text:
Word of Liberal MP Raj Grewal’s gambling debts surfaced on police wiretaps in a much broader probe into other people suspected of money laundering and terrorist financing, says a source with knowledge of the events.

Grewal’s sudden decision to step down as the member for the southern Ontario riding of Brampton East was prompted by a gambling problem that led him to incur significant personal debts, the Prime Minister’s Office said last week.

The source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Grewal’s debts came to the attention of the Ontario Provincial Police during an investigation of some “particularly shady guys” who might be involved in laundering drug money destined for an extremist group in the Middle East.

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“There are wiretaps up on an organized-crime (and) terrorism investigation. And they have people talking about his gambling debts on the wire,” he said.

WATCH: RAJ GREWAL MOVED OFF FINANCE COMMITTEE NOT RELATED TO GAMBLING, GOVERNMENT WHIP SAYS

 [Click to play video 'Raj Grewal moved off finance committee not related to gambling, government whip says'] 0:32 Raj Grewal moved off finance committee not related to gambling, government whip says

Raj Grewal moved off finance committee not related to gambling, government whip says – Nov 28, 2018

The source said he learned last spring that the RCMP had asked the OPP’s gaming unit about Grewal’s casino gambling based on reports of unusually large financial transactions.

“It is literally a collateral issue to a bigger investigation related to drugs, gambling and money-laundering.”

Grewal, who is a lawyer, has not been charged with any crime. There is no suggestion he knows anything of the alleged activities at the centre of the broader police probe, the source said.

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Attempts to contact him Wednesday for comment were unsuccessful.

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WATCH: LISA RAITT DEMANDS ANSWERS ON LIBERAL MP RAJ GREWAL

 [Click to play video 'Lisa Raitt demands answers on Liberal MP Raj Grewal'] 2:01 Lisa Raitt demands answers on Liberal MP Raj Grewal

Lisa Raitt demands answers on Liberal MP Raj Grewal – Nov 28, 2018

The RCMP declined comment, saying it does not confirm or deny the existence of criminal investigations unless charges are laid. The OPP did not immediately respond to an inquiry.

As of early Tuesday, Grewal had not resigned from the House of Commons, though Liberal MP Mark Holland, the government whip, said he understood the paperwork would be filed imminently.

If Grewal does not officially resign soon, he’ll be kicked out of the Liberal caucus, said a well-placed insider who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

The federal ethics commissioner began an inquiry last May after two opposition MPs expressed concerns that Grewal might have been in a conflict of interest when he invited a construction executive – who was paying Grewal for legal services at the time – to official events with Trudeau during the prime minister’s trip to India this year.

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Grewal has said he will co-operate fully with the commissioner’s investigation.

WATCH: SENIOR LIBERALS: GREWAL LIED ABOUT GAMBLING DEBTS

 [Click to play video 'Senior Liberals: Grewal lied about gambling debts'] 1:47 Senior Liberals: Grewal lied about gambling debts

Senior Liberals: Grewal lied about gambling debts – Nov 30, 2018

The Prime Minister’s Office acknowledged last week that the RCMP had made inquiries related to the ethics complaint against Grewal. But the insider said the PMO is realizing only now that the Mounties’ questions might actually have been part of a broader investigation.

Conservative MP Gerard Deltell, who served with Grewal on the Commons finance committee, said he had enjoyed working with the Liberal and wished him well personally.

But Deltell added that he hopes Grewal’s personal issues have not jeopardized the country’s affairs. “That’s the main issue we have to address when we talk about it.”

© 2018 The Canadian Press

question: Summarize the main news event.

answer: Police wiretapping has exposed MP Raj Grewal's gambling debts. Grewal has not been charged with any crime, and has not spoken on the matter publicly. He is still an active member of the House of Commons. The inquiries that uncovered this matter had been intended to expose terrorist financing and money laundering.

question: Summarize Grewal's political career.


split: test

text:
The coalition of rebel groups fighting to remove Bashar al-Assad from power has always been a loose one; held together by the hatred of a common enemy.

The rag-tag army is made up of brigades and battalions each with different ideologies and visions for what a future Syria will look like – from radical Islamists fighting a global Jihad to secular nationalists seeking a democratic system.

With such unassailable visions it was perhaps inevitable that these groups would eventually come to blows. That moment appears to have arrived. A tacit agreement to settle their differences only after they had dealt with Assad appears to have fallen apart, and the rebels have now turned their guns on each other.

With the Syrian army holding firm across much of the country and the capital Damascus, the rebels have entered into a premature battle over the form of a post-Assad Syria.

On Wednesday afternoon, in the border city of Azaz, heavy clashes broke out between fighters with the Islamic State of Iraq and as-Sham (ISIS) – an off-shoot of al-Qa'ida – and the Northern Storm Brigades of the Western-backed Free Syrian Army. By nightfall there were several dead on each side and ISIS gained control of all entrances to the city. The outbreak of violence followed weeks of growing tension between ISIS and more moderate elements operating under the nominal command of General Salim Idriss, the head of the Supreme Military Council and leader of the coalition of brigades operating under the Free Syrian Army banner.

Last week, ISIS announced the beginning of a new campaign dubbed "Expunging Filth"– the target of which was not Assad’s army, but the FSA-affiliated Farouk Brigades, a force of around 14,000 fighters.

In north east Syria too, ISIS and its ideological ally Jabhat al-Nusra have been attacking Kurdish areas in a bid to gain control of key oil production. Fighting has also taken place in Deir ez-Zour, where the FSA accuse ISIS of attacking their headquarters.

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As the recipient of a healthy flow of weapons and funding from its patrons in Iraq and donors in the Gulf, ISIS has earned a reputation for ferocity on the battlefield. ISIS is known to have attracted the most foreign fighters of all the groups fighting in Syria. Its 7,000- 10,000 share a global outlook, and see the fight in Syria as one part of a greater battle.

They have often taken the lead on the front lines and played a decisive role in key battles, such as the conquest of the Menagh air base north of Aleppo, which had held out for over a year before a concerted campaign led by ISIS that involved the use of suicide bombers.

Using its superior firepower, ISIS has sought to consolidate its power in the north. In some areas, the order and security brought by ISIS has been welcomed – at least temporarily –by civilians who had long complained that FSA fighters were corrupt and unruly.

This consolidation has extended beyond flexing its military might. ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra have in recent months been engaged in a campaign to win the hearts and minds of the civilians in areas under their control. One particularly memorable example of this was a family fun day of sorts held in Aleppo by the two groups – used to operating from the shadows – complete with an ice cream eating competition. They have also set up Sharia courts and doled out punishments to locals and fighters for breaking their newly introduced laws.

But the increasing dominance of ISIS has also caused resentment. Stories of civilians angry over the growing imposition of al-Qa’ida ideology on what was previously (for all its faults) an inclusive state, are becoming more commonplace.

Last month in the provincial capital of al-Raqqa, residents held protests against the growing influence of ISIS in the city. The abduction and execution of 14-year-old Mohammad Qattam in Aleppo in June, punishment for making an off-hand remark about the Prophet, provoked revulsion among residents in a city already battered by war.

Among the more moderate rebel brigades and activists, that resentment has existed for some time. Last year in Aleppo province, activists spoke with unease of their extremist bedfellows. Many were keen to make a distinction between the "real" Free Syrian Army and people who claimed the mantle. There was discomfort too, of being aligned with a group that was carrying out atrocities such as executions and suicide bombings in civilian areas.

Yesterday, as the fighting erupted into the open, there was a sense that this was expected.

"We knew this would happen from day one," said Abu Admad, an activist with an FSA-affiliated media centre in Aleppo. "From the moment foreign fighters came flooding into the country saying they were fighting for Jihad and for Sharia we knew it would end like this."

The battle lines being drawn in Azaz could have a dramatic impact on the course of the war in Syria. The most immediate effect will be a weakening of the front-lines where rebels are battling against Assad's army, as protagonists on both sides call reinforcements to fight it out in the north.

Although there have been skirmishes among the rebels before, Aron Lund, a researcher and expert on the Syrian opposition, said this round of fighting appear to be more serious.

“The new thing is that you've had an uptick in battles between the Islamic State and others in several areas at the same time, and there's an impression spreading that they're knifing the rebellion in the back,” he said.

The fight will make clearer the divisions within the rebel movement as each group is forced to pick a side. And while it is not instructive to divide Syria’s rebels simply into “moderate” and “extremist”, the alliances that may form in a battle between al-Qa’ida and the more palatable (to the West at least) Free Syrian Army would present a clearer picture where each group stands than exists currently.

The implications stretch beyond the borders of Syria. The United States has been forthcoming in expressing its desire to support moderate elements in Syria, but is has been constrained by fears that any weapons they send might easily fall into the hands of rebel groups who would just as sooner use them against the US as they would against the Syrian army. The outbreak of open conflict between Idriss' Free Syrian Army and ISIS may go some way to allying those fears. If the FSA is being shot at by al-Qa'ida, they are hardly likely to give them the weapons to do it.

Even as the fight was still ongoing on Thursday, the Free Syrian army called for support from the West.

“We are asking for the West’s help,” said FSA spokesman Louay al-Miqdad. “We cannot fight on two fronts. Don’t leave us between Assad, Hezbollah and al-Qa’ida.”

Mr Miqdad said that FSA leaders were holding meetings to decide on a response to the attack on Azaz.

“I don’t think there is a chance of a solution [with ISIS],” he said. “They are fighting for different goals. They are fighting for their own agenda.”

“We are short in resources and we need help, but they shouldn’t forget we have been here for 7,000 years, living together. We will not allow them to hijack our revolution.”

question: Why do the rebel groups want to remove Bashar al-Assad from power?

answer: It is not stated, but we might infer that they have different political ideologies than al-Assad.

question: Why might al-Assad want the rebel groups to fight each other?

answer: If the groups are fighting each other, they will be weaker in their fight against his forces.

question: Why has ISIS suddenly attacked the other rebels?

answer: It's not clear what prompted the recent attacks, but the FSA felt that conflict with ISIS was inevitable.


text:
**Okay. I’ve had enough. Today’s the day I’m going to do it.**

It’s been going on for as long as I remember. I have faint memories, from when I was really young, maybe three or four, a toddler for sure. Dad used to keep one in the house, but he kept it locked away upstairs and he’d never let me see it. A few years later I went through a phase where I thought it was really cool, and none of my friends at school had ever seen one, so I came up with this plan to steal it from my Dad while he was at work. I was just going to take it, show it off a little bit. I was far too frightened to actually use it. I had no idea how, and the idea of it was incredibly intimidating. Looking back, I was a reckless little shit, and when Dad caught me trying to break it out of the drawer he kept it in, he scolded me senseless, threatened to hit me, the whole nine yards. I’d never seen him so worked up, and being a kid, I thought it was a massive overreaction. It wasn’t until years later, after he died, that my mother told me his reaction was born out of fear for my safety, and not brute anger. Still, I resented him for years for it. I was embarrassed in front of my friends, and somewhere, deeper down, being denied the pleasure of even holding it made me feel victimised for the first time in my life.	It’s all different now. Has been for years. My Dad’s reaction would be laughable if that incident had taken place now, instead of all those years ago. Nowadays, everyone’s got one. People walk down the street with them. They’re on TV advertisements, the front covers of magazines, plastered all over buses and billboards. I never paid much attention to politics, but I guess eventually enough powerless people got together and pressured enough powerful people, saying they needed them, that they were a good investment, a facet of modern life, something everybody needs but nobody knows they need. Then, almost overnight, they were everywhere.

**But I don’t have one. And today, that’s going to change.**

Feels good to hold it in my hand. Smooth, cold, sterile. For the first time in my life, I’m not a meaningless face in the crowd, I’m a meaningless face in the crowd with a fuck-ton of power and no way to use it. That’s okay, though. I don’t have any plans to use it. Just having it is enough for me. You never know, someday it might come in handy, but it’ll always be a last resort. I promise.

*****

A single dirty sunbeam illuminates the room, penetrating the mouldy, dusty curtains, fanning across the floor. The room is pitiful. Dim, damp and unusually warm, seeing as the heating hasn’t been on in two months, or more. The radiators have begun to rust from disuse. The drip of the faucet in the kitchen echoes through the room, and a few flies buzz amongst the dirty dishes and discarded food packaging scattered across every surface, but it is otherwise silent. The television in the corner seems unable to let go of the faded image burnt into the screen, despite not having been turned on for God knows how long. Much of the furniture sits in various states of dilapidation, from the slightly creaky table to the decimated sofa cushions. Despite being separated from the room by a thick wooden door, the overpowering stench of an unclean toilet dominates and rises above the odours of mould and rotten food.

In the corner stands a futon, springs so worn that it is almost level to the ground, home to a civilisation of bedbugs so far into their collective development that they are on the cusp of subjective consciousness. And wrapped in the thin, tattered blanket lies a skinny, starved, unhealthy figure. Enter yours truly. Dragging myself upright, I pull apart the matted strands of long, greasy hair obscuring my face.

 My morning routine usually begins with a ‘game’ I like to play while I get dressed; staggering around the room, I draw up a couple items of clothes scattered across the floor. Lift them to my nostrils, *sniff*, skip the cardigan. *Sniff*, this t-shirt isn’t going to make the cut, I’m afraid. *Sniff*, breakthrough! I’ve found a faded white t-shirt that only smells a little ripe. On to trousers; I repeat the process a few times until I discover a pair of jeans that smell *relatively* clean. Only hints of beer and dust, and a subtle, unidentifiable aroma. When I play this game, I like to pretend I’m a wine connoisseur, swishing the smells around my nose.

After I quickly get dressed, I step into the kitchen and prepare myself a convenient meal of canned *whatever*. On today’s menu; tuna and stale bread. The water’s been cut off, so I guess I’ll skip the shower today, *again*. Haven’t seen my keys in a couple days, so I don’t bother to lock the door on my way out. What’s the worst that could happen? Someone comes in and steals the half-eaten, two week old slice of pizza on the sofa? Be my guest.

That dusty beam of light that woke me up was a pretty poor preview of the blinding daylight I immediately feel on my skin when I walk out my front door. I don’t even know why I bother to leave the house sometimes. But I’d go insane if I stayed inside all day, so I like to make an effort. Today’s like every other day; as I aimlessly walk the streets, there’s no escaping the derisive glares of everyone I pass on the footpath. The buildings around here are all crumbling, abandoned, condemned. What a shitty neighbourhood. I’m surprised I didn’t get it sooner.

Speaking of which, I’ve had it for about three days now. I have it tucked away at all times, obviously. It took me weeks to gather up all the money for it, but I couldn’t afford the holder the guy offered to throw in with it (*‘at an exclusive, limited time discount!’ he said*), but this way is better, because now everybody knows I’ve got it. Everyone else does, too, sure. But I’ve got it. And as long as I’ve got it, I’m safe. These mean-looking fuckers, these judgemental fuckers, these fuckers, they can’t even touch me. They never did try to touch me, before I had it, but I bet one of them would any day now, the second I let my guard down. And that’s why I need it. With it, I’m powerful. Without, well, I may as well be dead.

The next few days, I do the same. Wake up, wander, walk home. Get in, go to sleep. Rinse and repeat. I’ve had it about a week now, and I guess people are starting to notice. Those mean-looking fuckers, those judgemental fuckers, they’ve been looking me up and down more often. When I was on my way home, one of them followed me, but I deviated down a couple sidestreets and lost them. Oxidia Ave., Bletchley Ln., Smith Pkwy. That’s my new way home, so I better remember it. No more gallivanting down Central St. without a care in the world for me. I spent less time out in the open today, too. The sunlight is getting oppressive. My room, my dingy, dark room, is getting more appealing. Maybe I’ll leave the house a little later, come home a little earlier, from now on. That way, I won’t go insane, but I’ll feel safer. And when I’m at home, I don’t have to carry it with me. But I mustn’t forget it when I leave, ever. I can’t leave without it.

*****

It’s been three weeks, maybe a month, since I got it now. I can’t remember. It’s okay though, I haven’t used it yet. If someone out there tries to mug me, jump me, stop me, I’ll fight back with my fists. That’s how I always envisaged it, before I had it. It’s just a symbol. It’s my right. If someone were to catch me unaware, break in when I’m sleeping, and they’ve got their own, *that’s when I’ll use it.*										But what are the chances of that, right?

Been setting aside money for the last week for today. I’ve had to push back my rent payment by a couple of weeks, but my building manager kind of assumes I’m dead unless I notify them otherwise. Besides, if I’m really stuck, I can always ask my mother. I’m sure she’d like to hear from me. I’ve gathered up enough through a combination of tearing my room apart for any sort of loose change, picking up what I come across on the street, and requesting an advance on my subsidy.

Going down to the office to pick up my subsidy was actually the only reason I left my room yesterday. The sunlight is too heavy on my shoulders now. Besides, it’s the height of summer, and I don’t want to sweat through all my *clean* clothes. And when the weather is great, everyone’s out. And everyone looks at me, sometimes they follow me. They know I have it. They’re trying to provoke me, to see if I’ll really use it. To see if I’m just a coward, or if I’m really a man. But I don’t have to worry about that anymore. I got together the money so I could get a new set of keys for the door, a new lock fitted. The locksmith seemed like a friendly guy, too good for this place. He was short, stout, balding on top, but despite all of this was oddly cheerful. Until I showed him it. He looked like the kind of guy who’d be interested in it, so I tried to start a conversation with him about it. But he just looked down his nose at me. He said he didn’t have one, that he didn’t need one. He’s wrong. He doesn’t know me. I need one.

I didn’t leave the house today. I sat and thought about it over a dinner of canned *whatever* last night, and came to the conclusion that being out *there* does me more harm than good. Oxidia Ave., Bletchley Ln., Smith Pkwy. That’s not long enough anymore. They’re learning how to keep up with me, looking at me, *glaring* at me, following me sometimes. Last night, on my way home, I took Springfield St. and Arthur Ln. between Bletchley Ln. and Smith Pkwy. That ought to throw them off. But I don’t need to remember that route, because I didn’t go out today, and I’m not going out tomorrow either.

I think I’ve had it for two months or more now. I’ve lost count. I carry it with me in my room now, too. I can’t leave it sitting out; what if someone broke in and grabbed it while I was in the kitchen, or the bathroom? It’s unthinkable. The new lock is holding up nicely, though. I’ve heard what sounds like people trying it throughout the night, but they can’t get in. They’ll never get in. And if they do, I have it. But I’ll only use it if I have to.

*Knock knock*

See? They’re trying it again.

*Knock knock*

Better go look out, just in case.

Nobody there. Must be hearing things. But I can’t let my guard down. I can *never* let my guard down.
*****
**I don’t have it anymore.**

It’s been a week. I wasn’t sleeping. I felt unhealthy, I felt sick. I was getting thinner. I heard them knocking on my door throughout the night. Every time I checked, they weren’t there. Or they were gone. Until I let my guard down.

I thought it was inevitable. I *knew* it was going to happen, I just didn’t know *when*. I’d be caught off-guard by one of *them*, they’d come in, pick it up, and use it against me. But I wasn’t going to let them win. I justified it in my head.*It’s not a toy, it’s not a symbol, it’s not a last resort. It’s my right. If I let them win, then I lose. But they started it. So if I win, and they lose, that’s not my fault. Not my problem. Reap what you sow, and all that.*
I was in my room, eating my canned *whatever*. Not doing much else, because the TV doesn’t work, and the water’s off. I’ve never been one for books.

*Knock knock*

I heard it. It’s okay. I’ve got it here with me, in my lap. If they knock again, if they try and get in, I’ll stop what I’m doing and check. *I’m safe. I’ve got the upper hand.*

But they didn’t knock again, and I forgot all about it. I wasn’t feeling well, so I went to bed early that night. And I brought it with me, obviously. I’d started doing that over the preceding weeks. I couldn’t sleep, but it seemed like I might have a better chance if I brought it with me.

It wasn’t long after I’d crawled onto my futon that the knocking started again. It was more aggressive this time, though. More rhythmic. Pounding, like a heartbeat. In sync with my own heartbeat. Dust was rising up around the foot of my rotten wooden door with the shiny new lock. And the door was shaking, spasming, shivering violently until it popped damn near out of its frame. As the dust cleared, the silhouette dispelled and a kid took its place. A tall, skinny, shaven-head kid, maybe sixteen years old, with a similar build to me. His face was haggard beyond his years though, and his eyes were both frantic and tired. He didn’t notice me at first. I leapt up, the smooth, cold, sterile texture of it in my hand. He saw it, no doubt a silhouette from his perspective, but he knew it, its size, its form. He locked eyes with me. I expected him to go on the offense. After all, he was just another mean-looking fucker, and he proved me right. I knew it would be inevitable, that they’d come for me. And they did. He did. But he froze. He looked at me with static eyes, glazed with fear, fear and helplessness. Above all, though, his eyes were embarrassed, like he’d been making a mistake and only realised after he’d fully gone through with it. Just like I did, when I tried to take it from my Dad, and he punished me within an inch of my life.
Before I could use it, he bolted. He practically left a dust cloud behind him like in cartoons. I wanted to go after him, to apologise, to tell him it wasn’t me, it was*it*, that I was just trying to protect myself from *them*. But he wasn’t like them. He was like *me*. I fell to my knees, going completely limp like a child’s doll, overwhelmed by the feeling of fear, exhaustion, sickness. I was sick. I was distraught. And I knew I was a slave to *it*. To its power. Not to the power it granted me, but the power it had over me.

**The next day, I got rid of it.**

title: [RF] It.

question: Describe how the main character felt when his dad caught him trying to steal the gun?

answer: He felt embarrassed in front of his friends, he felt victimized by his father denying him access to the gun and that his father overreacted to the situation.

question: Describe the main character's morning routine.

answer: After he wakes up he smells all his clothes to try and find the ones that smell relatively clean. After he gets dressed up he prepares a meal using canned goods. His water is cut off so he doesn't shower. Then he walks out without locking his door.

question: What does the story say about the locksmith?

answer: The locksmith was friendly and oddly cheerful. he was short, stout, and balding on the top of his head. When the main character showed him his gun he didn't seem impressed and said that he doesn't have one.

question: Summarize the Tv programs the main character was watching.


text:
The UK economy shrank 0.4 per cent in April as Brexit paralysis took hold following the proposed deadline for departure from the EU.

The latest monthly fall was four times larger than analysts had forecast and marked the second consecutive month of contraction for the UK’s economy after a 0.1 per cent drop in March.

Stockpiling of goods to deal with a disorderly Brexit on 29 March slowed down after deadline day was moved back to 31 October.

Gross domestic product (GDP) figures for the earlier months of this year had been boosted as manufacturers in particular built up supplies.

As that effect wore off, industrial production declined by 2.7 per cent in April compared to March while manufacturing slumped by 3.9 per cent – the sharpest drop since June 2002.

The ONS put the slump down to a “dramatic fall in car production” which was down 24 per cent. A number of car plants shut down in April as manufacturers prepared for a no-deal Brexit by bringing forward annual shutdowns which typically take place in the summer.

 Car manufacturers cutting UK jobs

Show all 5
[Britain's largest automotive manufacturer announced in January that it plans to cut 4500 jobs from its 40,000 workforce]

That effect is temporary but the slowdown in April was not limited to manufacturing. The construction sector also shrank by a more modest 0.4 per cent while services stagnated. Without car production shutdowns, GDP would have fallen 0.2 per cent in April.

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However, monthly economic growth figures tend to be volatile and are prone to revision when more detailed data come in.

Underlying growth slowed to 0.3 per cent in the three months to April from 0.5 per cent in the three months to March. The services sector grew 0.2 per cent over the same period while construction was up 0.4 per cent.

The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said the UK is now on course for a “marked slowdown” in the second quarter of 2019. The economy is now expected to shrink by 0.2 per cent, NIESR said.

“The underlying picture is also quite weak, with Brexit-related uncertainty at home and trade tensions abroad dragging on investment spending and economic growth,” said Garry Young, head of macroeconomic modelling and forecasting at NIESR.

The pound weakened against the US dollar following the disappointing figures, dropping 0.4 per cent to $1.27.

The ONS’s head of GDP Rob Kent-Smith said: “GDP growth showed some weakening across the latest three months, with the economy shrinking in the month of April mainly due to a dramatic fall in car production, with uncertainty ahead of the UK’s original EU departure date leading to planned shutdowns.

“There was also widespread weakness across manufacturing in April, as the boost from the early completion of orders ahead of the UK’s original EU departure date has faded.”

Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club, said it “looks like the economy continued to struggle in May – although there is likely to have been some rebound in car production as plants reopened”.

“April’s dip in GDP and apparent ongoing softness in May reinforces our belief that the economy is headed for a markedly weakened performance in the second quarter,” Mr Archer said.

“We had been expecting GDP growth to be no more than 0.2 per cent quarter on quarter in the second quarter but even this muted performance is now looking somewhat optimistic – as it is hampered by some unwinding of the major stockbuilding that occurred in the first quarter amid concerns of a disruptive Brexit occurring at the end of March.

“Prolonged Brexit uncertainties, a fraught UK political situation and a challenging global economic environment are also weighing on economic activity in the second quarter.”

Countdown to Brexit: How many days left until Britain leaves the EU?

Ruth Gregory, senior UK economist at Capital Economics, said the clear message is that underlying growth is “pretty sluggish”.

“With the Brexit paralysis and a slowing global economy taking its toll, we doubt GDP will grow by much more than 1.5 per cent or so in 2019 as a whole and expect interest rates to remain on hold until the middle of next year.”

question: According to the text, how did Brexit affect car production in the UK?

answer: The UK economy dropped 0.4% as Brexit gridlock set in following the scheduled deadline for leaving the EU. Industrial output fell by 2.7%. Comparatively, manufacturing fell 3.9%, the most since June 2002. The ONS blamed a 24% drop in car output. As manufacturers braced for a no-deal Brexit, several auto facilities shut down by moving up annual summer shutdowns. Car manufacturers began slashing UK jobs, and the UK's largest automaker intended to cut 4500 employees from 40,000. The economy would have shrunk by 0.2% without the car shutdowns. However, the economy shrank due to a huge drop in automobile production and uncertainty over the UK's initial EU exit date. The boost from early order completions ahead of the UK's original EU departure date dissipated, causing a broad manufacturing decline.


text:
       Woke up again, ten minutes late, hurried out the apartment door, on an empty stomach. The icy cold breeze ripping through my skin as I walked toward the metro station located just around the shopping mall. I always thought how those who were worse off than me felt at times like these, those who can't afford a shelter or even a small meal…I mean the homeless people. You can find them in many places, especially in the metro stations, or under the bridges…you know?

       Oh well, I hope they at least live a good life, a hollow wish, but it was the best I had at that time. Reaching into my left pocket, I searched for the fare card I purchased last Tuesday, but unfortunately I couldn't find it. "Must've left it at home, in my jeans" I thought to myself. Pulling my wallet out, looking for some cash, "maybe one thousand yen?" I guessed it right and took two giant, 500 yen coins. As I stuffed the wallet back into my left pocket, I picked up the already quickening pace and reached the street with the shopping mall and the metro inside it. The sun rays were beginning to reflect their warmth off of the sky rises of Tokyo.The morning clouds passing overhead like they were being herded somewhere by a fierce sheep dog. Every day of the week, I walked a mile and a half toward the metro to work. So many men and women wake up at 6:30 AM, including me, to catch the 7:00 AM train going to the city of Yokohama that it feels like they've never slept. I used to live in the city of Tokyo, in the small Shinjuku District. A small farm, maybe around 5 acres or more perhaps, was located neatly next to the apartment buildings where I lived with humble folks who only knew the basic necessities of life such as happiness, family, and love. I used to hate that small ditch that was next to the farm though; it was always muddy no matter what the day, time, or weather.

       After 5 minutes of more walking, I finally came into the metro station, hastily pushing the buttons, the machine then spit out my ticket. I ran toward the platform where my train would soon arrive. “So many people”…I thought to myself, “how are they going to fit into those tiny trains?” It still was a miracle to me how so many young, old, college kids, businessmen/women could be pushed into those trains. Even though I got this job back in December, approximately four months ago, transportation was always a surprisingly cramped every morning and evening. After about 30 mins of riding the train and switching stations, I got off at the Yokohama District Station. I worked at a small seafood restaurant in Yokohama.

       Every day, it was the same routine in that crazy place. I got off the train, walked about 2 blocks into the restaurant and signed in. First things first, take out the shrimps, the octopuses, the eels and the rest of the sea food out of the room-sized freezers in the back to leave them out for defrosting. They were going to be used up later that night, when the customers would storm the place. So far, the weather refused to change and my hands, even after I had on my work gloves, were sore and cold. Next step in the process was to heat up the ovens and the gigantic pans. Then, pour cooking oil in them and while the oil was getting hot, we had to chop up all the meat that was already defrosted from last night; and that process at least took three hours. At around 9 A.M the customers came. Business men and women, just swinging by for a small taste of deliciously fried fish with soy sauce, the best seller at my work place.

       Soon the sun was high and gleamed with promising heat through the glass windows, casting shadows of the outside world on the tables full of crumbs and all sorts of microscopic germs and dust specks. The crowds of the customers were getting bigger and louder by the minute, and it seemed as if their stomachs were screaming for the food and not their mouths, because the same people usually ended up being extra polite to you after they finished eating. “CAN I HAVE 5 ORDERS OF DEEP-FRIED TEMPURA PLEASE!!!" yelled one man. "3 SETS OF FRIED SHRIMP WITH SOY SAUCE! OVER HERE!!!" exclaimed one woman. The fun was in the rush-hour during the lunch times, when things really started to rowdy up. Plates after plates could be heard being washed with their clinks and clanks against the other kitchen utensils. A young man worked up a sweat while washing all those dishes, how such a small restaurant could handle such large crowds of people is still a mystery to me.

       Familiar faces drag in around familiar times, the fisherman who could easily catch his own fish and cook for his own lunch, came in around 3:30 pm. The old farmer, with a century old straw hat who had a vague idea that he is living in the 21st century Japan, came in at 4 P.M. As the sun climbed higher the smell of frying fish and octopus filled the air in and around the restaurant, which was a natural advertisement in itself. Every other day, an old face brought in a new one, and I saw the popularity of the restaurant and its employees, including me, grow with the customers. They started to address me with my name, saying “Hey, Setsuna! Get me couple of fried shrimps with some soy sauce, will ya?” and I would say, “2 orders of fried shrimp, coming right up!”

       Finally, at about 11:00 P.M, my shift ended and I started to head for home....After I cleaned up the place that is. Some more tuna fish were to be taken out of the freezer for defrosting naturally overnight, that's how I knew tuna was on the menu for tomorrow. The final pots, pans and plates were rushed to the bus-boy, still sweating profusely but working hard to clean up the piles of dishes. The remaining fishery material went inside the freezer again, to be used for anther combo of dish later in the weekdays. Finally, after the whole area was cleaned up, I went into the restroom. While washing my hands in the restroom, I splashed my face with cold water and headed out the door toward the metro.

       A burst of cold air split right through my skin, and shivered me right to my bones. Lighting up behind me was a panoramic view of the city lights as if it was its time to go to work. There was plenty of light and noise of the city even this late at night that it seemed the city would never sleep. Minutes passed and I came to the metro, bought my ticket back to Tokyo, ran to the platform and waited. Soon the train arrived with the cold gust of wind and the same crowd was packed tight into train again. After around 4 or 5 stops…I can barely remember now, they all blurred together…I got off and came out of the metro and the mall. My eyelids seemed to weigh a ton and I could barely walk straight. It seemed that eventually, I was shaken by the bitterness of the cold and the sharpness of the dry air. I went home and prepared for the same routine that I will keep for years to come.

       That was my life about 15 years ago, and now, I rest in my wooden chair with those memories still fluttering in my mind as if they happened yesterday. After I saved enough money from that job, I decided to move down to the rural town in the city of Okinawa, near the ocean. The breeze here is fresh enough to wake up the spirits in you; it makes me feel like I am living a new life. Here in Okinawa, I bought a small condo and a reasonable garden and started to just grow vegetables and sell them. The reverberating sound of the cicadas echo like microscopic scooters with loud engines, dominating the afternoons here, and the sun is hotter than ever during the summer. The sales of vegetables that I grow, whether they are potatoes, tomatoes, cabbages, and others, was enough to pay the bills and thus, making life worth living here. Those memories still come back to me sometimes, especially in the early morning when it’s cooler out. Now and again, the echoes of those customers ring in the back of my mind, desperately ordering food to satisfy their bottom-less stomachs.

       Many times I thought of going back there and working again, but something held me back here in Okinawa. The smell of the ocean, the texture of the soil in the garden, the feel of fresh vegetables when they are plucked from their respective trees, the small groups of customers who come along every once in a while, the sunshine and all the new life that grew from it kept me here. Not anymore was alive my hunger for materialism and money in my heart, just of seeking peace and living it. I figured this must be the life I desired when I was a young adult working at the restaurant in Yokohama, but so clouded and misguided by the materialistic dreams I was that I avoided this haven here. Okinawa became my sanctuary, my refuge from the daily stresses of that life back in Tokyo and Yokohama, and once in a while I felt of going back, but the connection with the down to earth life and simplicity of this place pulled me back. Now, time passing by like the slow moving waves of the ocean, I look over the bright stars as I get older and older, a faint smile confirms my past experiences, and I tell myself, “I've lived a good life.”

title: A Good Life.

question: What does the story say about Osaka?

question: How can Setsuna say he has lived a good life?

answer: Setsuna can say that he has lived a good life because the memories from his time working at the seafood restaurant in Yokohama are still fresh in his mind as if it happened yesterday, not 15 years ago. He was able to save enough money to buy a condo and garden in Okinawa, using the proceeds from selling his vegetables to pay the bills, making life worth living. He enjoys the afternoons, the sunshine, the warm weather, and the sound the cicadas make. He loves the smell of the ocean, the texture of the soil in the garden, the feel of fresh vegetables, his customers, and his new life. He used to be materialistic and misguided while working in Yokohama, but not anymore as Okinawa became his sanctuary. He has a connection to the simplicity of his life now, and a he gets older, his past experiences confirm that he has lived a good life.

question: Summarize what a typical day for Setsuna looked like fifteen years ago.

answer: A typical day for Setsuna 15 years ago involves waking up at 6:30 am and rushing to the metro station on an empty stomach to catch the 7:00 am train to the city of Yokohama where he works at a small seafood restaurant. The cramped train ride takes about 30 minutes. Every day, the routine at the restaurant is the same: sign in, take out the seafood from the freezer to defrost for the evening customers, heat up the ovens and pans, and chop up all the meat defrosted from last night. Customers start coming in at 9:00 am and the crowd gets bigger as the day goes on, peaking during lunchtime. Setsuna sees many familiar patrons and as the restaurant becomes popular, so do the staff and customers start calling him by name. His shift ends at 11:00 pm, but before he heads home he needs to clean up and take the frozen seafood out of the freezer to defrost for tomorrow's menu. He takes the train ride back to Tokyo dead tired but prepared to do the same routine all over again.

question: Summarize what Setsuna's life looks like now.

answer: Now, 15 years later, Setsuna rests in his wooden chair reminiscing about the memories of his time in Yokohama and realizes he has lived a good life. He gets to slow down and enjoy his new life in Okinawa near the ocean, basking in the sunshine and savoring his garden. He plants vegetables and sells them to his customers, which he then uses to pay for the bills. It's clear that he loves what he's doing and has found his peace.


text:
The following article focuses on the movement to obtain redress for the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and significant court cases that have shaped civil and human rights for Japanese Americans and other minorities. These cases have been the cause and/or catalyst to many changes in United States law. But mainly, they have resulted in adjusting the perception of Asian immigrants in the eyes of the American government.

Background

Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which authorized the forced removal and confinement of 120,000 Japanese Americans living on the West Coast of the United States. Some 5,500 Issei men arrested by the FBI immediately after Pearl Harbor were already in Justice Department or Army custody,[1] and 5,000 were able to “voluntarily” relocate outside the exclusion zone;[2] the remaining Japanese Americans were “evacuated” from their homes and placed in isolated concentration camps over the spring of 1942. Two-thirds were U.S. citizens and half were under age 18.[3]

In 1944, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the forced eviction, when Fred Korematsu's challenge to his conviction for violating an exclusion order was struck down (see below). The Court limited its decision to the validity of the orders to leave the West Coast military area, avoiding the issue of the incarceration of U.S. citizens.

In 1948, the Evacuation Claims Act provided some compensation for property losses, but the act required documentation that many former inmates had lost during their removal and excluded lost opportunities, wages or interest from its calculations. Less than 24,000 filed a claim, and most received only a fraction of the losses they claimed.[4]

Wartime court cases

Hirabayashi v. United States, 1943

Gordon Hirabayashi was convicted in terms of the violation of a curfew imposed at the time, which proclaimed that;

Hirabayashi, who was a student of the University of Washington at the time,

He further did not report for confinement to the bus that was supposed to take him to the camp he had been assigned to, which led to the charges against him becoming more severe. It was only in 1987 that the charges against Hirabayashi were dropped by the Supreme Court:

The discussion this case sparked involved two key issues. The first was one of power, and if the curfew law was unconstitutional. The second issue was the question of racial discrimination, a constant theme within all of these cases.

The supreme court ruled that the curfew policy was constitutional and that it is merely for “protective measure.” [5]

Ex parte Endo, 1944

Mitsuye Endo was a Nisei who had been working as a stenographer at the Department of Motor Vehicles in Sacramento, the capital of California. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, she was fired from her job and forced to move to the Tule Lake Reolocation Center with her family. Later, they were transferred to the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah.[6] Like the other one hundred thousand Japanese Americans who were removed from their homes and sources of livelihood, Endo also found dismissed from her job, without any hope of reinstatement or return to her home in California.

Endo hired a lawyer, James Purcell, to represent her legal protest against her illegal relocation and dismissal. Purcell and Endo filed a habeas corpus in court as a representation of her plea. The writ requested that Endo be released from the relocation camp so that she could challenge the terms of her dismissal. However, the court agreed to releasing Endo outside the West Coast area only: The U.S. government responded by offering to release Endo outside the West Coast rather than test the constitutionality of detention. Endo bravely refused the offer and remained confined without charge for another two years as she pursued her case. (“Mitsuye Endo Persevering for Justice”)

It was two years later that the U.S. Supreme Court decreed that persons of Japanese descent could not be held in confinement without proof of their disloyalty, stating that

and Endo and thousands of her fellow detainees were allowed to return to their homes on the Pacific Coast.

This case was special for a few reasons. First, Endo was a woman, while the other three internment cases dealt with Japanese American men. And secondly, this case was different because it arose from a habeas corpus petition.

Korematsu v. United States, 1944

A case that focused on Japanese Americans who were denied citizenship and forced to move is the case of Korematsu v. United States. Fred Korematsu refused to obey the wartime order to leave his home and report to a relocation camp for Japanese Americans. He was arrested and convicted. After losing in the Court of Appeals, he appealed to the United States Supreme Court, challenging the constitutionality of the deportation order.

The Supreme Court upheld the order excluding persons of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast war zone during World War II. Three justices dissented.

Justice Hugo Black, writing for the majority, said that legal restrictions on the rights of a single racial group will always be:

In Justice Owen Roberts' dissent, he said:

Justice Robert Jackson said that comparable burdens were not imposed upon descendants of the other nationalities such as Germans and Italians with whom the United States was also at war.

Redress movement

[President Reagan signs the Civil Liberties Act into law. Looking on, left to right: Senator Spark Matsunaga, Representative Norman Mineta, Representative Patsy Sakai, Senator Pete Wilson, Representative Don Young, Representative Bob Matsui, Representative Bill Lowery, JACL President Harry Kajihara.] Swept up in the larger civil rights movement and ethnic pride of the 1960s and 1970s, a group of Nikkei activists began pushing for a reexamination of their parents' and grandparents' wartime experiences. Many had only recently learned of the incarceration, as their elders had remained hesitant to discuss the issue openly, and a debate over whether the community was owed reparations began to spread.

In 1970, the Japanese American Citizens League endorsed a resolution to urge Congress to compensate each camp survivor for each day they had spent in confinement (although the organization committed no resources to actual lobbying).[7] Redress efforts stalled for several years due to internal divisions and external opposition. In 1979, the JACL's National Committee for Redress proposed the creation of a federal commission to investigate the incarceration, but Seattle and Chicago chapter members, favoring an immediate push for monetary compensation over the national leadership's more bureaucratic approach, left to form the National Council for Japanese American Redress.[8] The NCJAR lobbied in support of Washington State Congressman Mike Lowry's bill to compensate camp survivors, but the bill was killed in committee. The following year, the JACL, with help from Senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga, pushed a bill through Congress to create their investigative commission, and President Jimmy Carter appointed the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians.[9] Meanwhile, younger and more left-leaning redress activists formed the National Coalition for Redress/Reparations, and worked to open the CWRIC hearings to Japanese Americans outside the elite, non-confrontational cohort favored by JACL leadership.[10] After the hearings, NCRR activists continued to wage a grass roots campaign for redress, while the JACL focused on passing legislation that would implement the CWRIC's recommendations and NCJAR turned its efforts to a federal lawsuit that would force the government to compensate former camp inmates. The class-action suit was ultimately unsuccessful, but the work of all three organizations contributed to the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.

Timeline

-   1970: Edison Uno introduces a resolution to push Congress to provide reparations to camp survivors, which the JACL endorses.
-   JANUARY 1979: The JACL's redress committee agrees to lobby for a federal commission to investigate the causes and effects of the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans. The decision to shift focus from monetary compensation to legislation is controversial and deepens existing rifts in the organization.
-   MAY 1979: Dissident JACL members form the National Council for Japanese American redress.[11]
-   AUGUST 1979: JACL-backed bills for the creation of an investigative committee are introduced in the House and Senate.
-   NOVEMBER 28, 1979: Congressman Mike Lowry introduces an NCJAR-backed bill to grant $15,000 plus $15 for each day spent in confinement to former inmates.[12]
-   1980: The National Coalition for Redress/Reparations is established.
-   JULY 31, 1980: President Carter approves the creation of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians.
-   JULY TO DECEMBER 1981: The CWRIC holds eleven hearings in ten U.S. cities. More than 750 provide personal testimony of their confinement during World War II. For many it is the first time they have spoken of their wartime experiences.[13]
-   FEBRUARY 24, 1983: The CWRIC issues its final report, titled _Personal Justice Denied_. The report concludes that the wartime incarceration was caused by “race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership,” and recommends a formal apology, the creation of a foundation to educate the public about the injustice, and $20,000 in reparations paid to each former inmate.
-   MARCH 16, 1983: NCJAR files a class-action lawsuit against the government, calling for $220,000 to each camp survivor (a total of $27 billion) for “constitutional violations, loss of property and earnings, personal injury, and pain and suffering.”[14]
-   1984 TO 1985: The government's motion to dismiss the lawsuit is granted, and NCJAR files an appeal with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. The court rules in favor of NCJAR, but reduces the case's original 22 causes of action to one and maintains the lower court's stance on sovereign immunity.[15]
-   1986: The Supreme Court allows NCJAR lawyers to present arguments for their lawsuit but eventually orders the case be heard in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals instead.
-   SEPTEMBER 1987: H.R. 442, named after the famed all-Japanese combat unit, is brought to the House floor for discussion and eventually passes.
-   MAY 11, 1988: The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals dismisses the NCJAR lawsuit.
-   AUGUST 10, 1988: President Ronald Reagan signs the Civil Liberties Act into law. The act's provisions incorporate the recommendations outlined in _Personal Justice Denied_.
-   OCTOBER 9, 1990: A ceremony is held to present the first redress checks to nine Issei.
-   1993: Issuance of redress checks is completed. A total of 82,219 former camp inmates (or, in the case of a death, their heirs) received reparations.[16]

Coram Nobis cases

[Gordon Hirabayashi, Minoru Yasui, and Fred Korematsu in 1986] In the 1980s, the Korematsu, Hirabayashi, and Yasui cases would be reopened by coram nobis petitions. These proceedings would eventually nullify the convictions of the 1940s.

Hohri v. the United States, 1986

Another case in point is that of Hohri versus the U.S. The plaintiffs in this case were nineteen Japanese Americans and their descendants, who brought

William Hohri was living in San Francisco when he was removed and forcibly incarcerated during World War II in Manzanar. He filed the case on behalf of all the incarceration victims, claiming that apart from injuries, the prisoners suffered “summary removal from their homes, imprisonment in racially segregated prison camps, and mass deprivations of their constitutional rights” (Legacies of Incarceration, 2002). Although the case was dismissed the following year, it remains indicative of many of the claims for redress made by Japanese Americans.

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title: Japanese American redress and court cases

question: Summarize the Hirabayashi vs. United States case.

answer:
Hirabayashi, a student of the University of Washington, was convicted for violating a curfew imposed at that time. Further, he did not report for confinement to the bus that was to take him to his assigned camp, this led to the charges against him becoming more severe. The charges against him were dropped by the Supreme Court in 1987.
This case brought about questions related to the power, the unconstitutionality of the curfew law, and those of racial discrimination. The Supreme Court ruled that the curfew policy was indeed constitutional and was for protective measures.

question: What happened in the Korematsu vs. United States case?

answer: After refusing to leave his home and report to a relocation camp for Japanese Americans during wartime, Korematsu was arrested and convicted. He lost the case in the Court of Appeals and further appealed to the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the deportation order. The Supreme Court upheld the order excluding persons of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast war zone during World War II. Three justices dissented.

question: Summarize what happened in the 1970s.

answer: In the early 1970s, Edison Uno introduced a resolution to push Congress to provide reparations to camp survivors. A few years later, in 1979, JACL's redress committee agreed to lobby for a federal commission to investigate the causes and effects of the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans. The same year, JACL members formed the National Council for Japanese American redress, JACL-backed bills were introduced in the Senate, and Congressman Mike Lowry introduced a bill that granted $15,000 plus $15 for each day spent in confinement to former inmates.


text:
'''Object Linking & Embedding ''' (OLE) is a proprietary technology developed by Microsoft that allows embedding and linking to documents and other objects. For developers, it brought OLE Control Extension (OCX), a way to develop and use custom user interface elements. On a technical level, an OLE object is any object that implements the IOleObject interface, possibly along with a wide range of other interfaces, depending on the object's needs.

Overview

OLE allows an editing application to export part of a document to another editing application and then import it with additional content. For example, a desktop publishing system might send some text to a word processor or a picture to a bitmap editor using OLE. The main benefit of OLE is to add different kinds of data to a document from different applications, like a text editor and an image editor. This creates a Compound File Binary Format document and a master file to which the document makes reference. Changes to data in the master file immediately affect the document that references it. This is called “linking” (instead of “embedding”).

OLE is also used for transferring data between different applications using drag and drop and clipboard operations.

History

OLE 1.0

OLE 1.0, released in 1990, was an evolution of the original Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) concept that Microsoft developed for earlier versions of Windows. While DDE was limited to transferring limited amounts of data between two running applications, OLE was capable of maintaining active links between two documents or even embedding one type of document within another.

OLE servers and clients communicate with system libraries using virtual function tables, or VTBLs. The VTBL consists of a structure of function pointers that the system library can use to communicate with the server or client. The server and client libraries, OLESVR.DLL and OLECLI.DLL, were originally designed to communicate between themselves using the WM_DDE_EXECUTE message.

OLE 1.0 later evolved to become an architecture for software components known as the Component Object Model (COM), and later DCOM.

When an OLE object is placed on the clipboard or embedded in a document, both a visual representation in native Windows formats (such as a bitmap or metafile) is stored, as well as the underlying data in its own format. This allows applications to display the object without loading the application used to create the object, while also allowing the object to be edited, if the appropriate application is installed.

The OBJECT PACKAGER, a component of OLE, shipping from Windows 3.1 up to Windows XP allows a non-OLE object to be “packaged” so it can be embedded into an OLE client.

OLE 2.0

OLE 2.0 was the next evolution of OLE, sharing many of the same goals as version 1.0, but was re-implemented on top of the COM instead of using VTBLs directly. New features were OLE automation, drag-and-drop, in-place activation and structured storage. Monikers evolved from OLE 1 object names, and provided a hierarchical object and resource naming system similar to URLs or URIs, which were independently invented. Windows now has merged the two technologies supporting a URL Moniker type, and a Moniker URL scheme.

OLE custom controls

OLE custom controls were introduced in 1994 as a replacement for the now deprecated Visual Basic Extension controls. Instead of upgrading these, the new architecture was based on OLE. In particular, any container that supported OLE 2.0 could already embed OLE custom controls, although these controls cannot react to events unless the container supports this. OLE custom controls are usually shipped in the form of a dynamic link library with the .ocx extension. In 1996 all interfaces for controls (except IUnknown) were made optional to keep the file size of controls down, so they would download faster; these were then called ActiveX Controls.

Technical details

OLE objects and containers are implemented on top of the Component Object Model; they are objects that can implement interfaces to export their functionality. Only the IOLEOBJECT interface is compulsory, but other interfaces may also need to be implemented if the functionality exported by those interfaces is required.

To ease understanding of what follows, some terminology has to be explained. The view status of an object is whether the object is transparent, opaque, or opaque with a solid background, and whether it supports drawing with a specified aspect. The site of an object is an object representing the location of the object in its container. A container supports a site object for every object contained.

What follows is a list of interfaces, grouped by the object that usually needs to implement them. Interfaces usually implemented by the OLE object are usually called on by the OLE container, and vice versa. Note that in the following list indentation indicates interface inheritance. All non-indented interfaces derive from IUNKNOWN.

OLE object

DataObject
    When implemented, enables the transfer of data, and notification of data changes. It must be implemented by objects that are to support drag-and-drop, being copied to or pasted from the clipboard, or being linked or embedded in a containing document.

ObjectWithSite
    Allows the caller to inform the OLE object of its site. This functionality is also provided by OLEOBJECT, but OBJECTWITHSITE can be used, when supported, if OLEOBJECT is not used for other matters.

OleCache
    Allows visual presentations from a DATAOBJECT to be cached. This allows an embedded object to store its visual representation, thus enabling it to be displayed later without needing to start the application that was used to create the object.
    _Usually the stock implementation is used._

    OleCache2
        Provides more fine-grained control over caching.
        _Usually the stock implementation is used._

OleCacheControl
    This interface is not called by the container, but internally by the object to allow it to receive notifications of when its DATAOBJECT is running, thereby allowing it to subscribe to notifications of data changes of that object and thus allowing it to update the cached presentation properly.
    _Usually the stock implementation is used._

OleDocument
    Allows the OLE object to support multiple views of its data, as well as a few related functions.

OleDocumentView
    A document object (an object that implements OLEDOCUMENT) implements this interface for every view. It allows the caller to set the site of the object, query and set the size of the object and to show and activate it, as well as some related functions.

OleWindow

:;OleInPlaceActiveObject

::Called by the outermost container of an object to interact with it while it's active, e.g. to process accelerator keys in the container's message queue that are meant for the contained object.

:;OleInPlaceObject

        Called by the container to activate or deactivate the object.

        IOleInPlaceObjectWindowless
            A windowless object is an object that doesn't have its own window but it instead displayed in its container's window. It is used by the container to relay messages received by the container's window that are intended for the contained object. For example, if the mouse is moved over a window, Windows places a mouse move message along with the mouse coordinates in the message queue of the window. If this window contains windowless embedded objects, the message may have to be relayed to such an object if the coordinates of the mouse-pointer are over this object. For similar reasons this interface also provides access to the object's DROPTARGET interface.

OleLink
    Allows the object to support linking, e.g. by allowing the container to set the source of a linked object.
    _Usually the stock implementation is used._

OleObject
    Arguably the most important interface for an OLE object. For example, it allows the container to inform the object of its site, initialize the object from data, to open and close it, to query and set the size of the object, to ask for notifications on the container's ADVISESINK and to execute objects defined as “verbs” on the object. These verbs often include “Open” or “Edit”, but can also include other verbs. One of the verbs is defined to be the principal verb, and it is executed when the user double-clicks an object.

ViewObject
    Allows an object to draw itself directly, without passing a DATAOBJECT to the container. For objects that support both DATAOBJECT and this interface, the underlying implementation is usually shared.

    ViewObject2
        Additionally allows the caller to query the size of the object.

        ViewObjectEx
            Adds support for flicker-free drawing of transparent objects, hit-testing for objects with irregular shapes and setting the size of an object.

OLE container

IAdviseSink
    Allows the implementer to receive notifications when the object is saved, closed, or renamed, or when its data or visual presentation changes.

    IAdviseSink2
        Additionally allows the implementer to receive notifications when the link source of the OLE object changes.

    IAdviseSinkEx
        Additionally allows the implementer to receive notifications when the view status of the OLE object changes.

IOleClientSite
    This interface allows the caller to obtain information on the container and location of an object, as well requesting that the object be saved, resized, shown, hidden, et cetera.

IOleDocumentSite
    Allows the caller to ask for the object on this site to be activated immediately. If this interface is implemented, IOLECLIENTSITE, IOLEINPLACESITE and IADVISESINK must be implemented as well.

IOleContainer
    This interface allows the caller to enumerate embedded objects in a container, or to find such objects by name. It is primarily useful if the container wishes to support links to embedded objects.

IOleWindow

:;IOleInPlaceUIWindow

::Enables embedded objects to negotiate space for toolbars on the container's window.

::;IOleInPlaceFrame

        Allows the caller to ask the container to insert its menu items in an empty menu that will become the cooperative menu. Also allows the caller to ask the container to show or hide this menu, to show or hide dialog boxes, and to process accelerator keys received by the contained object intended for the container.

:;IOleInPlaceSite

        If a container implements this interface, it allows embedded objects to be activated in place, i.e. without opening in a separate window. It provides access to the container's IOLEINPLACEUIWINDOW.

        IOleInPlaceSiteEx
            If a container implements this interface, it allows embedded objects to check whether they need to redraw on activation or deactivation. It also allows them to request their UI to activate.

            IOleInPlaceSiteWindowless
                If a container wishes to support windowless embedded objects, it needs to provide functionality to embedded objects to replace the functionality normally provided by an embedded object's window. For example this interface provides a way to access the container's window's device context, thereby enabling the embedded object to draw in the container's window.

IOleUILinkContainer
    Contains the methods that the standard OLE dialog boxes that manage linked objects use to update linked objects in a container, or to query and change their sources. Used by the “Links”, “Change source”, “Update links” and “Object properties” dialog boxes.

    IOleUILinkInfo
        Additionally allows the dialog boxes to query when linked objects were last updated, and whether this was done automatically or manually.

    IOleUIObjInfo
        Contains the methods needed by the “Object properties” dialog box. For example if the user opens the “Object properties” dialog box and asks for the object to be converted to another type, a method on this interface is called.

IOleUndoManager
    Provides a centralized undo service to both the container itself and to embedded objects. When an undoable action is performed, an IOLEUNDOUNIT is created and added to the '''IOleUndoManager

Other

IDataAdviseHolder
    The methods of IDATAOBJECT that pertain to data change notifications can be implemented by calling the methods of this interface.
    _Usually the stock implementation is used._

IOleAdviseHolder
    The methods of IOLEOBJECT that pertain to notifications can be implemented by calling the methods of this interface.
    _Usually the stock implementation is used._

IDropSource
    Implemented by objects that can be dragged, i.e. that can be the source of a drag-and-drop operations. When implemented it allows the object to draw drag-and-drop effects, and to specify when the object is dropped, or the drag-and-drop operation is cancelled.

IDropTarget
    Implemented by objects that accept dropped objects, i.e. that can be the target of drag-and-drop operations. When implemented it allows the target to specify if a dropped object will be accepted, and what happens to an object after it is dropped.

IOleCommandTarget
    Can be implemented by objects (OLE objects, OLE containers, and other objects) that wish to support certain standard commands. It allows callers to query if commands are supported, and to execute commands. Commands that an object might typically wish to implement may include things like “delete”, “cut”, “copy”, “paste”, “undo”, “find”, “print”, “save”, “zoom”, and so on. Currently 58 standard commands have been defined, and they include commands commonly used by office software, web browsers and similar applications.

IOleUndoUnit
    Represents an action that can be undone. It contains all information necessary to undo an action. It is created by objects and containers, so that undoable actions can be added to the container's IOLEUNDOMANAGER.

    IOleParentUndoUnit
        Allows an undo unit to contain other undo units. In essence this allows the undo unit to act as an undo stack, grouping undo units together. For example, if a macro is run, all undo-able actions performed by the macro may be grouped together in one undo unit.

IOleWindow
    This interface represents a window of a container or contained object. It allows callers to obtain the handle of the window, and to toggle the context-sensitive help function. When the context-sensitive help function is turned on, typically the mouse-pointer changes to an arrow with a question mark to indicate that clicking a user interface element will result in opening a help window.

Competition

OpenDoc technology tried to compete with OLE. Some of Microsoft's competitors considered OpenDoc to be more robust and easier to use; however, OpenDoc does have some known problems. OpenDoc allowed users to view and edit information across applications, directly in competition with Microsoft's proprietary OLE standard. In 1993 some Microsoft competitors established a consortium called the Component Integration Laboratories (“CIL”) to develop OpenDoc as an open standard for cross-platform linking and embedding.

Microsoft required OLE compatibility as a condition of Microsoft's certification of an application's compatibility with Windows 95. Microsoft initially announced that applications using OpenDoc would be deemed compatible with OLE, and would receive certification for Windows 95. Microsoft later reversed the decision and said that applications using OpenDoc might not receive certification at all. Microsoft withheld specifications and debugged versions of OLE until after it had released its competing applications.

Interoperability

Use of OLE objects limits interoperability, because these objects are not widely supported in programs for viewing or editing files outside of Microsoft Windows (e.g., embedding of other files inside the file, such as tables or charts from a spreadsheet application in a text document or presentation file).[1][2][3][4] If software that understands an OLE object is not available, the object is usually replaced by a picture (bitmap representation of the object) or not displayed at all.[5][6][7]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

title: Object Linking and Embedding

question: What does the text say about Object Linking and Embedding?

answer: Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) is a proprietary technology Microsoft developed that allows embedding and linking documents and other objects. It also allows an editing application to export part of a document to another editing app and then import it with additional content. The main benefit of OLE is adding different kinds of data to a document from different applications. OLE is also used for transferring data between different applications using "drag" and "drop" and clipboard operations.

question: Summarize the OLE custom controls.

answer: In 1994, OLE custom controls were introduced to replace the now condemned Visual Basic Extension controls. They based the new architecture on OLE instead of upgrading them. OLE custom controls are always shipped in a dynamic link library with the .ocx extension. Then in 1996, all the interfaces for controls, except IUnknown, were made optional to keep the file size of controls down to ensure they download faster. They were named ActiveX Controls.

question: Explain Microsoft's competition with OpenDoc.

answer: Other brands, such as OpenDoc technology, tried to compete with OLE. OpenDoc permitted users to view and edit information across applications directly competing with Microsoft's proprietary OLE standard. Back in '93, some Microsoft competitors established a consortium called the Component Integration Laboratories (CIL) to develop OpenDoc as an open standard for cross-platform linking and embedding. However, Microsoft required OLE compatibility as a condition of Microsoft's certification of an application's compatibility with Windows 95. Microsoft initially announced that applications using OpenDoc would be deemed compatible with OLE and would receive certification for Windows 95. They later reversed that decision and said that applications using OpenDoc might not receive certification at all. Microsoft withheld specifications and debugged versions of OLE until after releasing its competing applications.

question: What are the issues with using OpenDoc?


text:
Taking a deep breath, Daniel turned the knob. He walked into the room trying to assess his surroundings quickly while still maintaining his composure. The room was medium sized. Guards flanked the doors and lined the walls. The table in the center contained a machine, placed in front of its terrified operator, and wires leading towards--Daniel heard the door lock behind him, sealing him in with that ... _thing_. The creature lay in the center of the room, its presence consuming and demanding. It did nothing to warrant this attention, it lacked even the slightest hint of movement, yet it commanded the attention of every human. Daniel approached the table.

His steps reverberated throughout the room, cleaving the silence.

Each step brought discomfort.

Daniel hid is unease.

He wore his face like a mask.

But, his eyes tore the room apart instinctively, looking for separation.

Yet, he continued forward.

Daniel closed the distance between him and the thing until he was close enough to look down upon it.

He dragged the chair back. There was a sigh of relief in the room as the sound put an end to the silence. The guards readjusted their weapons; the operator began to fiddle with his equipment; and the thing … rippled. Perhaps it was a welcoming-- Daniel sneered, or a challenge. Daniel looked at the operator who continued to nervously fiddle with his equipment in a transfixed manner.

Daniel quickly lifted his briefcase onto the table, unconsciously determined to keep the silence at bay. The briefcase opened with a satisfying click. He spread the pages across his end of the table. He hadn’t even had time to read up on the literature before he was rushed here, so he slowly began to rustle through the documents one by one.

In one of the dossiers, Daniel saw pictures of the thing taken a few hours ago when it had first arrived. It looked ... different. Daniel dared a glance at the thing. It was duller now, more opaque, than it was in the photos. Its “flaps” and “fins” drooped, and its entire body looked like it was being compressed and squashed against the table. It reminded him of melted ice cream. Daniel’s stomach churned and he looked back down towards the reports. He only scanned the next fifty pages. In total, the reports said nothing about it in thousands of words. It was an enigma and unlike anything else.  He was the first. He had his shot before even the scientists could get their hands on it. He didn’t know whether to feel honored or terrified.

Daniel noticed a slight noise coming from the receiver on the table. Grimacing, Daniel picked up the receiver and placed it in his ear. He disliked this but it was “standard” procedure.

“What do you think you’re doing?” a voice demanded.

Daniel did not recognize the voice but it was filled with an arrogance that enraged him. Daniel turned his steely gaze towards one of the cameras.

“I assume you’d like me to know what it is exactly that I’m doing sir. Perhaps next time you should give me more time to read th--“

“Colonel Lehmann! You were sent to communicate with the threat and decide the best course of action. Now if you are incapable of this very simple task you will be relieved. Understood?”  That was the Secretary of Defense. How many bureaucrats hid in the shadows, watching with safety behind their cameras and walls? If you turned on a light would they scatter…?

“Crystal,” said Daniel.

He slid his papers away, clearing the field. He looked back at the thing’s side. It seemed even duller than the last time he had looked but he couldn’t be sure. Daniel nodded to the operator and received a shaky thumbs-up.

They were good to go. “Why are you here?” Daniel inquired.

The machine began to beep as the operator quickly worked on deciphering each letter into dots and dashes. Finally the operator slumped back into his seat. He fidgeted with items near him to occupy himself until it answered--if it answered.

Daniel felt the hairs on his neck rise and tasted ozone. There was a sharp crack as the operator dropped his pencil. Daniel looked around to see that the guards had raised their weapons slightly and the operator was stiff with his eyes staring straight out, staring slightly past the thing, like a deer caught in headlights. They sensed it too. The machine began to hiss with static. Then the voices began, like several people speaking at once, not fighting for air but sharing it.

“We are here as messengers,” the voices said.

Then the bureaucrats began. It started with disconcerted mumbling occasionally loud enough to be transmitted and then broke out into yelling and arguments. Daniel rubbed his temples. They were already at each other’s throats. Doing his best to ignore the receiver, Daniel glanced around the room admiring the unflinching guards. They held their weapons with a trained ease, confident in the superiority they provided. But in such a case as this, could they really be sure?

“What do you mean by “we?” Daniel said.

“Those who stand before you and those we represent.”

The thing’s--perhaps things’-- antennae gave a lazy dismissive flick. Could it really be multiple creatures?

“What are you?”

“There is no auditory representation of us. You may choose your own.”

“How many of you are here?”

“Just us.” The thing began to ripple more erratically. “We do not have time for this.”

Daniel leaned forward, “What is your message?”

“End all emission of electrical signals--immediately.”

The noise from the receiver broke into a roar. The bureaucrats knew exactly what was at stake. Economies would be crippled. Society and development would be flung decades back. Preventing a few people out of seven billion from using electrical signals is infeasible. Most importantly, even if it were possible, reelection after implementing such a procedure would not be.

“You want us to turn off all our wireless transmissions?”

The creature … expanded. “Yes.”

“We cannot.” Even with the continuous yelling, the humans listening in seemed to agree on this much. Daniel waited for the operator to transmit his message. He was slow in doing so, and his actions and responses were slurred like a man in daze.

Before the operator had transmitted the message, the static hissed from the machine again, causing the operator to nearly leap backwards into the arms of one of the guards.

“Why?!”

Daniel nearly flinched. His heartbeat quickened and he had to forcefully pace himself. In an effort to mask his unease he nonchalantly motioned for someone to bring him water. Daniel turned his impassive face towards the thing again with renewed hostility.

 “We do not trust you.” He heard the bureaucrats murmur an agreement--the stars must have been aligned.

The fins rippled and groups of voices took turns to speak, “Your emissions are a beacon, a beacon that could lead them to us or yourselves. They are close. And if they find you, they will destroy us all.”

“Who are they?”

“Nomads. Parasites. Conquerors. If they find you it will only be a matter of time before you reveal us. You _must_ stop”

Additional Info: This was originally a homework assignment. It's been long since completed and submitted and I wish to continue it for my own benefit. However, I feel like I hit a wall in the writing and can't continue. I want the encounter to end with hostility but I cannot get it to unfold in such a manner. Any critique and suggestions would be hugely appreciated.

title: [SF] The Encounter

question: What is the state of mind of the 'alien' before Daniel?

answer: It is a state of fear - fear of those it called 'nomads', 'parasites', 'conquerors'.


text:
Before time existed, there was a forest. No animals lived in the forest, & one ever entered the forest. It remained silent & still for eons.
That is of course, until one rainy night. A raindrop, just like any other raindrop, hit the ground. More & more raindrops fell, and a puddle appeared. From the puddle, a small, chubby hand reached out. It grabbed the dirt & pulled itself out. The small hand was attracted to a young girl.
She blinked.
In front of her stood thin, spindly trees. They were golden, like the harp strings whom’s music echos faintly in her mind.
Silence & rain.
No more rain.
Silence.
A flash of white fur struck the corner of her eye.
Suddenly there in front of her stood a stag.

“Hello?” The little girl trembled.
The stag stood watching. Then, it lowered it’s head. It’s eyes were as black as obsidian.
It placed it’s head in her arms. “I made you, & I will keep you safe.” The stag said, “I love you very much.”

“What is your name?” She asked.

“I am who I am,” the stag bellowed, “I will call you Lucy.”

“I like the name Lucy. You are very beautiful Mr. Stag.”

The rain, which had stopped briefly, returned.

“Walk with me, Lucy.” The Stag stomped the ground, & an umbrella emerged.

Lucy grabbed it, & winced slightly at the sudden pause of rain.

She got up, & neared the Stag. She held his on to him to keep herself steady.

They walked for a minutes, or hours, or seconds. No one could really be sure. “I wish to be like you, Mr Stag. You are so lovely with your white fur.”

“You don’t know what you ask.”

However long they were walking, the trees were now as large as the pillars from the heaven Lucy came from, but no longer recalls.

The Stag laid down to rest, & beckoned Lucy to come rest with him.

As he laid down to rest, Lucy took a piece of his horn, and used it to cut off his flesh, which she wrapped over herself. Lucy was now covered in rich, soft white fur.
When the Stag awoke, he noticed his fur was gone, and he was naked. He knew what had happened.
This cursed Lucy to be a doe of mere flesh and bone, condemned to die.
Time was set into motion. Death was the first clock.
Lucy hid from the stag till her death.

The Stag found Lucy three hundred & sixty five days later while he was rounding the forest. He was crushed.

He decided to call her demise a year.
He was so moved, he decided to lay down by her one last time. He fell into a deep sleep.
The trees, saw the Stag’s mourning. They were crushed, because they felt the pure love the Stag had for his creation.
The trees mourned as well. They rid themselves of their leaves, turning them into a blood red, before they fell off. This was the first time they had done anything so risky. The Stag would later call this Fall.

When the Stag woke up, the sky was sunny & blue. The trees were full of leaves & heavy with a bright red fruit. He walked up to one & tasted it. The fruit was sweet. he called it an apple.
That’s when the Stag saw him.

The boy jumped. He had just opened his eyes. In front of him was the corpse of a deer, long dead and rotting.
A few paces behind the rotting deer, stood a stag.
The Stag looked at the boy. His empty skull showing no expression.

“A-are you Death? Did you kill that deer?” The boy asked.

“No I am not death,” the stag answered.

“Who are you?”

“I am a friend. May I sit with you?”

The boy glanced warily at the Stag for several moments before nodding.
“You May call me Ternate,” said the Stag,” for I am the sky, the forest’s trees, & this stag.”

“You’re the sky? I came from the sky, I think,” the boy pointed upward,” can I have an apple?” Ternate nodded.

“Ternate, are you sure you aren’t death? You seem very scary.”

The Stag, realizing that he was currently nothing but bones, shook the trees down, and dressed himself in leaves.
They sat together, until the sun set.
The boy eyed Lucy.

“Am I going to die like that deer, Ternate?”
The stag looked over at Lucy’s body, seeing himself in her fur.

“I don’t know. Only time will tell.”

“Oh.”

“Can we go somewhere else? It’s getting dark.”

The stag nodded, lifting its heavy frame up from where it sat.
The Stag walked up to Lucy one last time and pressed his forehead to hers. The ground opened up and took her in.
The leaves the stag wore turned back to white fur.
Without hesitating, the boy’s eyes lit up “You’re beautiful, Mr. Stag.”

title: [MF] The Stag

question: Who are the main characters of the story?

answer: The main characters of the story are Lucy, the Stag, and the boy.

question: What is the setting of the story?

answer: The story takes place in a forest at the beginning of time.

question: How do the Stag and girl feel about one another?

answer: The Stag loves the little girl. He created her and calls her Lucy. She wishes to be beautiful like the Stag.

question: Why does the boy think the Stag is death?

answer: The boy thinks the Stag is death because he seems scary, and he sees Lucy's bones, and asks if the Stag killed her.

question: Write a ~11 sentence summary.

answer: The story takes place in a forest at the beginning of time. The Stag creates a girl from a puddle of rain. The Stag loves the little girl, and he calls her Lucy. She wishes to be beautiful like the Stag. One day she takes a piece of the Stag's horn and cuts off his flesh, wrapping herself in it. This action cursed Lucy to be a doe and condemned her to die; this causes time to be set into motion. A year later, a boy appears. He is afraid of the Stag because he thinks he's death. The Stag reassures the boy that he isn't. The boy wonders if he will die like Lucy. The Stag tells him that only time will tell.


text:
I met Trevor via Tinder during exams. I was really stressed out and needed a break from studying. My friends have told me that Tinder is really fun, addictive, and a good confidence booster. Realistically, it probably was not a good idea to start an addiction during the most important time of the year. Your professor doesn’t care if you were busy messaging 20 guys on tinder and couldn’t finish your assignments. Like that would be the worst excuse ever. But I thought I would be different. You know, only play once in a while for fun. I was wrong. I was getting so many matches hourly. Do guys say yes to every girl they come across on this thing? This is ridiculous! I set the ages 19-30 and the distance to 100km, which is a wide array of guys … maybe too wide. Trevor’s profile was funny, quirky, and most importantly hot. The thing about Tinder is you have only a few photos and a short bio and you have to pick what you say and post very carefully because that’s your first impression. If you’re a girl try to be the perfect combination of sect and cute. Just kidding. That’s stupid. From my experience it’s important to have not only a selfie, but also a body shot and a few group shots so guys know that you don’t just sit at home with your cat and take narcissistic selfies, but that you also have friends and a social life. Tip: maybe don’t post a lot of pics with other dudes where you’re like all over them on a Friday. I’m not slut shaming. You do you and that’s cool. Some guys like to know that you’re liberal because then you’ll probabky have sex with them. But other guys like to know that when he finally gets to hook up with you, another guy’s jizz isn’t all over your belly. If you flinched when you said that then you’re probably not ready for Tinder because if a guy is willing to talk to you or converse in witty banter via a shitty app for a day or two then he’s going to expect a sexual act in response. It’s like if a guy buys a you a drink or four at a bar now you’re all of a sudden obligated to go home with him. To avoid this situation say thank you for the drinks and slip a twenty in his pocket and walk away. Now you’re not in debt to him. He knows you’re not going home with and and you didn’t even have to make up a shitty excuse or fake bathroom escape. Anytime a guy who you don’t know is talking to you in general, he is probably flirting with you. If he makes the effort to reach out, he wants to sleep with you. Men are actually very simple. I’m sure there are the few exceptions. For example, when at the grocery store a man asks you “Do you pronounce this kuinowa or keenwa?” Maybe he’s actually curious and doesn’t want to sound stupid when he comes home to his wife and is like “I got the kuinowa!” Or the most likely answer is that he’s trying to engage you in a conversation where you feel like you have the upper hand because like you totally know how to pronounce that shit. You’re such an intellect and good with language. In reality, he doesn’t care, but he totally wants to fuck you … maybe not tonight, but next week. He’s already got his Thursday opened up because that’s when you’re coming over for wine and sex. Tricky, tricky bastards. Now I’m getting ahead of myself. Okay so Tinder. So I swiped right on a Tuesday. It was an instant match, which means that he already likes me and swiped right too. I was ecstatic because you have to get through a lot of losers and weirdos before you get to someone good. His pictures were high quality. Which is unusual because I’ve come across a lot of profiles with doubles or blurry photos. Like figure it out it’s not rocket science. Trevor’s first photo, and the most important one, was him at a Yankees ball game drinking a beer. Okay so good he’s into sports. I was glad it was a pic of just him and not a group shot so I didn’t have to go searching through the rest of his pics to figure out who he was. Most of the time when guys have only group pics it’s because he’s the ugly or weird looking one in the group. It’s always so disappointing because you hope it’s the hot friend who swiped yes to you but it never is. It is ALWAYS the weirdo creeper. Anyways, Trevor’s other pics were really good so much that I thought jesus is this guy a catfish? I fucking hate catfishing. Don’t do that shit. It’s the lowest of low. If you are reading this now and you’re a catfish or have catfished just know that I would rather sleep with an ex serial rapist in his jail cell than come into contact with you. Okay that’s extreme but seriously. So Trevor had this other pic of him in Indonesia playing with a bunch of poor starving children. Gold star for you Trev. From this you are saying: not only am I worldly and caring, but I love kids also! So I’m totally ready for when you get baby fever! His third pic was him and a girl whom I am assuming is his ex. Now, here’s the double standard. Girls actually like seeing you with other girls in pics because it means that you have experience in a relationship or whatever or are a good kisser. We don’t want to talk to a loser who has never come into contact with the female species. We kind of like the idea of a bad boy who hooks up with a lot of ladies. But not while you’re hooking up with us! This girl was pretty. And this gives us a confidence boost because it means you think I’m as pretty or prettier. Checkmate. His fourth pic was him at what looked like a really cool party. Awesome! He has a social life and wont judge me for my excessive drinking! His fifth picture was him wearing a suit shaking Rob Ford’s hand. He owns a suit. Excellent. This means he’s presentable and probably has a job. Not that you’re going to introduce him to your mom anyways. No one meets their boyfriend on Tinder. Also, it made me curious about the context of this photo. It kind of grosses me out that he was in such close proximity to Ford. Lastly, strong handshakes are such a turn on. If you have a limp wrist then you have a limp dick. His last photo was him posing with a tiger. Sexy. So anyways, within like literally a few minutes after we matched he messaged me. He didn’t use a cheesy pick up line or a “hey there beautiful” or “will you be my tinderella?” What most guys don’t understand, and this is top secret information that I am about to expose, is that the way to get us to respond is to make a witty comment or ask us something about our photos that we so carefully photo shopped and edited. Like do you know how time consuming that shit is? Do you know how many flaws I had to edit out? Say something that’s subtle but suggesting. We know you’re not on here to make friends. Say something like “Oh you’ve been to Greece? That place is beautiful. But not as beautiful as you (winky face)”. If in my bio I say something about how I wish it was spring break, then you say “I went to Daytona last year it was awesome. I bet you would look way better than all those other girls in a bikini.” These are golden tickets I just gave you gentlemen. Use them wisely. In the end, I did meet up with Trevor and we banged. Like seriously hardcore stuff. But not fifty shades style.

We live in a world that is driven by social media and appearance. A lot of girls today create a fake allusion of themselves and hype up Facebook profiles. Our online lives have become way more interesting than our real ones. I think this is because we’re unhappy with the average lives that we all have because we’re always told that average is never good enough. So everyone wants to stand out. But if everyone is standing out then no one would be. We document our lives on Instagram and Twitter so that we can flaunt how cool we are to the world. I do it. And we want feedback for reassurance: I don’t know if I should go with XX Pro or Valencia. I wanna look tan. What should my caption be? I want it to be clever. How about “Livin’ with my bitches, hash tag LIVE”. I only got 10 likes in the last 5 minutes. Do you think I should take it down? Most importantly, why do we as girls always compare ourselves and why are we catty to each other?: Did you think that girl was pretty? How did that girl even get in here? Do you see her? She’s so short and that dress is so tacky! Who wears Cheetah? Honestly, we’re all in this storm together do please don’t bring each other down.

The thing about Tinder is that it is so completely shallow. You say yes or no to someone solely based on their looks, and maybe one bio line, which is usually something stupid anyways that tells you nothing about the person. I have no doubt that Tinder was made by a man because it is an ideal app for men everywhere. Women don’t expect a relationship out of Tinder. We do it for the confidence boost and reassurance. Men go on it to get laid. However, do young millennial women today even expect a relationship anymore? Do we even expect guys to be able to connect emotionally with us? I don’t think we do. So we settle for the one night stands and the hook ups and parties. Because hey we have active libidos too. The sad thing is that we have grown to settle and be okay with the current hook up culture. Is it because guys are so afraid to say that they care about you enough to call you back for anything but hooking up? Is it because they don’t want to hand over any power and be vulnerable to the idea that a woman might hold some influence over them? Would that be so crazy?

title: Our Crazy Hook Up Culture

question: What does the passage say about the difference in why women's and mans' motivation to go on Tinder?

answer: Women go on Tinder for reassurance since Tinder is a good confidence booster. Men go on it to find sex. Young millennial women don’t expect a relationship out of Tinder. Nor do they expect guys to be able to connect emotionally with them. They have grown to settle and be okay with the current hook-up culture. Guys are so afraid to say that they care about you enough to call you back for anything but hooking up.

question: What does the passage say about creating profiles on social media?

answer: The author says she hates catfishing and advises the readers not to do that as it is the lowest of low. Then she says that a lot of girls today create a fake allusion of themselves and hype up profiles because they want to stand out.

question: What does the story say about dating statistics?