text:
GANGNAM
APOCALYPSE

When she changed into her simpler, less flashy clothes I lost my mind. She looked simply amazing, more beautiful and more attractive than she I had ever seen her. She was wearing but a simple dark grey kurta on top of sleek, slender slacks protecting her sexy legs oh so tightly. It was then I realized why I was so crazy about her. It was then I realized that despite her being a less than average looking girl, why I couldn’t stop fantasizing about her, why I had abandoned all moral objections to my incestuous situation with her and why her sitting there quite simply and boldly was driving me nuts.

I met her a long time ago. It was several years ago that we had met before we actually got to know each other. At this point of course I should make it clear to the reader and to myself that she was and remains my cousin, although a very distant cousin but still a cousin. Anyway I had once met her in such circumstances as cousins meet, i.e., visiting someone. But that first meeting is completely irrelevant, as is our next. We met again at a wedding. I was in my teens and she was a few years older to me. What was important about this meeting was that this was shortly after I had passed puberty, which means that a few months ago I would never had imagined talking to people I didn’t already know

Regardless, I met her at the wedding and ended up spending upto twelve hours with her in a small temporary group. There were four of us: myself, my sister, her and her sister. Of course I considered them all sisters equal to my own sibling, but I couldn’t ignore the fact that I had practically never met them in my entire life and didn’t know a thing about them. Yes they were cousins but this was the first time I actually met them, and got to know them. It is important to note that the time we all spent together at the wedding I consider to be some sort of victory, because that was one of the first time I was actually socializing and talking to girls. The environment in which it happened was perfect, I didn’t think of her in anyway except as a sister, but she was still a girl and I had made friends with her. It was very much like a controlled simulation, which did help me a lot in the future I believe.

But as I said before, this part doesn’t bear much relevance to the overall story. My story begins about five years ago, at yet another gigantic family function. The reason I made clear the circumstances in which we had met earlier and made our acquaintance, was to establish that I was already very comfortable with her. So this time I once again spent a large portion of the days of the event with her, but this time it was only us. We had a lot of time to talk to each other and get to know each other better, and what I didn’t realize was that I was indeed spending too much time exclusively with her and people had noticed.

I remember how it happened exactly, the moments which I was made crazy about her. We were simply sitting in a large room full of people, with a comfortable silence between us and then I realized just how much I had become close to her. It was quite sudden that she became irresistible to me. I forced myself not to look into her eyes, because I knew that if I did I’d be lost forever. I made sure for the next couple of days not to look directly into her warm, peaceful, comforting eyes for I would fall in love with her.

I also remember the journey back. I had to cut short my visit and ride home alone, and in the night I spent in the bus, I couldn’t get her out of my mind. It was pure agony, fighting myself so as to not think of her. I kept telling myself “Not Her! Not Her!” but I simply couldn’t stop thinking about her in ways I should never do. Sadly, and painfully, we didn’t really meet that way again. As fate would have it, she needed to come to visit my family every six months for some exam that she needed to give. For some strange reason she wasn’t clearing it. So every six months, for twelve hours, she visited me. And every six months, for twelve hours I had to chain my feelings up and act nice because this was after all my parents’ home and I couldn’t really do much. But despite my best efforts to control them, my mother knew that I had feelings for her. She once tricked me using this knowledge. She asked me if I wanted to help her select ear-rings for the Cousin of mine, and so I agreed to go with as casually as I possibly could. When of course we got to the jewelers, my mother wasn’t buying ear-rings for her, but her elder sister who was getting married.

I didn’t say anything but from that moment on I knew I had to be very mindful of my mother. One small slip and she could surmise everything. The reason for her immeasurable power to do so, was that because she didn’t deduce, or find out that I was attracted to a girl, she simply assumed without doubt that I did. No matter what, no matter how, if the girl wasn’t a repulsive alien from outer space, she assumed that I was under the influence of her. Only in this case, she happened to be right. From that time on she constantly remind me that she knew I liked her, and luckily I don’t think she really had a problem with it. A cousin she was, but so incredibly distant, nobody cared how I saw her. Instead they simply assumed that I was attracted to her.

I understand that this isn’t articulated as well as I’d hoped, but again I what I write is out of complete honesty and I will not justify my writing beyond this sentence. For when she is near there is a spell upon me, and I transform into a love induced monster of will, and I fight that transformation as fruitlessly as any werewolf upon the sight of its maiden the moon. Don’t they yearn for it as much as I yearn for her? At least she greets them once a fortnight, while I have to wait six months.

Slowly, calmly over years I kept my feelings inside me. For a long time my closest friends did not know, but there came a time when I accepted that I knew far worse things about them, so I confided in them and they understood. I kept myself away from her as much as possible. To this day I do not have her phone number. I did once but I never called her. I was cursed to torment, alone in my pain. Each time the two weeks that follow after she leaves, I think of nothing else. I can’t think of anything else, and I don’t want to think of anything else. I cannot call her, tell her how I feel, or do anything for her.

But still despite my best efforts to hide it, my mother’s certainty grew immensely, to a point where it could’ve been a problem. Once while eavesdropping on a conversation my mother was having, I heard the sentence, “Yes, they do get along pretty well!” I instantly knew who she was talking to and what she was talking about. I tried very hard to find where I had failed, where I made a mistake. But now I don’t think I ever did. Even though I couldn’t understand where I had gone wrong, I reinforced my defenses as much as I could. I tried to be even more careful. I talked to her for a total of thirty minutes, or not more than an hour, in a year and I felt I still needed to be more careful with her.

I was always nervous and shaky whenever her name was mentioned. But I tried to hide it. To get through the nights spent dreaming about her, I tried to convince myself that I did not and could not love her. I told myself that I was merely lonely and was hooked upon the first girl that paid a little extra attention to me, I told myself she and I were very, insurmountably different (since we were in reality very different from each other), I told myself she doesn’t understand me and nor could I understand her, that she was stupid and ugly and came up with so many reasons not to think of her. But then when has that ever worked? While thinking of reasons not to like her, I was of course thinking of her hence continuing and fueling my addiction of her.

Over the years, I had built defenses, plans and strategies to stop myself. I knew she was coming and I knew what to do. I laid as low as possible, I tried to appear as callous, uninterested and uncaring as I could but again, my resistances fell apart rather quickly and I made excuses to spend time with her and get close to her.

But the time when my demeanor was finally a little more loose than usual, I found out that it was indeed not meant to be and that I really should stop thinking about her. We saw “Wall-E” a very beautiful love story about robots in the future. I had to convince her a lot to pull away from my mother, who she talked to incessantly while she was here much to the annoyance of my mother. We spent most of the time watching the movie, not speaking to each other much and I realized that while I do have feelings for her, they weren’t as strong as I made them out to be. But more than that, I realized another thing: Something that was a stake in my heart from the very beginning, and one of the best arguments to why I couldn’t be with her. She didn’t and couldn’t have feelings for me.

She was not the kind to socialize much, but if she did want someone to be with, she indeed had a lot of choices but I wasn’t one of them, nor could I be. The movie ended and she left immediately, almost storming out as if a long chore was done. And as she left I turned to my computer and did whatever I usually do to pass the time. And since then, my heart had been at peace.

That is until yesterday, when she returned. I sat in my bed reading a book, or at least trying to, because I was bottling up my excitement about meeting her again. I had planned my sleep cycle a day before, so that today I could wake up three hours from now to see her off. I knew it was fruitless and it had always been completely futile to hide myself, and so I didn’t. I asked her out for tea and we went together, just the two of us. We talked a little and she called her mother to say that she was out with me, just me; much to my dismay. So it was a good evening, that got better because her, my sister and I went out for a nice dinner without adult supervision or intrusion and it was good. It was nice, satisfying and I was simply happy to just look at her to my hearts content.

When we came back she changed into a simple kurta, dark grey with some little design. For the first time, she looked “hot”. Conventionally “hot” and it drove me insane. I was shaking and shivering in my chair, catching glances of her from head to toe. Her soft, supple waist, her flowing, beautiful black hair of which just a small strand fell upon her sweet face. Her sexy, slender legs covered in black. It was a sight to behold and I realized why I liked her so much. In all my considerations, I never actually understood why I did like her.

It wasn’t the looks, or her likes and interests or anything. It was all summed into the way she was sitting very comfortably in her kurta when I believe I saw the real her. Bold, beautiful, confident, yet with gentle hands completely comfortable and in control of herself and her environment. That is why I was mad about her. It was the power she had about herself. The respect and consideration she commanded simply by sitting there.

At that point I knew. I knew I had to find some way to just tell her how amazing she looked and that it was driving me out of my mind. I waited for one hour for a small opportunity to just be alone with her, or at least be able to whisper to her. My sister was sitting beside her with the entire family gathered in the living room, so obviously I could not do anything, whatsoever. It was the slowest most agonizing hour in my recent memory.

Of course, the excuse I did give to get her alone and away from the crowd came into play finally when the hour ended. And with her followed almost everyone else. We all gathered in my room and watched a video of a performance of “Gangnam Style” on a stage in front of countless thousands of people, perhaps more than a hundred thousand. We watched the very loud video, of so many people singing and dancing in tune to their favorite song without rehearsal, just spontaneously. The Mayans had predicted that the world was supposed to end by now. That the apocalypse would come and what not. Watching that video in that room, while the dancing horse man trampled upon my plans, while a massive, overwhelming crowd danced in tune with him, did feel quite apocalyptic. But not so much.

I wrote this because I hadn’t written anything proper in a very long time. I couldn’t even articulate proper sentences in conversations. But writing this was cathartic, traditional even, reminding me of the times I used to post blogs about the strange things that once happened to me. The thing about those blogs was that they were the marker of the very end of the episodes they were about. For after I had written that blog, nothing had happened that could be added to it. And I believe this is one of those very same posts. This is the last time she will give the exam, and after this, both of us will be too old to be flirting about. She will probably be married soon, and I have no intention of stopping her.

I regret that I never did find out how she really felt about me, or that I never explicitly told her my feelings. But she always reminded me that I was her younger brother, as if rejecting advances that I hadn’t actually made. And this happened often and it always scratched me. And I took those as ammunition in the debate against loving her. But at the end of this wall of text I can’t help but remember, long ago when the moment she arrived at my house, she came into my room, shutting the door softly, while I was sitting at my computer and whispered to ask me "So, do you have a girlfriend?" in her cute, perky manner. I said no and I forget what happened next and I do realize she was being friendly, but I still cherished that moment because that belonged to a time when she was quite excited to see me and had a certain happiness about her when she was with me, always having a big smile on face. Those moments were lost long ago, and recently she has never smiled at me quite as such as she did before. Whatever was the case, and whatever was the matter, I will be listening to Adele’s “SkyFall”, for it was stuck in my head the entire evening. And so the Fat Lady will sing, and it will be over.

The end, I suppose.

title: Gangnam Apocalypse

question: What does the story say about the country where the narrator lives?

question: Summarize the primary source of tension in the story.

answer: The primary source of tension in the story is the narrator's feelings for his older cousin. She's a distant cousin, but she's still a relative, which makes his situation incestuous. The narrator tries to fight his urges whenever she's around but is tormented and often fails. The narrator fails to let his cousin know about his true feelings because she has made it clear that she views him as her little brother.

question: Summarize how the narrator's feelings change over the course of the story.

answer: The narrator didn't have feelings for his cousin the first time they met because he hadn't reached puberty yet. The second time they met though (at a wedding), he was in his teens and she was a few years older. She was the first girl he socialized with for an extended period (they hung out for 12 hours). He developed feelings for his cousin at another family reunion. Since they were already acquainted, they spent a large portion of the event alone together and got to know each other well. The narrator didn't want to even look into her eye out of fear that he would fall in love, but he was already crazy about her. After the event, the narrator fought his demons, willing himself not to think about her, but he couldn't. The narrator couldn't hide his feelings about her, and soon, his mother and other relatives knew but didn't really care because she was a distant cousin. However, he still tried to keep his feelings to himself over the years, and couldn't really tell her. The narrator's feelings for his cousin only grew stronger, but he never told her how he felt. He regrets that he never found out if she felt anything for him. It pained him every time she would remind him that he was her little brother, rejecting advances that he never made. But he never stopped loving her.


split: test

text:
While American Enterprise Institute philosopher Christina Hoff Sommers was gamely endeavoring to finish her remarks over the din of protests at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore., Janet Steverson — law professor and diversity and inclusion dean — intervened to bring Hoff Sommers' speech to a premature close.

The diversity and inclusion dean had noticed that the mob (I mean students) were growing restless at the diversity of including a speaker such as Sommers, a guest of the Federalist Society, on the roster. Steverson told the Inside Higher Ed that the poor dears were becoming "antsy."

Well, that's one way of putting it when college students hurl vicious insults — including the ever-popular "fascist" epithet — at a renowned scholar in an attempt to intimidate. Let's face it: What these students did at Lewis & Clark was a macro-aggression. And the diversity dean catered to them.

Sommers, as we all know, is just one of a growing list of prominent intellectuals who have been shouted down on American college campuses.  At least in this instance there were no reported physical injuries, as was the case when a faculty member at posh Middlebury College in Vermont was injured escorting Charles Murray, another American Enterprise Institute scholar and author, through a howling mob of students.

It has become customary, when these all too common eruptions occur, to opine that the guarantee of the right of free speech, enshrined in the Bill of Rights, is in jeopardy. We also observe that these students don't want to hear ideas different from their own. I think this is far too kind.

The concentration on the threat to free speech, valid though it is, actually obscures the nature of the greater peril we are facing: We're starting way too far up the food chain with a sophisticated concept such as the right of freedom of speech. What we are really seeing is that the most lavishly financed university system in the history of mankind — or should I say peoplekind? — isn't educating people. In my day, nobody cared if we got "antsy" during a lecture: We were there to learn.

These kids are not refusing to grapple merely with ideas that are different from theirs but, I submit, are ill-prepared to engage with ideas. Period. And how could it be otherwise? These opinionated kids don't even know the definition of the all-purpose label fascist. Look it up, class, fascists engaged in street brawls and disruption to forestall debate.

A look at the US News & World Report description of the Lewis & Clark Law School offerings sheds some light on why students didn't show up intrigued to listen to an iconoclastic thinker. For tuition and fees of $43,290 a year, the Lewis & Clark future lawyer...

  “...can focus in legal areas including global law, Indian law, and more. Among specialty programs, the institution has a high law school ranking in environmental law."

Hands-on training can occur in "the Animal Law Clinic and the International Environmental Law Project. ... Northwestern Law school operates several centers that also offer research and training opportunities for law students, including the Center for Animal Law Studies, the National Crime Victim Law Institute, and the Natural Resources Law Institute.

Additionally:

  “Students may also seek out involvement opportunities in the school’s clubs and organizations, from the Latino Law Society to the softball league. Law reviews at the Lewis & Clark College Northwestern School of Law include Animal Law, Environmental Law, and the Lewis & Clark Law Review."

Sadly, this may not be the most solid preparation for understanding the ins and outs of the legal theory or writing briefs for clients. While there is nothing wrong with studying animal or environmental law — and these fields are prominently represented at top law schools — U.S. News choice to highlight them is an indication that such trendy offerings may be more attractive prospective students that duller studies in, say, constitutional, corporate law, or criminal (for humans) law.

Rightly concerned about the atmosphere on campus, Erwin Chemerinsky and Howard Gillman (respectively dean of the law school at Berkeley, and chancellor of the University of California, Irvine), wrote a book entitled “Free Speech on Campus.” In it, the authors seek to find a way to balance "unfettered" speech and at the same time promote "inclusive environments" on campus.

I'm glad the professors believe in free speech, but they couldn't be more wrong about "inclusive environments." First, inclusive environments aren't inclusive. Witness the inclusiveness dean shushing Sommers. Second, colleges were not, according to the idea of the university as it developed in western civilization, supposed to be "inclusive"; they were supposed to educate, which often meant exposing scholars to new ideas (and facts — remember those?).

Colleges have abandoned the project of exposing students to the poet Matthew Arnold's ideal of "the best which has been thought and said." The result is that too many graduates are ignorant of the basics. You can't understand why free speech is important if your mind is unfurnished — or furnished with fact-free indoctrination picked up in a women's studies class or other class that concentrates mostly on grievances, real or imagined.

If, as Thomas Jefferson believed, education is the cornerstone of our democracy, we're in deep trouble.

Of course, Mr. Jefferson would never be allowed on most American college campuses today.

_Charlotte Hays is senior editor and director of cultural program at Independent Women Forum._

question: What does the article say about fascism?

answer: The students who interrupted Christina Hoff Sommers' remarks called her a fascist. The author of the article implies that the students, due to their disruptin, actually better fit the definition of fascists.

question: What does the article have to say about the state of education at Lewis & Clark College?

answer: According to the article, the univestiry is failing to educate people. The students are ill-prepared to engage with ideas, especially those that are different from their own. The offering of trendy courses such as animal or environmental law also fails to properly prepare students for a law career. Rather than focusing on being inclusive, the university should be focusing on educating.

question: Summarize the main news event.

answer: Christina Hoff Sommers attempted to deliver remarks at Lewis & Clark College but was met by protests from the students. The dean intervened and ended the speech prematurely. Sommers is part of a growing list of intellectuals who have faced such interuptions on American college campuses.

question: What does the article say about Sommers's reaction to her speech being cut short?


text:
When June Gordon Marks Patinkin received her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Chicago this month, she was the only student to have five grandchildren there to celebrate.

Patinkin, who turned 90 last year, arrived at UChicago as a 16-year-old student, taking college classes with some of the era’s most illustrious scholars. But before graduating, she left school to work for the Marshall Plan, the ambitious American effort to rebuild postwar Europe.

Patinkin remained without a degree for the next three quarters of a century until her family contacted the College asking about her transcript. Counting classes she had taken at Northwestern University, it was determined she had earned enough credits to graduate. She received her diploma with the Class of 2018 during the University’s 531st Convocation on June 9.

“I’m just thrilled,” Patinkin said. “It was a fabulous experience.”

To a round of cheers, Patinkin was the final student to traverse the stage at the College diploma ceremony in the Snell-Hitchcock quadrangle. In doing so, she became the oldest graduate of the College on record, according to the University registrar.

“We are delighted to welcome June back to the College and award her well-earned degree,” said John W. Boyer, dean of the College. “She embodies the University of Chicago’s spirit of lifelong learning and devotion to intellectual achievement. We share in her and her family’s joy.”

Patinkin’s path to her degree started in 1944. Still in high school, she began taking College classes under a program championed by then-University President Robert Maynard Hutchins, who wanted to extend classes and degrees to bright high school students.

Patinkin remembers her classes sharply, taught by some of the great midcentury scholars—Hans Morgenthau, Joseph J. Schwab, Herman Finer—many of whom had fled Europe during the war and landed at the University. “Here we were, these snot-nosed little kids, being taught by these brilliant thinkers,” she said.

She eventually transferred to Northwestern University but returned to Hyde Park and UChicago when her father fell ill. She wrote for the student newspaper, the _Chicago Maroon,_ and became its political editor. At the time, the editor-in-chief was David Broder, who would go on to become a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and columnist for the _Washington Post_.

“Those were times of great turmoil,” she said. One of the issues she covered was the ongoing investigation of the University by the Seditious Activities Investigation Commission, known as the Broyles Commission, an anti-communist commission formed by the Illinois legislature. “We were all worried in those days about these phony investigations,” she said.

But midway through 1949, she left to travel Europe for the summer with a friend. After a summer full of adventure—they traveled all over Europe, including countries then under the Iron Curtain, where Americans weren’t allowed at the time—her friend left, but she stayed in Paris and got a job with the Marshall Plan.

The Marshall Plan would eventually distribute $13 billion to 17 European countries to rebuild shattered economies and governments in the wake of World War II. Patinkin worked in the information division, compiling information and press releases, as well as clippings and press coverage. Then her future husband Hal Patinkin, who she had met briefly before leaving for Europe, came to visit. They eloped in Paris, then returned to the United States to begin raising a family.

Over the next few years she squeezed in classes, but never received a degree, perhaps due to administrative confusion about the Hutchins early-degree program, which by then had been abandoned. Patinkin raised five sons, all of whom attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools; two earned graduate degrees from the University, Hugh Patinkin a law degree and Nicholas Patinkin a master of arts. She also worked as a partner and gold buyer in her family’s jewelry business, Whitehall Jewellers.

But shortly before her 90th birthday, she told her daughter-in-law, Robin Patinkin, that one of her great regrets in life was that she had never received her college degree.

“I was astounded,” Robin Patinkin said. “She’s brilliant—we all say the brains of our children came from her—so none of us had any idea.”

Robin Patinkin reached out to the College, and it was pieced together that the University had never received June Patinkin’s transcripts from her two years at Northwestern. These credits fulfilled her degree in political science. They announced it at June’s birthday party. “June kept asking if it was really true. We all had tears in our eyes,” Robin Patinkin said.

All of this led up to June 9, when June Gordon Marks Patinkin at last attended her graduation.

“It was a wonderful experience to have gone here,” she said. “It really did instill this quest for knowledge.”

question: What made Patinkin not complete her degree.

answer: Patinkin joined UChicago at the age of sixteen but before she could graduate she had to leave the school to work for the Marshall Plan. She did not complete her graduation for the next three-quarters of a century until her family contacted the college. After counting the classes that she had taken at Northwestern Univesity, it was that she had enough credits to graduate. She soon received her diploma during the University's 531st Convocation.

question: What was the Marshall Plan about?

answer: The Marshall Plan was an effort to rebuild postwar Europe. The plan would distribute $13 billion to seventeen European countries to rebuild their economies and governments. Patinkin worked in the information division, compiling them and releasing them to the press.

question: Why did Patinkin elope with her husband to Paris?

question: How did Patinkin's family reach out to the college?

answer: When Patinkin told her daughter-in-law, Robin, that she regretted not receiving her college degree, Robin contacted the University. The University had never received her transcripts from Northwestern. Together they fulfilled her degree in political science.


text:
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[paddyholohanufcdublin2]

Paddy “The Hooligan” Holohan’s victory at UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs Brandao was one of the most impressive showings from an Irishman inside the Octagon to date. On paper, Josh Sampo was the biggest threat to the Irish clean sweep on July 19th and apart from an armbar attempt that was avoided, Holohan looked completely comfortable in every second of the bout despite a two year competitive lay off.

Celebrating with a cart wheel into a tumble, a homage to a fellow Jobstown sporting hero Robbie Keane, it’s clear that Holohan believes he owes a lot to the Tallaght housing estate he grew up in.

“Every day I’d get into little scraps about stupid things like football or whatever,” he said. “It’s not like we would be in huge organised fights, we were just kids. I wouldn’t change a thing about my upbringing. Even now I try to spend as much time as I can in my area.

“There’s a lot to learn around here through the situations that you’re faced with on a daily basis, if another kid steals your bike you have to go out and take it back. I could look out my window right now and I’d probably see people fighting over silly things. It might look bad but they are learning, it’s healthy when you grow up in an area like this.

“I was in a lot of scuffles when I was growing up. I had a big group of friends and a lot of them were older than me. Two of them actually went to prison today, they are my neighbours in the houses either side of me. It just shows you the different paths you can take, today I was teaching martial arts to 30 Garda (police).”

Holohan spoke about how he always felt the need to defend his household in his formative years. Failing that, he described how he has an incredibly “tough” older sister who never shied away from confrontation.

“I’ve always felt like the man of the nest. It was me and my older sister when we were growing up and she was as tough as shit too, she actually gave me my first black eye. She’s known around the area for it as well, she’d be beating up my friends’ older brothers.

“She looked after me when I was growing and so did my uncle, I had friends that looked out for me too, it was good craic. We always had enough to get by.”

Raised by his mother, the SBG flyweight highlighted how the space he was given as an adolescent helped him to forge his own path in later life.

He said: “My Ma never seen me fight, she doesn’t really care about it that much. It’s always been that way, I’ve always been paving my own path. Even in school, it’s not that she doesn’t care, she just knows me and she trusts me. The freedom she gave me from a young age is why I’m in the situation that I am today.

“I’ve always wanted to do well in everything that I do. I never wanted people to look at me and see some kind of stereotype and if people did look at me like that I wanted to shock them and show them what I could do.”

Although the Dubliner is celebrated for his unorthodox grappling style today, he remembered how his first steps into Arte Suave were not as calculated and triumphant.

“My friend Dean Donnelly, he’s a purple belt now, he got me into it and I didn’t even know what it was called at the start, I think I called it Tae-kee-doh or something,” he laughed of his introduction to Brazilian jiu jitsu, “I knew it worked though. I can remember going down to train and Ais Daly was tying me up in knots and I just had to learn more, I was thinking ‘how have I gone through my whole life without knowing these things’.”

It’s hard to believe that “The Hooligan” ever contemplated a life outside of MMA, but he revealed that he had his own agendas to take into his initial competitive outings.

“I never thought that it would end up as a career, not a chance. I was just thinking how great it would be to hit someone and not get charged for it. I’m deadly serious, that’s what I was thinking. It’s not that I wanted to hurt anyone, I just wanted to be able to have a fight without other people jumping in or pulling me out of the way.

“Even when John Kavanagh asked me would I like to fight I told him exactly the same thing. Even the second fight I got, I was heading to Marseille in France and that was the biggest reason that I wanted to fight that time. I was like, ‘I get to go to France and I get to do that fighting thing again’, so I was happy enough with that.”

Holohan also recalled that it was after his second test in France that he knew that he would be able to make a career out of the sport having reacted well to fighting a hometown favourite in front of a hostile crowd.

“I can remember it felt like I was being pushed into a corner and that’s what gets the best out of me. I felt like I was being brought out there just to get beaten by this guy. He was hometown guy and Owen Roddy was supposed to fight him originally, so I knew he was going to be good.

“I knew after I got out of that sticky situation that I could make something of it. I thought if I could take that experience back to the Irish shows with me I could go a long way with it. I’ll always remember Chris Fields saying to me ‘you have something special’. I started putting in the hours and then my son came along, it just became my path.”

Fields’ words were evidently true as Holohan constantly proved his worth against established competitors like Neil McGuigan and Steve McCombe. The Tallaght man’s long awaited bout with Damien Rooney, which many believed would decide who the premier Irish bantamweight was at the time, remains one of his greatest milestones.

Holohan had broken his arm before their initial date and many perceived that although he had an advantage on the ground, if the fight remained standing Rooney would easily dictate the pace. Inside the first minute Holohan landed a head kick which separated Rooney from his senses and established the SBG man as one of Ireland’s greatest MMA products.

His final Cage Contender outing saw “The Hooligan” restore Irish pride against a man who had spoiled the country’s party on two occasions against Conor McGregor and Neil Seery, Lithuanian submission specialist Artemj Sitenkov.

As the Eastern European latched on to a signature leg lock, Holohan evaded his assault with a quick transition and a freakish showing of flexibility before weaving a web of his own. Chaining an armbar to an omaplata and eventually finishing with a triangle, “The Hooligan” was in a different class to his fellow European on the night.

An injury to Holohan’s back as he lost a decision to Joshua Hill in the elimination rounds of TUF 18 forced him away from competition for nearly two years before July 19th. However, the jiu jitsu ace insisted that the injury and subsequent discectomy only strengthened his pursuit of a UFC contract.

“There was a time I was sitting in bath and I was nearly crying. Darragh O’Conaill (Irish black belt jiu jitsu competitor) is having similar trouble at the moment, he knows what I’m talking about. When someone tells me they have that injury I just feel for them so much. I can nearly feel it, I know exactly what they’re going through.

“It’s uncomfortable all the time. I literally couldn’t move the second time I did it, I couldn’t go outside and play football with my son. These are things that you have to overcome. I would’ve destroyed three disks to get where I am today. I had to get here, that was my mission,” he said.

One of the strangest things about Paddy Holohan’s return to action at UFC Dublin was the fact that he predicted that he would not only be on the card, but that he would be the first fight on the card – all while recovering from a back injury that could have cost him his career. He explained his thought process:

“It wasn’t that I had heard from Dana in advance of being confirmed on the card or anything. To be honest I don’t think Dana White has understood a word I’ve said whenever I’ve been talking to him. He always has a face like he’s thinking ‘what is this kid saying’.

“He just doesn’t understand me and I know that, but I’ll use to my advantage someday. He’ll come up and say ‘Paddy, I told you to this or that’ and I’ll be like ‘sorry Dana, I don’t know what you’re saying’.

“Seriously though, when you’re on the journey you should only ever think of the destination. Forget about the how, the if – forget about it. Your mind will naturally start thinking of how you will react to the bad situations that might get in the way.

“When I knew UFC were coming back I started thinking about who could get on the card. Then I start thinking that they could put me on the card. They know what I’m like, I love to fight and because I’m from Dublin they know I can get the crowd going. I knew it and I think the fact that I was the first fight on the card made it special. Every seat had a bum in it, you don’t get that usually.

“Brad Pickett’s brother came over to me and said: ‘Are you Paddy Holohan? I’m going to watch your fight. I’ve never heard that kind of noise at a weigh-in in my life. I never usually watch the first fight but I can’t wait to see this one’.

“I can remember going on the hop from school so I could sit up and watch Brad Pickett on Cage Rage. For my UFC debut I was sharing a card with him, that’s crazy.”

Remaining unbeaten after a test at MMA’s top table, Holohan highlighted where he thinks a lot of fighters go wrong when they sign on the dotted line to fight in the Octagon.

“The Irish fighters have the skill to mix it up with the best guys from any country. You see other fighters coming into the UFC and they change everything about their games, some people even change their whole training regimes. Don’t ever forget the boat that got you there. That’s always been the best way for me.

“I’ve felt some of the situations I’ve been in could’ve been the UFC, it just wasn’t. Now that I’m in the UFC I feel like I have a bit more freedom. Fights fall through a lot on other shows and for the fighters, they’ve banked their whole lives on the date they have to compete. That’s the worst thing about them shows.

“You aren’t eating as you normally would, you’re not seeing your family or friends a lot, you can’t book a holiday – then BANG – your opponent pulls out and it was all for nothing. And it’s for stupid reasons a lot of the time, it’s not fair on the fighters. I look forward to not having to deal with that in the UFC, they’ll find someone to fight you,” he said.

Holohan, who got some of the loudest ovations over the weekend of the UFC’s Dublin return at the weigh-in and event itself, claimed he expected nothing less from the manic crowd in the Irish capital.

“That’s just Dublin, it’s just mental,” he said. “We nearly break on through to the other side as Tommy Tiernan says. Crowds rarely get to that level where they’re so crazy that it’s like they’re going burst out of the universe, we just get there straight away. That night we were literally on the bar, anything more than that and it would have been a supersonic boom.”

Approaching his UFC debut, Holohan was frustrated by a lot of casual MMA fans who he believes gave him “no credit” in the build up to the biggest test of his career.

Holohan said: “I had a tough fight, it was a very tough debut. People who just started to watch the sport were saying things like ‘is he going to blow his second chance’ in comments on social media. What do you say to these people?

“They gave me no credit, they knew nothing about my career other than I tried out for TUF. I went out there on my own, I was carrying an injury and I didn’t come back and start making excuses. Then these people start spouting like their opinion actually matters – they need to chill out and come along on this journey with us.

“This isn’t football. We don’t have ten other guys in there to throw a few digs into our opponents, we can’t come off halfway through the fight and put on a nice warm jacket and sit on a bench. To get to the UFC you’re putting in endless hours and you go home to your family broke, physically and mentally.”

With no reported injuries from the Sampo bout, Holohan insisted that he is focusing on “family time” at the moment but he is ready to get back into action as soon as the UFC name an opponent for him.

“I’m 100% fit, I’ve just got a lot things to tie up. My son is in camps at the moment and his mother has been taking time off work to bring him and stuff like that, it’s my turn to put in some time now. I’ve had my son a lot since the fight but I’m still heading to the club to teach a few classes and things. I’m just enjoying a little bit of family time now.

“Give me the notice and I’m grand to fight anyone. I don’t have anyone in the division that I would love to fight, the only people I’d love to fight aren’t even in the UFC – they aren’t actually fighters now that I think about it.”

As for his title credentials, the unbeaten flyweight has no reason to believe that he can’t win the championship.

“I could win the belt. One of my best assets is my ability to shock myself. That’s a great ability, it gives me the balls to get into the Octagon and lay it all on the line. When you know you can shock yourself you fear nothing. I knew I had the ability to not only win, but to finish Josh Sampo. That’s how I feel every time I get in to compete so I wouldn’t rule out a run at the title,” he said.

@PetesyCarroll

question: What does the story say about Paddy's childhood?

answer: Paddy had many friends that are older than him, and some of them went to prison. His sister was very tough and she gave him his first black eye. She was beating up his friends’ older brothers. His mother gave him freedom, and he believes that is why is in the situation that he is today.

question: What does the story say about his education?

question: What does the story say about Paddy's children?

answer: He has a son that is in camps. He says that he is enjoying family time now.


text:
The noise of breaking glass and ringing metal was a sharp contrast to the silence that had filled the apartment for the past month. Thomas watched in horror as the soccer ball smashed into the tennis trophies. His eyes filled with tears as he looked at the pile of broken pieces on the floor, and his voice was almost a whisper when he asked, "Why did you do that?"
"Because you never play with me!"
"I said later."
"You always say later! And then you just stare at your stupid trophies all day!"
Thomas looked at his son. Michael defiantly looked back.
"Go to your room.", he said.
Michael didn't move.
"Now.", Thomas added.
Michael kept his posture for another moment, then he drooped and started shuffling to the hall, closing the door behind himself. Thomas took a deep breath and his gaze rested on the door for a moment. Then he fetched some glue from the utility drawer and sat down next to the pile of broken trophies. Most of them weren't too badly damaged. Some bumps and scratches, two of them had snapped at the base. He picked up the trophy for the first place in the municipal championships. The two golden tennis player figurines that once stood proudly on top of it were now lying on the ground. The trophy for second place at the regional charity tournament got the worst of it. It was made of two engraved glass blocks, and it was shattered into a couple dozen pieces. Thomas sighed. He took the largest piece of the glass trophy and started looking for matching pieces.

Thomas didn't know how much time had passed, but he realized that the afternoon sun had all but disappeared behind the horizon when Michael opened the door to the living room.
"I'm hungry."
Thomas looked up from the trophy. He had managed to reassemble most of the pieces, but the cracks and seams were very visible on the smooth surface. He paused for a moment.
"Then make yourself some food."
"No you make some!", Michael said, helplessly waving his arms and stomping his feet. Thomas was still squatting in front of the trophy pile, his head at the same level as Michael's.
"You hurt me very much, Michael.", Thomas said. "Just make yourself a sandwich. I really don't feel like cooking for you right now."
"I hate you!", Michael exploded, and ran towards Thomas and shoved him with all the weight he could bring up with his eight year old body. Thomas lost his balance and rolled on his back. Michael picked up the almost repaired glass trophy.
"And I hate your stupid trophies!"
Thomas was horrified. "No!", he shouted, way too late.
Michael threw the trophy at the wall, where it shattered into a million pieces.
Thomas couldn't hold back his anger anymore. "Enough!" He grabbed Michael and put him over his shoulder.
He carried him to his room, while Michael kept struggling and kicking and throwing his little fists at Thomas' back. He put him down on his bed, stood up and looked down at him, pointing his finger.
"You stay here now! I don't want to see you again until I've cleaned up your mess! Understood?"
Michael looked at his feet and nodded weakly.

Thomas had to accept that there was no way he would reassemble the countless shards into which the trophy had shattered. He grabbed a scoop and a hand brush and started sweeping up the shards. When he was done, he repaired the other, less severely damaged trophies and placed them back onto the shelf. Only the municipal championships trophy was still incomplete. One of the two figurines was missing.

Thomas was sitting at the kitchen table and had just started to quarter and peel an apple when Michael carefully opened the door and entered.
"I'm sorry I broke your trophies.", he said. His eyes were red and wet from crying.
Thomas looked at Michael with his mouth open, as it finally made sense.
"They're not just my trophies, Michael.", he said. "Your mom and I won those together. That's why they are so important to me. They remind me of her."
Michael looked up at his father, new tears shooting into his eyes as he realized what he had done.
"I miss her.", he wept.
"I miss her too.", Thomas said.
Thomas got up and took the municipal championships cup from the shelf.
"This was the last tournament we played in.", he said. "Your mom was already two months pregnant with you when we won this."
"Why did you stop playing?", Michael asked.
"We didn't stop playing tennis.", Thomas replied. "We just stopped playing in tournaments. It just didn't seem important anymore."
Michael thought about that for a moment while Thomas finished peeling the apple. He handed a piece to Michael. They both took a bite and looked each other in the eyes. Michael hesitated for a moment, then he reached into his pocket and took out the missing figurine.
"I took it.", he said. "I'm sorry."
Thomas stared at the golden figurine.
"Then let's reattach it.", he said as he got up and fetched the glue. He carefully applied a little glue while Michael held the figurine. Then he gently led Michael's hand as he put the figurine back in place. They exchanged a deep look. Nobody said a word.
"Can we have Pasta now?", Michael said.
Thomas laughed, and realized that he was happy. He picked up his son and hugged him.
"Yeah", he said. "Pasta sounds just fine."

title: [RF] [UR] Broken

question: Why is Thomas so upset when Michael throws the ball at his trophies?

answer: Thomas is upset because the ball broke his trophies. He and his wife won the trophies when they played tennis together. Now his wife is dead and the trophies bring back memories of her.

question: How did Michael's mother die?

question: Why did Michael throw the ball at the trophies?

answer: Michael wanted to break the trophies because he is bored and Thomas sits and stares at the trophies all day rather than playing with or speaking to Michael. The two are in mourning because Michael's mother has recently died. Michael is probably also angry about his mother's death and may be taking his anger out on his father.


text:
_For the mirror universe counterparts, see Terran Empire, Terran Republic, Galactic Commonwealth._
_See also Federation, a novel._
_For other uses, see Federation._
The UNITED FEDERATION OF PLANETS is an interstellar state composed of 154 member states, colonies, protectorates, and other planetary governments unified under the goals of universal liberty, justice, equality, trade, exploration, scientific advancement, peace, and mutual protection. The most powerful state in local space, the Federation encompasses 10,000 light-years and is by far the largest state in the known Alpha and Beta Quadrants. The Federation, along with the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Star Empire, is one of the three traditional superpowers of known space. Unlike its traditional rivals who derive power from a single dominant species subjugating other races within the boundaries of their empire, the Federation's various Member States join willingly and are equals in the Federation's democratic society. The Federation's capital city is Paris, Earth. (_ST_ novel: _Articles of the Federation_)

-   1 History
-   2 Politics
-   3 Departments
    -   3.1 Members of the Federation
    -   3.2 Presidents of the Federation
    -   3.3 Federation Council
    -   3.4 Relations with Other States
    -   3.5 Groups
    -   3.6 Diplomatic treaties
-   4 Symbols
-   5 Awards
-   6 Culture
-   7 Language
-   8 Territory
    -   8.1 Planets
    -   8.2 Star systems
    -   8.3 Borders
-   9 Conflicts
-   10 Alternate timelines and realities
-   11 Appendices
    -   11.1 Connections
    -   11.2 External links

History[edit | edit source]

[]
The Signing of the Articles of the Federation on 12 August 2161.

_See main article: FEDERATION HISTORY._
The Federation was formed on 12 August 2161, the successor to the Coalition of Planets. (_ENT_ novel: _Last Full Measure_, _TNG_ episode: "The Outcast", _ENT_ episode: "Zero Hour", _ENT_ episode: "Demons")

The founding Member States of United Earth, the Confederacy of Vulcan, the Andorian Empire, the United Planets of Tellar, and the Alpha Centauri Concordium were subsequently joined by numerous other worlds to form one of the largest states in the galaxy. (_ENT_ episode: "Zero Hour", _ST_ novel: _Articles of the Federation_)

By 2380, the Federation consisted of 155 Member States. (_ST_ novel: _Articles of the Federation_)

_Several sources[_citation needed_] seem to imply an "Interplanetary Federation" existing prior to the official founding which did not have Earth as a founding member, and a Space Federation which existed as early as the 2080s[_citation needed_] and continued into the 23rd century, refferd to as having banded together the civilizations of the nearer universe against hostile star empires, though this is most likely an alternate timeline[_citation needed_]._
Alongside periods of peaceful relations and expansion, the Federation was also involved with numerous conflicts, some of the largest and most prolonged being with the Klingons in the 23rd century, and the Borg and the Dominion in the 24th century.

Around 12,250, a Galaxy wide Mega-Federation was founded, consisting of the vast majority of civilizations in the whole of the Milky Way Galaxy. It is speculated that the Federation loosely united a chunk of the universe later on. (ST Short Story: “Our One-Million Year Mission”)

Politics[edit | edit source]

_SEE ALSO: FEDERATION GOVERNMENT_

The Federation is a representative republic, with an elected president as the head of the entire interstellar state. An election is held every four years, and a president may serve for an unlimited number of terms.

Political and direct administrative power is held within the Federation Council, which is composed of one councillor from every Member World. There is no limit as to how many terms a person may serve as councillor. T'Latrek of Vulcan, for instance, served on the Federation Council for nearly a century. Each individual Member determines how its councillors will be determined; the First Minister of Bajor, for instance, nominates that world's councillor and the Chamber of Ministers ratifies him or her, while the electorates of many other Members elect their councillors directly.

The Federation government has several executive departments whose heads form the Presidential Cabinet, who advise the president on their issues of jurisdiction and run their departments on a day-to-day basis. Cabinet members can have strong influence on Federation policy based upon their work with the president and the appropriate members of the Federation Council.

By the late 23rd and 24th century, the capital city of the Federation is Paris, and the capital planet is Earth. The seat of government is the Palais de la Concorde.[_citation needed_]

Earlier in the 23rd century the Federation government was based out of Geneva, Switzerland. (_TOS_ novel: _Crisis on Centaurus_)

Still earlier, a Federation capital was Federa-Terra, Florida. (_TOS_ novel: _The Final Reflection_)

Departments[edit | edit source]

Executive departments and cabinet-level agencies of the UNITED FEDERATION OF PLANETS
Agriculture • Commerce • Defense • Exterior • Housing • Interstellar Travel • Science • Technology • Temporal Investigations • Travel
INDEPENDENT CABINET-LEVEL AGENCY: Office of the Federation Security Advisor

[UFP emblem image.]
Members of the Federation[edit | edit source]

_See: Federation members._
Presidents of the Federation[edit | edit source]

_See: Presidents of the United Federation of Planets._
Federation Council[edit | edit source]

_See: Council of the United Federation of Planets._
Relations with Other States[edit | edit source]

_See: Federation Relations with the Klingon Empire._
Groups[edit | edit source]

-   Federation Bureau of Colonization
-   Federation Bureau of Interplanetary Affairs
-   Federation Council
-   Federation Diplomatic Corps
-   Federation Grand Jury
-   Federation Medical Council
-   Federation Naval Patrol
-   Federation Planetary Development Council
-   Federation Science Council
-   Federation Security
-   Federation Supreme Court
-   First Contact Division (Director of Exosocial Relations)
-   Starfleet

Diplomatic treaties[edit | edit source]

-   Cheron Accords
-   Khitomer Accords
-   Frontier Accord
-   Neutral Zone Treaty
-   Treaty of Algeron
-   Treaty of Alliance
-   Treaty of Ectair

Symbols[edit | edit source]

Symbols of Federation patriotism include the Great Seal of the United Federation of Planets, which serves as the official emblem of the UFP. The Flag of the United Federation of Planets is also a prominent Federation symbol, often displayed at government buildings, official events, and at state and Starfleet funerals. The Anthem of the United Federation of Planets is the official musical composition of the UFP.

Awards[edit | edit source]

As a government body, the Federation issues awards and medals for beneficial military, medical or exploratory service. While many of these are generally given to members of Starfleet, there are some that are for citizens in general. The constituent nation-states of the Federation also sometimes have their own similar awards. One such award that is given to members of Starfleet for victories in battle is the Andorian Battle Star which recognizes command officers who demonstrate superior tactical abilities. (_FASA RPG_ module: _Star Trek: The Next Generation Officer's Manual_)

Culture[edit | edit source]

There is no official Federation religion, although members are free to practice their own religious and philosophical beliefs, as protected by the Guarantees contained in the Articles of the United Federation of Planets.

Every August 12, Federation citizens observe Federation Day, a patriotic holiday established in remembrance of the founding of the Federation.

Language[edit | edit source]

_See main article: FEDERATION STANDARD._

Territory[edit | edit source]

Planets[edit | edit source]

_See the category for Federation worlds._
-   Earth
-   Vulcan
-   Andor
-   Tellar
-   Betazed
-   Pacifica
-   Beta Nirobi II
-   Europa Nova

Star systems[edit | edit source]

_See Federation stars and star systems and the category for Federation stars and star systems._
Borders[edit | edit source]

-   Romulan Neutral Zone
-   Klingon Neutral Zone
-   Federation-Cardassian border

_Maps of Federation space can be found the_ ST _reference:_ Star Charts _and_ Last Unicorn RPG _module:_ The Way of D'era: The Romulan Star Empire_._

Conflicts[edit | edit source]

-   Earth-Romulan War
-   Earth-Kzin Wars
-   Tholian expansionist programs
-   Four Years War
-   Galen border conflicts
-   Federation-Cardassian War
-   Battle of the Border (alternate timeline)
-   Tzenkethi War
-   Dominion War
-   Federation-Klingon War of 2405-2410
-   Iconian War

Alternate timelines and realities[edit | edit source]

In an alternate timeline created by the death of Gabriel Bell prior to the Bell Riots in 2024, Earth remained a pre-warp civilization, which never expanded beyond the Sol System, in the 24th century. Consequently, neither the Federation nor Starfleet ever existed. The USS _Defiant_, having been protected from the changes in the timeline by a subspace bubble, detected Romulan transmissions emanating from Alpha Centauri. This would indicate that the Romulan Star Empire was able to expand considerably further in this timeline due to the lack of Federation interference. (_DS9_ episode: "Past Tense, Part I")

In 2269, the Romulans implemented their Second History project, briefly creating a timeline in which the Federation never existed. (_TOS_ novel: _Killing Time_)

In another alternate timeline, Captain James T. Kirk was unable to prevent the assassination of Federation President Ra-ghoratreii at the Khitomer Conference in 2293, leading to war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. The Klingons eventually emerged victorious and controlled most of the Federation's former territory by the 2360s. (_TNG_ - _Myriad Universes_ comic: "Do Not Close Your Eyes")

In another alternate timeline created when the USS _Enterprise_-C was accidentally sent through a temporal rift from 2344 to 2366, the Federation had been at war with the Klingon Empire for almost 20 years as the _Enterprise_-C's disappearance resulted in the destruction of the Klingon colony Narendra III. By 2366, 40 billion people had died in the war and, although it was not generally known, Starfleet believed that surrender would be inevitable within six months. (_TNG_ episode: "Yesterday's Enterprise")

In an alternate reality, the Borg Collective had succeeded in conquering the Federation and much of the Alpha Quadrant by 2370. The USS _Enterprise_-D was one of the last surviving Federation starships by this time. (_TNG_ episode: "Parallels")

In another alternate reality, the Federation had absorbed many of its former enemies including the Klingons, the Romulans, the Cardassians, the Tzenkethi and the Breen by 2377. (_DS9_ novel: _Fearful Symmetry_)

In another alternate reality, the Federation had fallen to the Borg by 2377. (_DS9_ novel: _Fearful Symmetry_)

In another alternate reality, the Klingon Empire had conquered the Federation and most of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants by 2380. (_TNG_ novel: _Q & A_)

  This article or section is incomplete
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  This article is marked as lacking essential detail, and needs attention. Information regarding expansion requirements may be found on the article's talk page. Feel free to edit this page to assist with this expansion.

Appendices[edit | edit source]

Connections[edit | edit source]

major states in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants
Khitomer Accords
Cardassian Union • Ferengi Alliance • Klingon Empire • UNITED FEDERATION OF PLANETS
Typhon Pact
Breen Confederacy • Gorn Hegemony • Holy Order of the Kinshaya • Romulan Star Empire • Tholian Assembly • Tzenkethi Coalition
Khitomer Alliance
Cardassian Union • Deferi • Delta Alliance • Dominion • Ferengi Alliance • Klingon Empire • Lukari Concordium • Romulan Republic • UNITED FEDERATION OF PLANETS • Voth Separatists
non-aligned states
Cort • Daa'Vit Confederacy • Danteri Empire • First Federation • Gottar Hegemony • Grigari • Hydran Kingdom • Imperial Klingon States • Interstellar Concordium • Jibetian Confederacy • Karg Empire • Kentari Union • Kzinti Patriarchy • Lyran Star Empire • Mentosh Assembly • Metron Consortium • New Thallonian Protectorate • Nyberrite Alliance • Orion Colonies • Patriarchy • Regnancy of the Carnelian Throne • Sattar Collective • Sheliak Corporate • Shirn Alliance • Talarian Republic • Tarn Empire • Tezwa • Tirrion Assembly • Ubarrak Primacy • Venette Convention • Vomnin Confederacy
defunct states
Hiram Assembly • Imperial Romulan State • Partnership of Civilizations • Stellar Kingdom of Corill • Thallonian Empire • Zalkat Union
states unique to the mirror universe
Galactic Commonwealth • Klingon-Cardassian Alliance • Terran Empire • Terran Republic
states from other alternate timelines
Alliance • Erdenreich • Galactic Union • Iconian-Dominion Alliance • Interstellar Axis • Interstellar Coalition • Interstellar Union • Klingon-Andorian Compact • Vulcan-Andorian Empire • Vulcan Protectorate • Vulcan Star Empire
External links[edit | edit source]

-   United Federation of Planets article at _MEMORY ALPHA_, the wiki for canon _Star Trek_.
-   United Federation of Planets article at _WIKIPEDIA_, the free encyclopedia.

question: What does the text say about Earth?

answer: The capital planet of the Federation is Earth, and the capital city is in Paris. There have been several conflicts involving Earth with the Earth-Romulan war and the Earth-Kzin Wars. The founding Member States of United Earth joined several other worlds to form one of the largest states in the galaxy. There may have been an "Interplanetary Federation" that existed prior to the official founding which didn't have  Earth as a founding member. In an alternate timeline, Earth remained a pre-warp civilization which never expanded beyond the Sol System in the 24th century, and neither the Federation or Starfleet ever existed.

question: What does the text say about the Federation Council?

answer: Political and direct administrative power is held within the Federation Council, which is composed of one councilor from every Member World. Each individual Member determines how its councilors will be determined. There is no limit to how many terms these councilors may serve. T'Latrek of Vulcan served on the council for nearly a century. Members of the Federation Council can affect the influence that Cabinet members have on Federation policy.

question: Summarize everything relating to culture?

answer: The Federation doesn't have an official religion. However, the members are free to practice their own religious or philosophical beliefs. These are protected by the Guarantees contained in the Articles of the United Federation of Planets. Their culture also celebrates a holiday, Federation Day. Federation Day is a patriotic holiday established in remembrance of the founding of the Federation.

question: What does the text say about the sun?

question: Summarize what happened in the 23rd century.

answer: In the early 23rd century, the Federation government was based out of Geneva, Switzerland. Some theorize that before the official founding, there was an "Interplanetary Federation" that existed as early as the 2080s and continued into the 23rd century. By 2380, the Federation consisted of 155  Member States and by the late 23rd century the capital city of the Federation was Paris. Throughout the 23rd century the Federation was in various conflicts and wars in current and alternate timelines. By 2366 in one alternate timeline, 40 billion people had died from the war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.


text:
Today I have to wake up with you again. Mornings with you are worse than evenings because at least at night tomorrow is closer, and I have to spend today with you. I get tired of waking up with you, so I stopped sleeping as much.

i think we should shave it has been a while

We definitely should. For once, I agree with you. You look hideous.

i know

The shower is further away than I thought. It appears we're going to have to get up. We have to be somewhere in less than 3 hours, so if you would hurry we might make it.

it is cold and hard to move

Whiner. Excuses. It's already been an hour and if you don't hurry up, we'll never make it there. Why won't you move? It's already been two hours and if you don't hurry up, we'll never make it there. At least stay awake. It's already been 3 hours and I think we should go tomorrow.

liar

The shower is always the worst part with you. With your clothes on at least you are well hidden. The mirror in the bathroom always mocks you and you embarass me. Stop moving your arms they are far too long and not wide enough. Your a pathetic excuse for a man. You should have taken your chances as a woman. Your head looks out of place. Stop looking. We have to spend at least 5 minutes like this.

the water feels good and the sounds of it hitting the floor is loud enough to not have to pay attention to you i think i will stay here for a long time

---------------------------

i have to leave we're running out of water

About time. We have to eat. There's time left to run, go to the gym, learn an instrument or two, get a job, work that job, get a job, why don't you have a job? It's because you always look so awful. You should fix that. I'll fix it. But you ruin me. Look at the time? You had all that time to do all those things and you ruined it. It's your fault, not mine.

i know

I hate how people think it's my fault. Do you think it's my fault? I think people are only stay around me because of you. That is stupid. You are disgusting. I could take you out whenever I want.  Do you understand that?

i don't think you could i wish you could

Well I won't. How do you like that, you fucking bastard? You're fucking filth. How does it fucking feel that I will never do that? You're a piece of shit. I just want you to feel better but how can you feel better if you're a piece of shit? Ask someone to help you.

i don't want to do that again. i'm going to do that again.

That felt good. Did you see the way she looked at you? I think I got her. I think I made it work even with having to drag you around. Now you won't have to feel so bad. Ask her what she likes about you, and you in specific. Why did you do that? That's so fucking embarassing. She's lying too. Look at her, she couldn't possibly believe that and if she did I can't respect her.

i am lonely.

So am I. It's probably my fault. What time is it?

it is morning. mornings are the worst because at least at night tomorrow is closer and i have to spend today with you.

title: [SP] You and I Are In This Together

question: Who is the narrator addressing?

answer: It seems that the narrator is speaking to himself.

question: Why does the narrator tell the subject they look hideous?

answer: The narrator hadn't shaved in a while, but it also seems the narrator has low self worth if it's to be believed he is talking to himself.

question: What is this story's main conflict?

answer: The story's main conflict is the narrator's relationship with the subject he addresses. It seems that subject is the narrator.

question: When does the narrator seem happiest in the story?

answer: The narrator seems happiest when he's in the shower and can't hear the subject he keeps addressing.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator addresses a subject which appears to be the narrator. The narrator is displeased to spend his time with this subject due to their negative relationship. The narrator repeatedly insults and blames the subject. The narrator says he hates mornings with the subject because that means they have to spend the day together.


text:
HORNCHURCH is a suburban town in East London, England and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross.[1] It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed a large ancient parish in the county of Essex that became the manor and liberty of Havering. The economic history of Hornchurch is underpinned by a shift away from agriculture to other industries with the growing significance of nearby Romford as a market town and centre of administration. As part of the suburban growth of London in the 20th century, Hornchurch significantly expanded and increased in population, becoming an urban district in 1926 and has formed part of Greater London since 1965.[2] It is the location of Queen's Theatre, Havering Sixth Form College and Havering College of Further and Higher Education.

The history of Hornchurch

Toponomy

                 1881                   2,824
  ----------------------------------- ---------
                 1891                   3,841
                 1901                   6,402
                 1911                   9,461
                 1921                  10,891
                 1931                  28,417
                 1941                   war #
                 1951                  79,908
                 1961                  131,014
   1.  no census was held due to war
         source: UK census[3]

  : HORNCHURCH (PARISH) POPULATION

Hornchurch is an Anglicised version of the Latin Monasterium Cornutum (Monastery of the Horns), a term that was also applied to the mother Abbey in Savoy. The earliest recorded use here was in 1222, meaning “church with horn-like gables” and it was recorded as “Hornechurch” in 1233. The horned bull's head mounted on the eastern end of St Andrew's Church, near the town centre dates from much later, around the 18th century.

Origins

In the Anglian Ice Age, 450,000 years ago, the ice sheet reached _The Dell_, just south of St Andrew's Church in Hornchurch, the furthest south any ice sheet reached in Britain. Hornchurch Cutting is a Site of Special Scientific Interest just north of St Andrews Park which exhibits the geology.[4][5]

Stone Age tools, Bronze Age and Iron Age artefacts have been discovered in Hornchurch, indicating a lengthy occupation in pre-history. Roman remains, sufficient to indicate a settlement have also been found in South Hornchurch.[6] Hornchurch originates from around the 12th century when Henry II gave to the hospice of St Nicholas and St Bernard, Mountjoux, in Savoy as a gift.[7] A prosperous Hornchurch Priory was established, near the parish church, but the monks were forced out during the 14th century when a new law banned foreign land ownership. The lands were then given to Lord Chancellor William of Wykeham who made major renovations to the church. He subsequently gave Hornchurch to endow New College, Oxford, which still owns all the local church lands and buildings. Due to this, Saint Andrew's Church was not adopted into the Diocese of Chelmsford until agreement was reached in the 1930s. The parish remains staffed by a vicar temporal and his curates.

Local government

[Civil parishes in Havering liberty in 1881. (1. Romford, 2. Havering-atte-Bower, 3. Hornchurch)] Hornchurch was a large ancient parish in the Becontree hundred of Essex; it was divided into the three chapelries of Havering-atte-Bower, Hornchurch and Romford. The Hornchurch chapelry stretched from the River Thames in the south to Harold Wood in the north and was located between the River Ingrebourne in the east and the River Beam in the west. It was also known as 'Hornchurch side' and consisted of the North End, South End and Town wards. Town ward was absorbed into North End and South End around 1722. Hornchurch chapelry occupied of the ancient parish.[8] The local authority was the Hornchurch vestry. The royal manor of Havering, which was conterminous with the ancient parish of Hornchurch, enjoyed special status and a charter in 1465 removed it from the Becontree hundred and the county of Essex to instead form an independent liberty. By the 16th century 'Romford side', comprising the five northern wards of Romford Town, Harold Wood, Collier Row, Noak Hill and Havering, had grown larger than Hornchurch and had achieved some degree of independence from the Hornchurch vestry. Havering ward grew independent in its own right and became a separate parish in the late 18th century.

Following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, Hornchurch and Romford became separate civil parishes in 1836 and were grouped into the Romford Poor Law Union. The area of the union, excluding the town of Romford, became a rural sanitary district in 1875. The special status of the Liberty of Havering was abolished in 1892 and the area was reincorporated into Essex. In 1894 the Hornchurch vestry was abolished, to be replaced by Hornchurch Parish Council. The rural sanitary district became Romford Rural District and the local authority became Romford Rural District Council. As the population of Hornchurch was rising, the parish council was abolished in 1926 and the parish was removed from the rural district. The parish of Hornchurch became Hornchurch Urban District and the local authority became Hornchurch Urban District Council. The council met at Langtons House from 1929. The urban district was significantly expanded in 1934 when the parishes of Cranham, Great Warley, North Ockendon, Rainham, Upminster and Wennington were added. The area formed part of the London Traffic Area from 1924 and the London Passenger Transport Area from 1933.[9] The whole area was included in the London Borough of Havering in 1965 and it was administratively transferred from Essex to Greater London.

Modern history

During both the First World War and Second World War nearby Hornchurch Airfield was an important RAF station; it was known as RAF Suttons Farm during the Great War, with its HQ as far away as Upminster Hall. During the Second World War, the airfield was known as RAF Hornchurch, and was home mostly to a number of Spitfire squadrons, with an advanced sub-station at Rayleigh. The land has since been reused for a large housing development and Hornchurch Country Park. During the First World War a large vacant country estate called Grey Towers on Hornchurch Road was commandeered by the Army Council as a military depot. In January 1916 it became the first Command Depot for the New Zealand Contingent in Britain but was found to be more suitable as a Convalescent Hospital Camp for New Zealand Servicemen, and was run as such until June, 1919.[10] Like most suburbs of London, Hornchurch had been entirely rural until the arrival of the railway which spurred huge property development during the early 1900s. Whole estates were constructed such as Emerson Park to the north. Development was fuelled further by the arrival of the electrified District line during the 1930s with inter and post war housing developments south and west of Hornchurch in places such as Elm Park.

Governance

[Hornchurch and Upminster constituency in Greater London] The town forms part of the Hornchurch and Upminster UK Parliament constituency. Elm Park and South Hornchurch are within the Dagenham and Rainham constituency. The local authority is Havering London Borough Council, with three councillors elected from each of a number of wards covering Hornchurch. The central part of town is within the St Andrew's ward and the area around Hornchurch tube station is within the Hacton ward. Western Hornchurch is within the Hylands ward, and there are also wards for Elm Park, Emerson Park and South Hornchurch. All of Hornchurch is within the Havering and Redbridge London Assembly constituency.

Geography

The former Hornchurch civil parish was bounded with Upminster and Rainham by the River Ingrebourne to the east, with Dagenham by the River Beam to the west, with Romford to the north and by the River Thames to the south. It included the contemporary districts of Ardleigh Green, Elm Park, Emerson Park, Hornchurch town centre, Hornchurch Marshes and South Hornchurch; and parts of Gidea Park, Harold Wood and Upminster Bridge. Hornchurch is a post town in the RM postcode area, consisting of the RM11 and RM12 postcode districts. RM11 covers north of the high street including Ardleigh Green and Emerson Park, and RM12 covers south of the high street including Elm Park. The Hornchurch Marshes and South Hornchurch are within the Rainham post town and postcode district RM13.

Economy

Hornchurch is identified in the London Plan as a local district centre with of commercial floorspace.[11] It is not considered a significant commercial office location.[12] Within Havering, it is identified as one of seven town centres in the borough,[13] with a retail area extending along High Street, North Street and Station Lane.[14]

Transport

There are no stations in central Hornchurch, but five stations are located within the town; Upminster Bridge tube station is located just within its eastern boundary, Hornchurch tube station is located about south of the high street, Elm Park tube station is about to the south west on the London Underground and Emerson Park railway station on the London Overground is located about to the north, and Harold Wood railway station on the Great Eastern Main Line to the far north for TFL Rail.

Hornchurch is served by the following Transport for London contracted London Bus routes: 165, 193, 248, 252, 256, 365, 370 and 372.

Religion

St Andrew's Church, on High Street, is the original parish church of Hornchurch. It has been Anglican since the Reformation. There are two other Anglican parish churches: Holy Cross in Hornchurch Road, and St George's in Kenilworth Gardens, both built in the 20th century.

Hornchurch also has two Roman Catholic churches: St Mary Mother of God in Hornchurch Road, and the Church of the English Martyrs in Alma Gardens.

Culture

[Queen's Theatre] [Fairkytes Arts Centre] Hornchurch Drum & Trumpet Corps Boys marching band formed in 1959 and perform around the country.[15] They were the first winners of the National British Marching Band Championships in 1976 and performed at the Edinburgh Tattoo in 1977.

The Towers Cinema on Hornchurch High Street opened in 1936. The Kemp & Tasker building, which was converted into a bingo hall in 1973, is noted for its Art Deco architecture. It has now been demolished to make way for a supermarket.[16][17]

Hornchurch is served by Time 107.5 FM, located in Romford. The station covers Havering and surrounding areas. Bedrock[18] is the local hospital radio service available online to the Havering area and broadcasting a range of health-related information and locally produced entertainment.

Sport

A.F.C. Hornchurch is the local football team, formed to replace Hornchurch F.C. with Havering Hockey Club (formerly Hornchurch Hockey Club) accommodating the field hockey fixtures from their Harrow Lodge Park base. The Rom skatepark is located in the west of Hornchurch and is a Grade II listed structure.

Music

The local music service is Havering Music School located on Wingletye Lane. Hornchurch is also home to the drum and bass record label RAM Records.

[1]

[2]

[3] {{ cite vob | url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TOT_POP&u_id=10243749&c_id=10001043&add=N | name= Hornchurch population | accessdate=6 February 2010}}

[4]

[5]

[6] _Hornchurch: Introduction_, A History of the County of Essex: Volume 7 (1978), pp. 25–31. accessed: 10 June 2008

[7]

[8] http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42809

[9]

[10] Hornchurch: New Zealand Convalescent Hospital 1916–1919 _Lost Hospitals of London_. Retrieved 11 February 2014

[11]

[12]

[13] {{ cite web | url=http://www.havering.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=379 | title=Town centre management | publisher=Havering London Borough Council | date=14 October 2008 | accessdate=9 February 2010 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219031529/http://www.havering.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=379 | archivedate=19 December 2008 | df=dmy-all }}

[14] {{ cite web | url=http://www.havering.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=2304&p=0 | title=Havering UDP: District Centres (schedule 7) | date=March 1993 | accessdate=9 February 2010 | publisher=Havering London Borough Council | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608192237/http://www.havering.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=2304&p=0 | archivedate=8 June 2011 | df=dmy-all }}

[15] https://www.hdtcband.co.uk/about-us/history/

[16]

[17]

[18]

title: Hornchurch

question: What was Hornchurch's involvement with both world wars?

answer: The Hornchurch airfield was an important RAF station during World War I and II. During World War I, a large vacant estate called Grey Towers on Hornchurch Road was commandeered by the Army Council as a military depot.

question: What methods of transportation are available in Hornchurch?

answer: There are five tube stations within the town. There are 8 bus routes that serve Hornchurch.

question: What sports clubs are associated with Hornchurch?

answer: A.F.C Hornchurch is the local football team.


text:
Former FBI General Counsel James Baker originally believed Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of highly classified information was “alarming” and “appalling.” At the time, he believed her use of a private server to send the classified emails was sufficient enough to secure an indictment to possibly charge her for violations under the Espionage Act, for mishandling sensitive government documents.

Baker held onto that belief until shortly before his former boss FBI Director James Comey made the public announcement not to charge Clinton on July 5, 2017. He said he changed his position only after arguing and discussing the situation over a period of time with senior colleagues at the bureau, to include Comey. Comey, however, had already written an early draft in May, exonerating Clinton and changing “grossly negligent,” a legal term for mishandling classified information to “extremely careless,” according to drafts obtained by the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017.

  Baker “argued with others about why they thought she shouldn’t be charged.”

RATCLIFFE QUESTIONS BAKER

Under questioning by Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, Baker spoke extensively about the back and forth arguments. Baker is currently under a DOJ investigation for allegedly leaking information to the media and he steered clear of answering any questions regarding leaks.

“As the FBI general counsel, you originally believed it was appropriate, it was appropriate to charge Hillary Clinton with violation of the law for mishandling classified information,” asked Ratcliff, who is with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Baker answered. He described reviewing a classified “binder” containing material related to Clinton’s investigation that contained sensitive and highly classified emails she was transmitting over her semi-secured server.

“My original belief after, well, after having conducted the investigation and towards the end of it, then sitting down and reading a binder of her materials,” said Baker.

“I thought that it was alarming, appalling, whatever words I said,” he said. “And argued with others about why they thought she shouldn’t be charged.”

The lawmakers and committee investigators then questioned Baker as to what legal standard he based his original opinion on.

“Well, it was the statutes that we were considering at the time,” said Baker. “It was the nature and scope of the classified information that, to me, initially, when I looked at it, I thought these folks should know that this stuff is classified, that it was alarming what they were talking about, especially some of the most highly classified stuff.”

BAKER TELLS DOJ IG THE SAME

Baker also discussed an interview he had with Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who is currently investigating the FBI’s handling of Russia probe and alleged collusion with President Trump’s campaign.

“You told the Inspector Gen. that the conduct of Hillary Clinton and her associates was appalling with respect to the handling of classified information, right,” Ratcliffe asks Baker.

“I believe that’s correct,” Baker answers.

Stunningly, Ratcliff asks Baker if he still believes Clinton’s mishandling of the classified information is appalling.

Baker answers with one powerful word “yes.”

But what made Baker change his mind by July, 2017. In another back and forth questioning with Ratcliff, Baker states that Comey, along with others, eventually convinced him that they couldn’t prove Clinton’s intentions in mishandling the classified information.

“I had that belief initially after reviewing, you know, a large binder of her emails that had classified information in them. And I discussed it internally with a number of different folks and eventually became persuaded that charging her was not appropriate because we could not establish beyond a reasonable doubt — we, the government, could not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that she had the intent necessary to violate (the law)….

He said he changed his mind “pretty late in the process” because he had been arguing with those opposed to charging Clinton until the very end.

HERE’S PART OF THAT DISCUSSION:

RATCLIFFE: All right. Are you a reasonable prosecutor?

BAKER: Not anymore. I’m not a prosecutor anymore.

_Then there is a quick exchange of questions and answers. Ratcliff pivots back to Baker’s decision to change his mind regarding Clinton._

RATCLIFFE: You were persuaded, and stated as a basis, that ultimately you were persuaded there was a lack of evidence establishing knowledge or criminal intent, correct?

BAKER: Yes

RATCLIFFE: When were you persuaded?

BAKER: Sorry. Pretty late in the process, because we were arguing about it, I think, up until the end.

RATCLIFFE: Yeah, So Jim Comey had reached the opposite conclusion as early as – or I guess as late as May the 2ndof 2017, as reflected in the memo that he created, correct?

BAKER: I know there’s been a lot of public discussion about that – this way I experienced that interaction and other interactions with Jim Comey is he would throw things out like that to get people to start talking and thinking about it and test his conclusions against others and get them to push back. And so, it was – I believe it was in that process that I read these emails and we had these discussions and arguments.

question: Who is James Baker?

answer: A former FBI general counsel who wanted to hold Hillary Clinton accountable for mishandling highly classified information.

question: Why do some people believe that Clinton should not be charged for mishandling classified information?

answer: Information can't be found.

question: Who is Ratcliffe?

answer: The lawyer who was questioning Baker.

question: Who was Baker arguing with?

answer: Information can't be found.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: James Baker argues that Hillary Clinton should be held accountable for the way she mishandled classified information. Rep. John Ratcliffe questions him about the events that took place.