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[matz1][By Rabbi Yair Hoffman]

THE HISTORY

Ever since the exodus from Egypt, Jews have been consuming Matzos that were baked by hand. Centuries passed. And except for the change in brittleness, the system remained the same.

Then in 1856, all of that changed, at least for some people.

In Vienna, Austria, a Jewish baker created an international stir. He introduced machinery in the production of Matzoh. There was an earlier machine created in 1837 too, but that one did not stir up any controversy, perhaps because it did not automate as much as the latter version.

When the issue became known in Galicia, the controversy began. Rav Shlomo Kluger wrote a response about the issue to his student, Rabbi Chaim Nosson Dembitzer, the famous Rabbi and historian in Cracow and Rabbi Leib Horowitz (Cracow’s Chief Rabbi). The responsa is found in HoElef Lecha Shlomo (Hashmatos 32).

THE WAR BEGINS

Later in 1859, Rav Kluger joined up with Rav Mordechai Zev Ettinger, the author of the Maamar Mordechai and published together the Modaah L’Bais Yisroel where the two great luminaries categorically forbade the use of machine Matzos and placed it under the ban.

They gave a number of reasons for forbidding it. Rav Ettinger’s brother-in-law and Chevrusah, Rav Yoseph Shaul Nathanson, author of the SHoel UMaishiv, was a world class posaik in his own right.

Shortly after the printing of the Modaah L’Bais Yisroel, Rav Nathanson printed a booklet permitting the Matzos entitled Bittul HaModaah. Needless to say, the chevrusahschaft with his brother-in-law the Maamar Mordechai ended on a somewhat sour note. A twenty-five year collaboration on dozens of great halachic works came to a tragic end because of the argument.

Initially, the Maharsham of Brezen (Responsa Maharsham Vol. II #16) also issued a ruling permitting machine Matzoh – even for use at the Seder. This heter was based on the notion that the machinery required constant turning by human labor. Later, he rescinded the heter (Vol. IV #129) based upon the idea that the power was emanating from electricity and the human labor was merely a grama – a cause. The Divrei Malkiel, however, permitted it even with the electricity being the power source.

Another authority of those who permitted the Matzos was the Ksav Sofer, the some of the famed Rav Moshe Sofer known as the Chsam Sofer.

THE REASONS FOR THE PROHIBITION

What were Rav Kluger’s reasons forbidding the Matzoh? There were four reasons for his strict ruling. 1] He felt the requirement of Lishma was lacking 2] He was concerned for crumbs and leftover dough that would stick to the machines 3] He was concerned that the feeling for whole or broken wheat kernels which is normally done by hand would no longer be performed accomplished and 4] He provided a sociological reason for the poor. Since the cost of Matzos would lower considerably people would no longer provide them with charitable contributions.

[matz3]THE REBBES GET INVOLVED

The Sanzer Rebbe, Rav Chaim Halberstam (Divrei Chaim OC #23, and #24), agreed with the position that forbade the Matzos. The Sochetchover in Avnei Naizer (OC #537) also came out strongly against Machine Matzos and cited the Sanzer Rebbe as well as the Gerrer Rebbe forbidding it.

During the first World War, without consulting with the Munkatcher Rebbe, some members of the Kehillah in Munkatch purchased machine Matzos so that everyone would be able to fulfill the Mitzvah of Matzah. They did so out of concern for the wartime shortages which would have made Matzoh-baking well near impossible. In reaction to this, and based on the ruling of the Sanzer Rebbe, the Munkatcher Rebbe had these Matzos burned on Chol haMoed as if they were Chometz.

WHY THE MISHNA BRURAH’S SILENCE?

What is perhaps most shocking is that well after the advent of machine Matzos, Klal Yisroel merited the Mishna Brurah, written by the Posek of our generation, the Chofetz Chaim. And yet the Chofetz Chaim was strangely silent about machine Matzos for use in the Seder. It was a debate that ripped at the heart of Klal Yisroel. And yet we have nothing from the Mishna Brurah. Why the silence? It is, of course, a matter of record that the Chofetz Chaim used hand Matzoh. But why did he not even discuss the issue?

[matz4]ADDITIONAL REASONS TO FORBID

After the initial reasons forbidding the machine Matzos, other Poskim brought up other issues that were pertinent at the time. The machine’s motor was excessively hot and would heat up the Matzoh dough to the point of concern that it may cause it to become prematurely Chometz. In the early machines, oil would actually drip out of the machines, some of the dough that enters the oven causes the other dough attached to it to become halachically considered hot through the principle of cham miktzaso cham kulo. Some of the additional arguments might even seem to be a bit of a stretch – for example, Matzos have to be round; Square Matzos are Chukos HaGoyim and finally the last argument – Chadash, new innovations, are forbidden from the Torah.

THE SOLE REAL ISSUE

Let us, however, look at the one issue that has withstood the test of time – the issue of Lishma. The Talmud (Psachim 38b) quotes Rava that the verse in Shmos (12:17) which states, “And you shall guard the Matzos..” indicates that it is to be guarded [created] for the sake of Matzos. The Gemorah cites a Braisah that would have allowed the use of the loaves of the Korban Todah or the rekikim offered by a Nazir for use as Matzoh were it not for this drasha that it must be guarded for sake of Matzoh.

Based upon this Gemorah, the Shulchan Aruch (OC 460:1) rules regarding the Matzos that will be used for the Seder, that we do not have these Matzos kneaded by a gentile, by a deaf person, by a person without his faculties or by a minor.

IS IT JUST FOR THE SEDER OR FOR THE WHOLE PESACH?

And while this may be true that there is a requirement to have Matzoh made completely Lishma during the Seder, what about the rest of Pesach? The Mishna Brurah (460:2) cites a custom that the children of Israel are holy and have the custom during the entire duration of Pesach to eat Matzos that were prepared Lishma.

A JEW STANDING BEHIND HIM DOES NOT HELP

The Rashba, which is cited authoritatively by the Bais Yoseph, rules that even if an adult Jew is standing behind the child or gentile and warns him to make the Matzos Lishma, it is ineffective. Although the Ritvah cites his Rebbe the Raah, that it may not necessarily be forbidden, the Pri Chadash rules like this Rashba as does the Mogain Avrohom. The Rosh, however, in Psachim (2:26) rules that a Jew standing behind the gentile telling him to do it lishma – is effective.

[matz]Another issue comes into play, however. Some may argue that since the Jew is turning on the switch to the machine, it is counted as if the Jew has done it himself. This is actually the subject of great debate. Some authorities are of the opinion that since the electricity is enabled through manpower – koach odom, only in the first moment of activity, then the fact that the electric current continues to flow by itself cannot be counted as if it is Koach odom. [The Chazon Ish (OC Chapter 6), by the way, regarding another halachic issue, disagrees with the notion of it not being considered Koach odom.]

One hurdle that must be overcome by the position permitting the machine Matzos is how to distinguish this case with that of animal slaughter done with a blade attached to a water wheel, where the man just allowed the water to cause the water wheel to turn. The Gemorah in Chullin states that such a slaughter is forbidden.

We need to understand the underlying rationale for this Rashba. Why, in fact, does a Jew standing behind the child or gentile, not help? Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank (Mikraei Kodesh 8:2:3) and the Minchas Chinuch (Mitzvah #10) both explain that a person cannot control what is in the hand of his friend. This would present a problem regarding a gentile, a deaf mute, one who has lost his faculties and a minor. Rav Frank argues that it would not present a problem for a Matzoh machine. Thus, according to Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank the machine Matzoh would be acceptable even according to the Rashba.

There may be other explanations for the Rashba as well, however. One explanation might be that all intents must accompany an action. Here, the electricity might be considered as a series of numerous actions. If this is the case than the person’s intent may not be so connectable to all those actions made by the electricity. This is the explanation of Rabbi Ben Tzion Abba Shaul zt”l in Ohr L’Tzion (Vol I #5 and Vol. III #11).

This author would like to suggest that although the flow of electrons back and forth might be considered separate actions by separate identities, since each of these electrons are not visible to the eye, there is a vast distinction between, the case of slaughtering the animal through the water wheel and our case. In our case the electrons cannot be seen, and therefore, it is a logical step to attribute the action to the person pulling the switch. If this argument is true, it may buttress the position of those who permit the Machine Matzoh – even for the Seder itself.

Nonetheless, it would be proper, if possible to fulfill this Mitzvah in the manner that our forefathers have done and in a manner acceptable to most authorities.

It may be noted that those that permit the machine Matzoh may perhaps point out to those who insist on hand Matzoh that the hand matzos they eat are not the hand Matzos of yester-year. Why? There seems to be a requirement for the harvesting and the grinding to be done Lishma as well (See SA OC 453:4). Most of the drivers on the combines that harvest the wheat grain are gentiles. True, there may be a Jew standing over him and demanding that the gentile perform his action for the sake of Matzos, but this too is Bdieved.

The response to this is that although there is such a requirement, the requirement for harvesting and grinding lishma is less than that of kneading and baking. Indeed, the Biur Halacha (beginning of Siman 460) cites a debate between the TaZ and his father-in-law, the Bach as to whether the requirement is less and whether a Jew standing over the gentile would be sufficient. The TaZ permits it. Also, the requirement of grinding Lishma is such that the Matzah is still kosher even if the requirement was not technically met (SA Siman 453).

One last question remains. Why was the Mishna Brurah silent? This author would like to suggest that at the time the Mishna Brurah was written, the other underlying issues were still a factor and had not been adequately resolved. We can conjecture that as far as the Lishma factor, it seems likely that the Mishna Brurah would have voiced his opposition to the Matzos if he held that the Lishnma issue was truly unbridgeable. He didn’t permit it at the time because it was still loaded with problems and had he voiced his view would have been used to permit all sorts of problematic Matzos. The wiser choice would have been silence – which the Chofetz Chaim did choose. The Chofetz Chaim was one of the wisest of the generation and Chazal do tell us in Pirkei Avos – s’yag l’chochmah shetika – a good boundary for wisdom is silence.

[matz2]This then may be the lesson of the Matzoh issue for Pesach. Matzoh is called by the Zohar as “Bread of Emunah.” Emunah means belief and closeness to Hashem. Pesach is the time where we draw ever closer to Hashem and this bond will hopefully continue with us throughout the year.

True, there are different types of Matzoh – but the important thing is to focus on our bond with HaKadosh Boruch Hu and, when any issue may arise that can divide us to use the great boundary that Chazal recommended – silence.

The author can be reached at [email protected]

ARTICLE PUBLISHED BY 5TJT

NOTE: VIDEO & PHOTOS WERE TAKEN BY KUVIEN IMAGES IN 2012:

A Swiss chabura (group) lead by HaRav Moshe Chaim Levy, Rav of IRG – Adas Yeshurun in Zurich, gathered at the matzah bakery it Atarot, outside of Yerushalayim to supervise a run of machine matzahs under their hashgacha to send back to the Jewish community in Zurich, Switzerland.

Credits: Kuvien Images – www.kuvienimages.com

question: What have Jews been consuming since the exodus from Egypt?

answer: Matzos.

question: When did Matzos change?

answer: 1856.

question: Why did Matzos change in 1856?

answer: A Jewish baker introduced machinery into the production of Matzoh.

question: What was published in 1859?

answer: The Modaah L'Bais Yisroel.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The article discusses the invention of Matzoh making machines in 1856 and discusses the various controversies that broke out among scriptural authorities because of this, including a prohibition of the new method of making Matzoh. The author proceeds to outline an extensive history of how Matzoh relates to Jewish scripture and ritual, particularly Seder.


split: train

text:
ROB O'HARA (born August 22, 1973) is an American author, blogger,[1] and podcaster.[2]

Books

In 2006, O'Hara published _Commodork: Sordid Tales from a BBS Junkie_.[3] Jason Scott, director of the BBS Documentary, dubbed _Commodork_ “the world's first BBS memoir,” stating the book “does what my film couldn't; go front to end on one boy's story to turning into a man online. And for that, I thank him, and I think a lot of others will too.” Brett Weiss, author of the popular _Classic Home Video Games_ book series, says he “recommends the book without reservation. Initially I wasn't sure what to expect, but it's obvious that (O'Hara) is a writer and a gamer, not just a gamer who happens to write. His style is clear and unpretentious, and the hilarious anecdotes alone are worth the price of admission.”[4]

O'Hara's second book, _Invading Spaces: A Beginner's Guide to Collecting Arcade Games_,[5] is a beginner's introduction to the arcade collecting hobby. Earl Green from The Log Book stated “Rob O'Hara knows a couple of things about collecting arcade machines. _Invading Spaces_ is where he shares that obvious wealth of knowledge with coin-op newbies like myself.”[6] Antique Week called the book an “amusing and informative tome.”[7]

In 2018, O'Hara published his first feature length fiction novel, _The Human Library_.[8] The story was O'Hara's graduate project for his Master of Professional Writing degree at the University of Oklahoma.[9] _The Human Library_ currently has a 4.5 star rating on Amazon.[10]

Published Articles, Essays, and Writing Positions

O'Hara began his career writing music, movie, and video game) reviews on websites such as Review to a Kill[11] and Review-o-Matic.com.[12] In 2000, O'Hara was paid to write several DVD reviews for IGN.[13][14][15][16] Recently, O'Hara has expanded into writing and submitting fiction.

-   2600: The Hacker Quarterly (Contributor)
-   The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature (Contributor)
-   Digital Press E-Zine and Website (Staff Writer)[17]
-   El Reno Light (Intern/Reporter)
-   El Reno Tribune (Intern/Reporter)
-   IGN.com (Paid Contributor, DVD Reviews)
-   Forever Retro (Paid Contributor)
-   Memoirs of a Virtual Caveman (Foreword and Article Contributor)[18]
-   Minco Millennium (Columnist)
-   Retro Gaming Hacks (O'Reilly Books) (Paid Contributor)
-   Retroist.com (Staff Writer)[19]
-   TheLogBook.com (Staff Writer)[20]
-   Video Game Collector Magazine (Staff Writer)
-   Video Game Trader Magazine (Staff Writer)

Podcasts

O'Hara has hosted and currently hosts multiple podcasts. His first podcast, You Don't Know Flack,[21] began in 2008 and currently has a 5-star rating on iTunes.[22] In 2013, O'Hara co-founded the retro-themed podcast network Throwback Network[23] with his Throwback Reviews co-host Sean Johnson. The network currently hosts more than two dozen retro-themed podcasts.

Current Podcasts

-   You Don't Know Flack[24] (Retro/Stories)
-   Sprite Castle[25] (Commodore 64)
-   Cactus Flack's[26] (Arcade)
-   Multiple Sadness[27] (Bad/B-Movies)
-   Throwback Reviews[28] (80s Movies)

Former Podcasts

-   No Quarter Podcast[29] (Arcade) (Episodes 126-136)
-   Rusted Metal[30] (Heavy Metal)

Guest Appearances

-   Adventure Club Podcast (Episodes 59, 68, 72, 74, 75, 83)[31]
-   Eight and a Half Bit (Episode 96)[32]
-   Flux Capaci-Cast (Episodes 3, 13)[33]
-   Retrobits Podcast (Episodes 71, 72)[34]

Presentations

O'Hara is a subject matter expert on Commodore computers, vintage video and arcade games, and self-publishing, and has spoken at multiple conventions on these topics.

-   Def Con (2007): Self-Publishing in the Underground[35]
-   Notacon (2009): The World of Free Book Publishing[36]
-   Oklahoma Electronic Gaming Expo (2009): Collecting Arcade Machines[37][38]
-   Oklahoma City Community College (2009): A History of Computer Games

Software

O'Hara has written and released several freeware programs, including:

-   GP32 Renamer: a Windows utilitiy that converts long filenames to 8.3 filenames for the GamePark 32 handheld console.[39]
-   ShadowPrint: a Windows utility for getting text directory listings.[40]
-   Batch-O-Matic: a Windows utility for processing batch files with external variable lists.[41]
-   eCoder Ring: a Windows message encryption utility.[42]
    -   eCoder Ring included a coded message that users were challenged to crack.[43] In 2008, O'Hara offered a cash reward of $100 to anyone who could crack the code.[44] In the weeks following leaked information about the NSA's practices, eCoder Ring was downloaded an additional 3,000 times.[45] The code remains unbroken. In her abstract titled _A Summary of Hacking Organizations, Conferences, Publications, and Effects on Society_, Alisha Cecil called eCoder Ring a “fun, friendly, easy to use program that allows two people to send secret messages to one another” that “is capable of producing nearly unbreakable ciphers.”[46]

Personal life

O'Hara currently resides in Yukon, Oklahoma with his wife, two children, and collection of vintage electronics.[47]

Work

During the day, he works for the Federal Aviation Administration, where he has worked as a “Helpdesk/Technical Support Analyst, Computer Specialist/LAN Administrator, Senior Network Engineer, IT Security Specialist, member of the IT Communication Department, and Domain Admin/Enterprise Administrator.”[48]

Education

O'Hara graduated from Yukon High School in 1991. At Redlands Community College, O'Hara served as the editor of the school's newspaper and yearbook from 1991-1993. O'Hara graduated from Oklahoma City Community College in 2001 with an AA in Journalism, and earned a BS in Organizational Leadership from Southern Nazarene University in 2005. Most recently, O'Hara graduated from the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Oklahoma.[49]

Hobbies

O'Hara refers to himself as a “collector of collections,” and is working on a book with the same title.[50] O'Hara frequently blogs about his Star Wars collection.[51] In an interview with Oxford Karma, O'Hara discussed his collection of 30 arcade cabinets located in his home arcade.[52] O'Hara was interviewed by the Associated Press about his arcade collecting hobby.[53]

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title: Rob O'Hara

question: Who is Rob O'Hara?

answer: Rob O'Hara is and American author, blogger, and podcaster.

question: Where did O'Hara earn his Master of Professional Writing degree?

answer: He earned the degree at the University of Oklahoma.

question: What was the title of his graduate project?

answer: The Human Library. It was published in 2018.

question: What was O'Hara's first podcast?

answer: O'Hara's first podcast was titled, You Don't Know Flack.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Rob O'Hara is and American author, blogger, and podcaster. He earned a Master of Professional Writing at the University of Oklahoma.


text:
House Republicans have requested nearly $3.3 million to operate the select committee investigating Benghazi, which gives the GOP-launched committee a bigger budget than that granted to the committee overseeing the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs.

According to a committee document provided to USA Today by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) office, the budget provides about $2.2 million for the seven Republican lawmakers on the panel and a little over $1 million for the five Democrats. In contrast, the House Veterans Affairs Committee and Ethics Committee were each granted budgets of $3 million in 2014.

A spokesperson for committee chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) told USA Today that the number is a “high end estimate,” and comes from previously appropriated funds.

Despite the high-profile allegations of long wait times and fudged records at the VA, the congressional committees overseeing the agency remain some of the least politically powerful on Capitol Hill. Since Veterans Affairs offers few opportunities to reap the benefits of sitting on other, high-powered panels (i.e., Financial Services), the committee is almost entirely populated by rookie lawmakers with little leverage.

The Huffington Post’s Ryan Grim reported last month:

Because the committee has so few senior members, it has little access to congressional leadership, cable news, the White House or the various levers of power in Washington. It should be little surprise then that a powerless committee has found itself powerless to oversee the VA.
…
The panel members’ lack of experience also makes them less effective. “You have green and inattentive members on the committee, very few who are willing to conduct systematic oversight,” said Cooper. “Most couldn’t name senior officials below the secretary level. Most don’t know how [the VA system] works. The warnings were not heeded.”

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Story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/07/benghazi-committee-budget_n_5565430.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu14vAoQJ08

question: How much have House Republicans requested to operate the select committee investigating Benghazi?

answer: 3.3mil

question: What does the committee lack?

answer: Senior members and a lack of experience.

question: Which publication has posted this article?

answer: The Huffington Post.

question: Which publication was provided a document about the budget request?

answer: USA Today.


text:
BY DANIEL PINKSTON, CONTRIBUTING WRITER

February 23, 2017 - As the investigation into the murder of Kim Jong-nam, the elder half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, enters its second week, the evidence indicates that the North Korean government almost certainly is responsible. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) was quick to blame the North, which was the most likely culprit even though other scenarios could not be ruled out pending the investigation by Malaysian authorities.

Kim was attacked by two young women in the departure area of Kuala Lumpur International Airport on 13 February, and the North Korean embassy demanded immediate custody of Kim’s body. The embassy also has refused to accept the results of the autopsy, which so far are inconclusive, and suggested that Malaysia was collaborating with external forces (South Korea) to distort the investigation. The accusations brought a swift rebuke from Malaysia’s prime minister and the foreign ministry. The North Korean ambassador was called into the Malaysian Foreign Ministry, and the Malaysian ambassador was recalled from Pyongyang. The future diplomatic fallout is uncertain, but Malaysia might sever diplomatic ties just as Burma did following the 1983 North Korean terrorist bombing in Rangoon. If Malaysia does sever ties, the decision would be appropriate.

The two female suspects accused of killing Kim told police that they had been duped, and had believed they were pulling an innocent prank for a television program. However, their story quickly collapsed under the weight of too much contradictory and circumstantial evidence. For example, the video footageshowed two women quickly walking away, heading in separate directions; according to police, they immediately went to the restroom to wash the poison offtheir hands. They were clearly informed about what was afoot: if they had pulled a stunt for a comedy show, they almost certainly would have stayed on the scene and took pictures while laughing with Kim about the joke.

There are several other bits of suspicious information about the women suspects. Doan Thi Huong is Vietnamese and arrived from Vietnam on 4 February, and Siti Aisyah is Indonesian and arrived from Indonesia on 2 February, suggesting that their visits to Malaysia were timed. Doan reportedly received some training or education in pharmacology about 10 years ago, and Siti is known to speak English and Korean. Both women reportedly are somewhat estranged from their families; their parents seem unaware about the details of their jobs or living arrangements. Siti also has two identities. One identity card lists her name as “Siti Aisyah,” and entrepreneur born on 11 February 1992; her name on the second identity card is “Siti Aisah,” a housewife born 1 November 1989.

Malaysian authorities have detained one North Korean male national, Ri Jong-chol, who had been in Malaysia since August 2016 and has lived in the country for three years. Ri is said to have a background in chemistry and had a work permit to do IT work with a Malaysian company, but he never showed up to the firm and he never received any salary from the firm. These facts at least suggest that he was engaged in illicit activities.

Four North Korean men flew out of Kuala Lumpur immediately after the attack and Malaysian authorities believe they are now in Pyongyang. They flew through Dubai and Vladivostok before reaching Pyongyang, leading to speculation that they transited through the Middle East to cover their tracks. The police also have named two other suspects—a second secretary at the North Korean embassy and an employee of North Korea’s Koryo Airlines—who are believed to be in Malaysia. The authorities have asked for Pyongyang’s cooperation in gaining access to these individuals, but that is unlikely. However, if their exit is blocked and they are in the country they still might be apprehended, with a looming issue of how Malaysia will handle the invocation of diplomatic immunity.

Fratricide in struggles for the throne has existed for centuries in past empires, and deadly purges have been part of the DPRK since it was founded. Kim Jong-un repeatedly has demonstrated his ruthlessness in purging challengers—real or perceived—and even had his uncle executed. Kim Jong-nam reportedly had a price on his head since 2012, so his murder should come as no surprise. But questions remain: Why now? Was this a long standing order that finally was carried out when an opportunity emerged? Or was something happening inside North Korea that made Kim Jong-nam’s elimination urgent?

Media have reported that Kim Jong-nam expressed no political ambitions and that he was opposed to the third generation of succession, essentially eliminating himself as a potential North Korean leader. However, media often have reported that China has protected him in exile as a possible replacement to be installed through Chinese intervention if Kim Jong-un were ever deposed. That is an unlikely scenario, but the South Korean press also has reported that Kim had considered defecting to the South, and that North Korean defectors in Europe contacted Kim over the last couple of years asking him to be the leader of a North Korean government in exile, but he declined. This idea is farfetched because South Korea and its Ministry of Unification already have plans to install a new government under the Committee for the Five Northern Korean Provinces, a “government in exile” with provincial governors in their Seoul offices.

While Kim Jong-nam may have posed a small direct political threat to his younger brother, the Kim brothers could have clashed over the control of assets and financial resources. In the 1990s, Kim Jong-nam reportedly worked for the Ministry of State Security, and he was responsible for managing the financial transactions linked to North Korean arms exports. In dictatorships, it is common for family members to handle state finances, and North Korea is no different. For several years, Kim had lived in Macau, which is the location of Banco Delta Asia (BDA), a money laundering entity that managed some of North Korea’s illicit transactions.

In his personal life, Kim Jong-nam reportedly had two wives, at least one mistress, and children with other women. He had homes in Macau, Beijing, and Singapore. He travelled internationally and sometimes was spotted in casinos “living a playboy lifestyle.” According to Malaysian authorities, Kim Jong-nam was travelling with a valid North Korean passport under the name Kim Chol, and he had two identities. How was he issued two North Korean passports with different names? We can only speculate whether Kim recently had been involved in illicit transactions, but if not, he almost certainly had put away plenty of cash throughout the years to maintain his lifestyle.

One of the main reasons Kim Jong-un purged his uncle Chang Song-t’aek was to seize control of assets from Chang so that Kim could use them to reward his coalition of supporters in exchange for their loyalty. Kim Jong-nam’s fate could be similar to that of his Uncle Chang. The hit team who carried out Kim Jong-nam’s murder had intelligence about his travel itinerary and other personal information. It’s possible that Pyongyang could have retrieved the information needed to access the financial resources under Kim Jong-nam’s control abroad. In that case, a great dictator like Kim Jong-un would have to eliminate his brother before he defected to South Korea or the United States, which he probably would do if he suddenly was out of cash or believed his life was in danger.

Kim Jong-nam is rumored to have discussed his defection with South Korean authorities in the past, but he reportedly declined after they could not agree on the terms. However, if Kim Jong-nam’s money was cut off or about to be cut off, he might have had no choice but to defect in order to survive. A treacherous defection by a Kim from the Paektu hereditary line would have been an unacceptable embarrassment for Kim Jong-un, which could help explain why the regime might have decided to conduct such a risky and immoral operation.

The operation itself raises several questions about motives, capabilities, and training for such attacks and other possible illicit operations abroad. In particular, incorporating the foreign women into the operation introduced risks of failure and discovery. North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB) is responsible for these types of operations abroad, and the RGB is believed to be ultimately responsible for the operation to kill Kim Jong-nam. The last stage of the operation was not that difficult and the assailants succeeded in their mission. However, many things could have gone wrong. They could have been discovered beforehand or balked at the last moment. Furthermore, they could have contaminated themselves or someone else with the toxin prior to the attack. And if the attack had been botched in progress, Kim Jong-nam could have decided to defect and subsequently cause the very embarrassment Pyongyang wanted to avoid.

These risks, the lack of trust, and general barriers to transactions usually prevent states and non-state actors such as terrorist groups or organized crime gangs from cooperating in the execution of illicit activities. The underworld has no criminal justice system, no courts, and no legitimate third-party enforcer; therefore, the actors can always renege on their promises. For example, if two drug dealers decide to meet in a hotel room to complete a narcotics transaction, one party can just refuse his part of the bargain and use violence to walk out with both the drugs and the cash, and with his counterpart dead in the hotel room.

The same holds true for deals between states and illicit non-state actors. For example, if a terrorist were to show up to buy some nerve agent from a state supplier, the terrorist might not have the diagnostic equipment to verify the authenticity of the agent. And if the material is authentic, the seller could simply kill the potential buyer and walk out with both the cash and the (real or fake) nerve agent. Nevertheless, cooperation is not impossible. Repeated interactions and the possibility of future retaliation can lead to cooperation and successful transactions in the underworld. Narcotics traffickers are able agree on transshipments. And states have been able to cooperate with criminal and terrorist organizations, but thankfully that illicit cooperation is not the norm. In the case of Kim Jong-nam’s murder, the operation appears to have been carried out by North Korean operatives abroad with at least two foreign agents. This raises the question whether Pyongyang has sought or is seeking the employment of other foreign agents to carry out additional illicit operations in deviance of the international community.

In this case, two foreign female assailants did not appear to have an effective escape plan, but four North Korean male suspects were able to flee the country immediately. The North Korean masterminds did not seem to care about the Vietnamese and Indonesian patsies and whether they were apprehended. The suspects had a fabricated alibi, albeit one that quickly fell apart. Certainly the North Koreans knew the assailants could disclose the truth behind the plot, but maybe they wanted the operation to be discovered. Just like a doomsday machine, foreign hit squads are not an effective deterrent against potential North Korean traitors unless they know the hit squads exist.

question: Who is to blame for the death of Kim Jong-Nam?

answer: Two women are responsible for the killing, but it is suspected that the North Korean government put the plan in action.

question: Who attacked Kim while he was at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport?

answer: Two women named Doan Thi Huong and Siti Aisyah attacked Kim.

question: Who are the 2 suspects in the murder?

answer: The 2 are Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese woman, and Siti Aisyah, an Indonesian woman.

question: Why would the North Korean government want to murder Kim?

answer: It is suspected that Kim Jong-Un may have wanted to control Kim Jong-Nam's financial assets.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This articles details the murder of Kim Jong-Nam, half brother of Kim Jong-Un, in the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13. It is suspected that the North Korean government is behind the murder, and two female suspects were apprehended.


text:
I wrote this on the fly last night, may need some editing for grammar and such, but let me know what you think.
It is entitled       **WHOLE**

Not until living about twenty years of life did I realize that I was not alone in this world. I grew up in a Christian home and truly believed in God, I still do, but I never felt like there were people around me. I went to a private high school and was taught by fantastic teachers about all sorts of fascinating topics. I went to gym class and excelled at walking laps while the popular kids played basketball. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t an outcast, nor did I believe that I was better than everyone else and thus didn’t participate, it’s just, I once played a game of knockout and when I won against the star basketball player (who later went to play for the best college team in the country), I decided that I didn’t like basketball anymore. That’s in the past though; I am now in college and have nothing to do with the gym.
I guess before continuing with my story I should tell you who I am, but that is no simple task either. My name is, for all intents and purposes of this story, Daniel West. Not only is my name Daniel West, but my father’s name was also Daniel West. You see, my father died well before I was born and my mother named me after him. He didn’t know he was having a son before he died. Having a son was his dream.
Everyone always tells me that I look just like my father, but I have my mother’s smile. It’s the dimples. Sadly, I also inherited my eyesight from my father. My favorite thing in the world is waking up every morning and poking myself in the eyes several times after stubbing my toe on the dresser and nearly falling down the stairs, and all this happens before breakfast. My jet black hair and slim face are some of my favorite features that make me happy to be the descendant of my father.

Jess, my older sister by six years, adds another interesting dynamic to the house. She still lives at home and has two kids, she was raped three years ago; the man was never caught.  She hasn’t been the same since that day, but the twins are just learning to walk so she doesn’t have much time to think about it anymore. I wish she could find a nice guy to marry; she could use a man in her life. I offer to watch my nephews for her so she can go to a bar and meet someone, but she always says I am sweet, but she doesn’t have time to drink and she is too tired because of the kids and work to date. I don’t see why not, once the kids are asleep she sits in the Lazy Boy and drinks a cup of hot tea staring into space. She could stand to be staring into a man’s eyes for once.

My mother is the happiest, most hardworking, woman I know. She works two jobs during the week and another job on weekends, when she isn’t watching the twins. Beautiful as ever, she is. Her grey green eyes and bright smile, dimples as big as the craters on the moon always brightens anyone’s day. I am just glad that I didn’t inherit that hotrod red hair of hers; I like having a soul. Don’t tell her I said that, she always gives me sass when I pull out the ginger jokes. “Daniel that is not a way to treat you mother, or any other women! Red hair does not mean that I do not have a soul. What are they teaching you at that expensive college that you’re going to?” She scolds me, holding back a smile; it’s a little scary, even if she isn’t serious. I sometimes call her just to say something about her hair, because I never get to see her. Except during breakfast.

Breakfast is my favorite ten minutes on weekdays. The family all sits down together, except Tuesdays and Thursdays when my mom has to go into work early and Fridays when my sister takes the kids to daycare early so she can get some shopping done before work. I make us pancakes and eggs and we talk about the weather and what so and so did down the street. The simple conversations are my favorite, because it reminds me that, though we never see each other for more than ten minutes on any given day, we are still alive.

It does make me sad though. If my dad had been allowed to buy the hand gun he had tried to buy the week before he, along with five others, was shot, he would be with us and I would have a father. He had gone with a friend of his, a police officer, to the gun range weekly for months to learn how to handle and shoot a firearm. When he went to the store they informed him that he had to go through several levels of background checks and tests before he could purchase his first handgun. It angers me that the man who shot him had gone through the same process and was still a criminal. You would think that the governments’ strict control over the weapons would ensure that guns were not put into crazy people’s hands.

Growing up without a father and with a mother who works three jobs was tough and still is. I had to teach myself how to cook, shave, and tie a tie for prom. Not that I had a date to prom, I am too quiet and people think that I lack confidence because of that. “No one likes a man who doesn’t have enough confidence.” One girl said to me when I asked her out. The truth is, I am very confident in who I am, it’s just I can’t be loud or attract attention to myself; I never have been able to.  It’s strange, I try to yell and the loudest I can get can be heard no more than across the room, and that is when I am angry. I’m never angry so really, I can only be as loud as a normal conversation tone. That doesn’t explain the lack of appeared confidence. What does explain it is, I am humble, humble to the point that I can’t be mean and I feel prideful if I draw attention to myself in anyway. When I try to I usually get weird looks anyways, so it doesn’t matter to me. Much.
The point I am trying to get at, the one that started this whole rant is. It has been twenty years and I have always felt mostly alone. Despite my mother, sister, and nephews, a few good friends who all go to schools hours away, and a being in a great college, I couldn’t seem to shake my loneliness. That is until now. They thing that makes me feel like I am not alone, the thing that makes me most happy, is the simplest thing of all. It is something that I was born by and born with. It is something that most people spend their whole lives trying to find, but no amount of wealth or power or knowledge can take its place or bring it to a person. It is a four letter word. Love.

When you throw out everything else in my life, three things remain: Faith, Hope, and Love. The greatest of these is Love and it is Love that makes me whole. For I know that when all else fails me, my love for my family, my friends, my god, and all of those around me will never cease. It is my gift of love that holds back the worst this world can give me. And it is Love that makes me whole.

title: Whole

question: What was the overwhelming feeling felt by the narrator before they were 20 years old?

answer: Loneliness.

question: What is the narrator's name?

answer: His name is Daniel West.

question: How many jobs does Daniel's mum work?

answer: Two jobs during the weekdays, and another one on weekends.

question: How did Daniel's father die?

answer: He was shot.

question: Write a ~9 sentence summary.

answer:
Daniel West felt like the only person in the world, at least until he became 20 years old. He participated in every sport at school but just never felt like he belonged.

Daniel has an older sister who has three-year-old twins. She was raped many years ago and the twins are the result of that. The man responsible was never found.

Daniel loves his mum, the way she looks and her hard work ethic. Sometimes he calls her just to make her laugh. Daniel's father passed away at the hand of a shooter. This event makes him bitter about the ease at which some people are able to procure guns.


text: As I walked through the double doors to my school I was greeted with the hustle and bustle of the main halls. To my left there was a group of nerds shoving a bully into a very dirty locker that looks like it hasnt been cleaned for days. To my raight there were a group of gothic girls picking on a pretty girl. Then there is me the main kid the big boss,the leader of the factions. As I entered into my domain i was greeted with bows i gave a slight nod as I made my way to my throne. As I sat in the seat I accepted my crown and my scepter and over looked my kingdom. too bad im stuffed in a locker. I can only imagine what it wold be like

title: A regular day at school

question: What is one thing that is different about this school scene?

answer: The nerds are shoving the bullies into lockers.

question: What is another thing that is different?

answer: The goths are picking on a pretty girl.

question: Given this understanding, what can we conclude about the narrator?

answer: They are neither big nor respected.

question: What is the reality?

answer: The narrator is stuffed in a locker.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator imagines a world in which social ranking tropes are inverted so the nerds get revenge on the bullies, and so on. In reality it is they who are stuffed in a locker, indulging in wishful thinking.


text:
"The strangest thing was, there was no radio. Nothing. Up and down the dial. Just static or silence for months." Said Mike as they slowed to a stop at a four way intersection. Steve sat on the passenger side of the old army cargo truck, jotting on a notepad. The diesel rumbled cantankerously as the the beast lumbered forward.

Annabelle was an two and a half ton U.S. Army M35 truck. Big and square and serious. Or had been. Annabelle had seen better days. Big patches of paint were gone and rust nibbled away where it hadn't plain eaten right through. She had bumps and dings and dents and gouges. Some things were missing. Some were replaced. Some were wedged and hammered on with a wing and a prayer. The passenger side window had a big crack running along the hood and up the side that was covered with duct tape, giving her the look of taped up glasses. She was old and mean and stubborn and beat, but all in all, she was a good girl.

Mike was a bit older, mid fourties maybe. Thin. He was a week or so overdue for a haircut, but not yet shaggy. He juggled the steering wheel and shifter between his good right hand, the stump of his left and his knee. Steve was much younger. A little bit plump. From an easier time. He was writing for a newspaper or something. Who cares. He was company.

"Driving truck was one of the things I could do with this." He held up and waved his left hand. It was roughly a triangle behind where his thumb and knuckles used to be. His amputation scars had healed a long time ago. "It was crushed when a building collapsed right after everything fell apart. I couldn't fight too well, so I did what I could getting stuff to the guys who were. You know they say that the whole thing started with a spelling error? Some guy somewhere made a mistake in a computer code. Started a market panic. Whole thing spread like wildfire. Before you know the whole world was blowing each other up" He hit the clutch and shifted. The original shifter was gone, along with the boot. It was a piece of pipe with a pipe cap on the end dissapearing through a square hole in the floor.

"Like I said, there was no radio. No talk, no music. Nothing. They had the army radios for important stuff, but those were few and far between, all for the higher ups. Once in a while you could scrounge up some AA's for one of those little plastic jobbies, but there was nothing to pick up on it. You had a lot of time to think. Sometimes you'd get antsy for something, anything. Some guys had mp3 players or old phones. You could charge those up at the big bases. Once it was gone it was gone though." The truck swayed on the uneven road. The shock absorbers were useless rotted out tubes now, she wobbled on just her springs.

Annabelle tipped alarmingly to the side as they rounded a corner, swaying back and forth until she settled back onto her haunches. "Then they got the government station. They got enough broadcast towers together to cover most places. Took a long time to get to the more remote places. Instructions, news, things like that, they broadcast important stuff during the day, less so at night. They taught first aid in the morning, news at noon. At dawn they taught school, just to keep things going. A bit of math, a bit of history. Sometimes on slow days they'd play a song or two."

A few moments of silence passed as Steve's pencil scratched on paper. "I don't carry munitions much anymore. Not like the old days when they'd load Annie down untill her tires almost scraped the wells. Food now mostly. Wheat, corn. I carried sheep once. Annie didn't care much for that."

They slowed to a stop. The chain link and razor wire of what had once been a prison stretched off in either direction. Mike rolled down the window and handed a sheaf of papers to the bored man in the corrugated steel guardpost. He didn't bother reading too thoroughly.

"Well kid, end of the line." He said as they rolled into the unloading area, taking a seat in a long line of Annabelles, Betsies and couple of Rachels.

Steve let himself out and said goodbye. Mike sat there, put on the parking brake, patted the scarred up old steering wheel, clicked on the cheap plastic radio taped on top of the dashboard, and listened to the music.

title: Static

question: Describe the relationship between Annabelle and Mike.

answer: Annabelle is Mike's truck.

question: Where is Mike headed?

answer: Mike is driving to an unloading area, where there are a bunch of other trucks.

question: Describe Steve.

answer: Steve is younger than Mike and a little plump.

question: Where is the static coming from?

answer: Mike is describing how in the early days of the apocalypse, there was only static on the radio.

question: Describe Annabelle.

answer: Annabelle is a two-and-a-half-ton U.S. Army M35 truck. She is big and square but is in a state of disrepair, missing big patches of painted and rusted over. She has bumps and dings and dents and gouges. There's a crack in her passenger side window covered in duct tape.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: Mike and Steve are driving in Mike's truck, Annabelle. Mike explains how in the early days after society collapsed, he could only hear static over the radio. He mentions how the collapse of civilization began with someone making an error in computer code. After a while, people began broadcasting news and lessons over the radio. Mike drops Steve off at a loading station and then listens to music on the radio.


text:
ALLEN ROGER SNYDER (born January 26, 1946) is an American lawyer and a former nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Education and legal training

Snyder earned a bachelor's degree with distinction from George Washington University in 1967 and a J.D. degree _magna cum laude_ from Harvard Law School in 1971. He clerked for Supreme Court justices John Marshall Harlan II in 1971 and William Rehnquist in 1972.

Professional career

Snyder joined the Washington, D.C. law firm Hogan & Hartson in 1972 as an associate and later became a partner. During Bill Clinton's presidency, Snyder represented Deputy White House Counsel Bruce Lindsey during the Whitewater controversy. In addition, Snyder represented actress Elizabeth Taylor, successfully blocking an ABC-TV docudrama about her life, according to a September 2004 article about Hogan & Hartson in the Washingtonian magazine. And Snyder represented Netscape as its chief corporate attorney during its antitrust fight against Microsoft.[1]

Nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

On September 22, 1999, President Clinton nominated Snyder to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to replace the seat held by the retiring Patricia Wald. Although he is a Democrat, Snyder's nomination initially was thought to be fairly uncontroversial, particularly given his long history as a Washington insider and his support from conservatives like Rehnquist, Sen. John Warner, and former appeals court judge Robert Bork. His nomination even received a hearing from the Senate Judiciary Committee in May 2000. However, with Republicans in control of the U.S. Senate and a presidential election looming, Snyder's nomination languished. Ultimately, the Senate chose not to vote on the D.C. Circuit nominations of both Snyder and Elena Kagan. Republican senators claimed that there was some question over whether those D.C. Circuit seats were even necessary, while Democratic senators charged that the Republican leadership in the Senate was trying to keep those two seats open until after the presidential election so that they could be filled with Republican appointees.

In 2001, President George W. Bush nominated Miguel Estrada to the seat to which Snyder had been nominated. Estrada's nomination ran into opposition from Democratic senators, and he withdrew his name from further consideration in early September 2003. Bush subsequently nominated Thomas B. Griffith to that D.C. Circuit seat in 2004, and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2005.

Later

After Snyder's nomination died, he resigned his partnership at Hogan & Hartson and took early retirement, according to a _New York Times_ article on August 11, 2002. “Senator Specter congratulated me on how well things had gone and told me he was confident I would be confirmed and told me I would be a great judge,” Snyder told the Times. “And then the committee never took a vote.” Snyder, who is known to be close friends with Chief Justice John G. Roberts, is a longtime resident of Bethesda, Maryland.[2]

Personal life

On August 10, 1969, Snyder married Jean Port. He and his wife served as emergency foster parents for several years and eventually adopted another daughter from the foster care system.[3] In 2011, Snyder was approached by Children's Law Center, the largest legal services organization in the District of Columbia,[4] which works to achieve permanency and stability for children. Snyder joined Children's Law Center to work on appellate cases and strategy. He encourages other lawyers near- or post-retirement to consider similar positions. “There is a great unmet need in the community for pro bono service,” Snyder told _The National Law Journal_. “For a retiring lawyer, it is an opportunity to carve out a niche of the law that you care about.”[5]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

title: Allen Snyder (lawyer)

question: What does the text say about the academic process of becoming a lawyer?

question: What does the text say about the highlights of Allen Snyder's professional career?

answer: Snyder joined the Washington, D.C. law firm Hogan & Hartson in 1972 as an associate and later became a partner. He represented Deputy House Counsel Bruce Lindsey during the Whitewater controversy during Bill Clinton's presidency. Snyder represented access Elizabeth Taylor during her legal battle with ABC-TV, successfully blocking the network from showing a docudrama about her life. He also represented Netscape as its chief corporate attorney during its antitrust fight against Microsoft. On September 22, 1999, President Clinton nominated Snyder to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. However, his nomination languished because of the looming presidential election and Republican Senators blocking Snyder, a Democrat, from taking the judicial spot they wanted for their own appointees.

question: What does the text say about the effects Republican control of the U.S. Senate had with regards to Snyder's appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals?

answer: Snyder was a Democrat and appointee of the outgoing President, Bill Clinton. Since the Republicans controlled the U.S. Senate and there was a presidential election looming, it seemed pretty obvious that partisan politics played a huge role in Syder not getting the nomination for the U.S. Court of Appeals spot. The Republican senators wanted to block Snyder's nomination so they could appoint a Republican after the elections, so they chose not to vote on the nominations instead. In 2001, President George W. Bush nominated Miguel Estrada to the seat that was supposed to go to Snyder. The Democrats returned the favor and opposed the nomination, forcing Estrada to withdraw his name for further consideration in 2003.

question: What does the text say about Snyder's personal life, education, and legal training?

answer: Allen Roger Snyder was born on January 26, 1946. He married Jean Port on August 10, 1969 ad they served as emergency foster parents for several years, eventually adopting another daughter from the foster care system. Snyder earned a bachelor's degree with distinction from George Washington University in 1967 and a J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1971. He clerked for Supreme Court justices John Marshall Harlan II in 1971 and William Rehnquist in 1972.


text:
The 2016–17 UMBC RETRIEVERS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM represented the University of Maryland, Baltimore County during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Retrievers, led by 15th year head coach Phil Stern, played their home games in the Retriever Activities Center as members of the America East Conference. They finished the season 15–15, 10–6 in America East play to finish in third place. They lost in quarterfinals of the America East Women's Tournament to Hartford. They were invited to the Women's Basketball Invitational where they lost to Brown in the first round.

Media

All non-televised home games and conference road games will stream on either ESPN3 or AmericaEast.tv. Most road games will stream on the opponents website. Select games will be broadcast on the radio on WQLL-1370 AM.

Roster

Schedule

[1] |- !colspan=12 style=“background:#000000; color:#ffb210;”| Non-conference regular season |- !colspan=12 style=“background:#000000; color:#ffb210;”| America East regular season |- !colspan=12 style=“background:#000000; color:#ffb210;”| America East Women's Tournament |- !colspan=12 style=“background:#000000; color:#ffb210;”| WBI

[1] http://umbcretrievers.com/sports/wbkb/2016-17/schedule

title: 2016–17 UMBC Retrievers women's basketball team

question: Who does the UMBC Retrievers women's basketball team represent?

answer: They represented the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

question: Where does the team play their home games?

answer: They play their home games in the Retriever Activities Center at the University.

question: How did the team fair in the 2016-17 season?

answer: They finished the season 15-15, and 10-6 in America East and finished in third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the America East Women's Tournament to Hartford, and they lost to Brown in the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitational.

question: Where do the home games air?

answer: Non-televised home games and conference road games streamed on either ESPN3 or AmericaEast.tv.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article discusses the 2016–17 UMBC Retrievers women's basketball team of the University of Maryland in Baltimore County.


text:
The man answered me hoarsely, a queer smile playing across the corner of his cracked lips, "It is said that when the gods wish to punish us... they answer our prayers."

His face, a map of scars, was strangely familiar, like a distant place long forgotten.

"Speak not in riddles old man," I snarled, "You will make your peace with to whomever gods you pray well soon enough. Until then, you answer to Me, and pray, pray now, my vengeance is kinder than theirs."

His sunken eyes shone dimly, and bore no fear. "Then I truly hope my debt to them is paid," he laughed, wistful.

"Tell me, what did you wish of them, Barabbas? What shining stone did you cheat from the Wardens' lot? What coveted prize did you squander on stolen time? What dungeon's claim did you lay away on halcyon roads? Was it Love? Riches? Power? Tell me. Tell me before I send you back to the hell from whence you came, wretched man."

"I sought something. I think... I sought knowledge. Understanding."

"Then you are a fool, old one. Tell me, out of perversion, what did you learn, living out your wasted days? What carnival spectacles did the wilds divulge, as you wandered far and away? What secrets did the amber halls and dim-lit alleys whisper to prowling ears? What shrouded facts sought their way through dead tomes, spilling torrid wanderlust into grey matter? Was it Techne? Logos? Pathos? Teach me. Teach me, before I snuff out your pathetic spark."

He took a deep breath and exhaled, a visible shudder traveling through his frail skeleton. I saw his eyes glimmer distantly. I saw him strain, the furrows of his brow crossed in wrought exertion. I watched his frail hand reach across the distance between us, stretching as if to grasp something unfathomable and then, a solitary tear fell onto the cold ground.

"I cannot... I can no longer remember. I am old and my mind is not what it once was."

He closed a pair of weary eyes and hung a tired head, anguish painted across his worn features.

"Once a fool, always a fool, I can see," I spat, seizing his slacking jaw, and peering into cloudy eyes, a visage of sorrow. "Tell me your story. Show me your sins. Show me your joys and regrets, your dreams and sorrows. Show me it all, the last thing you do before these damned eyes are shut forevermore. SHOW ME!"

Silence. Grimacing, he forced his eyes shut, face a contortion of singular will, summoning every scrap of concentration he could gather.

Time stood still.

Then, suddenly, his eyes sprang open and the clouds parted within revealing a sudden inner light, a clear and piercing gaze. His brow lifted, his focus sharpened and a sudden strength found itself within him, wresting my hand away.

Hands astir, he gripped my hands, arms, and face frantically, some terrible recognition dawning over him. Clasping my head with his palms, he suddenly collapsed onto the ground, drained.

"Speak, you despicable thing! Tell me your name! Speak, damn you!" I growled, anxious to hear his last words. Crouching, I knelt beside his haggard frame.

He spoke, after a time, eyes aglow with perception. His words were slow and deliberate. This is what he told me.

"You... I remember my wish. I wished to know an old man’s secret, once. My name is... but, ah! that, you know already. Let me teach you what I have learned. Let me show you, eager one.”

And he smiled, a wry smile, breathing his last.

As he closed his eyes, I opened mine to curse him, but he was gone, and I awoke lying alone, cursing only myself.

title: The Wish

question: What does the story say about the narrator's conversation with the old man?

answer: The old man tells the protagonist it is said that when the gods wish to punish us... they answer our prayers, and the protagonist asks the old man what he wished of gods. The man replies he wanted knowledge. Then the protagonist asks him what he learned, but the man replies he cannot remember. Then the protagonist wants to know the man's sins, joys, and sorrows. The man says he wanted to know an old man’s secret abd dies.

question: What does the story say about how the narrator and the old man met?


text:
EISBLUME (German for “Frost Flower”) was a German Pop rock band whose debut album spawned the Top 5 hit single “Eisblumen” in Germany in 2009.

History

The band was formed in Berlin during 2007 by vocalist Sotiria Schenk, guitarist Christoph Hessler, bassist Philipp Schardt, drummer Philipp Schadebrodt and keyboard player Golo Schultz.[1] With the help of production team Valicon, Eisblume released their first EP titled “Unter dem Eis” (German for “Under the Ice”) in 2008.[2] In the summer of 2008, they played the support slot for a number of concerts of Ich + Ich's tour. VIVA, a German TV station, has been supporting the group in terms of “Artistic Development” through “comprehensive media support” since late 2008.[3]

In January 2009, Eisblume released their single “Eisblumen” (German for “Frost Flowers”), a cover of Subway to Sally's song originally released in 2005. The Eisblume version, which was produced by Ingo Politz of Valicon, reached number 3 on the German singles charts and went on to become the 43rd best-selling single of 2009 in Germany.[4] The song's video also earned the band a nomination for the “Best National Video” at the 2009 ECHO awards.[5] They were also nominated for three VIVA Comet awards in 2009: “Best Newcomers”, Best Online Star" and “Best Video”.[6]

Their first album _Unter dem Eis_ was released in March 2009 by Universal Music. In the spring of 2009 they began their own headlining tour in support of the album.[7] They also were supported by Swiss band Lacrimosa during their German tour dates in September 2009.[8]

Their second single “Leben ist Schön” (German for “Life is Beautiful”) peaked at number 18, and helped their album to return to the Top 20 of the German album charts. Their third single “Louise”, a cover version of a Bell, Book & Candle song translated into German, was released in November 2009 and peaked at number 29. The song helped them to earn their second and third ECHO award nominations for “Best National Video” and “Best National Newcomer” in 2010.[9]

In March 2010, the band announced that they were set to record “Fleurs de glace”, a French version of the band's debut single “Eisblume”, with French singer Jena Lee.[10]

In January 2012 the band released their second album, _Ewig_ and disbanded one year later.

Band members

-   Sotiria “Ria” Schenk - vocals
-   Benny Baumann - guitar
-   Philipp Schardt - bass
-   Philipp Schadebrodt - drums
-   Golo Schultz - keyboards

Discography

Albums:

+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Year                  | Album                 | Chart positions       |
+=======================+=======================+=======================+
| GER                   | AUT                   | SWI                   |
| [11]                  | [12]                  | [13]                  |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 2009                  | _Unter dem Eis_       | 12                    |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       | -   Formats: CD,      |                       |
|                       |     digital download  |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 2012                  | _Ewig_                | -                     |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       | -   Formats: CD,      |                       |
|                       |     digital download  |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

Extended Plays

  -------------------------------------
  Year   EP details
  ------ ------------------------------
  2008   _UNTER DEM EIS EP_

         -   Released on May 16, 2008
         -   Format: CD
  -------------------------------------

Singles

+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Year                  | Title                 | Chart Positions       |
+=======================+=======================+=======================+
| GER                   | AUT                   | SWI                   |
| [14][15]              | [16]                  | [17]                  |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 2009                  | “Eisblumen”           | 3                     |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| “Leben Ist Schön”     | 18                    | 55                    |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| “Louise” (feat.       | 29                    | -                     |
| Scala)                |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 2012                  | “Für Immer”           | 29                    |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

Notes

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

title: Eisblume

question: When was Eisblume formed?

answer: Eisblume was formed in Berlin in 2017.

question: What was the name of Eisblume's first album?

answer: Their first album was titled "Unter dem Eis".

question: What record label released their first album?

answer: Universal Music released "Unter dem Eis" in 2009.

question: When did Eisblume disband?

answer: They disbanded in 2013.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article is about the German pop rock band Eisblume, which was formed in 2007 and disbanded in 2013.


text:
...There it goes again, those girls came again, crowded in the class like they owned it. Being the most successful AND the coolest student in the school sure is awesome, it's like there are imaginary spotlights shine on you straight 24 hours. Being cool...just like him, Stephen V. Devidson. Wait! You think I'm introducing myself? You are wrong, not even close. Move your visions to that row of students next to the windows, now to the corner at the back of the class. Yep, the little buddy that is now enjoying himself with light novel and high quality musics came out from a set of Beat by Dre is me. Jimmy Wu, the loser among losers.

   Let me explain why I'm the loser among losers, although I'm an average student when it comes to study, I never befriended a girl, never touched one, never talked to one, never DATED one for 16 years! Even boys avoid me for a very simple reason: I'm an otaku. An anti-social, an anime lover, a gamer and a NEET that never wanted to leave his house without an acceptable reason. Anyway, I should stop talking about myself because it may bore you to death. Oh gosh, look at the time, I put all my entertainments into my bag because it's about time to start my first class after summer.

[The bell rings and students go back to where they supposed to, followed by a teacher walked into the classroom]

  "How you kids been doing this summer? Had fun?" That's my homeroom teacher, Sis Katie Walker. There's a reason why we call her that. "I really understand you teenagers, so...do you guys had some 'fun' with the girls?" The whole class went silence and I screamed "shit" loudly in my mind. "Come on guys be honest! Ain't teenagers these days like to have romantic relationships even before they are old enough to get their driving license?" The whole class kept their mouth tight, it's just a matter of time before she became crazy. "YOU SIR, ZACK. ANSWER ME!" So this time's victim is Zack, may the God bless you. This happen all the time, it's a symptom when she get rejected by guys and being extremely sarcastic "Wh...what do you mean by that? I...I don't even have a girlfriend... Miss Walker..." Are he out of his mind or what? That's the taboo of the class. "Zack...How many times I told you kids, use 'Sis'." Zack shocked and knowing his doom is near. "I'm only 39 and still single, as a punishment for you to not remembering it, you need to hand copy the homework I gave before holiday 2 times and hand it to me next week OR I DOUBLE IT!!" The whole class sympathy him and his foolishness, the homework is 500 words essay by the way.

[Sis Walker calms herself down and continue]

  "We wasted so much time, I felt so sorry to let her stand there for so long." She said that while walking toward the door. "Come in, introduce yourself." A slender figure walked in. "Her name is Utako Kurosaki, she will become one of you kids starting today." The slender figure revealing a blonde haired girl, a Japanese? is those hair dyed I wonder? Her face, combined with a pair of glasses, looks so ordinary that I can't have any comments on her. Her body...is this what people called surf board? "My name is Utako Kurosaki, I'm transferred here because of some family issues, please take care of me." Although I thought a transfer female student can be attractive and the whole class will became crazy right after the Japanese-style introduction just like in the animes, I was wrong, she is so normal that the word "lame" is much more suitable for her and the class is silenced with the boredom of the girls and the disappointment of the male students.

  "Emmm, oh well, you can sit beside...what his name again? Whatever, just sit beside that kid." Her finger pointed at me with an insult-like statement, the empty table beside me finally found its owner I guess? The last row of tables excluded me were always empty, that's why I somehow can understand the tables' feeling of being alone, if they are alive. The girl walked to the empty table, she wipes away the dusts on the table as soon as she sits on the chair, without knowing the chair is actually just as dusty as the table. "Alright, let get started by taking attendance." Sis Walker calling each student's name, one by one, while I slowly move my eyes toward the transfer student to check her out, just for my own curiosity. Then, our eyes met, what a romantic situation ain't it. She then whispered softly and coldly.  "What are you looking at? HENTAI." With this awkward situation, I had again concluded that I'm the loser among losers and somehow...a pervert?
_____________________________________________________________________________

To any readers that take time to read my story, thank you. This story is actually an exercise for me to write essays for school, so instead of votes, I want comments, any comments will be accepted, negative or positive, just tell me what mistakes I made and I will correct it next time, again, thank you.

title: [Slice of life] The Otaku and The Internet Singer-Part 1

question: Who is the main character?

answer: Jimmy Wu, "loser among losers." He's an anti-social 16 year-old student who likes anime and gaming.

question: Who is Sis Katie Walker?

answer: Sis Katie Walker is Jimmy's teacher.

question: Is there conflict? Is it resolved?

answer: A new student from Japan comes to the class. Her name is Utako Kurosaki. She is directed to sit next to Jimmy who takes the opportunity to look at her and check her out. She turns and whispers to keep his eyes to himself, and she calls him a pervert. He doesn't respond.

question: What is the setting?

answer: The story takes place in a classroom.

question: Write a ~8 sentence summary.

answer: Jimmy Wu considers himself a "loser among losers." He's an anti-social 16 year-old student who likes anime and gaming. He sits in homeroom listening to the teacher, Sis Katie Walker, trying to relate to the students. A new student from Japan comes to the class. Her name is Utako Kurosaki. She is directed to sit next to Jimmy who takes the opportunity to look at her and check her out. She turns and whispers to keep his eyes to himself, and she calls him a pervert. He doesn't respond.


text:
STANISLAW TILLICH (; ; born 10 April 1959) is a German CDU politician. He served as the 3rd Minister President of Saxony from 2008 to 2017. From 1 November 2015 until 31 October 2016 he was President of the Bundesrat and _ex officio_ deputy to the President of Germany. Tillich is of Sorbian ethnicity and lives in Panschwitz-Kuckau (Pančicy-Kukow), which is 35 kilometres north-east of Dresden near Kamenz.

Early life and education

Born in Neudörfel (Sorbian: _Nowa Wjeska_) near Kamenz (Sorbian: _Kamjenc_), Tillich studied construction and drive techniques at the Dresden University of Technology after finishing his Abitur at the Sorbian Gymnasium in Bautzen in 1977. He graduated from university with a Diplomingenieur degree in 1984. Tillich was an employee of the district administration of Kamenz between 1987 and 1989. Later he became an entrepreneur.

Political career

Stanislaw Tillich joined the Christian Democratic Union (East Germany) in 1987 and became a member of the CDU after German reunification in 1990. He was a member of the Volkskammer in 1990 and was delegated as an observer of the European Parliament between 1991 and 1994. He joined the European People's Party and was a member of the European Parliament between 1994 and 1999 where he was the Parliament's rapporteur on the 1998 EU budget.[1]

Tillich has been a minister in the government of Saxony since 1999. He was State Minister for Federal and European Affairs until 2002 when he became State Minister and head of the _Staatskanzlei_. In 2004 he became the Saxon State Minister for Environment and Agriculture. He became State Minister of Finance in 2007 and has been a member of the Landtag of Saxony since 2004.

Minister-President of Saxony, 2008-2017

Tillich was proposed by Georg Milbradt on 14 April 2008 to become his successor as the Minister-President of Saxony. The Landtag of Saxony elected him on 28 May 2008. He is the first Sorbian head of government in more than thousand years of Sorbian-German coexistence in Saxony.

In the negotiations to form a coalition government of the Christian Democrats (CDU together with the Bavarian CSU) and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) following the 2009 national elections, Tillich was part of the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on economic affairs and energy policy, led by Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg and Rainer Brüderle.

Since 2010, Tillich has been a member of the Christian Democratic Union's 20-strong executive board.[2] By 2012, opinion polls put the backing of Tillich's CDU at 44 percent, at the time the highest level of support in any of the 16 German federal states; this made commentators describe him as “Germany’s second most-powerful politician from the formerly Communist East“ after Chancellor Angela Merkel.[3]

Tillich participated in the exploratory talks between the CDU, CSU and SPD parties to form a coalition government under Merkel following the 2013 federal elections.[4]

Tillich won reelection in the 2014 state elections. Ahead of the elections, he had soon put an end to speculation that he might team up with the newly founded AfD, which the CDU instead attempted to characterize as a fringe movement that flirts with the far right.[5] At the time, Saxony was the first of three eastern regions to hold elections in a two-week span, with Brandenburg and Thuringia later rounding off the first set of electoral since Merkel won a third term.

As one of Saxony's representatives at the Bundesrat, Tillich served as chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs from October 2016. In addition, he was a member of the German-Russian Friendship Group set up in cooperation with Russia's Federation Council.

When the AfD overtook the CDU for the first time to emerge as Saxony's most popular party in the 2017 national elections, Tillich resigned and Michael Kretschmer took over.[6]

Life after politics

From 2018 until 2019, Tillich co-chaired the German government's so-called coal commission, which was tasked to develop a masterplan before the end of the year on how to phase-out coal and create a new economic perspective for the country's coal-mining regions.[7]

Other activities

Corporate boards

-   Mitteldeutsche Braunkohlengesellschaft (MIBRAG), chairman of the supervisory board (since 2019)[8]
-   Volga-Dnepr Airlines, Advisor (since 2019)[9]

Non-profit organizations

-   ZDF, deputy chairman of the board of directors
-   Committee for the preparation of the Reformation anniversary 2017, ex officio member of the board of trustees (-2017)
-   _Leipzig 2015_ – 1000th anniversary, member of the board of trustees
-   Endowment for Culture of the Free State of Saxony (KdFS), ex officio chairman of the board of trustees (-2017)
-   Frauenkirche Dresden Foundation, ex officio member of the board of trustees (-2017)
-   Deutsches Museum, member of the board of trustees
-   Development and Peace Foundation (SEF), deputy chairman of the board of trustees
-   German Children and Youth Foundation (DKJS), member of the board of trustees
-   Max Planck Society, member of the senate[10]
-   Peace of Westphalia Prize, member of the jury[11]
-   Rotary International, member

Personal life

Besides his native language Upper Sorbian, Tillich speaks fluent German, Czech and Polish. His wife, Veronika, is half-Polish, half-Sorbian. Her father was a forced laborer from Poland who settled in Lusatia after World War II and married a Sorbian woman. Tillich and his wife have two children.

[1] Simon Coss (January 1, 2014), Member states urged to support plan to boost small business funding _European Voice_.

[2] Leon Mangasarian (October 23, 2012), Merkel’s Tough Love Crisis Stance Key to 2013 Vote, Tillich Says _Bloomberg News_.

[3] Leon Mangasarian (October 23, 2012), Merkel’s Tough Love Crisis Stance Key to 2013 Vote, Tillich Says _Bloomberg News_.

[4] Arne Delfs and Patrick Donahue (September 30, 2013), Germany Sets Coalition Talks Date as Weeks of Bartering Loom _Bloomberg News_.

[5] Stephen Brown and Annika Breidthardt (August 31, 2014), Merkel's conservatives set to hold Saxony, euroskeptics make breakthrough _Reuters_.

[6] Guy Chazan (August 30, 2019), The premier taking on Saxony’s populists with grilled sausage _Financial Times_.

[7] Andreas Franke (June 6, 2018), Germany launches commission tasked to develop coal exit masterplan _S&P Global Platts_.

[8] Sachsens Ex-Ministerpräsident Tillich wird Chef des Mibrag-Aufsichtsrats BILD, September 24, 2019.

[9] Steffen Höhne (July 2, 2019), Lobbyist für russische Airline: Stanislaw Tillich soll Volga-Dnepr bei Expansion helfen _Mitteldeutsche Zeitung_.

[10] Senate, as of February 2019 Max Planck Society.

[11] Members of the Jury Wirtschaftliche Gesellschaft für Westfalen und Lippe.

title: Stanislaw Tillich

question: Summarize everything related to positions Tillich held in the 2000s.

answer: He was State Minister for Federal and European Affairs until 2002, when he became State Minister and head of the Staatskanzlei. In 2004, he became the Saxon State Minister for Environment and Agriculture. In 2007, he became State Minister of Finance. He was elected Minister-President of Saxony on May 28, 2008.

question: What does the article say about Tillich's political career during the 1970s?


text:
HENDRIK HERP[1] (died 22 February 1477), known in Latin as HENRICUS HARPHIUS,[2] was a Dutch or Flemish Franciscan of the Strict Observance, and a writer on mysticism.

Life

Herp was born around 1400 either at Erp near Veghel[3] or Erps-Kwerps near Leuven. He is possibly the same person as _Heinricus Erppe, clericus Cameracensis dioceses_, who in 1426, as one of the first students, was registered at the University of Leuven.[4] “Clericus Cameracensis dioceses” means that this student had held a clerical position in the diocese of Kamerijk, leading some to propose that he was not born in Erp, which is widely believed to be his birthplace but belonged to the diocese of Liège, but in Erps near Leuven, which was near the edge of the diocese of Kamerijk.[5] The first undisputed reference to his life is in 1445, when he is rector of the Brethren of the Common Life at Delft, suggesting that he had previously joined the Brethren, either in Zwolle or Deventer.[6] The next year he founded a Brethren community in nearby Gouda, which he led until 1450, “to the great good of his subjects”.[7] In Gouda, Herp had extensive contact with Franciscans, and in 1450, on a pilgrimage to Rome, he took the habit of St. Francis, joining the Franciscan Observance (the Capuchin reform) at the Convent of Ara Cœli.[8] On his return to the Low Countries in 1454, he served as the guardian of the Franciscan convent in Mechelen until 1457.[9] In 1460 he was guardian of a convent in Antwerp.[10] He later served in several posts for the Franciscan Cologne Province, which covered much of the Northern Netherlands, including as Provincial superior (1470–73). Under his leadership, convents were started in Bolsward, Amersfoort and Herentals.[11] Herp traveled a lot, having meetings (_kapittels_) in Gouda in 1471, in Alkmaar in 1472, and in Bergen op Zoom in 1473. At the latter meeting Henricus de Bercha is chosen as his successor.[12] In 1474 he returns as guardian of the convent of Mechlin, where he died in 1477.[13]

Works

Herp wrote his works between 1450 and 1475. An early work is called _The Contemplative Eden_.

This is succeeded by his major work, probably written in the 1460s, entitled _Spieghel der volcomenheit_ (_The Mirror of Perfection_). As a whole and in the chief divisions of his doctrine, Herp shows several points of contact with his fellow Brabantian John of Ruusbroec.[14]

Later reception

This work was widely read: the modern edition of the text uses 48 manuscripts and lists 66 edition in many languages, beginning with the first Dutch printing in 1475. Much of this diffusion was due to the Latin translation prepared by the Cologne Carthusian Peter Blomeveen, published in 1509 under the title _Aureum directorum contemplativorum_ (_The Golden Directory of Contemplatives_).[15]

In 1538, the Cologne Carthusians, led by Dietrich Loher, also published an anthology of Herp’s writings under the title _De mystica theologica_ (_On Mystical Theology_), with a dedication to George Skotborg, Bishop of Lund. This anthology comprises three parts: “Soliloquium divini Amoris”, “Directorium Aureum contemplativorum”, and “Paradisus contemplativorum”. In other words, the Latin translation of _The Mirror_ comprised book two. This edition was important for the later reception of Herp, since it was reprinted five times before 1611, and translated into French and German.[16]

However, Herp’s work was not always received positively – in 1559, the 1556 edition of _De mystica theologica_, dedicated to Ignatius Loyola by Loher, was placed on the _Index of Forbidden Books_ for a number of theological errors (though not heresies). This was renewed in 1580 and 1583. Many still found the book useful, however. In 1586 a version corrected by the Dominican theologian Peter Paul Philippus (d. c.1648) was printed in Rome.[17] There is also an “Index Expurgatorius” (Paris, 1598), where can be found, as well as in the “Index of Sotomayor” (1640), the opinions to be corrected.

He was praised by Mabillon, Bona, and others. Of his works, only one was printed during his lifetime, _Speculum aureum decem præceptorum Dei_ (Mainz, 1474); it is a collection of 213 sermons on the Commandments for the use of preachers and confessors. Another collection of 222 sermons (Sermones de tempore, de sanctis, etc.) was printed in 1484, etc. Both frequently quote the Doctors of the Middle Ages, especially Thomas Aquinas, Alexander of Hales, Bernard of Clairvaux, etc., and were often reprinted.

Influence

Some of the early modern mystics who knew and used Herp include Francisco de Osuna, Bernardino de Laredo, Angelus Silesius, Benet Canfield, Augustine Baker, the author of _The Evangelical Pearl_, Louis de Blois, Cardinal Berulle, Constantine Barbanson, and John of Saint-Samson.[18]

The Franciscan Chapter of Toledo in 1663 recommended his works as standard writings in mystic theology.

The _Franciscan Martyrology_ of Arturus of Rouen gives him the title of Blessed.

Footnotes

[1] Also HARP or ERP.

[2] Also HENDRICUS DE HERP, HENRICUS HERPIUS or HARPIUS, and CITHAROEDUS.

[3] Hendrik Herp at the Digital Library for Dutch Literature

[4] Dlabačová, p. 29

[5]

[6] Dlabačová, p. 28,30-32

[7] Dlabačová, p. 32-40

[8] Dlabačová, p.40-42

[9] Dlabačová, p.40-42,50

[10] Dlabačová, p.50

[11] Dlabačová, p.53

[12] Dlabačová, p.54

[13]

[14] Dlabačová, p.57, Chapter Seven

[15] McGinn, p. 130.

[16]

[17] McGinn, p. 131.

[18] McGinn, p. 533.

title: Hendrik Herp

question: What does the text say about Hendrik Herp's life?

answer: Hendrik Herp was born around 1400 in the Netherland or Belgium. He was Franciscan of the Strict Observance and a writer on mysticism. He was one of the first students of the University of Leuven. He became the rector of the Brethren of the Common Life at Delft in 1445 and founded a Brethren community in nearby Gouda next year. He joined the Franciscan Observance in 1450 and served as the guardian of the Franciscan convent in Mechelen and Antwerp.

question: What does the text say about Hendrik Herp's work?

answer: Hendrik Herp's major work is 'The Mirror of Perfection'. The Cologne Carthusians published an anthology of Herp’s writings under the title 'On Mystical Theology' (1538). The book was placed on the Index of Forbidden Books for a number of theological errors. Of his works, only 'Speculum aureum decem præceptorum Dei' (1474) was printed during his lifetime.

question: What does the text say about Herp's private life?


text:
COPPERHEAD was an American rock and roll group founded by guitarist John Cipollina after leaving the band Quicksilver Messenger Service in 1970.[1][2][3][4][5]

Copperhead originally consisted of Cipollina on lead guitar, Gary Phillips on vocals and second guitar and organ, Jim McPherson on vocals, piano and bass, Pete Sears on piano and bass, and David Weber on drums. Copperhead was originally signed to the Just Sunshine recording label but in 1972 (Sears left to fly back to England and record with Rod Stewart and play in a band with Nicky Hopkins, Bassist Hutch Hutchinson replaced him) it was signed to a major-label record deal by Clive Davis at Columbia Records and recorded its debut album entitled, _Copperhead_, released in 1973. The first album was a commercial failure, and Columbia refused to release their second album and Copperhead disbanded.[6]

[1] Rolling Stone

[2] Paste Magazine

[3] Discogs

[4] Bay-area-bands.com

[5] Marinij.com

[6] AllMusic

title: Copperhead (band)

question: How can you describe who Copperhead are?

answer: Copperhead are an American rock and roll group.

question: What major-label record deal was Copperhead signed to?

answer: Columbia Records

question: What happened with the first album that Copperhead produced?

answer: The first album was a commercial failure.

question: What caused Copperhead to disband?

answer: Copperhead disbanded due to its first album being a commercial failure and Columbia records refused to release their second album.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article describes an American rock and roll group, the Copperheads and highlights their musical career.


text:
Mall parking lots were packed with after-Christmas shoppers. But nowhere were the lines longer than at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena and the Van Nuys Masonic Temple, where thousands of people came to exchange their guns for Ralphs gift cards.

Cars queued up for blocks at the drive-through events, with the city giving cards worth up to $100 for handguns, shotguns and rifles, and up to $200 for assault weapons. There was a bit of haggling involved, but the guns were all taken.

“What do you got?” an officer in Van Nuys asked a man in his late twenties as he pulled up in a green Mazda.

PHOTOS: L.A. GUN BUYBACK

“Just one handgun, I’ve had it since high school,” the man replied.

“Will you take $50 for this?”

“Sure.”

Many came bearing more than one gun. They pulled 22 pistols from the trunk of one white Honda, a haul that earned the driver $1,000.

Two men in a pickup truck with two children in the back seat handed over a rifle, a pistol and a MAC-12, altered with a silencer.

Organizers and some participants credited collective outrage and anguish over the gun rampage in Newtown, Conn., for the turnout. But motivations were often a bit more complicated.

“That young guy shot up all the kids and they blamed the mama because the mama had the weapons in the house,” Valerie Butler said, in explaining why she was waiting in line two hours in South Los Angeles to get rid of an old handgun.

Yet Butler, 50, said she was not getting rid of both of her guns.

“Just one,” she said, and laughed. “There’s a bunch of nuts out here, and they’re coming in when you’re sleeping. You got to protect yourself.”

Cities across the nation, grasping for ways to react to a series of mass shootings this year, have organized gun buybacks to get weapons off the street.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa pushed the city’s annual event from Mother’s Day to Wednesday in reaction to the killing Dec. 14 of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. By the afternoon, the event had already surpassed the 1,673 guns collected last year, and officials were scrambling to get more gift cards, which were donated by Ralphs.

Many of the drivers said they were turning in their guns because they rarely used them and were eager to snag grocery cards.

“If I could get $100 of free groceries, it’s worth it,” said Charles Edwards, 60, waiting in line next to his old .22 revolver after driving to Los Angeles from Fontana. “I wouldn’t do it for $40. That’s why people are here. They feel bad about all that’s happening, but times are tough.”

He still has a shotgun at home. “That’s all I need,” he said.

Edwards said authorities needed to better organize the buyback so the lines weren’t so long. He watched numerous people sit in line for a spell, then just drive away, he said. “I thought I could just drop this thing off. They need to have this move faster.”

Most of the weapons recovered were “mom and pop guns,” police said — hunting rifles, shotguns — but they got a few dozen assault weapons as well.

They checked to make sure the guns were empty, and double-checked by pulling the triggers in clearing barrels — metal rubbish containers filled with sand. Then they put them into trash containers like bundles of sticks after a windstorm.

“I had a question, one after another: ‘Do we really need this? Does this really make us safer?’ ” Villaraigosa said at a news conference at the Sports Arena. “I say, ‘Look, the Police Department is here because they believe in this program.’ ”

He said the buyback program had taken in 8,000 guns since it began in 2009 and was just one part of a comprehensive police strategy that has reduced violent crime in recent years. Police Chief Charlie Beck said it was a critical component.

One of the first guns collected was a camouflage Bushmaster XM-15, the same kind of gun used at Sandy Hook Elementary.

But this was one of the rarities. Loretta, 50, from South Los Angeles was bringing in her great-grandfather’s antique rifle — one of them anyway. “I got the other well-hidden,” she said.

Alex Reyes, 47, rode his bike to the Sports Arena from East L.A. with a 68-year-old, six-shot .38 revolver and a .22 target pistol. He said he came in to do “a good deed” after the Newtown shooting, getting rid of all of his weapons. “Just me and Jesus Christ,” he said.

Sandra Lefall, 38, came to the site with Newtown heavy in her heart. She had been thinking about coming since she first heard the awful news. “I’m bringing in a 9-millimeter handgun because I want to get it out of the house because I have teenage children. I would hate for them to do what that guy in Connecticut did.”

By 2 p.m. in Van Nuys, the police began telling people they were out of gift cards.

“I’m not giving this away for free,” said Sam Ferrell of Reseda as he took a drag of his cigarette in his truck.

Ferrell said he was hoping to sell his stepson’s handgun. “There are too many kids being killed by these things,” he said.

He said he didn’t plan to turn in any of his own guns, but that he was glad his stepson didn’t have his.

“I need my gun, but not everyone who has one needs one,” he said.

_joe.mozingo@latimes.com_

_wesley.lowery@latimes.com_

question: How were the guns made safe after collecting?

answer: They checked to make sure the guns were empty and fired into a clearing barrel (metal rubbish containers filled with sand) to double-check for safety before being pushed into trash containers like sticks.

question: What did two men in a pickup truck with two children in the back seat hand over?

answer: A rifle, a pistol and a MAC-12 altered with a silencer.

question: What was credited for the turnout?

answer: Organizers and some participants credited collective outrage and anguish over the gun rampage in Newtown, Conn. Many drivers said they were turning in their guns because they rarely used them and were eager to snag grocery cards.

question: Why was this event held?

answer: It is the city's annual gun-buyback event with gift cards donated by Ralph's.

question: Did the collection surpass expectations?

answer: Yes, by 2 p.m. the gift cards had run out. They had surpassed the 1 673 guns collected the previous year.

question: What is the purpose of the buyback program?

answer: The buyback program has taken in 8 000 guns since it began in 2009 and was just one part of a comprehensive police strategy that has reduced violent crime in recent years. It is a critical component.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Los Angeles' annual gun buyback program surpassed expectations in 2013. The event surpassed expectations and gift cards ran out. Many were motivated by the free groceries, others were keen to get unused guns out of the houses to prevent another school shooting like the one that took place in Newtown, Conn.