text:
RADICAL DEMOCRACY is a type of democracy that advocates the radical extension of equality and liberty.[1] Radical democracy is concerned with a radical extension of equality and freedom, following the idea that democracy is an un-finished, inclusive, continuous and reflexive process.[2]

Theories

Within radical democracy there are three distinct strands, as articulated by Lincoln Dahlberg.[3] These strands can be labeled as deliberative, agonistic and autonomist.

The first and most noted strand of radical democracy is the agonistic perspective, which is associated with the work of Laclau and Mouffe. Radical democracy was articulated by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe in their book _Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics_, written in 1985. They argue that social movements which attempt to create social and political change need a strategy which challenges neoliberal and neoconservative concepts of democracy.[4] This strategy is to expand the liberal definition of democracy, based on freedom and equality, to include difference.[5]

According to Laclau and Mouffe “Radical democracy” means “the root of democracy”.[6] Laclau and Mouffe claim that liberal democracy and deliberative democracy, in their attempts to build consensus, oppress differing opinions, races, classes, genders, and worldviews.[7] In the world, in a country, and in a social movement there are many (a plurality of) differences which resist consensus. Radical democracy is not only accepting of difference, dissent and antagonisms, but is dependent on it.[8] Laclau and Mouffe argue based on the assumption that there are oppressive power relations that exist in society and that those oppressive relations should be made visible, re-negotiated and altered.[9] By building democracy around difference and dissent, oppressive power relations existing in societies are able to come to the forefront so that they can be challenged.[10]

The second strand, deliberative, is mostly associated with the work of Jürgen Habermas. This strand of radical democracy is opposed to the agonistic perspective of Laclau and Mouffe. Habermas argues that political problems surrounding the organization of life can be resolved by deliberation.[11] That is, people coming together and deliberating on the best possible solution. This type of radical democracy is in contrast with the agonistic perspective based on consensus and communicative means: there is a reflexive critical process of coming to the best solution.[12] Equality and freedom are at the root of Habermas´ deliberative theory. The deliberation is established through institutions that can ensure free and equal participation of all.[13] Habermas is aware of the fact that different cultures, world-views and ethics can lead to difficulties in the deliberative process. Despite this fact he argues that the communicative reason can create a bridge between opposing views and interests.[14]

The third strand of radical democracy is the autonomist strand, which is associated with left-communist and post-Marxist ideas. The difference between this type of radical democracy and the two noted above is the focus on “the community.”[15] The community is seen as the pure constituted power instead of the deliberative rational individuals or the agonistic groups as in the first two strands. The community resembles a “plural multitude” (of people) instead of the working class in traditional Marxist theory.[16] This plural multitude is the pure constituted power and reclaims this power by searching and creating mutual understandings within the community.[17] This strand of radical democracy challenges the traditional thinking about equality and freedom in liberal democracies by stating that individual equality can be found in the singularities within the multitude, equality overall is created by an all-inclusive multitude and freedom is created by restoring the multitude in its pure constituted power.[18] This strand of radical democracy is often a term used to refer to the post-Marxist perspectives of Italian radicalism - for example Paolo Virno.

Theorists

Agonistic perspective

-   William E. Connolly - Connoly is associated with his promotion of an agonistic democracy. An agonistic democracy is focused on contestation rather than on rational consensus.[19] The discourse is not violence-based, but engages different aspects of political conflict. According to Connoly an agonistic democracy is based on a term he calls ¨agonistic respect¨, which allows people to honor different sources and conflicting opinions.[20]
-   Ernesto Laclau - Associated with the agonistic strand of radical democracy as articulated in _Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics._
-   Chantal Mouffe - Associated with the agonistic strand of radical democracy as articulated in _Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics._
-   Roberto Mangabeira Unger - Roberto Mangabeira Unger argues that society does not emerge from consensus, compromising and looking for the best option, but from struggle and political contestation.[21] Unger is a proponent of the vision of an empowered democracy, which would involve radical changes at politics in the centre. These changes would involve more social institutions in which everyone can interact, discuss and effectively empower themselves to drastically change economic, political and social circumstances.[22]
-   Sheldon S. Wolin - Wolin's political thought clearly aligns with the ideal of an participatory democracy.[23] Wolin was the first in articulating the idea of a ¨fugitive democracy¨ in which democracy is a political experience and the ordinary people are the primary political actors. Wolin challenged consensus and can therefore be position within the agonistic perspective of radical democracy.[24]

Autonomist perspective

-   Cornel West - West describes himself as a radical democrat and a non-Marxist socialist, which positions him in the critical post-Marxist strand of radical democracy.[25]
-   Raya Dunayevskaya - Associated with the critical post-Marxist strand of radical democracy.
-   Paolo Virno - Figurehead for the Italian Autonomist Marxist movement.

Criticism

Agonistic perspective

Laclau and Mouffe have argued for radical agonistic democracy, where different opinions and worldviews are not oppressed by the search for consensus in liberal and deliberative democracy. As this agonistic perspective has been most influential in academic literature, it has been subject to most criticisms on the idea of radical democracy. Brockelman for example argues that the theory of radical democracy is an Utopian idea.[26] Political theory, he argues, should not be used as offering a vision of a desirable society. In the same vein, it is argued that radical democracy might be useful at the local level, but does not offer a realistic perception of decision-making on the national level.[27] For example, people might know what they want to see changing in their town and feel the urge to participate in the decision-making process of future local policy. Developing an opinion about issues at the local level often does not require specific skills or education. Deliberation in order to combat the problem of groupthink, in which the view of the majority dominates over the view of the minority, can be useful in this setting. However, people might not be skilled enough or willing to decide about national or international problems. A radical democracy approach for overcoming the flaws of democracy is, it is argued, not suitable for levels higher than the local one.

Deliberative perspective

Habermas and Rawls have argued for radical deliberative democracy, where consensus and communicative means are at the root of politics. However, some scholars identify multiple tensions between participation and deliberation. Three of these tensions are identified by Joshua Cohen, a student of the philosopher John Rawls:[28]

1.  Wanting to improve the quality of deliberation can be at the expense of public participation. In this case, representatives and legislators are more focused on argumentation and deliberation than on seeking to advance the interests of their constituents. By focusing on reasonable deliberation the interests of particular constituents can be underrepresented.[29]
2.  Conversely, seeking to maximize the public participation can be at the expense of the quality of deliberation. Maximize public participation can be accomplished by popular initiatives like referendums. Referendums however allows people to decide on an important topic with an yes/no vote. By using a yes/no vote people can be discouraged to engage in a reasoned discussion in creating legislation. It is also argued that through maximizing public participation, manipulation and suppression become present.[30]
3.  Deliberation depends on sufficient knowledge and interests from all participants as well as adequate and easy accessible information. On many important issues however, the number of participators with sufficient knowledge is rather limited and thus the quality of deliberation declines when more uninformed participants enter the discussion.[31]

Radical democracy and colonialism

Because of radical democracy's focus on difference, and challenging oppressive power relations, it has been seen as conducive to post-colonial theory and decolonization. However, the concept of radical democracy is seen in some circles as colonial in nature due to its reliance on a western notion of democracy.[32] It is argued that liberal democracy is viewed by the West as the only legitimate form of governance.[33] Spreading liberal democracy through international law as a condition for recognition from and trade with the West, can be seen as a form of new, informal imperialism. Radical democracy theory is criticized for being situated in this kind of Western modernity perspective. In their attempt of prescribing an ideal society, radical democracy theorists do not create a new kind, but rather reinvent the Western dominant tradition of liberal democracy. Also, radical democracy challenges consensus decision-making processes which are essential to many indigenous governing practices.[34]

Re-interpretations and adaptations

Since Laclau and Mouffe argued for a radical democracy, many other theorists and practitioners have adapted and changed the term.[35] For example, bell hooks and Henry Giroux have all written about the application of radical democracy in education. In Hook´s book _Teaching to Transgress: Education as the practice of freedom_ she argues for education where educators teach students to go beyond the limits imposed against racial, sexual and class boundaries in order to “achieve the gift of freedom”.[36] Paulo Freire's work, although initiated decades before Laclau and Mouffe, can also be read through similar lenses.[37][38][39] Theorists such as Paul Chatterton and Richard JF Day have written about the importance of radical democracy within some of the autonomous movements in Latin America (namely the EZLN—Zapatista Army of National Liberation in Mexico, the MST—Landless Workers' Movement in Brazil, and the Piquetero—Unemployed Workers Movement in Argentina) although the term radical democracy is used differently in these contexts.[40][41]

Radical democracy and the internet

With the rise of the internet in the years after the development of various strands of radical democracy theory, the relationship between the internet and the theory has been increasingly focussed upon. The internet is regarded as an important aspect of radical democracy, as it provides a means for communication which is central to every approach to the theory.

The internet is believed to reinforce both the theory of radical democracy and the actual possibility of radical democracy through three distinct ways:[42]

1.  The internet provides a platform for further discussion about radical democracy, thus contributing to the theory's development;
2.  The internet allows new political communities and democratic cultures to emerge that challenge the existing political ideas;
3.  The internet strengthens the voice of minority groups.

This last point refers to the concept of a _radical public sphere_ where voice in the political debate is given to otherwise oppressed or marginalized groups.[43] Approached from the radical democracy theory, the expression of such views on the internet can be understood as online activism. In current liberal representative democracies, certain voices and interests are always favoured above others. Through online activism, excluded opinions and views can still be articulated. In this way, activists contribute to the ideal of a heterogeneity of positions. However, the digital age does not necessarily contribute to the notion of radical democracy. Social media platforms possess the opportunity of shutting down certain, often radical, voices. This is counterproductive to radical democracy [44]

Contemporary mass movements committed to radical democracy

-   The EZLN – Zapatista Army of National Liberation in Mexico: a far-left militant and political group. Their ideology is based on their aspiration to execute politics in a bottom-up, rather than top-down way.[45] The group has presented several laws in 1994, including laws to advance women's position in the country.[46]
-   The MST – Landless Workers' Movement in Brazil: a social movement that aims at land reform to make land ownership more accessible for the poor. It claims to seek to achieve this goal through combating social issues such as racism, sexism and skewed income distributions.[47]
-   The Piqueteros – Unemployed Workers Movement in Argentina.
-   The Abahlali baseMjondolo – shack dwellers' movement in South Africa.
-   The Socialist Party USA[48] this party was founded in 1973. It claims to be opposed to all forms of oppression, and to seek to create a “non-racist, classless, feminist and socialist society”.[49]
-   JungdemokratInnen/Junge Linke (translated Young Democrats/Young Left,JD/JL) - a left-wing political youth organization in Germany and the former youth wing of a liberal party called FDP.
-   Radical Democracy Party (United States) – was an abolitionist and anti-Confederate political party in the United States.
-   Radical Democracy Party (Chile) – Chilean Centre-right political party created in 1969, and disbanded in 1990.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6] Dahlberg, L. (2012). Radical Democracy: 2.

[7]

[8]

[9] Laclau, E and Mouffe, C. (1985). _Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics_, Verso: London.

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

[29]

[30]

[31]

[32] Dhaliwal, A. (1996). _Can the Subaltern Vote? Radical Democracy, Discourses of Representation and Rights, and Questions of Race._ In Trend, D. (ed.) Radical Democracy: Identity, Citizenship, and the State (pp. 42-61). New York: Routledge.

[33] Janet Conway & Jakeet Singh (2011) Radical Democracy in Global Perspective: notes from the pluriverse, Third World Quarterly, 32:4, 689-706, DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2011.570029

[34]

[35] Dahlberg, L. (2012). Radical Democracy: 2.

[36]

[37] Freire, P. (2004). _Pedagogy of Hope: Reliving Pedagogy of the Oppressed_. New York: Continuum.

[38] hooks, b. (1996). _Representation and Democracy: An Interview_. In Trend, D. (ed.) Radical Democracy: Identity, Citizenship, and the State (pp. 228-236). New York: Routledge.

[39] Giroux, H. (1996). _Pedagogy and Radical Democracy in the Age of “Political Correctness”_. In Trend, D. (ed.) Radical Democracy: Identity, Citizenship, and the State (pp. 179-194). New York: Routledge.

[40] Chatterton, P. _Making Autonomous Geographies: Argentina’s Popular Uprising and the ‘Movimiento de Traebajadores Desocupados (Unemployed Workers Movement)_, Geoforum, (2005), Volume 36, Issue 5, pp. 545-61.

[41] Day, R. (2005). _Gramsci Is Dead: Anarchist Currents in the Newest Social Movements_. Between the lines: Toronto. p. 195

[42]

[43]

[44]

[45] “The Zapatista's Return: A Masked Marxist on the Stump”

[46] “EZLN—Women's Revolutionary Law”. Flag.blackened.net. Retrieved 2013-10-29.

[47] “Nossos objetivos”. MST page, “Archived copy”. Archived from the original on 2012-09-02. Retrieved 2012-09-01.. Retrieved September 1, 2012

[48] _Socialism as Radical Democracy _ -- Statement of Principles of the Socialist Party USA (accessed 14 May 2008).

[49] “Socialism As Radical Democracy: Statement of Principles of the Socialist Party USA”. Socialist Party USA. Retrieved July 6, 2018.

title: Radical democracy

question: What does the text say about Pastafarians?

question: What does the text say about Radical Democracy?

answer: Radical Democracy is a type of democracy that supports the radical extension of liberty and equality. Radical democracy is concerned with a radical extension of freedom and equality following the idea that democracy is an unfinished, continuous, inclusive, and reflective process. There are three distinct "strands" or theories within radical democracy as articulated by Lincoln Dahlberg, namely autonomist, agnostic, and deliberative.

question: What does the text say about the agnostic perspective?

answer: The agnostic perspective is the first and most noted strand of radical democracy. It is associated with the work of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe. They argue that social movements which attempt to create social and political change need a strategy that challenges neoconservative and liberal concepts of democracy to expand the liberal definition of democracy based on equality and freedom. According to Laclau and Mouffe, "Radical democracy" means the "root of democracy". They claim that liberal democracy and deliberative democracy oppress differing opinions, classes, races, genders, and worldviews. Radical democracy is dependent on these differences, dissent, and antagonisms. They argue that there are oppressive power relations that exist in society and that these should be made visible, altered, and re-negotiated. Building democracy around dissent and difference brings oppressive power relations existing in societies to the forefront so they can be challenged.

question: What does the text say about the deliberative perspective?

answer: The deliberative perspective is the second strand of radical democracy mostly associated with the work of Jürgen Habermas. This strand is opposed to the agnostic perspective of Laclau and Mouffe. Habermas argues that political problems that surround an organization can be resolved by deliberation - people coming together and deliberating on the best possible solution. This perspective contrasts with the agnostic perspective based on communication and consensus means. There is a reflective critical process of coming to the best solution. Freedom and equality are the roots of Habermas' deliberative theory. The deliberation is established through institutions that can ensure equal and free participation for all. Habermas is aware that there are different cultures, ethics, and world-views that can lead to issues in the deliberative process, but argues that communicative reason can create a bridge between opposing views.

question: What does the text say about the autonomous strand?

answer: The autonomous strand is the third strand of radical democracy. It is associated with left-communist and post-Marxist ideas. "The Community" is what differentiates this strand from the first two because the community is seen as the pure constituted power instead of the deliberative rational individuals or the agnostic groups. The community resembles a "plural multitude" of people instead of a working-class in traditional Marxist theory. This plural is pure constituted power and reclaims this power by searching and creating mutual understandings within the community. The autonomous strand challenges the traditional thinking about freedom and equality in liberal democracies. It states that individual equality can be found in the singularities within the multitude. Overall equality is created by an all-inclusive multitude and freedom is created by restoring the multitude in its pure constituted power. This strand of radical democracy is often used to refer to the post-Marxist perspectives of Italian radicalism.


split: test

text:
[]
Warriors returned from the Scattering - Heretics of Dune french edition cover art

THE SCATTERING was a major historical event that occurred in the chaotic period following the death of Leto Atreides II, the God-Emperor. Leto's death saw the eventual breakdown of his empire, severe famine on many worlds, and the introduction of Ixian no-ships. It was all part of The Golden Path, as put forward by Leto, which was triggered by a perceived need to diversify the human race and allow it to evolve.

Contents

-   1 Origin
-   2 Scattering Space
-   3 Return from the Scattering
-   4 Behind the Scenes
-   5 Appearances

Origin[edit | edit source]

Leto II's prescience allowed him to see into both the past and the future, and he believed that ten thousand years of rule by the Faufreluches had allowed the human race to become stagnant, and that drastic action on Leto's part was needed in order for the human race to survive.

Leto II was also aware that a likelihood existed that the Thinking Machines, before they were destroyed in the Butlerian Jihad, had scattered. A stagnant human race would have little chance should the machines return. The entire purpose of "Leto's Golden path" was to force the human race to abandon certainty, security, and safety as individual goals and to "scatter" not only geographically, but also to do so technologically, ideologically, and socio-politically.

As a result of this philosophy, during the reign of Leto II humanity was predominantly planet bound and ruled by an iron fist for more than 3500 years. This was in contrast to the relative freedom of expression and movement people enjoyed to a limited degree under the Faufreluches, the limits being predominantly the inherent control of feudal rule and the Spacing Guild monopoly on space travel. Indeed, Leto II exerted a level of control that was unprecedented in the Imperium, including power over the Guild and space travel, a feat that previous Emperors had been unable to accomplish. Upon Leto's death, the stalwart and long-established order of the Imperium disintegrated, as did control over freedoms and movement, and as a result, humanity rediscovered independence and nobilities on an unprecedented scale. This paved the way for humanity to "scatter" across the universe into the unknown and further evolution of the human race.

According to Leto II's plan, his death was followed by a collapse of political control and Spice supplies - as it would take generations for the Spice cycle to reassert itself on Rakis. Political order collapsed and entire worlds starved to death, in a chaotic period known as the Famine Times. The Scattering was an immediate response to the Famine Times, as refugees fled the anarchy consuming the Old Imperium.

Scattering Space[edit | edit source]

During The Scattering, many people remained within the boundaries of the Old Imperium. Many, however, did not. Countless humans departed the Old Imperium for uncharted space, never to return. For 1,500 years, humanity explored the uncharted realms of the universe beyond the boundaries of the Old Imperium. New groups and cultures evolved.

During the Scattering, vast waves of refugees spread outwards into uncharted space, so that the number of human-colonized worlds exponentially ballooned both in number and spread. The Bene Gesserit who remained in the territories of the Old Imperium could only make vague guesses at the size of "Scattering space", as it was theoretically infinite and even the Honored Matres might not know its full extent. One clue is that the Lost Ones returning from the Scattering refer to the Old Imperium as "the million worlds" or "the million planets" - implying that Scattering space is at least several multiples larger than that.

Little is also known of the exact socio-political history of what happened in Scattering space, other than that its development across 1,500 years was fairly rapid - a direct reaction to the enforced sedentary nature of Leto's Pace for 3,500 years, or the 10,000 year static structure of the Faufreluches under the Corrino empire.

What is known is that eventually, the Honored Matres developed as a fusion of Bene Gesserit and Fish Speakers (and possibly other groups) who had fled into the Scattering. An aggressive group focused on conquest and domination, the Honored Matres carved out vast swaths of territory among the worlds settled in the Scattering. One of these worlds, or perhaps a collection of worlds, was referred to as "Dur".

Another group that rose to prominence in Scattering space were the Lost Tleilaxu - no longer bound by even the pretense of following the restrictions of the Great Convention, they pushed genetic manipulation drastically farther than their Bene Tleilax forbearers in the Old Imperium ever did. Among other creations, the Lost Tleilaxu brazenly spliced together human and animal stock, creating the feline-based Futars and fish-based Phibians. The Honored Matres came into conflict with the Lost Tleilaxu, becoming their bitter enemies, in wars that spread across much of Scattering space. During this time the Tleilaxu refined the Futars, creating them for the express purpose of hunting Honored Matres. Nonetheless, the Matres managed to capture and enslaves many Futars and Phibians.

Return from the Scattering[edit | edit source]

About 1,500 years after the death of God-Emperor Leto II, many of the Lost Ones began to return from the Scattering to the space of the Old Imperium. Chief among these were the Honored Matres, who carved a path of conquest whether they went, and exterminated the Bene Tleilax and Bene Gesserit wherever they found them.

The Bene Gesserit eventually learned that the cause of this return was that the Honored Matres were fleeing an even more powerful adversary they encountered out in the Scattering, which the Honored Matres only briefly alluded to as "The Enemy" or "the Enemies of Many Faces". The Matres had managed to steal some of the powerful Obliterator weapons from this Enemy before being easily overwhelmed. While the Honored Matres were fixated on destroying the Bene Gesserit, they were also determined to learn their methods of cellular control over their own metabolism which granted them immunity to disease and poisons - a skill that had atrophied among the Matres themselves when they split off from the Bene Gesserit. From this the Bene Gesserit also deduced that the Enemy the Matres were fleeing had made extensive use of biological warfare, against which the Matres no longer had adequate defenses.

Behind the Scenes[edit | edit source]

Within the context of Frank Herbert's original novels, the Scattering occurs between the novels God Emperor of Dune and Heretics of Dune.

Appearances[edit | edit source]

-   _God Emperor of Dune_ (First mentioned)
-   _Heretics of Dune_ (Mentioned only)
-   _Chapterhouse: Dune_ (Mentioned only)

question: Summarize the origins of the Scattering.

answer: Under Leto II's rule, humanity was ruled by an iron fist. Upon his death, this order disintegrated and the humans rediscovered freedom and movement. As a result, humans 'scattered' across the globe.

question: What does the text say about the people who left the boundaries of the Old Imperium?

answer: Many people left the Old Imperium only to never return. With these people exploring uncharted lands, new groups and cultures evolved. One of the groups that rose to prominence during the Scattering was the Lost Tleilaxu.

question: What does the text say about the Heretics of Dune novel?

question: What did the Honored Matres want to learn from their enemies?

answer: The Honored Matres wanted to learn the Bene Gesserit's methods of cellular control over their own metabolism. This method provided them with immunity to disease and poisons.


text:
_LIVERPOOL 8_ is the 15th studio album by Ringo Starr, released worldwide on 14 January 2008.[1] Received with mixed reviews, it marked Starr's return to EMI for the first time since leaving the label in 1975, following the end of the Beatles' recording contract with the company.[2]

Background

_Liverpool 8_ was originally planned for release in June 2007, and began as another production by the collaborative team of Mark Hudson and Starr (the two had previously co-produced _Vertical Man_, _I Wanna Be Santa Claus_, _VH1 Storytellers_, _Ringo Rama_, and _Choose Love_). However, the release date was pushed back to the beginning of 2008 when Hudson was replaced by Dave Stewart after a falling out with Starr. The album's production credits read, “Produced by Ringo Starr and Mark Hudson; Re-Produced by Ringo Starr and David Stewart.”

All of the songs but one were written with the Roundheads, although Stewart also has several co-writing credits. Starr's attorney Bruce Grakal told journalist Peter Palmiere that the partnership between Hudson and Starr was over and they would never work together again. This happened after Hudson dropped out of Starr's 2006 tour as musical director to do the television special _The One: Making a Music Star_. According to Palmiere, Hudson claimed that the split was over Starr's insistence on using synthesized sounds, for which Stewart is known, whereas Hudson wanted real guitars, pianos, strings etc.[3] However, concerning the parting of ways with Hudson, Starr commented, “The separation between Mark Hudson and myself was a question of trust and friendship and had nothing to do with synthesizers.”

Release

_Liverpool 8_ was released worldwide by Capitol Records. The title refers to the postal district of the Toxteth area of Liverpool in which Starr was born. The album was released on CD, MP3, and USB Wristband. It was available as a free audio stream at _www.vh1classic.com_ before its release date. The title track was released on CD and digital download as the first single from the album on 7 January 2008. _Liverpool 8_ entered the UK Album Chart at number 91,[4] and reached a peak of number 94 in the US.[5] The album sold 7,000 copies within the first week of release[6] and as of January 2010, 31,000 copies have been sold.[7]

A few weeks later after the album release, readers of the _New York Daily News_ were offered a non-album track called “It's Love”, which was recorded during the sessions for _Liverpool 8_.[8]

Reception

_Liverpool 8_ has a 59 percent “mixed or average” rating from Metacritic.[9] _Billboard_ gave the album a positive review, calling it “full of nostalgia for the good ol' days”.[10] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic writes that “it's nothing too flashy and it has not one tune that calls attention to itself”.[11] In a particularly unfavourable review for _The Times_, Pete Paphides wrote that “it’s hard not to boggle at Liverpool's susceptibility to flattery”, and “Just because [the album] was fun to make, it doesn’t follow that you might enjoy listening to it.”[12]

Track listing

USB file listing

The Ringo Starr Liverpool 8 Exclusive Reusable USB Wristband claims to contain on its packaging:

-   Entire album in MP3 format
-   Personal message from Ringo Starr
-   Behind the scenes interview video from Ringo Starr
-   Track-by-track video commentary by Ringo Starr
-   2 brand new ringtones
-   Photos and Bio

_The Bio could not be located among the USB files._
These are the actual files found on the USB drive.

Root Directory

The root directory contains two system files, one system directory (empty), and four directories with the actual assets. Note, the original directory dates were lost when the USB was inserted into a Windows 10 PC.

  File Name                    Type               Date                  Size in Bytes   Information
  ---------------------------- ------------------ --------------------- --------------- ---------------------------
  .DS_Store                    System File        12/18/2007 01:51 PM   6,148
  .Trashes                     System Directory   12/18/2007 01:50 PM                   An Empty System Directory
  ._.Trashes                   System File        12/18/2007 01:50 PM   4,096
  Liverpool 8 - 192kbit/s      Directory                                                Contains the Songs
  Liverpool 8 Artwork          Directory                                                Contains the Artwork
  Liverpool 8 Video            Directory                                                Contains the Video
  Ringtune Clips - 192kbit/s   Directory                                                Contains the Ringtunes

Liverpool 8 - 192kbps Directory

This directory contains the twelve songs on the album in MP3 format. Technical details of the files are:

-   Encoded by iTunes v7.1.1.5
-   Codec: MPEG Audio layer 1/2 (mpga)
-   Type: Audio
-   Channels: Stereo
-   Sample rate: 44100 Hz
-   Bits per sample: 32
-   Bitrate: 192 kbit/s

  File Name                                            Type       Date                  Size in Bytes   Duration
  ---------------------------------------------------- ---------- --------------------- --------------- ----------
  01 01 - Liverpool 8 - 192kbit/s.mp3                  MP3 File   12/18/2007 12:53 AM   6,994,446       4:51
  02 02 - Think About You - 192kbit/s.mp3              MP3 File   12/18/2007 12:53 AM   5,286,668       3:40
  03 03 - For Love - 192kbit/s.mp3                     MP3 File   12/18/2007 12:53 AM   5,506,090       3:49
  04 04 - Now That She's Gone - 192kbp.mp3             MP3 File   12/18/2007 12:53 AM   4,378,238       3:02
  05 05 - Gone Are The Days - 192kbit/s.mp3            MP3 File   12/18/2007 12:53 AM   4,077,932       2:49
  06 06 - Give It A Try - 192kbit/s.mp3                MP3 File   12/18/2007 12:53 AM   4,960,031       3:26
  07 07 - Tuff Love - 192kbit/s.mp3                    MP3 File   12/18/2007 12:53 AM   6,563,737       4:33
  08 08 - Harrys Song - 192kbit/s.mp3                  MP3 File   12/18/2007 12:53 AM   5,780,065       4:00
  09 09 - Pasodobles - 192kbit/s.mp3                   MP3 File   12/18/2007 12:53 AM   6,180,678       4:17
  10 10 - If It's Love That You Want - 192kbit/s.mp3   MP3 File   12/18/2007 12:54 AM   4,472,287       3:06
  11 11 - Love Is - 192kbit/s.mp3                      MP3 File   12/18/2007 12:53 AM   5,580,069       3:52
  12 12 - R U Ready - 192kbit/s.mp3                    MP3 File   12/18/2007 12:53 AM   5,746,836       3:59

Liverpool 8 Artwork Directory

The artwork is found on a single PDF file with two pages showing the album's cover art on the first page and a track listing next to Ringo's picture on the second page.

  File Name                    Type       Date                  Size in Bytes
  ---------------------------- ---------- --------------------- ---------------
  ringo_L8_cover for USB.pdf   PDF File   12/18/2007 12:54 AM   493,660

Liverpool 8 Video Directory

The single video file contains three of the items promised on the packaging:

-   Personal message from Ringo Starr
-   Behind the scenes interview video from Ringo Starr
-   Track-by-track video commentary by Ringo Starr

The technical details of the video file are:

-   Audio
    -   Codec: MPEG AAC Audio (mp4a)
    -   Channels: Stereo
    -   Sample rate: 32000 Hz
    -   Bits per sample: 32
-   Video
    -   Codec: H264 - MPEG-4 AVC (part 10) (avc1)
    -   Video resolution: 480x270
    -   Frame rate: 29.966428 (NTSC)

  File Name                                 Type       Date                  Size in Bytes   Duration
  ----------------------------------------- ---------- --------------------- --------------- ----------
  LIVERPOOL USB HD FINAL 12-1_1Mbit/s.mp4   MP4 File   12/18/2007 12:54 AM   35,619,345      7:45

Ringtune Clips - 192kbps Directory

The two ringtones are encoded identical to the twelve songs. They are 38 and 27 second edits of two of the album's songs.

  File Name                                      Type       Date                  Size in Bytes   Duration
  ---------------------------------------------- ---------- --------------------- --------------- ----------
  01 Liverpool 8 Ringtune Clip - 192kbit/s.mp3   MP3 File   12/18/2007 12:54 AM   930,663         0:38
  02 For Love Ringtune Clip - 192kbit/s.mp3      MP3 File   12/18/2007 12:54 AM   665,465         0:27

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.[13]

Musicians

-   Ringo Starr – drums, vocals, percussion, background vocals, claps, organ
-   Sean Hurley – bass
-   David A. Stewart – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, orchestra arrangement, backwards fabulousness, slide Guitar
-   Gary Burr – background vocals, claps, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, whistle, keyboards, mandolin
-   Steve Dudas – background vocals, claps, electric guitar, classical guitar
-   Brent Carpenter – background vocals, claps
-   Mark Hudson – background vocals, claps, bass, electric guitar, piano, keyboards, acoustic guitar, bongos, harmonica, mellotron
-   Bruce Sugar – background vocals, claps
-   Keith Allison – background vocals, claps
-   Suzie Katayama – orchestra arrangement, conductor
-   Zac Rae – keyboards
-   Dave Way – bass
-   Jesse Davey – electric guitar

Production

-   Ringo Starr, Mark Hudson – producers, except on “Liverpool 8”
-   Ringo Starr, David A. Stewart – producers on “Liverpool 8”
-   Mark Hudson – additional production
-   Ringo Starr, David A. Stewart – re-producers
-   Bruce Sugar – engineer
-   Steve Dudas, Gary Burr, Ned Douglas – additional engineers
-   Bill Malina – mixing
-   Ted Jensen – mastering
-   Tom Recchion – art direction
-   Paul Moore – design
-   Brian Griffin – photography

[1]

[2]

[3] bbc.co.uk

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10] Liverpool 8

[11] allmusic ((( Liverpool 8 > Review )))

[12]

[13]

title: Liverpool 8

question: What does the article say about extras included with the album?

answer: The Exclusive Reusable USB Wristband comes with: a personal message from Ringo Starr, a behind the scenes interview video, a track-by-track video commentary by Ringo Starr, 2 ringtones, photos and bio. The Bio, however, could not be located on the USB files.

question: What does the article say about tensions?

answer: Mark Hudson, who was producing the project, was replaced by Dave Stewart after a falling out with Starr. Starr's attorney stated that the partnership between the two was over and they would never work together again. Hudson claimed the split was over Starr's insistence on using synthesized sounds. Starr however said it was a question of trust and friendship.

question: What does the article say about the other members of the Beatles?


text:
The INDIANA REPUBLICAN PARTY is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP) in the state of Indiana. The chairman of the Indiana Republican State Committee is Kyle Hupfer.

History

Republicans dominated Indiana from the 1860s to 1980s. Democrats gained some power at the state level in the late 1980s-early 2000s, but Republicans have regained domination of Indiana state politics since. At the presidential level FDR won Indiana in both 1932 and 1936, however, FDR lost only 4 states in 1932 and 2 states in 1936. In 1964, when Barry Goldwater lost every state except for Arizona and 5 Deep South States, Lyndon B. Johnson won Indiana. In 2008, Barack Obama surprisingly won Indiana, however, Obama was from Chicago (which borders Indiana), Obama won most states by a much wider margin than he won Indiana and Obama only won Indiana by one percent. These are the only times Indiana has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate since Grover Cleveland, which makes Indiana among the nation's most reliably red states.

In the election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln won all of Indiana's thirteen electoral votes with 51.09 of the popular vote.[1] When the American Civil War broke out, Indiana had a strong, pro-South Democratic Party in the Indiana General Assembly that, for the most part, claimed to be pro-Union but anti-abolition. Governor Oliver P. Morton (elected 1861), had a close relationship with President Lincoln, who called him the “shrewdest person I know”.[2] At the 1862 Loyal War Governors Conference in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Morton put his full support behind Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.[3]

[Governor Oliver P. Morton] A backlash followed the issuance of the emancipation, leading to a defeat of Republicans in the 1862 mid-term elections. Morton feared that the Democratic majority in the General Assembly would be sympathetic to the Confederacy, so he began to take steps to circumvent the General Assembly and mobilize Indiana in the war effort.[4] When Morton stepped beyond the scope of his constitutional powers by establishing a state arsenal, the Democratic legislature moved to switch command of the militia from him to themselves. Fearing that with control of the militia, the Democrats would attempt to secede from the Union, Morton helped Republican legislators to flee to Kentucky and prevent a quorum.[5] Unable to pass appropriations bills, the paralyzed government of Indiana teetered on bankruptcy until Morton once again stepped out of the scope of his powers and acquired millions of dollars in federal and private loans to keep the government running, support Indiana's role in the war effort, and circumvent the Democratic Assembly.[6]

For the remainder of the Civil War, Morton made efforts to keep Indiana secure by suppressing elements he saw as anti-union or sympathetic to the South. The searches, arrests, and even disruption of the Democratic State Convention (in what would later be called the Battle of Pogue's Run) earned Morton much criticism and was called a “dictator” and “underhanded mobster”. As the war ended and the Republican Party received an overwhelming majority in the government, Morton's questionable conduct during the war were made moot and he continued to serve a second term in the US Senate until 1877.[7]

The party's darkest stain was after the First World War, following a rush of immigrants from eastern and southern Europe into the United States. By this period of time, the Indiana Republican Party, like the Republican Party elsewhere, had given up its former goal of African American rights and shared little in common with the Republican Party of the 1850s-1870s. Unlike the first Ku Klux Klan that rose in the South during the Reconstruction era to terrorize both white and black Republicans, this new Klan that started in Georgia in 1915 was a highly nativist organization that hid its racism in a cloak of family values and patriotism. Staunchly anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic, antisemitic, and prejudiced against African Americans, the new Klan spread into Indiana in the 1920s under Grand Dragon D.C. Stephenson.[8] The second KKK was almost exclusively Republican in Midwestern states such as Indiana as well as Northern and Western states such as Maine and Colorado, although the KKK remained exclusively Democratic in the South. Under Stephenson's leadership, the Klan flourished in Indiana and took over both the Governor's Office and much of the Republican Party in the General Assembly.[9] With over two-hundred and fifty thousand white males (approximately forty-percent of Indiana's population) paying their Klan dues in Indiana, Stephenson amassed a fortune estimated from two to five million dollars.[10]

[President Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)]

In the 1924 Republican primary elections in Indiana, almost all candidates nominated for statewide office were Klansmen. One African American newspaper stated “the Ku Klux Klan has captured boot and breeches, the Republican party in Indiana and have [sic] turned what has been historically an organization of constitutional freedom into an agency for the promotion of religious and racial hate. Nobody now denies the Ku Klux Klan is the dominating power in Indiana Republican politics. In fact, the Republican party exists in Indiana today only in name. Its place has been usurped by the Klan purposes and leadership and issues.” Most Indiana blacks in 1924 cast their first ever ballot for the Democratic Party, which had passed a resolution denouncing the KKK in its platform without mentioning the Klan by name.[11] Blacks in other areas of the United States, in contrast, generally remained Republican until the following decade. Despite the influx of blacks into the Democratic party, Klansmen won most of the Indiana legislature and most statewide offices in the November 1924 general elections. However, once in office, the Klan-controlled legislature passed little to no anti-black, anti-Jewish or anti-Catholic legislation.

In 1922, when the Klan-dominated General Assembly tried to pass a Klan Day in the Indiana State Fair, Republican Governor Warren T. McCray vetoed the bill and earned the ire of Stephenson and the Klan. The peak of their power and influence was in 1925, when the Klan had McCray arrested, imprisoned, and thrown out of office on a charge of mail fraud and replaced with Republican Governor Edward Jackson, who was a KKK member. Stephenson is infamous for his words “I am the law in Indiana.”[12]

The Klan quickly fell apart under the revelation that Stephenson had abducted, raped, and murdered Madge Oberholtzer. More of a populist organization that believed in the Klan's image of defending the race and “Protestant Womanhood,” the Klan's power and influence in both Indiana and its politics dissolved quickly. Governor Jackson refused to pardon Stephenson for Oberholtzer's death, so Stephenson retaliated from prison by revealing evidence that Jackson had received bribes from the Klan. Despite calls for his resignation for being associated with the Klan, Jackson's trial resulted in a hung jury.[13]

Platform

The 2012 party platform contains the party's official stances on key issues, economic, political and social.[14]

The first section of the platform states that the liberties guaranteed to us in the Constitution and Bill of Rights must be protected from erosion by government. The platform then states a commitment to “protecting and defending our U.S. and Indiana Constitutions,” “fiscal responsibility,” “federalism,” “strong family structures,” “individual responsibility,” “personal liberty and freedom,” “free and fair elections” and “volunteerism.”[15]

The Indiana GOP concurs with the current Indiana law that “childbirth is preferred, encouraged, and supported over abortion.”

The party also believes that “strong families are the foundation of virtue and that such families bring forth citizens capable of self-government as well as properly motivated public servants so essential for a successful republic.”[16]

It stands by the National Republican Party that “limited government truly is good government” and states that the proper role of government is to get out of the way of entrepreneurs and job creators.

The party also supports paying down debt, balancing budgets, and lowering taxes coupled with a simplified tax code.

The Indiana Republican Party supports the use of Hoosier resources, including expanded clean coal technology, as a way to reduce dependence on foreign oil.

The platform states the belief of Indiana Republicans that Obamacare should be repealed and replaced with free market solutions.

One amendment was approved and added at the 2012 State Convention; “The Indiana Republican Party shall seek transparency, accountability and fairness in all levels of government, including a comprehensive audit of the Federal Reserve.” [17]

Current Indiana Republican officeholders

The Indiana Republican Party controls both U.S. Senate seats and seven of nine U.S. House seats. Republicans control all 7 of the 7 statewide constitutional offices. The party currently hold a majority in both the Indiana House of Representatives and the Indiana Senate.

Statewide officials

-   Governor: Eric Holcomb
-   Lieutenant Governor: Suzanne Crouch
-   Attorney General: Curtis Hill
-   Secretary of State: Connie Lawson
-   Treasurer: Kelly Mitchell
-   Auditor: Tera Klutz
-   State Superintendent: Jennifer McCormick

Federal officials

U.S. Senate

-   Todd Young
-   Mike Braun

U.S. House of Representatives

-   Jackie Walorski, 2nd District
-   Jim Banks, 3rd District
-   James Baird, 4th District
-   Susan Brooks, 5th District
-   Greg Pence, 6th District
-   Larry Bucshon, 8th District
-   Trey Hollingsworth, 9th District

State party chairmen since 1961

-   Thomas A. Gallmeyer (1961-1962)[18]
-   H. Dale Brown (1962-1963)[19]
-   Robert N. Stewart (1963-1965)[20]
-   Charles O. Hendricks (1965-1967)[21]
-   Buena Chaney (1967-1970)[22]
-   John K. Snyder (1970-1972)[23]
-   James T. Neal (1972-1973)[24]
-   Thomas S. Milligan (1973-1977)[25]
-   Bruce B. Melchert (1977-1981)[26]
-   Gordon K. Durnil (1981-1989)
-   Virgil D. Scheidt (1989)[27]
-   Keith Luse (1989-1991)[28]
-   Rexford C. Early (1991-1993)[29]
-   Al Hubbard (1993-1994)
-   Mike McDaniel (1995-2002)[30]
-   Jim Kittle (2002-2006)
-   Murray Clark (2006-2010)
-   Eric Holcomb (2010-2013)
-   Tim Berry (2013-2015)[31]
-   Jeff Cardwell (2015-2017)
-   Kyle Hupfer (2017-)

Footnotes

Further reading

-   Charles Zimmerman, “The Origin and Rise of the Republican Party in Indiana from 1854 to 1860,” _Indiana Magazine of History,_ Part 1: vol. 13, no. 3 (Sept. 1917), pp. 211–269; Part 2: vol. 13, no. 4 (Dec. 1917), pp. 349–412. Part 1 and Part 2 In JSTOR.

[1] 1860 Presidential General Election Results, U.S. Election Atlas.org

[2] LInda C. Gugin and James E. St. Clair (eds.), _The Governors of Indiana._ Indianapolis, IN: Indiana Historical Society Press, 2006; pg. 152.

[3] William Dudley Foulke, _Life of Oliver P. Morton: Including His Important Speeches._ In Two Volumes. Bowen-Merrill Company, 1899; vol. 1, pg. 346.

[4] Gugin and St. Clair (eds.), _The Governors of Indiana,_ pg. 153.

[5] Foulke, _Life of Oliver P. Morton,_ pp. 237, 325.

[6] Ralph D. Gray, '' Indiana History: A Book of Readings.'' Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1995; pg. 163.

[7] Indiana History, Part 5, Northern Indiana Center for History.

[8] 1

[9] Gray, '' Indiana History,'' pg. 306.

[10] David Bodenhamer, _The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis._ Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1994; pg. 879.

[11] http://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/imh/article/view/10462/14635

[12] M. William Lutholtz, _Grand Dragon: D. C. Stephenson and the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana._ West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 1991; pg. ???

[13] http://www.iub.edu/~imaghist/for_teachers/mdrnprd/lstmp/Klan.html

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18] http://indystar.newspapers.com/search/#query=Thomas+A.+Gallmeyer&dr_year=1961-1961

[19]

[20] https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/146162694/

[21] https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/indystar/obituary.aspx?n=charles-o-hendricks&pid=144831845

[22] Ziegner, Edward. “GOP Split Gives Whitcomb Boost”, The Indianapolis News, December 15, 1967, page ten.

[23] Ziegner, Edward. “Neal Slated To Replace Snyder”, The Indianapolis News, January 7, 1972, page 24.

[24] http://mediaschool.indiana.edu/ijhf/james-t-neal

[25] https://www.rhsalum.org/alumni/135-2/

[26] Ziegner, Edward. “3rd Man In Race For 6th”, The Indianapolis News, October 19, 1981, page 19.

[27] Blum, Peter L. “State GOP to select Luse chairman”, The Indianapolis News, October 26, 1989, page eight.

[28] https://www.ncnk.org/staff/w.-keith-luse

[29] https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=597443&privcapId=4976517&previousCapId=5034896&previousTitle=Central%20Indiana%20Community%20Foundation

[30] http://www.kriegdevault.com/our_professionals/michael-mcdaniel

[31] http://www.in.gov/library/files/HPI131010.pdf

title: Indiana Republican Party

question: What does the article say about presidents?

answer: FDR won Indiana in both 1932 and 1926. In 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson won Indiana. In 2008, Barack Obama won Indiana. Abrahama Lincoln won all of Indiana's electoral votes in 1860. Governor Oliver P. Morton had a close relationship with President Lincoln and supported Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.

question: What does the article say about support for President Trump?

question: What does the article say about the 1980s?

answer: Republicans dominated Indiana until the 1980s. Democrats gained some power at the state level in the late 1980s. The state party chairmen during the 1980s were Bruce B. Melchert, Gordon K. Durnil, Virgil D. Scheidt, and Keith Luse.

question: What does the article say about racial struggles?

answer: During the Civil War, Indiana's Democtratic Party was pro-Union but anti-abolition. Governor Morton supported Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. By the time of the first World War, Indiana's Republican Party had given up its goal of African American rights. The new Ku Klux Klan, which was prejudiced against African Americans, spread to Indiana in the 1920s and usurped the Republican Party.


text:
_STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC_, initially promoted as PROJECT LUMINOUS, is a subseries of the _Star Wars_ media franchise set during the “High Republic” sub-era of the Age of Republic, set 200 years before the events of the Skywalker saga and 800 years after the fall of the “Old Republic”. In-universe, the initiating event of the subfranchise is “The Great Disaster” involving the antagonistic “space Vikings” known as the Nihil and the subsequent intervention of the Jedi at the height of their power.

History

“Project Luminous” was started in September 2018 with invitations to _Star Wars_ authors including Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, Daniel José Older, Cavan Scott and Charles Soule to Skywalker Ranch, with Lucasfilm offering them a “blank slate” in determining the project.[1] Lucasfilm had teased “Project Luminous” in April 2019, which prompted intense fan speculation.[2]

On February 24, 2020, Lucasfilm announced a new series of comics and novels called _Star Wars: The High Republic_, intended to be a publisher-only multimedia project, unrelated to any films in development. A trailer was released showing events taking place two centuries before the events of _Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace._ It shows the Jedi at the height of their power and rise of the Nihil.[3][4]

The series was originally intended to debut with _Light of the Jedi_ in August 2020, a few days before Star Wars Celebration 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic to January 2021.[5] The first chapter of the novel was released in June 2020 through _IGN_.[6] In November 2020, the second chapter of the novel was released on _StarWars.com_, followed by the next six through the Penguin Random House website.[7][8]

Works

Phase I — _Light of the Jedi_

Book series

-   _Star Wars: The High Republic – Light of the Jedi_ (January 5, 2021), a hardcover novel by Charles Soule published by Del Rey.[9][10][11][12][13]
-   _Star Wars: The High Republic – A Test of Courage_ (January 5, 2021), an illustrated middle-grade novel by Justina Ireland published by Disney–Lucasfilm Press.[14][15]
-   _Star Wars: The High Republic – The Great Jedi Rescue_ (January 5, 2021), a children's book written by Cavan Scott published by Disney–Lucasfilm Press.[16]
-   _Star Wars: The High Republic – Into the Dark_ (February 2, 2021), young adult novel by Claudia Gray published by Disney–Lucasfilm Press.[17][18]

Other confirmed untitled novels include an adult novel written by Scott and a middle-grade novel written by Older to be released on July 6, 2021, as well as a second novel by Ireland to be released on August 3, 2021.[19][20][21]

Comic series

-   _Star Wars: The High Republic_, a comic book by Cavan Scott published by Marvel Comics.[22] The first issue is scheduled to release on January 6, 2021.[23]
-   _Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures_, a comic book by Daniel José Older and published by IDW Comics,[24] in which Yoda is set to appear.[25]

[1]  Trailer Launches a New Era for The Franchise |url= https://movieweb.com/star-wars-the-high-republic-trailer |accessdate= February 27, 2020 |website= MovieWeb |date= February 25, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200227142833/https://movieweb.com/star-wars-the-high-republic-trailer/ |archive-date= February 27, 2020 |url-status= live }}

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

title: Star Wars: The High Republic

question: What is "Star Wars: The High Republic" about?

answer: It is a subseries of the "Star Wars" media franchise set during the "High Republic" sub-era of the Age of Republic, set 200 years before the events of the Skywalker saga and 800 years after the fall of the "Old Republic". It involves "space Vikings" known as the Nihil and the subsequent intervention of the Jedi at the height of their power.


text:
FC HIRNYK-SPORT HORISHNI PLAVNI is a Ukrainian football club based in Horishni Plavni, Poltava Oblast. The club competes in the First League.

The club is sponsored by Ferrexpo.

History

[Old emblem of the club “FC Hirnyk-Sport Komsomolsk” used until 2017] The club was founded in 1989. After some above average performances in the KFK 3rd Zone (Central Ukraine) Amateur Championship the club's administration decided to enter the professional league. However, at this level the club has continually struggled and has had only 2 winning seasons since entering this level of competition.

The club plays its football games at “Yunist” (Youth) Stadium. According to the Vorskla website the stadium has a capacity of 5,000 spectators,[1] while the website of Hirnyk reports a mere 2,500.[2]

The club was promoted to the Ukrainian First League for the first time in 2014.[3]

Team names

:{|class=“wikitable” |-bgcolor=“#efefef” |Year |Name |- |1989–92 |LOKOMOTIV |- |1993–95 |HIRNYK |- |1995– |HIRNYK-SPORT |}

Honors

-   UKRAINIAN DRUHA LIHA: 1

        2013–14 Champions

-   Finalist of the League Cup 2009–10

League and cup history

:{|class=“wikitable” |-bgcolor=“#efefef” ! Season ! Div. ! Pos. ! Pl. ! W ! D ! L ! GS ! GA ! P !Domestic Cup !colspan=2|Other !Notes |-bgcolor=SteelBlue |align=center|1992–93 |align=center rowspan=3|4th
_(Amatorska Liha)_ |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=SteelBlue |align=center|1993–94 |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=SteelBlue |align=center|1994–95 |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center|1995–96 |align=center rowspan=20|3rd
_(Druha Liha)_ |align=center|16 |align=center|38 |align=center|10 |align=center|8 |align=center|20 |align=center|33 |align=center|71 |align=center|38 |align=center|Did not enter |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center|1996–97 |align=center|14 |align=center|32 |align=center|10 |align=center|6 |align=center|16 |align=center|20 |align=center|32 |align=center|36 |align=center|1st Qual. round |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center|1997–98 |align=center|4 |align=center|32 |align=center|12 |align=center|11 |align=center|9 |align=center|39 |align=center|35 |align=center|47 |align=center|3rd Qual. round |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center|1998–99 |align=center|4 |align=center|26 |align=center|13 |align=center|6 |align=center|7 |align=center|36 |align=center|31 |align=center|41 |align=center|1st Qual. round |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center|1999-00 |align=center|7 |align=center|26 |align=center|10 |align=center|5 |align=center|11 |align=center|33 |align=center|41 |align=center|35 |align=center|DNQ |align=center|2L |align=center| finals |align=center| |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center|2000–01 |align=center|10 |align=center|28 |align=center|9 |align=center|4 |align=center|15 |align=center|26 |align=center|45 |align=center|31 |align=center|DNQ |align=center|2L |align=center| finals |align=center| |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center|2001–02 |align=center|17 |align=center|34 |align=center|6 |align=center|6 |align=center|22 |align=center|32 |align=center|60 |align=center|24 |align=center|1st round |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center|2002–03 |align=center|15 |align=center|30 |align=center|7 |align=center|6 |align=center|17 |align=center|27 |align=center|48 |align=center|27 |align=center| finals |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center|2003–04 |align=center|14 |align=center|30 |align=center|10 |align=center|5 |align=center|15 |align=center|40 |align=center|40 |align=center|35 |align=center| finals |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center|2004–05 |align=center|9 |align=center|28 |align=center|10 |align=center|0 |align=center|18 |align=center|35 |align=center|49 |align=center|30 |align=center| finals |align=center| |align=center| |align=center|Group C |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center|2005–06 |align=center|8 |align=center|24 |align=center|10 |align=center|4 |align=center|10 |align=center|30 |align=center|31 |align=center|34 |align=center| finals |align=center| |align=center| |align=center|Group C |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center|2006–07 |align=center|15 |align=center|28 |align=center|5 |align=center|2 |align=center|21 |align=center|23 |align=center|48 |align=center|17 |align=center| finals |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center|2007–08 |align=center|15 |align=center|34 |align=center|9 |align=center|7 |align=center|18 |align=center|38 |align=center|59 |align=center|34 |align=center| finals |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center|2008–09 |align=center|13 |align=center|34 |align=center|9 |align=center|8 |align=center|17 |align=center|28 |align=center|45 |align=center|35 |align=center| finals |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center|2009–10 |align=center|11 |align=center|26 |align=center|5 |align=center|7 |align=center|14 |align=center|21 |align=center|35 |align=center|22 |align=center| finals |align=center|LC |align=center bgcolor=silver|Final |align=center| |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center|2010–11 |align=center|9 |align=center|22 |align=center|6 |align=center|4 |align=center|12 |align=center|17 |align=center|29 |align=center|22 |align=center| finals |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center|2011–12 |align=center|9 |align=center|26 |align=center|6 |align=center|8 |align=center|12 |align=center|28 |align=center|39 |align=center|26 |align=center| finals |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center rowspan=“2”|2012–13 |align=center|11 |align=center|24 |align=center|5 |align=center|3 |align=center|16 |align=center|25 |align=center|50 |align=center|18 |align=center rowspan=2| finals |align=center| |align=center| |align=center|qualified to relegation group 4 |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center|3 |align=center|8 |align=center|5 |align=center|1 |align=center|2 |align=center|14 |align=center|7 |align=center|16 |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=PowderBlue |align=center|2013–14 |align=center bgcolor=gold|1 |align=center|36 |align=center|25 |align=center|4 |align=center|7 |align=center|68 |align=center|31 |align=center|79 |align=center| finals |align=center| |align=center| |align=center bgcolor=lightgreen|PROMOTED |-bgcolor=LightCyan |align=center|2014–15 |align=center rowspan=10|2nd
_(Persha Liha)_ |align=center bgcolor=tan|3 |align=center|30 |align=center|16 |align=center|9 |align=center|5 |align=center|44 |align=center|24 |align=center|57 |align=center| finals |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=LightCyan |align=center|2015–16 |align=center|12 |align=center|30 |align=center|8 |align=center|9 |align=center|13 |align=center|30 |align=center|35 |align=center|33 |align=center| finals |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=LightCyan |align=center|2016–17 |align=center|11 |align=center| 34 |align=center| 12 |align=center|7 |align=center|15 |align=center|47 |align=center|54 |align=center|43 |align=center| finals |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=LightCyan |align=center|2017–18 |align=center|8 |align=center| 34 |align=center| 16 |align=center|2 |align=center|16 |align=center|30 |align=center|40 |align=center|50 |align=center| finals |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=LightCyan |align=center|2018–19 |align=center|12 |align=center|28 |align=center|5 |align=center|12 |align=center|11 |align=center|24 |align=center|43 |align=center|27 |align=center| finals |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |-bgcolor=LightCyan |align=center|2019–20 |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| finals |align=center| |align=center| |align=center| |}

Players

Last known squad

[4][5]

Out on loan

Managers

-   Ihor Zhabchenko (2013–2016)
-   Serhiy Puchkov (2016 – 31 Dec 2018)
-   Volodymyr Mazyar (1 Jan 2019 – 9 Sept 2019)
-   Ihor Zhabchenko (15 Sept 2019 – present)

[1]  FC Hirnyk-Sport Komsomolsk

[2] Younist Stadium

[3]

[4] http://gornyak-sport.net/index.php/s5-no-moomenu-mainmenu-28/osnovnoi-sostav

[5] http://pfl.ua/teams/131-girnyksport

title: FC Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni

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

question: What does the text say about FC Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni?

answer: FC Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni is a Ukrainian football club based in Horishni Plavni, Poltava Oblast. They compete in the First League and are sponsored by Ferrexpo. The club was founded in 1989 and was then called "FC Hirnyk-Sport Komsomolsk”, a name they used until 2017. After having some above-average performances in the KFK 3rd Zone Amateur Championship in Central Ukraine, the club's administration decided to enter the professional league. The club struggled at this level and had only two winning seasons since joining. The club plays its football games at Yunist Stadium, which has a capacity of 5,000 spectators according to the website Vorskla. However, the Hirnyk website reports that the stadium can only fit 2,500 people. The club was promoted to the Ukrainian First League for the first time in 2014 after becoming the Ukranian Druha Liha 2013-2014 Champions. They were also a finalist of the League Cup in 2009-2010. The club's current manager is Ihor Zhabchenko (15 Sept 2019 – present).


text:
ANDREW HAN JINGTAO (; born July 26, 1921 or 1919 or 1923) is a Chinese Catholic priest and Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sipingjie since 1982.[1]

Biography

Han was born in Jilin on July 26, 1921. Some documents record his birth year as 1919 or 1923. After studying, he was ordained a priest on December 14, 1947.

During the rule of Mao Zedong, he was arrested by the Communist government and sent to labor in labor camps. It was not until 1980, after Deng Xiaoping took power and became more open to religion, and he was released. He became a professor of Latin and Greek culture at Northeastern University in Changchun until he retired in 1987.

In 1982, he was secretly appointed as the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sipingjie. Four years later, his ordination was also silently held on May 6, 1986.

He is an underground bishop, but he repeatedly expressed his support for spiritual reconciliation between “underground church” and “open church” Catholics.

[1]

title: Andrew Han Jingtao

question: Who is Andrew Han Jingtao?

answer: He is a Chinese Catholic priest and Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sipingjie since 1982.

question: Where was Jingtao born?

answer: He was born in Jilin in 1921.

question: What happened in 1982?

answer: Jingtao was secretly appointed as the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sipingjie.

question: What is an underground bishop?

answer: That isn't specifically mentioned in the article, but it could be assumed there is some level of secrecy to it.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This article discusses Andrew Han Jingtao,  a Chinese Catholic priest and Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sipingjie since 1982. He is an underground bishop.


text:
"Please state the purpose of your visit."
The woman behind the desk looked at me with blank eyes. There was no one home.
"I want to apply for permanent VR residency."
"Please state your chosen payment plan. If you need help in choosing a payment plan, an appointment with a specialist can be arranged."
"I know what I want. I'm going to sell my meat."
"You understand that upon signing a Voluntary Body Custody contract, you are legally obligated to surrender your body to VR Corp and any deviation from, or violation of said contract will result in legal action and repossession without compensation?"
"I understand."
"Please fill these out to the best of your ability."

She slid a much-abused screen over to me. I picked it up and tabbed through, stepping aside as someone took my place. Financial information, Personal information, and Account information. I found a chair in the back left corner of the room, as far as possible from the other applicants. Meat people make me uncomfortable. The air tasted stale and smelled of cheap carpeting and unwashed bodies. Beside me was a table with an ugly vase full of fake flowers that did nothing to help the odour.

Financial information was easy enough. The only jobs I have ever worked have been through VR. All my money is in VR banks. When I rent my meat it’s through VR reps. Every story, sim, joke, and game I have ever sold was through VR. That means they already know all about it, and my writing anything here is a formality. I've spent nearly all my waking hours of the last ten years in VR. They already know everything about me, certainly anything worth putting on a form. I dutifully entered my financial information.

Personal information was harder. I flew through the name-address-date-of-birth stuff, but how do you answer a question like "Why do you want to permanently upload your mind to VR?" More accurately, how do you stop answering it? My entire life, it's all I ever wanted, even before VR was a thing. Everything I hated about real life was so much better in VR. In meatworld, people have always judged me, and in a thousand ways, for things that I have never been able to change.

I’m fat. I’ve always been fat. I know I should be skinny but how am I supposed to lose weight when the only way to rent your body to a corp doing physical labour is to already be fit? What am I supposed to do? Spend my days exercising my meat like a damn GenX? Maybe that would work, but only because I would also starve from not being able to work a VR job or rent my meat in the meantime. If only being fat were the end of my problems. After life suplexed me with obesity, puberty finished me off with a chokeslam in the form of perpetual, inflamed, all covering acne. What girl wants to date a guy who looks like a loaf of cheesebread? I just never felt at home in the house I was born in. Now I’m applying for a mortgage on a new one.
In VR, when people judge you, it’s for who you are and how you express it. When I got my first headset for my 16th birthday, I spent two days customizing my character in every conceivable way. Which represented who I am better? Two arms or six? Was my personality thin and whiplash strong, or hugely muscular? Would my soul have blonde hair, or black with a streak of purple? In those first two days I felt more pride in my appearance than I had in the 16 years that preceded them. I felt like what I saw in the character creator represented me better than anything I had ever seen in a mirror.

It wasn't just my appearance either. Nearly everything about how I presented myself was different in VR. I didn't stutter, I didn't censor myself, I was funny, interesting, even outgoing. I had more success with girls within weeks than I had ever dreamed of IRL. It seemed like every creative instinct, every ounce of motivation, every scrap of self-respect I ever had, had simply been waiting for me to find a place where it could come out. To be honest, I was just surprised there was anything worthwhile at all hiding within me. VR basically made everything I've ever liked in my entire life possible. So I guess that would be why I want to leave meatworld behind. The only thing I could possibly regret about this is that I didn't do it sooner.

As I was overthinking the question, an adfly exploded out of its hiding place, nestled in the stiff plastic leaves of the flowers beside me. As I reached to swat it away, it broke left and dodged my clumsy hands, slipping through my cheap adblocker like a mosquito through a shitty net. The adfly threw its many limbed body onto my face, latching on to my nose. It raised its needle to my left eye. I broke into a cold sweat as I surrendered, lowering my hands. I saw a light shine out of a hole on the ad's carapace, directly onto my right eye.

 **** MONSTER-REDBULL GIVES YOU POWER TM ****

From above, I saw a version of myself, a bit uglier and noticeably fatter, walking down a street towards a woman sitting on a bench. She was one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen, and as I watched, she looked over at my double with a faint air of distaste. My ugly lookalike had almost reached her when I saw a truck leap off the freeway and come crashing through the underbrush at the side of the road. He began to move as fast as his exaggerated build would let him, clearly hoping to grab the oblivious damsel and drag her to safety. They were both crushed as I looked on. Her face was the picture of contempt for her would-be rescuer.

**** FEELING POWERLESS? ****

Suddenly, everything began to move backwards, slowly at first but then faster and faster until the truck and my lame imposter were out of sight. As he moved back into the frame, I saw that my stand-in looked different. He was no longer grossly overweight, he was ripped. He also had a bandolier stocked with cans of Monster-Redbull© around his bulging chest. He locked eyes with the girl from before, who blushed but couldn't look away. The Adonis pulled a can of Monster-Redbull© from his bandolier, shotgunned it, and crushed the thick can between his bicep and forearm. Again the truck came off the freeway and hurtled towards the young woman. This time, however, the man moved towards the charging 18 wheeler, moving faster than the truck itself. He stopped just short of it and, bracing himself, caught the truck by its fender. He used its momentum to lift the truck up and over his head, spinning on his heel as he slammed it down on a man who had approached the girl. His competition vanquished, he caught the swooning girl with one hand while he used the other to shotgun another Monster-Redbull©.

**** MONSTER-REDBULL GIVES YOU POWER TM ****

The ad left. Careening around the room, it sought its next victim. Shaking, I promised myself I would file a complaint against VR Corp for leaving their building unsecured. Not that there was much point. Monster-Redbull© is probably paying VR Corp to let them in. And I would never have to deal with anything like this once I left this shithole forever. My meatworld adblocker might have been worth fuck all, but my VR one sure wasn't. Yet another reason I should hurry up with this form.

I finished off the other questions in Personal Information quickly. Next came Account Information. More name-address-date-of-birth stuff. I just couldn’t see the point in this. I already had an account, and that account already had all these details. I skipped all the fields until I found Account Number. I filled in all 16 digits, then almost kicked myself when the other fields filled themselves in. That’s it then. Finished. I went to press submit, and found I couldn’t.
I knew what was next. I would press that button, return the screen, and then they would get a doctor to assess the value of my carcass. Funny that assessing meat is one of the last jobs you need someone to be in their meat for. They would plug me in, and I would leave my body and go live in VR. Forever. It would be the same thing I did every morning, only this time there would be no coming back. My meat would no longer be my meat. It would just be another thing at a desk, or a burger flipper, or a janitor, and it would spend five hours a night in one of those depressing shacks you see behind every strip mall. And I would be my character.

I looked at the tip of my nose. I looked at my legs, my arms, my hands. I saw the scar from when I got over excited playing CoD: Ireland and fell out of my chair, putting spider web cracks in my VR screen and taking a chunk out of my thumb. I had been so mad at myself because the combination of those two disasters killed my promising fps career. Or at least put it off for a while, though I never got back into it… You’re stalling! Press submit dammit! This meat never gave you anything but pain and discomfort, while it took from you any chance you ever had of fitting in to the meatworld! I looked at it again. Now it seemed tired, worn out. I recalled every time I looked out the window at a beautiful day, then shut the blinds. Every time my brother messaged me to come out with him and I didn’t even respond. Every time I was “forced” to eat a tubepizza because my gaming schedule didn’t allow me to take long enough breaks to eat with my family. A sudden sense of clarity struck me.

My life could have played out so differently. I was weak. I am weak. VR makes it so easy to be strong. But maybe you can’t be strong when you never try to stand without having your hand held. I thought of my parents. They never liked VR. They never liked how much time I spent on it. They were born, grew up, and got married all without a butler whispering in their ear “She’s hitting on you” or “Kill the tension with a joke”. Were the girls I “fucked” in VR fucking me or the time I spent in character creator? Or the wit my butler fed into my ear? Had any of the banter or emotions we shared been real? What was the point? Why not get rid of the middlemen and let the butlers fuck each other, stick a dildo in a fleshlight? The only thing I have ever done in VR is masturbate, or enable another person’s masturbation. Maybe not always physically (though there had been plenty of that), but emotionally, mentally. My whole life I thought I was popular in VR because people were finally seeing the real me. But I wasn’t eight feet tall, I didn’t have rippling abs, and I couldn’t come up with one liners in 0.2 seconds. I am not really my character. I’m something more. I looked down at myself again. For the first time in ten years, I saw me.

Thanks for reading! Any comments or criticism are welcome!

title: [SF] Waiting Room

question: What does the story say about the narrator's life outside of VR?

answer: The narrator has always been fat. He also suffers from extreme acne. He never felt at home in the house he was born in. He has a brother who messages him to hang out.

question: What does the story say about occupations?

answer: The narrator has had jobs working in VR. There are doctors whose job is to assess people's bodies when they sign them away to go live in VR. Those bodies are put to work at desk jobs, as burger flippers, or as janitors. The narrator's family also has butlers.

question: What does the story say about how VR was invented?


text:
Michigan has become the first state to ban the National Security Agency’s intrusive data collection practices by passing a law that prohibits law enforcement and state agencies from turning over personal data to the federal government without due process.

The Fourth Amendment Rights Protection Act, or HB4430, will go into effect next month after it passed the Michigan state legislature with overwhelming support and only one “_no_” vote.

The text of the bill states that its purpose is “_TO_ _PROHIBIT THIS STATE AND CERTAIN OTHER GOVERNMENTAL AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, AND ENTITIES IN THIS STATE FROM ASSISTING A FEDERAL AGENCY IN OBTAINING CERTAIN FORMS OF DATA WITHOUT A WARRANT; AND TO PROHIBIT CERTAIN USES OF CERTAIN DATA COLLECTED WITHOUT A WARRANT_.”

According to the new law, the state and its political subdivisions “_shall not assist, participate with, or provide material support or resources to a federal agency to enable it to collect or to facilitate in the collection or use of a person’s electronic data or metadata,”_ unless at least or more of the following criteria are met:

1.  The person has given informed consent.
2.  The action is pursuant to a warrant that is based upon probable cause and particularly describes the person, place, or thing to be searched or seized.
3.  The action is in accordance with a legally recognized exception to warrant requirements.
4.  The action will not infringe on any reasonable expectation of privacy the person may have.
5.  This state or a political subdivision of this state collected the electronic data or metadata legally.”

As the Washington Examiner reported, the new law is “_THE_ _BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT YET GROWING OUT OF EFFORTS TO BLOCK WATER TO A MASSIVE NSA DATA-STORAGE CENTER IN BLUFFDALE, UTAH_.” Similar laws have been proposed and have fallen short in states such as Alaska, Maryland, South Carolina, and Washington.

The Fourth Amendment Rights Protection Act in Michigan claims the “_electronic data_” that will be protected from the NSA includes “_an electronic communication or the use of an electronic communication service_,” “_the precise or approximate location of the sender or recipients of an electronic communication,_” and “_the identity of an individual or device involved in the communication.”_

Michigan State Rep. Martin Howrylak, a sponsor of the bill, told the Examiner that he believes its passage “_SPEAKS TO THE FACT THAT A LOT OF THE DOMESTIC SURVEILLANCE OF AMERICAN CITIZENS IS HIGHLY UNPOPULAR._”

_“It hangs up a sign on Michigan’s door saying, ‘No violation of the Fourth Amendment, look elsewhere,'”_ Howrylak said. _“Democrats, as well as Republicans, would certainly stand very strong in our position on what this law means.”_

While Howrylak said he thinks the law makes “_a strong court case saying this is what the state intends_,” he hopes other states will join in by passing similar legislation, in an effort to cripple the NSA’s illegal activities.

Next month marks 5 years since former NSA contractor Edward Snowden released a trove of classified documents revealing that the United States government was routinely collecting metadata from innocent American citizens without warrants, and using “_national security_” to justify its actions.

While the NSA’s warrantless data collection was ruled illegal by a court in June 2015, it has continued and the government has attempted to cover up its illegal actions by writing them into law. The latest example of this occurred earlier this year when Congress reauthorized Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Section 702 has served as the foundation for the NSA’s largest and most egregious surveillance programs for the last decade. The first attempt to reauthorize it was through the introduction of the USA Liberty Act. As The Free Thought Project reported, Congress claimed the bill would “_better protect Americans’ privacy_” by requiring the government to have “_a legitimate national security purpose_” before searching an individual’s database.

However, what the bill did not advertise was the fact that it did not actually address the legitimate problems that exist with Section 702. The FBI’s “_legitimate national security purpose_” could be justified by just about any reason the agency chooses to give, and agents would only need supervisory authority in order to search Americans’ metadata.

When the USA Liberty Act failed, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence introduced the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017, which renewed Section 702 for six years, after it was included in a massive spending bill passed by Congress.

By signing the Fourth Amendment Rights Protection Act into law, the state of Michigan is taking a stand against the federal government’s unconstitutional practice of stealing data from innocent Americans without a warrant, and it is setting a precedent for other states in the country to follow.

Sponsored Content:

[]

question: What is the purpose of this article?

answer: To inform of the ban passed by Michigan on intrusive data collection practices, explain the content of the ban and its implications.

question: Why has this ban been passed?

answer: The National Security Agency extensively collects data on individuals without a warrant.

question: When was this written?

answer: April 2018 - it mentions that the next month will mark 5 years since Edward Snowden released documents revealing the extent of the US government gathering data on citizens, which happened in May 2013.

question: What data can still be collected after this ban?

answer: It is possible for data to be collected if the FBI claims there is a legitimate national security purposes.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Michigan has become the first state to pass a ban limiting the National Security Agency's intrusive data-collection practices. It is being celebrated as a victory for data privacy, but there are still gaps.


text:
Whistling at the dark

He stood in the blackness, his lips pursed together in a defiant sneer against the night. A soft sound escaped his lips, a pliant, fleeting tone that slipped through the night like the soft cries of a cornered prey. But it was with that sole musicless tone that he fought the night. It was like a dirge to him, a requim to be repeated over and over lest a chaotic fate take his life, some form of protection. The night carried dangers, of course. The night always carried danger, slow predators, fast prey, the ever present spiral of life and death. The forest in the distance was a trap. A slow death for those found within, pressed by others who would take their life for sustenance, and by the slow grind of the human machine which presses in on the trees like a vice, both metaphorical and not. The roads nearby hummed with motorcycle engines and the low drum of tractor trailers. The night was barely audible. The trees' rustle was sorrowful, as though they were aware of the sparse environment in which they grew. Perhaps they knew that their seeds, their children, would find pavement and poison. Perhaps plants were aware of the damage we did them. Perhaps not.

These were not the questions that He pondered as his tones and scales passed into the night. The question he pondered was a simple one. Does the night threaten, or protect? If a man finds his way into the forest at night, can he use the night as another tool, like a hammer to be weilded against the nails of the world? Humans were so good with tools. They used their world and changed their world and were positively okay with changing with their own alterations. Each new hell we press upon the world is one  which we will pay for. We are punished by our sins, not for them.

The tone changed. The man's face twitched, like he had caught the odor of something wistfully foul in the enveloping black. The whistling was a bit faster now, more of a plaintive groan than a playful twist of wind.  The man had made a realization. His mind had pierced the slow gloam of humanity to find a small point of universality. 'We are all trees' he breathed softly through his pursed lips. Then the meteor struck. The large rock flying through the universe had picked his small backwater planet and found his small backwater field where he stood whistling in the night. It was so massive, he had no chance of escape. By the time the news had reported the scientist's findings, the blast radius covered his entire nation. No vehicle could bear him from the damage now. He and his family would be lost, his home burned beyond even molecular recognition, with a force like an atomic bomb striking so close. He would be lost. But life would not be. The meteor was a predator, a cosmic wolf with gnashing teeth and cracked claws. But prey could be clever. Humans were so good with tools.

Inside a small black box buried feet under the ground lay a seed. A small seed, a tiny oak rock filled with all of the DNA and potential and history of life on Earth. The box was cracked, and water from the new storm clouds forming over the planet found its way to the cushioning around the seed. It took time. The little life had to crack its way out of its own shell; then the shell of the man, the little black box designed to handle even the force of an atomic bomb. It found its way out. Through the ashey dirt it fled, past the atoms of He and his family and their home and the ashphalt and chaos of humanity. Past humanity it fled, reaching towards light, unsure if the earth above it would bury it. But humans were so good with tools. A sharp metal stab rang out near the plants' new growth. It could feel the earth above it rended, torn from its roots and sent flying into the air. But its roots were strong, buried in humanity. The rending stopped. Above the plant, a small something opened up. It could not tell what it was; had never seen sunlight before. But there was a mass there, a white shining mass of hydrocarbons and polycarbonates. It was a human, come to sample the soil from the strike. 'Hello' said the plant in its own indiscernible language. 'and thank you.'

Later, a mighty oak grew in that spot. The small metal box rose to the surface over the years, and was discovered years after the tree was fully grown. On it, it said; “Humanity does not refer to human beings' selfish nature for self preservation. It refers to the quality within us which protects all life, both ours and others.”

title: Please judge this rough draft I would like to know if I have "writer chops." Thanks

question: What does the story say about seeds?

answer: Inside a small black box buried feet under the ground lay a seed. A small seed, a tiny oak rock filled with all of the DNA and potential and history of life on Earth. The box was cracked, and water from the new storm clouds forming over the planet found its way to the cushioning around the seed. It took time. The little life had to crack its way out of its own shell; then the shell of the man, the little black box designed to handle even the force of an atomic bomb. It found its way out. Later, a mighty oak grew in that spot. The small metal box rose to the surface over the years and was discovered years after the tree was fully grown. On it, it said; “Humanity does not refer to human beings' selfish nature for self-preservation. It refers to the quality within us which protects all life, both ours and others.”

question: What does the story say about the narrator's music taste?