text:
PEDRO MARÍN (born 22 November 1961) is a Spanish pop singer, actor and TV performer.

Biography

Pedro Marín is one of the most emblematic Spanish pop singers. Since his beginnings during the 80s as the pop superstar to his mysterious retirement during years and his later comeback as a cult figure in art rock and electronic music during the 21st century. Tagged by the American Billboard Magazine as “the first avant-garde Spanish musician in history”, Marín débuted on the popular music scene in Spain as a teen idol in the early 1980s with hits such as _Que no_ and _Aire_. He was the first Spanish artist to work with synthesisers and electronic instruments being a reference to many bands which would come later. Being tagged by Billboard magazine as the first contemporary modern singer in Spanish music, he scored number one hits in Spain, Mexico, Portugal, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, top 5 hits in France and Germany, selling more than 2.5 million records. He then suddenly retired from the music business. During the 1990s, he worked in banking and finance in England and West Africa.[1]

However, beginning in 2005, Marín returned to the public spotlight. He released a new full-length CD, _Diamonds,_ in which he paid tribute to Amanda Lear's disco-era oeuvre with electro cover versions of hits such as _Queen of Chinatown_, _Follow Me_, _Fashion Pack_, and _Enigma_.

With the success of _Diamonds,_ Marín recorded a new album in 2007, _Pulpo negro,_ which sold over 60 thousand copies in Spain. Unlike _Diamonds,_ which was recorded in English, _Pulpo negro_ was recorded in Spanish.

In 2009, Marín released one of his most critically acclaimed albums to date, _I will glam_, on which he composed all the songs. The album features collaborations with major artists from the Spanish rock and roll scene, such as Eric Jimenez from Los Planetas. Marín subsequently toured Spain for the first time in many years.

After this successful tour, Marín began work on a new album in Barcelona, produced by Stefano Maccarrone frontman of the avant garde electronic band Mendetz, which would be released in 2012. A first single _Te veo bailar_, an advance from this forthcoming album _Hombre mecanico_ (“The mechanical man”) was released in June 2012 achieving more than 25,000 downloads in the first two weeks of its release (only in Spain). _Hombre Mecanico_ the album released in Spain in 2013 and in Mexico in 2014.

He published the video _Que No_ a remake of his 1979 classic. A theme “on being and feeling free. Be brave. Having and demanding to have rights. Support each others … and so many other things that would make this world a better place.” The direction of the piece, by Marin himself.[2]

In August 2014 the Mexican edition of _Hombre Mecánico_ released with a track list slightly different from the Spanish album. Pedro visited Mexico for the first time since the 80s for a promotional tour.[3]

Pedro Marín announced from México to CNN Internacional the upcoming release of the first short-film he has directed, _Las viudas invisibles_ (“The invisible widows”).[4] Filmed in India it deals with the problems of the widow collective in that country and culture.[5][6]

In December 2014 participated in the festival that took place at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City in front of 110,000 people, broadcast on the Televisa network on New Year's Eve.[7]

Pedro Marín History

Marín, a handsome and charismatic young man in the early 80s, developed a passion for music that led him to become one of Spain's most popular voices. His fame spread throughout much of Europe and South America. The record sales were in the millions, yet by the decade's end the artist grew weary of the industry and the trappings of his lofty position in the business. At that point, he virtually vanished from sight. He returned to music in the 21st century with a fresh sense of creativity, a powerful new art-rock-dance sound and the relaxed yet confident attitude of someone who knows his way around life's challenges.

Marín started that type of electronic Synth Pop dance sound in Spain and overall in Latin music. It did not exist before, "I am very proud that my first single _Que No_ (b/w _{{'}}Puente de Colores{{'}}_) was the first disco track sung in Spanish in Latin music history.”

Though Marín had successfully forged a new dance sound in Spain, the prospects for Spanish music in Europe were decidedly less promising. The singer's top ranking, self-titled LP (released in 1980) and follow-up hit, the jubilant and energized _Aire_, successfully moved Marin into the Spanish and European mainstream. Sales exceeded 2.5 million albums in just three years and included high chart positions in his homeland, Germany, Portugal, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. His music was also embraced in France, Chile, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands.

With his life radically changed by stardom, Pedro said he had to sacrifice the normal life most teenagers would have experienced. “I never had a regular youthful life. I couldn't have the life of a normal teenager that, but I've had other things in return – music, fame, money, and, most of all, the incredible and unique human experience of living my passion to an extreme.”

However, though seemingly at the top of his game in the music business, Pedro was feeling the stress of the very career he was once so determined to have. He suddenly dropped out of sight, abandoning the business completely. “So, I ran away as far as I could. After studying in a university during the late 80s, I ended up living in Bali in the 90s.”

In 2006, Marín made a decision to return to music, following a long career he had established in finance. Emerging as a highly eclectic electro-synth-dance-pop artist, his return to the music scene was first heralded by the LP _Diamonds_, his interpretation of the songs of legendary singer Amanda Lear. “The Amanda thing was all about me playing in the studio beyond the takes I was recording for _Pulpo Negro_, my comeback album (of original material). When I returned in 2006, the music business was very badly damaged already. There was no interest whatsoever to release new material from somebody like me, who had not recorded an album in over 20 years. They would have possibly taken a revisited 80s hits album, but I hated the idea of doing one and refused. That just seemed a bit absurd to me. No record company wanted to release _Pulpo Negro_, so I created my own label (Mainman) to release it. I managed to put together my first tour in decades with that album and it sold very well.”

Discography

Álbumes

-   1980: _Pedro Marín_.
-   1981: _Rebelde_.
-   1982: _Grandes éxitos y secretos_ (editado en Hispanoamérica).
-   1992: _Todas sus grabaciones 1979-1986_ (Rama Lama, Blanco y Negro).
-   2005: _Diamonds_ (Discos Susurrando).
-   2007: _Pulpo negro_ (Mainman).
-   2009: _I Will Glam_ (Blanco y Negro, Mainman).
-   2013: _Hombre mecánico_. (Mainman)
-   2014: _Hombre mecánico_. (Edición México) (Mainman/Violet Friends Music).
-   2015: _Todas sus grabaciones en Hispavox. 1979-1986_. (Warner Music Spain)
-   2015: _Slow_. (Sus mejores canciones lentas '80-2014) (Mainman).
-   2017: Los 80's (Sus mejores canciones) (Mainman)
-   2017. Secret Songs (Mainman)
-   2018 Antologia. Beauty & the Best (Mainman)

Singles

Videography

-   «Follow Me» (del álbum _Diamonds_).
-   «Pulpo negro» (del álbum _Pulpo negro_). Directed by Joan Guasch.
-   «Aire» Directed by Joan Guasch.
-   «El día después» (del álbum _I Will Glam_).
-   «El influjo de la luna» (del álbum _I Will Glam_). Directed by Stefan Weinert.
-   «Glam Song» (del álbum _I Will Glam_). Directed by Stefan Weinert.
-   _I Will Glam Tour Live_.
-   «Voy a ser yo» (del álbum _I Will Glam_).
-   «Te veo bailar» (del álbum _Hombre mecánico_). Directed by Pedro Marin.
-   «Sal».(del álbum _Hombre mecánico_). Directed by Pedro Marin.
-   «Yo Sé» (del álbum _Hombre mecánico_).Directed by Pedro Marin.
-   «Cómprame» (del álbum _Hombre mecánico_). Directed by Pedro Marin.
-   «The Saint» (del álbum _Hombre mecánico_). Directed by Pedro Marin.
-   «Tanto tiempo sin ti» (del álbum _Hombre mecánico_). Directed by Pedro Marin.
-   «Sal 2.0» (del álbum _Hombre mecánico_). Directed by Pedro Marin.
-   «Que No» (del álbum _Hombre mecánico_). Directed by Pedro Marin.
-   «Cumbres de éxtasis» (del álbum _Hombre mecánico_). Directed by Pedro Marin.
-   «Plastic Monsters» (del álbum _Hombre mecánico_). Directed by Pedro Marin.
-   «El Pasajero» (del álbum _Hombre mecánico_ edición México).
-   «Yo Sé 2.0» (del álbum _Hombre mecánico_). Directed by Pedro Marin.
-   “Bad Pizza Face” (del álbum Secret Songs) Directed by Ana Coello & Pedro Marín.
-   “Baby, don´t let me down” (del álbum Secret songs). Directed by Pedro Marín.

Documentaries

-   _The invisible widows_, 2015, directed by and script by Pedro Marin

[1] Encuentro digital con Pedro Marín, _El Mundo,_ June 30, 2006. Retrieved June 25, 2007.

[2] http://jenesaispop.com/2014/06/26/193706/el-anime-de-pedro-marin/

[3] http://www.cronica.com.mx/notas/2014/847809.html

[4] http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/spanish/2014/07/30/cnnee-intvw-pedro-marin.cnn.html

[5] http://www.milenio.com/firmas/celeste_ramirez/Pedro-Marin_18_345745498.html

[6] http://larevistaflash.blogspot.com.es/2014/08/pedro-marin-el-aire-lo-trae-como-hombre.html

[7] http://eldiariodevictoria.com.mx/2014/12/03/pedro-marin-cantara-en-programa-especial-de-fin-de-ano/

title: Pedro Marín

question: Summarize Pedro Marin's music career after a long hiatus working in the banking industry.

answer: Pedro Marin started his career in the 80s as a young pop superstar. He made lots of hits and was known in Spain, Mexico, Portugal, and beyond. He disappeared in the 90s with no clue as to why and returned in 2005 with a new full-length CD titled Diamonds. The album was a success with hits like Follow Me and Enigma. He release another album in 2007 titled Pulpo Negro which was recorded in Spanish and sold over 60,000 copies. Marin released his most critically acclaimed album to date in 2009 titled I Will Glam in which he collaborated with major artists from the Spanish rock and roll scene. He toured Spain on the back of its success, his first tour in many years. Marin planned to release more albums with collaboration from Stefano Maccarone of the electronic band, Mendetz.

question: What made Marin come back to music?


split: test

text:
[] _CHARACTER LAW_ is a supplement published by Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE) in 1982 for the fantasy role-playing game _Rolemaster_.

Publication history

_Character Law_, a 48-page softcover book written by S. Coleman Charlton and Peter C. Fenlon and published by Iron Crown Enterprises in 1982, is the original version of the _Rolemaster_ character generation and development rules.[1]

In the 2014 book _Designers & Dragons: The '80s_, author Shannon Applecline related that after publishing several other rulebooks, "Finally, ICE produced _Character Law_ (1982), a book that provided character creation rules. It tied the set of four books into a (somewhat) cohesive whole, as was shown when _Spell Law_, _Arms Law_, _Claw Law_, and _Character Law_ were reprinted as a boxed set called _Rolemaster_ (1982).[2]

A second edition was published in 1984.[3]

Contents

Character generation

In the first and second editions of this book, there are nineteen different character classes available that can be further customized according to spells and race chosen.

The player starts by rolling percentile die ten times, then assigns these scores to the ten character abilities. The player then picks a race, applying racial bonuses to the appropriate scores, and chooses a character class. If the two primary abilities for the character class chosen are not already more than 90, the player raises them to 90. Every character in _Rolemaster_ starts at 3rd level, so the player must decide how to design the first two levels to simulate the character's experiences thus far.

Character advancement

Character gain experience points for killing opponents, inflicting and receiving dmage during combat, casting spells, executing unusual or difficult tasks, having a religious experience, travel, and dying. In addition, the character can also be granted “idea points” if the character's idea or plan was successfully executed by the entire party.

Unlike other role-playing systems where a character's skills are all raised when a level is gained, in the _Rolemaster_ system, only a limited number of skills can be increased at each level; the player decides which skills will improve.

Reception

In the August 1984 edition of _Dragon_ (Issue #88), although Arlen Walker liked the ability to move randomly generated ability scores around to produce the most beneficial results for the character class sought, he disagreed with the system of raising two character class abilities up to 90 if they were not already 90 or better. Walker felt this created a monochrome cast of characters and non-player characters. Walker liked the different ways that characters could gain experience points, such as travel, having religious experiences such as visions, and for coming up with a brilliant idea — although he thought this one would probably lead to arguments over which player had originally voiced the germ of the idea. But he didn't like the idea that characters get experience points for dying, which he found “difficult to swallow.” He pointed out that this could lead to some unsavoury gamesmanship: “If your character dies and is brought back to life, he gets experience points equal to his own kill value. Yet, if the character is miraculously snatched back from the brink by an herb or healing spell, he gets only half the number of points. This could conceivably lead to a campaign in which characters would literally be dying to gain levels.”[4]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

title: Character Law

question: What is Character Law?

answer: Character Law is one of the four books that comprise the Rolemaster role-playing game. Published in 1982, it focuses on the rules for character creation and progression. The other books in the series are Spell Law, Claw Law, and Arms Law (possibly focusing on magic, monsters, and weapons, respectively).

question: How many classes does Character Law support?

answer: Character Law provides players with 19 character classes that can be customized depending on race selection and what spells they choose to learn.

question: How are player characters generated?

answer: Percentile die are rolled once for each of the 10 character abilities. Player then select a race (which provide racial bonuses to the stats), and then decides on a character class.

question: What did reviewers say about Character Law's system?

answer:
One of the features is that players with primary abilities are lower than 90 have to raise those to 90 -which meant that players would have similar builds and specialization, which lacked in variety.

Another issue is that the system for experience points also allowed earning points through death. The good part is that various activities and experiences a character goes through will earn them experience points -which will make various playstyles and actions more fun and rewarding. However, dying also awards the character with the same exp as their own kill value -on the other hand, being saved on the brink of death only awards half the points. This could potentially create an exploit where players would choose to die in order to increase their levels.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Character Law, published in 1982, is a role playing guide for the creation and progression of player characters. It is part of the four book set Rolemaster and features 19 classes, several races, and 10 character abilities. Of note is that experience points can be gained through a variety of activities -including death, which has been pointed out as a possible issue.


text: You wake up in a white room. No walls. No  ceiling. Only a white floor that produces no shadow. You start to walk aimlessly, looking for something when you have no evidence of its existence. Unfortunately you do find something: a lone TV with a remote resting on top. You walk over and pick up the remote. You sit down and you turn the TV on. The screen is filled with static. You continue watching as all you hear is white noise and all you see is black and white particles bouncing around. Hours, days, weeks pass. Still static. You start wondering if anything is ever going to play. You start to get up, but you decide against leaving because theres nothing else to do here anyway. The moment you sit back down, the TV goes from static to black. You tilt your head, wondering why the TV turned off. But it did not turn off, far from it actually. The screen overflows with immense light. Now things are getting interesting. The TV shows the expansion of that light, getting brighter, but the objects in the screen are growing farther apart. You understand what’s happening now. You know exactly what this TV is showing you. The passing of time itself. As millennia pass, you witness the expansion of the universe, the formation of the first star, elements being born; you witness entire civilizations rise and fall. The history of existence, showed in a 32 inch retina display. Millions of years pass as you cover each system’s individual history, yet you aren’t bored... you’re intrigued. Billions of years go by, when you finally reach a tiny yet familiar blue planet. You watch as species rise and fall, nature deciding who lives and who dies, until you see one of the animals learned how to make things. At that moment they spread like a virus, destroying everything that came in their path. For a few thousand years they only fought each other, mostly over petty grievances that they could have easily talked out. They stopped and learned how to control themselves after they almost destroyed the planet...twice. It was at that moment that they assumed nature’s role; they were the ones who decided who lived and died. They consumed everything in their path, devouring everything that they thought was necessary to further themselves as a civilization. You continue watching, horrified by what you see. You watch a species learn how to master aspects of their surroundings that they should have absolutely no control over. They mastered their planet. They consumed their planet. They mastered their star. They consumed their star. They mastered their system. They consumed their system. Their viral infectivity increased at an exponential rate, they were becoming unstoppable. Every civilization has its filter, something that stops it from advancing as a species. The virus overcame that filter with flying colors. This was the first you’ve seen of a civilization beating its filter. You start to get frightened for the sake of the universe because this is no longer the history of time. No, this is the history of the virus. Its a story of how it spread in its influence and power, consuming everything in its path. This is the story of how the universe was infected and overcome by a virus named humanity.

title: [SF] The Room

question: What does the narrator think is not a good thing?

answer: The unchecked expansion of human civilization.

question: Who is the person being addressed in this story?

answer: It's unclear but it could be God.

question: What is the expansion of humanity compared to?

answer: A viral infection.

question: What is the message of this story?

answer: We must find a way to live in harmony with ourselves and the environment.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The story is in the 2nd person, and is about waking up in a white room and watching a television that shows the entire history of the universe. Eventually the tv shows the past and future history of humanity, when the human race conquers the galaxy, whose expansion the narrator compares to a virus.


text:
THE CYCLISTS' ALLIANCE or TCA is the labor organization representing professional cyclists in UCI Women's World Tour (UCIWWT) events.[1][2][3] The organisation, which operates out of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, is led by Executive Director Iris Slappendel.[4]

Details

Founded in 2017,[5] TCA act as an intermediary between members and the businesses that employ them. The main purpose of the organization is to provide formal representations and give riders the power to negotiate for more favourable working conditions.[6]

In addition to conducting labor negotiations, TCA represents and protects the rights of the athletes; the organization's actions include filing grievances on behalf of athletes. The union is also negotiating for the introduction of a collective bargaining agreement as is available for male cyclists. The union will ensure these commitments are adhered to by the UCI and the teams. It negotiates and monitors retirement and insurance benefits and enhances and defends the image of athletes and their profession.

Background

Female professional athletes have been waging a battle for equality in nearly every major sport. The past few years have produced watershed wins.[7][8] In contrast, cycling had made little progress prior to 2017.[9]

The UCI's 18-member management committee includes only two women and reflects the widespread institutional sexism in cycling culture.[10][11] In February 2017, Slappendel had spoken to the men's cycling union, the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA), about ways in which they could support women's cycling. After the men's association dismissed Slappendel, asserting that CPA did not consider women to be professional, a 2017 rider survey affirmed that an association of women's professional cyclists would be an important catalyst to push women's teams, the UCI, and race organizers, to work toward greater economic and career opportunities for women. This came as no surprise to Slappendel and the labor association, The Cyclists’ Alliance, formed.[12][13]

Initial organising phase

The Cyclists' Alliance as an idea came from the recently retired Iris Slappendel following some of her own experiences as a rider and a UCI representative. The organization began when Slappendel met with two professional cyclists, Gracie Elvin of Mitchelton–Scott and Carmen Small of Team Virtu Cycling Women, and the group surveyed 450 professional cyclists racing in UCI Women's World Tour events.[14]

Leadership

The current executive director of TCA is Iris Slappendel. As of 2018, the rider council consists of the following current athletes: Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, Amanda Spratt, Leah Kirchman, Ellen van Dijk, Marianne Vos, Audrey Cordon, Christine Majerus, and Ariane Luthi (MTB).[15]

  Position                                                                      Name                                      Year(s)
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- -------------------
  colspan=“10” center; background:#ccccff;|EXECUTIVE[16]
  Executive Director                                                            Iris Slappendel                           September, 2017 –
  Vice Director                                                                 Rhian Ravenscroft                         September, 2019 –
  Communications Director                                                       Gracie Elvin (temporarily replaced TBA)   September, 2017 –
  Treasurer                                                                     Roos Hoogeboom                            September, 2019 –
  Rider Representative                                                          Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio                    September, 2019 –
  colspan=“10” center; background:#ccccff;|BOARD[17]
  Gender Rights Advisor                                                         Kristen Worley
  Legal advisor                                                                 Eric Vilé
  UCI Athletes Commission Women's Road Representative                           Marianne Vos
  Business Consultant                                                           Joe Harris
  Advisor Partnerships                                                          Jack Lindsay
  Sporting Union advisors                                                       Uni World Players Association
  Executive Director, World Players Association. Labour & human rights lawyer   Brendan Schwab
  Athletes Rights advisors                                                      Eu Athletes
  President of EU Athletes                                                      Yves Kummer
  Advisor Governance and Strategy                                               Andrea Marcellini
  TCAMP Mentor Program                                                          Carmen Small

Notes

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

title: The Cyclists' Alliance

question: Briefly summarise the function of the TCA.

answer: The primary purpose of TCA is to provide formal representations and give cyclists the power to negotiate for more favorable working conditions and represent, protect and ensure equal rights of the athletes. It also negotiates and monitors retirement and insurance benefits and enhances and defends athletes' image and profession.

question: What is UCI?

answer: That information cannot be found in the article.

question: When was TCA founded?

answer: In 2017.

question: How many members are involved in TCA?

answer: It might be implied from the article that there are 3 members.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: This article gives background information on the formation of The Cyclists Alliance, a labor organization formed to provide female cyclists the right to negotiate more favorable labor conditions. The union, representing professional cyclists in the UCI Women's World Tour, was under Iris Slappendel. She had the idea to form the organization because of the inequality issues women in sports faced and the need to push women's teams and create career opportunities for women. As a UCI rep with past experiences as a cyclist, she met with two professional cyclists, Gracie Elvin of Mitchelton–Scott and Carmen Small of Team Virtu Cycling Women, to create the organization. Afterward, they surveyed 450 professional cyclists racing in the UCIWWT events.


text:
media caption'Mr President, are you a racist?'

THE ORGANISATION REPRESENTING AFRICAN COUNTRIES HAS DEMANDED THAT US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP APOLOGISE AFTER HE REPORTEDLY CALLED NATIONS ON THE CONTINENT "SHITHOLES".

The African Union mission in Washington DC expressed its "shock, dismay and outrage" and said the Trump administration misunderstood Africans.

The US leader made the alleged remark in a Thursday meeting on immigration.

But Mr Trump has denied using the language reported.

He has been backed by two Republicans who were at the White House meeting, but Democratic Senator Dick Durbin said Mr Trump called African countries "shitholes" several times and used "racist" language.

On Friday, Mr Trump on Friday tweeted that his language he used at the private meeting with lawmakers to discuss immigration legislation had been "tough".

But he added that the words attributed to him were "not the language used".

media captionUS Senator: "Trump said these hate-filled things, and he said them repeatedly"

What did the African Union say?

It said the "remarks dishonour the celebrated American creed and respect for diversity and human dignity".

It added: "While expressing our shock, dismay and outrage, the African Union strongly believes that there is a huge misunderstanding of the African continent and its people by the current Administration.

"There is a serious need for dialogue between the US Administration and the African countries."

The pan-African grouping represents 55 member states throughout the continent. It succeeded the Organisation of African Unity - which originated in the decolonisation struggles of the early 1960s - in 2002.

What exactly did Trump say?

The remarks were allegedly made when lawmakers visited him on Thursday to discuss a bipartisan proposal that would impose new restrictions on immigration but protect the so-called "Dreamers" - hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the US illegally as children - from deportation.

Mr Trump was said to have told them that instead of granting temporary residency to citizens of countries hit by natural disasters, war or epidemics, the US should instead be taking in migrants from countries like Norway.

"Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" the Washington Post quoted him as saying.

Mr Durbin said that when Mr Trump was told that the largest groups of immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) were from El Salvador, Honduras and Haiti, the president responded: "Haitians? Do we need more Haitians?"

But in another tweet on Friday the president denied that he insulted Haitians.

  Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said “take them out.” Made up by Dems. I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings - unfortunately, no trust!

  — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter

Many US media outlets reported the comments on Thursday, quoting witnesses or people briefed on the meeting. The White House did not deny them.

What has been the political fallout?

-   "I cannot believe that in the history of the White House, in that Oval Office, any president has ever spoken the words that I personally heard our president speak yesterday," MR DURBIN told reporters on Friday
-   House Speaker PAUL RYAN, a top Republican, said the reported comments were "unfortunate" and "unhelpful"
-   HILLARY CLINTON, who lost to Mr Trump in the 2016 presidential election, said the country had been subjected to his "ignorant, racist views of anyone who doesn't look like him" and noted that it was eight years since Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake
-   Republican Senators TOM COTTON and DAVID PERDUE, of Arkansas and Georgia, said that they could not remember Mr Trump describing countries as "shitholes" in the meeting
-   MIA LOVE, a Utah Republican and the only Haitian-American in Congress, demanded an apology from Mr Trump for the "unkind, divisive, elitist" comments
-   STEVE KING, a right-wing Republican Congressman from Iowa, backed the president in a tweet:

  The anniversary of the devastating earthquake 8 years ago is a day to remember the tragedy, honor the resilient people of Haiti, & affirm America’s commitment to helping our neighbors. Instead, we‘re subjected to Trump’s ignorant, racist views of anyone who doesn’t look like him.

  — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 12, 2018

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter

Another Republican Senator who was there, Lindsey Graham, did not deny the comments were made. "Following comments by the president, I said my piece directly to him yesterday. The president and all those attending the meeting know what I said and how I feel," he said.

On Friday, Mr Trump ignored press questions about the issue as he signed a proclamation declaring a holiday in honour of civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr - as presidents do every year.

He said Americans were celebrating that "self-evident truth" that "no matter what the colour of our skin or the place of our birth, we are all created equal by God".

What has been the global reaction?

-   BOTSWANA summoned the US ambassador and asked the envoy "to clarify if Botswana is regarded as a 'shithole' country given that there are Botswana nationals residing in the US"
-   UN HUMAN RIGHTS SPOKESMAN Rupert Colville said the comments, if confirmed, were "shocking and shameful", adding: "I'm sorry but there is no other word for this but racist."
-   HAITI'S US Ambassador Paul Altidor told the BBC the idea that "we're simply immigrants who come here to take advantage of the US" is wrong.

media captionWhat is temporary protected status - and why is El Salvador losing it?

More on Trump's first year

media captionWhat the world thinks of Trump

More on this story

-   -   -   -

question: Summarize the global reaction to Trump's remarks.

answer: The African Union says that Trump's "remarks dishonour the celebrated American creed and respect for diversity." They also said that there has been a huge misunderstanding between the African continent and Trump. Botswana summoned the US ambassador to question them. The UN says that the comments were shameful and racist. Haiti's ambassador says that the comments Trump said were wrong.

question: Summarize what other US politicians had to say about Trump's remarks.

answer: Some politicians supporting Trump are denying that he made any racist comments. Several Democrats and Republicans agreed that the remarks were unhelpful and demanded apologies. Hillary Clinton is condemning Trump's remarks.

question: Summarize Trump's remarks and his response to them.

answer: In a bipartisan immigration meeting Trump said that the US should be taking more migrants from countries like Norway, and not from "shithole" countries such as Haiti. Trump denies the claims that he made the remarks, claiming he has "a wonderful relationship with Haitians." Trump ignored press questions regarding the issue.


text:
The HARUWA–CHARUWA SYSTEM is a forced-labour system based on debt bondage, prevalent in the agricultural sector of the eastern Terai region in Nepal. _Haruwa_ means “forced tiller” and are usually adult males, while _charuwa_ means “forced cattle-herder” and are usually women and children.[1] The victims of this bonded labour system are usually dalit families, most commonly from the Musahar caste. Due to landlessness and poverty, they are forced into service of landowner families under slavery-like conditions.[2] The haruwa–charuwa system is similar to the Haliya and Kamaiya systems of western Nepal.[3][4]

Another term, _kodarwa_, is often used to refer to strong men who cultivate the lands of landlords for wages or payment of debt, similar to haruwas.[5] The written or oral contracts under which the haruwas, charuwas and kodarwas are employed are referred to as _laguwas_.[6] Even when only the patriarch of the family is contracted as a haruwa, the women and children are forced to work for the same landlord for little or no payment; such a woman worker is referred to as _jaan_.[7]

Practice

Families in extreme poverty, usually from the historically disadvantaged castes,[8] enter into a haruwa–charuwa contract with landowners, called _jamindars_ or _girahats_,[9] forced by economic circumstance. Mushahars are the principal caste groups working as haruwa–charuwas; other such groups are Ram, Khatwe and Paswan castes.[10] Some families become haruwa–charuwas when they are forced to seek a loan due to an emergency.[11] Due to a lack of bargaining power, they are forced to accept outrageous interest rates, often compounded,[12] which means that the debt can never be repaid via labour.[13] Such a debt-bonded haruwa–charuwa relationship lasts a life time and is usually inherited by the children of the indebted families as well.[14][15] A less egregious form of haruwa–charuwa practice involves families in extreme poverty working on a temporary or seasonal basis under unfair contracts.[16]

While many charuwas are women and children of a haruwa's family, others are exclusively cattle herding labourers working under similar conditions as haruwas.[17] Such charuwas herd and graze cattle of many families in the village in exchange for some grains paid annually.[18] In recent years, inter-generational haruwa–girahat relationships are less prevalent. However, most haruwas are still found to exhaust their whole life in service of a single landlord once they enter such a relationship.[19] They are paid subsistence wages in cash or grains. As such, they can not afford medical treatments, education and other necessities beyond food and shelter.[20] A tenth of the labourers are forced to work even when seriously ill or injured.[21] They are also likely to face wage deduction or non-payment of wages, including when sick or injured.[22] Some are obliged to find and pay for a replacement when they are incapacitated.[23] They are not allowed to work outside of the landlord's estate.[24] They also suffer from wage deduction for poor productivity or other reasons as well as delayed or non-payment of wages.[25] As they can not make any savings during their working age, most haruwa–charuwas find themselves in a precarious position when they grow old.[26][27]

The only recourse for haruwa–charuwas who want to leave their masters is to seek loan from another landlord to repay the loan to their current master and enter into servitude of the new landlord.[28]

In some communities, haruwa–charuwas enter the service of a landlord under an annual contract on a designated auspicious day, such as Shree Panchami. They receive a patch of land as payment; the crops they grow on that patch for the year are theirs. Such land is often the least fertile of the landlord's estate or the most flood-prone.[29] They also receive a daily wage of a few kilos of grain on days they work for the landlords, however they are not allowed to seek employment elsewhere when the landlord doesn't need them.[30]

There is a very high incidence of forced child labour, often unpaid, including children under the age of ten, among the haruwa–charuwa families, who are often also subjected to emotional and physical as well as sexual abuse.[31] Those children who do not have to work for the landlords are instead sent to work in industries or the service sectors in urban areas, chiefly brick kilns and restaurants.[32] Children suffer from communicable diseases due to poor sanitation as well as malnutrition.[33]

Prevalence

According to a 2009 ILO estimate, about 94% of haruwa–charuwa and haliya families are employed as forced labour.[34] A 2006 ILO/IPEC survey of nine VDCs in three districts found a total of around 1,600 haruwa–charuwa families.[35] A Freedom Fund survey estimated the number of bonded labourers under the haruwa–charuwa system nationwide at around 97,000 adults and 13,000 children.[36] It is most prevalent in the Sunsari, Saptari, Siraha, Dhanusa, Sarlahi, Bara and Rautahat districts of eastern Terai.[37] A 2013 ILO report estimated a total of 69,738 haruwa–charuwa families in these seven districts, about 9% of the total households in these districts.[38] Among the seven districts, Dhanusha, Siraha and Saptari, which have a greater density of Dalit populations, have a greater prevalence rate.[39] Dalits account for two-thirds of all haruwa–charuwa labourers.[40] Around 23% of the total dalit households and 7% of the total muslims households are haruwa–charuwas in these districts.[41]

Status

According to James A. R. Nafziger, the haruwa–charuwa system falls under the category of forced/compulsory labour practices prohibited by the ILO's Forced Labour Convention of 1930.[42] As a signatory to the convention, Nepal is obligated to completely eliminate the practice.[43] However, Nepal has failed to enforce a ban on bonded labour.[44] Nepal has previously categorically abolished the kamaiya and haliya systems and freed thousands of bonded labourers, many of whom have begun to return to their former masters due to severe poverty and lack of alternative opportunities for livelihood. By contrast, haruwa–charuwa labourers have never been specifically declared freed, although Nepali constitution and laws prohibit forced and bonded labour in general, with the Kamaiya Labour (Prohibitions) Act 2002 specifically having declared a ban on forced labour, including as haruwa–charuwas.[45][46] The interim constitution of 2007 stipulated a policy for upliftment of marginalised communities including haruwa–charuwas; however, it has not resulted in any concrete programmes.[47] In the annual budget for economic year 2011–12, the government had included provisions for education and employment of haruwa–charuwa communities and for providing loans at affordable rates for self-employment. However, no programmes were launched to officially document and identify haruwa–charuwas and therefore, they could not benefit from any such programmes.[48] Haruwa–charuwas have not been able to benefit from similar such programmes of subsequent years that target the economically marginalised communities and freed forced labourers, for the same reason.[49]

Haruwa–charuwas are mostly landless and live in huts designated by the landlords or otherwise in the land under public ownership.[50] These communities are therefore largely overlooked for development of infrastructure. According to an ILO survey, a third of haruwa–charuwa families reside in places which are not their own homes, 37% are landless and an additional 40% near-landless.[51]

Initiatives

The government relies on support programmes for the upliftment of haruwa–charuwa families in partnerships with various organisations. Starting in 2008, the International Labour Organisation in partnership with the Government of Nepal, ran programmes to increase education and deter child labour among haruwa–charuwa communities, among others. Thirty-six million dollars were allocated for the programme which included withdrawal of haruwa–charuwa children from child labour and enrollment into formal education or out-of-school Programmes (OSP), non-formal education (NFE) and pre-vocational training for older children as well as literacy training, vocational training and group-dynamics training for haruwa–charuwa adults. The programme aimed at sustainable elimination of child labour and reintegration of families under forced-labour systems as free and economically independent members of the society.[52] The _Samudayik Bikas Manch_ runs a haruwa–charuwa upliftment programme under which it has run citizenship drives to help adults acquire their citizenship certificates, helped families toward economic independence with goat-rearing and other self-employment opportunities as well as school-enrollment and coaching of children and adult literacy classes for adults.[53]

Since the reestablishment of democracy in 2006, haruwa–charuwa communities have begun organising and campaigning for their rights.[54] The Haruwa–Charuwa Rights Forum is one such grassroots organisation that campaigns for haruwa–charuwa rights.[55]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

[29]

[30]

[31]

[32]

[33]

[34]

[35]

[36]

[37]

[38]

[39]

[40]

[41]

[42]

[43]

[44]

[45]

[46]

[47]

[48]

[49]

[50]

[51]

[52]

[53]

[54]

[55]

title: Haruwa–charuwa system

question: What does the article say about the Haruwa–charuwa system?

answer: The Haruwa–charuwa system is s a forced-labor system based on debt bondage, prevalent in the agricultural sector of the eastern Terai region in Nepal. The victims are usually dalit families, most commonly from the Musahar caste. Families in extreme poverty enter into a haruwa–charuwa contract with landowners forced by economic circumstances. The only recourse for haruwa–charuwas is to seek a loan from another landlord to repay the loan to their current master and enter into servitude of the new landlord. There is a very high incidence of forced child labor, often unpaid, including children under the age of ten. They are often also subjected to emotional and physical as well as sexual abuse.

question: What does the article say about the laws related to the haruwa–charuwa system?

answer: The haruwa–charuwa system falls under the category of forced/compulsory labor practices prohibited by the ILO's Forced Labour Convention of 1930. As a signatory to the convention, Nepal is obligated to completely eliminate the practice. The haruwa–charuwa laborers have never been specifically declared freed, although the Nepali constitution and laws prohibit forced and bonded labor in general. Act 2002 specifically having declared a ban on forced labor, including as haruwa–charuwas. The interim constitution of 2007 stipulated a policy for upliftment of marginalized communities including haruwa–charuwas.

question: What does the article say about the government's support for haruwa–charuwa families?

answer: Starting in 2008, the International Labour Organisation in partnership with the Government of Nepal, ran programs to increase education and deter child labor among haruwa–charuwa communities. The Samudayik Bikas Manch runs a haruwa–charuwa upliftment program under which it has run citizenship drives to help adults acquire their citizenship certificates, helped families toward economic independence, and school enrollment and coaching of children and adult literacy classes for adults.

question: What does the article say about the forced-labor system in Africa?


text:
FOLLICULAR UNIT TRANSPLANTATION (FUT) is a hair restoration technique, also known as the strip procedure, where a patient's hair is transplanted in naturally occurring groups of 1 to 4 hairs, called follicular units. Follicular units also contain sebaceous (oil) glands, nerves, a small muscle, and occasional fine vellus hairs. In follicular unit transplantation, these small units allow the surgeon to safely transplant thousands of grafts in a single session, which maximizes the cosmetic impact of the procedure.[1]

FUT is considered an advance over older hair transplantation procedures that used larger grafts and often produced a pluggy, unnatural look. In a properly-performed follicular unit transplant, the results will mimic the way hair grows in nature and will be undetectable as a hair transplant.

In recent history, FUT had been the most common procedure for hair restoration. As of 2017, the newer follicular unit extraction aka FUE procedure has become the most common procedure. [2]

Key concepts

Follicular unit transplantation uses follicular units to accomplish a number of objectives critical to the hair restoration process:

Maximizing hair transplant growth

Since the follicular unit is a distinct anatomic and physiologic entity, preserving it intact during the graft dissection is felt to maximize growth. In FUT, after hair is removed from the back of the scalp in a single strip, stereo-microscopic dissection allows the individual follicular units to be removed from this strip without being damaged.[3]

In the older mini-micrografting techniques, hair was harvested in multiple strips with the follicular units in each strip edge showing damage from the harvesting blades. The strips were then cut into smaller pieces, a process that would break up follicular units and risk additional damage to the follicles.

Ensuring the naturalness of hair transplant

Follicular Unit Transplantation enables the hair transplant to look natural both at the individual follicular unit level and in regards to the overall graft distribution. Since scalp hair normally grows in follicular units of 1 to 4 hairs, the exclusive use of these naturally-occurring units in FUT ensures that each graft will be identical to the surrounding follicular units. Thus, when the transplanted follicular units grow hair after a transplant, the overall results of the transplant will appear natural.

Additionally, by using individual follicular units, rather than larger grafts, the surgeon has a greater total number of grafts with which to work. This allows the surgeon to distribute the grafts more evenly over the scalp for a more natural overall distribution of hair.

Ease of surgical planning

The density of naturally-occurring follicular units in a normal scalp is relatively constant, measured at approximately 1 unit per mm².[4] This helps in the planning of a hair transplant in two ways:

1.  The hair transplant surgeon can accurately estimate the number of follicular grafts that can be obtained from dissecting a donor strip of a given size.
2.  The same number of follicular units can be used to cover a specific size bald area regardless of the patient's actual hair density.

In patients with high hair density, there are usually a sufficient number of follicular units in the donor area to accomplish the patient's goals. However, in the patient with low hair density, a compromise must be made, and this is guided by the follicular unit constant. By transplanting a patient with low hair density using the same number and spacing of follicular units as in a patient with high density, the transplant surgeon will produce a thinner look, but will allow proper conservation of donor hair for future procedures.[5]

Minimizing trauma to the scalp

The key to a natural appearing hair transplant is to have the hair emerge from perfectly normal skin, so minimizing trauma to the scalp is an important aspect of follicular unit transplantation. This can be accomplished by trimming away the excess tissue around the follicular units and then inserting them into small recipient sites on the patient's scalp.

Follicular units are relatively compact structures, but are surrounded by substantial amounts of non-hair bearing skin. This extra tissue can be removed without injuring the follicles, using stereo-microscopic dissection. These small, trimmed, follicular unit grafts can then be placed into tiny incisions in the patient's scalp; thereby minimizing damage to the scalp's connective tissue and blood supply. In contrast; the larger wounds produced by mini-micrografting and plug transplants caused cosmetic problems that included dimpling and pigment changes in the skin; depression or elevation of the grafts; and a thinned, shiny look to the scalp. These problems can be avoided using very small grafts and very small recipient wounds.

Another advantage of making small recipient wounds is the ability to create a “snug fit” for the follicular unit grafts. Unlike the punch grafts and some mini-grafting techniques; each of which removes a small bit of tissue in the recipient area; the trimmed follicular unit grafts used in FUT fit into small, needle-made incisions without any need for removing tissue. This preserves the elasticity of the scalp and holds the tiny grafts snugly in place. After surgery, the snug fit facilitates wound healing and helps to ensure that the grafts will get enough oxygen from the surrounding tissue in order to maximize their survival.[6]

Ability to perform large hair transplant sessions

There are four reasons why the follicular unit transplantation procedure allows a hair transplant surgeon to transplant large numbers of grafts in each session:

1.  The hair restoration can be completed quickly so that the patient has minimal interference with his/her lifestyle,
2.  A larger number of grafts can compensate for the shedding that frequently accompanies a hair transplant, called telogen effluvium,
3.  Using large numbers of grafts in each session preserves the donor supply by reducing the number of times incisions are made in the donor area,
4.  Extracting large numbers of grafts provides sufficient 1- and 2-hair grafts to create a soft frontal hairline and enough 3- and 4- hair grafts to give the patient the fullest possible look.[7]

[1] Orentreich N: Autografts in alopecias and other selected dermatological conditions. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 83:463-479, 1959.

[2] http://www.ishrs.org/statistics-research.htm

[3] Bernstein RM, Rassman WR: Follicular Unit Transplantation: 2005, Issue on Advanced Cosmetic Surgery. Dermatologic Clinics 2005; 23(3): 393-414.

[4] Limmer BL. Elliptical donor stereoscopically assisted micrografting as an approach to further refinement in hair transplantation. Dermatol Surg 1994;20:789-793.

[5] Seager D. Binocular stereoscopic dissecting microscopes: should we use them? Hair Transplant Forum Int 1996; 6(4): 2-5.

[6]

[7]

title: Follicular unit transplantation

question: What does the article say about Follicular unit transplantation?

answer: Follicular unit transplantation is a hair restoration technique where a patient's hair is transplanted in naturally occurring groups of 1 to 4 hairs. It is considered an advance over older hair transplantation procedures because produces a more natural look.

question: What does the article say about trauma to the scalp?

answer: Minimizing trauma to the scalp is an important aspect of follicular unit transplantation. This can be accomplished by trimming away the excess tissue around the follicular units and then inserting them into small recipient sites on the patient's scalp. Dimpling and pigment changes in the skin; depression or elevation of the grafts; and a thinned, shiny look to the scalp can be avoided using very small grafts and very small recipient wounds. After surgery, the snug fit facilitates wound healing and helps to ensure that the grafts will get enough oxygen from the surrounding tissue in order to maximize their survival.

question: What does the article say about the price of hair transplantation?


text:
Donald Trump calls for ideological screening tests of all immigrants. Aug. 31, 2016. (C-SPAN)

Let no one speak of Donald Trump pivoting ever, ever again.

The past couple weeks brought the speculation back: Maybe the bombastic GOP nominee was finally modulating his tone and recognizing he needs to appeal to a wider audience than the anti-immigrant, Breitbart-reading, borderline-bloodthirsty crowds that attend his rallies.

And indeed, a more reserved and serious-sounding Trump showed up to meet with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Wednesday, further inflating the belief that the reality television star might be pivoting from xenophobic showman to quasi-serious candidate.

But then Trump flew back to the states for a Wednesday night speech and all hell broke loose. Before a raucous crowd in Arizona, Trump returned to his natural center: angry, snarling, aggrieved and terrifying.

[Trump vows to remove millions living in country illegally: 'No amnesty']

Seeking to end confusion over his recently muddled language, Donald Trump vowed to remove millions living in the country illegally if he becomes president

After spending time in Mexico praising the country's "high quality people," Trump, just hours later, launched into a rant about undocumented Mexican immigrants who have killed and raped, spinning a dystopian tale that painted all immigrants as people to be feared, people to be rounded up and hauled out of this country.

He said immigrants would need an "ideological certification" that confirms they "share our values."

He again approvingly referenced President Dwight D. Eisenhower's deportation program "Operation Wetback," a cruel and deadly disaster from the 1950s, suggesting that Trump's version of that program would be even tougher.

He claimed there are 2 million "criminal aliens" in America and then said, preposterously, "Day one, my first hour in office – those people are gone!"

The crowd ate that nonsense up.

Saying that some think the word "deport" is not politically correct, Trump mocked: "You can call it whatever the hell you want, they're gone."

Loud. Spewing insults and absurd claims. Red-faced and nationalistic. It was Trump as we know him to be.

He took the pivot some were predicting and ripped it to shreds, delivering a speech lavishly praised by white supremacists like David Duke and by wretched far-right opportunists like Ann Coulter.

It was a hate speech. That will prompt many of Trump's supporters and alt-right fan boys to call me a PC liberal vermin or a "cuck" or whatever inane term they've reserved for those who diss their hero. (I'm white, male and not Jewish, so that keeps them from using many of their preferred insults.)

[Fact check: Trump's speech misstates reality of U.S. immigration policy]

Donald Trump's attempt to clarify his immigration policy instead muddied some of the circumstances for people in the country illegally or for the U.S. economy.

But there's no reason to parse words when it comes to that bilious speech. It was hate-filled and hateful. You could see the hands of Steve Bannon, who runs the far-right "news" site Breitbart and is now CEO of Trump's campaign, all over it, as if Trump was barfing out the comments section under one of the site's white nationalist screeds.

Moderate Republicans who have been praying daily for their nominee to grow into a plausible candidate had to be sickened by what they saw Wednesday night.

That wasn't a speech on immigration policy, as the campaign had promised. That was Donald Trump thumbing his nose at the establishment and at all the pundits who suggested he was "softening" his stance on immigration.

That was an angry man catering to a base that shares his anger, a base that mistakenly believes it constitutes an electoral majority.

Trump's swoop from supposed statesman in Mexico to manic hate-monger in Arizona was jarring. Truly.

And it showed anyone who could stand to watch that the idea of a Trump pivot is dead for good. And was probably never alive in the first place.

-   Politics and Government
-   Mexico
-   Immigration

Recommended on Chicago Tribune

question: Based on this article, how does the author likely see themselves and their political views relative to former POTUS Donald Trump?

answer: The author thinks that Trump holds rigid and self-serving views, so the author is probably someone who prides themselves on having a more humanist approach to problem-solving. The author is decidedly liberal, as their critical tone sounds a bit exasperated, so they've probably been left-leaning a lot of their life. The author also likely thinks they keep their promises better than Mr Trump, who "pivots" in matters such as keeping the borders safe.

question: What do you think is the reason Trump seemingly backpedaled on his previously somewhat-broadened ideas about immigration from Mexico to the US?

answer: It could be hazarded that Trump has a tendency to pander to his audience-at-present; the author points out he had been in Mexico praising the Mexican people right before delivering a speech that seemed to cater to the KKK and white supremacist groups. Another point the author brings up is that anything less than Trumps supposedly respected "anger" will make him seem soft in his convictions, and his voting base wants to believe in him as a strong American man.


text:
	2 bags
	Sometimes you stop retelling a story because people look at you like you're a liar. Some stories embody the unbelievable. Sometimes strange things happen and bare the cross of sneers and disbelief. This is such a story. It's really the last half that bears no resemblance to truth, yet there it is striving for the light of retelling, time and time again. It's a tale of stupidity, triumph and a tale of balls so large even Atlas himself refused to bare their weight. Atlas yelled No! No balls could be that huge. Being a friend of Bob's is exciting. He's got a lust for life like no one I’ve ever met. He is a gentle giant at 6'2” coming in at just under 225 lbs. We were both raised by hippie parents. A lax attitude towards drugs and drink got me into more trouble than I can tell in one tale.

	What I remember the most about speed is the sour smell of methamphetamine burning off of a broken piece of light bulb. I can still smell it from time to time, place to place. It's a smell you don't forget. The smell is a little like glue but not entirely. I was up all night smoking speed with this lunatic chick Vanda and about 4 creeps in her shitty East Van basement suite, low ceilings, no windows and lino in every room. Speed freaks are the worst kind of drug freak. Long time users go insane. I hate speed freaks, gib heads every last one of them. God invented heroin so that speed freaks and crack heads could have someone to look down on. The speed was running out and I reached for my heroin flap to come off of with. You don't want to take uppers without a downer. It evens everything out so you don't go through that awful sketch. I cannot find the flap. I can't find it anywhere. The four freaks finally start noticing I’m kind of panicking and rooting through the table and shit. I'm seriously freaking out now. Anxiety has me by the balls. One of these losers who have been smoking speed with us every step of the way asks what I'm looking for?

	“Hey buddy, what are you looking for?” he says.
	“I can't find my Heroin” I responded.
	The fucking speed freak has the goddamn nerve to look down his nose at me and says incredulously “Heroin? What the fuck man, that shit's for fucking losers!”
	I shoot back “You're a fucking meth head asshole, fuck off!”
	Well I guess that’s that. I'm removed from the meth party.

	Now trying to kick the heroin habit is a different beast. People look at you as if all it took was simple willpower. Just give it up they say. Get your shit together. I quit smoking, why can't you shake that monkey. Try to imagine the worst fear inducing anxiety you have ever had. Try to imagine going to a shrink telling them you think you might kill yourself from fear. Now imagine the sickest, most fucked up vomiting and diarrhea you ever had the misfortune of experienced and lump those two sick mother fuckers together in an unholy alliance of all that is shit and you might come close to Day 1 of kicking heroin. There's still 5 days to go just to get close to losing the every minute craving for sweet sweet smack, but you’re not done there. It's a couple of years before you get a full night sleep and stop twitching.

	I was one week into the bends when I hatched the idea to drive up to Kaslo to see Bob's brothers Sarsh and Cody. If I could just get out of this shitty Strathcona house for a couple of weeks I might just make it. It's November too and if you've lived in Vancouver in November you'll know it's the shittiest month in the calendar. Everyone is still clinging to that Van summer but the cold wet rains are pushing in on the delusion of sunshine like a boxer takes a punch to his chin. You gotta have a strong chin to live in this city from November to March.  I just need get out long enough and smoke some of that Kootenay weed and some dark delicious malt beverage.

		The idea of a geographical cure is that you get out of town for a couple of weeks, just enough time to get over the physical dependency of heroin. Heroin addiction is maddening. It drives people insane, if they weren't already.  It pushes you further and further in the direction of madness no matter where you start on the plane of sanity and madness.  Madness always wins the struggle.

	We would take my 82 Chevy Blazer, the one with the fiberglass roof and no roll bar, real fine American engineering. I bought this piece of shit off of an old boss for $500, worth every penny and but not a penny more. The tires were so worn out they looked like racing slicks. You could run your finger along the sidewall and not a bump to be found. Great winter tires for sure. The rear window was busted so I fashioned a piece of plywood to take its place. It would stay up as long as you had shit stacked against it and left the front driver side window down to push air up against the back of the truck. The passenger side seat belt was busted too, totally fucked.  She was a real beauty. A real Surrey Limo. I found a crack pipe and a coke vial in it a couple of weeks after I bought it. I guess the boss had a habit and wasn't too adept at cleaning up after his business. He lost his job because he was high all the time. I think he's in jail somewhere in Colorado for drug smuggling.

	It takes about 10 hours to drive from Vancouver to Kaslo. I wanted an early start so we wouldn't put too much pressure on the beast up through the Coast Mountains. They roads are sketchy at best, let alone in the middle of November. Problem with my plan was I wasn't traveling alone. Bob is always late, really fucking late. You have to count on at least 2 extra hours with Bob. I think I arrived at his mom's around 11am. He wasn't ready until 8pm that night. I'm one of those assholes that has to be early too, not on time but early. Bob and I butt heads constantly over this difference. He starts packing his stuff into the Blazer. I notice he has two giant garbage bags of shake weed he's trying to stuff into the back of the truck.
	I laugh and say “What the fuck is that for man?”
	“I'm making oil up there dude” he replies
	“Sweet, well then stuff that shit in man!” I laugh again.

	I take the first shift. I'd like to drive the whole way up. Bob scares the shit out of me when he drives. I think he still has a Noob on the back of his car. One word describes pretty much everything he does from driving to partying, RECKLESS. While I love it in every form, I hate it for driving.
Especially this shit box we're taking up one the most dangerous highways in the middle of the night.
But I can't stay awake for 10 hours tonight, I didn't prepare for it and I’m detoxing still and pretty shaky myself. We spark the ride the right way. Bob lights a spliff and cranks up the tunes. Good times a coming.

	We switch up at about 2am somewhere just outside of Castelgar, gorgeous little mountain town in its own right. Having no seat belt and a bucket seat make for a comfy sleep. I settle in for some much needed sleep. I awaken rather rudely to the Blazer shaking the shit out of itself!
	I yell “What the fuck man you're driving 130k in this piece of shit, you're going kill us both!”
	Bob yells back “CHILL OUT MAN! I got this, you worry too much. Just sit back and relax”
	“Dude this truck can't take this speed. You're vibrating the shit my truck”
	“Ya ya dude, relax, go back to sleep”

	Reluctantly I close my eyes and reluctantly Bob slows it down a notch. I'm guessing it's maybe 10mins later we hit what I found out later to be the S curves, a stretch of highway, outside Castlegar, windy as a snake and 300 foot drop off down to a lake or river or something. Now we are fucked. Right fucked in the ass. The truck starts rocking violently back and forth, side to side, up on one wheel and back to the other. You can bet this shit wakes me up. The truck slams against the right embankment like Thor’s hammer tossing the truck with ease upside down and in the direction of oncoming traffic. I make one last scream as my shoulder and head hit the fiberglass roof. “I GOT NO SEAT BELT!”
As soon as I hit the roof and I am thrown with such amazing force into the well where your feet usually reside. I have no idea how this happened but in that moment Bob reached over and grabbed me in that well, stopping me from flipping out the well and out the fucking window to my certain death. The truck slammed down on the driver side where the door meets the top side of the front windshield.  The fiberglass roof and no roll cage folded down with the structural integrity of a soggy pizza box, what a piece of shit death trap. If I had a seat belt on and Bob hadn't leaned way over to hold me down, keeping me in the feet well, he would have had his head crushed from the impact.  Bob had almost killed us both.  We skidded probably twenty feet across the highway upside down on the roof. I came to my senses moments after we stopped.  I started to crawl out of the truck, and the lights of a very large freight truck were coming up on us. Thankfully we came to full stop at the top of a long steep hill and the freight truck was driving Miss Daisy, otherwise we would have escaped the wreck just in time to be killed by an oncoming freight truck.

	I guess the truck driver radioed the authorities because it wasn't long before the ambulance arrived. The medics wanted to take me to the hospital. I had a pretty badly fucked up shoulder. I didn't really have a choice, my truck was toast. Bob stayed behind to greet the RCMP, while I took a ride to the hospital for what turned out to be an overnight stay.

	Finally this is where I usually end the story because the next part is ridiculous, brass fucking balls on that guy. The RCMP pull up and make sure no one's dead. They make sure Bob isn't loaded, which he isn't thankfully. Turns out the cop is pretty nice and offers Bob a ride to the hospital to meet up with me. She even offers to help bring some of our stuff from the accident in her cruiser. Bob and the Cop load up our bags, guitar and Bob calmly throws the TWO GARBAGE BAGS FULL OF WEED into the trunk of the RCMP cruiser. Shake doesn't have much smell to it like fully formed buds, nevertheless Bob threw two GARBAGE BAGS of weed into a cop car from a three am accident scene in the middle of fucking nowhere. The cop drove Bob, our stuff and two huge bags of weed from the accident to the hospital.

	Bob showed up around five am, the nurses are nice enough to give Bob a cot beside the hospital bed I’m in. Bob wakes me up.
	“How ya doing bro?” he asks.
	“I’m good man, just a really sore shoulder.” I respond wearily. “Did you grab my guitar man?”
	“Yep” Bob smirks
	“What happened?” I pull myself up, rubbing my eyes. “What the  ...”
	“Instead of tossing the two bags of weed, I put them in the trunk of the cop car!” He says with a huge shit eating grin.
	“Dude, you are fucking awesome” I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.

title: 2 bags

question: Summarize a social and health issue that can be found in the narrative.

answer: Recreation drug use is discussed in a non-discouraging way in the story. The narrator takes speed in the course of the story (and attempts to take some heroin afterwards) and it is implied that the narrator has taken drugs on numerous occasions due to their upbringing. Taking weed is also mentioned. In the course of the story, the narrator's friend Bob has smoked marijuana as they go for a long drive which ends in accident when Bob is behind the wheel. While his reckless driving is mentioned to be intrinsic to his character, it is not clarified how much of his skills has been affected by the weed.


text:
**I'd very much appreciate feedback on this story**

**Broken Souls**

Sometimes I wake up and I feel like there’s a massive hole in my chest. I feel weighed down and nauseous from the rocking boat of a life that I live, It’s like everything I touch dies. My friends, my family, anybody I’ve ever loved really. I’d love to say that this story is about meeting someone that changes that all, but it’s far from it.
I grew up in London, the financial capital of England where dreams come true and money talks, and all the fuckers who live here are so diseased inside their rotten apple of materialistic consumption that their hearts are probably full of worms. The people I grew around weren’t particularly nice and had a sort of passion for making lives of the 1% a living nightmare, but that’s okay because they’re broken.  See we’re all broken in our own way, every one of us. Even those who think that their life is great with their boyfriends or girlfriends and wives and husbands; they’re all broken.People and love are like lines, the parallel lines have so much in common. They both are heading in the same direction, they both possess the same mathematical properties. But they never meet. Ever. But you know some lines cross each other briefly...but they drift apart forever and they will never meet again. Ever.

Like the parallel lines, thankfully me and the arseholes at my secondary school won’t ever meet again which gives me a slight sense of optimism. So I was onto sixth form, with a clear image of a new change in my my head I was actually looking forward to going to sixth form for the first few months. The people there were nice, the stuff we learnt was interesting, and they’re weren’t too many apes with sagging tracksuits asking if I’m “Dizzy fam”. It was good, and the best part was there was actually a girl in my Biology class who was amazing. She was funny, cute and actually had a good taste in music. I talked to her days in and days out and was most definitely falling in love, how couldn’t I?! She was, in my eyes, absolutely perfect.

But you know, some fairy tales don’t end with a happily ever after.

It was a day I’d never forget, I had planned it thoroughly. We went out for coffee, just me and her, and we talked for hours on end, about her friends, about my friends. And I decided to do it and tell her how I felt. I mean that’s what you do right? If you love someone you tell them you love them, and everything will be fine.
She tore my heart apart.
She didn’t love me.
She had a fucking boyfriend, and decided that she didn’t want to tell me. Hell they’re fucking engaged already. ENGAGED.
That killed me, I went home that day and cut and cried and cut and cried. She meant everything to me, I loved her with every fucking inch of my beaten up fucking heart and she hid the most important fucking thing that could have saved me a shiton of heart ache.

So here I am...I suppose every end needs a reason to end right?
Well here’s mine.
Broken Souls

Sometimes I wake up and I feel like there’s a massive hole in my chest. I feel weighed down and nauseous from the rocking boat of a life that I live, It’s like everything I touch dies. My friends, my family, anybody I’ve ever loved really. I’d love to say that this story is about meeting someone that changes that all, but it’s far from it.
I grew up in London, the financial capital of England where dreams come true and money talks, and all the fuckers who live here are so diseased inside their rotten apple of materialistic consumption that their hearts are probably full of worms. The people I grew around weren’t particularly nice and had a sort of passion for making lives of the 1% a living nightmare, but that’s okay because they’re broken.  See we’re all broken in our own way, every one of us. Even those who think that their life is great with their boyfriends or girlfriends and wives and husbands; they’re all broken.People and love are like lines, the parallel lines have so much in common. They both are heading in the same direction, they both possess the same mathematical properties. But they never meet. Ever. But you know some lines cross each other briefly...but they drift apart forever and they will never meet again. Ever.

Like the parallel lines, thankfully me and the arseholes at my secondary school won’t ever meet again which gives me a slight sense of optimism. So I was onto sixth form, with a clear image of a new change in my my head I was actually looking forward to going to sixth form for the first few months. The people there were nice, the stuff we learnt was interesting, and they’re weren’t too many apes with sagging tracksuits asking if I’m “Dizzy fam”. It was good, and the best part was there was actually a girl in my Biology class who was amazing. She was funny, cute and actually had a good taste in music. I talked to her days in and days out and was most definitely falling in love, how couldn’t I?! She was, in my eyes, absolutely perfect.

But you know, some fairy tales don’t end with a happily ever after.

It was a day I’d never forget, I had planned it thoroughly. We went out for coffee, just me and her, and we talked for hours on end, about her friends, about my friends. And I decided to do it and tell her how I felt. I mean that’s what you do right? If you love someone you tell them you love them, and everything will be fine.
She tore my heart apart.
She didn’t love me.
She had a fucking boyfriend, and decided that she didn’t want to tell me. Hell they’re fucking engaged already. ENGAGED.
That killed me, I went home that day and cut and cried and cut and cried. She meant everything to me, I loved her with every fucking inch of my beaten up fucking heart and she hid the most important fucking thing that could have saved me a shiton of heart ache.

So here I am...I suppose every end needs a reason to end right?
Well here’s mine.

title: Broken Souls

question: What happens to the narrator in this story?

answer: The narrator explains that he a broken soul who has had his heart broken by the one girls he has ever loved.

question: Describe the narrator's perspective on the world.

answer: The narrator is of the belief that everyone is broken and everyone is terrible. The narrator is also a self-harmer with little regard for those around him.

question: How does the girl in te story break the narrator's heart?

answer: She explains she has a fiance and doesnät feel the same way.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: An edgy young man explains how he feels about the world after a girl breaks his heart.


text:
CROSBY COUNTY is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 6,059.[1] The county seat is Crosbyton.[2] The county was founded in 1876 and later organized in 1886.[3] Both the county and its seat are named for Stephen Crosby, a land commissioner in Texas.

Crosby County, along with Lubbock and Lynn Counties, is part of the Lubbock Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The Lubbock MSA and Levelland Micropolitan Statistical Area (µSA), encompassing only Hockley County, form the larger Lubbock–Levelland Combined Statistical Area.

Until the passage of a referendum to permit liquor sales, held on May 11, 2013, Crosby County had been one of 19 remaining prohibition or entirely dry counties within Texas.[4] That same day, voters in Denver City and Yoakum County also approved separate referenda to permit liquor sales. The number of prohibition counties in Texas has hence dropped to 17.[5] Part of the large Matador Ranch of West Texas extends into the county.[6] Republican Drew Springer, Jr., a businessman from Muenster in Cooke County, has since January 2013 represented Crosby County in the Texas House of Representatives.[7]

History

Around 11,000 BC, Paleo-Indians were the first inhabitants. Archeological artifacts indicate hunter-gatherers hunted the mammoth, mastodon, saber-toothed cat, and giant ground sloth. Later Native American inhabitants included the Comanche.[8] In 1871, Ranald S. Mackenzie fought Quanah Parker and other Comanches at the Battle of Blanco Canyon. The campaign established the Mackenzie Trail used by the first settlers in Crosby County in the late 1870s.[9]

The Texas Legislature formed Crosby County from Young and Bexar districts in 1876.[10] Bavarian Heinrich Schmidtt (Henry “Hank” Clay Smith) and his wife Elizabeth Boyle and their six children became the first permanent settlers in the area in 1878; Hank was active in the county's organization.[11][12][13]

Confederate veteran Paris Cox first visited the Caprock Escarpment of the Llano Estacado with a group of buffalo hunters in 1879.[14] Estacado was named the county seat in 1886.[15] By 1900, the beef industry was thriving, supporting 30,618 head.[16]

In 1908, the Bar-N-Bar Ranch began selling acreage to farmers.[17]

Crosbyton became the new county seat in 1910.[18] Some in the county were planted in cotton, and 15,000 apple and peach trees were growing in the county in 1920.[19] By 1929, farmers owned 83,000 chickens and sold 395,000 dozen eggs that year.[20]

The first soil conservation district in the county was formed[21] in 1941. In 1955, oil was discovered in the county.[22]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (0.2%) are covered by water.[23]

Major highways

-   [] U.S. Highway 62
-   [] [] U.S. Highway 82/State Highway 114
-   [] State Highway 207

Adjacent counties

-   Floyd County (north)
-   Dickens County (east)
-   Garza County (south)
-   Lubbock County (west)

Geographic features

-   Blanco Canyon
-   White River, Silver Falls
-   Mount Blanco
-   Caprock Escarpment

Demographics

As of the census[24] of 2000, 7,072 people, 2,512 households, and 1,866 families resided in the county. The population density was eight people per square mile. The 3,202 housing units averaged four per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 63.77% White, 3.89% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 0.03% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 29.89% from other races, and 1.81% from two or more races. About 48.93% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 2,512 households, 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.0% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.7% were not families. About 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.30.

In the county, the population was distributed as 30.7% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $25,769, and for a family was $29,891. Males had a median income of $23,775 versus $17,229 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,445. About 22.6% of families and 28.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.6% of those under age 18 and 22.7% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

-   Crosbyton
-   Lorenzo
-   Ralls

Unincorporated communities

-   Cone
-   Kalgary

Ghost towns

-   Canyon Valley
-   Estacado (partly in Lubbock County)

Gallery

File:Mt Blanco 2005.jpg|Mount Blanco File:Blanco Canyon in Crosby County Texas 2009.jpg|Blanco Canyon File:Llano_Estacado_Caprock_Escarpment_south_of_Ralls_TX_2009.jpg|Caprock Escarpment south of Ralls

Politics

  Year                               Republican                                  Democratic                                  Third parties
  ---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- ----------------------------
  style=“text-align:center;” |2016   style=“text-align:center;” |68.3% _1,181_   style=“text-align:center;” |27.1% _468_     4.6% _79_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2012   style=“text-align:center;” |63.4% _1,132_   style=“text-align:center;” |35.8% _639_     0.9% _16_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2008   style=“text-align:center;” |63.8% _1,221_   style=“text-align:center;” |35.7% _684_     0.5% _9_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2004   style=“text-align:center;” |72.4% _1,647_   style=“text-align:center;” |27.3% _622_     0.3% _6_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2000   style=“text-align:center;” |63.4% _1,270_   style=“text-align:center;” |35.2% _705_     1.4% _27_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1996   style=“text-align:center;” |42.3% _968_     style=“text-align:center;” |49.1% _1,122_   8.6% _197_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1992   style=“text-align:center;” |43.1% _1,006_   style=“text-align:center;” |43.3% _1,010_   13.7% _319_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1988   style=“text-align:center;” |43.8% _1,121_   style=“text-align:center;” |56.0% _1,435_   0.2% _6_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1984   style=“text-align:center;” |52.9% _1,376_   style=“text-align:center;” |46.6% _1,212_   0.4% _11_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1980   style=“text-align:center;” |48.5% _1,361_   style=“text-align:center;” |50.2% _1,408_   1.3% _37_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1976   style=“text-align:center;” |29.0% _897_     style=“text-align:center;” |70.4% _2,176_   0.6% _19_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1972   style=“text-align:center;” |59.2% _1,503_   style=“text-align:center;” |40.2% _1,021_   0.7% _17_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1968   style=“text-align:center;” |30.5% _865_     style=“text-align:center;” |55.4% _1,574_   14.1% _401_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1964   style=“text-align:center;” |21.1% _611_     style=“text-align:center;” |78.8% _2,278_   0.1% _3_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1960   style=“text-align:center;” |33.1% _889_     style=“text-align:center;” |66.5% _1,783_   0.4% _11_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1956   style=“text-align:center;” |28.0% _704_     style=“text-align:center;” |71.8% _1,804_   0.2% _6_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1952   style=“text-align:center;” |40.5% _1,053_   style=“text-align:center;” |59.6% _1,550_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1948   style=“text-align:center;” |8.1% _168_      style=“text-align:center;” |83.7% _1,731_   8.2% _170_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1944   style=“text-align:center;” |9.5% _201_      style=“text-align:center;” |79.5% _1,691_   11.1% _235_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1940   style=“text-align:center;” |13.8% _276_     style=“text-align:center;” |85.9% _1,720_   0.3% _6_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1936   style=“text-align:center;” |8.2% _153_      style=“text-align:center;” |91.6% _1,711_   0.2% _3_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1932   style=“text-align:center;” |6.4% _108_      style=“text-align:center;” |93.6% _1,590_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1928   style=“text-align:center;” |58.0% _1,004_   style=“text-align:center;” |42.0% _728_     style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1924   style=“text-align:center;” |17.9% _278_     style=“text-align:center;” |79.9% _1,242_   2.2% _34_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1920   style=“text-align:center;” |18.7% _146_     style=“text-align:center;” |73.2% _572_     8.2% _64_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1916   style=“text-align:center;” |5.8% _31_       style=“text-align:center;” |85.6% _456_     8.6% _46_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1912   style=“text-align:center;” |2.4% _7_        style=“text-align:center;” |83.7% _247_     13.9% _41_

  : PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS RESULTS[25]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

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[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

title: Crosby County, Texas

question: Summarize Crosby County's economic transition from hunting and gathering to fossil fuel exploration.

answer:
Crosby County is located in the United States' state of Texas. The county is old and archeological artifacts indicated that its residents were hunter-gatherers who hunted the mammoth, saber-toothed cat and the giant ground sloth. The Native American Comanche also resided on the land until the 1871 battle with S. Mackenzie.

By 1900, Crosby County's main economic industry was beef, supporting around 30,618 of its inhabitants. By 1910, the county expanded its economic interest when some of its farmers started growing apples and peach as well as raising chickens and selling their eggs. Oil was discovered in the area around 1955.

question: Summarize the population breakdown of Crosby County.

answer: The census of 2000 gave the Crosby County population at 7072 with a density of eight people per square mile. Racially the county is 63.7% White, 3.89% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, and 30% other races. The average income for a household is $25,769. Males had a median income of $23,775 and females had $17,229.


text:
**Void**

 “Mom, I’m cold.”

“I know honey, but try to bear it a little bit longer.”

“But it’s too cold.”

“Yes honey, it is, but fire’s going to catch up any time now, don’t worry. We’ll get warm soon.” As if her plea has been heard, the fire came to life with the shyness of a little girl; it fluttered thinly, as if it’s not sure to burn or not. She fed some more scrap paper to it, her face sulking, to convince the fire to stay. Soon enough it  got hot enough for wood pieces to get consumed in the orange, blistering flame.

She wasn't happy however; what little wood they had left she would have to use this time to get warmed enough for the night. Her son read the sadness on her face.

“Mom, these are the last of the bookshelves right?”

“Hmm? Ah, yes honey, they are.”

“What are we going to burn tomorrow then mom? There are no chairs or tables left either, and we can’t burn the doors because it keeps the cold out. There are only books left, mom.”

“No” she said unhesitating. “We can’t burn the books honey because they are all we have left. You know we don’t have electricity anymore, or computers. What will we leave behind if we burn the books? They are all that is left of us, they are all there is…”

Unconvinced; “But mom, what are we going to burn tomorrow then? It will be too cold again.”

“I know honey, but don’t you worry about that, mom will find a way. Mom always does, right?”

He said “Yes mom”, giving up.

“Do you want me to read you a story?” she asked to her frightened son.

“I want to play with my Gameboy…”

Startled by his response, she said “But sweety, you know it doesn't work anymore, don’t you remember? None of them works after the sun.”

Getting sleepy with the heat of the fire seeping into his bones through his thick furry clothes, he asked groggily; “Why did it happen, mom? Why did the sun become strange?”

“No one knows honey, nobody could figure out what happened. Not after it had happened, anyway”, she said to herself. Nothing electronic worked after it. Some said it was a sun flare, that burned every electronic on the earth, others said it was something in the earth that did it. But nobody really knew; without computers, all we had left were our eyes but they were not enough to see what was beyond our ability. All they knew was that something bad happened. And that they had to take care of themselves. She was tired, and the memories were not helping either. Looking at her son, she noticed that he was fast asleep. His cheeks were flushed and his body tired. He was still trembling a little, she noticed. The fire was burning too quickly, and not warming enough.

“It’s getting colder again” she thought.

At this rate fire would consume every little bit of wood they had. It hurt her to see her son suffer like this. She cursed the sun over and over again. But more than anything, she cursed herself for not being able to protect her son like a mother should. She was supposed to be his guardian angel but now his presence made him one for her. Was it her fault that they couldn't find a better place to live? Library was ransacked and it had supported migrants for a long time. There wasn't too much left in it to burn when they arrived. At first she thought it would be enough, that the library would sustain them until she found a better shelter. But she now saw that she was wrong, very wrong. The cold came in with a rush like water breaking out of a dam. As if it were filled with rage and contempt against the earth, took every living thing it could find on it. It was getting colder and colder every day; in the first weeks, she could go outside to find more food and supplies, but soon it become so cold that people started to freeze the minute they went out.  Thermometers stopped working after a while. Actually, they probably did but she couldn't find one that showed below minus 50^o C. The sun was getting smaller and smaller each day in the sky, and now they could only see it just a couple of hours every day. It was no bigger than a tennis ball whereas it should be more like a football. Last of the others left them 2 weeks ago for the southern cities, telling her that this place won't be survivable in a month but she didn't want to risk the travel for her little boy. She wasn't sure if it would be warmer anywhere else in the world and. The place of the sun seemed strange in the sky; it wasn't where it was supposed to be. Everyone thought that the sun was dying, that somehow the flare was its last breath. She was not sure about that either. She felt like they were getting farther and farther away from the sun. As if they were floating away in the empty space. Somehow this explanation made much more sense to her, because she knew that the coldest place has always been the void. Being sucked into nothingness was a frightening idea for her, to a place devoid of anything and everything but the cold.

She was in such a place once. Hers was a bit different but the similar at the same time. There was a time where she ignored every bit of knowledge and refused to let go one idea, one cold and ever hungry belief, but not for the sake of herself, instead for the sake of the idea itself. Looking back now, she could see how lonely a place that was, and how cold. Things scared her in there because she could not understand them; she cursed them and ran away every time. But she knew better now, she could see how foolish she was; the more she read, the more enlightened her mind became, and with the enlightenment came the understanding. Knowledge shined in her, warmed her, and protected her. Without it, she was only a shell, made to hold, confine, just one idea, which was not even hers in the first place. Those times of hate and ignorance were too lonely for her and too cold. This was a similar cold; being left outside, kept out of the loop, not knowing anything… Fear enveloped her again like it did many a night. She held her son closer to scare away the ghosts. Sleep took over her, weighing her body down. Closing her eyes, she drifted away with the trickle of flame tickling her.

When she woke up it was cold, colder than it was ever before. Fire was long out. She checked her watch to see that it was about midday. Her mind still clouded by the sleep and cold, it took her a few seconds to realize that something was wrong. It was still dark outside, too dark to call it a day. She checked her watch to be sure again, only to find that she was right the first time. Her son was still sleeping she found, and got up without waking him. Her hands and feet were like icicles and her joints screamed with pain at every step. She went to the window to see what was wrong. Maybe, she thought, maybe the snow covered the windows at last and that was why it was so dark. To her sorrow, she found otherwise. She could see the sky; it was clear and filled with stars, not a speck of cloud. But the sun was nowhere to be seen. It wasn't in the place it was supposed to be. But she knew better, they were the ones in the wrong place. Earth wasn't in its right orbit, the stars were all wrong; she was right all along. But knowing didn't change anything this time. The Void was where they were, and cold it was. It was getting harder to breathe; every time she inhaled the cold air, it stung her lungs like a thousand needles. She immediately went to her son and started to shake him. Gently at first and then much more frantically. She feared the worst but then slowly, he started to wake up. Relief took over her for a moment but grief took its place soon enough. She knew that it was close, soon she would have to accept the inevitable, but it hurt nonetheless. Unhappy of the disturbance, he opened his eyes.

“Mom?”

“Yes honey, yes sweety, it’s me.”

“Mom, I’m cold”

“I know honey…” she said, not knowing what else to say.

“But it’s too cold.”

The pain of the moment was unbearable for her. Instinctively she grabbed him and held him against her chest.

“It’s ok honey, mommy’s warm, come on gimme a big hug.” And that he did. After staying like that for quite a while, it was her son who broke the silence.

“Mom, I’m sleepy, can you read me a story?”

“But we woke up just now, sweety, we shouldn't sleep too much, we can’t…”

“It’s ok mom, times goes faster when we sleep, I like sleeping.” She was crying now, not tears but droplets of ice, forming the moment they left her eyes. Even crying hurt, she found to her amazement.

“Ok then honey, what do you want me to read, hmm?”

“I don’t know, you pick one.” That made her smile.

“I should pick?” she answered, pointing to the thousands of books lined all around them like a fortress, sheltering them from the cold. “…how can I pick from all these books?”

“I don’t know, I didn't read any of it, you did.” he said knowingly. “Anyone is ok mom, but pick a nice one please.” And that she did. She picked a book filled with wonders and magic, dragons and kings, warmth and love. She read to him, captivated by it herself. Time passed and the cold seemed to stay away. When she was tired she stopped and looked at her son. He was peacefully sleeping, she told herself. She was at peace too, knowing that his dreams were filled with warmth just like the books. She kissed his cheek and said.

“Tomorrow, we will go to a warm place, I promise.”

title: [RF? MF?] Void

question: Summarize the aftermath of what happened to the sun.

answer: After what happened with the sun, all electronics ceased to work. This also caused it to get colder as the sun got further and further away in the sky.

question: Summarize everything related to books.

answer: At the start of the story, the mom assures her son that they will not burn the books on the bookshelves, even though they are they only fuel they have left for the fire. When her son feels sleepy, he asks her to read her a story and she picks up a book filled with magic, dragons, and kings.

question: What does the story say about casualties?