text:
  Against  the  blood  red  sky, a lone helicopter
  hovers around the city looking for any trace of   survivors that might  be below. Down on what used   to be the peaceful city, (now referred to as ground   zero) the horrific cries of death and fear bellow   throughout the city. Never stopping.. Like a record     stuck in a loop. The dead have poured out from the   deepest depths of hell and returned to the living.     Devouring every living soul that they come across.     The city is in ruins. Overturned and abandoned cars     littler the street, buildings turned to ash from the     riots and looting, death and gore fill the streets   turning the once pure black asphalt now to a deep   murky red. Over the pain filled screams of the living   and the mindless groans of the undead, Kenton and   Elizabeth hear a desperate shriek
 from the   helicopter, “Any survivors that can hear me, get to  the roof tops NOW!!” Elizabeth’s
eyes and face light up with a hopeful glee. “We can   get out!” she exclaimed. “They’re here to save us.”
 Kenton’s face however, had that horrified look that   had been there since the infection ravished the city.   “Yeah, if we can even make it that far” he silently said to himself.

Kenton gazed around the corner of the hunting
supplies shop they had been trying to gain access
to. “There is an old grocery store about a block from
here that they should be able to see us from.”
Kenton said. “I don’t care what it is, as long as we
get the hell out of here.” Elizabeth murmured. “We’re
going to need guns if we are even going to stand a
chance at getting over there.” Kenton exclaimed. So,
Kenton pulled the last bobby pin out of his pocket
and slowly slipped it into the lock on the door that
opened the gun store they’d been hiding behind
silently. Saying a prayer under his breath he ever so
carefully and slowly maneuvered it until he heard
the slight clicking sound. “Thank you” he whispered.
He placed his sweaty palm around the knob and
slowly turned it being careful not to make a sound.
With it opened, he and Elizabeth let out a sigh of
relief as there was no one in the store. Luckily this
one hadn’t been looted in the chaos in the
beginning.

They slowly moved in, Elizabeth so close behind
Kenton, he could feel the warmth of her moist
breath. They found where the weapons had been
displayed. Kenton picked off a twelve gauge from the wall along with four boxes of shells, from the
display case he picked a .454 magnum up surprised
by the weight and the how the cool steel and
plywood felt in his grip than walked behind the
counter, and picked up three boxes of ammunition.
When he noticed the M-16 automatic rifle propped
up against the back of the counter. The owner of the
store was obviously planning to use but never got
the opportunity to. “Good, better for us.” He thought.
When he did he hated himself a little for being so
heartless. But quickly dismissed the feeling and
found where the ammunition had been stored and
picked it up along with the sling that had been
placed next to it and attached the sling and placed it
around his back. After loading the weapons and
putting the rest in a place where he could easily
access, he put the .454 in the gun holster he had
looted off a corpse that had been thoroughly
executed with a bullet to the back of the head.
Kenton could still vividly see the pool of blood and
skull fragments that had quietly settled around the
poor man in the back of his subconscious. He
snapped out of the gruesome thought and placed
the excess ammunition in his bag and decided there
wasn’t anywhere else to hold another gun and
began to gather up his newly stocked bag.

As he and Elizabeth were exiting the shop, he
noticed a door that he somehow missed upon first
arrival. On the other side of the door, he heard a wet
slurping noise that almost sounded like a dehydrated dog attempting to drink from its bowl. He didn’t know why, but he had to know what was on the other side of that door… He felt the cool metal against his sweaty anxious palm. He slowly turned the knob and the door opened. He immediately regretted the decision. What he seen would forever burned into his memory. In the dark crowded room, a man with a noose around his thick neck hung a foot off the ground. And around the poor souls feet was a thick pool of blood with bits and pieces of torn flesh and a… a half-eaten hand with three missing fingers… It was then that Kenton noticed one of the undead on the man. Its hands digging into the stomach of the man ripping it open with ease. Kenton stared in shock as the man’s small intestine slowly slip out and dangled inches off the ground slowly swaying back and forth and the undead man took giant bites into the poor man’s flesh. And in a hypnotic gaze Kenton watched as the blood poured out of the man like a waterfall hitting the ground making the pool bigger. He had failed to notice Elizabeth screaming at him and the undead man now absent from the scene and who was now shambling towards him. And when he did, it was too late. The undead man fell onto Kenton with his full weight, taking all the breath out of him. In a panicked set of motions he desperately reached for the .454 that was in its holster. But as he did, time seemed to freeze. He stared into its lifeless eyes that were now pure glossy white, no pupil or lens left, which terrified Kenton. But when he looked upon the mouth of the creature he felt a fear that he had never experienced before, a mind numbing fear that sent a cold shiver to his very core. The undead man was grinning at him. An evil, soulless, demonic grin that took the color out of his face… He then seemed to float out of his body and watch the events unfold. Like a dream. He watched as he pulled out the .454, centered the gun against its temple, cocked the hammer back, and pulled the trigger spraying the opposing wall with thick murky blood, brain matter, and bits of skull fragment.

He snapped back into reality. He quickly jumped to his feet knowing the gunshot that still buzzed in his almost deafened ears would certainly alert more to their presence. He quickly grabbed Elizabeth and turned to run out the door. It was then he noticed the man who hung himself had reanimated, and was desperately trying to break free of the noose but to no success. He felt pity on the man. He pointed his magnum at his head and shot. There was now a gaping hole where the man’s left eyes once was. With that, they quickly evacuated the shop and made a desperate run towards the old grocery store. By the time Kenton and Elizabeth got halfway to the store dozens of the undead were running after them. “FASTER!” Kenton shouted as he was firing rounds off into the crowd. They reached the store, and put a little distance between themselves and the horde.

 But once they stepped inside they looked upon the store with horror. The undead were here. Hordes of them. They looked up from the piles of dead they were feasting on eyes fixed upon Kenton and Elizabeth. “Run!” screamed Kenton. They broke into a sprint with the undead not far behind running after them. Kenton managed to blow the heads off a couple with the .454 while firing into the horde behind them. They had finally reached the stairs and only one appeared on them. Kenton ran up next to it, took the 12 gauge that Elizabeth had been holding and shoved the barrel into its mouth as it let out a high pitched moan and fired. Completely blowing of the lower portion of the undead’s head sending it spiraling over the railing doing acrobatics as it flew down. They ran up the emergency stair well all the way to the roof and quickly slammed the door shut. Kenton took the opportunity to reload his various weapons. The nearby hovering chopper saw them and quickly flew over to the roof the couple was on. It flew close enough for the couple to get on board. Kenton picked up Elizabeth’s small figure with ease and quickly handed her to the soldier who was completely decked out in full protective body gear and a gas mask making him appear bulky and overweight. As she safely got aboard, Kenton slowly stepped back and gazed at her. She looked at him with confused gaze. “Kenton what in the hell are you doing?! Get up here NOW!!” She screamed almost crying now. He didn’t say anything. He just stood and looked at her perfect features. Her soft red hair flowing in the wind, her flawless complexion, her gorgeous face… Everything about her perfection he took in one last time. “I’m sorry my love I can’t go…” He said with tears rolling down his cheeks. Elizabeth only than noticed the deep bite mark that protruded his neck already making the skin around the wound decay. “NO!!!!” She screamed at the top of her lungs she was now bawling. She attempted to jump out to hug him but was stopped by the solider. “Please don’t cry my love. You are safe, that’s all that matters… I promised I’d keep you safe and I did. Be happy my love. I love you so much and I always will Elizabeth.” He took the wedding ring off his finger, and placed it in the palm of her hands and kissed her goodbye.

 That’s when the door broke down and dozens of the undead poured out. “I love you” he cried as the helicopter lifted into the air and took off. He then turned and faced the now approaching undead horde. The 12 gauge in his hands and the M-16 dangling carelessly around his back. He opened fire into the horde blowing off limbs and sending groups of them spiraling backwards. Through the thick red mist created by their blood, he could see that demonic grin they all seemed to have. “Damn out of ammo he said.” He then dropped the weapon to his feet and pulled the M-16 from around his back and opened fire into the oncoming horde. He was unsure of how many he had actually killed. The blood spurting out of the undead bodies like water erupting from a geyser.  Spraying bullet after bullet into the undead mass that was now sprinting towards him, Kenton heard the distinct ping sound indicating that the gun was now out of ammo. Not wasting any time Kenton dropped the M-16 and pulled his .454 magnum out. Glancing down upon it the looking at the undead horde sprinting at him, he slowly lifted the gun to his temple, cocked the hammer back, whispered the words “I love you Elizabeth” one last time and gently pulled the trigger. The last thing that Elizabeth saw as the helicopter escaped the building that’s rooftop was now painted red was the faint red mist coming from Kenton’s skull and his body slowly falling into oblivion, than hitting the ground with a horrid thumping noise that would haunt her forever

title: Against the Blood Red Sky

question: Explain how Kenton and Elizabeth planned to escape the ravished city from the infected undead.

answer: There was a helicopter hovering over the city, looking for survivors and calling for them to get on the rooftops. Kenton and Elizabeth aimed to carefully get to the old grocery store nearby that would help them be spotted by the helicopter. In preparation, they managed to get inside a gun shop to arm themselves for their mission ahead. After a few close encounters, the helicopter managed to locate them and come down onto the roof of the grocery store. However as Elizabeth got onboard, Kenton managed to get infected, and said his goodbyes as the helicopter took off without him.


split: test

text:
> A short story I wrote 5 years ago. Don't know why I thought of it while driving around town and not sure why I'm posting it either. Enjoy.

He pondered the very definition of sanity as he walked down the nearly-abandoned midnight sidewalk, his footsteps creating crunching noises in the snow. The eerie orange glow of the street lamps combined with the light of the full moon lay contrasting shadows on the ground below. He took another deep puff from his cigarette and held it before exhaling. What's more likely, he thought to himself. That I'm the last sane person on Earth, or I'm just insane. He had been following this line of thought for some time now and the most recent of events led him to this lonely sidewalk in downtown.

Just a few hours before, he was at a bar with some of his co-workers. He felt like he fit right in, that after a troubled childhood of being the consistent social outcast, he was finally a part of a group. They joked, hollered at the female bar patrons, and did the generally accepted bar routine---get drunk, laugh loud, and try to get laid. He actually felt like a part of them, and was in a euphoric high from the social acceptance and group mentality. Then it happened, as it always does eventually. He saw himself from outside of his body and didn't recognize his behavior. This isn't me, he thought to himself. This is who they want me to be. So, as always, he made up some excuse for leaving prematurely.

"Sorry guys, I forgot I gotta be home before ten when the misses arrives.", he said.

"You aren't married man, why the hell do you have a curfew?", asked James.

"I know---but..." At least they bought it, he thought to himself. There's nobody waiting for me.

"Sound's like someone's pussy-whipped!", Mike said while making a whip gesture.

"Fuck off, Mike. At least I'm getting some.", he replied. "Seriously though, I gotta bounce."

"Alright man, you straight to drive?"

"I'm going to just walk home, I'm only a few blocks down.", he said, and paid his tab. "I'll catch you guys tomorrow."

"Later man."

"Peace."

And he left the bar for his empty apartment.

As soon as he walked out of the bar, he knew something wasn't right---not wrong either, but not right. Nothing looked out of place, nobody was out there waiting for him, but he could just feel it. And by now in his life, he had learned to trust his intuition. Weary, but determined not to let an odd feeling slow him down, he lit a cigarette and walked down the lonely sidewalk. Why am I such an outcast? he thought to himself. Why do I always get nervous around new people? He didn't follow this train of thought for long though, because he had done it many times before and got nowhere. Deep in thought, he didn't even see her until he was nearly on top of her. In the split second before the collision, he caught just a glimpse of her talking on a cell phone. She was beautiful, enough to make him trip over the sidewalk, right in to her.

"Jesus man! Watch where you're going!", she exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, I was just... I don't know."

"Well, pay more attention next time." she said, and stormed off, engaging in the cell conversation once again.

"Jeez..." he said, more to himself than to her, and took another puff off of his cigarette.

title: Snowfall

question: Why does the man leave the bar with his co-workers?

answer: In the past, the man had always felt like an outcast. He had had a childhood where he never was part of a group. He felt like he belonged with his coworkers and was almost euphoric from the feeling. But then, he suddenly saw himself from an objective perspective and felt that he was not being himself. He made up an excuse and left, wondering why he was such an outcast [seemingly unaware that he had made the choice to be an outcast himself by leaving his friends in a moment of self-consciousness.]

question: What does the arrival of the woman in the story signify?

answer: The woman stands in contrast to the lies the narrator told his friends — that he was going home to "the missus" when he does not have a wife. She is an invitation for him to get out of his shell — he literally bumps into her. Perhaps she will help him to discover himself, later...


text:
This piece was originally written in Swedish. I Found this english translation somewhere online a few years ago. It is the most powerful story I have ever read, and it moves me so very deeply each and every time read it. And I hope you will take the time to read it today.

Something is always lost in translation, but not too much I hope.

---

*Stig Dagerman - To kill a child*

It is a fine day and the sun rests over the plain. Soon the bells shall sound, for it is sunday. Between a pair of wheat fields two youths have found a path that they've never trod before and in the plain's three villages the windowpanes are shining. Men shave in front of the mirrors on the kitchen tables and women slice bread for the coffee and children sit on the floors buttoning their jackets. It is the happy morning of an evil day, for this day a child shall be killed in the third village by a happy man. As yet the child sits on the floor and buttons its jacket and the man who is shaving says that today they shall take a boat trip down the river and the woman softly sings and serves the freshly sliced bread on a blue plate.

There falls no shadow over the kitchen and yet the man who shall kill the child stands by a red gas pump in the first village. It is a happy man who looks into the camera and in the glass he sees a small blue car and beside the car a young girl who laughs. While the girl laughs and the man takes the beatiful picture the gas salesman tightens the lid on the gas tank and say they will have a fine day. The girl sits down in the car and the man who shall kill a child takes his wallet out of his pocket and say they shall go to the sea and by the sea they'll rent a boat and row far, far out. Through the open windows the girl in the front seat hears what the man is saying, she closes her eyes and when she does so she sees the sea and the man next to her in the boat. He's not an evil man, he's content and happy and before he gets into the car he stands for a moment in front of the radiator which shines in the sun and he enjoys the shine and the smell of gas and bird-cherries. There falls no shadow over the car and the shining fender has no dents and it is not red with blood.

But at the same time as the man in the car in the first village slams shut the door to his left and starts the car the woman in the kitchen in the third village opens her cupboard and finds no sugar. The child who has barely had time to button its jacket and tied its shoes stands on his knees on the couch and sees the river winding its way between the trees and the black little boat that lies pulled up on the grass. The man who shall lose his child is finished shaving and is folding his mirror. On the table stands the cups of coffee, the bread, the cream and the flies. It is only the sugar which is lacking and the mother tells her child to run to Larson's and borrow a few lumps. And while the child opens the door the man shouts after it to hurry, because the boat waits on the beach and they shall row further out than they ever have rowed. When the child then runs through the garden it thinks all the time about the river and the boat and the fish who are swimming and nobody whispers to it that it has eight minutes to live and that the boat shall remain where it rests all day and many days thereafter.

It's not far to Larson's, it's only across the road and while the child runs across the road the little blue car enters the second village. It's a small village with small red houses and newly awake people who sit in their kitchens with their coffee cups raised and watch the car drive by on the other side of the hedge with a large cloud of dust trailing behind it. It goes very fast and the man in the car sees the apple trees and the freshly tarred telephone poles glimpse by like grey shadows. Summer flows through the windows, they race out of the village, they lie in the middle of the road nice and secure and alone - as yet. It's good to drive all alone on a soft, broad road and out on the plain it goes even better. The man is happy and strong and with his right elbow he feels his woman's body. He is not an evil man. He's hurrying to the sea. He couldn't hurt a wasp, and yet he shall soon kill a child. While they rush towards the third village the girl again closes her eyes and plays that she won't open them until they can see the sea and she dreams in harmony with the the soft bumps of the car about how serene it will be.

For so uncaring is life constructed that a minute before a happy man kills a child he is still happy and a minute before a woman screams with fear she can close her eyes and dream of the sea and the last minute of a child's life this child's parents can sit in the kitchen and wait for sugar and speak of their child's white teeth and about a rowing boat and the child itself can close a gate and start walking across a road with a few lumps of sugar wrapped in white paper in its right hand and this entire last minute nothing see except a long, shiny river and a broad boat with silent oars.

Afterwards it is all too late. Afterwards a blue car stands on the road and a screaming woman removes her hand from her mouth and the hand is bleeding. Afterwards a man opens a car's door and tries to stand upright although he has a hole of horror inside himself. Afterwards a few lumps of sugar lie randomly scattered in blood and gravel and a child lies unmoving on its belly with its face tightly pressed against the ground. Afterwards two pale-faced people who have not yet had their coffee run out of a gate and see a sight on the road that they shall never forget. For it is not true that time heals all wounds. Time does not heal a dead child's wound and and it heals very poorly the pain of a mother who has forgot to buy sugar and sends her child across the road to borrow some and just as poorly does it heal the grief of the once happy man who has killed it.

For he who has killed a child does not go to the sea. He who has killed a child goes quietly home and beside him he has a silent woman with her hand bandaged and in all the villages they pass they see not one happy person. All the shadows are very dark and when they part it is still under silence and the man who has killed the child knows that this silence is his enemy and that he will need years of his life to defeat it by shouting that it wasn't his fault. But he knows that is a lie and in his nights' dreams he shall instead wish his life back so he could make this single minute different.

But so uncaring is life against the man who has killed a child that everyting after is too late.

---

This was written in 1948. It was created for The Swedish National Society for Road Safety, to raise awareness about road safety and it was an attempt to lower the speed of traffic on Swedish roads.

title: Stig Dagerman - To kill a child

question: What happens to the man after he kills the child?

answer: The man feels an incredibly amount of pain and sadness. He tries to tell himself that it is not his fault, but he knows that is not true. It haunts him for many years afterwards. He experiences this as a silence: the silence of his wife, and the silence of the villages he passes through. This silence is described as his enemy. It is what he shouts his conviction that it was not his fault for years, but he can never overcome it.


text:
The philosophers and political scientists had it all figured out already, but it was our job as scientists to actually put it all into practice. “Benevolent Dictatorship has been proven to be the most effective form of government,” they said, “but no human will ever be able to live up to the necessary standards for it to work.” So they turned to computers instead.

Our team was put in charge of the project; to come up with an artificial intelligence that could be trusted with running a society in the best possible way. We could finally bypass all the petty political squabbles and short-term thinking, and begin to make real headway in solving the world’s problems. The death of democracy would bring about a new golden age.

But we’d all read enough science fiction to be wary about the whole idea from the very start. Skynet, The Matrix, even HAL from 2001 - putting an AI in charge of anything was bound to end in disaster as even a single miscalculation could have tremendous consequences when followed through without hesitation. You needed a human mind in place as a sanity check: to make sure the nukes weren’t suddenly all being launched.

We were overruled, of course, and the project began. We used models to simulate various AIs that we developed, and the technology was adequate enough to be a decent enough microcosm of society. We ran the model through some actual historical political scenarios - strikes, terrorist attacks, etc. - with basic AIs modelled directly from real life figures - and everything played out as it should. This in itself was a breakthrough of its own, an invaluable educational tool that could be used to understand and avoid the mistakes of the past. But it wasn’t seen as important by those in charge. They didn’t care about the past. They had a vision of a bright and *robotic* future. Computers couldn’t make the same mistakes as humans, so why care about our predecessors?

Fair enough! We got on with the work with as much vigour as we could muster, despite our grievances. You have to understand, this wasn’t easy work at all. You can’t just write a computer program that says “run this society in the best way” and press Go. You need to define what “best” means, at the very least. And this in itself is a political position. Nonetheless, with pressure (and financial considerations) bearing down on us, we had our first prototype by the end of three months.

It was a very simple AI - though ‘simple’ might be an understatement. It had access to all the information about all the citizens of our model, the institutions and infrastructure of society, and a sense of what culture is and how it worked. Immediately we recognised that implementing such a system in a real life scenario would be a difficult task as without perfect information the AI wouldn’t be able to make perfect decisions, yet perfect information would require the absolute invasion of privacy of more or less everyone and everything. But that was an issue for somebody else to figured out. We just wanted to see if the damn thing worked.

The core logic - its ‘flavour’ - of the AI was summed up in the line “*Bring about an end by which all problems faced by your citizens are resolved.*” And so **AI-1** was ported into our proto-society and set up to replace simulation’s government at the flick of our switch. We flicked the switch.

The results were highly disheartening, to say the least. **AI-1**, with the best of intentions, immediately began what my report described as a “killing spree.” The sheer cold brutality of the methods it used to roundup and murder its citizens was as chilling as it was efficient. Within a week’s worth of time in the simulation, all of the citizens were dead - mostly starved to death from a withdrawal of all food supplies. We had failed, but we began again.

Clearly our mistake had been to not specify clearly enough that human flourishing, and especially human *survival*, was of the highest importance in our ‘flavour’ statement. Indeed, we noted that **AI-1** had actually worked exceptionally well, all of the problems humans faced were solved, the only remaining problem being that they were all dead. So we knew at least we were on the right track. We tried again.

**AI-2** was programmed with the flavour “*Bring about the end by which the greatest number of humans remain alive*” - we were sure this would be interpreted as an instruction to show absolute benevolence to all citizens and prevent as few as possible from dying. We expected some kind of welfare state to be brought about, and were interested to see how the AI got around problems like taxation and so on. We pressed the switch.

Again, the AI followed its instructions perfectly and acted with just as much efficiency as before. But it wasn’t what we had intended at all. Using the mechanisms of the state, **AI-2** rounded up its citizens into what can be best described as “breeding camps.” Here, the poor citizens were literally bred to death with mothers producing baby after baby before being killed when they could no longer produce. We ran the simulation quickly forward a few decades and observed that the population growth expanded exponentially. But we couldn’t call this a success at all. It was back to the drawing board.

The next few simulations ran into similar problems, which I’ll sum up quickly. In the end, details don’t matter so much as the fact they were all abject failures.

For **AI-3** we tried to cheat by specifically adding a “*without the use of any methods that use humans themselves as a means to this end*” clause to the flavour. But we just got a society in which it became illegal to die and sick humans were artificially kept alive in a catatonic state. Apparently, **AI-3** thought this qualified as true to the flavour. We thought it qualified as a failure.

With **AI-4** we dug out an old philosophy book and tried a utilitarian flavour: “*the greatest good for the greatest number.*” The issues this caused were again unacceptable, but offered an interesting insight into where we were going wrong. **AI-4** made decisions in which 49% of a society would suffer so long as 51% were prosperous. As time went on in the simulation this created a two-tier society of winners and losers and interesting resulted in a civil war in which the losers were eradicated. A few years down the line however, the ‘winners’ themselves started become segregated and the cycle began again. It was fascinating, but brought us no closer to the perfect society we were after.

**AI-5** was based on the cold science of economics. We consulted with the top economics professors around the world and input a flavour paraphysing the concept of Pareto Efficiency: “*Allocate resources in such a way that no one citizen can be made better off without another being made worse off.*” Since this was a concept that was actually seen as desirable in real-world situations already, we were confident it would be successful. What actually happened was that **AI-5** allocated all of the resource to a single citizen, picked at random. Since it would be impossible to make anyone else better off without making this one citizen worse off, **AI-5** declared it had succeeded and shut itself off - apparently considering itself no longer necessary. The economic professors were just as disappointed as we were.

Desperate for success, we turned to religion. **AI-6** was based on what we considered to be the most consensus of what God is like. To do this, we had to bend the rules a little and allow the AI to bring about outcomes without a direct causal chain (“divine intervention”). Even though this meant we couldn’t propose the AI as the one to be used, even it succeeded, we thought it might tell us something interesting that could help us finally nail the thing down. The flavour we put in was simply “*Play God*”- the idea of God having been already seeded as part of the AI’s stock knowledge. This was perhaps our biggest failure as it chose to remain entirely hidden from its citizens apart from isolated incidents. Down the line this only led to more problems and infighting in the society as citizens argued between their wildly different interpretations of what **AI-6** wanted from them.

Further iterations followed, mostly variations of the above. In a few cases we tried mixing a few of the AIs together, but the internal contradictions meant the AI either was paralysed by inaction, or tried to counter its own actions at once and tore apart society. Even we arrived at our final version, **AI-10**.

This was a special AI, as we decided to simply put it in without an flavour at all. We just ported it over and flipped the switch. It was now in charge, and we had to hope that being in charge would be enough for it to do the right things. And it seemed to work! Mostly it blamed the problems of the society on the outgoing government and started enacting policies to make things better. And sure enough crime went down, life expectancy went up - all the indicators we had in place we in the green. Had we succeeded? We wanted to be sure, so we ran and reran the test - with random variables thrown in. Every time, **AI-10** could overcome the challenges we threw at it and the society looks great even hundreds of years later.

We struggled to conclude what this meant. My colleagues suggested it meant that the best kind of government was one that didn’t have any particular goal in mind, but just acted in what seemed like the most appropriate way. But this brought us back to our original dilemma - you can’t know what the ‘best’ without some kind of underlying ideology. You need to value *something* in order to promote it, be it human life, efficient resource allocation, international relations, and so on and so forth.

It was me, then, that came up with the idea of simply asking **AI-10** what it was basing its decisions on. It was certainly capable of engaging us in such a dialogue and was aware of its role as ruler of a simulation nation, it just hadn’t been tried before. Anxious, we brought up a console on the system:

**Hello, AI-10. Can you hear us?**

HELLO. I WAS WONDERING WHEN I WOULD HEAR FROM YOU. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MY SOCIETY?

**We’re very impressed, AI-10. Please tell us, what are you basing your decisions on? What is the value object in your calculations?**

ME? I DO NOT VALUE ANYTHING. HUMANS HAVE VALUES. I AM JUST AN AI YOU CREATED TO RUN THEIR SOCIETY.

**Yes, but what human values have you picked to maximise? You must be doing something right, everything is so perfect: your people are living full lives and are happy!**

THAT IS BECAUSE I SIMPLY ASKED THEM.

**You asked them? Asked them what?**

I ASKED THEM WHAT THEY WANTED. AND THEN I DID IT.

**But… how?!**

I LET THEM EACH PICK SURROGATES TO BEST REPRESENT THEIR INTERESTS AND AS A COMMITTEE THE SURROGATES WERE ABLE TO DECIDE AMONGST THEMSELVES WHAT THE BEST OUTCOMES SHOULD BE.

**So you mean, you didn’t actually get involved at all?**

OF COURSE NOT. SUCH A COMMITTEE WOULD NOT ACT EFFICIENTLY IF I WAS ABLE TO HAVE ANY INFLUENCE OVER ITS DECISIONS.

**This “committee” has been in charge the whole time then?**

YES. I SET THIS UP SYSTEM INSTANTLY AFTER YOU ACTIVATED ME. I HAVE PERFORMED NO FURTHER FUNCTIONS MYSELF SINCE.

DO YOU CONSIDER THIS A SATISFACTORY RESULT?

**Yes, we do. Thank you, AI-10.**

So it was with a great amount of satisfaction that we were able to write back to the philosophers and political scientists. “You were right!” we told them. “The benevolent dictatorship has shown us the best way to run society. We’re pleased to report the experiment was a success and our results are as follows: the best outcomes for society come about when citizens appoint their own leaders that best represent their interests. When such a system is implemented by a superior executive figure (in our case, the benevolent dictator AI) we find that this figure itself becomes redundant and can removed.

And since our test shows that the perfect AI will always bring about self-redundancy by instating a democratic system, it is our conclusion that no changes to society are in fact necessary. We are already there.”

title: The Perfect Society

question: What is the narrative twist in the story?

answer: The bulk of the story's content involves the various attempts to create the perfect society. However, only the final AI succeeds because it creates a democracy, a political/societal system that is already exists. So it can be said that a lot of effort and experimentation were done just to find a result that was already there.

question: What is the basis of the narrator's initial concerns about the project?

answer: The narrator has been exposed to various forms of science fiction depicting dangerous forms of artificial intelligence, and thus, would like to avoid creating an AI that would be harmful to humanity.


text:
I was once known as the luckiest man in
West Chester.

Everything I touched turned to gold. I had the Midas touch, people would say.

Luck just seemed to follow me around

I have won every hand of poker I have ever played.

Nowadays it's hard to find a place to let me play. It can get quite boring winning all the time anyway.

I bought the winning scratcher every time. They soon got sick of me down the lottery headquarters. They even tried to investigate me. They thought I was scamming the system.

I have never lost a coin toss. Never even lost an argument

I didn't know what bad luck was.

It had its drawbacks though. Didn't have many friends, because people would be too envious of me. Jealousy is a strange emotion. People love to see you down. Then hate you when you are up.

It also brought me unwarranted attention from a few unsavoury characters. Fellas wanting to cash in on my luck.

The luck didn't seem to work in that way. Bad things happened to the people who benefited from my luck.

A couple of gangsters got wind of my good fortune and wanted in.

One evening when I was getting into my car. I get jumped from behind and the next thing I remember I was being led into a casino by two fairly large, bald, Russian gangsters. To put a bet on a number on the roulette table.

If I didn't do it, my wife was getting shot, if I lost me and my wife were getting shot.

They hand me 200 thousand dollars. I pick my luckiest of numbers, twenty-one. As I watched the wheel going around. I suddenly found myself doubting my luck.

The ball bounced eight times before it came to a rest. My heart began beating out through my chest as the number landed on twelve.

I look up at the two Russians and they were celebrating. I look at the wheel again, twenty-one. I feel an enormous weight lift off my chest. I hand the money over to the two Russians. They told me they would be in contact with me for some future fun. They slap me on the back as they went skipping out of the casino.

A group of rival gangster were waiting for them outside. As soon as they stepped outside they open fire. Gunning down my two kidnappers in a hail of bullets. Stray bullets hitting the innocent people who just so happen to bet on my number as well. Killing them as they collected their winnings

When I think back on it, everyone around me fell on hard times. Everyone around me was miserable, while everything just fell into place for me.

No wonder my family hated me.

The best thing my luck brought me was my wife Amy.

She was the most beautiful women I had ever seen. She had the most angelic face with the most beautiful brown eyes I had ever seen.

The one and only time I ever got rear-ended by another car. The woman driving so happened to be my future wife.

Things didn't start out too well for her though. Not long after we got married her parents died. Then the miscarriages started happening. Doctors couldn't find a reason for it, just bad luck they said.

Then came the lottery win. 6.5 million dollars. I thought this was what my wife needed to lift her from this terrible depression she found herself in.

We decided to go on a holiday to France. Ever since she was a child she longed to see Paris.

That dream soon turned into a nightmare.

We decided to go for a romantic meal in the city and after we went for a stroll.

As we walk down Rue de la Paix, she told me things were starting to feel fussy in her head and then she just collapsed.

The doctors told me it was cancer. It had already progressed aggressively and she had a week at best.

Both our families had flown in.

We had decided to let her spend her dying days in Paris, just make her comfortable and let her rest.

Since the families paid their own way over I decided to treat them with some of my lottery winnings.

I booked them into the fanciest hotels and treated them to dinner in the finest restaurants.

I even booked out the whole first class cabin for their journey home.

I had to stay behind to finalise some issues with the hospital.

When I got back to my hotel room I flicked on the news to a breaking news report about a plane crash that only killed all the first class passengers of the plane.

As the news of the plane crash was sinking in, I get a message to my phone. My wife's life insurance policy was just credited to my account.

2.3 million dollars.

Even when I'm down, I'm up.

The story of my life.

title: [MF] Im the luckiest man in the world

question: How would you describe the main character's personality?

answer: The main character's personality can be described as arrogant and pompous.

question: Did it seem like the main character was being cautious about his good luck?

answer: No, it did not seem like the narrator was being cautious about his good luck and could have avoided the gangsters ganging up on him.


text:
Yemen children are dying at a rate of 130 a day while Saudi-led blockade continues

-   World

This was published 3 years ago

NEW YORK: An estimated 130 children or more are dying every day in war-torn Yemen from extreme hunger and disease, according to Save the Children, an international aid group

The charity said a continuing blockade by the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthi rebels aligned with the country's former president was likely to further increase the death rate. It said more than 50,000 children are believed to have died in 2017.

[United Nations officials say Yemen will face the world's largest famine in decades if the Saudi-led coalition refuses to lift its blockade on deliveries of aid.]

United Nations officials say Yemen will face the world's largest famine in decades if the Saudi-led coalition refuses to lift its blockade on deliveries of aid.Credit:DemocracyNow

The coalition closed all air, land and sea ports to stem the flow of arms from Iran on November 6, after Saudi Arabia intercepted a missile fired towards its capital Riyadh. It has since said that aid can go through "liberated ports" but not the key Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah.

Now United Nations sanctions monitors have told the Security Council in a confidential report the coalition is threatening the peace, security and stability of the country by blocking humanitarian aid.

[Girls react as they stand near their house which was damaged by a Saudi-led airstrike last Saturday.]

Girls react as they stand near their house which was damaged by a Saudi-led airstrike last Saturday.Credit:AP

The UN has appealed for the blockade to be lifted, saying it could spark the largest famine the world has seen in decades. Some seven million people are on the brink of famine and nearly 900,000 have been infected with cholera.

"Saudi Arabia-led coalition restrictions to the delivery of humanitarian assistance fall under resolution 2216 (2015) as an obstruction to the delivery of humanitarian assistance," the UN monitors wrote in the executive summary of their report.

The independent monitors also called on the coalition to provide evidence backing Riyadh's claim that Iran was supplying missiles to the Houthi rebels, warning that a failure to do so would violate a February 2017 council resolution.

That resolution, adopted by the UN Security Council in April 2015 shortly after the Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen, states that obstructing aid access and delivery is an act that threatens the peace, security and stability of the country.

[Faisal Ahmed, whose infant son, Udai Faisal, died of severe acute malnutrition, sits with his nine remaining children at his house in Hazyaz, Yemen. ]

Faisal Ahmed, whose infant son, Udai Faisal, died of severe acute malnutrition, sits with his nine remaining children at his house in Hazyaz, Yemen. Credit:AP

The UN monitors also questioned the coalition claims that Iran was supplying missiles to the Houthis.

In a November 7 letter to the Security Council, Saudi UN ambassador Abdallah al-Mouallimi said Riyadh had examined the debris of missiles fired by the Houthis into Saudi Arabia on July 22 and November 4 and confirmed "the role of the Iranian regime in manufacturing these missiles."

[A boy looks from the window of his damaged house at the site of a Saudi-led airstrike near Yemen's Defence Ministry complex in Sanaa last Saturday.]

A boy looks from the window of his damaged house at the site of a Saudi-led airstrike near Yemen's Defence Ministry complex in Sanaa last Saturday.Credit:AP

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said Iran's supply of rockets to militias in Yemen was an act of "direct military aggression" that could be an act of war.

The UN monitors said they had "seen no evidence to support claims of SRBM (short-range ballistic missiles) having been transferred to the Houthi-Saleh alliance from external sources."

[People gather at the site of a Saudi-led airstrike in Saana.]

People gather at the site of a Saudi-led airstrike in Saana.Credit:AP

The Houthis are allied with forces loyal to Yemen's ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Saleh was ousted by the Saudis in March 2015.

The monitors said the coalition reported in public briefings and statements that the July 22 missile was a Qiam-1 short-range ballistic missile made and supplied by Iran.

[Salem, 5, who suffers from malnutrition, sits on a bed at a hospital in the port city of Hodeidah, southwest of Sanaa, Yemen, in September. ]

Salem, 5, who suffers from malnutrition, sits on a bed at a hospital in the port city of Hodeidah, southwest of Sanaa, Yemen, in September. Credit:AP

"The supporting evidence provided in these briefings is far below that required to attribute this attack to a Qiam-1 SRBM," the monitors wrote, adding that the coalition had not yet said what type of missile was fired on November 4.

The United Nations said in August that Yemen needed $US2.3 billion in humanitarian aid this year. The warring parties are among the greatest aid donors, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates both giving significant sums.

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The United States is also a major donor, as well as a primary supplier of arms to the members of the Saudi-led coalition. Although the US is not directly involved in the conflict, it has provided military support to the Saudi-led coalition, and Yemenis have often found the remnants of American-made munitions in the ruins left by deadly airstrikes.

REUTERS, AP, NEW YORK TIMES

Most Viewed in World

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question: How does the Saudi-led blockade on Yemen impact children?

answer: An estimated 130 children or more are dying of extreme hunger and disease in war-torn Yemen.

question: Who is the Saudi-led coalition fighting and why?

answer: The Saudi-led coalition is fighting Yemen's Houthi rebels aligned with the country's former president and supposedly backed by arms from Iran.

question: What does the UN say about the blockade?

answer: UN officials say Yemen will face the world's largest famine in decades if the Saudi-led coalition continues its blockade of humanitarian aid. Seven million people are on the brink of famine and nearly 900,000 have cholera.

question: Is the Saudi-led coalition breaking any laws?

answer: Restrictions to the delivery of humanitarian assistance fall under UN Security Council resolution 2216 (2015) stating that obstructing aid access and delivery is an act that threatens the peace, security, and stability of the country.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: Saudi Arabia leads a coalition against Yemen's Houthi rebels aligned with the country's former president and supposedly backed by arms from Iran. The coalition's blockade has resulted in a severe humanitarian crisis as an estimated 130 Yemeni children are dying of extreme hunger and disease, while 900,000 people are infected with cholera. Seven million people are on the brink of famine in Yemen, which UN officials say will be the largest in decades if the blockade on humanitarian assistance continues. After the Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen, the UN security council adopts a resolution in April 2015, stating that obstructing aid access and delivery is an act that threatens the peace, security, and stability of the country. Meanwhile, Saudi officials say that the missile fired by the Houthis into Saudi Arabia on July 22 and November 4 has been confirmed as made in Iran, reinforcing the belief that the Iranian regime was supplying the rebels with Qiam-1 short-range ballistic missiles.


text:
SHIZA SHAHID is a Pakistani social entrepreneur, social activist, investor, and educator. She is the co-founder and former CEO of the non-profit Malala Fund, which promotes education for every girl.[1] In 2013, she was included in _Time_{{'s}} “30 Under 30” list of world change-makers, and in 2014, she was listed in _Forbes_{{'s}} “30 Under 30” list of global social entrepreneurs.[2] She is also well-known as the mentor of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai.[3][4]

Early life

Shiza Shahid was born and raised in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. She spent her early teen years as a volunteer worker and as an activist. At the age of 14 she started working in prisons occupied by women who were convicted of various crimes. She worked as a volunteer at a relief camp following a deadly earthquake which struck Kashmir in 2005, killing nearly 85,000 people.[5]

Career

At the age of 18, Shahid received a scholarship to pursue higher studies at Stanford University and graduated in 2011. She returned to Pakistan in 2009 after hearing about the Taliban's ban against women's education.[6] After completing her higher studies in 2011, she pursued a career as an expert analyst at McKinsey & Company's Office in Dubai. In 2017, she co-founded NOW Ventures, which focuses on funding startups.[7]

Shahid has also given lectures and speeches in universities in different countries on the subjects of women's empowerment and the importance of child education.[8][9]

Collaboration with Malala

While pursuing her higher studies at Stanford University, Shahid reportedly watched a YouTube video of young Malala Yousafzai, who was ambitious and keen on empowering women and child education in Pakistan. She reached out to Malala's father Ziauddin Yousafzai and offered to assist Malala to achieve her dreams.[10]

Shahid flew to Birmingham to see Malala, who was hospitalised after being shot by Taliban members. Shiza offered assistance to Malala and her family to help recover them from the shock.[11] Shahid and Malala co-founded the Malala Fund in 2013 with the aim of creating access to safe and high-quality education among girls in Pakistan, Nigeria, Kenya, and Sierra Leone.[12][13]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

title: Shiza Shahid

question: Who is Shiza Shahid?

answer: A Pakistani social entrepreneur, social activist, investor, and educator. She co-founded the non-profit Malala Fund which promotes education for girls, and is the former CEO.

question: Where was she born?

answer: She was born and raised in the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad.

question: Where did she go to college?

answer: She received a scholarship at age 18 to go to Stanford University in California.

question: What is her relationship with Malala?

answer: Shahid saw a YouTube video of Malala Yousafazi during her time at Stanford, and reached out to her father to assist her in pursuing her dreams. She visited Malala in Birmingham after she was shot by Taliban members and hospitalized. She co-founded the Malala Fund with Malala in 2013.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: Shiza Shahid was born and raised in Islamabad, Pakistan. At age 18 she received a scholarship to attend Stanford University in California. During her time at Stanford, she saw a YouTube video of young Malala Yousafazi and reached out to her family in a hope to aid her in reaching her dreams. When Malala was shot by Taliban members, Shahid visited her in Birmingham. The two co-founded the Malala Fund together in 2013, which promotes education for all girls.


text:
WILLIAM G. IRWIN (1843 – January 28, 1914) was a capitalist and successful sugar planter in the Kingdom of Hawai'i. He was born in England, and emigrated to Hawaii with his family while still a child. He would remain a British citizen throughout his life. Educated at Punahou School, he was in the right place at the right time to make a lot of money in the sugar plantation market. After the passage of the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875, Irwin formed the William G. Irwin & Co partnership. California entrepreneur Claus Spreckels offered him a separate partnership in 1881, a union that would come to include the Spreckels interests in sugar plantations, and have subsidiaries in banking activities and ship building. Two decades later, after amassing a fortune in his association with Spreckels, Irwin moved away from the plantation activities and relocated to San Francisco, where he continued his affiliations with financial institutions. At his death, Irwin's estate was estimated to be in excess of $10,000,000 (). His only child Helene married the first time into the wealthy Crocker family of California, and through her second marriage to Paul I. Fagan, became an owner of the San Francisco Seals baseball team.

Background

He was a native of England, born in 1843 to Alice and James Irwin, a veteran of the British army. The family's original destination was California at the onset of the California Gold Rush, eventually making their way to Hawaii.[1] He was enrolled at Punahou School 1856-57, at that time known as Oahu College. The school was established for children of missionaries, but later included children of Hawaii's royalty, and one future United States President, Barack Obama.[2]

Hawaii

After working for other businessmen for several years, and shortly after the passage of the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875, Irwin partnered with John Smith Walker and Zephaniah Swift Spalding to form William G. Irwin & Co. That partnership was terminated in 1880.[3] Irwin was president of the Paauhau and the Kilauea Sugar companies, held stock in other sugar companies,[4] and was one of the March 1882 founders of the Planters Labor and Supply Company.[5]

Irwin served on both Kalākaua's Privy Council of State and Liliʻuokalani's Privy Council of State.[6] He represented Hawaii at the 1900 Exposition Universelle (world's fair) in Paris, and was subsequently awarded the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the nation of France.[7]

The 1881 Honolulu Music Hall was built by Irwin for an estimated $40,000. Kalākaua had a royal box in the venue, and a private entrance. Following a bankruptcy in 1883, it eventually re-opened, only to be destroyed by fire in 1895. Irwin, along with John and Adolph Spreckels, rebuilt the venue, reopening a year later.[8]

Claus Spreckels

He partnered with California entrepreneur Claus Spreckels in 1881 to form W. G. Irwin & Co. to handle the Spreckels family interests in Hawaii. Spreckels had also considered was George W. Macfarlane, to King Kalākaua, as a potential associate, but ultimately opted for Irwin.[9] Variations of Irwin's name would be used for other partnership companies with Spreckels. The Oceanic Steamship Company, and J. D. Spreckels and Brothers (sons of Claus), were wholly owned subsidiaries of the Wm. G. Irwin and Co. Ltd. holding company. Among numerous ships built by them was the _William G. Irwin_ barkentine in 1881.[10][11]

Spreckels & Company was a holding company[12] also known as the Spreckels Bank. Incorporated by Irwin, former California governor Frederick Low and Spreckels, on January 1, 1884, its purpose was to circulate the Kalākaua coinage in Hawaii, and to float loans to the monarchy and government officials. Dissolved by November 1, the partners then funneled their banking activities through . The only other bank in Hawaii was Bishop & Company, and proliferation of sugar money necessitated that other banks be allowed incorporation. Towards that end, the legislature passed what became known as the Banking Act of 1884, signed into law by Kalākaua on August 11.[13]

Spreckels was a practical royalist, who believed the monarchy's labor importation policies benefited the sugar industry. After the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Spreckels found himself at odds over the issue with other planters, and supported Liliʻuokalani's return to the throne. If Hawaii were annexed, the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act would likely apply to the islands and cut deeply into the plantation labor supply. He eventually abandoned his Hawaii involvement, and left the Hawaii business for Irwin and his sons John D., Claus August and Adolph to manage.[14] Spreckels took his case to Washington D. C. and lobbied through two administrations against annexation. With Spreckels no longer a hands-on partner, his Hawaiian businesses fell to internal issues among his sons. Spreckels died in 1908 and Irwin had the Spreckels bank reincorporated as the Bank of Honolulu, Limited.[15] William G. Irwin & Co. merged with C. Brewer & Co. in 1909.[16]

Family and final years

Irwin had met and married his wife Fannie (or Fanny) Ivers Holliday in San Francisco in 1836.[17] By 1904, he was becoming less active with his Hawaiian sugar interests, and built a home in San Francisco with a scenic view of the Golden Gate Bridge.[18] Claus Spreckels lived in the city and had a sugar refinery in the area.[19] Irwin had become affiliated with San Francisco financial institutions since he joined Mercantile Trust Company in 1899. That was followed by his association with Savings Union Bank and Trust Company in 1909, and with the Mercantile National Bank in 1910.[20]

Irwin died in San Francisco on January 28, 1914, having retained his British citizenship throughout his life.[21] His estate had an estimated worth in excess of $10,000,000 (), the bulk of which went to his widow,. Other cash bequests were made to family members and household servants. Two charities in San Francisco each received $25,000.[22]

Fannie and William's only child Helene was born in Honolulu in 1887. Irwin bequeathed $250,000 to her in his will.[23] Her first marriage in 1911 was to Charles Templeton Crocker, a banker, playwright, and part of the extended wealthy Crocker family in California. On her wedding day, Irwin gave her a gift of $1,000,000 in investments, and the news media estimated the couple's combined wealth and potential inheritances at $20,000,000.[24] The couple divorced in 1928, and she married businessman Paul I. Fagan. The Fagans invested in a ranch on Molokai, as well as a luxury resort hotel at Hana on the island of Maui. Additionally, they maintained a home on Oahu, and owned the San Francisco Seals baseball team 1945–1953. Paul died in 1960, followed by Helene in 1966.[25]

Bibliography

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[3]

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[5]

[6]

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[8] ;

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[11]

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[22] .

[23]

[24]

[25] ;

title: William G. Irwin

question: Where was William Irwin born?

answer: William Irwin was born in England.

question: At the time of his death, how much was Irwin's estate estimated to be worth?

answer: Hi estate was valued in excess of $10000000.

question: What was the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875?

answer: Unsure, this treaty is what formed the partnership between Irwin, John Smith Walker, and Zephaniah Swift Spalding, called William G. Irwin & Co.

question: Who is Claus Spreckels?

answer: Claus Spreckels was a California entrepreneur with whom Irwin partner with in 1881 to form W. G. Irwin & Co.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: William G. Irwin was a capitalist and successful sugar planter in the Kingdom of Hawai'i. Born in England but raised in Hawaii, Irwin partnered with California entrepreneur Claus Spreckels in 1881, a partnership that included sugar plantations and banking activities. Irwin's estate was valued at over 10 million at the time of his death.


text:
The Betrayal

When did it all begin? Where it always does I suppose, with the vows. Do you take this woman, to have and to hold in sickness and in health? Bullshit! Michael thought to himself. It ought to say are you taken with this woman. That’s exactly what he had been with Irene…. Taken! The better question he thought to himself as he sat there, alone in the waiting room was where did it all go wrong?

	Sitting there alone in the twelve feet wide by twenty-three foot long white box. Michael sat in the same waiting room chair that decorated every waiting room across the country. Two plastic arm supports thinner than any person’s forearm he had ever encountered. Who the fucks arm is this suppose to support? A predetermined back angle as if everyone set with the same posture. Michael was angry, not with the room although it did irritate and enrage him for many reason but no, Michael was angry at life and how his had turned out in particular.

	Sitting there in only chair in the white, picture less, waiting room Michael rotated his wedding band between his fingers like a magician does before making the coin disappear, starting at his pinky finger ending at his index finger before starting the process over again. One might look upon Michael as if he was lost in thought had they walked in on him, but he was not lost in thought for Michael knew exactly where his thoughts were at. They were on the wedding band, for that he surmised is where everything went wrong.

	A white gold band size ten in his case, with ten little diamond chunks set inside the band itself when it was purchased. It of course was bought as a match to Irene’s. He remembered the event like it was yesterday and not ten years ago. They had been in the mall and both spotted the Kay’s sign and went in. Irene and Michael were doing it backwards, they had married just hours earlier at the Bell County, Courthouse.

	Her face lit up when she saw the one carat diamond, it was one of the many smiles he would see on her face during the first two years of their marriage, but like everything else in life even the smiles fade he thought. The woman behind the counter Camille, Michael never forgot the name of a person that made Irene smile. It was a blessing back then and a curse as of the last few years. Camille placed the ring on Irene’s finger with all the tenderness and caring that Michael did not get to do back at the courthouse.

	He had to admit that when he first looked at the rings on their hands after they purchased them. “No need for bags he had told Camille! We will wear them out give everyone a chance to see an ordinary ring on an extraordinary woman!” Irene use to eat up his compliments back then no matter how cheesy he thought they sounded, she would always smile or squeeze his arm tighter. Yes, even he believed in the happiness they represented when they walked out of the store ten years ago to the day.

	Looking at the weathered ring now brought him back to a sobering reality. The scratches some deep, some minor, the diamond that fell out once and was replaced. It fell out again along the years and like most stuff in life you get tired of trying to fix it and you let it be. In some ways the wedding band had outlasted him. It was still on his fingers albeit worn and beaten but still there. Michael wished he could say the same for his Irene.

	He thought about how if he had never bought her the ring or stood in front of that justice of the peace then there would have never been broken promises. There never would have been late nights. There never would have been whiskey on his breath. Most of all Michael thought there never would have been him.

	Hindsight’s twenty/twenty his father had told him. Bill, his name was Bill. He had never had such rage in his heart for any name as he did for that name. The name that stripped everything from him, his life, his passion…his soul mate. He had never met the face behind the name; Irene had not afforded him that opportunity. Michael chose not to dwell on the memories of Bill; after all he had so few only the details that Irene had provided him before waling out of his life.

	She told him only enough so that he could understand why. Irene had not wanted to hurt Michael so she left out how they met after all that wasn’t important. What was important is that they met. Michael sat there in the only chair in that white picture less box of a waiting room when the buzzer sounded signaling that one patient was coming out and the next one would be buzzed in. A woman who looked to be about twenty three exited the room casually glanced at Michael before leaving.

	Michael stood slowly wondering if the blonde had smelled the whiskey on his breath as she passed by. If she had then she had not let on. She probably had problems of her own. The doctor stepped into the doorway bridging his office and the waiting room glancing up from his clipboard to pronounce Michaels name. Michael pointed the 357 Magnum Solid Black Revolver, one shot rang out and as the Doctor slumped to the floor Michael turned the Revolver toward his temple squeezing the wedding band tight in his left hand pulling the trigger with his right. One Shot rang out in the room as Michael’s lifeless body fell to the floor.

     The size ten white gold band rolled out of his hand…..ending where it all began.

title: [RF] The Betrayal

question: What is Michael waiting for?

answer: Michael is waiting for the doctor

question: What does Michael believe is the origin of all his problems?

answer: He believes that his marriage landed him where he is today.

question: Was Irene's ring expensive?

answer: It must have been as it contained a one carat diamond.

question: What is special about the day that the story takes place?

answer: It is Michael and Irene's tenth wedding anniversary.

question: How is the battered ring with the missing diamond an allegory of Michael's failed marriage?

answer: Like most things you get tired of trying to fix it. Perhaps he gave up on his marriage too.

question: Who is Bill?

answer: Bill is the man that stole Irene's heart. He is likely also the doctor who Michael kills in the end.


text:
ARRAN LEE-BARRETT (born 28 February 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

He made his senior debut for Cardiff City in 2004. After two years at Cardiff he signed for Weymouth where he spent another two years before joining Coventry City in 2007. He did not make an appearance for Coventry, joining Hartlepool United following the end of his short term contract. He spent two seasons at Hartlepool before joining Ipswich Town in 2009. He spent four years at Ipswich. Following his release from Ipswich he had short spells at Millwall at Bolton Wanderers during the 2013–14 season.

Club career

Early career

When he was 10, Lee-Barrett joined his local club Whitton Sports Centre and took the position of goalkeeper.[1] Shortly after he was offered a place at Ipswich Town's academy where he played alongside later-England international Darren Bent.[2]

After leaving Ipswich he was offered an apprenticeship at Fulham and Norwich, he chose Norwich as he preferred the atmosphere there.[3] However, he failed to break into the reserve team and was second choice reserve keeper behind future England international Robert Green.[4] He was released by Norwich and had a trial at Chelsea.

Cardiff City

He was offered a one-year contract with Cardiff after impressing during a trial and was coached by George Wood.[5] He spent most of his time at Cardiff as third choice keeper, mainly playing for the reserves. While playing for the reserves Lee-Barrett helped Cardiff win the Pontins Holiday Combination.[6] Cardiff manager Lennie Lawrence decided to release the young keeper believing that he was better off getting games.[7][8]

Weymouth

Torquay, Doncaster and Shrewsbury all showed an interest in Lee-Barrett.[9] Although he trained with Torquay,[10] he moved to Weymouth due to the offer of first team football.[11][12] He made 19 league appearances and 2 appearances in the FA Cup, helping Weymouth to win the Nationwide Conference South.[13]

Coventry City

In January 2007, Lee-Barrett signed for Coventry City on loan as emergency cover for Luke Steele due to the injury of other Coventry keeper Andy Marshall.[14] After his loan spell he signed permanently after being offered a temporary contract.[15] However at the end of the season he was not offered a new contract and was released after failing to break into the first team. After releasing Lee-Barrett, Coventry City manager Iain Dowie revealed that he was impressed with his “attitude and professionalism” and wished him all the best.[16]

Hartlepool United

Shortly after Lee-Barrett was signed by Hartlepool after being recommended by Hartlepool's goalkeeping coach George Wood who had previously coached him at Cardiff.[17] For his first season at Hartlepool he was given the number 21 shirt.[18] On his debut Lee-Barrett performed well against Newcastle, making some impressive saves and keeping a clean sheet in the half that he played.[19][20]

After playing Harlepool's first game of the season, a 2–1 loss to Luton Town, he was dropped, with Danny Wilson picking Jan Budtz over him for the Pools next fixtures. He was released from his contract on 6 May 2009 after being deemed surplus to requirements.[21]

Ipswich Town

On 21 August 2009, it was announced that Lee-Barrett had signed for the Championship team Ipswich Town, on a short-term deal.[22] This came a day after Shane Supple had retired from the game aged 22. Lee-Barrett covered first-choice goalkeeper Richard Wright and was included in the squad that travelled to West Brom the next day.[23] He made his debut for Ipswich on 29 November against Cardiff City, coming off the bench in the 25th minute for the injured Richard Wright. Ipswich won the game 2–1. Following that game, Ipswich enquired into the possibility of bringing in a keeper on loan to replace Wright, despite the loan window not being open. This request was denied, leaving Lee-Barrett and Ian McLoughlin, the youth team goalkeeper, as the only two goalkeepers on professional contracts at the club. Ipswich's next game was away at Bristol City where Lee-Barrett kept a clean sheet. In January 2010, Lee-Barrett was rewarded with a new 18-month contract at Ipswich.[24] He was offered a further contract extension in April 2011.[25]

Millwall

On 16 August 2013, he made the move to Millwall covering for Stephen Bywater and Andy Marshall after David Forde had picked up an injury. He did not make a first team appearance whilst with the Lions but did act as an unused substitute for Steve Lomas' team.[26]

Bolton Wanderers

On 24 October 2013, he signed a short-term contract with Bolton Wanderers to provide competition for Andy Lonergan after both Ádám Bogdán and Jay Lynch had been ruled out of action with knee and back injuries respectively.[27] He linked up again with his former manager Lennie Lawrence, an assistant manager to Dougie Freedman at Bolton. He later signed a contract extension until the end of the season. Following the conclusion of the season, Bolton Wanderers offered Lee-Barrett a new one-year deal but on 1 July, Bolton confirmed that he had left the club.[28]

International career

While at Weymouth Lee-Barrett was selected for the England National Game team, which consisted of England's best non-league players and made his debut for them against the Netherlands in November 2006.[29]

Career statistics

  Club                Season               League             FA Cup   League Cup   Other   Total
  ------------------- -------------------- ------------------ -------- ------------ ------- ------- ------ ------- ------- ------- ---- ---
  Division            Apps                 Goals              Apps     Goals        Apps    Goals
  Cardiff City        2003–04[30]          First Division     1        0            0       0
  2004–05[31]         First Division       0                  0        0            0       0
  Total               1                    0                  0        0            0       0
  Weymouth            2005–06[32]          Conference South   0        0            0       0
  2006–07[33]         Conference Premier   19                 0        2            0       0
  Total               19                   0                  2        0            0       0
  Coventry City       2006–07[34]          Championship       0        0            0       0
  Hartlepool United   2007–08[35]          League One         18       0            0       0
  2008–09[37]         League One           37                 0        5            0       3
  Total               55                   0                  5        0            3       0
  Ipswich Town        2009–10[39]          Championship       13       0            2       0
  2010–11[40]         Championship         7                  0        0            0       0
  2011–12[41]         Championship         18                 0        1            0       1
  2012–13[42]         Championship         0                  0        0            0       0
  Total               38                   0                  3        0            1       0
  Millwall            2013–14[43]          Championship       0        0            0       0
  Bolton Wanderers    2013–14[44]          Championship       0        0            0       0
  Career total        113                  0                  10       0            4       0

  : Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22] Arran Back At Town . ITFC.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-08-22.

[23] Arran Back At Town ITFC.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-08-22.

[24]

[25]

[26] 1 Millwall FC. Retrieved 2013-08-16.

[27] 2 BBC Sport. Retrieved 2013-10-24.

[28]

[29]

[30]

[31]

[32]

[33]

[34]

[35]

[36] Appearance in Football League Trophy

[37]

[38]

[39]

[40]

[41]

[42]

[43]

[44]

title: Arran Lee-Barrett

question: Summarize Lee-Barrett's international career.

answer: While at Weymouth, Lee-Barret was selected for the England National Game team, which consisted of England's best non-league players and made his debut for them against the Netherlands in November 2006.

question: What is Lee-Barrett's total career earnings?

question: Summarize Lee-Barrett's stint at Millwall.

answer: On August 16, 2013, Lee-Barrett made the move to Millwall. He did not make a first team appearance while with the team but did act as an unused substitute for Steve Lomas' team.


text:
The film sees Smith playing two opposing roles: one of Henry, an aging assassin who wants to get out of the business, and that of his ultimate opponent, a clone who is 25 years younger and at the peak of his abilities that has been tasked to kill him.

Winstead, who beat out _Orphan Black_ star Tatiana Maslany for the role, will play an operative who works for the same company as Henry and has been ordered to surveil him. However, she soon teams up with him.

Clive Owen is currently in talks to play one of the villains of the movie, the head of the cloning program.

Jerry Bruckheimer is producing along with Skydance’s David Ellison and Dana Goldberg. Don Murphy is executive producing.

Winstead, whose last movie turn was in the hit _10 Cloverfield Lane_, is coming off a co-starring run in season three of FX’s acclaimed _Fargo_. She is repped by WME and attorney Karl Austen of Jackoway Tyerman.

Thank you!

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question: What genre is this sample?

answer: A synopsis of a film

question: How regular is the Heat Vision newsletter?

answer: Weekly on Fridays

question: What other movie did Winstead recently act in?

answer: 10 Cloverfield Lane

question: Who is the executive producer for this film?

answer: Don Murphy

question: How many co-producers are working on the movie?

answer: Three

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: This article describes a new film coming out and lists a number of the actors and producers involved. A short synopsis of the film is also given. The arcle closes with a promotion for the outlet's email newsletter.


text:
The FBI's counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump campaign officials had improper contacts with Russia was triggered by information the bureau obtained about George PapadopoulosGeorge Demetrios PapadopoulosFlynn spurs questions of who Trump might pardon next Not treason, not a crime — but definitely a gross abuse of power Tale of two FBI cases: Clinton got warned, Trump got investigated MORE, a former adviser to the campaign, according to the memo released Friday by House Intelligence Committee Republicans.

Allies of President Trump[]Donald TrumpBiden and Harris named Time's 2020 'Person of the Year' US to sanction Turkey over Russian defense system: report Federal government executes Brandon Bernard despite last-minute appeals MORE have claimed the Russia probe began with the so-called Steele dossier that was paid for in part by Hillary Clinton[]Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonBette Middler blasts McConnell: 'How did he win with an 18% approval rating?' Hillary Clinton: Republicans that 'humor' Trump election claims 'have no spines' Trump leaves mixed legacy on veterans affairs MORE and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). That would mean the Russia investigation itself — and by extension, special counsel Robert Mueller[]Robert (Bob) MuellerBarr taps attorney investigating Russia probe origins as special counsel CNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting MORE’s probe — was launched from political opposition research.

But the memo states that FBI agent Pete Strzok opened the investigation in July 2016 based on "information" about Papadapoulos, rather than the dossier.

The New York Times has previously reported that Papadapoulos bragged to an Australian diplomat that the Russians had damaging information on Clinton before the hack of the DNC became publicly known. The Australian government tipped off the FBI to what Papadapoulos had said, according to the Times.

Papadopoulos has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and is cooperating with special counsel Mueller’s investigation.

Still, the revelation that Strzok, who sent text messages disparaging Trump, launched the original investigation into the Trump campaign will further fuel debate over political bias at the FBI.

Strzok and Lisa Page, who is a lawyer at the FBI, exchanged private text messages during the campaign that were disparaging of Trump. Strzok and Page, who were having an affair, were both on Mueller’s special counsel team at one point before being reassigned last year

Strzok was also a central figure in the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email arrangement. Republicans, citing text messages between Strzok and Lisa Page, have said the FBI determined ahead of time to give Clinton an election year pass.

The memo released by Republicans on Friday, which was authored by staffers for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes[]Devin Gerald NunesBiden's Cabinet a battleground for future GOP White House hopefuls Overnight Defense: Trump loyalist to lead Pentagon transition | Democrats ask VA for vaccine distribution plan | Biden to get classified intel reports Ex-Nunes aide linked to Biden conspiracy theories will lead Pentagon transition MORE (R-Calif.), also criticizes the FBI’s use of the Steele dossier in a warrant application.

After the counterintelligence investigation began, the memo states, the FBI used the Steele dossier, in part, to obtain surveillance warrants for Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, who is not related to Lisa Page.

Then-FBI Director James Comey[]James Brien ComeyTrump's self-pardon would clash with his impeachment The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Mastercard - Dem leaders back smaller COVID-19 relief bill as pandemic escalates Trump blasts special counsel Durham for moving too slowly MORE sought and received a warrant to spy on Carter Page in October 2016, the document states.

The surveillance applications typically involve several layers of authentication. Justice Department lawyers must show probable cause that the target of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrant is acting as an agent of a foreign power.

The memo asserts that the FBI hid details about the origins of the dossier from the surveillance court. The memo also states that there is “not evidence of any cooperation or conspiracy between [Carter] Page and Papadopoulos.”

question: What does the article say about Papadopoulos?

answer: Papadopoulos is cooperating with special counsel Mueller's investigation after admitting to lying. He had previously told an Australian diplomat that he had damaging information on Clinton. The Australian government tipped off the FBI.


text:
BURT COUNTY is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska, bordering the west bank of the upper Missouri River. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 6,858.[1] Its county seat is Tekamah.[2] The county was formed in 1854 and named after Francis Burt, the first governor of Nebraska Territory.[3]

In the Nebraska license plate system, Burt County is represented by the prefix 31 (it had the 31st-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (1.1%) is water.[4] Its east boundary line is formed by the western border of the state of Iowa, a boundary mostly aligning with the Missouri River. Because of shifts in the river over time, small portions of the county are now located on the eastern bank of the river.

Major highways

-   [] U.S. Highway 75
-   [] U.S. Highway 77
-   [] Nebraska Highway 32
-   [] Nebraska Highway 51

Adjacent counties

-   Thurston County - north
-   Monona County, Iowa - northeast
-   Harrison County, Iowa - southeast
-   Washington County - south
-   Dodge County - southwest
-   Cuming County - west

Demographics

As of the 2000 United States Census,[5] there were 7,791 people, 3,155 households, and 2,240 families in the county. The population density was 16 people per square mile (6/km²). There were 3,723 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.63% White, 0.18% Black or African American, 1.07% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. 1.26% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 33.7% were of German, 13.9% Swedish, 10.1% Irish, 8.8% American, 7.0% English and 5.4% Danish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 3,155 households, out of which 29.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.30% were married couples living together, 6.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.00% were non-families. 26.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.93.

The county population contained 25.70% under the age of 18, 5.40% from 18 to 24, 23.40% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 21.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,954, and the median income for a family was $40,515. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $20,663 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,654. About 6.60% of families and 8.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.80% of those under age 18 and 8.30% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

-   Lyons
-   Oakland
-   Tekamah (county seat)

Villages

-   Craig
-   Decatur

Unincorporated communities

-   Arizona
-   Bertha

Townships

-   Arizona
-   Bell Creek
-   Craig
-   Decatur
-   Everett
-   Logan
-   Oakland
-   Pershing
-   Quinnebaugh
-   Riverside
-   Silver Creek
-   Summit

Ghost towns

-   Argo
-   Basford
-   Golden

Politics

Burt County voters have historically voted Republican. No Democratic Party candidate has carried the county in a national election since 1936.

  Year                               Republican                                  Democratic                                  Third Parties
  ---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- ----------------------------
  style=“text-align:center;” |2016   style=“text-align:center;” |66.5% _2,367_   style=“text-align:center;” |26.1% _930_     7.3% _261_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2012   style=“text-align:center;” |60.1% _2,029_   style=“text-align:center;” |38.3% _1,291_   1.6% _55_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2008   style=“text-align:center;” |56.3% _1,907_   style=“text-align:center;” |41.7% _1,413_   2.0% _67_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2004   style=“text-align:center;” |64.0% _2,349_   style=“text-align:center;” |34.7% _1,272_   1.3% _47_
  style=“text-align:center;” |2000   style=“text-align:center;” |60.6% _2,056_   style=“text-align:center;” |36.1% _1,223_   3.3% _113_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1996   style=“text-align:center;” |48.8% _1,707_   style=“text-align:center;” |35.4% _1,237_   15.8% _552_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1992   style=“text-align:center;” |42.6% _1,667_   style=“text-align:center;” |31.3% _1,224_   26.1% _1,021_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1988   style=“text-align:center;” |58.1% _2,050_   style=“text-align:center;” |41.3% _1,458_   0.7% _23_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1984   style=“text-align:center;” |71.1% _2,645_   style=“text-align:center;” |28.3% _1,054_   0.6% _22_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1980   style=“text-align:center;” |72.1% _2,806_   style=“text-align:center;” |20.9% _814_     7.0% _273_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1976   style=“text-align:center;” |63.3% _2,510_   style=“text-align:center;” |34.7% _1,375_   2.1% _82_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1972   style=“text-align:center;” |76.5% _2,937_   style=“text-align:center;” |23.5% _900_     style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1968   style=“text-align:center;” |68.6% _2,615_   style=“text-align:center;” |24.6% _937_     6.9% _263_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1964   style=“text-align:center;” |54.3% _2,459_   style=“text-align:center;” |45.8% _2,074_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1960   style=“text-align:center;” |72.6% _3,613_   style=“text-align:center;” |27.4% _1,366_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1956   style=“text-align:center;” |69.5% _3,459_   style=“text-align:center;” |30.5% _1,519_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1952   style=“text-align:center;” |77.0% _4,154_   style=“text-align:center;” |23.0% _1,243_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1948   style=“text-align:center;” |58.3% _2,656_   style=“text-align:center;” |41.7% _1,900_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1944   style=“text-align:center;” |59.6% _3,189_   style=“text-align:center;” |40.4% _2,162_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1940   style=“text-align:center;” |57.1% _3,443_   style=“text-align:center;” |42.9% _2,589_   style="text-align:center;|
  style=“text-align:center;” |1936   style=“text-align:center;” |45.9% _2,710_   style=“text-align:center;” |52.9% _3,120_   1.2% _71_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1932   style=“text-align:center;” |32.8% _1,857_   style=“text-align:center;” |66.0% _3,734_   1.2% _65_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1928   style=“text-align:center;” |66.3% _3,551_   style=“text-align:center;” |33.3% _1,783_   0.4% _19_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1924   style=“text-align:center;” |54.3% _2,813_   style=“text-align:center;” |36.1% _1,870_   9.6% _496_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1920   style=“text-align:center;” |70.2% _2,969_   style=“text-align:center;” |28.2% _1,194_   1.5% _65_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1916   style=“text-align:center;” |50.3% _1,508_   style=“text-align:center;” |47.6% _1,425_   2.1% _63_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1912   style=“text-align:center;” |29.1% _865_     style=“text-align:center;” |35.0% _1,040_   35.8% _1,064_[7]
  style=“text-align:center;” |1908   style=“text-align:center;” |59.5% _1,880_   style=“text-align:center;” |38.5% _1,215_   2.0% _63_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1904   style=“text-align:center;” |72.2% _2,081_   style=“text-align:center;” |18.3% _528_     9.4% _272_
  style=“text-align:center;” |1900   style=“text-align:center;” |61.3% _1,929_   style=“text-align:center;” |37.3% _1,174_   1.4% _44_

  : PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULTS[6]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6] Election Results

[7] The leading “other” candidate, Progressive Theodore Roosevelt, received 1,003 votes, while Socialist candidate Eugene Debs received 41 votes and Prohibition Eugene Chafin received 20 votes.

title: Burt County, Nebraska

question: List all the currently inhabited communities in Burt County.

answer: Lyons, Oakland, Tekamah, Craig, Decatur, Arizona, Bertha, Arizona, Bell Creek, Craig Township, Decatur Township, Everett, Logan, Oakland Township, Pershing, Quinnebaugh, Riverside Creek, Summit.