in the trash can for the time being.

Avenatti, said former Rep. Steve Israel[]Steven (Steve) J. IsraelDemocrats need a post-Trump message The Hill's Morning Report - Biden inches closer to victory Nervous Democrats don't see 2016 nightmare repeating itself MORE (D-N.Y.), is “tapping into a Democratic rage that Trump must be defeated and it doesn’t matter how.”

“They think the low blow beat the high ground in 2016,” Israel said, adding that Trump has created “an electorate that is angrier, nastier and more desperate.”

That likely means more attacks and a pugnacious 2020 primary season, say Democrats.

“We have no other choice,” said one political strategist who has been having preliminary conversations with candidates about running for the presidency. “You can’t kill him with kindness. That doesn’t work. So you have to go the other way.”

The idea of getting tougher than Trump didn’t originate with Avenatti, though his rhetoric might be the most Trump-like among the dozens of Democrats who seem to be flirting with presidential runs.

The Hill reported in July that Democrats were looking for a candidate who would fight Trump, suggesting the person who best taps into that desire would have a shot at winning the 2020 nomination.

“This notion that you go high or go low is a false choice, it’s become a misnomer,” Philippe Reines, a longtime adviser to Hillary Clinton[]Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonBette Middler blasts McConnell: 'How did he win with an 18% approval rating?' Hillary Clinton: Republicans that 'humor' Trump election claims 'have no spines' Trump leaves mixed legacy on veterans affairs MORE, told The Hill last month.

“Democrats are going to want to see someone with moxie, they’re going to want to see absolute contempt for Trump,” said Reines, who played Trump in mock debates in 2016 to prepare Clinton, the Democratic nominee.

Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, penned a piece for CNN on Sunday titled “Avenatti is right: Democrats need to fight fire with fire.”

In an email to The Hill, Zelizer added that Democrats could go with a traditional or nontraditional candidate, "but what they need is an incredibly tough partisan fighter.”

“Given the state of the GOP and the nature of Trumpian politics, the candidate will need to really pack a big political punch,” he said. “It doesn’t mean getting into the gutter but it does mean hitting back hard and being able to do so on Twitter and the cable news universe that now sets the rules of engagement.”

Some Democrats, however, think it’s a dangerous approach.

Patti Solis Doyle, a Democratic strategist who served as Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign manager, said the party needs to stand up to Trump.

“Does he need to be called out? Do we need to see his tax returns? Absolutely,” Solis Doyle said. “We need to be strong to deliver attacks on him.”

“But I’m not sure that someone who is remarkably similar to Donald Trump[]Donald TrumpBiden and Harris named Time's 2020 'Person of the Year' US to sanction Turkey over Russian defense system: report Federal government executes Brandon Bernard despite last-minute appeals MORE is the answer,” she added, referring to Avenatti.

Israel said Trump’s behavior is bringing some people back to the Democratic Party. Adopting Trump’s style, as Avenatti suggests, could backfire, he said.

“Going lower than Trump won’t help with those voters. Messaging to them based on their daily lives and concerns will win them,” said Israel, a former chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).

Licy DoCanto, a former aide to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) who now heads the DoCanto Group, a public policy consulting firm, said candidates should “resist the temptation to go low.”

“And that means being incredibly disciplined in your own arguments and your own decorum,” he said. “You can still be civil and have some respect for yourself and the institutions around you and be successful. It may feel emotionally dissatisfying but it is still, in the long term, effective.”

Democratic strategist David Wade — who served as an adviser to John Kerry[]John KerryOvernight Energy: Trump EPA finalizes air rule that critics say favors polluters | Zinke, in official and unofficial portraits, returns to Interior on horseback | Vilsack gets lukewarm response as Biden Agriculture pick from those seeking reformed USDA Biden to champion climate action in 2021 Biden's foreign policy team has a surprising lack of diversity MORE’s 2004 presidential campaign — cautioned that it’s difficult to predict where the primary electorate will be in six months, particularly if Democrats win big in the midterm elections in November.

Wade noted that the 2006 midterms, for example, “changed everyone’s calculus.”

“Democrats went from the desperation of just hoping for a presidential candidate who could win to believing that we had latitude to find the candidate who most inspired,” he said. “The midterms will be the first barometer. If Democrats win and depending on which kinds of candidates win, that’s going to set the narrative for a while.”

Tyler Law, a spokesman for the DCCC, said sticking to the bread-and-butter issues “is actually what resonates the most with voters.”

“Republicans are trying to distract and use fear and misleading [tactics]. But here’s the reality: They aren’t working. What we have seen is that when we focus on the issues — and we’re relentless in that focus — Democrats win,” Law said.

But the Democratic strategist predicted that when it comes to the presidential contest and Trump, Avenatti’s strategy and rhetoric is likely to win out over Obama’s.

“You can’t play nice with a bully,” the strategist said. “And that’s putting it nicely.”

question: What does the text say about Bill Clinton?

question: Summarize the main news event.

answer: Democrats are embracing Michael Avenatti's call for the party to get more aggressive in dealing with Trump and hit back harder than the GOP when responding to attacks. He says that the Democrats need to abandon the old Obama Mantra of "When they go low, we go high" because Trump is a bully, and playing nice with a bully is impossible. Former Rep. Steve Israel says that Trump has created an electorate that is angrier, nastier, and more desperate. The Democrats need to tap into a rage that Trump must be defeated no matter how. One way to do that is by fielding a candidate who has absolute contempt for Trump and would stand up against him. Some Democrats, however, think fighting fire with fire is a dangerous approach that could backfire.

question: What does the text say about Michael Avenatti?

answer: Michael Avenatti is the attorney for adult-film star Stormy Daniels. He is now considering a run at the White House. He is calling for the Democratic party to be more aggressive in the Trump era and hit back harder than the GOP when responding to attacks. Avenatti's rhetoric might be the most Trump-like among the dozens of Democrats who seem to be flirting with presidential runs.


text:
[Brown Ad]

Thanks for joining us here at 1 for All, a national nonpartisan and nonprofit educational effort to build understanding and respect for the five freedoms of the First Amendment.

At a time of deep partisanship in America, our goal is to remind America that the First Amendment, which gives us freedom of speech, religion, press, and the rights of petition and assembly, collectively gives each of us the right to be ourselves – expressing ourselves and enriching the nation through the free exchange of ideas.

A quick look at 1 for All

-   1 FOR ALL IS NONPARTISAN.  At a time of deep political polarization, we choose not to take sides. In fact, a shared commitment to freedom of speech, press and faith should unify this nation.
-   IT’S ALL ABOUT EDUCATION.  America’s teachers would like to do a better job of teaching about the First Amendment, but they often lack the resources they need. 1 for All will provide educational materials, course content and study guides for teachers of grades 1 to 12.
-   1 FOR ALL IS INTERACTIVE.  There’s no point in celebrating free expression without encouraging some of it. Students and others will be encouraged to submit photos, videos, songs and stories that reflect the value of freedom in America.
-   THE FOCUS IS ON ALL FIVE FREEDOMS.  America’s news media are quick to defend freedom of the press, and churches embrace freedom of faith, but these freedoms are interdependent and deserve the full support of all Americans. We can’t pick and choose the freedoms we like.

Please help us raise awareness of the importance of the First Amendment and the need to protect all five freedoms. HERE’S HOW YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Questions? You can reach us at 1forall@mtsu.edu.

KEN PAULSON
Director
The Free Speech Center
Middle Tennessee State University

[Protect freedom of the press ad]

question: What is the "1 for All" goal?

answer: To remind America of the First Amendment and its rights.

question: What unifies the nation?

answer: The shared commitment to freedom of speech, press and faith.

question: What will "1 for All" provide to teachers?

answer: Educational materials, course content and study guides

question: Who is directing "1 for All"?

answer: Ken Paulson from the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State Univesity

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: A nonprofit and nonpartisan group, 1 for All, posts an ad aiming to promote the First Amendment in America.


text:
FRACTIONAL YEN BANKNOTES refer to 5, 10, 20, and 50 sen banknotes that were issued by the Japanese Government from 1870 to 1953. In all instances the major driving factor for the production of these notes included metal shortages to produce the equivalent coinage. None of the notes listed below retain their legal tender status.

Background

During the waning years of the Edo period, the re-opening of international trade caused a large amount of gold coins to overflow overseas. The systems that had been put into place to stop this from happening ultimately failed, causing inflation to rise and confused the public over the nation's monetary system.[1] The Meiji government decided to move towards expanding Japan's influence in the world by strengthening military capacity to compete with Europe and the United States. In order to do this, a modern system of Japanese currency had to be established.[2] A new system was progressively adopted from 1869 to 1871 that introduced the Japanese yen, each “yen” was further fractionalized into units of “sen” and “rin”. These new coins and bank notes were produced by using modern western technology of the era, and replaced the old denominations of the Edo period.[3] The fractionalized “one sen” coin equaled one-one hundredth of a yen.

History

During the 6th year of Emperor Taishō's reign 10 sen, 20 sen, and 50 sen notes began to be issued in response to a shortage of silver used to make the sen coins.[4][5] This situation gradually wound down as silver stabilized due to the end of World War I. The production of 20 sen notes ceased in 1919, ending that denomination as its coinage counterpart was never resumed. This was followed by the 10 sen note in 1921, new copper nickel coins had already debuted the year before for this denomination rather than the old silver ones.[6] The 50 sen note ceased production in 1922 becoming the last fractional notes of the Taishō era to do so. In April 1922, a new law was passed which lowered the silver content for the 50 sen coin which continued to circulate.[7]

Notes issued

5 sen note

Five sen notes were first issued in 1944 with a design featuring the statue of Kusunoki Masashige outside Tokyo Imperial Palace. The design on the back has the Government Seal of Japan also known as the “Paulownia Seals” after the Paulownia flower. While this bill was water marked to help aid against counterfeiting, no serial numbers were added. The second and last of the “5 sen” denomination were bills issued in the “A series” starting in 1948 without watermarks. The front design features the Ume (Prunus mume) flower, also known as the “Japanese plum”. The words “5 Sen” are used in Arabic on the reverse for the first time, and serial numbers were added. Both of these issues were suspended in 1953 when the law abolishing the “sen” was passed.

File:Series Yi 5 Sen Bank of Japan note - front.jpg|First series front File:Series Yi 5 Sen Bank of Japan note - back.jpg|First series back File:Series A 5 sen Bank of Japan note - front.jpg|“A series” front File:Series A 5 sen Bank of Japan note - back.jpg|“A series” back

10 sen note

Ten sen notes were issued from 1917 to 1921 to replace “ten sen” silver coins which had all but disappeared from circulation due to World War I.[8] After a period of absence, the notes were released again starting in 1944. The 2nd and last of these series started print in 1947, and are known as “A series” notes. Both of these series were suspended in 1953 due to the abolishment of the “sen”.

20 sen note

Twenty sen notes were issued briefly from 1917 to 1919, replacing the old silver coins of the same value.

50 sen note

Fifty sen notes were issued from 1917 to 1922.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

title: Fractional yen banknotes

question: Why did the Japanese government issue fractional yen banknotes?

answer: The major driving factor for the production of these notes included metal shortages to produce the equivalent coinage. During the waning years of the Edo period, the re-opening of international trade caused a large number of gold coins to overflow overseas. The Meiji government decided to move towards expanding Japan's influence in the world. To do this, a modern system of Japanese currency had to be established.


text:
Once upon a time, in a cold, vast and dark place we all know as Space, a friendship was born after a million light years.
Moon, who was always all alone up there, came across two twinkling stars.
“Oh, hello Mr. Moon,” greeted the Red Star. “May I ask why you are all alone up here?”

The Moon, just grateful to finally have someone to talk to, eagerly responded. “My Sun is never around so I have to be alone.”
The two twinkling stars were confused with the Moon’s answer but didn’t dare ask more. Instead, they both agreed to hang around with the Moon.
“Well then, Mr. Moon. If it’s alright with you, we could hang around so you don’t have to illuminate the Earth all alone anymore.” Offered the Yellow Star. The Moon was so delighted he couldn’t contain his joy. And so that night, the humans need not light up the lamp posts, for the moonlight’s enough of a guide for a walk to go home.

Night after night, the two twinkling stars stayed with the Moon and the three of them never failed to glow up the world during the evenings. The other stars and moons were so jealous, for the Earth was so lucky to have a team that is based on a cosmic friendship. Even the Big Black Hole spared them from the swallowing. “Hm. The universe could do with a little spark.” Said the Big Black Hole as he swirled through Space; eating dead stars. The Moon and the two twinkling stars continued to bless the Space with ethereal glow; dancing and prancing in the darkness of the Space, they bonded.

That day though, the Sun noticed how the Moon do not ask for light every single moment anymore. Suspicious, the Sun waited until the next eclipse to talk to the Moon. And so when they met, the Sun was blazing mad and said, “How dare you, Moon! How dare you!” The Sun was spouting fires and the Moon was so tongue-tied; clueless as to what made the Sun fume.

“Sun, I don’t know what I did but I must say that I am sorry.” With a trembling voice, the Moon uttered.

“How dare you call me ‘Sun’ when your world doesn’t even revolve around me anymore!” Cried the Sun.

“But I am not a world. I am the Moon and I must not revolve around you, my dear Sun.” Insulted with the Moon’s answer, the Sun gracefully orbited away but not without saying, “I am the center of everything! You will know that sooner than later.”

The two twinkling stars gave all their sparkles for the Moon to consume, and yet it still wasn’t enough. The Moon grew dimmer and dimmer and the humans, left with no choice, poisoned the Earth with too much electricity just to light up the night. Little do they know, the Sun was watching them intently from far away; getting angrier each day. The Sun thought, “How dare those little, stray stars! How dare them glow more than me!” For the Sun is the center of everything, isn’t it? How come the Sun still can’t have it all? And so it was decided, the two twinkling stars have to go.

Feigning sickness, the Sun intended to make the Moon worry and it was successful. The Moon came rushing to the Sun without waiting for the next eclipse. So the Space fell apart, destroying the order of everything.

“Oh, Sun, I was so worried! You know I can’t illuminate without you,” The Moon cradled the Sun. “For I am just living off of your light.” The Sun sighed but still basked in the surrounding comfort of the Moon. But the two twinkling stars shouted, “Moon! You have to go back! This is not the way it should be!” Around them, the Space started to deteriorate. But the Sun held the Moon even tighter. Together, they absorbed each other’s light, leaving the Space blanketed in darkness.

 The Big Black Hole, seeing that the Moon and two twinkling stars sparkling in harmony no more, decided that it was time. With no mercy, The Big Black Hole swallowed the two twinkling stars and looked at the Sun and the Moon and said, “Hm. The universe could do with a little spark.”

title: [FN] Heavenly Bodies

question: What genre best describes this story?

answer: Parable

question: Who are the main characters in the story?

answer: The Sun, the Moon, and a pair of smaller stars.

question: What fate befalls the stars by the end of the story?

answer: They are eaten by a black hole?

question: Why do humans end up using more electricity?

answer: The Sun stops illuminating the moon, and the Earth becomes dark. Humans have to power lights with more electricity.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: In this story, the Sun, Moon, and other astronomical bodies are anthropomorphized. The Mon begins hanging out with two other stars, which makes the Sun jealous.


text:
--Wrote this half asleep last night. Please ignore the atrocious grammar e.e"--

Ashley sat her desk and stared at her high school  history book.

“Ugh. Two more years of this crap.” She groaned as she laid her head in her hands. The wooden chair squeaked when she got up to refill her empty glass with more sweat tea. It had been 6 months since her mother was found dead in the bedroom down the hall. They ruled it an accidental over dose, a mix of old and new medications. It really didn’t make sense considering she was only taking two medicines, one for her heart and the other for strange delusions she started having a few months before. She claimed the house was haunted and there was a man that talked to her every night and wanted her to be with him.

The beautiful two story farm house was built in the mid 1700’s by a farmer for his family that had 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. A giant screened in semi wrap around porch with an added outdoor barbecue area her dad built a couple years ago, is where Ashley and her parents spent most of their time.   After her mom died, Ashley’s dad picked up an extra job and was rarely home anymore leaving her alone a lot. Random friends and family would come to check on her here and there but mostly it was a couple hours of awkward silence then a made up excuse for why they had to leave. Instead of just saying it creeps them out to be in a house a person died in.

The teen poured her tea then sat cross legged  on the counter by the stove with the pitcher beside her. With only the dim glow of the clock on the stove, she sat in the dark as she listened to the crickets and whipper wills through the closed kitchen window. She imagined the summer nights her and her mother spent in the hammock outback together under the Oak trees. They used to count the stars and make their own constellations or count the craters on the moon. Her phone broke her flashback by singing her ringtone and she hopped of the counter, put the pitcher up, grabbed her glass then headed up the wooden spiral stair case.  Her boyfriend of 5 years usually called her about this time on his way home from work to check on her and  if she didn’t answer he would come over and use the key she gave him on the side door.

When she reached the top of the steps something caught her eye making her stop in the middle of the hallway and stare at the bedroom down the hall. The door was cracked which was odd because her dad forbid anyone go in there and installed a bolt on it. No even he has been in there since her mom died. Her heart raced a little and her phone stopped ringing then started again. She sprinted towards her door spilling some tea on the way and slammed her  door shut while also locking it. Her cell phone was on her desk across the room but she could read the name on it clearly, Mom.

At this point she dropped her tea glass and covered her mouth with her hands. Her phone stopped ringing but she just stared at it. She didn’t know what to think or even what to do. After a few seconds she launched herself to her desk, snatched her phone up and dialed her boyfriends number. It rang and rang and then a voice answered.

“Ashley?” It was a woman’s voice; her mothers voice. She sounded tired and weak as she spoke but Ashley couldn’t reply. Her body was gripped in fear, confusion, and anger was eating at her. She couldn’t believe Tim would play such a prank on her.
“Who is this?! This isn’t funny!” She screamed and cried into the phone.
“Ashley, the door is open for you. Come see me.” Her voice was heard through the phone as well as through Ashley’s door. She stared at her bedroom door unable to move or even breathe. The handle on her door started to turn and then it flew open, but, there was no one there. She looked at her phone but there was only her lock screen, as if there was never a call. Slowly, with her whole body shaking, she walked to her open door and peered out of it to the room down the hall. The bedroom door was open wider now and she could see an outline of something in the doorway with the faint light of the moon through the window in there. Ashley gripped her phone to her chest as she ventured down the hallway, scared completely out of her mind, yet un able to control her body. The outline got clearer the closer she got and she could tell it was the man her mother always talked about. He smiled a smile of pointed teeth  and glowing eyes before he lunged towards her, passing through her body. She felt her breath leaving her body and heard her mothers voice whispering to her.
“Now we will always be together.”
As everything faded into darkness she could here Tim yelling her name from the kitchen; but she would never see him again.

title: [MS] The man down the hall

question: Why was Ashley spending so much time on her own?

answer: Ashley's mother committed suicide six months ago. Her father took an additional job so he is seldom home. People pop in to visit Ashley from time to time but they quickly leave because it creeps them out being in a home where someone died.

question: What really happened to Ashley's mother to cause her death?

answer: Ashley's mother was bitten by a vampire and became a vampire herself. Ashley's mother was having delusions about a dark man who visited her at night. In the end, Ashley's mother comes back to fetch her, turning her into a vampire too.


text:
*Cobras. Cobras. More Cobras.*

"Ha ha, Baker. It is I - Dr. Lox! Back from the dream world and now here to destroy you. I have fashioned a time machine of this watch and I can travel whenever! Wherever! I want!"

"Time's up, Dr. Lox."

"Time's up? It's just begun!" And he disappeared.

Then he reappeared behind me and slapped me in the back of the head. Then he appeared in front of me and started dancing with the Dr. Lox behind me. Then two more Dr. Lox's appeared and joined in. Then more and more. Soon it was just a giant dance party of Dr. Lox's.

I slowly walked out of the lair and they didn't notice me or the time machine watch I took. I went back and forth in time until I created my own dance party. Nothing ever came of it. But it's a simple lesson on how a time machine could be used to create dance parties.

*Never Say Dying*

"Dr. Lox. It's me, Baker. I traveled back in time just before you killed me with all those volcanoes."

"Baker? Yes, I think I remember you. I have been stuck in a dream for millions of years. I am on the ninth level of dream-townville where you cannot escape your dream."

"That is the dumbest plot device I have ever heard of in my entire life."

"What about this Milk Way bar that turns into a car?"

"Still."

*Temptation to Terminate*

Dr. Lox was at it again. The entire building was sealed off and I was caught under the volcano that was aboard the spaceship that was headed towards the sun.

I had no escape. What was worse is that the sun was about to explode.

Worse still was that a black hole, unleashed by Dr. Lox, was moving slowly towards the sun.

My only chance was to activate the time machine watch I had and go back and stop Dr. Lox before any of this could occur.

I reached for the watch, but it was on my other hand.

The hand that I left at home.

Dr. Lox walked in. He was holding my hand. "You deserve a hand, Baker." He raised my hand and clapped his own hand with it.

Then he threw the hand at me. "Go ahead, Baker. Try to stop me."

I grabbed the hand and put in the time coordinates to bring me back, but it turned out it was just a regular watch - a Seiko.

"Dr. Lox, only you can stop this now. If you don't, we will all be killed."

"Not me, Baker." Dr. Lox then produced the time machine watch. He smiled and disappeared.

That's when two more volcanoes appeared and started circling the ship.

*Spy vs. Spy*

Sometimes, at night, I forget where I am and look up at the moon and think of Julia and all that could have been. Everything she was and everything she could be...

She was beautiful and I loved her.

Her and those three holes she had.

*Rangoon Noon*

You don't enter the spy game without training.

Many movies will show training camps where you learn how to kill people with matchbox cars, jelly donuts, or giant hoagie sandwiches - those movies are really accurate and I helped consult on a few, but what they don't tell you is that you also learn how to kill people with VHS home movies, oversized stuffed animals, and Pepperidge Farm gift packs.

*The End of the Road*

People think that spying is easy. You just hide behind a wall and chew gum and watch what people do, right? Like maybe you just sit behind a wall and eat a hot dog and read comic books? Like you just sit in a vacant building and eat as many pies as you can and then the next day you try to eat more and you text your buddies on the progress? Or you sit with binoculars watching an arms deal while beating off?

Well, you're wrong.

Except for the beating off thing. That happens all the time.

*Sabotage!*

I wired the dam with the explosives and waited.

I needed to confirm all six kills, so there I was, high above the dam just waiting. Waiting for them to arrive.

Finally, Schultz, Kramer, Demoine, Vernon, and Carlson pulled up.

There was no sign of Coco the Clown, until finally, he came cartwheeling down the road. The five others clapped and I pulled the trigger on the bomb.

Nothing.

I ran down to the dam and checked the charges. Coco had brought out a unicycle and was riding the edge of the dam to the others' amusement.

I made it to the wires just as Coco began juggling knives.

Slowly, I realized I was no clown killer and decided to call the whole thing off. But then Coco lost his footing and fell to his death.

I rewired the bomb, but then realized I couldn't kill the five mourners. They had been through too much.

I walked down the mountain in shame, promising to end the spy business and become a clown.

I never went through with it. But that was the one time I felt human for not killing a spy clown on a dam or a bunch of spies that were mourning a spy clown.

*Brazen Liaison*

"Baker, it's Jessica. I want you to meet me at Big Ben."

"The clock or that bouncer from the Copa?"

"The clock."

"OK. What time?"

"Eight."

"Shouldn't be to hard to keep the time." I jested.

She laughed. But I could tell she didn't find it funny. There was lying in that laughter and I told her. "You didn't find that funny, did you?"

"No. I found it stupid."

"I have better material. I was just kinda off the cuff there."

"Just meet me there."

"OK." I put down the phone and worked on new material. I felt bad about the joke.

I called her back. "How will I find Big Ben?"

"Still not funny."

I slammed the phone down. I'm no comedian, but my Big Ben material should've killed. I was angry.

I decided to go kill some spies.

But then I got tired and wrote more Big Ben jokes.

*Deadly Deeds*

When your caught in a corner and have no where to run it's time to pull out the big guns.

In this case, it was a small bomb encased in a tube of chapstick. You simply take the chapstick out, screw the bottom a couple of times and leave it to detonate within 50 seconds.

The problem was, we were in an elevator. I had to time the moment perfectly in order to get out of the elevator before the bomb went off.

"This is my floor." I said.

"It is mine too." My target said.

I bet the look on my face when the elevator blew up was priceless. I tried to shrug it off, but he knew. So I shot him.

I don't know why I didn't shoot him in the first place. It's always chapstick with me. I think I have a thing.

*The Moon Can't Lie*

It was Venice. Venice again.

Out the window I saw couples cavorting on the beach. Children swimming. Mimes miming. Dogs dogging. Cats catting. And a guy eating a hot dog.

The phone rang. "Baker, it's Jessica. I need you."

"Not tonight, Jessica. It's too late."

"But there's couples cavorting, children swimming, mimes miming, dogs dogging, cats catting, and a guy eating a hot dog."

"Oh, wow. You're right. It's only noon. I still can't. I'm on assignment and my watch is broken."

"The watch I gave you?"

"Why yes. Wait. It's a setup!"

I threw the watch out the window and it exploded. Mimes, people, hotdogs, and dogs and cats flew up into the air. It was like watching fireworks.

It made me think of Coco the Clown. And Julia. And her three holes. And Dr. Lox. It made me think of everything. Everything I once knew. That I...once loved.

But mainly, it made me think of people, mimes, hotdogs, dogs and cats and that bomb that went off.

*Killing View*

"Baker! Ms. Parks is the assassin! I repeat - Parks is the assassin!"

"Copy. I'll just poison her drink."

"Be careful."

"I will." I opened up the vial and realized I was out of poison again.

Time to go to the poison store.

*All Your Last Chances*

"We have 39 seconds."

"How many seconds now?"

"37."

"And now?"

"36."

"Well, the clock works."

*From Scandinavia with Love*

"Klinger - it's Baker. I cracked the code."

"Good man! We may just come through alive. What does the cipher say?"

"It says that they are attacking at midnight - in Rio."

"Rio!"

"Now to find out if they mean the city or that woman in the Duran Duran song."

*Spies Alive*

"It's Baker. I see our target. They are the two with the cheeseburgers in the corner. The male has a mustache and the woman doesn't."

"I need more description. I have a bead on the entire restaurant, but I can't depend on that description."

"The female is wearing a Chewbacca mask."

"Roger.

title: [HM] Baker, Spy Guy

question: Describe Dr. Lox and Baker's relationship.

answer: Dr. Lox was time traveling and returned from being stuck in a dream for millions of years to destroy Baker. He had unleashed a black hole directed at the sun in order to explode it. The only way to prevent it was for Baker to use the time machine and travel back in time and stop Dr. Lox from killing everyone. However Dr. Lox smiles and disappears, activating more volcanoes headed for the sun.


text:
News18»News»Politics»Shivraj Singh Chouhan's 'I am Leaving CM Chair Vacant' Remark Sends Ripples in Political Circles

1-MIN READ

[File photo of Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan.]
File photo of Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

In no time, the statement led to speculation about a possible change in BJP leadership in the state. The off-hand remarks were not taken lightly as CM Shivraj was just back from a meeting of BJP Chief Ministers in Delhi and has to meet party chief Amit Shah in MP on Friday.

-   NEWS18
-   LAST UPDATED: May 03, 2018, 22:53 IST
-   EDITED BY: Ahona Sengupta
-   FOLLOW US ON:
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BHOPAL: A remark made in a lighter vein by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday created a flutter in political circles and prompted the Congress to take digs at him.

“I would like to depart from the program, leaving behind the CM’s chair vacant to be occupied by anyone else,” said the CM, pointing towards his empty chair before laughing out loud. Chouhan was delivering the Anand lecture at administration academy in Bhopal and had to conclude his speech as he was about to leave for a trip to Jhabua and Alirajpur.

In no time, the statement led to speculation about a possible change in BJP leadership in the state. The off-hand remarks were not taken lightly as CM Shivraj was just back from a meeting of BJP Chief Ministers in Delhi and has to meet party chief Amit Shah in MP on Friday.

A resurgent Congress did find plenty of spice in the statement while BJP state head Rakesh Singh and party national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya were quick to rebuff rumours of any changes ahead of assembly polls.

Newly appointed Congress chief Kamal Nath said Shivraj’s comment is indicative of the fact that he has realized that his days on CM’s chair are numbered. “He has understood that in a matter of few months, the voters of MP would dethrone him from power,” he said.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Ajay Singh also weighed in. "Either Shivraj Singh is going to be removed (from chief minister's post) or he has accepted the fact that abki bar-Congress sarkar (this time, it will be Congress government)," he tweeted.

Within hours, Shivraj tweeted to clear the air. “I just cracked a joke on the chair reserved for me at the program, but it seems to have made some of my friends very happy,” he wrote, making it clear that nothing should be inferred from his statement.

-   TAGS: BJPBJP chief Amit ShahcongressCongress chief Kamal NathMadhya Pradesh Chief Ministershivraj singh chouhan
-   FIRST PUBLISHED: May 03, 2018, 22:53 IST

Next Story

[]

Photogallery

question: When was the article written?

answer: May 2018

question: What is BJP?

answer: Unclear, possibly a political party

question: Who is Singh Chouhan?

answer: The Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister

question: Why does Kamal Nath say that Chouhan will be "dethroned?"

answer: Nath believes the voters will vote him out

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, commented that he would leave his Chief Minister seat vacant, prompting ripples and speculation that he may step down. However, Chouhan later tweeted to indicate that the comment was only a joke.


text:
Every day, workers at grocery stores and convenience stores in Montana carry out a sad ritual.  They come in, check the “sell-by” dates on their milk and throw out any milk that’s past the date.

[]
Montana Grocer Ken Carson collects milk past the “sell-by” date. Image courtesy of The Harvard Food Law & Policy Clinic and Racing Horse Productions
Montana throws more milk down the drain than other states because the sell-by date on the milk is required by state law to be just 12 days after pasteurization (the industry standard is 21 days). After these 12 days, Montana law requires that the milk be thrown away. It can’t be sold or donated. Thousands of gallons of milk are thrown away each week that many believe is perfectly fine to drink.

[]
Milk past its “sell-by” date is poured down the drain
In theory, Montana’s strict date label law is about food safety and protecting the consumer. But it hasn’t been updated since the 80s, and some believe it’s more about protecting the interests of the dairy industry.

Date labels, of course, aren’t just on milk, they’re on a lot of products. Forty-one states require a date label on at least some food product but there are huge inconsistencies, not just in the wording, but in the meaning of these labels. Some states require them only on dairy, some on shellfish, some on any perishable foods.

[]
Map showing date labels on different types of products. Courtesy of The Dating Game: How Confusing Date Labels Lead to Food Waste in America
It’s become complicated to decipher these dates or to know how to act on them, for large retailers and individual consumers alike. And despite what many people assume, they are not about food safety and were actually never meant to be.

It all began in the 1970s. Americans had moved further away from their food sources and were eating more packaged foods and getting more of their food in supermarkets. Consumers wanted a way to measure how fresh their food was. At the time, most manufacturers already put encrypted dates on their products to help retailers rotate stock and consumers craved access to this information.

[]
1977 Chicago Tribune article
In 1977, the New York State Consumer Protection Board published a booklet called Blind Dates: How to Break the Codes on the Foods You Buy. The booklet told consumers how to decipher the encrypted date codes on their favorite products. The board distributed more than 10,000 copies and posted the booklet in supermarkets.

[]
Image courtesy of Mark Turnauckas
Eventually, consumers started to demand that these dates be put clearly on packaging, and retailers and grocery stores responded. A few states began to regulate these date labels, but there was no federal-level regulation, even though there were a number of attempts. Still, consumers wanted freshness dates, so all kinds of different ones popped up (“use-by”, “sell-by”, “best-by”, “best if used by,” “expires on”). Some dates were stamped right on the product, some printed on the label. There was no consistency in how this information was displayed or the language that was used.

Some companies even tried to use “freshness dating” to sell their products, like in this Pepsi commercial:

Some date labels were meant for consumers, while others were just meant for retailers. And as is still true now, There were no clear definitions for any of the phrases and no consistency even within the same brand or product. Dates could differ from state-to-state, manufacturer-to-manufacturer, or store-to-store.

[]
This product is best if used by July, 1716. Image courtesy of Lynn Friedman
Over the years we’ve lost track of what these labels meant in the first place. We’ve come to associate the dates with safety, when in fact, they’ve always been about freshness. As much as we might want them to, the dates on our food are not going to tell us if we’ll get salmonella or e-coli.

Most date labels are arrived at by conducting taste tests. Does a product still taste good on day 4? Day 5?

And yet today, according to a report that Emily Broad-Leib co-authored, a majority of consumers believe that eating food past it’s sell-by or use-by date is a risk to their health. And as many as 90% of Americans throw out food based on date labels at least occasionally.

[]
Image courtesy of The Dating Game: How Confusing Date Labels Lead to Food Waste in America
The average American wastes somewhere between 20-25% of the food they acquire. The EPA and USDA recently announced a goal to cut food waste in the U.S. in half by 2030, and having a better date labeling system is one way to get there.

question: Why does more milk go to waste in Montana than anywhere else in the US?

answer: Montan state law requires that milk must be thrown away 12 days after it has been pasteurized. The industry standard is 21 days. The milk may not be sold or donated after twelve days even though it is good to drink.

question: Why does Montana have such strict milk laws?

answer: The laws should be about health safety but many believe that these laws are there to protect the dairy industry. If more milk is thrown away more milk will be bought from the farmers. If the sell-by date was changed in line with the industry average, farmers will lose heavily on sales.

question: How do the labels lead to food waste in the US?

answer: 0The dates on food have become complicated for consumers to decipher. The language used to inform consumers is inconsistent and is more about taste than freshness. Yet the most consumers believe that eating food beyond is sell-by date is a threat to health. 90% of Americans throw out food based on its sell-by dates at least occasionally.


text:
_Lansing_ — The powerful DeVos family of West Michigan is ending its longtime support of U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, the libertarian Republican who has repeatedly clashed with President Donald Trump.

The family has not made any political contributions to Amash this cycle, and “they have no plans to do so,” said family spokesman Nick Wasmiller.

[Rep. Justin Amash]
The GOP megadonors decided to cut ties with Amash before his latest dust-up with the president and his assertion that Trump engaged in “impeachable conduct,” Wasmiller told The Detroit News.

“Family members have expressed increasing concerns about a lack of representation for their district, the 3rd Congressional, and I would say an inability to advance efforts connected to important policy matters," he said.

Recent comments by Amash "have not changed the family’s thinking regarding its intent to not provide future support," Wasmiller added.

Amash on Wednesday declined to address the DeVos family's decision or when he learned of it.

"I don't have any reaction," he said outside the U.S. Capitol after speaking to a grou of eighth-grade students from his West Michigan district.

Amash confirmed he plans to run for re-election in 2020 but hasn't ruled out a run for president with the Libertarian Party.

The fifth-term lawmaker set off a firestorm Saturday when he tweeted his conclusions from special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2018 elections, becoming the first Republican to join Democrats in calling for impeachment proceedings.

He doubled down on those comments Monday in a series of tweets, detailing why he thinks the case can be made for impeaching Trump for obstruction of justice.

"People who say there were no underlying crimes and therefore the president could not have intended to illegally obstruct the investigation — and therefore cannot be impeached — are resting their argument on several falsehoods," Amash wrote.

In a brief interview Wednesday, Amash repeated his conclusion that many of his House colleagues haven't read the Mueller report.

"My job is to defend the Constitution," he said. "I'm laying out the information I want to lay out, and it's not about, you know, getting on TV or anything like that. I want to make sure that I'm presenting it in the most clear-cut, sober way possible."

Trump responded Sunday to Amash's declaration by calling him a “loser." Other top GOP officials criticized him, including Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel and Michigan Republican Party Chair Laura Cox.

Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, which Amash co-founded, have also lambasted Amash's comments, though haven't said he'll be removed from the group.

AMASH: CHALLENGERS 'NOT SERIOUS'

State Rep. Jim Lower, R-Greenville, announced his campaign to challenge Amash in the 2020 primary, joining former Sand Lake Village Trustee Tom Norton, who had already filed to run against Amash.

"It's not serious," Amash said Wednesday of the challenges.

The congressman said he doesn't have immediate plans to co-sponsor any impeachment-related legislation in the U.S. House.

"I haven't reviewed anything, and I want to make sure that whatever I do legislatively is based on the positions I have, and not based on some positions someone else has," he said.

Amash also said some GOP colleagues have told him privately that they agree with him, "but I don't want to say which colleagues."

"I've had people who, after I made my tweets, said, boy, they better review it more carefully now, and they hadn't really gone through it before," said Amash, referring to the Mueller report.

"When you read Volume Two and see the totality of it, it speaks for itself. So people who are baffled by it, I wonder how carefully they read Volume Two, because it's there. There's a difference between skimming the pages and actually reading it and understanding it."

Wasmiller said the DeVos family has not made any decisions about the 2020 primary and who it might support in the race after withdrawing support for Amash.

“I don’t think they’ve considered that up until this point,” he said. “I think those folks have announced fairly recently, and (the family will) go through their standard review process to determine if they will support someone, and if so, who that is.”

Wasmiller works for the DeVos family’s RDV Corporation. He was speaking for various family members but not U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who no longer has any role in the company.

Betsy DeVos vowed to end political contributions when she joined the Trump administration, but other members of her family remain prolific donors.

HISTORY OF DEVOS-AMASH TIES

The DeVos family's relationship with Amash stretches back to before his time in Congress. When Betsy DeVos and her husband endorsed Amash for the U.S. House days after he announced his 2010 campaign, she described a long-running relationship between their two families, calling them “social friends” who had known each other for years.

“Justin is a really smart, reflective state representative who will serve in Congress with honor, commitment and integrity,” DeVos told The Grand Rapids Press at the time. “I think he is a really fresh and long-overdue voice that needs to be heard and represented at a federal level.”

The family helped Amash survive his last major GOP primary challenge in 2014, when groups such as Right to Life of Michigan and the Michigan Chamber of Commerce backed Grand Rapids businessman Brian Ellis. The family donated a combined $65,000 to Amash’s campaign that cycle, according to Federal Election Commission records.

All told, DeVos family members have made nearly $300,000 in direct contributions to Amash’s congressional campaigns since 2010. Most recently, they gave Amash a combined $24,300 for his successful 2018 re-election campaign, including contributions from Maria, Daniel, Doug, Richard, Cheri Melissa and Rick DeVos.

Amash could still be a formidable force in the GOP primary, especially if he faces a crowded field, but the loss of DeVos support is significant, said longtime Michigan political analyst Bill Ballenger.

“If his money supply is cut off, I think he’s probably going to be able to raise money on his own and his family is personally wealthy,” Ballenger said. “But psychologically, it’s a blow to his campaign that the DeVoses would desert him and say they’ve had enough. They’re a force independent of their money.”

Republicans who want to take down Amash will have to “circle the wagons” around one candidate, he said. It likely would be someone with a stronger connection to Grand Rapids than Lower, who has represented rural districts and is not a household name in the state’s second largest city, Ballenger said.

DEVOS ALLY: FRUSTRATION GROWING

Many Republican donors and activists had already been growing frustrated with Amash prior to his impeachment analysis, said Greg McNeilly, a West Michigan GOP strategist and longtime DeVos ally who works for the family’s non-political Windquest Group investment management firm.

“It’s not just this one thing, but this one thing creates a venting so to speak,” McNeilly said. “People are upset with his chronic lack of maturity in office and his inability to be effective both for his ideas and the community. And when he starts to become a national embarrassment — which he has with this latest provocation of the president — it’s irritated a lot of people.”

McNeilly called Lower the “most serious” Amash challenger so far, but he predicted “a robust series of candidates” will consider and decide on campaigns in the next 60 to 90 days.

Lower said he was not surprised that Amash is losing DeVos support.

“If you’ve looked at the outpouring of support our campaign has gotten over the last 48 hours, it’s really kind of amazing,” he said. “I haven’t found anybody who wants to stick with (Amash) at this point, so (the DeVoses) not wanting to support him anymore is not surprising.”

Amash said Monday he remains “very confident” in his district, where he won re-election last year by 11 points over Democrat Cathy Albro.

The 3rd Congressional District currently includes Grand Rapids and other parts of Kent County, Ionia, Barry and Calhoun counties and a portion of Montcalm County.

Those boundaries could change if Michigan is forced to redraw its political maps under the order of federal judges who last month that ruled state lawmakers unconstitutionally gerrymandered political districts in 2010.

Amash has not joined other Michigan congressional Republicans who are defending the maps and asking the U.S. Supreme Court to suspend redistricting order. He has criticized political gerrymandering.

_joosting@detroitnews.com_

question: Who is Justin Amash?

answer: Justin Amash is a libertarian Republican who had clashed with Donald Trump on multiple occasions. As a result, the megadonor DeVos family of West Michigan ended their support of him.

question: Despite losing support and planning on running for re-election, possibly as a libertarian, what of Justin Amash's agenda hasn't changed?

answer: Amash still believes President Donald Trump is eligible for impeachment, and urges his colleagues to reinvestigate the Muller report.

question: When did the relationship between the DaVos family and Justin Amash begin?

answer: When Amash announced his campaign, Betsy DaVos and her husband endorsed him full heartedly, even backing him through challenging political battles in the years to come. Since then, DaVos family members have made over $300,000 in political donations since 2010, paying him $24,300 for his successful 2018 reelection.

question: How was Amash's popularity before his impeachment analysis?

answer: Other republican donors and activists were already gaining frustration with Amash because of his conduct as a representative. This led to a general lack of surprise when he finally lost support of the DaVos family.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Justin Amash is a libertarian Republican representative who lost support from the wealthy DaVos family after he insisted that Donald Trump needed to be impeached for his conduct. The DaVos family were supporters of Amash since 2010, all of whom, Amash included, made handsome payoffs during his political career. His popularity was shrinking before he insisted on the impeachment, mainly due to his conduct as a representative. Although, experts believe he won't have trouble coming up with political donations if he decides to run for re-election as a libertarian.


text:
HOKE COUNTY is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, its population was 46,952.[1] Its county seat is Raeford.[2]

Hoke County is part of the Fayetteville metropolitan statistical area. The county is home to part of the Fort Bragg military reservation.

History

The county was formed in 1911 from parts of Cumberland and Robeson Counties. It was named for Robert F. Hoke, a Confederate general in the American Civil War.[3]

Law and government

Hoke County is a member of the regional Lumber River Council of Governments.

  Year                               REPUBLICAN                                  DEMOCRATIC                                   THIRD PARTIES
  ---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- ----------------------------
  style=“text-align:center;” |2016   style=“text-align:center;” |42.6% _7,760_   style=“text-align:center;” |53.4% _9,726_    4.1% _744_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2012   style=“text-align:center;” |39.9% _6,819_   style=“text-align:center;” |59.0% _10,076_   1.1% _194_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2008   style=“text-align:center;” |40.3% _6,293_   style=“text-align:center;” |59.1% _9,227_    0.7% _107_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2004   style=“text-align:center;” |47.4% _5,257_   style=“text-align:center;” |52.3% _5,794_    0.3% _37_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2000   style=“text-align:center;” |40.1% _3,439_   style=“text-align:center;” |58.5% _5,017_    1.5% _126_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1996   style=“text-align:center;” |32.3% _1,914_   style=“text-align:center;” |59.2% _3,510_    8.5% _505_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1992   style=“text-align:center;” |27.0% _1,711_   style=“text-align:center;” |58.9% _3,730_    14.1% _896_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1988   style=“text-align:center;” |37.9% _2,020_   style=“text-align:center;” |61.5% _3,281_    0.6% _32_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1984   style=“text-align:center;” |43.1% _2,449_   style=“text-align:center;” |56.6% _3,214_    0.3% _14_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1980   style=“text-align:center;” |25.2% _1,168_   style=“text-align:center;” |73.0% _3,376_    1.8% _84_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1976   style=“text-align:center;” |22.3% _920_     style=“text-align:center;” |77.3% _3,186_    0.4% _17_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1972   style=“text-align:center;” |56.3% _1,927_   style=“text-align:center;” |42.8% _1,466_    1.0% _33_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1968   style=“text-align:center;” |17.9% _812_     style=“text-align:center;” |48.1% _2,185_    34.0% _1,545_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1964   style=“text-align:center;” |25.7% _779_     style=“text-align:center;” |74.3% _2,254_    style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1960   style=“text-align:center;” |22.1% _596_     style=“text-align:center;” |77.9% _2,106_    style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1956   style=“text-align:center;” |20.9% _513_     style=“text-align:center;” |79.1% _1,944_    style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1952   style=“text-align:center;” |25.9% _616_     style=“text-align:center;” |74.1% _1,761_    style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1948   style=“text-align:center;” |8.6% _142_      style=“text-align:center;” |80.7% _1,339_    10.7% _178_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1944   style=“text-align:center;” |8.2% _160_      style=“text-align:center;” |91.8% _1,782_    style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1940   style=“text-align:center;” |5.8% _117_      style=“text-align:center;” |94.2% _1,904_    style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1936   style=“text-align:center;” |6.7% _141_      style=“text-align:center;” |93.3% _1,953_    style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1932   style=“text-align:center;” |3.5% _65_       style=“text-align:center;” |96.2% _1,780_    0.3% _5_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1928   style=“text-align:center;” |21.2% _311_     style=“text-align:center;” |78.8% _1,154_    style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1924   style=“text-align:center;” |10.9% _141_     style=“text-align:center;” |88.8% _1,146_    0.3% _4_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1920   style=“text-align:center;” |11.6% _166_     style=“text-align:center;” |88.4% _1,266_    style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1916   style=“text-align:center;” |12.4% _110_     style=“text-align:center;” |87.6% _780_      style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1912   style=“text-align:center;” |8.6% _63_       style=“text-align:center;” |85.9% _626_      5.5% _40_

  : PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS RESULTS[4]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (0.4%) are covered by water.[5]

Adjacent counties

-   Moore County - northwest
-   Cumberland County - east
-   Robeson County - south
-   Scotland County - southwest

Major highways

-   -   -   -   -

Demographics

As of the census[6] of 2010, 46,952 people, 11,373 households, and 8,745 families resided in the county. The population density was 86 people per square mile (33/km²). The 12,518 housing units averaged 32 per square mile (12/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 44.53% White, 37.64% African American, 11.45% Native American, 0.83% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 3.27% from other races, and 2.13% from two or more races. About 7.18% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 2000, of the 11,373 households, 41.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.70% were married couples living together, 18.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.10% were not families. About 19.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the county, the population was distributed as 29.80% under the age of 18, 10.70% from 18 to 24, 34.10% from 25 to 44, 17.60% from 45 to 64, and 7.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,230, and for a family was $36,110. Males had a median income of $27,925 versus $21,184 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,635. About 14.40% of families and 17.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.40% of those under age 18 and 22.00% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

-   Raeford (county seat)

Census-designated places

-   Ashley Heights
-   Bowmore
-   Dundarrach
-   Five Points
-   Rockfish
-   Silver City

Townships

-   Allendale
-   Antioch
-   Blue Springs
-   Fort Bragg Military Reservation
-   McLauchlin
-   Raeford
-   Quewhiffle
-   Stonewall

[Map of Hoke County, North Carolina, with municipal and township labels]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

title: Hoke County, North Carolina

question: Summarize everything relating to the military.

answer: Hoke County is home to part of the Fort Bragg military reservation. It was named after Robert F. Hoke, a Confederate general in the American Civil War.

question: What does the article say about the founder of Hoke County?


text:
MIAMI — Envy rarely is an emotion associated with Shaquille O'Neal. Thursday was an exception.

"I'm jealous," the former Miami Heat All-Star said as Carnival Cruise Line welcomed the Horizon to Miami. "I'm jealous right now. I wanted the whole farewell tour."

O'Neal's words, during his appearance as Carnival’s Chief Fun Officer, came four days after his former Heat championship teammate Dwyane Wade announced he would return for a 16th and final NBA season.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Sun Sentinel aboard the Horizon, O'Neal discussed sharing the 2006 NBA championship alongside Wade with the Heat, the current mid-pack state of the Heat, and whether Jimmy Butler could emerge as part of a roster makeover by Pat Riley and Micky Arison. He also spoke of how he still viewed the Heat as a prime NBA free-agent destination.

But it was Wade who had O'Neal's initial focus.

"I remember watching Kareem's and Magic's and Bird's farewell tour," he said of his fellow Hall of Famers. "Every great, historic player deserves one. D-Wade is a historic player. And there's a lot of barbershop talk of him being the second- or the third-best two-guard in the game. And when you bring his name up, there's nobody even close, as far as three, four, five, six and all that. So he is one of the top two-guards to play the game.

"I'm happy for him that he can have this farewell tour, especially here in Wade County."

Unlike Wade, or even former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant, O'Neal went quietly into retirement after an injury-marred 2010-11 season with the Boston Celtics.

[A Dwyane Wade constant: He's never been Heat's highest-paid player]

Dwyane Wade signs his final Miami Heat contract, again as less than the team's highest-paid player.

[Ira Winderman]

He said Wade deserves all the accolades that will accompany this 2018-19 ride with the Heat.

"He's one of the best two-guards to ever play the game," he said. "He came in quietly, worked his way up to become one of the best players ever. His story is similar to Kawhi Leonard.

Miami Heat Source Newsletter

Weekly

See what's buzzing about the Miami Heat, including game analysis, roster changes and more inside info.

"He wasn't really talked about coming in. His name was mentioned in the draft, but you had a lot of other guys that were talked about a little bit more than he was and he just quietly made a name for himself. The funny thing is, before I came to Miami, I never knew who he was. I don't think I played against Miami that year, so I'd never seen him, never heard of him, and we were out of the playoffs and they were in the playoffs, and like then, 'Who is this kid?' So when it came time for me to make a move, I know I needed somebody who was as good as Kobe, or close, that I could bring to the next level. So I chose to come [to Miami]. I think it was one of my better business decisions ever."

Unlike during O'Neal's two-plus seasons with the team, the Heat have been in somewhat of a mid-tier cycle since LeBron James' free-agency departure to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2014 offseason. But he envisions resurrection.

[ASK IRA: Is this a time Heat should be pulling trade trigger?]

Sun Sentinel Miami Heat writer Ira Winderman answers your burning questions about the team.

[Ira Winderman]

"There's not that many superstars that are out there," he said. "And a lot of the guys that are superstars are tied up in big contracts. Pat's always done a great job of getting respectful players, players that are going to come in here and work hard.

"I think, by chance, they still could make a move for another big-name guy. Everyone wants to live in Miami. Everyone wants to play in Miami. But it has to be the right move, the right fit for the franchise, for the community, at the right time. Pat and Micky don't mind waiting, waiting, waiting until they get the perfect move."

The current conjecture centers around Butler's trade demand from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"Jimmy Butler's a good start, but he's no D-Wade," O'Neal said. "But he's a good start. I would love to play with a guy like Jimmy Butler. But Jimmy Butler is a guy who is sort of going to be a Udonis Haslem type. He's going to do all the dirty work. You're not going to hear his name a lot. He's definitely a guy you need on your team. Hopefully they can get him."

[Miami Heat videos]

-   Cruises
-   Miami Heat
-   Kobe Bryant
-   NBA
-   Minnesota Timberwolves
-   Micky Arison
-   Kawhi Leonard
-   Jimmy Butler
-   Dwyane Wade
-   Shaquille O'Neal
-   Udonis Haslem

question: Why is envy not associated with Shaquille O'Neal?

answer: The text doesn't explicitly say but is implied that it's just an emotion he rarely verbalizes.

question: In what state is Wade County?

answer: The text doesn't say but it's strongly implied that it's connected to Miami so it is likely in FL.

question: What team did Kobe Bryant play for in this article?

answer: The Los Angeles Lakers.

question: What is the name of Miami's NBA team?

answer: Miami Heat.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: In this article, NBA star Shaquille O'Neal is quoted regarding another NBA star, Dwyayne Wade, and Wade's farefell season with the Miami Heat basketball team. O'Neal, who was forced to retire due to injury, says Wade is one of the best in the game and that he knows Wade will make a huge difference to the Heat's performance.


text:
	The only sound I could hear was Mr. Windber’s oxfords clopping off the cobblestone. It’s odd that out of  hundreds of morphing voices and sirens, that those shoes were the one noise I could understand. Police and the public were rushing around and they were pulling Sammy into an ambulance. I was sitting beside a pool of his blood as the paramedics yelled
	“He’s awake, get the stretcher!”
 I noticed that my pants were wet, from what I eventually deducted was urine and in the back, it’s disgusting counterpart. As I was being loaded into the back of the ambulance I remembered what happened. Sam and I had snuck out of his house to smoke cigars and drink beer. It was something that had actually become quite routine, and his father never could tell when we snagged two of each. Anyway, we went down to our usual spot underneath the Brighton Pier and had a smoke, except this time we weren’t by ourselves. Three men dressed in trench coats were standing in the shadows smoking cigarettes. We took no notice of it, figuring they were just guys like us, getting away from nagging superiors and trying to enjoy the slap of the ocean water on the rocks. We both lit up and began talking about the Betties we were chasing, and the teachers that we would give almost anything to kick in the teeth. In a moment of silence we heard something, it was stones dragging underneath running feet; the running feet of the coated men. Before we could even think, our flight instincts took over and we went at the limits of our speed. I remember feeling my cigar burn my forearm as I took off into the pitch black night. Sammy and I were side by side when we got to the road, and even though our lungs were burning we continued on as fast as we could. The police station was only four blocks away and there was no doubt in my mind that we would make it. That was until I heard the gunshot. Sammy shrieked and fell to the ground I looked back  and saw him laying there crying. I rushed to pick him up, but when I tried to wrap my hands around his body, they just slipped off and Sammy’s head smacked off of the ground. I bent down to grasp him once more, but before I even touched him I felt the most horrible sting in the middle of my back, and it took me to my knees. Paralyzed with fear, I waited felt two more stings and some type of warm liquid cascading down my back before I blacked out.
	The faint beeping of my heart monitor brought me out of an uncomfortable sleep, Mr. Windber stood by my side holding Sammy’s football jacket as though it was all he had left of his son.
	“Your parents are flying in tomorrow.” he choked out before leaving the room.
So there I lay, wondering if Sammy was okay, even though in my mind I was fully aware that he had to be dead. I can’t say I was excited to see my parents mainly because I didn’t want to see anyone, especially the doctor, who just so happened to be walking through the door at that particular moment.
	“Glad to see you’re awake, buddy.” The doctor said “We honestly didn’t know if you would make it, but we’re glad to see you did.”
	“Well, thanks, I guess,” I started. “How is Sammy?”
	“This is going to be hard to hear. Your friend is deep in a coma,” was all I understood from the doctor. After those words, I was shocked. I wanted to cry but I couldn’t, I wanted to run away, but I couldn’t.
	“And, there is one more thing I need to tell you.” The doctor said, his face even more solemn then before.
	“What is it?” I mumbled.
	“When you got stabbed, the knife severed your spine, you’re now paralyzed from the waist down. Unfortunately there isn’t anything we can do that would restore 	your ability to walk.” He said to me.
I was shocked. I never imagined something like this happening to me. What did I do to deserve this? What did Sammy do? I didn’t even notice the doctor leave as I lay empty.
	I’m not too sure how much time passed before the door opened again. I expected my parents to come running in but instead it was someone I had never seen before. A tall man dressed in a tailcoat, top hat, and monocle. He was a very classy looking gentleman, and I was confused as to why he was in my room.
	“Uh, I think you might have the wrong room,” I stammered.
	“Ah no, I’m here to see you, Jude Clayton,” the odd man smirked. I was immediately struck with fear, he had to be associated with those gangsters who had attacked me. I reached for the panic button, and of course I couldn’t run because my bloody legs wouldn’t move. It was then that I decided that I would rather be dead than live with all that had happened for the rest of my life, so I shut my eyes and waited to feel another familiar sting, or maybe if I was lucky a bullet. But I felt nothing. I was confused, so I slowly opened my eyes to see what was going on. The room was in the same state as before, except now the gentleman was sitting in a visitor’s chair trying not to laugh at me.
	“I’m here to help you, mate,” he said “It might sound crazy, but I know everything that happened to you, and I know just what I can do to help.”
	“No, no. I don’t want to be involved in this gang rubbish.” I told him. “I’d appreciate it if you leave.”
	“I never said anything about gangs, I’m talking about magic,” he said with a smile.
	“You mean like, wizard magic? You can’t be serious,” I said.
	“Ah, but you’re wrong!” the man started. “I am a genie, you know what those are, 	right?”
	“Of course I do, I just don’t believe you,” I stated reluctantly.
	“Well, how do you explain that remote disappearing? he asked me.
	“It probably got knocked off the table when the doctor left. I mean, it’s not like I can get up and check myself, and even if you were to look under the bed, how 	can I trust that you would get it.” I knew I had him beat. He would put his hat back on and walk right out that door, and I could just be alone.
	“Okay, make a wish then. You have three. If i doesn’t happen right away I’ll walk out and leave you alone. How does that sound.”
I laid there, interested and wondering whether or not I should take this man up on his offer.
	“Fine. I wish I could walk again,” I said.
The gentleman snapped his fingers and the doctor cam walking through the door.
	“It seems as though we mixed up your test results, your legs are going to be fine. It’ll take a few months, but you’ll be walking eventually,” the doctor said with a smile.
	 I was utterly shocked. Who was this man? How could he do that? Before I could come up with any more questions, there was a knock on the door.  My parents came walking in, crying as soon as they saw me. The doctor proceeded to inform them of my condition, as well as Sammy’s, and how long I would be in the hospital. It was nice to see my mum and dad. It had been a few months since they had flown to Scotland for their studies. Which I knew they were going to have to return to soon. When they were done with the doctor, they came to me, kissed me on the forehead and we talked about what had happened. Eventually after that topic was exhausted we caught up, exchanged stories, and had a laugh.
	“I’m so sorry honey, but we have to leave tomorrow morning to finalize some information with our bosses, but we will be back by next Tuesday,” they promised.
	We made the most of the time we had together until I eventually fell asleep. I woke up the next day to a partially empty room.
	“By gum, it took them long enough to get out of here.” the gentleman said as he smoked a pipe in the rigid hospital chair to the right of my bed.
	“Those were my parents, cut them some slack.” I joked. I started to like this guy, after all, he did make it so I could walk again.
	“Well, have you thought of any other wishes yet, mate?” he asked me.
	“Yes I have. I was wondering if you would be able to bring Sammy out of his coma.”
	“Finally! I thought that would have been your first wish,” he told me.
	He snapped his fingers again, and I sat and waited for Sammy to waltz into my room. There was nothing, until over the loudspeaker I heard a woman say,
	“Doctor O’Leary to Sammy Windber’s room.”
	My heart skipped a beat.
	“What did you do to him?” I shouted, “I swear to God if you killed him!”
Ten minutes later, my doctor came back into my room.
	“Jude, Sammy is stable. We’re finalizing some tests to make sure everything is okay, but we’re sending an orderly to take you over to visit him,” my doctor told me.
In that moment, I was so excited I could barely contain it. I forgot about all of the terrible events that had transpired and I felt in my heart that everything was going to be okay.
	I convinced the doctors to let Sammy and me share a room, and although he didn’t talk much it was nice to have him close by. As I sat there in silence, I remembered that I had one wish left, and I knew exactly what I was going to do with it. Those evil men who had hurt us were going to pay. I simply waited for the gentleman’s return.
	“Have you figured out your final wish?” I heard the gentleman whisper.
	“Yes I have. I want those guys who jumped me to pay for what they did. I want them dead,” I told him.
	The man said nothing. He left the room and I knew I would never see him again. So I laid back in my bed, shut my eyes and went to sleep.
	I was once again awoken by the clopping of Mr. Windber’s oxfords, and I was once again full of dread. I had no clue why; Sammy was okay, I was okay, and  those men were dealt with. I opened my eyes and he was sitting at the foot of my bed.
	“I- I’m so sorry, Jude. Your parents died on the plane ride back to Scotland. Their plane was struck by lightning and it went down in the Channel. The police believe that the men who attacked you were on that flight as well.”
	He hugged me and left the room, leaving me in silence. I didn’t know what to think. So much had changed in the past three days, and I didn’t know what I was going to do about any of it. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to continue living my life. What I knew right then was that if that man had never come into my room, I might still have my parents. I knew there was no way I could change it now, and for that I hated myself.

title: Sorry, it's a little lengthy! I just wanted to see what you all think about my short story!

question: Summarize Jude Clayton's thoughts after he woke up in the hospital.

answer: Jude had an uncomfortable sleep in the hospital. He woke up to the sound of beeping and saw Mr. Windber by the side of his bed holding Sammy's jacket. Jude wanted to cry and run away after being told Sammy was in a coma, but he couldn't. He doesn't feel like seeing anyone, even his parents. The doctor also explained to Jude that he is now paralyzed due to the knife attacks on his spine. Jude was shocked to hear this. He wondered what he and his friend did to deserve what happened to them.

question: Summarize the events that happened underneath the Brighton Pier as laid out in the passage.

answer: Jude and his friend, Sammy, snuck out in the evening to their usual spot underneath Brighton Pier to smoke and drink beer. The two boys saw three men in trench coats not far from their hangout but paid them no mind. Jude and Sammy smoked and talked about girls they like and teachers they hate. Soon they heard the men in trenchcoats running after them. Jude and Sammy start to run away. Unfortunately, the men caught them and beat them mercilessly.

question: Why did the three men in trenchcoats attack Jude and Sammy?


text:
The tools could suggest that _Homo sapiens_ reached South Asia far earlier than previously thought, but critics disagree

[Stone Tools from India Fan Debate over Origins of Cultural Complexity]

Levallois core from Attirampakkam, India, is the product of a stone tool-making strategy for obtaining thin, broad flakes from a chunk of rock. Credit: Sharma Centre for Heritage Education, India
Sometime around 400,000 years ago human ancestors went on an innovation bender. No longer content to make do with only the large hand axes and other hefty cutting tools that they and their predecessors had manufactured for more than a million years, they began fashioning sophisticated new kinds of stone tools. The novel tool types made more efficient use of raw material and were smaller, more portable, among other desirable traits. The shift was, by most accounts, a major technological advance, one that may have helped its makers push into previously impenetrable lands.

For decades experts have debated which human species invented this new tool-making tradition—during what is called the Middle Stone Age in Africa and the Middle Paleolithic in Eurasia—and how it came to replace the preceding Acheulean tradition at locales across the globe. One theory holds that our own species, _Homo sapiens,_ masterminded this technological revolution in its birthplace, Africa. From there, our forebears carried this new culture into the rest of the Old World when they began dispersing out of Africa, introducing it to the archaic species they encountered in Eurasia, including the Neandertals. A second theory posits the last common ancestor of Neandertals and _H. sapiens_ came up with the technology and passed the know-how down to its descendant species. Or maybe, some scholars have argued, different human groups independently developed this novel way of making stone tools.

New findings from India add an intriguing data point to the picture. In a paper published in the February 1 _Nature,_ Kumar Akhilesh and Shanti Pappu of the Sharma Center for Heritage Education, India, and their colleagues report on the recovery of stone tools from Attirampakkam, a site on India’s southeast coast, that span the time between around 385,000 and 172,000 years ago. According to the team, the artifact assemblages show signature elements of the Middle Paleolithic, including tools manufactured using the so-called Levallois strategy for obtaining thin, broad flakes from a stone core. The researchers determined the age of the tools using a technique known as luminescence dating. If they are correct in their assessment, the Attirampakkam tools are by far the oldest Middle Paleolithic tools in India, besting the previous record holders by more than 200,000 years.

[]
Stone tools from Attirampakkam document the presence of Middle Paleolithic technology in India as early as 385,000 years ago. Credit: Sharma Centre for Heritage Education, India
According to the discovery team, the Middle Paleolithic tools at Attirampakkam are markedly different from the older Acheulean technology at the site. Previously some researchers have argued the emergence of Middle Paleolithic technology in India was linked to dispersals of _H. sapiens_ from Africa after around 125,000 years ago. But if people were making Middle Paleolithic stone tools as early as 385,000 years ago in India and other sites in Eurasia, and somewhat earlier in Africa, then the possibility of a far earlier dispersal of technologically advanced humans—perhaps _H. sapiens_—into India warrants consideration.

Recent discoveries might make such an early dispersal of our species seem more plausible than it once did. In 2017 a team working at the site of Jebel Irhoud in Morocco announced it had unearthed fossils of _H. sapiens_ and accompanying Middle Stone Age tools dating to more than 300,000 years ago. And just last week a different team unveiled a fossil from Misliya Cave in Israel that pushes back the earliest known evidence of _H. sapiens_ outside of Africa to around 185,000 years ago. The Misliya fossil turned up in association with Middle Paleolithic artifacts, including Levallois tools.

But other archaeologists are not so sure about the Attirampakkam team’s interpretation. Michael Petraglia of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany, an authority on the Paleolithic record of India, says that although he is satisfied with the dating of the new finds, he disagrees with their classification as Middle Paleolithic. “At best, I see them as transitional between the Acheulean and the Middle Paleolithic, he says. “They could even be classified as Late Acheulean.” Petraglia notes Late Acheulean stone tool kits from India and elsewhere have many of the same tool types seen at Attirampakkam.

Rather than signaling an early dispersal of a new human group into India, Petraglia thinks the Attirampakkam remains reflect reflects regional continuity between the Acheulean and the Middle Paleolithic. “These stone tool kits were likely made by archaic humans that were already present in India,” he suggests. Human fossils from India are exceedingly rare. But Petraglia observes that an enigmatic skullcap from the Narmada River Valley, 1,000 kilometers north of Attirampakkam, shows large-brained early humans were living in India at around this time.

A similar view comes from Harvard University archaeologist Christian Tryon, an expert on the Middle Stone Age of Africa who was not involved in the new work. He says there is no reason to link the new finds to Africa. He does not see a sharp divide between the Acheulean and Middle Paleolithic artifacts at the site, which one would expect to see if a new group of humans swept into India with new technology. “It’s safest to assume it’s a local phenomenon,” he says of the cultural transition at Attirampakkam.

The hallmark of the Middle Paleolithic—the Levallois style of tool-making—“is not that complicated,” Tryon says. “It’s not outside the realm of possibility that people could arrive at it independently.” The question, then, is why they seem to have done so at roughly the same time around the world. Tryon notes climate may have played a role. If conditions became drier, for example, human groups throughout the Old World may have had to range farther to to obtain food and water, in which case it would make sense to shift to a portable technology like Levallois.

“In my view, it was only later in time that _Homo sapiens_ made their entry into India, using Middle Paleolithic tool kits,” Petraglia says. If so, they may have met up with archaic human species there that possessed very similar technology. What happened to these early populations? “It’s a mystery,” Petraglia says, but many of them must have gone extinct. Genetic evidence links contemporary Indians to later waves of humans that spread across the subcontinent only after 60,000 years ago.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

[author-avatar]

Kate Wong

-

Kate Wong is a senior editor for evolution and ecology at _Scientific American_.

Credit: Nick Higgins

question: What does the article say about the Levallois style of tool-making?

answer: The Levallois style of tool-making is a signature style of the Middle Paleolithic stone tools. It's a technique to obtain thin and broad flakes from a chunk of rock, allowing for lighter and smaller tools and weapons to be made. Which human species invented the technique is a topic of debate among experts, but it's seen as a major innovation. The associated tools previously were found on sites dating back as much as 125,000 years ago. However, the recent discovery in an archeological site in India found a tell-tale piece of the Levallois strategy dating back as far as 385,000 years ago.

question: What does the article say about the discussion surrounding the discovery?

answer: In an archeological site in India, tools belonging to the Middle Paleolithic Age were found that date back to 385,000 years ago. This date is almost 200,000 years earlier than previous findings, which may indicate an earlier dispersal of homo sapiens from Africa. The discovery is an important point of evidence about whether homo sapiens or an ancestor invented the strategies of making stone tools. It's also likely that the techniques were discovered independently by different hominids. Another issue the discovery challenges is the view linking the technology to the homo sapiens' dispersal from Africa around 125,000 years ago. However, there are disputes about whether the findings in the Indian site are actually Middle Paleolithic technology. Michael Petraglia of Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History argues that the technology is either a transition between Acheulean and the Middle Paleolithic or even late Acheulean. Harvard's Christian Tryon also thinks there's no reason to link the new findings to Africa, saying it's better to assume it's a local phenomenon.

question: What does the article say about the Anthropocene?


text:
“There was a time when our rights were protected and guarant—“

“'Once upon’ need not imply 'ever after,' Mr. Wordsworth. This is not the place for those trite diatribes and flippant reproaches. The tongues of your forefathers have long been deserted and so too their ideals. Their doctrines are fancies that delighted only derelict minds: the simple, the dull, the bitter; those who have rendered themselves inept and unfortunate. A man of your stature undoubtedly knows better. This is a new age, Mr. Wordsworth -- one unsullied by those literal interpretations of that sputum, and one with complexities far beyond the scope of any ill-conceived grandiose forerunning notion-- no matter how savory and ‘just’... I digress. Good trick. Now to the crux of our engagement, do tell me Mr. Wordsworth, how does it feel to betray the trust of an innocent?”

“Would you stop that?! I have rights! I didn’t do anything to my daughter!”

“Let the record reflect that Mr. Wordsworth is impenitent and regards rape as his ‘right’. This hearing is-- “

“That’s not what I meant!”

“You’re admitting to a falsifying your own testimony? None too wise. You have the gall to criticize the High Office and now the audacity to mislead me, Mr. Wordsworth?”

“What? No!”

“These are very serious charges, Mr. Wordsworth. Perjury, sedition…”

“Sedition?”

“Sed-it-ion, Mr. Wordsworth.”

“Yes, I understand th—“

“You understand the charges. Good! Mr. Wordsworth, you are hereby--”

“No!”

“‘No’, Mr. Wordsworth? From where does a condemned man summon such impudence?”

“I know what sedition is.”

“Indeed, and quite intimately it seems. What else may we call your adherence to atavistic ideals? Your point on the matter, Mr. Wordsworth?”
“I subscribe to the maxims that have defined The Homeland in the past but I have not engaged in treason of any sort.”

“I fail to see your point Mr. Wordsworth.”

“A simple belief does not necessitate malice.”

“Oh, Mr. Wordsworth?”

 “So, may I go?”

 “Surely you jest, Mr. Wordsworth. I have yet to see your point. Your argument is muddled and rife with contradictions.”

“Contradictions?”

“I should hope you aren’t being deliberately provocative, Mr. Wordsworth; the consequences of intellectual crimes are grave.”

“Intellecu—“

“I grow weary of this. It’s simple; implicit in you familiarity with a concept is your having knowledge of it. Knowledge is preceded by contemplation, Mr. Wordsworth. Contemplation precedes action.”

“And?”

“And, Mr. Wordsworth? Evident in your general ardor for abandoned archetypes is the fact that you have contemplated—at great length—treasonous acts. You are familiar with the work of The Founders, you are complicit in subversive schemes. A loyalist to his home and countrymen would never even consider--“

 “That’s nonsense!”

“Quite the contrary, Mr. Wordsworth. Certainly you are a conspirator in a plot to bring harm unto the insignia that so proudly adorns your vest! Conspiring to….”

“I have done no such thing!”

“The High Office does not look lightly upon traitors found in their midst, Mr. Wordsworth.”

“These allegations are baseless!”

 “These ‘allegations’ are nothing to scoff at, Mr. Wordsworth.”

“You are holding me without cause! My house was raided and seized without warrant!”

“I have had enough of this flailing defense and your brazen impishness, Mr. Wordsworth. Naiveté and ignorance will not prevail here. “

“Defense? I have been afforded no such opportunity. “

“Mr. Wordsworth, these past five minutes have been an exercise in tedium. Either you comply now or you shoulder the full brunt of your actions. Where were you on the evening of June 12?”

“At my house. Being arrested.”

“A sharp criticism, Mr. Wordsworth. Shall I add sardonic wit to the list of charges?”

“That’s r—“

“Silence. Your daughter, Mr. Wordsworth?”

“If I must…Every Thursday my ex-wife goes out of town on business. She hires a baby-sitter to watch over m—our daughter. I pay the sitter four times her going rate to not show up until a half hour before my wife gets back…“

“Bribery, Mr. Wordsworth.”

“…you know, make the place look lived in, put my daughter to sleep when I bring her back.”

“Kidnapping, Mr. Wordsworth.”

“As you and your agents know, I was with my daughter on the evening of June 12. “

“So your alibi is that you indeed were with your daughter at the time you were raping your daughter, Mr. Wordsworth?”

“She never lets me see her…”

“With good reason, Mr. Wordsworth!”

“…I just love her so much.”

“If you call it that: probably too much, Mr. Wordsworth!”

“Stop that!”

“Let me stop you, Mr. Wordsworth. This is a unique -albeit misguided- defense; quite nuanced. So I ask again Mr. Wordsworth, am I to understand that you have admitted to being with your daughter at the time you raped her?”

“I was with her, but I would never rape her!”

“Semantics, Mr. Wordsworth.”

“Hardly! What is it that you want from me? I’ve told you everything I can. I’ve done nothing wrong!”

“I see, Mr. Wordsworth. Rape is just a polite unmentionable done in the privacy of a man’s home with his kidnapped daughter forcibly held captive.”

“End the charade. What is this really about?”

“Have you been completely absent minded? I should have presumed as much from your nonsensical offerings. Mr. Wordsworth, it’s nice to finally meet you! Have a seat. Drink some tea at my expense. Mock the High Office with unapologetic insolence!  Lie to me! Implicate yourself in conspiracies to dishonor your post and compatriots! Admit to bribery! Confess to kidnapping! I hear you have an incest fetish? Do tell!”

“Neglect of a child.”

“Secretary?”

“Mr. Wordsworth stated in explicit terms ‘…I would never touch her’ in reference to his daughter. Brazen neglect.”

“Excellent, Secretary! Append that to his sentencing form. Now, Mr. Wordsworth, you have one final opportunity. Do you wish to comply in these proceedings?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Only indifference is enunciated with words unspoken, Mr. Wordsworth. Do you not wish to defend yourself?”

“This is a kangaroo court! No matter what I—“

“Are you not roused by the beckoning calls of fate, Mr. Wordsworth?”

“Absolutely not.”

“So you are without fear, Mr. Wordsworth?”

“Yes.”

“Then you have been deemed an unfit subject for this program.”

“Program?”

“Freedom, Mr. Wordsworth. Freedom.  You are dismissed. All charges set forth against you hitherto are dropped. An innocent verdict has been rendered.”

“So I am free?”

“In due time, Mr. Wordsworth”

“I’d like to see my dau--”

“You have a tendency to misinterpret, Mr. Wordsworth. Freedom: a government without impediments--one unhindered by dissenters. Your death awaits you.”

“You cant…“

“Your ignorance and inaction justify it all. Thank you for your time, Mr. Wordsworth, your service has been duly noted. Exit.“

title: Something I wrote 2 years ago.

question: Explain the theme of the conversation.

answer: The protagonist is Mr. Wordsworth who has been put on trial and sentenced to death. His crime is the kidnapping and rape of his own daughter. Mr. Wordsworth serves the High Office and is being treated as a traitor for his crimes. He persists with his claim of innocence and misinterprets the verdict of Freedom. Mr Wordsworth initially believes he is free to go, however he is "free" from living.


text:
        Mommy didn’t put Teresa in her scrunchy blue pajamas tonight
even though she specifically asked. She seemed distracted without
her hair tucked behind her ears. Maybe it was the way the lines around
her mouth danced anxious and rapid footfalls. Loud popping
sounds were all over the news and Teresa would ask for caramel
popcorn instead of tuna fish casserole. Daddy only turned off the
TV and hushedly murmured in Mommy’s dark, buzzing hive of curls.

        Teresa was a big girl. She decided to creep in the shadows
to her big person closet to find her pajamas. Her footsteps echoed
 in the house, a creak in every floorboard were her own red-handed
 confessions lost to muted shadows. She could hear Mommy and
Daddy arguing but trying to hush their lacerated tones. Teresa
could hear words, only if she put her ears against her pink walls
and held her breath, “…riots….it’s not safe…..when will we leave….passports”
Teresa found her unicorn pajamas and struggled to put her tiny
arms into the sleeves, getting her blonde curly hair stuck in the
armhole.

        She heard a slam down the hall and she flew under the
sheets; her tiny heart afraid of red fingers to give her away,
she trembled in infant fear. Pounding steps towards the door
and louds voices. Teresa knew then that Mommy had
remembered that Teresa needs big girl unicorns to sleep.

        Mommy ran into Teresa’s room. Her locks a wild meadow
over her face she whispers, “Teresa, hide!” So Teresa dives
into the shadows of her bed as Mommy falls down when someone
slams open the door behind her back. Teresa grabs onto the shaggy
curls of her purple carpet. The mattress wires press against
her back and her breath huffs. She sees Daddy fall onto the
ground next to Mommy. Then a black hood slips over his face
and he is pulled backwards, a snail in front of salt. Mommy
whispers, “I love you” as her face disappears into the same
black hood and she’s pulled away too. Mommy had forgotten
Teresa’s unicorn pajamas.

title: Confessions

question: Who are the main characters?

answer: Teresa and her parents

question: What is the social / political background to the story?

answer: Riots are mentioned - it is implied there is some sort of unrest ('loud popping sounds were all over the news') which Teresa's parents are anxious to escape from. They may be social/political pariahs given how their home is raided.

question: What happens to Teresa's parents at the end?

answer: They are kidnapped, possibly killed by the unknown people who raid their home.

question: Who are the figures that appear at the end?

answer: They are implied to be connected with the (possibly political) unrest

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: While unrest is brewing, Teresa, a young girl, notices her parents seeming distracted. She overhears they discussing fleeing the country when she readies for bed. Suddenly their home is raided and Teresa's mother tells her to hide. She hides under her bed to see her parents being hooded and dragged away by unknown assailants.