text:
                                           The King

	Our King has always been a little different. He’s very quiet I haven’t really seen him give anyone orders at all either. Whenever something needs to be done I see him doing it. He doesn’t just sit around; I’ve actually seen him go into the mines. I don’t know if it’s just because I’m a child but not even the adults in the village are as active as him.

       He’s always leaving the kingdom and coming back with tons of different things. I can’t always see what he’s coming back with, but I’ve seen bones, some kind of meat that just looks bad, and even strange looking pearls. And the dogs! He has so many dogs that there’s not a single wild dog here. He must be traveling great distances to find all these dogs, because I know they’re not from here.

	When I see him doing all these strange things I start asking my parents what it is he’s doing, and they tell me: “don’t question the king,” but they never tell me why. He doesn’t look old, so he can’t be all that wise. All that work he does and all the times he leaves - it’s not normal.  I was  sick of wondering.

	I finally got into his castle and he was at his workbench. When I got closer he looked back at me, seemingly confused, but he turned back around and kept tinkering with some weird red dust. I got closer and mustered up the courage to ask him as politely as I could, “How come you’re so different than everyone else?” The king stopped, stood up and looked at me. He asked, “Excuse me?” and I said it again. He chuckled briefly under his breath and said “it seems like you’re different too.”

       He started to tell me a story. “When I was your age, I lived in a different kingdom and I felt the same way about my king. I would go to school and all the kids and the teachers would seem to just drift through their lives, but not the king; he was always spontaneous. I was finally sick of that curious feeling, so I went and talked to my king and he told me his story. Sometime afterwards the kingdom was destroyed and all the people inside were attacked by monsters. It was terrible. There were explosions, arrows, and the groans of the undead.

	I was able to escape, but barely. I fought my way out with nothing but my hands. finally I found a break in the chaos and I found a cave and covered the entrance with dirt. I was devastated, but I wanted to live so I built a shelter.  I enjoyed building. Then since I had built my shelter I began mining - I enjoyed that as well. I had so many supplies I decided to build more and I ended up building a village. Strangely enough people appeared. That village moved on to become this kingdom. That’s my story.”

	I asked him why he told me all that. and he told me simply because I was a player. A player? I was so confused. He then told me that only players are kings. I didn’t understand. He went on by asking me what my earliest memory is and I told him standing outside. “Exactly,” He said. “That was the first time you entered this world.” He started talking about how this life isn’t real and that once he’s gone he’ll be able to enter the real world again.

	He began taking me adventuring with him, that’s when he would explain things and share his knowledge with me. “When a king dies, everything he ever did goes with him. That’s how my king’s old kingdom was destroyed. I left my Kingdom and made a village. I have people of my own now. My king was killed by a mob of three suicide creatures right outside his gate. I saw everything he had made disappear along with him.” That’s when I believed everything he told me - while he took me adventuring with him. Now I know that there is a better life to be had out of this one. A less edged and more rounded one. Thank you king Steve. Minecraft Steve.

title: The King (Minecraft short story)

question: What does the story say about the Queen?

question: What does the story say about the narrator's thoughts on their King?

answer: The King has always been different. He's very quiet and doesn't order anyone around. The King seems like he's a man of action who likes to create things and isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. He always leaves the kingdom and comes back with a bounty of different things, from pearls to bones and meat. The King has a lot of dogs and seems to bring a new one home every time he ventures out. The narrator thinks all the work the King does and all the times he leaes isn't normal.

question: What does the story say about The King?

answer: Before he became a King, he was a young boy who lived in another kingdom. He actually felt the same way about his king, who would also leave the kingdom and do stuff on his own (like he does now). Sometime afterwards, the kingdom was destroyed and all the people inside were attacked by monsters and the undead. He fought his way out with nothing but his hands and found a cave. He built a shelter and started mining, which he enjoyed, so he ended up building a village with all the supplies he collected. People started to appear, and the village became his kingdom.

question: What is the connection between being a King and a Player?

answer: The "world" in the story where the narrator lives is in the Minecraft universe (a video game). In the game, only "players" can become "Kings" who build their own kingdoms. Players can adventure, mine, and collect many supplies needed to build anything in the game. The "villagers" in the kingdom are presumably NPCs, which is why they can never be Kings. When a Player (King) dies, everything he ever did (built or collected) goes with him.


split: test

text:
A body will flounder if you kill it hard enough.

Like we did Jim. Just really killed the hell out of him.

You take a Tommy Gun right to the face and you might obliterate the brain, but the nervous system just keeps going through the motions.

Like the shuffle old Jim did on the street when we found out he snitched.

This was back before,  like 1934 or something. Back then things were different. We were the terrorists, but everyone loved us. You don’t get that now a days. Just dirty bastards looking for money. But we had style and class.

Like when we turned Jim’s face into honeycomb.

I am a time traveler. You can believe that or not. I accept any judgment you have, but I will not apologize or tell you I am crazy.

I’ve been all over and I’ve lived for trillions of years. Hell, I had a stretch where I lived from 45 BC to 2440 in a row. There was no stopping. Just living on like you all do – that is to say die.

I believe I’ve had about as many names as have existed. And I’m not just saying Christian. I’m saying the whole opera of nations. Most don’t even exist anymore.

But if you ask, I’d say I always tended towards Levi.

You know, it’s funny, I was back where I could pretty much guess the first names came from and they were always a series of grunts. Imagine that! Your wife could be calling out some guy’s name from god knows when and not even realize it.

I deal in disaster.

That’s just it – I enjoy everything to be all over the place. Like Jim’s face back in that alley.

I don’t want to forget Jim, but I do think I have some explaining to do if I’m to tell you I’m a time traveler.

It’s not really that I’m a time traveler by profession. That’s not what I do. That’s just how I live. What I do is create as much chaos as I can.

Because I can.

I was born this way. The time travelling came with it. The space travelling as well. You’re all space and time travelers, so you can see how it’s possible. It’s just you don’t do it in the science fiction sense.

Ah, but that’s all cars and boats. Thing is, Jim was dead in the alley and I liked it. Nothing like a dead body to perk a man up.

I remember looking around and grinning at everyone. I wasn’t even the gun man. But I was the man who made the call. Just kinda in the back of the ranks until it was time to just kinda put my own two cents in.

And they do just what I say. See, you get the correct kind of folk and you get a lot of the yessirs.

But I stay in the back. No reason to lead. All dead leaders will tell you that. There’s not a king or president alive at any time in the course of history that beat death.

And I’m no king. Some might call me a prince. But I don’t like to talk about that.

Yeah, old Jim looking like a sponge.

He was no snitch.

Well, he was in the way that everyone’s a snitch. I mean, no man dies without cowering for gold.

But Jim didn’t rat out old Boss Gibby.

Gibby – called him that because his father named him Gibson for some reason. Not recalling a man in the 30s ever being called that – not by first name, but there he was.

Fat as a parachute full of hotdogs.

He. Was. A. Fat. Man. That old Gibby.

Let me tell ya. I saw the man eat a bathtub of pasta once. It’s not an exaggeration. See, there’s some of these “heavies” out on the Earth that can eat the greed right off of New York city.

People are always accepting of the story of the drunk who drinks a case of vodka a day and don’t question it. But the minute you explain a man who eats the equivalent, then people start saying liar.

Now, I may be a liar by trade, but some things I can’t even make up. Saw him one night.

Now, you have to understand that this is done not out of hunger – not by the normal sense. No, a man eats a bathtub full of pasta like an artist commits suicide. It’s very private and it is not done for the pleasure of the act. It is for the pleasure of ACT. Same reason some people become actors. Art is a mystery thing.

But back to Jim. Jim was dead, as you know, and Gibby was very much alive and fat when Jim died.

Gibby had grown suspicious of a spy months before and I fed him all the right asides to make him think it was everyone but Jim.

A little noodling on my own with some tarot cards and nuclear fusion and I had it all right square in the head of old Gibby.

Quantum mechanics. If you don’t believe in them, do. Synchronicity is based on it. And, be warned: you can eat a Big Mac and shove a dildo up your ass at the same time and find that you created a Walmart in Lubbock, Texas.

It happens.

Things are real.

Like dildos.

Oh, and what a dildo Jim was. He had these train sets. He’d keep them all over the house. They were like his M.O. No one ever called him Engineer or anything – kinda funny when you think about it. For a guy who turned his house into a goddamn Google Map of Amtrak passages…but, that’s Jim.

People like train sets. Like macaroni and racial epithets.

Anyway, he had them train sets and we’d go over at all hours to drink and watch him run the fucker through the house. It was a sight to see. Up balconies, out windows – climbing the ceiling, these cars were.

I guess I mention it because what lead to his death was a train heist. The guy had all the trainspotting tables on everything in the Chicago area. He could tell you to the minute when a train would land. And some will say that so could the Chicago transit board – but not like this. They’d tell you it was going to arrive at 5 and Jim would tell you 5.03.

That’s the kinda decimals you need when you’re committing a crime.

For instance, I once set a black hole on a solar system by tossing a rare Wright Brothers stamp into it.

I’ve always been a fan of American pop culture.

But I’m no American. Neither Earthling. No, I come from another place altogether. But I can take on any shade I need. There’s other sentients out there, let me tell you, but there’s few and far between that have such a weakness for chaos.

Most’ll just kinda limber on through on light and a belief in the things around them. That’s all they need. Like plants.

But others, like you Earthlings, boy, howdy! It’s like a plate of nachos in front of Rosie O’Donnell when you produce hate and madness to an Earthling.

But those are just olives and tomatoes on the ole nacho pile.

It’s chaos that’s that the focus.

But back to Jim. Dead old Jim just lying there with his face in three different gutters.

He loved trains and knew quite a bit about them. Like the fact that the one that we were to rob just needed a little push to skip a track.

“Hell, a crackerjack would do it!” He’d laugh. And old Gibby bought it and took the kid on.

Meanwhile, I had my own motives. If I haven’t been anything but honest, let me be even more honest: Jim was a personal problem. When you’re dealing with quantum continuum problems, you find men like Jim that just fuck up the whole deal for everyone involved in any… you folks like to call eeeeevil.

Well, evil it is and Jim was causing one hell of a ruckus in the old universe. Like the kind that could put me in jeopardy.

Oh, at last, yes, you might have guessed. I’m old Beeeezelbub, aren’t I? The thing is, I don’t like to mention it just right off. You see, you folks need your science first and I offered it as a good man will. There’s magic and there’s slight of hand – so let’s get to the magic.

Yes, there’s a God. Have I seen him? No. Do I understand him? No. But, boy, howdy did I piss him off. You know, when things just begin, you don’t have all these definitions on good and evil. I mean – say – you can’t just call something evil at that point.

No, things have to work themselves out. That’s what you people are here for. To kinda just move an infinite amount of colors around until you get a solid black or white.

I guess I’m that black.

Or white, depending on where you live.

But, I love to joke.

So Jim got popped. Popped like corn all over that alley. And isn’t it a shame? The fact that it was so easy to get rid of such a cosmic problem with a simple, shitty gun?

Tommy guns are about as reliable as UZIs or condoms.

Some of the time, most of the time, all of the time – but none of the time.

That’s a lot like life.

I guess I’m running long in the mouth, so let me just end it here as I have business elsewhere.

Hope to see you real soon.

title: [SF} Levi 1

question: Why does the narrator think of themself as a time traveler?

answer: The narrator says they've lived for trillions of years. They had a stretch where they lived from 45 BC to 2440 in a row.

question: What relationship does the narrator share with Jim?

answer: It may be implied that Jim was the narrator's coworker who was killed by the narrator and his team.

question: What issue did the narrator have with Jim?

answer: The narrator had personal issues with Jim. Jim had tried to ruin things for everyone involved while dealing with quantum continuum problems.


text:
[]
Image from www.gizmodo.com.au
By KEN WOLFF

The image above shows rich and poor alongside each other in Mexico. Is this Australia’s future under the Liberals?

Australia has a long history of egalitarianism. Between the gold rushes and the 1890s Australia was considered a ‘working man’s paradise’. The depression of the 1890s changed that somewhat but also fostered the growth of unionism and the birth of the Labor party to represent workers’ interests. That meant that by 1911 Australia was still considered a great country for the ‘working man’ with higher wages than in many other countries, shorter hours than the USA and Canada and more holidays. Australia was also a world leader in social reforms, including universal suffrage, and was known for not having as large a gap between rich and poor as most industrial countries — it was effectively largely egalitarian.

It was not a rigid system that enforced the same conditions on everyone but a system based on the ‘fair go’. It was built on the concept that we are all inherently equal and, therefore, the differences between us should not be great if we each have a ‘fair go’ — in modern parlance, it was equality of opportunity. We were also very good at cutting down the ‘tall poppies’ when the differences exceeded what we thought acceptable.

Now much of that has changed and the Liberals have contributed mightily by their actions and also by their underlying philosophy.

What drives the Liberals’ actions is their belief in the individual, based on the John Stuart Mill maxim on freedom when he wrote in _On Liberty_ in 1859:

  The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to attain it.

The Liberals aim towards the first part of that statement but tend to ignore the provisos in the second part. Despite what the Liberals may think, the condition Mill imposes on individual freedom is consistent with the Australian value of the ‘fair go’: as an individual, I give others a ‘fair go’ by not depriving them of their freedom nor impeding their efforts to attain it. It shows that although the ‘fair go’ can be said to be founded on the individual, it includes a social responsibility to give others a ‘fair go’, just as Mill envisaged. In that sense, the ‘fair go’ is the true inheritor of Mill’s legacy, not the Liberals’ approach.

When the Liberals emphasise the individual they are undermining society. They sometimes speak of community spirit, such as when we pull together during times of bushfire and flood, but they do nothing to support it. Generally they believe only in the individual and the family, and community and society do not get a look in. That also provides a green light for individuals to ignore their social responsibilities and look only after themselves if that is their want — it is a green light to reject the ‘fair go’ and a green light for individual greed.

The economic emphasis on the individual is leading to rising inequality in our society. The gap between the richest and the poorest has increased significantly. The gap between the pay of a worker and the CEO of the company for which she or he works has increased dramatically in recent decades. Whereas once it was the equivalent of 2‒4 years of the worker’s wage, now it can exceed 15 or 20 years. The ‘tall poppies’ are now protected under the Liberals’ approach and are viewed by them as essential for economic success.

In Australia, based on taxation records, the top 10% of taxpayers had 25% of total national income between 1974 and 1985 but that grew to 31% in 2010. For the top 1% their share was about 4.5% between 1976 and 1984 and in 2010 was 9.2%, after reaching a peak of 10.1% in 2006 before the GFC.

In 2013, a Productivity Commission paper also showed that since 1998‒99, even just among those employed, wages had been increasing faster for high income earners than for low income earners.

Such inequality impacts equality of opportunity and this was recognised by the OECD as early as 2005:

  … children of poor parents have less chance of succeeding in life than children of rich parents: a widening inequality of income risks leading to a widening inequality of opportunity. Because of these factors, a failure to tackle the poverty facing millions of families and their children is not only socially reprehensible, it will also weigh heavily on our capacity to sustain economic growth for years to come.

Given the last statement in that quotation, is rising inequality also contributing to current sluggish economic growth worldwide, not just the GFC hangover? That’s one for the Liberals to ponder, if they dare!

Australia survived the GFC thanks largely to a return to Keynesian economics by the then Rudd government (on the advice of then Treasury Secretary Ken Henry). Even now our economy has been growing at 2½‒3% a year, below our long term average but still a moderate rate of growth. So why do people feel financially insecure?

Wages growth is currently the slowest it has been in 20 years so that certainly doesn’t help but another aspect mentioned by a number of writers, including in relation to the middle class in the USA, is cuts to government services. People feel they have less social support as government services disappear, that such services will not be there when they need them. Also any increase in their wages may go in paying for services previously provided by government — their situation, at best, is not improving or is going backwards.

In Australia, the Liberals cut government services because they believe in the neoliberal economic philosophy (still based on John Stuart Mill) that the individual should be free to use, that is buy, only those services they require. That, by economic demand, the market will meet the need for those services. Government providing services for all, that many may not use, is an inefficient use of resources! The Liberals will continue to emphasise low taxes because this puts money back into the pockets of the individual to buy the services they want and government can withdraw from that provision. That presumes, however, that everyone is earning enough to buy those services which is not the case under the Liberals’ approach.

We are also seeing a rise in what is termed ‘precarious’ employment — casual and part-time work, and short-term individual work contracts. The April employment figures this year showed that 20,200 part-time jobs were created but 9,300 full-time jobs were lost (there had been no increase in full-time employment in the previous three months). Continued work is not guaranteed in such situations, leaving workers unsure of their future: they need to be earning very large amounts, as with some of the FIFO mining contractors, to make them feel such uncertainty is worthwhile. But in many cases these approaches are used to reduce wages and working conditions. As the number of full-time positions diminishes that situation worsens. The Liberals have long supported this approach, no more so than when Howard introduced WorkChoices. Unions are sometimes criticised for not paying enough attention to part-time and casual workers but that is because they tend to focus on keeping, and creating more, full-time positions as it is only a full-time position that provides economic security. There are some studies in Australia suggesting that for a family to lift out of poverty at least one member of the family has to have a full-time job — even having a number of members of the family working casual or part-time doesn’t help because they are unable to invest in a better future as their work, and income, can stop at any time with little or no notice.

So the Liberal approach to employment is also increasing economic insecurity no matter how well the economy may or may not be going.

The current Liberal (Turnbull) government is focusing on business, and small business in particular, at least to start with. A focus on small business is to some extent consistent with the ‘fair go’ but not when large businesses and multi-nationals are included, and not when increases in productivity are being pocketed as profits, not improvements in wages.

In a 2013 report for the ACTU it was found that in the 1990s there was a stability between productivity and wages — both productivity and real wages grew at 2.1% each year.

  Wages decoupled from productivity in the 2000s. Between 2000 and 2012, productivity rose by an average 1.3% per year, while real hourly labour income rose by only 0.6% per year on average. This meant that labour’s share of national income fell over the decade, and fell quite sharply. In 2000, the labour share was 65.6% — this had fallen to 59.7% by 2012.

Again, this is a global phenomenon:

  In developed countries, the share of labour income declined, falling by 5 percentage points or more between 1980 and 2006-07 — just before the global financial crisis — in Australia, Belgium, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States, and by 10 points or more in Austria, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and Portugal.

It is global because so many governments are following the same neoliberal economic philosophy.

If workers do not benefit from increased productivity that is not a ‘fair go’. As the ACTU report suggests, a ‘fair go’ involves profits and wages increasing at about the same rate as productivity, not one outpacing the other by a wide margin. Now, to return to a fair distribution of national income, the profit share needs to reduce, which is not going to happen under this government. So if people turn against Turnbull’s approach it will be obvious why.

The approach is justified by the ‘trickle down’ (or supply-side) theory in economics (see Ad Astra’s recent article here for an explanation), that claims supporting business, including big business, improves the overall economy — a rising tide for all. At least that’s the theory. As so much evidence shows, however, it does not work.

On matters like education and health, the Liberals prefer to follow their economic path focused on the individual and are only held in check to some extent by outcries from the Australian public that their approach is unfair. Their obvious preferred model is for privatised health and education based on the premise that the value people put on these is shown by the price they are willing to pay. They are undermining Medicare. They are reducing funding for hospitals and schools (a recent increase does not match proposed cuts already built into the budget). Yet they continue to spend $6 billion a year on a rebate for private health insurance.

Almost everything the Liberals are doing is undermining Australian communities and Australian society as a cohesive unit. Their philosophy, so centred on the individual and ignoring community support, social responsibility and the common good, is anathema to the ‘fair go’. Their focus allows them to ignore inequality because that is simply some individuals doing better than the rest. In their approach, it supposedly provides an incentive, a goal for those lower down to aspire to. They believe that aspiration will inspire people to work harder. Aspiration may have been valid when Australia had a more egalitarian range of incomes: if the CEO was only earning the equivalent of a few years’ wages of the worker, then aspiring to a similar lifestyle was an achievable goal but not when that gap can be 20 years or more, effectively requiring a lifetime’s work just to come closer to the aspiration without being likely to achieve it. When an aspiration becomes unachievable or unrealistic it no longer has value but the Liberals don’t seem to recognise that.

The Liberals cannot honestly call on our community spirit when they are the ones undermining it.

In 2014, the Centre for Policy Development released a book _Pushing our luck: ideas for Australian progress_. Lindy Evans wrote in it of the need for a new Australian narrative. She asked for more emphasis on Australia’s democratic history: the radical path we trod in the late 1800s and early 1900s, giving women the vote and allowing ordinary people, not just an elite, to be elected to parliament. She related the story of an early member of the Australian parliament making a speech with holes in his suit pants because it was the only suit he had. The fact that Australia had the world’s first Labo(u)r government was no accident but a result of our founders ensuring that ordinary people were drawn into the political process.

  The idea that human societies are not chained to repeating history and that we can create a better world runs deep in the Australian tradition. In recent years we have lost sight of how rare that philosophy was, and still is.

She called her approach ‘egalitarian nationalism’ and presented it as an alternative but inclusive national narrative to that of multiculturalism. But if the Liberals continue their destructive path, our chances of ever achieving that sort of uniting narrative, emphasising our egalitarian democratic values, diminishes by the day.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Can Australia retain the ‘fair go’ if the Liberals continue running the country?

What happened to Tony’s ‘Team Australia’?

Do readers have any suggestions for the post July 2 government that may help return Australia to a more egalitarian footing?

ALSO BY KEN WOLFF:

THE BARBIE BIGOT IS BACK: ON TURNBULL

MEDICAL ICE AGE: BIG FREEZE CONTINUES

MY INNOVATION IS BIGGER THAN YOUR INNOVATION

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT IN THE COMING ELECTION?

THE YEAR OF THE UNION

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question: Summarize the downsides of the Australian Liberals' emphasis on the individual and family over society?

answer: The Liberals' emphasis on individuals has caused rising inequality in Australian society. The gap between the richest and the poorest has risen more than three times compared to recent decades. The children of poor parents now have less chance of succeeding in life than children of rich parents. This gap between the rich and poor is giving rise to slow economic growth around the world.

question: Summarize the Liberals' policies that have been responsible for the continual rising of inequality in Australia.

answer:
The Liberals are responsible for cutting government services in the name of freedom. They claim government providing services is an inefficient use of resources. The Liberals also touted low taxes for all as it allows the individual to retain more money in their pockets. However, this does not take into account that not everyone is earning enough in the first place.
Liberals are one of the biggest proponents of casual and part-time work. This kind of work does not guarantee security and leaves workers unsure about the future. It also enables in-work poverty where an individual is still poor though holds multiple jobs.

question: What are the steps to returning the government to a more egalitarian footing?


text:
The NATIONAL ARCHIVES AT SEATTLE is a regional facility of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Pacific Region located in Seattle, Washington. The archives building is situated in the Windermere neighborhood of Northeast Seattle, near Magnuson Park, and holds of documents and artifacts.

The archives opened in 1951 and moved to a permanent facility in 1963 at a renovated Navy warehouse. In 2020, the federal government approved plans to close the Seattle branch and sell the property, sparking backlash from local historians and public officials.

Facility

The National Archives at Seattle are housed in a building on Sand Point Way in the Windermere neighborhood of northeastern Seattle, near Magnuson Park and the Burke-Gilman Trail.[1] The building is described as “drab” and “warehouse-like”, and is located on a campus with parking and a perimeter fence.[2][3][4] The facility has of floor space and can hold up to of documents and records on shelves.[5] The public access research room has seven computers and several microfilm readers.[6] The building utilizes climate controls that set internal temperatures at and humidity at 40–45 percent.[7] , the Seattle facility had 40 employees and 40 volunteer assistants.[8]

Holdings

, the Seattle facility has of permanent records, including documents and artifacts from the U.S. states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.[9][10] The records date from the 1850s to the 1980s and include treaty documents from the region's 272 federally recognized Native American tribes.[11][12] The collections are organized into 110 record groups based on the federal agency or system that authored them.[13]

History

The General Services Administration opened a records center at the Sand Point Naval Air Station in 1951, serving as Seattle's branch of the National Archives.[14] The Seattle branch was upgraded to a federal records center in August 1953 and moved five times prior to the establishment of the permanent facility.[15] The new facility near Sand Point was located in a Navy warehouse that was built in 1949 and underwent extensive renovations that cost $397,000.[16][17] It was dedicated as the Federal Archives and Records Center on November 16, 1963, in a ceremony that included speeches from Governor Albert D. Rosellini and U.S. senators Henry M. Jackson and Warren G. Magnuson, who praised the facility as “one of the finest centers in the nation”.[18] By 1969, the Seattle Federal Records Center had grown to of material and 18 full-time employees.[19] A portion of the collections was destroyed in a fire in 1974.[20]

The Seattle branch began receiving national microfilm records in 1970, beginning with the minutes of the Continental Congress.[21] The arrival of U.S. Census records in 1974 caused public use of the facility to increase from 25 people per day to over 2,500, credited to the interest in genealogy spurred by the Bicentennial celebration.[22] The Seattle facility remained the smallest in the National Archives and Records Service system, with a capacity of in 1977.[23] The facility's Montana records were transferred to the Denver Archives in 1976,[24] and the Alaska records were moved to a new facility in Anchorage, Alaska, that opened on July 11, 1990.[25] The National Archives and Records Administration announced its closure of the Anchorage facility in 2014 and the records were transferred back to Seattle.[26]

Proposed closure

The Public Buildings Reform Board (part of the Office of Management and Budget) recommended the closure of the Seattle facility in late 2019. The recommendation report, submitted in December 2019, identified the campus as highly valuable for sale and redevelopment.[27][28] The recommendation was not subject to public hearings or advance notice, with only a briefing for the office of U.S. representative Pramila Jayapal in October.[29] The recommended closure was approved by the federal government in January 2020, with plans to relocate records to storage facilities in Riverside, California, and Kansas City, Missouri, over an 18-month period.[30][31]

The planned closure and relocation of records drew criticism from historians, archivists, and public officials in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.[32][33] The U.S. senators from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska signed a letter to the Office of Management and Budget opposing the closure.[34][35] The editorial boards of _The Seattle Times_ and the _Anchorage Daily News_ also published articles condemning the proposal.[36][37] An on-site protest was held by indigenous rights activists on February 11, 2020, while tribal leaders from the Pacific Northwest met with officials from the National Archives and Records Administration.[38] Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced plans to review the closure for possible litigation under the Administrative Procedure Act, which requires public disclosure of the rationale for certain federal actions, or Executive Order 13175, which requires consultation with tribal officials for relevant federal decisions.[39][40]

The facility was temporarily closed to the public on March 23, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[41] The planned full closure was challenged by Ferguson in a set of Freedom of Information Act lawsuits filed against NARA, the Office of Management and Budget, and the General Services Administration.[42]

[1]

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title: National Archives at Seattle

question: Summarize the aesthetics of the National Archives facility.

answer: The facility is described as drab and warehouse like. It's located on a campus with a perimeter fence. Additionally, the facility is presumably large as it is a renovated Navy warehouse. It has plenty of floor space and has shelves to hold documents and records.

question: Summarize everything that happened in the 1970s.

answer: In 1970, the Seattle branch began receiving national microfilm records that began with the minutes of the Continental Congress. In 1974, the U.S. Census records arrived and caused public use of the facility to go from 25 to 2,500 people a day. In the same year, a portion of collections were destroyed in a fire. In 1976, the facility's Montana records were transferred to the Denver Archives. By 1977, the Seattle facility was still the smallest in the National Archives and Records Service system.

question: What does the text say about 2020 closure?

answer: In January of 2020, a recommended closure for the facility was approved by the federal government. It had plans to relocate records to storage facilities in California and Missouri. This sparked backlash from local historians, archivists and public officials. It even sparked an on-site protest by indigenous rights activists. In March of 2020, the facility was temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan for full closure was challenged by Ferguson in a set of Freedom of Information Act lawsuits again NARA, the Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration.

question: Summarize everything that happened in the early 1940s.


text:
"Well, in layman's terms I can honestly say that I have no idea what it is"
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose, not bothering to mask my dissatisfaction in front of the Professor "Can you explain to me what data you have in scientific terms?"  I asked irritably
The scientist nodded, his bald head shining in the floodlights in the cave. "Certainly" he said as he picked up a data pad "The composition of the device is a complex mineral containing both organic and inorganic elements, only a few of which we can readily identify. The rest are totally new to us. We do   know that it gives off very faint electromagnetic signals. Remarkably the frequency seems to shift randomly, going from infra-red and radio waves, down to the UV spectrum. So far the analysis of these signals has yielded negligible results. Sometimes we detect slight magnetic fields, coming from it and sometimes we don't. The origin of the  structure, the nature of its shape, its purpose, its power source (if any), its cultural significance, the means of its construction, and most importantly, what it does, are beyond  current comprehension due to  all our extensive experiments being completely inconclusive"
I groaned "So, in other words..."
"We have no damn clue what this thing is" The Professor finished, wiping his head with a damp cloth.
"Seriously this thing could be anything, maybe  a xeno construct, or something from the lost colonies, whatever it is, it's old,  it’s been in this hole for a least six millennium, and is most likely much older than that"
I walked around the structure, set into the ground of the cave... well it wasn't a cave exactly; a cave implies an opening, something that can be accessed naturally. Not this place. I guess the best word to describe it is as a cavern, a deep dark hollow, inexplicably existing almost a mile beneath the surface of Hupp,   the official designation given to both the mining colony and the planet upon it resides.

 I took a closer look at the object, brushing a strand of black hair away from my eyes. I needed to get it cut, but outside of Sol, good barbers were hard to find and I didn’t trust Xeno barbers, mostly because the majority of them do not have hair , and are not used to shaping it,  plus most of them have horrible fashion sense.
"So, remind me, Professor Gunnson, what does this place mine again?"

“Well, this particular colony rests over a rich ore of the mineral Cooperite, which contains palladium and Platinum, quite common for an Outer-world on this Spiral. Hupp-town (what the miners call their colony) primarily works with the extraction of the ore, but it is shipped off to the Central Hub of this Solar System to be refined.
"And how long has this mine been operational?"

"Ah...roughly 20 years, in earth time of course, Mr. Demmit"
 "Soooo" I began " Why  is it that  a sophisticated mining operation like this,  with over a decade’s experience working this patch of dirt, no doubt performing countless sonar and thermal underground imaging, had no idea that this place  existed until they  physically broke into it?"

Gunnson shrugged his shoulders, 'That's another mystery, I guess. The funny thing is, after this place was found, subsequent imaging actually mapped out this very room, despite identical previous scans being unable to detect it. Perhaps it was some   sort of Obstruction field, made so that this cavern would be unidentifiable by any sort of scans unless physically broken into, which would support the idea of it being an alien device."

"Hmm" I said and started at the structure again. It was indeed a most strange thing.  It was completely black, darker than Obsidian, without pattern or variation and quite tall, at least six feet. Its shape (if it even had one) was undeniably strange; the closest approximation I can give is of a three dimensional paint splatter, a chaotic conglomeration of artistry and design. Spheres which curved away into trapezoidal ridges resting on tiny poles that should not have been able to support its weight. On its top  a split hollow that looked like a mouth  with mismatched triangular teeth, resting diagonally atop a cyclopean lump, from which strands of the material branched off to form animalistic  designs, such as claws  and wings, and disturbingly, a human face.
On one side, a variety of non-Euclidian shapes seemed to have been fused together, haphazardly, like a child’s tower of building blocks. It was an incomprehensible work, almost schizophrenic when you'd thought you understood the shape from looking at one part, it would connect to something completely different and incompatible to the previous segment you saw. This inconsistency carried over to its construction. In one light you would swear it gleamed like iron pained black, others it had the texture of   polished rock, and some had no texture at all, just the sheer blackness of it. Like the mysterious shapes, whenever you sought to find the join, where the two different materials met, you could not find it, the distinction melted the further you looked, with the only results being a headache.
There was an indescribable wrongness to it, like it was something that had no right existing.  Even if it had been resting out in the sunlight it would have looked simply weird, but down here, in the oppression of the cavern, with the floodlights throwing shadows onto the surrounding walls and stalactites, it looked especially creepy.
I pulled out a cigarette "Is it safe to smoke in here?" I asked.
Gunnson nodded "yes, we hooked up an extra ventilation fan in the chamber, though I would prefer it if you would refrain from doing so"
I lit up and took a drag, feeling a little calmer. The professor sighed.
"So...Mr. Demmit" The Professor broke the silence "Why exactly did the Institute send you here?"
I Looked at him "You received a transmission from the main office shortly before my arrival, what did it say?"
Gunnson frowned confusedly "Just that you were going to 'appraise' the artifact"
I nodded "Well, Professor, that's exactly what I do. Whenever something new is discovered (or claimed to be discovered), be it a new breed of Digworm in a R&D lab, a more efficient Warp-core in a parking garage, or an ancient ceremonial bowl from an archeological dig site, etcetera, the moment the Institute gets wind of it, they send me in to inspect it and then I advise them of what potential use they could receive from these discoveries."

"So, hypothetically speaking, if you were to make a judgment now, what would the fate of this artifact be?"
I shrugged "Probably be shipped off to a museum somewhere. Since it has no apparent cultural or historical significance, it would either be labeled as an ' unknown curio' or 'ancient outsider art'...though the discovery and research teams will be acknowledged and suitably rewarded" I added quickly, noticing the sudden shock on the professor's face.
The Professor smiled, visibly relaxing "Well, that's good to know"
"Yes, though I’m hoping it will not come to it. I must confess that this..." I gestured to the statue, "thing, greatly interests me, whilst there have been artifacts found in similar circumstances, none were like this. I...”
Suddenly a beeping sound came from the professor’s coat. "Excuse me" he said bashfully. He took out his holopojector and activated it. The gas particles fanned out and took on the shape of a Sondhar, a fur covered creature, with a mass of feelers on its head.  "Ah, Nul-Parast, Gunnson exclaimed
" what's the word?"
The Projection started talking. "None of the Old Songs mention any sort of artifact as the one we have found, and the Keepers of the Histories don't recognize it either so it's nothing from the Sondharian Empire."

The Professor grunted "Shame about that, I was banking on it, what about Que and Dox, they contact you yet"
the alien shook its head "I believe they are still doing research, though I will put them through to you the moment they have a lead" And with that the projection dissipated into a mist of glimmering particles.

The Professor tucked the device away again. "Sorry about that, you were saying?"

I cleared my throat “I was saying that I hope this artifact does turn out to have significant value to the Institute after all"   and to myself I thought inwardly.  The more valuable the find, the more I get paid, and I was hoping that this wasn't another dud. Its mysterious origins had certainly intrigued me, but the way this was going, it wasn't going to provide much of a paycheck.

The Professor grinned ruefully "We can but hope, how long will your appraisal period be?" He asked.
"One month, Earth Calendar, with additional time granted should I request it from the Institute and if they consent to it."
"Then we'd better get back to work then"
I smiled,  "seems that way, I'm going to need all your findings, and data you have gathered so far"
" Coming right up" said Gunnson.
I spent the rest of the day   reading over the data the Professor had provided; it had not been much help. Every test the scientists had preformed had spit up the exact same results, unknown or data not found. It was if the structure had simple appeared in this universe one day. Maybe someday someone could have discerned what it was, but the Institute never liked the phrase “someday” almost as much as they disliked “indefinite” or “worthless”. I sighed as I put the finishing line on my preliminary report.
Will require more time to gather additional data on the object. Additional data will be provided in future reports.
 I pressed send, and the holoboard blinked. The message had just entered the fold-space. I yawned and stepped out of the small study tent that had been erected. To my surprise, the cavern was empty, whilst earlier it had been crammed with workmen and scientists, now only the solitary figure of Professor Gunnson remained, sitting on a small fold out chair, with one hand holding drink. When he saw me he gave a small wave.
“How’d the report go?” he asked

“Fine, just gave them the data and my current opinion on the object, where’d everyone else go?” I asked, looking around.
Gunnson pointed upwards with his free hand “Back to the surface, it’s past nightfall now, though you can’t tell it from down here. I like to stay down overnights sometimes, whenever I go to a dig site, in case I get an urge to run a test during the night”
“Does that happen often?”
The Professor grinned “More often than you’d think, help yourself to a beer by the way, they’re little stale but nice and cold” He gestured to a cooler that rested at his feet.
I reached in and pulled out a bottle, I twisted the top off and took a swig. The Professor had been right, it was old, no doubt it had been come from earth itself, but it was ice cold and, man after an afternoon working it tasted almost new.  I smacked my lips “Thanks Professor”
“Oh please, call me Harold”
“Only if you call me Wade” I said as I took a seat next to him.
“So Wade, what’s your story” Harold asked “How did one like you become an “appraiser” for the Institute?”
I shrugged, “nothing special really, was born and raised on Earth, went to University in England got a masters in Commerce, you know the score.  I did some work as a head hunter for hiring agencies, you know, finding fresh new talent for their companies, was pretty good at it too.  One day the Institute offered me this job.  Naturally I took it at once. Ever since I was a little boy I had wanted to go into space, well I suppose everyone does really.
“Not me” The Professor interjected “Can’t stand space travel, never could. Even now, I need to anti-anxiety medication before I get on a craft, and God-forbid I should look out a window! Space always terrified me.”
“In what way?”  I asked curiously
“The blackness “The Professor replied “It’s seems so…hostile, you understand, I mean anything could be hiding in the darkness, and our worlds, everything we ever know and care for, are just pinpricks amongst the blackness”
I had to laugh. “I’m sorry” I said, stifling a remaining chuckle “But I mean "hiding in the blackness of space?". You got to admit, it sounds pretty silly”
Harold shrugged “maybe so but it still gives me the nerves. Anyway my story is a bit like yours really. Got a masters in Xeno archeology and studies, and got poached by the Institute, till I wound up here, nothing special really”

For a while we just sat and drank our beers in silence. I found myself staring at the statue again, something about it didn’t quite seem right.  Hadn’t   that wing been on the other side? And had that trapezoidal bit at the top always been there? And suddenly it hit me.
“Harold” I said “does that statue seemed to have changed shape to you?”   I asked.
The Professor laughed nervously. “I thought it was just  me , but yes, it seems to  sort of shift its configuration and shape every so often, sometimes it happens once a day, sometimes  every other hour!”

“Really?” I said in amazement, you’ve seen this happen?”
“Well… not seen per se, it just sort of...shifts, one minute it looks like one particular object, the next it’s …changed”
 “What about video footage?”

Harold shook his head “that’s the thing, after the first time it happened I set up a camera to record the statue. The next time it changed shape, I watched the footage, and found that the footage from before showed the statue in the *exact same shape*.  I tested all the cameras and found no faults; it was like something was actively retroactively changing all images of itself to suit its current one. I recorded it through five shape changes, every time I did, the previous footage would show the statue in its current state”
I gave a sigh “More mysteries” I yawned, I needed some shuteye. I stood up and stretched. “Where can I sleep around here?”
“There’s bunking on the surface, but the lift takes about half an hour to get there, alternatively, I set up a couple of cots in the  service tent.”
“That’ll suit me just fine” I said, heading towards the area.
“Good night and don’t let this place give you nightmares” the Professor called over jovially.
I laughed; “The statue is creepier than anything my mind can come up with” I chuckled as I headed inside, and lay down on the bed.

title: [ SFHR] The Shapeless thing Part 1

question: What is the narrator investigating?

answer: The narrator is investigating an object that is completely black and is at least 6 feet tall. It has been in the cavern for at least 6000 years. Upon further investigation, the object seems to change shape when observed, and when recorded, changes to what shape it was last observed.

question: How was the object discovered?

answer: Miners discovered it after drilling into the cavern in which it was located.

question: What are the narrator's motives for investigating the object?

answer: Initially, the narrator just seems to be interested in cashing in on the discovery and getting a hefty paycheck for finding a valuable artifact. However, by the end of the passage, it seems that the narrator becomes generally curious about understanding what the object is.


text:
CELESTINE DONKOR is a Ghanaian gospel musician and songwriter.[1][2]

Early life

Donkor was born to the family of Mr and Mrs Akakpo, both from the Volta region of Ghana.[3][4] She married Mr Donkor with whom she has three daughters.[5] She started her primary school education at St Augustine Preparatory school in Abeka Lapaz and continued to Nsaaniya Secondary Business School at Kasoa where she had her secondary school education. She proceeded to the University of Ghana, Legon where she obtained her BA (Hons) Sociology and Information studies.[6]

Music career

Donkor collaborated with numerous gospel musicians,[7] including Joe Mettle, Joyce Blessing, Ceccy Twum, Mkhululi Bhebhe, Edem, Philipa Baafi, Funny Face.[8] She has many hit songs,[9] including “Turning around”, “Bigger”, “Okronkronhene”, “Manim Nguase”, “Boobobo”. Her latest Album _Agbebolo_ earned her the Artiste of the year at the National Gospel Music Awards.[10][11]

Discography

Albums

-   _Gye Wadea_ (2007)
-   _Restoration_ (2010)[12]
-   _Righteosness_ (2015)
-   _Turning Around_ (2015)[13]
-   _Okronkronhene_ (2018)[14]
-   _Bread of life_ (2019)[15]

Awards and nominations

  Year   Event                              Award                         Nominated Work   Result   Ref
  ------ ---------------------------------- ----------------------------- ---------------- -------- ------
  2020   Vodafone Ghana Music Awards        Gospel Song Of The Year       Herself                   [16]
  2020   Vodafone Ghana Music Awards        Female Vocalist of the Year   Herself                   [17]
  2020   3Music Awards                      Gospel Song Of The Year       Herself                   [18]
  2019   National Gospel Music Awards       Album Of The Year             Herself                   [19]
  2019   National Gospel Music Awards       Collaboration Of The Year     Herself                   [20]
  2018   Vodafone Ghana Music Awards        Gospel Artiste Of The Year    Herself                   [21]
  2014   Christian Community Music Awards   Best Traditional Song         Herself                   [22]
  2012   Christian Community Music Awards   Best Traditional Song         Herself                   [23]
  2009   MTN Music Video Awards             Best Gospel Video             Herself                   [24]

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[6]  Gospel Hypers|last=Hypers|first=Gospel|website=Africa's No1 Gospel Music Marketing Agency and Entertainment Blog • Gospel Hypers|access-date=2020-02-25}}

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title: Celestine Donkor

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

question: What does the text say about Celestine Donkor and her early life?

answer: Celestine Donkor is a Ghanaian gospel musician and songwriter. She was born in the Volta Region of Ghana. She attended primary school at St. Augustine Preparatory School in Abeka, Lapaz. Celestine continued to Nsaaniya Business School at Kasoa where she had her secondary school education. She went to the University of Ghana, Legon, where she got her BA Sociology and Information degree. Celestine is married and has three daughters.

question: What does the text say about her music career?

answer: Donkor collaborated with numerous gospel musicians, including Joe Mettle, Joyce Blessing, Ceccy Twum, Mkhululi Bhebhe, Edem, Philipa Baafi, and Funny Face. She has several hit songs, including "Turning around", "Bigger", “Okronkronhene”, “Manim Nguase”, “Boobobo”. Her latest album, Agbebolo, earned her the Artist of the year at the National Gospel Music Awards.


text:
International Pageant of Pulchritude 1930 competition.
A beauty pageant  or beauty contest is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants, although most contests have evolved to also incorporate personality traits, intelligence, talent, and a contestant's ability to answer judges' questions on various subjects as judged criteria. The term refers largely to contests for women such as the Big Four international beauty pageants. Hundreds of thousands of beauty contests are held annually, but the Big Four are considered the most prestigious, widely covered and broadcast by media. The Wall Street Journal, BBC News, CNN, Xinhua News Agency, and global news agencies such as Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France-Presse collectively refer to the four major pageants as "Big Four" namely: Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International, and Miss Earth.
The organizers of each pageant may determine the rules of the competition, including the age range of contestants. The rules may also require the contestants to be unmarried, and be "virtuous", "amateur", and available for promotions, besides other criteria. It may also set the clothing standards in which contestants will be judged, including the type of swimsuit.
Beauty pageants are generally multi-tiered, with local competitions feeding into the larger competitions. For example, the international pageants have hundreds or thousands of local competitions. Child beauty pageants mainly focus on beauty, gowns, sportswear modelling, talent, and personal interviews. Adult and teen pageants focus on makeup, hair and gowns, swimsuit modelling, and personal interviews.  A winner of a beauty contest is often called a beauty queen.  The rankings of the contestants are referred to as placements.
Possible awards of beauty contests include titles, tiaras, crowns, sashes, scepters, savings bonds, scholarships, and prize money. Some pageants award college scholarships, to the winner or multiple runners-up.
 History
 Early years
Georgiana Seymour, Duchess of Somerset was crowned the 'Queen of Beauty' at the Eglinton Tournament of 1839, the first known beauty pageant
Woman receiving an award for winning a beauty pageant, 1922
Lone Star State Selects Beauties for 100 Year Pageant
European festivals dating to the medieval era provide the most direct lineage for beauty pageants. For example, English May Day celebrations always involved the selection of a May Queen. In the United States, the May Day tradition of selecting a woman to serve as a symbol of bounty and community ideals continued, as young beautiful women participated in public celebrations.
A beauty pageant was held during the Eglinton Tournament of 1839, organized by Archibald Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton, as part of a re-enactment of a medieval joust that was held in Scotland. The pageant was won by Georgiana Seymour, Duchess of Somerset, the wife of Edward Seymour, 12th Duke of Somerset, and sister of Caroline Norton, and she was proclaimed as the "Queen of Beauty".
Entrepreneur Phineas Taylor Barnum staged the first modern American pageant in 1854, but his beauty contest was closed down after public protest.
 National pageants
Beauty contests became more popular in the 1880s. In 1888, the title of 'beauty queen' was awarded to an 18-year-old Creole contestant at a pageant in Spa, Belgium. All participants had to supply a photograph and a short description of themselves to be eligible to enter and a final selection of 21 was judged by a formal panel. Such events were not regarded as respectable. Beauty contests came to be considered more respectable with the first modern "Miss America" contest held in 1921.
The oldest pageant still in operation today is the Miss America pageant, which was organized in 1921 by a local businessman as a means to entice tourists to Atlantic City, New Jersey. The pageant hosted the winners of local newspaper beauty contests in the "Inter-City Beauty" Contest, which was attended by over one hundred thousand people. Sixteen-year-old Margaret Gorman of Washington, D.C., was crowned Miss America 1921, having won both the popularity and beauty contests, and was awarded $100.
 International pageants
Bathing beauty contest, USA, 1920
In May 1920, promoter C.E. Barfield of Galveston, Texas organized a new event known as "Splash Day" on the island. The event featured a "Bathing Girl Revue" competition as the centerpiece of its attractions. The event was the kick-off of the summer tourist season in the city and was carried forward annually. The event quickly became known outside of Texas and, beginning in 1926, the world's first international contest was added, known as the International Pageant of Pulchritude. This contest is said to have served as a model for modern pageants. It featured contestants from England, Russia, Turkey, and many other nations and the title awarded at the time was known as "Miss Universe". The event was discontinued in the United States in 1932 because of the Depression (the international competition was revived briefly in Belgium).
 After World War II
The popularity of the Miss America pageant prompted other organizations to establish similar contests in the 1950s and beyond. Some were significant while others were trivial, such as the National Donut Queen contest. The Miss World contest started in 1951, Miss Universe started in 1952 as did Miss USA. Miss International started in 1960. Miss Asia Pacific International which started in 1968 is the first and oldest beauty pageant in Asia. The Miss Black America contest started in 1968 in response to the exclusion of African American women from the Miss America pageant. The Miss Universe Organization started the Miss Teen USA in 1983 for the 14-19 age group. Miss Earth started in 2001, which channels the beauty pageant entertainment industry as an effective tool to actively promote the preservation of the environment. These contests continue to this day.
 Swimsuit competition
The requirement for contestants to wear a swimsuit was a controversial aspect of the various competitions. The controversy was heightened with the increasing popularity of the bikini after its introduction in 1946. The bikini was banned for the Miss America contest in 1947 because of Roman Catholic protesters. When the Miss World contest started in 1951, there was an outcry when the winner was crowned in a bikini. Pope Pius XII condemned the crowning as sinful, and countries with religious traditions threatened to withdraw delegates. The bikini was banned for future and other contests. It was not until the late 1990s that they became permitted again, but still generated controversy when finals were held in countries where bikinis (or swimsuits in general) were socially disapproved. For example, in 2003, Vida Samadzai from Afghanistan caused an uproar in her native country when she participated in the Miss Earth 2003 contest in a red bikini. She was condemned by the Afghan Supreme Court, saying such a display of the female body goes against Islamic law and Afghan culture. In 2013, the swimsuit round of the Miss World contest was dropped because of Islamist protests in Bali (Indonesia), where the contest took place. In 2014, the Miss World contest eliminated the swimsuit competition from its pageant.
In 2017, Carousel Productions was criticized of objectifying women during the Miss Earth 2017 competition where delegates wore swimsuits during the event with their faces concealed by a veil in the Beauty of Figure and Form, a segment first introduced in the Miss Philippines Earth 2017 pageant. It was one of the three preliminary judging segments of the pageant that include Poise and Beauty of Face and Environmental and Intelligence Competition. The organizers defended the "beauty of figure and form" segment and released a statement that the said round was intended to promote strict impartiality during pre-judging by focusing on the contestants' curves, execution and not beautiful face.
 Major beauty pageants
The term "beauty pageant" refers largely to contests for women. Major international contests for women include the yearly Miss World competition (founded by Eric Morley in 1951), Miss Universe (founded in 1952), Miss International (founded in 1960), and Miss Earth (founded in 2001 with environmental awareness as its concern). These are considered the Big Four pageants, the four largest and most famous international beauty contests for single or unmarried women.
 Big Four dethronements and resignations
Dethronements and resignations are rare for the Big Four pageant winners, but when it does, it creates media attention.

The Miss World pageant has experienced 3 cases of dethronement or resignation instances:
* In 1973, Marjorie Wallace from the United States, who was crowned Miss World and once stated that "as Miss World I can get laid with any man I pick", was dethroned of her title for dating a string of celebrities including George Best. Photographs of her also emerged with the married singer Tom Jones in Las Vegas and kissing him in Barbados, which prompted Miss World organizers to dethrone her 104 days after she was crowned.
* After being crowned Miss Wales and then Miss United Kingdom, Helen Morgan, competed and won Miss World 1974. However she was discovered to be an unwed mother. While there had been a rule in Miss World since 1958 that married women are not allowed to enter the pageant, there was nothing in 1974 to prevent women with children from taking part in the beauty contest. As negative publicity emerged, the Miss World organizers offered Morgan to resign but she would be allowed to keep half the guaranteed earnings she would have made during her year long reign, but she refused the deal. She was cited in a divorce papers by a married former Cardiff nightclub manager for having an affair; this prompted Morgan to accept the deal of the Miss World organizers and became the first Miss World to resign four days after she was crowned. She was replaced by first runner-up of South Africa, Anneline Kriel.
* Gabriela Brum of Germany had the shortest reign in Miss World history when she resigned her title 18 hours after being crowned Miss World 1980. She indicated that her boyfriend disapproved of the contest, but it was later revealed that she had posed for naked photographs; she later relocated to the United States and modelled nude for Playboy. Second place Kimberley Santos of Guam replaced Brum by default.
In Miss Universe, Oxana Fedorova of Russia was crowned Miss Universe 2002 and was dethroned 4 months later as she was unable to fulfill her obligations. She was the first to be dethroned in the history of Miss Universe. She was replaced by first runner-up Justine Pasek of Panama. In its early years, there were two instances where the reigning Miss Universe opted to resign from her position: Armi Kuusela, Miss Universe 1952 from Finland, who held the distinction of being the first Miss Universe winner gave up her crown in less than a year to marry Filipino businessman Virgilio Hilario while Amparo Muñoz, Miss Universe 1974 of Spain refused to travel to Japan and instead resigned after six months of her reign. However, since the pageant had no concrete rule on resignation at that time, they were allowed to keep their titles.
In Miss Earth, the 2002 winner, Dzejla Glavovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was dethroned of her crown six months into her reign, after she failed to show up at several environmental events. According to Carousel Productions, organizer of the Miss Earth contest, Glavovic was dethroned because of "her inability to fulfill the duties and responsibilities as the Miss Earth titleholder, in accordance with the rules and regulations set forth in the Miss Earth contract that she signed." She was succeeded by first runner-up Winfred Omwakwe of Kenya as Miss Earth 2002.
In Miss International, Ikumi Yoshimatsu, Miss International 2012 was the first titleholder of the pageant from Japan to be dethroned shortly before the end of her reign. She was ordered by The International Culture Association (Miss International organizer) to skip the succession ceremony and "play sick and shut up" out of fear of scandal. The Miss International organizer cited the reason for her dethronement was due to her involvement in a contract dispute with a talent agency in which she claimed that she was pressured to sign by Burning Productions, a film production company which is rumored to be linked with the Japanese underworld, but she refused and went ahead by starting her own company. Yoshimatsu filed criminal charges against one of Japan's most powerful talent agency executives, Genichi Taniguchi of Burning Productions, for allegedly stalking, intimidating, and harassing her.
 Diversity
Besides the international beauty pageants, numerous minor competitions exist throughout the world displaying the different perceptions of beauty. Some examples of criteria to select beauty queens that are unique to certain cultures include the Indian history and traditional craft skills in the Miss Indian American pageant, Indian dress section in the Miss India USA pageant and the principles of "black beauty" that became accepted in the Miss Howard University competition. The winner is often viewed as a model for the "ideal" community member. Through the competitions, the contestants can learn how to present themselves in public and how to cultivate certain traits such as confidence or poise. In some cases, the competitors are selected to act as a representative on behalf of the community. In the African American community of Howard University, the selected Miss Howard University served as advocates for the Civil Rights Movement in the decades following the 1960s. Additionally, the Miss Landmine competition situated in Angola allow victims to serve as advocates on behalf of other victims of mining accidents.
Researchers suggest that the emergence of beauty pageants in countries outside the United States is linked to an economic boom geared towards a more consumeristic lifestyle. For example, in India, from 1996 to 2000, the personal care industry grew by 25% while the number of women applying for the Miss India competition increased from 1000 people in 1993 to 6500 people in 2001. Additionally, after China hosted about 6 international beauty pageants in 2004, the beauty industry increased in influence in the area. At the same time, the number of regional beauty pageants in the country increased.
 Benefits
Increased exposure for personal and professional endeavors, gain personal development skills through coaching and preparation, acquire opportunities to communicate your vision and goals efficiently and concisely, and have the ability to inspire others to believe in themselves with your confidence and determination to be successful. Pageantry also teaches you how to handle stress by learning to deal with pressure and disappointments.
 Criticism
The panel of judges for the 1973 Miss Amsterdam pageant
Critics of beauty pageants argue that such contests reinforce the idea that girls and women should be valued primarily for their physical appearance, and that this puts tremendous pressure on women to conform to conventional beauty standards by spending time and money on fashion, cosmetics, hair styling, and even cosmetic surgery. They say that this pursuit of physical beauty even encourages some women to diet to the point of harming themselves.
The London Feminist Network argues that rather than being empowering, beauty pageants do the opposite: denying women's full humanity by subjecting them to objectification, denying their full humanity by maintaining that their primary purpose is to be attractive.
Another criticism is in the way beauty pageant is quantifiably scored as highlighted by the "Myth of the Perfect 10". Beauty becomes a numerical coefficient in ranking contestants, and this type of scoring still remains followed as a system even in nationwide beauty pageants such as Miss America.
Researchers suggest that these events strengthen skills, such as interpersonal communications, self-assurance, and public speaking, which prove to be useful in future career paths.

title: Beauty pageant

question: Where did beauty pageants originate?

answer: European festivals dating to the medieval era are where pageants in their modern form originate from. A beauty pageant was held during the Eglinton Tournament of 1839 as part of a re-enactment of a medieval joust that was held in Scotland. Entrepreneur Phineas Taylor Barnum staged the first modern American pageant in 1854 but was closed down after public protest.

question: Why were swimsuits controversial in pageants?

answer: Roman Catholic protestors at the Miss America contest in 1947 got bikinis banned. Pope Pius XII condemned the crowning of the Miss World in a bikini, calling it sinful. It was subsequently banned for future and other contests. The bikini returned in the late 90s.


text:
CLARA STONE FIELDS COLLINS (Feb. 5, 1908–1981) was a businesswoman and politician from Mobile, Alabama. The first woman to represent Mobile in the Alabama legislature and the first to qualify to run for Congress from Alabama, she was elected in 1962 and re-elected twice, becoming the only woman in the legislature during that decade, but failed to win re-nomination in the 1970 Democratic primary.

Early and family life

Clara Stone was born in 1908 in Mobile, Alabama to Claudia K. Stone and her husband George E. Stone, the long-time treasurer of Mobile County.[1] Her grandmother lived with the family when she was a girl, though by the 1920 census, the household included two middle-age male boarders and a live-in African-American cook.[2] She had two brothers, the elder of whom died as a child, though her younger brother George E. Stone Jr. would survive her. She graduated from the University of Alabama, receiving honors in chemistry. She married twice, first Edward Fields (1894–1956) and later Neal Collins, whom she also survived. Her sons Edward Fields and George Fields survived her, as did several grandchildren.

Career

In the 1930 census Stone still lived at home with her parents and brother and taught in the public schools.[3] By 1940 she worked in her husband's insurance business.[4]

In 1954, Fields was named “First Lady of Mobile”, in 1963 she became Alabama Woman of the Year and in 1964 was named Outstanding Life Insurance Underwriter by her peers. She had served as President of Mobile's Junior League in 1945, succeeded by her sister-in-law. She also served as a trustee of the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind in Talladega.[5]

In 1962, Fields won election to the Alabama State Legislature, and by year's end had been selected one of three outstanding legislators. A Democrat, she unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1964.[6] She became the first woman to run for Congress in her state, although she lost the May Democratic primary to lawyer and veteran politician John M. Tyson Sr.,[7] who then lost the general election to Republican Jack Edwards. Republican Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater swept Alabama in that year, although Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson won the national election in a landslide. Veteran Democrat Frank W. Boykin had served since 1930 and become known for his support of the Southern Manifesto, but Alabama lost one of its 9 seats as a result of the 1960 census redistricting, an held an unusual at-large election for all 8 congressional seats in November 1962 (the same election in which Fields was elected to the Alabama house). Boykin came in last and was eliminated, presumably also because had also been convicted of conspiracy and misuse of his public office, although he did not appeal as did his co-defendants including Congressman Thomas F. Johnson of Maryland.[8]

Fields/Collins (after her remarriage) did win re-election to the Alabama House of Representatives after her Congressional defeat, and served as president of the National Order of Women Legislators and of Alabama Women Legislators.[9] In 1970, Collins became one of three incumbent Mobile Democrats unseated in the primary.[10]

Death and legacy

Clara Stone Fields Collins died on June 2, 1981, and after a funeral in Mobile, was buried beside her first husband at Pine Crest Cemetery.[11]

[1] 1910 U.S. Federal Census for District 108, Mobile Ward 8, Mobile County, Alabama p. 11 of 13

[2] 1920 U.S. Federal Census for District 118, Mobile Ward 8, Mobile County, Alabama p. 5 of 18

[3] 1930 U.S. Federal Census for District 74, Mobile, Mobile County, Alabama p. 2 of 50

[4] 1940 U.S. Federal Census for District 49-1038, Mobile, Mobile County, Alabama p. 4 of 16

[5] Mobile Register, June 4, 1981 p.

[6] Wayne Flynt, et al. Alabama in the Twentieth Century, (University of Alabama Press 2004 ) available at https://books.google.com/books?id=Gjixu39x4tQC&pg=PA288&dq

[7]

[8] _U.S. v. Johnson_, 337 F.2d 180 (1965), cert. granted, opinion at 383 U.S. 169

[9]

[10] Mobile Register, Nov.3, 1970 p. 25

[11]

title: Clara Stone Fields Collins

question: Which public office did Clara Stone Fields Collins hold?

answer: She served in the Alabama State Legislature, eventually servings as president of the National Order of Women Legislators and Alabama Women Legislators.

question: How did she come to have her name?

answer: Instead of changing her surname completely, she must've added her husband's at the end. Since she married twice, the last two surnames come from her husband.

question: List the recognitions and awards Clara Stone received.

answer: She was the first woman to represent Mobile in the Alabama legislature and to run for Congress. She was named "First Lady of Mobile", became the Alabama Woman of the Year, and was named Outstanding Life Insurance Underwriter. She also served as president of the National Order of Women Legislators and Alabama Women Legislators.

question: What public office did she covet but fail to get?

answer: She ran for Congress but didn't win the election.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Clara Stone Fields Collins (Feb. 5, 1908-1981) was a businesswoman and politician from Mobile, Alabama. The first woman to represent Mobile in the Alabama legislature and the first to qualify to run for Congress from Alabama, she was elected in 1962 and re-elected twice, becoming the only woman in the legislature during that decade, but failed to win re-nomination in the 1970 Democratic primary. She survived two husbands and was eventually buried alongside her first husband.


text:
Places:

Tuesday, 1 March 2011

[Diabetes Warning]
▲ _Big people & postie bikes – Nauru suffers from one of the world’s highest obesity and diabetes rates
_
After my spell on the Solomon Islands I carried on to a Pacific nation which gets very few visitors: Nauru. To find Nauru on the map head off north-east from the Solomons and there it is, a dot in the ocean just a stone’s throw south of the equator.

[Nauru]

▲ _Flying out of Nauru
_
For a spell in the ‘70s Nauru was the richest country on earth in terms of per capita income. The 10,000 or so Nauruans were up there with the Saudis and Kuwaitis, but not from oil, from birdshit. Nauru was one big heap of guano, its remote location had made it a key stopover for birds for millions of years and what they’d left behind was prime phosphate, dug up and exported as fertiliser since 1907. The money really began to pour in from the late 1960s and the intention was to wisely invest it, to ensure a steady income once the deposits ran out.

[Driving Round Topside]

▲ _Driving round Topside you encounter these abandoned train cars, used for moving phosphate
_
Sure enough the deposits have pretty much gone, but so have the investments. When they weren’t being done over by useless banks or fast-talking carpetbaggers the poor Nauruans were burning their money in a series of useless investments including Air Nauru, an airline way too big for the tiny country. It hardly ever carried any passengers apart from rich Nauruans off on shopping trips of course. When the money was gone Nauru briefly turned to money laundering and was reputed to have been the channel for US$70 billion of Russian mafia money. Then there was a spell as a refugee detention centre for the Australian government’s ‘Pacific Solution’, the country’s own version of Guantánamo Bay.

[refugee centre]

▲ _The Topside refugee detention centre
_
WHAT TO DO ON NAURU?
There’s plenty to keep you occupied for a couple of days. The old phosphate processing plant and loading docks are a slice of industrial archaeology. Three of the four gigantic cantilevers, used for loading the phosphate on to ships, have collapsed although small quantities of phosphate are still being exported. It’s nothing like the activity in the island’s heyday.

[Collapsed cantiliver]

▲ _Collapsed cantilevers
_
Everybody on the island lives right by the coast, inside is ‘Topside’ a bizarre scene of rocky pillars left when the guano was excavated around them. Once upon a time the whole island was covered in dense forest, that all went with the guano. One of the refugee detention centres was on Topside, it’s empty now apart from a few buildings used by the Nauru Rehabilitation Corporation, they operate a plant nursery there. The shallow lagoon all around the island is dotted with those rocky pillars as well, out to the reef edge which then drops off straight into the deep ocean. There’s no natural harbour and no notable beach although the scuba diving on the drop-off could be interesting, if there was a scuba diving operator.

[Topside rock pinnacles]

_▲ Rock pinnacles on Topside_

WHO GOES TO NAURU?
Hardly anyone, about 150 tourists a year. A large proportion of those visitors will be people working on going everywhere, intent on putting another tick on their Traveler’s Century Club checklist. Sure enough, the only other tourist arrival on my flight was down to the last 10 countries he had to visit, until he could claim he’d been to every country on earth.

_[Nauru Beach]_

_▲ And rock pinnacles on the beach_

HOW DO YOU GET THERE?
Not with Air Nauru, their last 737 was repossessed in 2005. Taiwan gave them another 737 (on condition they recognised Taiwan as the real China, not that Beijing mob) and Our Airline flies once a week from Brisbane in Australia, continuing on to Kiribati and Fiji and returning 2 days later. So if you want to make a short visit to Nauru it’s 2 days or 9 days. Or 7 if you carry on towards Fiji.

_[Our Airline]_

_▲ Our Airline’s 737 has to cross the coast road to get from the runway to the terminal._

VISAS?
Getting a visitor visa for Nauru requires perseverance although you can do it by email. Just keep on top of them, if you don’t keep asking where it’s got to nothing will happen. Ask Our Airline to email you a visa form to fill in and return to the Brisbane, Australia consulate. Apart from a confirmed airline booking with Our Airline you will also need a hotel confirmation, even though the island hotels are all pretty well empty. You might be asked for the visa confirmation at check in, but you’ll certainly be asked for it on arrival in Nauru when they take your passport away. You must pay the A$100 visa fee when you retrieve your passport later in the day from the government office, right across the runway from the airport terminal.

_[Harbour & outriggers]_

_▲ Kids swimming in the harbour, outriggers are still used for fishing_

MONEY?
Bring Australian dollars with you, Nauru has no banks, no ATM machines and nowhere to change money.

SLEEPING?
There are three places to stay on Nauru. The government-run _Menen Hotel_ is 4km east (anti-clockwise) from the airport terminal, it’s a big motel-like establishment in rather tatty condition with rooms at A$80 or A$115 with ocean views.  The _OD-N-Aiwo is_ a straightforward, slightly cheaper hotel about a km west (clockwise) from the airport terminal. _EWA Lodge_ is on top of the Capelle & Partner building and more or less at the opposite end of the island from the airport.

_[Menen Hotel]_

_▲ Menen Hotel – the camera lies, it isn’t that good looking!_

EATING?
Chinese restaurants are dotted around the island, locals rate _Moon River_ west of the airport or _Reynaldo Palace_ right beside the airport. Also west of the airport _Lucky Tigeress_ is the place to head for a Chinese breakfast.

_[Lucky Tigeress]
_
GETTING AROUND?
There is no ‘town centre,’ everything is dotted along the coast road, which makes an 18km circuit around the island. It’s easy to hitch rides, even without sticking a thumb out you won’t be left standing although you might end up on the back of one of the ubiquitous Nauruan ‘postie’ motorbikes. Capelle & Partner, the biggest island store, rents cars for A$85 a day plus fuel. __

[Postie Bike]
▲ Postie bike on the morning school run

question: Why did the investments in Nauru fail?

answer: The investments in Nauru failed because during the boom years of the bat guano, the islanders made investments into ventures which were unstable and were only catered towards themselves. They created Air Nauru, which was only good for rich Nauruans on shopping trips. When the money was gone they were briefly a period where they were a Russian Mafia money laundering hub, and then the Australian government built a detention center there.


text:
Following his return from another season-ending knee injury, JABARI PARKER flashed moments of brilliance for the Milwaukee Bucks, but they weren’t consistent enough to guarantee anything regarding his future.

Parker is set to hit restricted free agency this summer, which gives Milwaukee a leg up in bringing him back as they can match any offer the Duke product were to sign.

But are they an absolute lock to match?

It probably depends on the size of the offer sheet Parker signs. The Bucks would likely scoff at matching a max contract, but something along the lines of a two-year, $20 million agreement would make their decision a bit less difficult.

In 2017-18, Parker put up decent numbers – 12.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.0 three-pointers nightly on healthy 48.2/38.3/74.1 shooting splits – but they were of the empty variety. During the small forward’s time on the floor in the regular season, Milwaukee was actually outscored by 4.3 points per 100 possessions.

And in the playoffs, that number only got worse; the Bucks boasted an ugly -8.3 net rating in Parker’s 167 minutes of postseason action.

Sure, some of that may have to do with the fact that Milwaukee had a lame-duck head coach in JOE PRUNTY, a leftover from JASON KIDD’S staff who many expect will be replaced now that the team’s season is over.

Could a more able leader have gotten more out of Parker this year? It’s possible.

Either way, with his injury history (Parker has only been able to suit up in 183 of a possible 328 contests in his four seasons as a professional), lack of efficiency and non-existent defensive prowess, it’s hard to see Parker landing a big-time contract offer this offseason – especially the kind a player at his age (23) and with his level of potential would usually expect to receive.

We break down Parker’s likeliest landing spots.

[]

Chicago Bulls

Two factors could make a Chicago Bulls union with Parker plausible.

For one, Parker’s hometown is Chicago, and to this day, it’s a place he still holds near and dear to his heart. In 2016, Parker penned an emotional article for the Players’ Tribune about the city, showing just how much love he has for the place where he was born and raised.

Additionally, the Chicago native is still in a part of his career that makes his fit within the Bulls’ current timeline sensical. After all, they’re a year removed from hitting the reset button and starting their rebuild, while Parker’s still a few years away from hitting his prime.

At the start of 2017-18, the Bulls’ average age was 24.5 years old. Parker will be about one year younger than that by the time the 2018-19 season rolls around.

What’s more, though Chicago is set up decently well for the future with ball-handlers (KRIS DUNN and ZACH LAVINE) and big men (LAURI MARKKANEN and BOBBY PORTIS), their core still lacks a true wing like Parker.

Ultimately, the need is there, the fit makes sense and bringing a hometown hero back could help the Bulls’ front office get fans to buy into the rebuild.

As far as money goes, only three teams are projected to have more cap space than Chicago this offseason; thus, they’ll likely be willing to pay above market value for Parker’s services.

A three-year, $36 million deal with a player option on Year-3 would probably be enough to let this union come to fruition.

[]

Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz are pretty much solidified at the 3-spot for the foreseeable after signing the underrated JOE INGLES to a four-year, $52 million contract in the summer of 2017.

However, at times, it’s apparent that the Jazz lack one more scorer capable of attacking in isolation. DONOVAN MITCHELL has done an outstanding job in that capacity in his rookie season. But apart from the Louisville product, Utah doesn’t really have anyone else who can be called upon to go one-on-one when they need a bucket.

That’s where a player like Parker could come into the picture.

Although over the past two campaigns Parker hasn’t been very efficient as an isolation scorer (he placed in the 34th percentile in 2016-17 in one-on-one situations, and the 23rd percentile in 2017-18, per Synergy Sports) one of the reasons he was drafted second overall in the 2014 draft was thanks to his abilities as a point-producing weapon.

Perhaps playing under a head coach like QUIN SNYDER, who’s quickly developing quite the impressive resume, could help Parker begin to reach his potential.

Financially, a union between Utah and Parker depends on what the Jazz decide to do with two of their own impending free agents: DERRICK FAVORS and DANTE EXUM.

Neither should require huge deals to re-sign, but combined, they could take Utah from the $83.7 million they currently owe in salaries for 2018-19 to near the projected salary cap of $101 million.

At that point, the Jazz would only have the standard mid-level exception to offer Parker, worth roughly $8.6 million. Would that be enough to fend the Bucks away from matching the offer? Probably not.

But what if Utah lets Favors walk?

The Jazz would still bring back JONAS JEREBKO and JAE CROWDER next year, two wings with the ability to man the 4-spot next to All-NBA center RUDY GOBERT. Letting Favors sign with another team would open up the room to make a legit run at a player like Parker, who is versatile enough to play small or power forward, and whose scoring could help Utah improve upon their 15th-ranked offense from last regular season.

Not to mention, Parker being a member of the LDS Church only makes a potential deal between the small forward and the team located in the heavily Mormon state all the more logical.

A fully guaranteed two-year, $22 million deal between Parker and Utah, provided Favors walks, is possible, and could be rich enough to make the Bucks decline matching.

[]

Detroit Pistons

A team with a decent core but poor depth, the Detroit Pistons would also make some sense as a potential Parker landing spot.

Of course, due to BLAKE GRIFFIN’S acquisition (due $31.9 million in 2018-19) and the contracts of ANDRE DRUMMOND and REGGIE JACKSON ($25.4 million owed to the big man in 2018-19, and $17 million to the point guard), Detroit is set to be about $12.6 million over the salary cap next season. This means that the only way Detroit can sign Parker would be to the standard mid-level exception.

With STANLEY JOHNSON’S development seemingly stuck in the mud – the small forward out of Arizona is shooting 37 percent as a professional, and converted on a career-low 28.6 of his three-point attempts last season – the Pistons could use help on the wing and Parker could provide it.

Parker has nailed 37.1 percent of his threes over the past two seasons, meaning he should be able to space the floor around Jackson-Drummond pick-and-rolls and Griffin high-post touches.

Plus, he’s still pretty young; getting hard capped (something that occurs whenever a team uses its standard mid-level exception, which prevents them from crossing into the luxury tax) would be a better investment on a 23-year-old with upside than a 30-year-old journeyman.

To keep the Bucks from matching on Parker, Detroit may have to go a bit longer on their contract offer. Something like a three-year, $25.8 million offer with a player option on Year-3 would make sense (but Milwaukee may still match).

[]

Milwaukee Bucks

Thanks to ownership of his Bird Rights (meaning Milwaukee can go over the cap to re-sign its forward) and the fact he’s set to hit restricted free agency, the likeliest possible outcome to Parker’s spell on the “open” market is a return to the Bucks.

His most recent comeback from injury didn’t go all that well, as Milwaukee was statistically a better team with Parker on the bench.

Nevertheless, the 6-foot-8 wing is just one season removed from averaging 20.1 points and 6.2 rebounds nightly over 51 contests, so the potential for Parker to be a reliable secondary option on offense is still there.

Under a more creative head coach, there’s a chance he and GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO could blossom into the fearsome one-two punch many hoped they’d become. What’s more, with the sense of security that comes from a long-term contract, Parker may be able to relax and just play ball for the first time in a long while.

That’s why, despite things not going as planned for Parker thus far in his career, a return to Milwaukee for the Chicago native cannot be ruled out.

Not only is he still young enough to improve, but he’ll also likely be inexpensive for the Bucks to re-sign considering the lack of cap space there will be around the Association this summer.

A cheap investment on a player with Parker’s still-existent upside, whom the team selected No. 2 overall just four years ago, would be smart business by Milwaukee.

_You can find Frank Urbina on Twitter @frankurbina_._

_HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed to this article._

question: Who is Jabari Parker?

answer: Jabari Parker is a wing player for the Milwaukee Bucks. He will be a restricted free agent this summer.

question: Where is Parker likely to be traded to?

answer: Three teams that are likely to trade for Parker are the Chicago Bulls, the Utah Jazz, and the Detroit Pistons.

question: How much money does Parker currently make?

question: Who is Joe Ingles?

answer: Joe Ingles is a player for the Utah Jazz that signed a four-year, $52 million contract in the summer of 2017.