text:
On the last day of November, on a cold night and under a still sky all filled with stars, in the city that often sleeps and on roads poured ten dozen decades past, I trudged towards the store to buy some food. My parka was pulled up to my nose and my beanie was pulled down past my ears and my hands were clenched in warmball fists, and I was thinking thoughts of the rambling type and of little consequence, and I had strapped to my waist and hung from my back my padded REI pack that I sometimes wear. My car was frozen shut, that's why I walked.

I crossed the street and then across a community garden on the frosty barkchipped path, to the parking lot of a Sold Less Foods. Walking out was a frail whiskered man wearing cargo shorts and a vest. His name was probably Iron Limbs, the unfeeling all -seeing purveyor of frozen foods. This is what he seemed like.

Upon entering it was like very warm. To my left was the deli, and the pizza smelling heavenly, and the bread and the bagels, and to my right was the salads and vegetable matter of all sorts. I strolled through the greenery and past the cheese of much stink to a refrigerated unit containing beers of unimaginable variety. It felt decadent, overwhelming but invigorating, like that smell when you walk past a portable toilet. I picked out the cheapest cans and retired to the checkstand where I passed the time with a fairly unattractive cashier. Then I walked out the store and home.

Before I got home, when I was merely two blocks from it and gazing skyward, I saw something I have never told anyone about, ever. I saw it clear as day in the dark of the night. It was the dark of the night. The moon flickered. It was no tree branch that obscured my view. I know that because I saw it flicker again. It went black but its moonglow lingered.

I stopped and stared at the sky for what must have been thirty minutes. In the middle of the street like a real crazy guy. But it didn't flicker again and by the end I almost doubted myself. Was it real? How could it do that? Why would it?

I ran to my house and nearly ran through the door. I dropped my bag on the ground and everything spilled out. The cold foods were very cold and the warm foods were cold as well. The frozen foods were the same but that was of no concern to me at that time.
I practically flew to my hallway closet, flung it open and snatched out a worn wooden mop.

"Come at me Mr. Smith!" I bellowed thrusting the mop over my head, "I'd love to see you try!"

I grabbed a stepstool from the closet and clapped my right foot on top it, in a heroic pose, "C'mon now I haven't got all day!"

"Stephen is that you?" My Mom came out of nowhere! "Stephen! You didn't take your ..." She looked a little sad and anxious.

"You won't believe it! I saw something truly incredible!" It's nearly impossible for me to describe how elated I was, "I knew there'd be a sign! Goddamnit!"

I collapsed in the corner from sheer exhaustion from the excitement of it all. My legs felt like jello and my head like a black hole. The drone and shakes and fuzz were coming on, I could feel it starting.

"Holy shit Mom! holy shit!"

title: The Winter of my Ill Content

question: Why does the narrator "stop and stare at the sky...like a crazy person"?

answer: He stops and stares at the sky because he sees the moon flicker.

question: Describe the main character/narrator.

answer: The narrator doubts himself, doubts that he saw the moon flicker. He's excited about what he saw, then he becomes exhausted.

question: Is there another character in the story with whom the narrator has a relationship?

answer: The narrator's mother is in the story.

question: What emotions are the narrator feeling?

answer: The narrator doubts himself, doubts that he saw the moon flicker. He's excited about what he saw, then he becomes exhausted.

question: Write a ~10 sentence summary.

answer: Stephen, the narrator walks to the grocery store because his car was frozen shut. He describes the sights and smells of the grocery store. He makes his purchases and starts his walk home. He stops because he sees the moon flicker. He wonders why it would flicker, and begins to doubt what he saw. He arrives home and throws his backpack containing his purchases onto the floor.  He places a mop on his head and shouts, "Come at me Mr. Smith." His mother watches him sadly and anxiously. It seems that he didn't take his medication.


split: train

text:
Matt D'Amico
Mr. Cusick
Creative Writing
25 Feburary 2013

The year is 2175, forty years after the Great War. The war that shaped the New World into what it is now, a emotionless, unimaginative nation where its inhabitants only goal is for “the betterment of the country and for our great ruler President Samuel Hudson”. The people are brainwashed into working, not for pay, but for the privilege of life. And when they go home they sit, mindlessly, in front of their television taking in the only channel that has been running for the past forty years, preaching to them and their kids about how perfect their life is. The government has stripped its people of all emotion, because with emotion comes ambition, and with ambition comes the want for a better life. It has filled the void of emotion with the “feeling” of national pride.

For the entire twenty-two years of his life George Huxley lived his life every other human being does, like a robot. He wakes up and puts on his gray jumpsuit, with the little name tag that read Mr. G. Huxley, that he got when he joined the workforce at the age of eighteen. Steps outside of his one bedroom apartment, and goes downstairs into the basement of his complex. This is where he works. All jobs are located in the same building as the apartment complexes as to prevent as much human interaction as possible. George’s job is manufacturing Infantile Joy Modules which are virtual reality helmets that are put on babies to silence their crying and allow the assigned caretakers to enjoy their television in peace. He is told by his supervisor how lucky he is to be working and living in this great country. This never sits well with George, but he doesn’t know why. After work he walks up the stairs to the lobby to get dinner. He eats at the same “restaurant” every day, President Samuel Hudson’s Food and Drink. He gets the same bland meal every day then proceeds back to his home. Back in his room, he pushes the power button of his television, but the T.V. doesn’t turn on. “Hmmm, that’s odd” he thinks to himself. He would go get a home supervisor to get it fixed but he is too tired and decides to sit down on the metal folding chair that he calls furniture. Sitting in the silence George is able to think to himself, something he hasn’t done for a very long time. He begins conjuring up images of his childhood days where he would be able to play with the other children. He finally goes to sleep with a feeling he has never felt before. A feeling that he and his fellow countrymen have been numb to for their entire existence. This feeling is happiness.

The next day at work when his supervisor says  how lucky he is to be working and living in this great country, he is very disturbed, but he doesn’t know why. After work he decides to skip dinner and goes straight home so he can be by himself in that wonderful silence. George begins longing for that silence every waking hour he is at work. He sees his co-workers blank stare and wants so badly to tell them what they are missing. That he has felt happiness, but he knows that they won’t understand because they haven’t felt anything for too long and more importantly he did not want to risk getting caught. He had heard stories of people that went crazy and started thinking for themselves. He heard about what the government did to those evil freethinkers, and knew that getting caught with these emotions wasn’t an option.

It has been a month since George’s television has broke, he is aware of the world around him and realizes what he must do. After work he stops at President Samuel Hudson’s Food and Drink. He sees that their is a new cashier. “Hello mam, I haven’t seen you working here before, are you new?” he asks. “Yes sir, this is my first day. I am so excited to be working for my terrific country.” She responds with a childlike excitement. “Very good” George replies. He reads her name tag Ms. Mary King. He gets the same tasteless meal then goes up to look for Ms. Mary Kings room. Because she is new he knows that her room will be somewhere on the bottom floor (the order of the floors go from the most experienced at the top to the neophytes at lower floors.) He finds the door that reads M. King and is able to walk straight into her room because crime is hardly an issue where one’s only occupation is work and television. Once in her room he is greeted by that sweet, freeing silence. He takes her T.V. and dismantles it rendering it useless, feeling something he has never felt before, accomplishment. After his task is complete he goes back down to the lobby There he sees Mary, with that same childlike wonder. He waits there until her shift is over then followers her to her room. Once he sees the door close he begins to walk down her hallway. He puts his ear on her door and hears her struggling to put her television on. “Hello, sir are you my floor’s supervisor?” she asks with a palpable frustration. “Yes, yes I am, what can I do for you?” he confidently responds. “My T.V. seems to be broken”. “Alright, let me take a look” and they both walk into the room. “I’m pressing the button but it won’t turn on” she says. “Mary... I am not the floor supervisor. My name is George Huxley.” George says not knowing how she will react. “Okay, George, but why did you say you were the supervisor?” she aks. “Listen Mary, I need to warn you about something, something unimaginable, something that humans haven’t been able to experience for a long, long time.” he preaches to her. Mary sees the genuine look of concern and something seen hasn’t seen in many people’s face. “I need to tell you of this before this country brainwashes you and your just another numb robot walking around with no drive or purpose.” he pleads. “Brainwash? Drive? Purpose?” she asks with a flurry of thoughts racing through her head. “Listen, I know this may all sound strange to you, I know you think that you live in a perfect world, but this world is far from perfect Mary. I need you to trust me. Do you trust me?” As he says this he reaches for her hand and when their hands touch she says, “I, I guess, what are we going to do though?” His eyes light up “I want you to sit and think, no television, and just think?” “Think? About what?” she asks, she has never heard of such a strange activity. “About anything, about how great your life was when you were a child, no cares, no worries, just you and your friends.” He gets up and walks towards the door, turns around and says “and remember, just because you are told to do something, and you see everyone else mindlessly following what they are told to do doesn’t mean they are right. The most important thing in this life is not the beloved country or the great ruler, it’s you.” He opens the door and walks out into the hallway. There are two colossal police officers, with blank stares waiting for him.

title: Just started writing, this is my first work. What do you think?

question: According to the passage, what are the reason(s) behind the government wanting people not to "feel"?

answer: It is 2175, 40 years after the war that made the world into what it is now - full of emotionless people who only live for the country and its president, Samuel Hudson. Hudson's government made sure its citizens are stripped of emotion because with it comes ambitions and the longings of "better life". The government substituted this longing for the feeling of national pride. It seems the government does not want revolt resulting from people thinking in a different way or wanting something better than they already have.

question: According to the passage, what are the reason behind people being unable to think for themselves?

answer: Since the government has stripped its citizen of emotions, it made sure they remain that way by filling their time with irrelevancies so they would not have the free time to think for themselves. Almost everyone's routines consist of waking up and going to work, eating dinner at the same restaurant, eating the same meal every day, going home and being too tired to do anything else apart from watch TV. The government makes sure there are no varieties to stimulate anyone into thinking differently.


text:
Thirty thousand feet up in the air, why decide that this row was the right one to move him to. Certainly, there’s more legroom, but there’s also the sensation. Looking to the left, ideas begin to form.

The little voice says, “Do it. Do it and let yourself go.”

But he can’t.

Thinking about the plunge. The sensation of falling. Stomach dropping, G-forces rippling his face, tearing at his eyes, his clothes. Attempting to rip him apart before he inevitably strikes the ground at hundreds of miles per hour.

And after the impact, darkness. The end.

Yet that can’t happen.

As the stewardess hands him his peanuts, he returns his attention to page twenty-three of the financial report he owes his boss when he lands.

He pours himself a drink. A four and a half hour flight with two-hour delay, three hours to his office because of traffic, twenty minutes of listening to his boss yell at him because he’s such a failure and another hour home.

Drinking his scotch, his mind returns to the row. The sensation that almost overwhelmed him. That almost forced him to leap from thirty thousand feet. That almost ended him.

Here it was again.

Dragging himself to the balcony he looks over the edge. The people seem so small and insignificant from his vantage point, as if they were ants, following their daily routines. He gazes up at the iconic statue, stationed in the harbor, which once welcomed his great-grandparents to the home of the brave.

He climbs up onto the railing; still undecided.

A flag whips about in the gust of wind.

And a woman screams.

title: This is a short story I wrote that I'm just looking for feedback on. It's called 'Exit Row'.

question: Who is the protagonist?

answer: He is someone who is having suicidal urges.

question: What was the little voice telling him while he was on the airplane?

answer: “Do it. Do it and let yourself go.”

question: Where does the story take place?

answer: It doesn't specifically say where, but it appears the narrator is in a high-rise apartment in New York, with a view of the harbor and the Statue of Liberty.

question: Did he jump off a balcony?

answer: He climbs onto the railing but was undecided. There could be another reason why the woman screamed.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: A man is on a plane, thinking about jumping off and plunging 30,000 feet to his death. The plane lands, he goes to the office and gets yelled at by his boss for being a failure. At home, he pours himself a drink and feels the urge to kill himself again. He goes to the balcony and climbs up the railing, still undecided. Then, a woman screams.


text:
ANTONIO JAVELLANA LEDESMA, SJ (born March 28, 1943) is a Filipino Roman Catholic clergyman who served as the Archbishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro in the Philippines from 2006 to 2020.[1]

Early life

Born on March 28, 1943, in Iloilo City, Philippines.[2] He spent his elementary years at St. Aloysius School and later at the Ateneo de Manila. Since then, he remained with the Ateneo until he finished his degree in History and Government, graduating _magna cum laude_ in 1963.[3]

He studied Philosophy and Theology at the Loyola House of Studies from 1966 to 1968 and from 1970 to 1973, respectively. He attained his master's degree in Political Science from the University of the Philippines. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the United States, completing his doctorate in Development in 1980.[4]

Ministry

Priesthood

On May 30, 1963, Ledesma entered the Society of Jesus. He was ordained priest on April 16, 1973.[5]

He served as an assistant parish priest in Siay, Zamboanga Sibugay from 1980 to 1981. From 1982 to 1996, he worked as a professor and was assigned to various positions in Xavier University. He taught Sociology, Economics, and Religious studies.[6]

  Position                   Term of Office   Organization
  -------------------------- ---------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------
  Dean                       1984-1994        College of Agriculture, Xavier University
  Director                   1984-1994        Southeast Asia Rural Social Leadership Institute
  Director                   1984-1996        Xavier University College of Agriculture – Manresa Farm Complex
  Executive Vice President   1984-1996        Xavier Science Foundation
  Executive Vice President   1994-1996        Xavier University
  Dean                       1994-1996        College of Arts and Sciences, Xavier University

During the same period, he sat as chairman of different societies and non-governmental organizations.[7]

  Position   Term of Office   Organization
  ---------- ---------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Chairman   1985-1986        Philippine Sociology Society
  Chairman   1985-1990        Philippine Partnership for the Development Of Human Resources in Rural Areas
  Chairman   1984-1996        Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development
  Chairman   1994             Philippine Agrarian Reform Foundation for National Development

Episcopal

Pope John Paul II appointed Ledesma as Coadjutor Prelate of Ipil on June 13, 1996.[8][9] He succeeded Federico O. Escaler as the Prelate of Ipil on June 28, 1997.

On March 4, 2006, he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro. During his reign, he has led the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines as Chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Inter-religious Dialogue since 2009.[10][11] He has convened local religious leaders in inter-religious dialogues on different social issues.[12] In the aftermath of Typhoon Sendong and in the absence of local government leadership, he led the multi-sectoral relief effort to address the needs of calamity victims.[13]

During the 2016 Philippine Presidential Elections, he wrote a pastoral letter calling out presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte for his inaction on the rising number of extrajudicial killings in Davao City where the latter was mayor.[14] One month into the presidency of eventual winner Duterte, Ledesma made a call to stop extrajudicial killings. He said:[15]

Ledesma has also supported efforts to resolve Mindanao's protracted struggle with Muslim separatists. He has spoken and advocated for the Bangsamoro Basic Law.[16]

On June 23, 2020, Pope Francis accepted his resignation as Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro and was succeeded by then-Malaybalay Bishop Jose Cabantan.

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title: Antonio Ledesma

question: What does the article say about Antonio Ledesma's ethics?

answer: The article mentions his role as an academic and his involvement with the Catholic church. The latter occupation involves Ledesma's attempts to establish inter-faith dialogue and his leading of the multi-sectoral relief efforts for Typhoon Sendong's victims. He also campaigned for stopping extrajudicial killings in Davao City.

question: What does the article say about Judaism?


text:
John Snatch. Given name: Johnny Snatch. John Snatch sounds more professional though.

John worked in an office downtown. The office was on the third floor of
what used to be a grain storage building or something like that. John didn't care too much for the specifics, and certainly didn't pay much attention during the tour on his first day. He didn't even know the name of the offices above and below his.

Like him, his coworkers were young subscribers to the current urban fads and had certain sensitivities to the nonchalant method of doing things. Indie music that wasn't so indie anymore could often be heard throughout his office. No one wore khakis to work. A generation with an appreciation for themselves.
	His job was relatively unimportant, but necessary nonetheless. John was a secretary, and had his explanation for the peculiar job down pat. "Just trying to break those gender barriers," John would say, adding in a half-hearted attempt at a laugh. The truth was that John didn't care much for any job he could occupy his time with. He saw a certain level of the superficial in just about everything he did now. A somewhat nihilistic and apathetic attitude embraced him most of the time. He didn't understand why everyone couldn't just slow down.

Our story sets its self on the twenty-fifth of September, a day with a temperature of about 60 degrees. John walked out of his measly apartment, a paperback book tucked under his arm and messenger bag over his shoulder. He wore a white oxford shirt with an olive green sweater vest on top -the sleeves were half rolled up his forearm- his pants were brown and his shoes a different shade of the color. John had not opened his red and white paper back book in three days, but carried it along with him in unrecognized hopes that he could tell someone about it. He was about half way through, and mildly enjoyed the story. John's vocabulary was wide enough to make the plot seem much more interesting that it was, anyways.

On the bus, John found the usual urge to listen to music off of his mobile phone absent. Today was an overcast day, a day to stare out of the window of your bus silently as if you're conceptualizing your new novel, or maybe considering the human condition by forcing the rain in to some complex metaphor for which it was never intended. John exited a stop early and unconsciously decided to not go in to work that day.

The stop happened to be in front of an old, yet hip (by the new definition) bookstore and coffee shop. John had never noticed it before, but ducked in for no particular reason. He ordered his coffee, a mocha, no whipped cream, and walked around the bookstore. John dodged the regular titles found at all stores that at least turn a regular profit, catering to the likes of teenagers that needed a copy of Crime and Punishment with a foreword that would write their reports for them. John immediately looked for the most dust covered shelf.

On it, John found an odd assortment of literature, they were not in alphabetical order, nor in any order of genre or style. Not by color, size, rating, rarity. Although, something about many of them spiked familiarity in John. He picked up a book titled "Amy Rhinehart, the girl." This was odd. The girl in cubicle twenty-two was named Amy Rhinehart. He guessed it was an odd enough named to be used in a book. He opened to the first page. "Amy Rhinehart was born on the seventeenth of June, 1982." John looked up from the book, starting in to the shelves who, if by some sort of magic could transform in to a mirror, John would have seen the most puzzled look that ever wrote itself upon a man's face. Amy Rhinehart -the real one, from the office- was born June 17, 1982. He had read it in a personnel file just a day before. Surely he had misread.

Nope. The paper in front of him still printed the same thing he had seen moments before. "Odd." John thought. He put the book on the shelf, not wanting to scare himself any farther. He scanned the rows again, and as if by some spell saw a book titled, "Rob Snatch." His father's name. John couldn't help but express his confusion audibly. John began to reach for the novel, but before his hand could grasp its target, his eye found a new obsession. "The Mild Adventures of Johnny Snatch."

John asked the price of the book. It wasn't for sale. John stared at the cover for a moment, and opened the cover with the anticipation of a pirate, finding his lost gold contained in a chest within the bowels of a cave. John saw no text in this book, instead, he found a pen secured in a cut out of the pages. He picked the pen up, and while examining it, did not notice that the cutout ceased to exist. John looked back at the book, his mind was as blank as the pages before him.

The book wasn't for sale.
John ran out of the store, book and all.
No one stopped him.

title: First short story, 'John.' Feedback is greatly appreciated!

question: Summarize surprises in the plot.

answer: On his way to work on an overcast day, John subconsciously decides not to go into work and gets off the bus one stop early. He ducked into an old, yet hip bookstore, ordered coffee and looked for the most dust covered shelf. He found an odd assortment of literature that felt familiar to John. The first book he picked up was about a girl that worked with him, the second book he reached for was about his dad. Then his eye caught a book entitled 'The Mild Adventures of Johnny Snatch'. The book wasn't for sale and contained only blank pages and a pen. In John's eyes this was a treasure, he ran out of the bookstore with the book.

question: Summarize how John Snatch changes over the course of the story.

answer: John starts a new job as secretary but he has little interest in work. One morning after leaving his apartment on an overcast day, he unconsciously decides not to go to work, gets off the bus a stop early and visits a hip bookstore. He finds familiar titles on a dust-covered shelf. The first one he is drawn to is about his colleague, the next one about his dad and the third about his own mild adventures. He decides to take the book, even though it is not for sale and leaves the bookstore in a hurry.

question: Summarize the plot of the paperback John has tucked under his arm.

question: What does the story say about John and his coworkers?

answer: John and his coworkers were young subscribers to the current fads, a generation with appreciation of themselves. They listened to indie music that wasn't indie anymore. John didn't care about his job, he wished everyone would slow down. He took great care of his appearance, wearing the right clothes in the right way and even accessorizing with a paperback to evoke conversation.


text:
[]

If you ever wonder "Is it really ok to be LGBTQ and Christian" or you could use some more resources to feel solid in your understanding—and ability to share with others—you are not alone.

We put together a 7-Day series offering you the very best support and guidance so that you can know and believe that God loves and affirm LGBTQ people (our bodies and sexualities most definitely included).

Whether you're struggling to accept yourself, you have a friend or family member who you want to love but don't know if you can "accept," or if you could just use a little extra info so that you can feel more secure in conversations about LGBTQ Christian issues, this series is a great place for you to start.

[]

We're gonna cover...

   - Feeling confused and isolated
   - What to do with doubts and questions
   - How you can know "what the Bible says" and where God's heart is on this
   - What to do when others don't understand you
   - Where to find others like you + supportive community
   - How heaven and hell fits into all of this
   - And what might come next in deepening your faith and continuing on your journey of exploring LGBTQ issues in Christianity

Two short responses

We get emails every day from folks who have been helped by our resources. Here's two super short ones.

You have no idea how much this is helping me! I have been trying to look for something like this for a year.

Thank you so much!!

Thank you Brian!!! What I just read is powerful and I believe anointed. Keep up the good work!!!

Jay

Witchita, Kansas, USA

question: What does the 7-Day series offer?

answer: It offers the very best support and guidance so that people can know and believe that God loves and affirms LGBTQ people.

question: What are some of the topics the series is going to cover?

answer: It is going to cover what to do with doubts and questions, how heaven and hell fits into all this, and what to do when others don't understand you.

question: What journey is being described here?

answer: The journey of exploring LGBTQ issues in Christianity is being described.

question: What question is asked that describes the premise of the series?

answer: The question of "is it really ok to be LGBTQ and Christian" is asked and describes the premise of the series.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This article discusses a series for people who are LGBQT and Christian and are needing support to navigate this journey they are in. The series covers a lot of important topics and questions one may have.


text:
The room was barren, the grey tweed carpet covered in stains from years of abuse. The banal paint slowly inching itself from the walls, revealing a dark hole that was covered. In the middle of it was a chair, next to it a lamp. Between the two was a woman, standing, talking. In the chair, a man, the darkness of the room covering most of his body and face. The lamp illuminated but a part of him, revealing little.
“I’m tired of here,” said the man.
“Where’s here?” replied the woman.
“Here”
“But what is here?” she said, crossing her arms.
“Nothing”
“There’s the lamp, chair, carpet, and the paint”
“Barely”
The low hum of the lamp extended throughout the room, penetrating the surrounding area.
“Well what do you mean?” the woman asked.
“The paint, it’s barely there, just look at it.”
She walked over to the hole, the paint and plaster covering the hole was fading and chipping away, a deep, dark hole residing where there should be a hole.
“You could just fix it.” thought the woman.
“But you can’t” said the man, slouching further into the chair, the smoke of his freshly lit cigarette obscuring the light around him.
“Why not?” asked the woman.
“It’s not something you just fix, it’s a process.” Explained the man
“I don’t quite understand”
“You have to cover it, heal it with the plaster, then repaint it and hope it’s okay.”
“So why don’t you just do that?” she asked him.
“That’s hard, and it’s never quite right once it’s done, never the same.” he said, taking a drag from his smoke.
“Is that why you wont fix it? Because it won’t be the same?” she exclaimed.
“Yes.”
The sun drew further below the window line, the room growing darker with each passing minute. It felt like an eternity as the clock in the corner inched towards the hour. Each moment he spent with her made the minutes pass longer, the ashes falling from his cigarette fell slower towards the ground.
“Why can’t you just do it, it’s simple enough, all you have to do is patch it and paint it.”
“It’s never that simple, it never has been that simple.” he told her.
“I’m tired of this, I’m leaving now, don’t bother coming after me.” She said, walking towards the door.
It slammed shut, the sun now gone; the clock struck the hour, ringing throughout the room. The light of his smoke diminished, the bulb in the lamp flickering fast and then slow. He fell further into his seat, left alone in his sea of consciousness.

title: The Hole in the Wall

question: How are the man and the woman related to each other?

answer: It is implied that the man and woman live together in the room. The time they have lived together seems long as the carpet has been through years of abuse. Their conversation hints that they are together in a romantic relationship.

question: What is their conversation about?

answer:
On the surface, most of the conversation appears to be about a technical problem: there is a hole in the wall. The woman asks about the technical details about fixing it and the man answers her how it can be done. When asked why he does not do something that sounds simple, the man explains that it is not as simple as the woman assumes it to be. The conversation ends with the woman leaving.

It appears that the entire narrative may be a metaphor for how some couples are unable to resolve their issues with one another -which is what the conversation is truly about.

question: Where did the issue begin?

answer:
It appears that the hole has been there for a while, the eventual result of the wall slowly getting worn out. It appears to be symbolic of a long neglected issue that has been festering between the couple.

The actual point of conversation that begins the whole exchange of dialogue begins with the man expressing his discontent at being where he is right now. It is never confirmed if he meant the room or his being with the woman, since his answer to where "here" was, he mentioned there was nothing there. So this can be interpreted as the issue with the man resigning to give up.

question: The narrative states "where there should be a hole", what is the significance of the deep, dark hole which replaces the regular hole?

answer: Without any metaphors, it is possible that the narrative implies a unique phenomenon is occurring in the wall -such as a gateway to another dimension, or a singularity, or a magical portal to an abyss. Metaphorically speaking, it is possibly the narrative's way to remind the reader that the story is mostly symbolic instead of literal.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The woman points out to the man that there is hole in the wall that needs to be fixed. The man refuses, saying that even if fixed, the wall will never be the same. The woman cannot accept that the man refuses to fix something that looks simple to her, and the man tells her it is not as simple as she thinks it is. She leaves and the man stays behind, lost in his thoughts.


text:
I walk up the cold steps. My heart beating hard, fast, feeling like it’s about to leap out of my chest. I don’t want to be here, why am I here. I could turn around right now, TURN AROUND NOW! The thought goes through my head. Panic fleeing through every nerve in my body. My senses strain, every sensation increased tenfold. The abstract buildings tower over me as I walk through the crowded, malodorous street full of strangers that I have never seen before; looking me up and down as if I am some sort of awkward monstrosity that isn't supposed to set feet on this universe. My head feels as if it is about to explode with anxiety streaming into my mind. I just feel wrong in this world, I don't belong here.
After realising I should be pacingly walking towards nowhere whilst thoughts of depression race through my dark soulless skull, I snap back into realisation and come to notice that I am just standing still. In the middle of a huge crowd. What is wrong with me? Am I too engrossed in my own restless thoughts that I don't even realise what I'm doing in this world? I am such an idiot! I must look like a horrific zombie thats to lazy to do anything. Okay, so I just need to put my head down and start walking again, is it really that hard? I start thinking to myself. So I did exactly that. My face goes red as a cherry which is just about to be picked by a young, tired farmer who I hope hates life as much as I do. I sometimes think to myself: is there anyone else in this ghostly world who hates life as much as I do?
Theres not much wrong in my life, it could be much worse. I could be starving in Africa or I could be orphaned at the age of 5. But everything is fine: My parents haven't split up, I'm an only child, school is pretty good apart from the bitchy girls that go around talking maliciously about young, sweet, living-life-to-the-fullest teenagers. I think I just dramatize my life. Even though I have to take about six-thousand different types of medication every meaningless morning to try and make me happy. It never really works.
It's four in the afternoon of a chilly winters day; by now I am normally heading my way towards the sweet, cozy, coffee smelling Starbucks resturant but I don't feel like nervously waiting in line with my heart in my mouth whilst my hands tremble just for a delectable bevarege which I normally have on a wreckless week day after a drowsy time at school. So instead, I decide to get on the cranky public bus which I have to walk a few busy streets and then turn left to get to my bus stop.
My whole body quivers in nerves whilst I stand up next to the some-what cheerful, to-old-to-drive bus driver. I noiselessly try to order my single child bus ticket (to Satan's palace, please) but instead, I got harmlessly interrupted-
''sorry ma'am? I didn't quite catch that'' the bus driver excused
no no no no no no no no no
Instead of answering him I manage to make it such an awkward situation for me and this cheerful bus driver, that I decide and just walk off the bus! Yes, I actually just walked off the bus! What the heck is wrong with me?! I could of just said it a bit louder and it wouldn't of been a problem!

title: Isolation Short Story

question: What is going on with this person?

answer: It seems they are having a panic attack.

question: Where are they?

answer: About to board a bus, and then, boarding a bus.

question: Why don't they try medication?

answer: They have; it hasn't worked.

question: How old is the narrator?

answer: Still young enough to get a children's bus ticket.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator has a panic attack in a crowd. They attempt to board a bus, but when the bus driver can't hear their request for a single child bus ticket, their nerves get to them and they leave.


text:
    _For namesakes, see Pal_

PAL is a town and former princely state in Gujarat, western India.

History

Pal was a Fifth Class princely state, comprising four more villages, covering twenty-two square miles in Halar _prant_ of Western Kathiawar.

It had a combined population of 1,359 in 1901, yielding a state revenue of 17,836 Rupees (1903-4, over half from land), paying a tribute of 1,647 Rupees to the British and Junagarh State.

title: Pal, Gujarat

question: What is a princely state?

answer: It can be seen that this town paid tribute to the British and Junagarh State. This is probably what made them a princely state: Independent, but paying tribute.

question: What is a fifth order princely state?

answer: The order of the princely state could be derived from the size and population of the district.

question: What percentage of revenue was paid as tribute?

answer: 9.5% of the state revenue was paid to British and Junagarh State as tribute.

question: How many villages is there in the Pal princely state?

answer: There are 5 villages in total, including Pal.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Pal is a town in India. Historically, it was a fifth order princely state paying tribute to the British and Junagarh State.


text:
The 1966 ANTI-IGBO POGROM was a series of massacres committed against Igbo people and other people of southern Nigerian origin living in northern Nigeria starting in May 1966 and reaching a peak after 29 September 1966.[1] Between 8,000 and 30,000 Igbos and easterners have been estimated to have been killed. A further 1 million Igbos fled the Northern Region into the East. in response to the killings some northerners were massacred in Port Harcourt and other eastern cities.[2] These events led to the secession of the eastern Nigerian region and the declaration of the Republic of Biafra, which ultimately led to the Nigeria-Biafra war.

Background

The events took place in the context of military coups d'etat and in the prelude to the Nigerian Civil War.[3] The immediate precursor to the massacres was the January 1966 Nigerian coup d'etat led mostly by young Igbo officers.[4] Most of the politicians and senior army officers killed by them were northerners because Northerners were the majority in Nigeria's government ,[5] including the Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Ahmadu Bello the Sardauna of Sokoto. The coup was opposed by other senior army officers. An Igbo officer, Aguiyi-Ironsi stopped the coup in Lagos while another Igbo officer, Emeka Ojukwu stopped the coup in the north. Aguiyi-Ironsi then assumed power, forcing the civilian government to cede authority.[6] He established a military government led by himself as supreme commander .[7] In the months following the coup it was widely noted that four of the five army Majors who executed the coup were Igbo and that the General who took over power was also Igbo. Northerners feared that the Igbo had set out to take control of the country. In a response action Northern officers carried out the July 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in which 240 Southern members of the army were systematically killed, three-quarters of them Igbo,[8] as well as thousands of civilians of southern origin living in the north.[9] In the aftermath Yakubu Gowon, a northerner, assumed command of the military government.[10] In this background increased ethnic rivalries led to further massacres.[11]

The massacres were widely spread in the north and peaked on the 29 May, 29 July and 29 September 1966. By the time the pogrom ended, virtually all Igbos of the North were dead, hiding among sympathetic Northerners or on their way to the Eastern region. The massacres were led by the Nigerian Army and replicated in various Northern Nigerian cities. Although Colonel Gowon was issuing guarantees of safety to Southern Nigerians living in the North, the intention of a large portion of the Nigerian army at the time was genocidal as was the common racist rhetoric among Tiv, Idoma, Hausa and other Northern Nigerian tribes. With the exception of few Northern Nigerians (mainly army officers who were not convinced that Igbo were innately evil),[12] the Southern and Eastern Nigerians were generally regarded at the time in the North of Nigeria as described by Charles Keil:

Northern Nigerians were however also targeted in the Igbo dominated Eastern Nigeria.[13] Thousands of Hausas, Tiv and other Northern Tribes were massacred by Igbo mobs, forcing a mass exodus of Northerners from the Eastern Region.[14]

One factor that led to the hostility toward Southern Nigerians in general and Igbo in particular was the attempt by the Aguiyi Ironsi regime to abolish regionalisation in favor of a unitary system of government which was regarded as a plot to establish Igbo domination in the Federation. On 24 May 1966 Ironsi issued a unitary decree, which led to an explosion of attacks against the Igbo in Northern Nigeria on 29 May 1966. The British press was unanimous in its conviction at the time that these 29 May killings were organized and not spontaneous. The Ironsi regime was also perceived to have been favoring Southern Nigerians in the appointment to key positions in government, thus heightening the inter ethnic rivalries.[15]

The failure of the Ironsi regime to punish the army mutineers responsible for the January 1966 coup further exacerbated the situation.[16] The May 1966 pogrom was carried out by rampaging mobs with the connivance of local government.[17] The unprofessional attitude of some elements of the international press are also known to have added to the existing tension. J.D.F. Jones, the diplomatic correspondent of the Financial Times had on 17 January 1966 already predicted that the Northerners might “already have begun to take revenge for the death of their leader the Sardauna of Sokoto on the large number of Igbo who live in the North”, which at the time they were not doing. This has been criticized as an irresponsible and for a journalist unprofessional, self-fulfilling prophecy which would lead the Northern elite to assume that the Financial Times was in possession of information that they were not aware of, and that the world expected the North to react in this way.[18] Later tactics were engineered by Northern elites to provoke violence such as fabricated news stories submitted to radio Cotonou and relayed by the Hausa service of the BBC detailing exaggerated attacks against Northerners in the East, which led to the furious killings of Eastern Nigerians on 29 September 1966.[19]

According to British newspaper reports at the time, about 30,000 Igbo were killed in September 1966,[20] while more conservative estimates put the casualties at between ten and thirty thousand for that month. This spree of killings carried on into early October and was carried out by civilians sometimes aided by army troops and swept the entire north. It has been described as the most painful and provocative incident leading to the Nigeria-Biafra War.[21]

Aftermath

The pogroms led to the mass movement of Igbo and other Eastern Nigerians back to Eastern Nigeria (it is estimated that more than one million Igbos returned to the eastern region). It also was the precursor to Ojukwu's declaration of Eastern Nigeria's secession from the federation as the Republic of Biafra, and the resulting Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), which Biafra lost.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6] _Gamji.com_ “Operation Aure”.

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

title: 1966 anti-Igbo pogrom

question: What resulted from the 1966 Ant-Igbo Pogrom?

answer: Between 8,000 and 30,000 Igbos and easterners were killed in the massacre. One million Igbos fled to the Norther Region. Some Northerners were killed in several eastern cities in response to the massacre. The eastern Nigerian region seceded calling it the Republic of Biafra. This ultimately led the the Nigeria-Biafra war.

question: What caused the massacre?

answer: There was a coup d'etat in Nigeria in January 1966. The leaders of the coup were almost all Igbo officers. Northerner held the lion's share of government positions so most of the government officials and senior military officials killed were northerners. The civilian government had to concede to the military government that took over. Northerns feared that the Igbo would take control and so they carried out a counter-coup and slayed southern soldiers, most of the Igbo.

question: What unexpected external factor exacerbated the murders?

answer: The unprofessional conduct of journalists from the international press added to the existing tension. JDF Jones of the Financial Times predicted in January that the Northerners may already have started taking revenge for their dead leader which, in fact, they hadn't done. This lead the Northern elite to believe that the press had information of which they were unaware so they took action.

question: What was the root cause of the initial coup?


text:
Several items on DONALD TRUMP’S Make America Great Again agenda have suffered setback after setback in Congress as Republicans fight amongst themselves over policy details. Nearly nine months into the Trump administration, Obamacare remains intact, tax reform is in doubt, and an amnesty bill for undocumented immigrants who arrived as children is, shockingly, a legislative possibility. Much of the blame falls on Trump himself, whose leadership consists of making shiny promises and leaving the details to Capitol Hill for Congress to sort out. But at an R.N.C. donor event Tuesday, NICK AYERS, MIKE PENCE’S “sharp-elbowed” chief of staff, told a group of deep-pocketed G.O.P. donors that the hold-up was all Congress’s fault—or at least the fault of specific members of Congress who’ve opposed the president.

With the 2018 midterms looming, Ayers argued that, as a strategic move, donors should refuse to back candidates who buck Trump. “Just imagine the possibilities . . . if our entire party unifies behind him,” he said, according to an audio recording obtained by Politico. “If—and this sounds crass—we can purge the handful of people who continue to work to defeat him.”

Generally, any anti-Congress sentiment inside the Trump administration zeroes in on MITCH MCCONNELL and PAUL RYAN, whose repeated failures to pass meaningful bills have turned Trump against them. But Ayers suggested that anyone was fair game:

  “I’m not speaking on behalf of the president or vice president when I say this,” Ayers responded. “But if I were you, I would not only stop donating, I would form a coalition of all the other major donors, and just say two things. We’re definitely not giving to you, number one. And number two, if you don’t have this done by Dec. 31, we’re going out, we’re recruiting opponents, we’re maxing out to their campaigns, and we’re funding super PACs to defeat all of you.”

The strategy promoted by Ayers—who Pence swears wasn’t brought on to firm up his own presidential credentials—seems like a long shot. To successfully “purge” the nonbelievers, donors would have to find a way to oppose Republicans across the ideological spectrum, from the moderate LISA MURKOWSKI and SUSAN COLLINS, to the piously conservative TED CRUZ and RAND PAUL, even to the radical House Freedom Caucus, led by MARK MEADOWS. All of these Republicans have, at one point or another, tanked the Trump agenda. But the real message may have been in Ayers’s willingness to throw members of Congress—most of whom regard Pence as an ally within the Trump administration—under the bus. His doom-and-gloom predictions (“we’re on track to get shellacked next year”) might’ve been hyperbole, but his message was loud and clear: in the White House, animosity toward Congress is coming to a head.

question: Who is Nick Ayers

answer: The 'sharp-elbowed' chief of staff of Mike Pence. Ayers spoke to some G.O.P. donors during an R.N.C. event

question: What issue did Ayers want to address?

answer: Ayers wanted to focus on the issue about Donald Trump's promises not being fulfilled.

question: What is the cause of the issue?

answer: According to Ayers, the issue is caused by members of the congress who are against Trump. They prevent certain bills from being passed.

question: What did Ayers say to the donors?

answer: He said they should stop supporting the members of congress who are against Trump.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: According to Nick Ayers, G.O.P. donors should stop supporting members of the congress who are against Trump. In doing so, the bills that would accomplish Trumps promises will be passed instead of being stopped in congress.


text:
In front of him, was a cave, not a cavern or a tunnel, it was a cave.
Inside this cave there wasn't much to see, some rocks, slimy walls and a little puddle in the middle.
He could make do with this...
He shouldered his tools and his assortment of wares and carried them inside, where he laid down a bear skin, to cover some of the ground before he got to work.
										***
Now I should explain who HE is, the fellow I am writing about is a dwarf, not very tall, heavily bearded and incredibly proficient with an axe and I don't mean a dainty little wood cutting axe either..
His name was Nort, Son of none, He was found left in the middle of an Orc stronghold where they took pity on the child and raised him as best they could.
Now you might think Orcs to be horrible creatures of death and violence, but that is only true to a certain extent, yes they love a good sword fight or bare knuckle brawl, but they are also musicians, great smiths and steadfast workers and the young Dwarven child grew up with all these influences.
										***
Nort had no father so to speak, the Orc Chief was as close as he got and that wasn't bad; but there were no shortage of maternal figures in the stronghold.
There was Grishna who taught the boy to cook and how to hold down his ale, and Bari who showed him how to smith great weapons or dainty trinkets and his "Mother" was the chief's wife, V'ara
she taught him how to conquer his fears, how to write, read and speak, and how to make his way in the world.

Now this stronghold wasn't exactly reachable by many traders, so the boy had little knowledge of the outside, sometimes a traveler would come and seek lodging for a night
and the boy would be treated to stories of excitement and danger, these are Nort's favorite stories..
										***
Nort knew he wasn't an Orc, he was many things but he wasn't an idiot, And he didn't care about who he was; it was all about who he was going to be.
He was going to become a master smith in a great city, creating weapons and masterpieces everyday, and Bari knew he could do so...
On his 18th finding day, that's what they called his birthday considering they didn't know when it actually was, He asked the Chief if he could leave the stronghold to set out on his own, many other orcs had done the same and he didn't expect to stay there forever and the chief knew it too, "My son" boomed the Chief. "You have proven skilled in your craft and I am proud of you, I know that your wish is to leave, and I shall grant that wish, just know that you are always welcome here and you will forever be kin to the Orcs".
To which the Chief pulled out a box from his table and passed it to him, "Inside is two things, First a bag of gold and silver for your travels and second is an amulet smithed by my Grandfather many moons ago, He gave it to my father when he fell in love with a Human girl, my mother, so that she would be accepted by the Orcs wherever she went and would always have protection from them.
Now I give it to you, so that you may always find family with Orc kind". And with those words spoken, the great gates were hauled open and Nort was on his way into the world, with a small pony and a pack full of supplies.
										***
Nort heaved his pack and pulled his pony into the cave; out of the snow and wind outside before settling down to make a fire inside a circle of stones he had collected.
He got his tinder and he found a good piece of flint which he struck with his knife to make a spark and suddenly there was flame, good, warm flame!
He'd had enough of travelling through that piercing wind and freezing snow, he needed his feet warmed and his belly full.
The only thing now was the belly filling, what did he have left? Some nuts and berries, vegetation he'd scrounged from the wilderness and a small piece of beaver meat that he'd caught by the water's edge
"Stew it is" Mumbled Nort as he hung a pot above the fire and filled it with snow to make water, before throwing in the greens and the nuts, he decided the pony could have the berries so he held his hand put towards the mare, "here you go girl, eat up".
Next he chopped the beaver into chunks and tossed it into the pot, before adding a little salt from a pouch around his neck, and it was done, he had a meal for tonight, but he'd need more tomorrow...
The wind was picking up, but the vines he'd pulled down across the entrance were doing a good job of keeping the snow out so he scraped the fire to the back of the cave and gave it more fuel before curling up in his cloak and going to sleep.

What do you think? I got bored and decided to write a little...

title: A story I've started writing, any thoughts?

question: What does the story say about Orcs?

answer: They are considered to be violent creatures by most people, but that's only a surface-level interpretation. The Orcs who find the narrator seem to be caring and kind. They do their best to raise a creature of another species and treat him as one of their own. By the time the narrator grows up wanting to leave, we also see that they can be very generous.

question: What does the story say about Elves?

question: What does the story say about the narrator?

answer: The narrator is a Dwarf named Bari who was raised by Orcs as a child. He's a talented smith who knows how to use an ax. He's aware of his species but knows that the Orcs treated him like family. He wants to set out to the world to prove his mettle as a great smith, and he's sent with the good wishes and generous gifts of his father-figure, the Orc chieftain.

question: Summarize the setting of the story.

answer: We learn that different species are inhabiting the world, at least Orcs and Dwarves. The Orcs of this setting are capable of art and culture, and they are capable of kindness enough to raise a Dwarven child as one of theirs. There are great cities in the world. The narrator travels in wintertime and has vegetables, which means the world goes through seasons. There are also traveling traders, and trade is facilitated with gold and silver.

question: Summarize the narrator's travels.

answer: The narrator, raised by Orcs and traveling with their chieftain's blessing and gifts, wants to go to a great city. He aims to become a great smith and craft masterworks. To do so, he sets out in the wintertime. We see him reach a cave to lodge for the day. He has scant supplies left, but it seems that some small hunting creatures are available.


text:
i wrote this for class and my teacher said i should post it online...REDDIT TO THE RESCUEEE

Exhaust

by Reines

	The autumn leaves. They spiral down like ballerinas from their wooden grip and land in the gentle mud. The soft earth embraces the trees fallen sons and daughters and shares with them their blessing. The blessing of not knowing how to feel. They don't know what it's like to wallow endlessly through the caverns of their own minds, the only glow being their mortification. Or have the memories that were once tucked away deep in the pockets of their skull rip out like vultures escaping the hellfire.

                            It's her birthday today.

	I stare up at the desert of leaves above me. They stare back. The cool breeze breathes through the forest and carries my exhaled breath with it. I sit up.
	“It's gonna rain,” I say looking over at Samuel, the bottle of whiskey in my hand held tight, the revolver resting on my lap. “Yep. Gonna rain. I can always tell.” I laugh. “Let's go.”
	Samuel stands up and walks towards me. He rests his head on my shoulder before giving me a huge lick on my cheek, his tail wagging ferociously behind him.
	Standing up, I take the last swig of the bottle before hurling it into the wooden crowd. I tug on my plaid shirt, grab the gun, and pet Samuel on the head. He tries to lick my hand.
	“Good boy,” I say. He really is. We got him together, Sandra and I. It was the first thing we did together. Well, the first thing we did after we got married. The second thing we did was break each others' hearts.
	One year. That's all it took to unveil the carnival of our doubts, troubles and demons. Our illustrations of a white picket fence were crumpled up like our noses along with the dreams of  conceiving anything innocent. The dreams of ever becoming a family. What was once a fortune of photo album smiles and rays of laughter were quickly dissolved into silent dinner conversations and lonely love making.

                           She left me.

	The brisk wind causes my hair to cackle and wave like fire, causing some of the leaves I gathered to flutter off the ground. Samuel smells something familiar. Something so recognizable that he starts to whine and slowly sniffs his way to the leaf pile. He digs, claws and eventually...finds her foot.
	I point the revolver at the dog.
	“For what it's worth Samuel, you should probably let her be.”
	A deep laugh takes the taste of whiskey off of my breath. Samuel stares at me, tail wagging, but he knows I'm serious. He's seen this gun before. His eyes drift to the foot, and then back at me. Deep, he stares, almost unrecognizable. Lost and confused, like when you realize your slimy, arrogant brother's sleeping with your wife. But then his tongue flops out and he smiles.
	“I could never kill you,” I say. Instead, I run my fingers down the cooling barrel, staring at it like I'm looking at an assortment of stolen memories...echoing out my name. The end of the barrel kisses the bottom my chin. My grip tightens.
	“Life. As cold as the rivers that cascade through my heart.” I smile as Samuel walks towards me. “Ah, it's gonna rain boy. I can always tell.” Samuel lies down at my feet.

                                Will it hurt?

title: check out my 1 page story about a man, his only friend and his dead wife.

question: What caused the breakdown between the narrator and his wife?

answer: It was not quite clear in the passage, but the narrator alluded to personal problems, neurosis, and faults as the reasons why they started to drift apart. From there on, they stopped communicating and enjoying each other's bodies.

question: What made the narrator kill his wife?


text:
When American firms dominate a global market worth more than $70 billion a year, you’d expect to hear about it. Not so with the global arms trade. It’s good for one or two stories a year in the mainstream media, usually when the annual statistics on the state of the business come out.

It’s not that no one writes about aspects of the arms trade. There are occasional pieces that, for example, take note of the impact of U.S. weapons transfers, including cluster bombs, to Saudi Arabia, or of the disastrous dispensation of weaponry to U.S. allies in Syria, or of foreign sales of the costly, controversial F-35 combat aircraft. And once in a while, if a foreign leader meets with the president, U.S. arms sales to his or her country might generate an article or two. But the sheer size of the American arms trade, the politics that drive it, the companies that profit from it, and its devastating global impacts are rarely discussed, much less analyzed in any depth.

So here’s a question that’s puzzled me for years (and I’m something of an arms wonk): Why do other major U.S. exports — from Hollywood movies to Midwestern grain shipments to Boeing airliners — garner regular coverage while trends in weapons exports remain in relative obscurity? Are we ashamed of standing essentially alone as the world’s number one arms dealer, or is our Weapons “R” Us role such a commonplace that we take it for granted, like death or taxes?

The numbers should stagger anyone. According to the latest figures available from the Congressional Research Service, the United States was credited with more than half the value of all global arms transfer agreements in 2014, the most recent year for which full statistics are available. At 14 percent, the world’s second largest supplier, Russia, lagged far behind. Washington’s “leadership” in this field has never truly been challenged. The U.S. share has fluctuated between one-third and one-half of the global market for the past two decades, peaking at an almost monopolistic 70 percent of all weapons sold in 2011. And the gold rush continues. Vice Admiral Joe Rixey, who heads the Pentagon’s arms sales agency, euphemistically known as the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, estimates that arms deals facilitated by the Pentagon topped $46 billion in 2015, and are on track to hit $40 billion in 2016.

To be completely accurate, there is one group of people who pay remarkably close attention to these trends — executives of the defense contractors that are cashing in on this growth market. With the Pentagon and related agencies taking in “only” about $600 billion a year — high by historical standards but tens of billions of dollars less than hoped for by the defense industry — companies like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and General Dynamics have been looking to global markets as their major source of new revenue.

In a January 2015 investor call, for example, Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson was asked whether the Iran nuclear deal brokered by the Obama administration and five other powers might reduce tensions in the Middle East, undermining the company’s strategy of increasing its arms exports to the region. She responded that continuing “volatility” in both the Middle East and Asia would make them “growth areas” for the foreseeable future. In other words, no worries. As long as the world stays at war or on the verge of it, Lockheed Martin’s profits won’t suffer — and, of course, its products will help ensure that any such “volatility” will prove lethal indeed.

Under Hewson, Lockheed has set a goal of getting at least 25 percent of its revenues from weapons exports, and Boeing has done that company one better. It’s seeking to make overseas arms sales 30 percent of its business.

GOOD NEWS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST (IF YOU’RE AN ARMS MAKER)

Arms deals are a way of life in Washington. From the president on down, significant parts of the government are intent on ensuring that American arms will flood the global market and companies like Lockheed and Boeing will live the good life. From the president on his trips abroad to visit allied world leaders to the secretaries of state and defense to the staffs of U.S. embassies, American officials regularly act as salespeople for the arms firms. And the Pentagon is their enabler. From brokering, facilitating, and literally banking the money from arms deals to transferring weapons to favored allies on the taxpayers’ dime, it is in essence the world’s largest arms dealer.

In a typical sale, the U.S. government is involved every step of the way. The Pentagon often does assessments of an allied nation’s armed forces in order to tell them what they “need”—–and of course what they always need is billions of dollars in new U.S.-supplied equipment. Then the Pentagon helps negotiate the terms of the deal, notifies Congress of its details, and collects the funds from the foreign buyer, which it then gives to the U.S. supplier in the form of a defense contract. In most deals, the Pentagon is also the point of contact for maintenance and spare parts for any U.S.-supplied system. The bureaucracy that helps make all of this happen, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, is funded from a 3.5 percent surcharge on the deals it negotiates. This gives it all the more incentive to sell, sell, sell.

And the pressure for yet more of the same is always intense, in part because the weapons makers are careful to spread their production facilities to as many states and localities as possible. In this way, they ensure that endless support for government promotion of major arms sales becomes part and parcel of domestic politics.

General Dynamics, for instance, has managed to keep its tank plants in Ohio and Michigan running through a combination of add-ons to the Army budget — funds inserted into that budget by Congress even though the Pentagon didn’t request them — and exports to Saudi Arabia. Boeing is banking on a proposed deal to sell 40 F-18s to Kuwait to keep its St. Louis production line open, and is currently jousting with the Obama administration to get it to move more quickly on the deal. Not surprisingly, members of Congress and local business leaders in such states become strong supporters of weapons exports.

Though seldom thought of this way, the U.S. political system is also a global arms distribution system of the first order. In this context, the Obama administration has proven itself a good friend to arms exporting firms. During President Obama’s first six years in office, Washington entered into agreements to sell more than $190 billion in weaponry worldwide — more, that is, than any U.S. administration since World War II. In addition, Team Obama has loosened restrictions on arms exports, making it possible to send abroad a whole new range of weapons and weapons components — including Black Hawk and Huey helicopters and engines for C-17 transport planes — with far less scrutiny than was previously required.

This has been good news for the industry, which had been pressing for such changes for decades with little success. But the weaker regulations also make it potentially easier for arms smugglers and human rights abusers to get their hands on U.S. arms. For example, 36 U.S. allies — from Argentina and Bulgaria to Romania and Turkey — will no longer need licenses from the State Department to import weapons and weapons parts from the United States. This will make it far easier for smuggling networks to set up front companies in such countries and get U.S. arms and arms components that they can then pass on to third parties like Iran or China. Already a common practice, it will only increase under the new regulations.

The degree to which the Obama administration has been willing to bend over backward to help weapons exporters was underscored at a 2013 hearing on those administration export “reforms.” Tom Kelly, then the deputy assistant secretary of the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, caught the spirit of the era when asked whether the administration was doing enough to promote American arms exports. He responded:

  [We are] advocating on behalf of our companies and doing everything we can to make sure that these sales go through… and that is something we are doing every day, basically [on] every continent in the world… and we’re constantly thinking of how we can do better.

One place where, with a helping hand from the Obama administration and the Pentagon, the arms industry has been doing a lot better of late is the Middle East. Washington has brokered deals for more than $50 billion in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia alone for everything from F-15 fighter aircraft and Apache attack helicopters to combat ships and missile defense systems.

The most damaging deals, if not the most lucrative, have been the sales of bombs and missiles to the Saudis for their brutal war in Yemen, where thousands of civilians have been killed and millions of people are going hungry. Members of Congress like Michigan Representative John Conyers and Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy have pressed for legislation that would at least stem the flow of the most deadly of the weaponry being sent for use there, but they have yet to overcome the considerable clout of the Saudis in Washington (and, of course, that of the arms industry as well).

When it comes to the arms business, however, there’s no end to the good news from the Middle East. Take the administration’s proposed new 10-year aid deal with Israel. If enacted as currently planned, it would boost U.S. military assistance to that country by up to 25 percent—to roughly $4 billion per year. At the same time, it would phase out a provision that had allowed Israel to spend one-quarter of Washington’s aid developing its own defense industry. In other words, all that money, the full $4 billion in taxpayer dollars, will now flow directly into the coffers of companies like Lockheed Martin, which is in the midst of completing a multi-billion-dollar deal to sell the Israelis F-35s.

“VOLATILITY” IN ASIA AND EUROPE

As Lockheed Martin’s Marillyn Hewson noted, however, the Middle East is hardly the only growth area for that firm or others like it. The dispute between China and its neighbors over the control of the South China Sea (which is in many ways an incipient conflict over whether that country or the United States will control that part of the Pacific Ocean) has opened up new vistas when it comes to the sale of American warships and other military equipment to Washington’s East Asian allies. The recent Hague court decision rejecting Chinese claims to those waters (and the Chinese rejection of it) is only likely to increase the pace of arms buying in the region.

At the same time, in the good-news-never-ends department, growing fears of North Korea’s nuclear program have stoked a demand for U.S.-supplied missile defense systems. The South Koreans have, in fact, just agreed to deploy Lockheed Martin’s THAAD anti-missile system. In addition, the Obama administration’s decision to end the longstanding embargo on U.S. arms sales to Vietnam is likely to open yet another significant market for U.S. firms. In the past two years alone, the U.S. has offered more than $15 billion worth of weaponry to allies in East Asia, with Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea accounting for the bulk of the sales.

In addition, the Obama administration has gone to great lengths to build a defense relationship with India, a development guaranteed to benefit U.S. arms exporters. Last year, Washington and New Delhi signed a 10-year defense agreement that included pledges of future joint work on aircraft engines and aircraft carrier designs. In these years, the U.S. has made significant inroads into the Indian arms market, which had traditionally been dominated by the Soviet Union and then Russia. Recent deals include a $5.8 billion sale of Boeing C-17 transport aircraft and a $1.4 billion agreement to provide support services related to a planned purchase of Apache attack helicopters.

And don’t forget “volatile” Europe. Great Britain’s recent Brexit vote introduced an uncertainty factor into American arms exports to that country. The United Kingdom has been by far the biggest purchaser of U.S. weapons in Europe of late, with more than $6 billion in deals struck over the past two years alone—more, that is, than the U.S. has sold to all other European countries combined.

The British defense behemoth BAE is Lockheed Martin’s principal foreign partner on the F-35 combat aircraft, which at a projected cost of $1.4 trillion over its lifetime already qualifies as the most expensive weapons program in history. If Brexit-driven austerity were to lead to a delay in, or the cancellation of, the F-35 deal (or any other major weapons shipments), it would be a blow to American arms makers. But count on one thing: were there to be even a hint that this might happen to the F-35, lobbyists for BAE will mobilize to get the deal privileged status, whatever other budget cuts may be in the works.

On the bright side (if you happen to be a weapons maker), any British reductions will certainly be more than offset by opportunities in Eastern and Central Europe, where a new Cold War seems to be gaining traction. Between 2014 and 2015, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, military spending increased by 13 percent in the region in response to the Russian intervention in Ukraine. The rise in Poland’s outlays, at 22 percent, was particularly steep.

Under the circumstances, it should be obvious that trends in the global arms trade are a major news story and should be dealt with as such in the country most responsible for putting more weapons of a more powerful nature into the hands of those living in “volatile” regions. It’s a monster business (in every sense of the word) and certainly has far more dangerous consequences than licensing a Hollywood blockbuster or selling another Boeing airliner.

Historically, there have been rare occasions of public protest against unbridled arms trafficking, as with the backlash against “the merchants of death” after World War I, or the controversy over who armed Saddam Hussein that followed the 1991 Persian Gulf War.  Even now, small numbers of congressional representatives, including John Conyers, Chris Murphy, and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, continue to try to halt the sale of cluster munitions, bombs, and missiles to Saudi Arabia.

There is, however, unlikely to be a genuine public debate about the value of the arms business and Washington’s place in it if it isn’t even considered a subject worthy of more than an occasional media story. In the meantime, the United States continues to hold onto the number one role in the global arms trade, the White House does its part, the Pentagon greases the wheels, and the dollars roll in to profit-hungry U.S. weapons contractors.

_William D. Hartung, a_ TomDispatch _regular__, is the director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy and a senior advisor to the Security Assistance Monitor. He is the author of_ Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex_._

Copyright 2016 William D. Hartung

question: What are some of the potential implications for such widespread arms deals?

answer: A lot of volatile regions may develop into a cold-war kind of arms race with ever-intensifying stakes should actual war break out. The buyers may not be using the weapons and ammunition for a good purpose or responsibly, like the Saudis bombing civilians in Yemen. Finally, this kind of worldwide arms proliferation might both increase the chances for a third World War or, hopefully, ensure a tense peace under mutually assured destruction.

question: What are the moral considerations for the involved politicians? Are they doing good acts or not?

answer: They are prioritizing the profit, employment, and overall welfare of their national arms manufacturers above the lives of people who may be hurt by their unrestrained selling of weapons. A simple example is that of the civilians in Yemen who died because of the Saudi bombing, using U.S. sourced weapons and ammunition. While the responsibility may be brushed off, saying it was the Saudis who perpetrated the cruel acts, such widespread and reckless death wouldn't have been possible without the help from the U.S. A person who considers the world in a tribal sense of "us-vs-them" could see these politicians as doing good (only if they are on the side of the U.S.), but anyone with a broader scope of humane consideration would easily see it as evil.

question: Why would Barack Obama, a person awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, work so hard to reduce restrictions on arms deals?

answer: These kinds of awards aren't an essential part of a person's character. Since the Nobel Peace Prize is a lot more subjective than fields such as physics or chemistry, it's entirely possible to obtain such recognition through good personal relations and politicking. It's also possible that national politics required pragmatic decisions.

question: How does the future look for American arms makers?

answer: The author thinks that the future is bright for their bottom lines due to a lack of public awareness of the implications of these global arms deals. Additionally, the recent reduction in restrictions on who can buy with what limitations also means the future looks promising for the finances of arms makers.


text:
_VECTOR_ is a 2012 platform game developed by Cyprian studio Nekki.

Plot

In Vector, players take the role of a silhouette who is constantly being pursued by another silhouette, seemingly some form of enforcer for the system the player character breaks out of. The game does not have a long story apart from the introduction video which reveals that the player character is a man in an Orwellian dystopia, no longer able to bend to the will of his masters. He casts aside his mind-control device and his shirt, and leaps from his skyscraper prison, sprinting across rooftops toward the distant horizon. The game is not an “endless runner”. It is split into discrete levels rather than infinite randomly generated challenges, the players learn from their failures and find the best route to victory.

Reception

Damien McFerran of _Pocket Gamer_ rated the Android version 8/10 stars and wrote that _Vector_{{'}}s playability makes up for its lack of innovation.[1] Slide to Play, in their review of the iOS version, wrote, “_Vector_ is a fantastic free-running simulation with plenty to love”, though the reviewer described the gameplay as “a bit repetitive at times”.[2] Reviewing the Facebook version, Pete Davison of _Adweek_{{'}}s SocialTimes blog called it “an impressive game in all respects” but said it needs better social features.[3] Leif Johnson, who reviewed the Facebook version for Gamezebo, rated it 4/5 stars. Johnson described the gameplay as occasionally grindy but concluded that the game is “fun stuff, and much more challenging than your run-of-the mill Facebook fare.”[4] Cameron Woolsey of _GameSpot_ rated the PC version 7/10 stars and wrote that the game is “a fast-paced joyride” when it does annoy with its grind.[5]

Legacy

The game received a 2016 sequel titled _Vector 2_ that continues the storyline of the original. The protagonist from the first installment was eventually captured by security forces, but, instead of killing him, the antagonists decide to use his skills to test some new equipment in a secret research facility. When the protagonist dies, a new body is created for them.

Spinoffs

With the success of _Vector_, Nekki decided to create another game like it that used a silhouette as the main protagonist. That game became a fighting game titled _Shadow Fight_, released exclusively on Facebook in 2011. This spiritual successor to _Vector_ eventually became a trilogy, spawning two sequels that became available on iOS and Android in 2014 and 2017.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

title: Vector (video game)

question: What is the general reception to Vector?

answer: All mentioned reviewers think Vector's gameplay repetitive at times but fun to play and more challenging than its contemporaries.

question: Briefly describe Vector's gameplay.

answer: It's a mobile / Facebook platformer with handmade levels. The players are supposed to learn the levels through repetition and failure.

question: Summarize the plot of the entire Vector series.

answer: The player character casts aside his mind-control device and shirt, starting to sprint across rooftops toward the horizon in an Orwellian world. The protagonist is captured by the start of the second game. The antagonists decide to use his skill to test new equipment in a secret facility.

question: When was Shadow Fight 3 released?

answer: In 2017.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Vector is a 2012 platform game developed by Cyprian studio Nekki. The player character casts aside his mind-control device and shirt, starting to sprint across rooftops toward the horizon in an Orwellian world. The players are supposed to learn the levels through repetition and failure. The reviewers think Vector's gameplay is repetitive at times but fun to play and more challenging than its contemporaries.


text:
The ORIENTAL INSTITUTE was a British educational institution in Woking, Surrey, established by Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner. It was also occasionally called the ORIENTAL UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE.

History

The site of the Royal Dramatic College was purchased by Leitner in the spring of 1884. He immediately went about turning it into his idea of an Oriental Institute, decorating the interior with objects he had collected on his travels. Part of the building was turned into an Oriental Museum, said to have housed the most interesting collection of artefacts from the east in Britain, and it also contained an art collection.[1] The Institute remained relatively obscure locally, with Leitner once remarking that “There is no place in the world where the Institute and its publications are less known than in Surrey.”[2] In 1889, the Shah Jahan Mosque was founded, with funding from Sultan Shah Jahan, Begum of Bhopal, as a place for Muslim students of the Institute to worship when they were in Woking.[3]

It was hoped the Institute would achieve full university status, and by the 1890s it was awarding degrees accredited by the University of the Punjab in Lahore. Leitner intended it to be the academic centre for studies in this field - a role which was later taken on by the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, founded in 1916. Leitner began publishing six academic journals at the Institute, in Sanskrit, Arabic, English and Urdu. They included _Sanskrit Quarterly Review_, _Al-Haqa’iq: an Arabic Quarterly Review_ and _The Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Review_. In a letter to _The Times_, G. R. Badenoch described a visit to the Institute, and wrote that he “considered that India is greatly indebted to Dr. Leitner” for the vast collection maintained at the Institute.[4] One professor at the Institute was Francis Joseph Steingass, who taught languages.

Leitner fell ill in 1898, and died of pneumonia in 1899. Following his death, the Institute was closed, and the vast collection was sold on. Had it succeeded, the project might have had a profound effect upon the town, it is realistic to suppose that by 1914 there would have been an Oriental University at Woking, making the town a cultural centre of importance, and giving it an identity and status that it has tended to lack. But this remained hypothetical, and the Institute is now all but forgotten.[5]

In literature

The Institute is mentioned on a number of occasions, as the 'Oriental College' in the early chapters of _The War of the Worlds_ by H. G. Wells. In the novel the narrator describes seeing the College, and its mosque, wrecked by the Martian heat-ray.[6]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6] The War of the Worlds, Chapter IX

title: Oriental Institute, Woking

question: Who was the founder of the Oriental Institute?

answer: Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner.

question: What was the ultimate goal of Leitner in establishing the Oriental Institute?

answer: He hoped to turn it into a university specializing in Oriental Studies.

question: List the journals published by the Oriental Institute.

answer: Sanskrit Quarterly Review, Al-Haqa’iq: an Arabic Quarterly Review, The Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Review, and three more, which aren't mentioned by name in the article.

question: How was the institute received?

answer: The institute drew support from Sultan Shah Jahan, Begum of Bhopal for a mosque. G. R. Badenoch said that he “considered that India is greatly indebted to Dr. Leitner” for its vast collection. It is also mentioned in H.G. Wells' novel, The War of the Worlds.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The Oriental Institute was a British educational institution in Woking, Surrey, established by Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner. Found in 1884, the institute housed the most interesting collection of Eastern artifacts and an art collection. The Oriental Institute started publishing six academic journals, and Leitner's ultimate goal was to achieve full university status for the institute. However, the institute was closed and its collections were sold after Leitner's death from pneumonia in 1899.


text:
"You need to stop following me around like this." She seemed angry when she said it.

"What do you mean?"

I honestly didn't feel like I had done anything wrong, but I was starting to feel dumb, like a young boy being shamed by a parent. It could have been the fact that I was starting to realize that I had been naive, or it could have been the crowd. Most likely it was a mixture of the two.

"You've been following me around like a puppy dog all night!" There was anger in her voice and I could hear it now. Clearly. This definitely was not good, but it wasn't over yet, and she continued. "It's been 2 years! It's over, ok? I'm done with it."

The only thing I could think to say was, "Well what about last night?"

I could almost hear my own pathetic desperation. The reality of the situation was crashing down on me. I want to say that I started running through the entire experience of this relationship, but that wouldn't be quite right. It was more like something I imagine people who are dying experience, when their entire life flashes before their eyes. I didn't like what I was seeing.

In this exact moment it became just me and her. I've never quite felt anything like that moment. Life outside of it just ceased to exist.

"Last night was a mistake."

Those words just rang in my head. Here I am in this moment where everything outside just doesn't exist around me, and all that's filling the void are her words. I thought to myself, "how could I be a mistake? What the hell happened? When did everything change?"

I don't remember saying anything, but I guess she could tell from the look of disbelief on my face exactly what I was thinking, because she put out her hand in front of me. One act of complete and definitive proof.

It was perfectly still.

I couldn't even believe what was I was seeing. In front of me was the girl that I was crazy about, who gave me feelings of love that I've never felt before, holding out her hand that used to shake just from standing near me. It was a gesture that said everything. 10,000 words summed up with a single movement, like sign language that my soul could understand.

My mind was still while I was looking at her hand, and slowly the world started seeping back in. I realized where I was, I realized what she was saying. It was over.

I finally took my gaze off her hand and looked around. Everyone was looking at me. I realize now that the moment seemed so quiet because everyone was watching this unfold. An audience for the most painful moment of my life.

I didn't say a damn thing. What the hell could I say? Even if I tried to explain what I was feeling I don't think I could have. I was feeling heartbreak for the first time in my life. So I left. I just walked away. I walked back into the house, up the stairs, and out the front door.

I'm not sure when I started crying, but I did. The whole situation was overwhelming. I just wanted to get the hell out of there, so I got in my car. I quickly realized that I couldn't leave. I was drunk and knew I couldn't drive.

I was fucking stuck in the worst place I've ever been. The worst feelings I've ever had were everywhere, and I couldn't get away. I wasn't even in my own city. I was 500km from my own house.
I don't remember the details of what came after. I remember crying in the car with my best friend beside me, who was oddly emotionless. I have no idea if he was feeling for me and didn't know how to deal with it, or if he didn't feel much but was there because he felt like he should be.

After being in the car for a bit, I remember talking to her, and she was crying too. She was telling me how she didn't mean to make me cry.

I don't remember how I got back to Jack's house, where I was staying for the weekend. I remember he didn't come with me. It was me, my brother, and my best friend, John. They kept telling me we should just leave, and drive home right now. I kept telling them it was a bad idea, and I remember yelling at them when they just wouldn't listen to me. They even took my car and filled it up with gas so we could leave right then. I think they got how bad I was feeling, and understood that I really needed to leave, but we didn't. We stayed.
Huge mistake.
My brother and my friend went and blazed with her the next night. That hurt too. Aren't your friends supposed to hate people you hate? That still seems like bullshit to me.
Either way, we hugged and said good-bye at the end of the night. I told her I forgave her so that she wouldn't feel bad, and made some stupid joke. I hate that I did that. Why the hell should I care how she feels? She clearly didn't care how I felt when she broke my heart in middle of a fucking party.

As she and I are walking in opposite directions, to never see each other again, what the hell do I decide to do? I fucking looked back. I put the nail in my own god damn coffin, where I'd be buried in self-loathing.
She broke my heart. She got to have fun on the last night I was there. She blazed and hung out with my friends. She got the feel ok with it because I told her it was. And I fucking looked back.

I left my dignity, and that precious piece of my soul that carries the capacity for trust, behind that night.

title: Does this story make you understand the intensity of heartbreak? Do you feel for the narrator? (not a true story)

question: Summarize what happened at the party which the narrator attended with his girlfriend.

answer: The narrator's girlfriend broke his heart and told him it was over after being together for two years. The narrator was feeling heartbreak for the first time ever and he could not even say anything. He noticed that everyone around them were quiet, looking at him watching everything unfold. There was an audience for the most painful moment of his life. He could only walk away and look back.


text:
Due to the extraordinary circumstances surrounding COVID-19, some of the remedies identified in recall press releases may not be available at this time. Consumers should check with recalling firms for further details.

It is important to remember that CPSC and recalling firms urge consumers not to use recalled products.

[Angelcare Movement and Sound Baby Monitor]

Angelcare Movement and Sound Baby Monitor

[Angelcare Movement and Sound Baby Monitor with Rigid Strips Repair Kit Installed]

Angelcare Movement and Sound Baby Monitor with Rigid Strips Repair Kit Installed

[Angelcare Movement and Sound Monitor Sensor Pad Cord]

Angelcare Movement and Sound Monitor Sensor Pad Cord

Name of product:

Angelcare Movement and Sound Baby Monitors

Hazard:

The cord attached to the baby monitor's sensor pad is placed under the crib mattress, which poses a strangulation risk if the child pulls the cord into the crib and it becomes wrapped around the neck.

Recall date:

November 21, 2013

Recall Details

Description:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Angelcare Monitors Inc.®, of Quebec, Canada, is announcing a voluntary recall to provide cord covers for 600,000 Angelcare Movement and Sound Monitors with Sensor Pads. The cord attached to the baby monitor's sensor pad is placed under the crib mattress, which poses a strangulation risk if the child pulls the cord into the crib and it becomes wrapped around the neck.

Angelcare and CPSC have received reports of two infant cord strangulation deaths. In November 2011, a 13-month-old female died in San Diego, California, and, in August 2004, an 8-month-old female died in Salem, Oregon.  In both fatalities, the cord from the sensor pads was pulled into the crib by the infant. In addition, there have been two reports of infants who became entangled in cords of Angelcare baby monitor models, which did not result in fatalities. In these incidents, it could not be determined if the "sensor pad cord" or the "monitor cord" was involved in the incident.

The recall involves the Movement and Sound Monitor manufactured by Angelcare. This design of baby monitor includes a unique sensor pad placed inside the crib, under the mattress, to monitor movement of the baby.  An electrical cord about 11 feet long is permanently connected from the sensor pad to the nursery monitor unit. The hazard is created by a cord within reach of a baby inside the crib. The cord can be pulled into the crib and can wrap around the child's neck. The recall involves all versions of Angelcare sensor monitors including model numbers:   AC1100, AC201, AC300, AC401 AC601 and 49255 that did not include rigid cord covers, offered in the remedy.  The model number is located on the back of the nursery monitor unit. The monitors were manufactured between 1999 and 2013.

Angelcare is providing consumers with a repair kit that includes rigid protective cord covers through which the sensor pad cords can be threaded, a new, permanent electric cord warning label about the strangulation risk, and revised instructions.

The recalled baby monitors were sold at Babies R Us/Toys R Us, Burlington Coat Factory, Meijer, Sears, Walmart, Amazon.com, Target.com, Overstock.com, and nearly 70 small baby specialty stores, from October 1999 through September 2013 for about $100to $300.

Consumers should immediately make sure cords are placed out of reach of the child and contact Angelcare toll-free at (855)355-2643 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm's website at www.angelcarebaby.com to order the free repair kit.

CPSC Safety Alert Campaign on Monitor Cords

In February 2011, CPSC issued a safety alert warning consumers that industry-wide there had been seven reports of strangulation in baby monitor cords since 2002.  Since that alert, the number of death reports has risen to eight of which two involved the Angelcare monitors with sensor cords. CPSC has a safety alert Infants Can Strangle in Baby Monitor Cords and conducted an information and education campaign with JPMA in which Angelcare has taken an active role to raise awareness on the hazards associated with baby monitor cords.  Parents and caregivers should visit CPSC's Crib Information Center at www.cpsc.gov/cribs for additional baby monitor cord safety information and they should make sure all cords are out of arm's reach of children.

ABOUT THE U.S. CPSC

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products has contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.

Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.

FOR LIFESAVING INFORMATION:

-   Visit CPSC.gov.
-   Sign up to receive our e-mail alerts.
-   Follow us on Facebook, Instagram @USCPSC and Twitter @USCPSC.
-   Report a dangerous product or a product-related injury on www.SaferProducts.gov.
-   Call CPSC’s Hotline at 800-638-2772 (TTY 301-595-7054).
-   Contact a media specialist.

question: Why does a cord run under the crib mattress?

answer: Unclear, but implied that it's a power cord for the monitor unit

question: Is Angelcare the only company whose products have caused these baby monitor cord deaths?

answer: No

question: How did the loose cord pose a threat?

answer: Babies would pull on the cord, loosing it from under the mattress and become entangled in it leading to strangulation.

question: How is Angelcare remedying the situation?

answer: By offering free repair kits that include rigid protective cord covers.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The US Consumer Product Safety Commission is announcing a voluntary recall to provide cord covers for 600,000 Angelcare Movement and Sound Monitors with sensor pads. The cord attached to the baby monitor's sensor pad is placed under the crib mattress, which poses a strangulation risk if the child pulls the cord into the crib. There have been eight deaths from related incidents. The recall involves all versions of Angelcare monitors and offers a repair kit that includes rigid protective cord covers.