text:
With the shortened NHL season set to begin on Saturday January 19th, 2013, it is time to make our predictions as to which team will make the playoffs this season. The 48-game calendar will not be forgiving for teams that go through prolonged slumps and, as a result, young teams will be at a disadvantage compared to teams filled with grizzled veterans. Today I will have a look at the Eastern Conference.

[2013 NHL Season Predictions].

2013 NHL REGULAR SEASON PREDICTIONS: EASTERN CONFERENCE

_15. NEW YORK ISLANDERS = 44 points_

The lowly Islanders didn’t do much in terms of improvement in the offseason. Up front, they lost an important offensive weapon when P-A Parenteau took his talent to Colorado and the team didn’t replace his production via free agency or trade. On the blue line, the team is really thin after Mark Streit and Travis Hamonic, and the uncertainty surrounding Lubomir Visnovsky’s status, who wants to remain in the KHL this season, certainly doesn’t help. In goal, the team is counting on the veteran Evgeni Nabokov and the oft-injured Rick Dipietro to hold the fort. Please note that John Tavares will continue to improve and be an offensive force for the years to come despite all of the above.

_14. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS = 46 points_

While the Leafs improved offensively an already potent core of Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul and Mikhail Grabovski with the acquisition of James Van Riemsdyk on their top-six and the signature of Jay McClement to ameliorate their penalty kill, former GM Brian Burke did not address the team’s goaltending woes prior to his firing earlier this week. Unless new GM Dave Nonis acquires someone like Roberto Luongo before the season starts, the team will rely on youngsters James Reimer and Ben Scrivens to win some games, which is not a good idea.

_13. BUFFALO SABRES = 48 points_

The Sabres barely missed the playoffs last season, but GM Darcy Regier didn’t do anything to improve a team that struggled to score goals. Heck, Regier even traded inconsistent, yet productive, pivot Derek Roy in exchange for agitator Steve Ott and depth defenseman Adam Pardy. Roy’s departure, combined with a lack of a true #1 centre in Buffalo will hamper the Sabres’ chance at making the playoffs. Unless Cody Hodgson explodes offensively or draft picks Zemgus Girgensons and Mikhail Grigorenko make the team and provide a much-need spark, the season will be long in Buffalo.

_12. WINNIPEG JETS = 49 points_

The Jets did not make any major improvement, other than veteran Olli Jokinen, to a line-up that failed to make the playoffs last year. While the Jets had great success at home last season, they failed to compete in most of their road games in 2011-12. Blake Wheeler, Andrew Ladd and Evander Kane will carry the load offensively, while Dustin Byfuglien (if he is in game shape) and Tobias Enstrom will provide offensive punch from the blue line. Al Montoya, who’s an improvement over Chris Mason, will back-up Ondrej Pavelec for the upcoming season.

_11. MONTREAL CANADIENS = 50 points_

[Eastern Conference predictions]
    Carey Price (Icon SMI)

While the Canadiens finished last in 2011-12, they have a better team than their record on paper. With the stellar play of netminder Carey Price, the Canadiens always managed to play tight games and have a chance to win every night. However, a lack of offensive punch cost them way too many games last year. A healthy Andrei Markov and an improving P.K. Subban (when he is re-signed) will certainly help the team improve their dismal power play, but after their first line of David Desharnais, Erik Cole and Max Pacioretty, only Tomas Plekanec represents an offensive threat. Veteran Brian Gionta should add some scoring punch after an injury-filled season and Rene Bourque might bounce back after a lacklustre campaign, but still that won’t be enough for the Habs. With Scott Gomez now gone, the team might elect to keep rookie Alex Galchenyuk around to get a spark offensively.

_10. NEW JERSEY DEVILS = 51 points _

After the departure of all-star Zach Parise for his hometown, the Devils will be hard-pressed to find goals this season when Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrick Elias and Adam Henrique are off the ice. On defense, the team can count on steady defensemen like Henrik Tallinder, Anton Volchenkov and Bryce Salvador, but they are lacking a true offensive defenseman as Marek Zidlicky is a defensive liability. In goal, Martin Brodeur and Johan Hedberg are one year older and their performance will falter as a result. Will Ilya Kovalchuk be motivated to play in the NHL this year after playing in the KHL the during the lockout?

_9. FLORIDA PANTHERS = 52 points_

Despite making the playoffs last season, the Panthers had a losing record if we account for the OTL and they had a goal differential of -24. After Stephen Weiss, Tomas Fleischmann and Kris Versteeg, the Panthers are thin up front. Talented youngster Jonathan Huderdeau will certainly make the team out of training and contend for the Rookie of the Year award. On defense, the team added steady veteran Filip Kuba to an already potent group of Brian Campbell, Dmitry Kulikov and Ed Jovanovksi. In goal, the less than flashy duo of Jose Theodore and Scott Clemmensen gets the job done, but it will not be enough to make the playoffs this year. The team even invited unwanted forwards Alex Kovalev, Marek Svatos and Andrei Kostitsyn to their training camp in search of an offensive spark.

_8. OTTAWA SENATORS = 54 points_

The Senators barely made the playoffs last season, and it will happen again this year. With the return of Daniel Alfredsson for one more season, and the emergence of Erik Karlsson, Jason Spezza will not be the only offensive threat in the national capital. Still, GM Bryan Murray traded dynamic forward Nick Foligno in exchange of Ottawa-native Marc Methot, and replaced Foligno’s production by signing Guillaume Latendresse who missed most of last season due to injuries. Craig Anderson will be backed-up by lanky goalie Ben Bishop, which should ease his workload and allow him to perform well all-season long. Talented defenseman Jared Cowan will miss the whole season due to a hip injury.

_7. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS = 56 points_

Look for the Flyers to have problems defensively with the departure of Matt Carle and the career-ending injury suffered by Chris Pronger who is still suffering from concussion symptoms. Offensively, the Flyers will still score plenty of goals despite Jaromir Jagr’s departure with talented forwards like Claude Giroux, Brayden Schenn, Scott Hartnell and Daniel Briere leading the way. In goal, look for the most coloured goaltender in the league to have his ups and downs this season as he gets more comfortable to his new defensemen, most notably Luke Schenn, Bruno Gervais, Kurtis Foster and Nicklas Grossman.

_6. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING = 57 points_

GM Steve Yzerman addressed his team’s shortcomings during the off-season by acquired young talented netminder Anders Lindback to replace over-the-hill veteran Dwayne Roloson as the team’s #1 goalie. Stevie Y also added much-needed depth on the blue line with the signatures of Matt Carle and Sami Salo, who will complement a solid top-four with Eric Brewer and Victor Hedman. At forward, the Bolt can count on sniper Steven Stamkos, as well as captain Vincent Lecavalier and playmakers Martin St. Louis and Teddy Purcell to carry the offensive load.

_5. CAROLINA HURRICANES = 58 points_

One of the most improved teams in the conference, the Hurricanes added two very talented players in Alex Semin (UFA) and Jordan Staal (PIT) to their offensive corps. They will allow Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner to finally play great offensive players and not the likes of Chad Larose and Jiri Tlusty. The steady play of underrated goaltender Cam Ward will go a long way to the Canes’ success in 2013. Youngsters Jamie McBain and Justin Faulk are slowly emerging as the team’s top two offensive guys on the blue line and their development will improve to defense-offense transition for their talented forwards. The team also got tougher when they acquired enforcer Kevin Westgarth from the Los Angeles Kings in return of Anthony Stewart earlier this week.

_4. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS = 62 points_

With the return of a healthy Sidney Crosby, the Penguins will have a 100-point season for a fourth consecutive year. Despite the departure of Jordan Staal and Zbynek Michalek, the Penguins boast a group of very talented players in Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Chris Kunitz and Kristopher Letang. The additions of Tanner Glass and Brandon Sutter up front will give the team size, grit and depth, while Tomas Vokoun’s signature will allow M-A Fleury to get more rest during the season and perform better in the playoffs.

_3. BOSTON BRUINS = 59 points_

The Bruins opted for stability next season as their roster will be almost identical to last year. The most noticeable changes will be the addition of rookie defenseman Dougie Hamilton in replacement of Joe Corvo who went back to Carolina and the emergence of Tuukka Rask as the #1 goalie with all-star goaltender Tim Thomas taking a sabbatical year in 2012-13. Because of their depth and their talent, the Bruins will win the Northeast Division for a third consecutive season.

_2. WASHINGTON CAPITALS = 60 points_

After a sub-par season from Alexander Ovechkin and an injury-riddled campaign for Mike Green, the Capitals are ready to bounce back under new head coach Adam Oates. A healthy Green, the acquisition of dangler Mike Ribeiro and the emergence of stud goaltender Braden Holty will allow Oates to apply a more offensive style of play that fits his team better. Despite the departure of Alex Semin via free agency, the Capitals are loaded with offensive weapons who will help them rank among the best teams on the power play this season. A full season of Nicklas Backstrom, now free of concussion symptoms, along with the emergence of youngster Marcus Johansson, will give the Caps a very deep threesome at center with Ribeiro, a strength the team has lacked in recent years.

_1. NEW YORK RANGERS = 65 points_

[Brad Richards Rangers]
    Brad Richards (Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE)

The Blue Shirts, who finished first in the Eastern Conference last year, will still be the team to beat this season with the addition of superstar Rick Nash. The team didn’t lose any major player via free agency and Glen Sather managed to acquire Nash for depth players (Anisimov, Dubinsky and Erixon). Sather also managed to add depth and grit up front with the signings of Taylor Pyatt and Arron Asham. With superstars like Richards, Gaborik, McDonagh, Staal, Girardi and King Henrik in goal, the Rangers boasts the deepest group of talented players in the conference.

Do you agree to the above predictions? If not, why?

The regular season predictions for the Western Conference will follow later this week.

question: What does the article say about injuries?

answer: Brian Gionta is back playing for the Canadiens after an injury-filled season. Guillaume Latendresse of the Senators missed most of the previous season due to injuries. Jared Cowan will miss the whole upcoming season due to a hip injury. Chris Pronger of the Flyers suffered a career-ending injury and is experiencing concussion symptoms. Mike Green of the Capitals also had an injury-riddled campaign.

question: What does the article say about football?

question: What reason does the article give for the shortened NHL season?

question: What does the article say about star players in the top 3 teams?

answer: Tim Thomas, the all-star goaltender for the Boston Bruins, is taking a sabbatical. The Capitals have stud goaltender Braden Holty. Other key players include Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson. The Blue Shirts added superstar Rick Nash. Other superstars include Richards, Gaborik, McDonagh, Staal, Girardi, and King Henrik.


split: test

text:
*ring ring..... ring ring.... ring ring... click*

A cheery voice at the other end picked up. "Hello, A1 Galactic Exterminators! You imbue 'em, we subdue 'em!"

I cleared my throat. "Hi, do you guys come out to the Milky Way?"

"We sure do, what can we help you with?"

"Well, I've spun up a planet to raise an advanced species, but the planet has been over-run by a natural predator, and the intended species' evolution is in trouble."

"No problem sir, we have a number of attractive packages that will return control back to your intended species. We'll just start with a few questions. What is the plantary lifeforms' base element?"

"Carbon."

"Great, any non-biological augmentations?"

"Nope, 100% organic."

"Wow, hard mode..... ok, I think I found your planet, I'm pulling it up right now... Hmm, all the current lifeforms are concentrated on this one continent, which makes complete eradication impossible. It will be a bit tricky to target just the lizards, but we do have a package where we take a native virus and genetically engineer it to selectively target the unwanted species. It's a bit costly though, about 4 days."

"That's a little steep for me..."

"Well, for 2 days we can seed the super-volcanoes on your planet to simultaneously trigger, and create a small cove for the intended species to shelter during the storm. Very distressing, but effective."

"It's interested... but I've already spent 6 days putting this planet together, and I have plans for the future for some of my hours..."

"Well sir, how about we see what your budget is and we can go from there?"

"I have about 3 hours."

A tense silence on the other end of the line...

"...sir, for 3 hours we can chuck a rock at your planet and hope for the best."

"Sounds good. See you Sunday?"

title: [HM] When Your Pest Problem Is Out Of Control...

question: Where does the narrator live?

answer: The Milky Way Galaxy.

question: Why do they need help?

answer: Their planet seems to have been overrun by natural species that threatens the intended species' evolution.

question: How long has the narrator spent putting together this planet?

answer: Six days

question: What is the currency?

answer: Time.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator has recently created a new planet in the Milky Way and is working on introducing an intended species, but there is a natural predator that is threatening the intended species' evolution. They call up A1 Galactic Exterminators to see if they can help them out, but considering the meager sum the narrator has to offer, the company cannot offer much in the way of solutions. The narrator agrees to their offer to "throw a rock at your planet and hope for the best" for the three hours with which the narrator has to work.


text:
Cross Hall

8:01 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: My fellow Americans, tonight, I’d like to talk with you about immigration.

For more than 200 years, our tradition of welcoming immigrants from around the world has given us a tremendous advantage over other nations. It’s kept us youthful, dynamic, and entrepreneurial. It has shaped our character as a people with limitless possibilities –- people not trapped by our past, but able to remake ourselves as we choose.

But today, our immigration system is broken -- and everybody knows it.

Families who enter our country the right way and play by the rules watch others flout the rules. Business owners who offer their workers good wages and benefits see the competition exploit undocumented immigrants by paying them far less. All of us take offense to anyone who reaps the rewards of living in America without taking on the responsibilities of living in America. And undocumented immigrants who desperately want to embrace those responsibilities see little option but to remain in the shadows, or risk their families being torn apart.

It’s been this way for decades. And for decades, we haven’t done much about it.

When I took office, I committed to fixing this broken immigration system. And I began by doing what I could to secure our borders. Today, we have more agents and technology deployed to secure our southern border than at any time in our history. And over the past six years, illegal border crossings have been cut by more than half. Although this summer, there was a brief spike in unaccompanied children being apprehended at our border, the number of such children is now actually lower than it’s been in nearly two years. Overall, the number of people trying to cross our border illegally is at its lowest level since the 1970s. Those are the facts.

Meanwhile, I worked with Congress on a comprehensive fix, and last year, 68 Democrats, Republicans, and independents came together to pass a bipartisan bill in the Senate. It wasn’t perfect. It was a compromise. But it reflected common sense. It would have doubled the number of border patrol agents while giving undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship if they paid a fine, started paying their taxes, and went to the back of the line. And independent experts said that it would help grow our economy and shrink our deficits.

Had the House of Representatives allowed that kind of bill a simple yes-or-no vote, it would have passed with support from both parties, and today it would be the law. But for a year and a half now, Republican leaders in the House have refused to allow that simple vote.

Now, I continue to believe that the best way to solve this problem is by working together to pass that kind of common sense law. But until that happens, there are actions I have the legal authority to take as President –- the same kinds of actions taken by Democratic and Republican presidents before me -– that will help make our immigration system more fair and more just.

Tonight, I am announcing those actions.

First, we’ll build on our progress at the border with additional resources for our law enforcement personnel so that they can stem the flow of illegal crossings, and speed the return of those who do cross over.

Second, I’ll make it easier and faster for high-skilled immigrants, graduates, and entrepreneurs to stay and contribute to our economy, as so many business leaders have proposed.

Third, we’ll take steps to deal responsibly with the millions of undocumented immigrants who already live in our country.

I want to say more about this third issue, because it generates the most passion and controversy. Even as we are a nation of immigrants, we’re also a nation of laws. Undocumented workers broke our immigration laws, and I believe that they must be held accountable -– especially those who may be dangerous. That’s why, over the past six years, deportations of criminals are up 80 percent. And that’s why we’re going to keep focusing enforcement resources on actual threats to our security. Felons, not families. Criminals, not children. Gang members, not a mom who’s working hard to provide for her kids. We’ll prioritize, just like law enforcement does every day.

But even as we focus on deporting criminals, the fact is, millions of immigrants in every state, of every race and nationality still live here illegally. And let’s be honest -– tracking down, rounding up, and deporting millions of people isn’t realistic. Anyone who suggests otherwise isn’t being straight with you. It’s also not who we are as Americans. After all, most of these immigrants have been here a long time. They work hard, often in tough, low-paying jobs. They support their families. They worship at our churches. Many of their kids are American-born or spent most of their lives here, and their hopes, dreams, and patriotism are just like ours. As my predecessor, President Bush, once put it: “They are a part of American life.”

Now here’s the thing: We expect people who live in this country to play by the rules. We expect that those who cut the line will not be unfairly rewarded. So we’re going to offer the following deal: If you’ve been in America for more than five years; if you have children who are American citizens or legal residents; if you register, pass a criminal background check, and you’re willing to pay your fair share of taxes -- you’ll be able to apply to stay in this country temporarily without fear of deportation. You can come out of the shadows and get right with the law. That’s what this deal is.

Now, let’s be clear about what it isn’t. This deal does not apply to anyone who has come to this country recently. It does not apply to anyone who might come to America illegally in the future. It does not grant citizenship, or the right to stay here permanently, or offer the same benefits that citizens receive -– only Congress can do that. All we’re saying is we’re not going to deport you.

I know some of the critics of this action call it amnesty. Well, it’s not. Amnesty is the immigration system we have today -– millions of people who live here without paying their taxes or playing by the rules while politicians use the issue to scare people and whip up votes at election time.

That’s the real amnesty –- leaving this broken system the way it is. Mass amnesty would be unfair. Mass deportation would be both impossible and contrary to our character. What I’m describing is accountability –- a common-sense, middle-ground approach: If you meet the criteria, you can come out of the shadows and get right with the law. If you’re a criminal, you’ll be deported. If you plan to enter the U.S. illegally, your chances of getting caught and sent back just went up.

The actions I’m taking are not only lawful, they’re the kinds of actions taken by every single Republican President and every single Democratic President for the past half century. And to those members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better, or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer: Pass a bill.

I want to work with both parties to pass a more permanent legislative solution. And the day I sign that bill into law, the actions I take will no longer be necessary. Meanwhile, don’t let a disagreement over a single issue be a dealbreaker on every issue. That’s not how our democracy works, and Congress certainly shouldn’t shut down our government again just because we disagree on this. Americans are tired of gridlock. What our country needs from us right now is a common purpose –- a higher purpose.

Most Americans support the types of reforms I’ve talked about tonight. But I understand the disagreements held by many of you at home. Millions of us, myself included, go back generations in this country, with ancestors who put in the painstaking work to become citizens. So we don’t like the notion that anyone might get a free pass to American citizenship.

I know some worry immigration will change the very fabric of who we are, or take our jobs, or stick it to middle-class families at a time when they already feel like they’ve gotten the raw deal for over a decade. I hear these concerns. But that’s not what these steps would do. Our history and the facts show that immigrants are a net plus for our economy and our society. And I believe it’s important that all of us have this debate without impugning each other’s character.

Because for all the back and forth of Washington, we have to remember that this debate is about something bigger. It’s about who we are as a country, and who we want to be for future generations.

Are we a nation that tolerates the hypocrisy of a system where workers who pick our fruit and make our beds never have a chance to get right with the law? Or are we a nation that gives them a chance to make amends, take responsibility, and give their kids a better future?

Are we a nation that accepts the cruelty of ripping children from their parents’ arms? Or are we a nation that values families, and works together to keep them together?

Are we a nation that educates the world’s best and brightest in our universities, only to send them home to create businesses in countries that compete against us? Or are we a nation that encourages them to stay and create jobs here, create businesses here, create industries right here in America?

That’s what this debate is all about. We need more than politics as usual when it comes to immigration. We need reasoned, thoughtful, compassionate debate that focuses on our hopes, not our fears. I know the politics of this issue are tough. But let me tell you why I have come to feel so strongly about it.

Over the past few years, I have seen the determination of immigrant fathers who worked two or three jobs without taking a dime from the government, and at risk any moment of losing it all, just to build a better life for their kids. I’ve seen the heartbreak and anxiety of children whose mothers might be taken away from them just because they didn’t have the right papers. I’ve seen the courage of students who, except for the circumstances of their birth, are as American as Malia or Sasha; students who bravely come out as undocumented in hopes they could make a difference in the country they love.

These people –- our neighbors, our classmates, our friends –- they did not come here in search of a free ride or an easy life. They came to work, and study, and serve in our military, and above all, contribute to America’s success.

Tomorrow, I’ll travel to Las Vegas and meet with some of these students, including a young woman named Astrid Silva. Astrid was brought to America when she was four years old. Her only possessions were a cross, her doll, and the frilly dress she had on. When she started school, she didn’t speak any English. She caught up to other kids by reading newspapers and watching PBS, and she became a good student. Her father worked in landscaping. Her mom cleaned other people’s homes. They wouldn’t let Astrid apply to a technology magnet school, not because they didn’t love her, but because they were afraid the paperwork would out her as an undocumented immigrant –- so she applied behind their back and got in. Still, she mostly lived in the shadows –- until her grandmother, who visited every year from Mexico, passed away, and she couldn’t travel to the funeral without risk of being found out and deported. It was around that time she decided to begin advocating for herself and others like her, and today, Astrid Silva is a college student working on her third degree.

Are we a nation that kicks out a striving, hopeful immigrant like Astrid, or are we a nation that finds a way to welcome her in? Scripture tells us that we shall not oppress a stranger, for we know the heart of a stranger –- we were strangers once, too.

My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too. And whether our forebears were strangers who crossed the Atlantic, or the Pacific, or the Rio Grande, we are here only because this country welcomed them in, and taught them that to be an American is about something more than what we look like, or what our last names are, or how we worship. What makes us Americans is our shared commitment to an ideal -– that all of us are created equal, and all of us have the chance to make of our lives what we will.

That’s the country our parents and grandparents and generations before them built for us. That’s the tradition we must uphold. That’s the legacy we must leave for those who are yet to come.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless this country we love.

END
8:16 P.M. EST

question: What does the text say about the Vice President of the United States?

question: Summarize the main issue of the President's speech.

answer: The President is addressing Americans about the broken immigration system in the country. He says that America has had a 200-year tradition of welcoming immigrants from around the world, and this has kept the country youthful, dynamic, and entrepreneurial. The President adds that families who enter the country the right way and play by the rules watch others break the rules. Businesses that offer workers good wages and benefits see the competition exploit undocumented immigrants by paying them far less. The immigration system has been broken for decades and he wants to fix it by working with Congress and the Senate to pass a bipartisan bill that would help repair the current immigration system, but Republican leaders in the House have refused to pass the common sense bill and it has been languishing in the lower house for a year and a half now. Despite the setback, the President is taking action that he has the legal authority to do as President, which will help make the immigration system more fair and just.


text:
Video

[Video player loading]

The president spoke at the Group of 20 summit meeting on Monday, three days after terror attacks in Paris killed 129 people.CreditCredit...Susan Walsh/Associated Press
-   Nov. 16, 2015
-

ANTALYA, Turkey — Time after time, the question was essentially the same: Why isn’t your strategy against the Islamic State working?

And time after time, President Obama pushed back, trying to navigate a narrow path between expressing outrage at the “terrible and sickening” attacks in Paris and standing by an approach that he said would eventually succeed if given enough time.

In moments of crisis, when the public feels afraid, presidents often find ways of tapping into popular emotion and channeling it — or at least trying to satisfy it with expressions of resolve and determination. But Churchillian statements are not Mr. Obama’s style, and as he faced deep skepticism at the news conference he held here on Monday about the war on the Islamic State, he chose explanation over exhortation.

His plan to cripple the Islamic State through airstrikes and assistance to local forces was making progress, the president asserted, even if the carnage on the streets of the French capital seemed to belie it. And while Mr. Obama vowed “an intensification” of the tactics he had already approved, he vigorously rejected the idea that he should go further, dismissing critics who were playing “political games” or offering shallow solutions.

“We have the right strategy and we’re going to see it through,” Mr. Obama told reporters as he wrapped up a summit meeting with world leaders before flying to the Philippines. He has consistently said that it would take time, he noted, and he would not change that strategy simply because of domestic pressure. “What I do not do is take actions either because it is going to work politically or it is going to somehow, in the abstract, make America look tough or make me look tough.”

If he did not gratify a public hunger for retribution, or at least the language of it, the president gambled that his position was actually closer to the broader American reluctance to get entangled in another land war in the Middle East. Sending large numbers of American ground troops to fight the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh, would repeat what he sees as the error of the Iraq invasion of 2003 without solving the problem at hand.

“That would be a mistake, not because our military could not march into Mosul or Raqqa or Ramadi and temporarily clear out ISIL, but because we would see a repetition of what we’ve seen before,” Mr. Obama said. Victory over terrorist groups, he said, requires local populations to reject the ideology of extremism “unless we’re prepared to have a permanent occupation of these countries.”

Image[President Obama at a news conference on Monday in Antalya, Turkey. He rejected using ground troops to fight the Islamic State.]

Credit...Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Moreover, he added that sending significant numbers of ground forces into Syria would set an untenable precedent. “Let’s assume that we were to send 50,000 troops into Syria,” he said. “What happens when there’s a terrorist attack generated from Yemen? Do we then send more troops into there? Or Libya perhaps? Or if there’s a terrorist network that’s operating anywhere else in North Africa or in Southeast Asia?”

His message drew fire back in Washington, where Republicans and other critics saw it as evidence of an out-of-touch fecklessness. “Unfortunately, the president’s press conference today confirmed that he is unwilling to acknowledge his failed policies or re-evaluate his strategy moving forward,” Senator Roy Blunt, a Republican from Missouri, said.

Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, described the president’s news conference as “excuse-laden and defensive,” proving he had no resolve or strategy to defeat the Islamic State. “Never before have I seen an American president project such weakness on the global stage,” he said.

To his critics, Mr. Obama has never taken the Islamic State seriously enough, once likening offshoot terrorist groups like it as “a J.V. team” compared with the original varsity Al Qaeda, a term he dropped after Islamic State fighters seized swaths of Iraq and Syria in 2014. Just last week, a day before the attacks that killed at least 129 in Paris, Mr. Obama said “we have contained them,” referring to the Islamic State’s control of territory in Syria and Iraq.

At his news conference here, Mr. Obama sounded weary as he repeatedly rejected criticism of his yearlong strategy. Wrapping up 48 hours of diplomacy in this Turkish resort community on the Mediterranean Sea, the president seemed frustrated by second-guessing and twice chided reporters for asking the same question in slightly different ways.

He denied underestimating the Islamic State, saying that the group’s attacks have not been particularly sophisticated. “If you have a handful of people who don’t mind dying, they can kill a lot of people,” he said. “That’s one of the challenges of terrorism. It’s not their sophistication or the particular weaponry that they possess. But it is the ideology they carry with them and their willingness to die.”

And he said that he had not hesitated to use force, citing his approval of the special forces raid into Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden and his first-term decision to send tens of thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan, since withdrawn. But he said he would not be pressured into “posing” as a tough president to satisfy his critics by doing things that would not make the situation better.

“Some of them seem to think that if I was just more bellicose in expressing what we’re doing, that that would make a difference,” he said. “Because that seems to be the only thing that they’re doing, is talking as if they’re tough.”

In a subdued tone, he attributed his reluctance to the costs of war. “Maybe part of the reason is because every few months I go to Walter Reed,” he said, referring to the military hospital near Washington. “And I see a 25-year-old kid that is paralyzed or has lost his limbs. And some of those are people I’ve ordered into battle.”

Mr. Obama grew especially animated about Republican demands that the United States block entry of Syrian refugees to prevent terrorists from slipping into the country. “We do not close our hearts to these victims of such violence and somehow start equating the issue of refugees with the issue of terrorism,” he said.

Without naming him, Mr. Obama singled out former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, one of the Republicans seeking to succeed him, for suggesting the United States focus special attention on Christian refugees as opposed to Muslims. “That’s shameful,” Mr. Obama said. “That’s not American. It’s not who we are. We don’t have religious tests to our compassion.”

Mr. Obama also announced a new agreement between the United States and France to share more intelligence information, saying that arrangement would “allow our personnel to pass threat information, including on ISIL, to our French partners even more quickly and more often.”

In the end, he said, the strategy will choke off the Islamic State’s financing, cut off its supply lines and reinforcements and make it harder to hold territory. Along with a diplomatic solution to the Syrian civil war that provided a vacuum for the Islamic State to fill, “that ultimately is going to be what’s going to make a difference,” Mr. Obama said, adding, “and it’s going to take some time.”

question: What is the focus of this article?

answer: The focus of this article is about how different nations' strategy against the Islamic state has been failing.


text:
Oh, how this life has turned out. Here I am, basic 3-tone paint design, no companion, and no underling.

I see vases all the time, reminding me of my awkward upbringing as an unpainted vase.

One time I tried to bring a large group of vases together to paint each other, but most guardian vases either wanted their underling vases' first paints to be more special or were worried about potential shattering in such an unorthodox painting environment.

Pottery was I naive.
Now I'm wise.
Cold.
Rarely do I get filled anymore though.

Yesterday I almost tripped over my pedestal. How hilarious would that have been for a lone vase like me to crack on its own pedestal. I'd be lying there all "Help, I've cracked and can't seal myself!"
Just like those commercials.
Only they walk in and see me, eventually shattered over temperature fluctuations increasing the size of my cracks...no one even would check on me until it was too late.

Hahaha. I could play games with my cracks like I was my own bored board game. Nothing funnier than a premature cracking I always use to say. Pot, how ironic would it have been if I did crack myself on my pedestal.

Today I will change things...I don't quite know how, but I will do it.
Starting...
NOW!
GO!

What to do first. I think I'm gonna go down town and vase watch. As I step out my door and down the stairs, I think just how lucky I am to have this day to be able to change. My life would be a slow burn to ash and a quick burn recycling away from being a new vase fresh out of the kiln...but luckily, I was a few centimeters away. Thank pot!

I think I'll take the main streets to the soil farm. Ahhh, the roads felt nice and warm. I think I vaguely remember all vases feel good in the heat, as it reminds them of their kiln.

There goes some unpainted vases, stomping some emptied plastic bottles blowing in the wind. Serves them right, those creepy bastards. Though, I wonder if the vases' guardians know they are in the streets, risking a crack in the process.

I hate seeing these pot shop soil waster vases, fresh out of the kiln, but already painted to be all eccentric.
"Nice zig zag, you jack ass." Just under my breath so they didn't hear.

Come to think of it, this was the same passive aggressive response I had with all poorly painted vases defying their guardians that came into view.

You'd think that I would be able to relate to their behavior, but I never really had the chance to rebel. My guardians chose my paint for me and shattered before I ever changed my paint on my own.

Now they are probably already recycled into some fresh vases. Maybe even the same ones that I just saw stomping the bottles.
Now there is a respectable pattern. And eye-catching, too.

Orange, black squares forming a ring around the middle. It looked chipped near the top, but it looked more distinguished that way. Who knows the contents it has held over the year.

I remember I held a pepper plant one time. Clay pot was that a crazy time.

I don't know if I want to hold a plant again. I think I'm gonna skip the soil farm today. I kinda like feeling empty right now.

So, I'll walk to the town kiln.

Stepping inside, a nice new guardian vase left. A first time guardian like myself. It was a striped purple vase with leaves painted around the bottom. Exotic beauty.

With the exotic beauty was the fresh vase, still warm from the kiln. Unpainted and full of potential, yet empty inside. I yearned to have that fresh start again. Maybe vicariously I will find it with my new underling, just like exotic beauty...who might be regretting the sensual leaves I'm sure were painted some night dirty water was poured in.

"Excuse me, are you looking for an underling?" The desk operator asked me.
"Um, yeah. Are there any available today?"
"Just you? Or are you vouching for a group guardian situation?"
"...just me..."
"That's brave in this day and age."
"Thank you?" I was kind of confused. It was delivered like a compliment, but the content sounded more like an insult.

The desk operator literally just turned around, grabbed a warm, unpainted vase, and handed it to me.
"here"

That was it.

Now I am a guardian...complete with fresh underling.

"Guard?" the young vase looked at me.
"First words are accurate. Yes, I am your guardian."

The next few weeks comprised of my living quarters being divided for two and a crash course of basic info on life.

"Guard, why are those two vases spilling water into each other?"
"Look, I'm not exactly gonna tell you why, you'll figure that out later, but I will tell you that you should not do that until later in life."
"How much later?" It was curious, "It looks like fun."
Worried I had to say something, "Not until you have at least 2 coats of paint on you!"

Every morning now it seemed like more and more bottles were rolling around the floor. It felt dirty. None of them were filled with water, so maybe they'd leave soon since they didn't find any. That didn't stop me from flattening a few of them.

My underling vase watched as I stomped a bottle till it stopped rolling.

I think it wanted to connect with me more.
"Guard, why do vases like water so much?"
"Well..." It was tough to think of such things you never really thought about before. "It just feels like you are completing your existence whenever you fill yourself."
"Why aren't you filled?"
"Right now? I don't want to feel that way. I want to feel like I have to strive for something...constantly."
"Is that why those two were sharing their water?"
"I told you already..." I thought about it some more, "water happens to be one of the most fulfilling substances because it matches the shape of the vase it enters." I did not want to tell my underling about intimacies just yet.

Things generally go on like this daily. Then, the day of all days came.
We walk outside frequently. Upon seeing a beautifully painted vase, painted with glitter paint, my underling says to me, "Can I get my first paint job?"
Now, seeing as how unprepared I was for this, I kind of laughed. It sounded awkward, but I knew it was time.

"Let's go get you painted right now."

We are ready to leave. This documentary comes on the loud speaker in my residence. It tells the story of a vase that got caught under column that had fallen. The vase was cracked but alive. Instead of waiting for the column to eventually crack all the way through itself, the vase fought and fought, thinking of the dreams it had fresh out the kiln of being a leader to many.
"Be the dream," became the only phrase the vase said to itself as it escaped and lived a life full of obstacles brought on by the slowly growing crack. Be the dream.

I wanted my underling to see it and be inspired to never give up on life, because there is always a chance to do more. My underling just wanted to get painted...probably so that it would be one step closer to a second paint coat so that it could experiment with swapping contents with another vase. I can't blame it...it was the only way it knew how to fulfill itself...but watching this documentary, seeing how a vase could not fill itself due to a crack, and still accomplish so much...

I realized I never needed to fill myself again. My existence was completed by my underling. It wasn't even a vicarious life, it was something more. I can't even begin to try and explain.
"Come on, guard! Let's go!" My underling didn't have the same level of appreciation I had for the documentary, and was just looking to fill itself with that sweet, sweet water.

The walk is great. We are both excited. The unpainted vases my underling sees will now be unpainted while my underling is freshly painted.

We walk into the paintery. I leave my underling alone to choose for itself. The chance I hadn't had.

To be more freeing, I walk out and leave my underling alone to come home when finished.

My residence felt hollow, empty without my underling. Colder than before.

Before too long it walked into the door with a fresh, glowing red paint design with yellow circles around the top and a stripe near the bottom. It looked almost polished it was so fresh!

"Oh my pot!" I was too excited for my own good. I think I might have been embarrassing for us both, "You look fantastic! How do you feel?"
"I feel amazing, guard!"

There was a pause before my underling added, "Guard, why do vases hate bottles?"
"Well, I guess they creep vases out...they are small, they take our water, they roll around all creepy like."
"...so, because they are different?"
"Sure, I guess."
"I heard someone say at the paintery that scientists think that bottles will still be around after all vases are gone."
"I heard something like that." I really had nothing else to add.

We both decide to go to the soil farm the next morning to get filled as a celebration.

Morning, I walk to the common room. Silence. This is kind of surprising. Wheres my underling? I thought it would be out waiting for me to go get filled. I hope my underling didn't sneak out! Not without me, at least!

Maybe I'll check the pedestal room. It might have just wanted to step on the pedestal for a mome-

No
no
^no
^^no
NO!

Pot no!

Please, pottery no!

There are pieces everywhere around my pedestal. Pieces with some paint of red, yellow, pot no!

Please...please!

Please be a dream. Please be a dream!

What did I do wrong?

My underling must have wanted to climb onto my pedestal instead of its own...and fallen. It must have wanted to be like me...and fallen. It must have been so excited...and fallen. There must have been a brief moment of terror as it fell.

I can't believe I didn't hear the crash as I slept.
^maybe ^this ^is ^a ^dream

But it isn't. I know it isn't.

What is there left for me? Why?

As I walk over to my window, I open it and climb out. There is a ledge there for me to stand on.

I contemplate my short, miserable life so far. Worth it? I don't think so.

The only vase in the world that even cared about me is shattered.

There is nothing left for me to live for.

I climbed to a point where I might fall even if I didn't want to, to avoid my second thoughts on the situation changing my mind.

Then, vases...on the ground below. Young underlings that were stomping bottles...staring up at me.
The zig zag sporting vase, watching.
The glitter paint vase, looking at me.
The orange, distinguished vase, gazing up.
Exotic beauty and an underling, freshly painted solid red...seeing me.

Exotic beauty's underling only made me think of my underling...previous underling.

I don't even care if I traumatize these young vases...they should learn how all vases eventually shatter.

But, they are here.

All my life, it doesn't matter, because in this moment...they all care.

They do not want to see me shatter. They want to see me live my life as they live theirs.
They want me to not shatter their and their underlings' dreams.

I still haven't gotten my own coat of paint.

I could be the dream.

-GuyWithSausageFinger

Edit: Feedback and criticisms are more then welcome! I'm always looking to improve!

title: [MF] Short Time as a Vase

question: What object is being personified as the narrator?

answer: The protagonist and all of the characters described in the story are vases.

question: What are some of the themes of the story?

answer: One theme that is discussed is coming of age. The narrator is assigned an underling to advice and guide through the process of maturation. The narrator also struggles with understanding the meaning of their existence. They find a major purpose in mentoring their underling; however, the narrator begins to question whether or not their life is worth living after discovering that their underling died trying to climb up to the pedestal.

question: What is the main conflict of the story?

answer: In the first half of the story, the narrator struggles with finding their purpose, and understanding what their existence means. This conflict is resolved when the narrator is presented with an underling, and they find purpose and drive through mentoring them. However, at the end of the story, when the narrator discovers that the underling has died, the narrator begins to questions the reason for their existence.

question: How long has the narrator been alive?


text:
[Twitter CEO Endorses Call for Conservatism’s Destruction]
Twitter is notorious for hiding its bias with “shadow banning.” But its CEO, Jack Dorsey (shown), has now ventured a bit from the shadows, more overtly revealing his bias by endorsing an article calling for the GOP’s destruction and the “Californification” of the whole country.

Labeling it a “great read,” Dorsey tweeted the piece “The Great Lesson of California in America’s New Civil War” to his 4.18 million followers April 5. Authored by Reinvent founder Peter Leyden and leftist commentator Ruy Teixeira, the article calls “for a complete marginalization of the Republican Party and its voters since they only care ‘about rule by and for billionaires at the expense of working people,’” as the _Daily Caller_ relates it. Of course, billionaires and the wealthy may (during a sodium pentothal moment) disagree — most of them today support Democrats.

The authors’ thesis is that “there’s no bipartisan way forward at this juncture” because conservatives are stuck in the past and resistant to “change,”  which, of course, has become a leftist sacrament. For liberals and conservatives are divided, they aver, by two fundamentally different world views.

The latter is true. Never have we been so split over foundational issues. What is marriage? Should sex be (barely) governed by some animalistic libertinism or be pushed back toward the closet? Is sexual dimorphism a reality or are “male” and “female” just part of a “gender spectrum”? Is faith a necessary bulwark of civilization or a destructive anachronism? Et cetera.

It’s clear where the authors (and Dorsey) stand. Emphasizing in particular conservatives’ rejection of the climate-change and diversity agendas, they write, “Let’s just say what needs to be said: The Republican Party over the past 40 years has maneuvered itself into a position where they are the bad guys on the wrong side of history.”

This is a common claim, but it not only confuses bad with good but also history with current events. Traditionalists are certainly on the wrong side of the latter, just as Christians were in early A.D. Rome, late-1930s Germany, and the mid 20th-century USSR. But Rome, the Nazi regime, and the Soviets are now history — and Christianity is still part of current events. “A lie has speed, but truth has endurance,” the saying informs.

Speaking of speed, the authors write that a “political collapse could happen very fast, as it did in California,” referencing the state’s transition from GOP governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and 2005 ballot initiatives — which the writers call the “zenith of conservative Republican attempts to control California” — to the ascendancy of hard-left governor Jerry Brown and Democrat supermajorities in the legislature.

It’s certainly true that demographics and cultural conditioning favor Democrats. Every year we absorb a million-plus immigrants; 85 to 90 percent them hail from the Third World, and 70 to 90 percent of that group votes Democrat upon naturalization. (Welcome to the _real reason_ leftists love __ “diversity.”) Moreover, the culture shapers — media, standard and social; academia; and entertainment — are brainwashing generations with leftist ideology, which is why Millennials break Democrat two-to-one.

Yet the authors make a mistake. California circa 2005 (and even 1995) was already a very left-wing state, and Schwarzenegger is a liberal Republican whose celebrity status won him the governorship. It can’t be equated with a traditionalist state such as Utah, Alabama, or Oklahoma. With politics downstream of culture, California could experience a rapid GOP collapse because it had already undergone a cultural collapse.

The authors equate what they predict is nigh with Republican dominance post-Civil War and Democrat hegemony during and after FDR’s presidency. They write, “At some point, one side or the other must win — and win big. The side resisting change, usually the one most rooted in the past systems and incumbent interests, must be thoroughly defeated — not just for a political cycle or two, but for a generation or two. That gives the winning party or movement the time and space needed to really build up the next system without always fighting rear-guard actions and getting drawn backwards…. The nation can’t take much more of our one step forward, one step back politics that gets little done despite the need for massive changes.”

This reflects a fundamental misunderstanding — but a common one. While there may be minor movements toward sanity (such as President Trump rescinding regulations), the overall pattern on what truly matters has thus far been irreversible gravitation leftwards. When do conservatives ever roll back anything of significance? There is no viable movement to eliminate faux (same-sex) marriage recognition; no proposal to rescind the thought-control legislation known as hate-crime-laws; no reversal of the ever-metastasizing “transgender” agenda; no halting of the left-wing drift of schools, media, and entertainment; no defunding of Planned Parenthood; and no alteration of our culture-rending immigration regime, in place _since 1965_. Why, even the recent budget deal was replete with enough liberal priorities so that Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) could hail it as a victory.

Reality: Everything called a conservative triumph is — when not wholly illusory — merely a small movement rightwards on a ship steadily drifting left. It’s little more than rearranging the deck chairs.

Yet the real problem is our widespread failure to believe in Truth. This causes us to trade the correct conception of reality — Truth vs. lies — with right vs. left, two terms with no historically fixed definitions pertaining to ideology. Rightists and leftists were, respectively, monarchists and republicans during the French Revolution yet were something else in the USSR, fancy themselves something different again today, and (along with many conservatives) are confused in every time.

This brings us to “change” worship. The only consistent definition of “liberal” is the “desire to change the status quo.” Yet as G.K. Chesterton cautioned, “Progress is a comparative of which we have not settled the superlative.” In other words, “progress” implies movement toward a goal; thus, insofar as we’re unsure of the goal, we’ll be unsure of the progress.

If we believed in Truth, which is unchanging, and searched for it, we could have a concrete vision for civilization and know whether or not progress toward it was being achieved. But what is leftists’ vision? They have ever-shifting goalposts. Like pathologically rebellious children, their only constant is opposition to conservatives, those rather poor guardians of the status quo. Translation: Their only constant is undisciplined, ill-considered change. Why, a Barack Obama slogan was “Hope and Change.”

But hope isn’t a strategy, and change should be a means to an end, not an end unto itself. For “change” isn’t good by definition, and change unguided by proper principle (Truth) is like a rocket without a guidance system. It’s a recipe for crashing and burning.

But burning with misguided passion, leftists forge ahead with their progress toward they know not what. Dorsey, we now hear, does his part and personally chooses what Twitter accounts to ban (always conservatives). And Leyden, Teixeira, Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and others gleefully proclaim that California is America’s future. They’re given no pause by the state having soaring housing costs, a fleeing middle class, a debt crisis, the nation’s highest supplemental poverty rate, a balkanized populace, rampant illegal aliens, some of the United States’ worst schools, and homeless camps and a rich-poor divide reflective of the Third World. (Video below examines the state’s homelessness.)

Yet these leftists may very well be correct that California reflects our tomorrow. If so, there’s one thing we certainly can say the republic’s future will be.

Short.

_Photo of Jack Dorsey: AP Images_

question: What did Jack Dorsey mean by the "Californification" of the whole country?

answer: That information is not known.

question: What is GOP

answer: A Republican Party in the U.S.

question: What, according to the author, could lead California to a GOP collapse

answer: California had already suffered a cultural collapse.

question: What is the real reason behind immigrants voting for Democrats

answer: According to the author, leftists love diversity and the media, education system and entertainment industry brainwash generations with leftists idealogy.

question: Can it be said that Millenials favour Democrats over Republicans?

answer: It might be implied from the author that Millenials are more in favour of democrats.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The article talks about Twitter owner Jack Dorsey supporting the destruction of the Republican Party GOP because of its beliefs and being on the wrong side of history. Due to the increase of Democrat supporters, mainly as a result of cultural conditioning and demographics, it is believed California could experience a rapid GOP collapse.


text:
GARFIELD COUNTY is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 2,049.[1] Its county seat is Burwell.[2] The county was organized in 1884; it was named for James A. Garfield, 20th President of the United States.[3]

In the Nebraska license plate system, Garfield County is represented by the prefix 83 (it had the 83rd-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

Geography

The North Loup River runs through the southwest corner of Garfield County.

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (0.3%) is water.[4]

Major highways

-   [] Nebraska Highway 11
-   [] Nebraska Highway 70
-   [] Nebraska Highway 91
-   [] Nebraska Highway 96

Adjacent counties

-   Wheeler County – east
-   Valley County – south
-   Custer County – southwest
-   Loup County – west
-   Holt County – north

Protected areas

-   Calamus Reservoir State Park (partial)[5]
-   Mirdan Canal State Wildlife Management Area[6]

Demographics

As of the 2000 United States Census,[7] there were 1,902 people, 813 households, and 529 families in the county. The population density was 3 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 1,021 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.79% White, 0.21% Native American, 0.05% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.53% from two or more races. 1.00% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 813 households, out of which 26.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.70% were married couples living together, 3.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.90% were non-families. 32.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.88.

The county population contained 23.50% under the age of 18, 4.40% from 18 to 24, 20.50% from 25 to 44, 26.80% from 45 to 64, and 24.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 91.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,407, and the median income for a family was $34,762. Males had a median income of $24,563 versus $16,146 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,368. About 9.70% of families and 12.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.50% of those under age 18 and 18.60% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

-   Burwell (county seat)
-   Deverre
-   Erina[8]
-   Gables

Politics

Garfield County voters are reliably Republican. In only one national election since 1916 has the county selected the Democratic Party nominee.

  Year                               Republican                                  Democratic                                Third Parties
  ---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- ----------------------------
  style=“text-align:center;” |2016   style=“text-align:center;” |83.8% _821_     style=“text-align:center;” |12.4% _121_   3.9% _38_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2012   style=“text-align:center;” |81.8% _769_     style=“text-align:center;” |15.9% _149_   2.3% _22_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2008   style=“text-align:center;” |77.7% _800_     style=“text-align:center;” |20.6% _212_   1.8% _18_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2004   style=“text-align:center;” |79.3% _806_     style=“text-align:center;” |19.3% _196_   1.5% _15_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2000   style=“text-align:center;” |74.6% _718_     style=“text-align:center;” |21.0% _202_   4.5% _43_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1996   style=“text-align:center;” |63.3% _625_     style=“text-align:center;” |25.2% _249_   11.5% _114_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1992   style=“text-align:center;” |54.7% _595_     style=“text-align:center;” |20.3% _221_   24.9% _271_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1988   style=“text-align:center;” |76.0% _803_     style=“text-align:center;” |22.1% _234_   1.9% _20_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1984   style=“text-align:center;” |81.4% _899_     style=“text-align:center;” |17.8% _196_   0.8% _9_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1980   style=“text-align:center;” |73.2% _811_     style=“text-align:center;” |21.5% _238_   5.3% _59_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1976   style=“text-align:center;” |64.8% _726_     style=“text-align:center;” |30.6% _343_   4.6% _52_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1972   style=“text-align:center;” |81.2% _903_     style=“text-align:center;” |18.8% _209_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1968   style=“text-align:center;” |76.4% _797_     style=“text-align:center;” |17.6% _183_   6.0% _63_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1964   style=“text-align:center;” |61.2% _761_     style=“text-align:center;” |38.8% _483_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1960   style=“text-align:center;” |77.4% _1,047_   style=“text-align:center;” |22.6% _305_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1956   style=“text-align:center;” |78.1% _936_     style=“text-align:center;” |21.9% _262_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1952   style=“text-align:center;” |80.5% _1,042_   style=“text-align:center;” |19.5% _253_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1948   style=“text-align:center;” |56.4% _702_     style=“text-align:center;” |43.6% _542_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1944   style=“text-align:center;” |68.7% _896_     style=“text-align:center;” |31.3% _408_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1940   style=“text-align:center;” |66.4% _1,053_   style=“text-align:center;” |33.6% _533_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1936   style=“text-align:center;” |50.4% _744_     style=“text-align:center;” |47.2% _697_   2.4% _35_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1932   style=“text-align:center;” |43.9% _622_     style=“text-align:center;” |54.7% _775_   1.4% _20_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1928   style=“text-align:center;” |83.0% _1,180_   style=“text-align:center;” |16.5% _235_   0.4% _6_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1924   style=“text-align:center;” |59.1% _757_     style=“text-align:center;” |19.6% _251_   21.3% _272_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1920   style=“text-align:center;” |64.3% _611_     style=“text-align:center;” |26.5% _252_   9.2% _87_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1916   style=“text-align:center;” |37.4% _302_     style=“text-align:center;” |52.8% _426_   9.8% _79_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1912   style=“text-align:center;” |23.7% _192_     style=“text-align:center;” |28.9% _234_   47.5% _385_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1908   style=“text-align:center;” |48.2% _368_     style=“text-align:center;” |47.5% _363_   4.3% _33_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1904   style=“text-align:center;” |67.4% _406_     style=“text-align:center;” |14.0% _84_    18.6% _112_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1900   style=“text-align:center;” |50.5% _251_     style=“text-align:center;” |47.3% _235_   2.2% _11_

  : PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS RESULTS[9]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5] [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Calamus+Reservoir+State+Recreation+Area+and+Wildlife+Management+Area/@41.9741487,-98.9038804,10.5z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x879b47b23613c5ed:0xc80e0e7cb05797b!2sErina,+NE!3b1!8m2!3d42.0106704!4d-98.8803925!3m4!1s0x879ca21c0d84fd09:0x3238fa4c32ae9c1b!8m2!3d41.8358047!4d-99.2230225 _Calamus Reservoir State Recreation Area and Wildlife Management Area_ Google Maps (accessed 21 January 2019)]

[6] [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mirdan+Canal+State+Wildlife+Management+Area,+Burwell,+NE+68823/@41.772878,-99.1940833,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x879b5e7b1bc10255:0x12c23174ede00ed8!2sGarfield+County,+NE!3b1!8m2!3d41.9678957!4d-98.9245343!3m4!1s0x879b620a768f5e85:0xd5560da721bfeed6!8m2!3d41.7726489!4d-99.189213 _Mirdan Canal State Wildlife Management Area, Burwell NE_ Google Maps (accessed 21 January 2019)]

[7]

[8] [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Erina,+NE/@42.0228462,-98.9462406,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x879b47b23613c5ed:0xc80e0e7cb05797b!8m2!3d42.0106704!4d-98.8803925 _Erina NE_ Google Maps (accessed 21 January 2019)]

[9] Election Results

title: Garfield County, Nebraska

question: What does the text say about farming in Nebraska?

question: What does the text say about Garfield County?

answer: Garfield County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 2,049. The county was organized in 1884. The North Loup River runs through the southwest corner of Garfield County. There are four major highways in Garfield County, namely Nebraska Highway 11, 70, 91, and 96. Part of the Calamus Reservoir State Park is in the county, as well as the Mirdan Canal State Wildlife Management Area (both are protected areas). Garfield County voters are Republican.

question: Summarize some interesting facts about Garfield County.

answer: Garfield County was named after James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States. Its county sear is Burwell. Garfield County is represented by the prefix 83 in the Nebraska license plate system, meaning it had the 83rd-largest number of vehicles in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922. Water makes up a paltry 0.3% of the total land area. Garfield County has a predominantly White population (98.97%). Females outnumber males but get paid a whopping $8,000 less. The Democrats have never won a seat in the county since 1916.

question: What does the text say about the demographics?

answer: As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 1,902 people, 813 households, and 529 families in the county. The population density was three people per square mile. The county population contained 23.5% under the age of 18, 4.450% 18 - 24, 20.50% from 25 - 44, 26.80% from 45 - 64, and 24.80% who were 65 years or older. The median age was 46 years. The median income for a household in Garfield County was $27,407 and the median income for a family was $34,762. The county's per capita income was $14,368. Around 9.70% of families and 12.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.50% of those under 18 and 18.60% of those aged 65 or over.


text:
Any words in italics are supposed to be my internal monologue at the time.  Thanks for reading

*I’m drunk, I’m out of shape, I worked out today and my muscles are still sore, I don’t even know those guys.*  A couple hundred really good reasons not to get involved crashed through my mind when I saw the fight break out down the street.  Two seconds into my sprint I had to admit all of those reasons sounded pretty damn logical, convincing even, but 5 guys had just jumped 2 young men and some part of me will always have an irrational hatred for assholes who don’t see the need to fight fair.  It didn’t look like any of them were older than 20 and I am reminded for the 100th time that night I am not nearly as young as I want to be.  The panic in my wife’s voice as she shouts “don’t” tells me that I’ll have another fight to deal with when I get home; I change that “when” to an “if” as I remember that I haven’t been in a proper fight in almost a decade. 30 yards in about 4 seconds, *not bad old man*, I still promise to put a little more time in on the jump rope collecting dust in the basement.
	By the time I get there both of the friends are on the ground catching a couple of rounds of punishment, 2 on 1 victim and 3 on the other.  I’m praying that both the unlucky bastards know how to cover up properly.  I’m praying at least one of the attackers has a flash of conscience and backs off.  I’m praying one of the awestruck bystanders with their smart phones out had enough sense to call the cops before they tweeted about watching a curb stomping.  I’m praying that Blue Cross covers injuries incurred during a White Knight fiasco.  I’m praying, but I put down religion a long time ago and I don’t want to choke on my own hypocrisy…or spit…seriously I need to up my cardio.
	I grab one of the attackers from behind and rip him off the victim.  He’s big, real big; I thank god I was diligent in my leg workouts for the past month and put all my weight and a full hip rotation into slinging the jackass into the nearest wall.  The sound of his back hitting the glass makes me wonder who’s responsible for property damage in this situation.  I don’t dwell on it long, I just scream some dark rambling thought about him needing to get lost, it sounds great and dramatic in my head and the guy was smart enough to take off running.  The second guy barely noticed his friend’s absence and is still teeing off on the grounded kid.  He pulls a hand back to hammer another blow home and I hook his arm to stop the strike.  I use my other arm to put him into the sloppiest chokehold ever attempted *how the hell does this always work in the movies, is there like a height requirement to choke somebody out?* I want to tell the kid to get off the ground and get to safety but my wife is already helping him up.  Inside I smile and wonder if that poor schlub knew he was going to end this night being rescued by a 5’2’’ southern spitfire putting on her best Valkyrie impression.  I stop hoping the thug I’m restraining will pass out from boredom and opt to simply kick the back of his leg as I pull him backwards by the collar of his shirt.  The ground meets him with all the love concrete can muster but he bounces up quickly enough to start running after his wayward friend.
	I turn just in time to see a punch coming my way, *seems like lucky number three has decided to end your tiresome meddling*; 26 and I still think like a Scooby Doo extra.   My hands are way out of position to block but the punch is slow, a sloppy left handed jab that tells me the guy is either real drunk or a rank amateur at dishing out pain.  I drop my weight down and get as low as my jeans allow me to and instantly regret every squat and lunge I’ve done in my life.  A little bit of head movement and the meatbag’s fist misses me by just enough to remind me I’m human; human and a lot more fragile than I want to believe.  But his momentum has put me in perfect range to satisfy a craving almost ten years in the making and for one shinning second the years of rust and day-to-day boredom are burned away by the pure fire of righteousness and madness coming together in perfect anarchy.  I’m not a superhero, not even particularly strong, but I have a punching bag at my house and just enough job related stress to make the frame rattle 3 or 4 times a week.  I plant my feet so hard I make a blister and tear it at the same time, so hard my vanity tells me the sidewalk probably cracked, and I dig in with a body shot straight from hell.  Somewhere between a hook and an uppercut I connect with a lower rib and take his and my breath away.  I push him towards his still fleeing friends and he takes the hint.
	*Everything hurts*…keep standing….*visions a little blurry*…keep breathing…*you’re still outnumbered*……pussy.  Still 2 guys left and they’re raining down sloppy kicks on this poor son of a bitch like it’s a middle school soccer game and the ball just happens to be calling for help.  How long has it been?  A minute?  An hour?  Time loses meaning as the world tilts at an awkward angle forcing me to take a lurching step to keep from falling into the sky.  *You’ve done enough, this is insane!  Somebody else can take it from here damn it the cops should be here any second.  You’re not a hero*.  But I always told myself that if I could be a hero I’d try to be like Luke Cage.  I’d help the little guy and always stand up to fight for the underdog.  I’d take a beating so those weaker than me would be safe from harm.  And I seriously have an irrational hatred for people who don’t fight fair.
	The last two nasty fucks throwing kicks have a wall about 3 feet behind them and I smile.  My friend is a personal trainer and she’s showed me an exercise she recently started having some of her clients do.  She starts people out by just doing a handstand against a wall and holding it for as long as they can, but as they get better she has them try to do a couple of inverted push up type things.  Of course I try it unsupervised like a man is supposed to and it’s hell on the shoulders, but I fill out a suit better than I have in years.  She tells me that one of her clients has gotten to the point where he can do a full set of 10 pretty easily.  I can do about half of one before every injury from high school football reminds me that I wouldn’t make it in the NFL, or CFL, or arena league, or high school football.  I plant a hand on each attacker’s chest and push; fancy battle tactic I got going on here.  Both goons travel about 5 feet to the wall previously 3 feet behind them and the impact makes me cringe and smile at the same time.
	I feel my needle drop to E and I know that I just burned up everything I had and then some.  The kid on the ground bolts to his feet and makes it half a block in a heartbeat.  Good survival instincts on that one, but he could have at least stuck around to watch me get my shit kicked in on his behalf.  My arms are useless and I might as well be wearing concrete shoes for all the good my legs are doing me.  For the first time I actually look at the people I’m fighting and I just want to scream at the two of them how young they are.  They have their whole lives ahead of them and they could be throwing that all away on some stupid fight in the middle of the sidewalk.  18, I wonder if any of them are 18 and would be tried as adults if something terrible had happened.  *Children, they’re just fucking children*.  One of the punks asks if I want a piece too.  My heroic reply is a wet cough that sounds like too many Gin and tonics.  I tell myself that it was a good run.  I tell myself that I did the right thing.  I tell myself that, worst case scenario at least I’m wearing clean underwear.  No man should die with dirty underwear on; I think my grandfather told me that.  But I see fear creep into the two attackers eyes, and with all the grace of a gazelle high on shrooms they bolt as a squad car shows up to the scene blue and red lights flashing.  I lean my back against the wall and listen to my heart play a nice salsa beat.  My wife and the cop ask me if I’m ok at roughly the same time and I answer both with a half dazed nod.  The world comes back into focus just long enough for me to hear that both the victims only sustained minor injuries, some bruises that’ll hurt like a bitch come morning and one bloody lip between the two of them.  I smile and the cop’s face makes it pretty clear he thinks I look like a madman but I couldn’t care less.  I haven’t felt this good in ages.  Neither kid wanted to press charges and distantly I wonder what those two did to deserve an ass kicking, but the thought doesn’t last long.  This isn’t a comic book, I don’t wear a cape, I don’t have to investigate and get to the bottom of the story.  I’m just a guy who feels a little bit better about his workout routine.  Both kids thank me for the help, I tell them to be safe in my best adult voice knowing damn well that I wouldn’t listen to me at their age.  I nod with what I hope is a grim look on my face, turn around and go home.

title: Left the Cape at Home

question: What does the story say about the best time in the day to exercise?

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

answer: The primary source of tension is the unfair fight between five guys who jumped two young men down the street and were beating the hell out of them. The narrator has an irrational hatred for people who don't fight fair, so he rushed in to help the two young men despite not knowing who they were. The two young men are on the ground taking punishment, one had two guys on him, while the other had three guys on him. The narrator prays that the unlucky men know how to cover up or that at least one of the attackers backs off. Or, at least one of the bystanders with their smartphones out had enough sense to call the cops before posting the fracas on social media.

question: Summarize what was going through the narrator's mind when he rushed in to help the two young men.

answer: The narrator tells himself that he's drunk, out of shape, his muscles are still sore from the days' workout, and he didn't know the young men getting beat up. He's not as nearly as young as he wants to be. His wife tells him not to get involved and he thinks he'll have another fight to deal with when they get home. He hasn't been in a proper fight in almost a decade. The narrator is also outnumbered 5-1.

question: What does the story say about heroism?

answer: Anybody can be a hero regardless of age or current fitness levels. All it takes is the courage to take the first step in helping those in need despite the odds. All it takes is the conviction to fight for the weak and an aversion to those who don't fight fair. When the narrator saw the two kids getting beat up by five older ones, he rushed in to help despite his logical brain telling him that he was drunk, old, out of shape, and outnumbered 5-1. Heroism is also not like in the movies because human beings are fragile, make mistakes, and get tired.

question: Describe how the narrator's workout regimen and training helped him in a fight against five guys.

answer: The narrator's workout routines helped him during the fight against five guys as he was able to sprint 30 yards in four seconds. His leg workouts for the past month helped him rip the biggest attacker off one of the victims and throw the guy against the nearest wall. Squat and lunge training helps the narrator avoid a punch. Hitting a punching bag 3-4 times a week helped the narrator land a body shot on one of the attackers. Doing handstand pushups gives the narrator the upper body strength to push two of the attackers back five feet into a wall.


text:
                           1

...Three's a crowd when you're standing in a bathroom stall...

Tap...Tap...Tap...

I couldn't begin to tell you how happy the sound of vigorous tapping of a 40 bag of blow pinned between the butt end of a lighter and the wall of a bathroom stall makes me.
"Fucking Nelson", I say while taking a drag of my cigarette, " can't afford to pay his employees on time, but can spend hundreds of dollars on flowers to put in the ladies room that look they  are straight from Babylon. who the fuck cares what you're looking at when you're taking a shit."

"Cunt" says Karlo.

Pascal just looks at us in disbelief, as he knows full well our conversation can be heard by the numerous 24h party people waiting to use the toilette.

Tap...Tap...Tap...

"Ready!" Says Karlo, "whose going first".
As he jams my car key into the baggy, we hear a loud banging on the door.

"What the fuck are you guys doing, there is people waiting at the bar and my bartenders are doing blow in the bathroom." The voice yells, " are you fuckers smoking!"

We share a glance. Immediately we know it's our manager Nathalie. We rush to take our bumps and pile out the bathroom stall.

"Take it easy" says a cocaine fuelled pascal, "they're swingers, they're not here for the alcohol.

Walking out the bathroom trying to navigate my way through a sea of half naked people wearing everything from burlesque style corsets, to ass less chaps, to nothing at all. Walking past the infamous cherry booths, that look like they came straight out of a speakeasy from a William S. Burroughs novel, crimson velvet curtain and all. I suddenly see several men walking in and out of one booth. My curiosity at this point is peeked. I can't resist. I stick my head in. I see so many naked men on one women fucking a hole out  the back of her head.

So many hands.
So many cocks.
One woman.
She's loving it.

"She's a squirter" one of them yells as he cums in unison.

They notice me. I lock eyes with one of the men a quickly get out of there. Making my way back toward the bar, I notice a man wearing a fine tailored suit with a look of horror and disbelief on his face. He's looking right at me now.

" she had never swung before, he says , " I mean we had gone to some of Frank's parties but we had never dinned in." That man was her husband.

I think back to something Burroughs wrote in "Junk", sodomy is as old as the human species.

                            2

The cocaine is hitting me now. I live for that feeling, when it washes over you like wave after crushing wave smashing into the the sandy beach with the force of two trucks colliding on the interstate. Therapeutic, calming, soothing. Blow is a pure kick, a feeling that lifts you straight up, like an elevator in a high rise, and starts leaving you as soon as you feel it.

Walking through the sea of people, I feel like a flounder swimming amongst it's school. Standing in front of me the most beautiful goddess I've ever seen dancing with the stylized gestures of a Mayan temple goddess. There was something archaic in her movements, an animalistic grace, beautiful and repulsive all at once. I'm immediately transported back to a time centuries ago. I could picture her like a gypsy girl dancing around the light of a campfire. I can hear the sounds of off beat clapping accompanied by the sounds of ancient instruments long forgotten. I can see her ambiguous gestures fading in and out of the light. The touch of her hand around my neck snaps me back to reality. She pulls me in close with the force of a WWII era woman clutching her husband whose returned from war in the old world, never letting go. It's amazing how you can feel alone with someone In room crammed with people. I always thought how strange it is that societies expectations of the times youth need to go to loud places to find people they can be quiet with.

All my different voices are hitting me now all at once. Uppers, downers, ketamine, cocaine, alcohol. You name it I'm on it. It feels like there is a force greater than gravity weighing me down on this spot. I get lost in the flickering of the strobe lights above us glistening of e beaded up sweat on her body. I'm hypnotized. Like a draconian figure from a Bram Stoker,s film I'm drawn to her neck. Our bodies move synchronized to the tantric rhythms the DJ is spinning.
I make my move.
I kiss her neck.
The sweat of her neck quenches my thirst. It was like I could tap into a source like I was turning on a faucet. I was the artist and she was my vessel. She filled my flask, I drank from it. I delved, devoured her. Unmistakably drowning in her knowledge  of magic, of good, of evil. I asked my self, "have I had my fill?"

I kiss her lips.
Our tongues dancing like champion tango dancers, strangers in the night. Is it love? Or is it lust?  She slips a pill of mdma in my mouth with her tongue.

 I'm not asking for forever, just for tonight.

She stares deep into my eyes with her pupils as big and black, with a mosquito's unseeing calm.

"Let's go back to my place."

title: [NF] strangers in the night

question: Where is the narrator?

answer: The narrator is at his workplace, he works at a bar.

question: Why was he hiding from his manager?

answer: The narrator hides from his manager because he was smoking a cigarette at work.

question: Who is the woman the narrator dances with?

answer: The narrator does not personally know her. He sees her dancing and is attracted to her hence makes a move and dances with her.

question: Does the narrator get caught by his manager?

answer: No, he does not get caught.

question: Write a ~7 sentence summary.

answer:
The narrator is in the washroom of the bar he works at, smoking and doing drugs. His manager comes and yells at them for being away from the bar while people wait.

The drug effects start to kick as he makes his way through the sea of people back to the bar. He notices a girl dancing and is immediately attracted to her. He goes close to her as she pulls him close. Their bodies begin to move in rhythm as they kiss.

The girl offers him to go home with her.


text:
New York regulators and the cable giant have been locked in a battle over the rollout of broadband internet in rural parts of the state.

ALBANY – New York's utility regulators moved Friday to revoke Charter Communication's ability to operate in the state, arguing that the state's top cable provider hasn't lived up to the terms of its 2016 merger with Time Warner Cable.

The Public Service Commission gave Charter 60 days submit a plan to hand over its New York operations to a new cable, internet and phone provider, rescinding the state's previous approval of the major cable merger.

Charter, which does business as Spectrum cable in New York, has been locked in a battle with Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration over the rollout of high-speed internet access in rural areas of the state.

On Friday, the commission escalated that battle by revoking its approval of the 2016 Charter-Time Warner Cable merger, which would prevent the company from operating in New York and will likely launch a prolonged court battle.

The commission approved the decision unanimously at a hastily called meeting Friday, along with a civil lawsuit hoping to bring additional financial penalties against the company.

PSC Chairman John Rhodes said Charter is "simply not serving New Yorkers."

"We need to seek a different provider," Rhodes said before voting in favor of the measures.

WHAT'S NEXT?

In a statement, a Charter spokesman did not say what steps the company may take to try and block the order.

The Public Service Commission's order requires the company to maintain its service throughout the state while planning for a transition to a new company.

Charter is the state's largest cable provider, offering television, internet and phone services in more than 1,150 communities across New York with a potential customer base of 5 million, according to the Public Service Commission.

The cable provider and the state are at odds over the rate at which the company has rolled out high-speed internet in less-densely populated areas of the state, which was a key provision in the state commission's approval of the $55 billion Time Warner Cable merger in 2016.

As part of the approval, Charter was required to extend its broadband network to 145,000 new homes and businesses in more rural areas of the state while hitting certain benchmarks along the way.

The state commission says Charter has repeatedly missed its six-months benchmarks, including a June 2018 deadline to hit 58,417 new addresses in areas that aren't densely populated.

Charter denies that claim, however, and has said it is ahead of schedule. The company claims to have added 86,000 total homes and businesses to its broadband network across the state.

THE DISAGREEMENT

The disagreement comes down to which addresses should be counted.

The commission invalidated more than 18,000 addresses Charter was counting toward the total number, with most of those being New York City addresses the commission says hardly count as "less-densely populated" areas.

Charter also counted some addresses in other densely populated cities like Rochester and Mount Vernon, the state claims.

In a statement, Charter spokesman Andrew Russell suggested the commission's actions were being politically motivated but did reveal what the company's next step would be.

Cuomo is up for re-election this year.

"In the weeks leading up to an election, rhetoric often becomes politically charged," Russell said. "But the fact is that Spectrum has extended the reach of our advanced broadband network to more than 86,000 New York homes and businesses since our merger agreement with the PSC."

Russell continued: "Our 11,000 diverse and locally based workers, who serve millions of customers in the state every day, remain focused on delivering faster and better broadband to more New Yorkers, as we promised."

NEW FINES?

The Public Service Commission had previously fined Charter $2 million for failing to meet the broadband deadlines and voted Friday to force the company to forfeit $1 million in credit that was approved as part of the merger.

The commission also approved a lawsuit to seek additional penalties from the company, particularly greater fines.

The orders were approved by a 4-0 vote of the commission.

James Alesi, a former state senator from the Rochester area who sits on the commission, characterized the orders as difficult but necessary steps.

"It's actually sad for me to say that I can endorse this and I will be supporting it," Alesi said. "We never like to see such strong action taken against a business, but in the case of a business that is not doing what it says it is going to do, it's not just hollow promises working to the detriment of the people."

question: Summarize the main news incident in this article.

answer: New York state utility regulators moved to revoke Charter Communication's ability to operated in the state, arguing that the company has not lived up to the terms of its 2016 merger with Time Warner Cable.

question: Who is John Rhodes?

answer: John Rhodes is the Chairman  of the Public Service Commission.


text:
The EUROPEAN COLOR INITIATIVE (ECI) is an expert group that is concerned with media-neutral reproduction of color data in digital publication systems. It was formed in June 1996 by German publishers Bauer, Burda, Gruner + Jahr and Springer in Hamburg.

ECI offers several ICC profiles to be downloaded for free from their website to improve color management across publishing houses. This includes their very own ECI-RGB as recommended working color space on screen and ECI-CMYK (Fogra 53) for printing processes. They also offer test charts for device characterization.

RGB

The ECI-RGB COLOR SPACE, sometimes written ECI RGB or ECIRGB, is a standardized RGB color space using the D50 white point (CIE xy: 0.34567, 0.35850) and NTSC color primaries: red 0.67, 0.33; green 0.21, 0.71; blue 0.14, 0.08. Its wide gamut covers most mass printing technologies and all current display technologies. Version 1 was released in 1999 and a mostly compatible, updated version 2 was published in April 2007, which was later republished as international standard ISO 22028-4:2012.[1]

CMYK

The ECI-CMYK COLOR SPACE, sometimes written ECI CMYK or ECICMYK, is a standardized CMYK color space for graphic data exchange in the print industry. It is equivalent to FOGRA 53, often spelt FOGRA53, and is intended to overcome limitations of and thereby replace the _ISO Coated_ CMYK exchange color space (version 2 = Fogra 39, version 3 = Fogra 51).

[1]

title: European Color Initiative

question: What is the European Color Initiative?

answer: an expert group concerned with media-neutral reproduction of color data in digital publication systems

question: When was the European Color Initiative formed?

answer: June 1996

question: How is European Color Initiative initialized?

answer: ECI

question: Where was the European Color Initiative formed?

answer: Hamburg, Germany

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The European Color Initiative is an expert group concerned with media-neutral reproduction of color data in digital publication systems.