text:
I don't remember the first time I met her, but it was in some kind of abstract kind of way. The colours around us were always loose and steady, mad colours that no one had ever heard of or seen.
Connie and I were both mad you see. We were both seeing psychiatrists, both once a week.

'How have you been the past week? The psychiatrist would say

'Not bad' I would always say. I would very rarely say how bad I'd been feeling.

'And what have you been up to?'

'Nothing much'

'Shall we go over what we talked about last week?'

'Yes, if you want'

Sometimes talking about things made everything worse, a lot of the time I'd come out feeling more depressed than before I came in.
It would go much the same for Connie except she would be much more honest about things.

'Have you been up to much over the past week'

'Yes, a lot' Connie would say 'I've fucked two men since I last saw you'. And the
Psychiatrist's face would be in a kind of shock for a while.

'And anything else?'

'Yes, I've also fucked two women.'

'Oh, my. All that in the last week'

'Yes'

Connie and I spoke nearly every day. We'd fall out quite often and it was usually over something that I did. Mostly not turning up to places that I'd say I was turning up to. Her brother was an alcoholic and I knew him through a friend who he lived in a flat with and he was managing the band I was in at the time. He promised us fame and glory but in the end he turned out to be liar.
Connie's parents were nice people. Her mother was an English teacher and her father was a blues musician.
When I was a gigging musician her father played with us and helped with gigs. He is a very fine musician. The last time I spoke to him he asked If I was still playing music and still with the band?

'No, not anymore' I said

'Why not?

'Musical differences'

'Yes, that happens a lot.'

It was my birthday and Connie was putting on a birthday party for me at her home. She had two kids and a now a dog. Which was a beagle named Gatsby. The first time I met Gatsby I knocked on Connie's front door and she opened it and Gatsby ran out into the road while a car was coming and I ran out into the road and saved him. He tried to bite me after it all. But after that all he does is lick me and give me affection.

The birthday party was on a Saturday. It was originally meant to be on a Monday, then a Tuesday, then a Friday and finally we settled on a Saturday. The reason for all this being a certain person could only make it on a Saturday. Her name was Caitlin and she was a beauty.
She had long dark hair and a body that danced beneath the tide. Connie and Caitlin didn't get on and Connie didn't really want Caitlin at the party but she said it was OK as it's my Birthday.
Connie thought Caitlin was jealous of her because She spent so much time with me and Caitlin was in love with me and she couldn't handle it.

'She's in deep with you, you know' Connie said

'No, she's not'

'Yes, she is. She fucking wants your babies!'

'Oh, God please. Don't be silly'

Connie was on the brink on being an alcoholic and she would say the same of me. I bought mostly whiskey for the birthday party and two crates of beer. We both drank a lot and some would say too much.
There were a few more people attending the party. Mostly girls and one boy and in the end he never turned up.
I arrived at the party at 6 in the evening. It was a sunny day with a slight wind blowing in the distance. It felt soothing on your face. There was only one other person who was there at that time, her name was lotte.

'Hello' she said

'Hey, how long have you been here?' I asked

'Oh, not long. About 20 minutes'

'I see. And what you drinking then?'

'Cider. What about you?'

'Whiskey and beer'

'Manly drinks then'

Yes, I suppose you could say that.'

Connie was busy with her kids. Giving them their supper and getting the younger one ready for bed.
I sat in a chair silently looking around the room. The TV was on. It was some children's programme.
I had my eye on a fly flying about. It flew on the window and then the curtain and then finally landed on the TV which is where it stayed for the remainder of the night. I was waiting on Caitlin mostly. I was looking forward to seeing her.

'When is Caitlin getting here?' Connie asked

'She said 8 o clock to me'

'What time is it now?'

'7:15'. I'm meeting her at the bus station at 8'

Nothing much happened in the next 45 minutes apart from some very small small talk. By then I had had about 3 bottles of beer and Lotte had drank half a bottle of cider and Connie was already drunk.

'I'm off to meet Caitlin' I said

I arrived at the bus stop on time and Caitlin had not yet arrived. It was now rather cold and the sun had gone into hiding. The breeze was cold against my face. Not long the moon was about to make an appearance. I looked up to the sky thinking about things and I felt an empty feeling inside me. I don't know why but my heart heard the dancing of the soul and could not dance to the same rhythm and I felt lost.
It was now 8:25 and Caitlin had not yet arrived. I tried to ring her and there was no answer. I looked up at the sky some more and pondered the world and after pondering the world for another 35 minutes and I gave up and went back to Connie's.

'Where's Caitlin?' Connie asked

'Don't think she's turning up'

'I'm rather glad really'

'Yes. We shall drink the wine I bought for her'

We opened the bottle of wine and drank it from the bottle.

'We're all mad here, you know' said Connie

'What do you mean? I asked

'Lotte is one of us'

'Oh, is she?'

'Yes, she is'

And Lotte smiled splendidly at the situation and became drunk rather quickly. We went into the garden as it turned dark and laughed at the stars while sitting down in the long grass.

'Yes, we're all mad here' we all said

The party was a boring one and we were all home by midnight.

title: A birthday party

question: Summarize the therapy that happens in the story.

answer: When the narrator goes to therapy, he gives vague answers and doesn't really open up much. Because of this, it seems like he is not getting much out of therapy. On the other hand, Connie overshares with her therapist and they seem scandalized about it.

question: Summarize the narrator's relationships with Connie's family.

answer: The narrator seems to have a mostly good relationship with Connie's family. Her brother used to manage his band but they had a falling out. Connie's father helped the narrator out with gigs sometimes. The narrator also saved Connie's dog, Gatsby.

question: Summarize the narrator's relationship with Caitlin.

answer: The narrator seems to be in love with Caitlin, and Caitlin seems to be in love with him. Connie says that Caitlin wants to have the narrator's babies, but the narrator denies those claims. The narrator picked the day of the party so that Caitlin could make it, and waited for a full hour for her at the bus stop. It is unclear why Caitlin did not show up.

question: What does the text say about alcohol consumption?

answer: There are numerous mentions of alcohol consumption in the story. Connie's brother is an alcoholic, and the main characters drink quite a bit. During the narrator's first conversation with Lotte, she says that whiskey and beer are "manly drinks," and they drink while they have small talk. They then drink a bottle of wine from the bottle after the narrator gets back from waiting for Caitlin.


split: train

text:
NPR ombudsman Alicia Shepard has, apparently, spent the last couple of days trying to figure out how NPR allowed a false report onto the air that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords had died.

She’s issued her report.

The most interesting observation (at least to _this_ blogger) was an exoneration of NPR’s Two Way blog, which also posted the story, but with a disclaimer, Shepard reports:

__

  __

  The incorrect news was also posted on “The Two-Way,” NPR’s newsblog. It was attributed to an unnamed source in the Pima County Sheriff’s office. However, Two-Way blogger Mark Memmott handled the news just right, continually cautioning that the story was erupting in the midst of panic and pandemonium and nothing was certain.

__

Which demands that _someone_ ask the question, “if it’s not certain, why post it, particularly since it did not come with any attribution”?

But in the reality of how blogs work, she’s wrong. Unless the blog has been edited, there was no specific caution attached to the news that Giffords was dead. The caution was actually issued at the beginning of the live blog which scrolls to the _bottom_ of a page as newer items are added to the top. That’s just the way blogs work, but the as-it-happens blog isn’t read like a newspaper story or, for that matter, like any other online story. On a live-blog, any caution, any disclaimer, any information at all that needs to be imparted, needs to be embedded completely within a time-stamped entry.

[two_way_blog_giffords.jpg]

Other than that, though, Shepard zeroes in correctly:

__

  __

  NPR had two sources, though neither was identified in any way, and should have been. And the newscast should have put the news in context, explaining that a tragedy had just occurred, the story was changing quickly, and this was what NPR knew at that moment.

  A critical question for each source was: “How do you know that?”

  It turns out that neither source had accurate, first-hand information. The congressional source had heard it in a meeting on Capitol Hill, where undoubtedly rumors and half truths were flying around.

  Moran said his information came from “law enforcement sources, a KJZZ reporter and very early reports on NPR.org.”

  “I felt supremely confident in the two sources I had but unfortunately those sources were relying on other sources, almost like a game of telephone tag,” said Moran. “Unfortunately in this case the stakes were extremely high and I’m sick about it.”

  Typically, in a big, fast-breaking news story like this, senior editors should have been consulted before going on air with devastating news based on sources NPR would not name.

__

One other note: Shepard reports that NPR correspondent Audie Cornish provided the second source on the report, indicating it came from “a congressman’s office.” She didn’t identify which congressman, but should have.

Shepard also does not wade into the question of using _anonymous_ sources, which is unfortunate. And while she says senior editors at NPR should’ve been consulted before the story was aired, she doesn’t provide an answer to the question of whether NPR’s firing (I’m calling it what it was) of Ellen Weiss from the position days earlier was one of the reasons that wasn’t done.

About the blogger

[Bob Collins]

Bob Collins

 bcollins@mpr.org • @newscut

Bob Collins retired from Minnesota Public Radio in 2019 after 12 years of writing NewsCut and pointing out to complainants that posts weren’t news stories. A son of Massachusetts, he was a news editor 1992-1998, created the MPR News regional website in 1999, invented the popular Select A Candidate, started several blogs, and every day lamented that his Minnesota Fantasy Legislature project never caught on.

question: What incorrect news was released?

answer: That Rep. Gabrielle Giffords had died.

question: Which network released the false news?

answer: NPR.

question: How many sources did NPR have for the story?

answer: 2.

question: What did they not do before going on the air?

answer: Consult senior editors.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The article reports on NPR's incorrect reporting on the death of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. It examines NPR's sources and speculates as to why the news network could have gotten such an important story wrong.


text:
BY RICHARD GALPIN
BBC News

image copyrightAFP

image captionHassan Rouhani wrote about the flexibility of Islamic law

THE CLERIC, HASSAN ROUHANI, WHO IS BEING SWORN-IN AS PRESIDENT OF IRAN THIS WEEKEND, USED TO STROLL THE STREETS OF THE SCOTTISH CITY, GLASGOW, DRESSED IN A SMART BUSINESS SUIT, HIS TURBAN REMOVED.

It was the 1990s and Mr Rouhani was a post-graduate student at Glasgow Caledonian University.

He once joked that he should divorce his wife so he'd stand a better chance of getting university accommodation as a single person, rather than requiring family rooms.

At that time, he was also the deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament. But those who knew him say he readily accepted the more lowly status of a student.

"He was on first (name) terms with fellow students," says Prof Hassan Amin, who has now retired from his post teaching law at Glasgow Caledonian University.

"Many times he ate in the students' canteen and sometimes I would take him to the staff restaurant," he says.

"People would come and sit down and I would introduce him… and he would happily engage in a conversation with them."

Political duties

The thesis Mr Rouhani wrote for his PhD is called "The flexibility of Shariah (Islamic Law) with reference to the Iranian experience."

He did the research in Iran while continuing his political duties in Tehran.

image captionProf Hassan Amin said Hassan Rouhani was happy to engage in conversation

But he commuted regularly to Glasgow to meet his academic supervisors and discuss the progress he was making.

Dr Mahdi Zahraa, who was one of Mr Rouhani's supervisors, remembers him as "a quiet-spoken, very gentle man", with whom he enjoyed "intelligent and challenging" conversations. His spoken English was good.

"We had very different views on some matters, on others we found that we held similar opinions," he said.

"From our discussions, I ascertained that he had a modern and reformist approach to Shariah law."

Public interest

His thesis can still be brought out and read at the university library.

"There has been quite a bit of press interest (in the thesis), interest from the public in general and quite a bit of interest from the Iranian community," says the library director, Robert Ruthven. "The thesis seems to show he has quite a flexible and perhaps modernising outlook."

In the first line of the abstract, Dr Rouhani writes: "This thesis verifies that no laws in Islam are immutable."

And he goes on to state: "The primary source of the Islamic law (the Quran) is in itself flexible on the basis of the analysis that the Quranic legislation leaves room for flexibility in the evaluation of its injunctions."

image captionHassan Rouhani's thesis is still available for researchers at the university library

Experts say this is not something new in recent Iranian thinking, but it does put him in the modernist or pragmatist camp.

And while he's not regarded as a reformist, his victory in the election in June has raised expectations amongst the reformist groups which rallied around him that he will bring change to Iran.

Since the election, Mr Rouhani has spoken of bringing moderation back to Iranian politics and being more transparent about Iran's nuclear programme, so what he called "cruel" sanctions imposed on Iran by the international community, can be lifted.

Gradual change

And it seems his decision to study in Britain back in the 1990s, did to some extent reflect his more liberal outlook.

"He chose Great Britain because he has respect for the legal system here, for the judiciary and also for the legislative system," says Prof Hassan Amin, who is hopeful Mr Rouhani will deliver the promises he made during the election.

"However I would say it would not be an immediate change, it has to be gradual, towards an Iran of sustainable development and good relations with the rest of the world."

Other experts are also cautious about how much Mr Rouhani will want to or be able to free up the system at home and re-engage with the West.

"He is firm in his loyalty to the Islamic republic and to the supreme leader," says Sir Richard Dalton, a former British ambassador to Iran.

"He's best described as a man of the centre with excellent political links to all parts of the political spectrum in Iran.

"His maxim will be more let's go for what works, rather than to respond to a preconceived reform programme."

And yet Sir Richard also believes there could be a breakthrough in the long crisis over Iran's nuclear programme during Mr Rouhani's presidency, if the United States is prepared to offer a progressive easing of the international economic sanctions and if Tehran is also flexible.

"Then I believe…it should be possible to negotiate a permanent, long-term solution to the nuclear question."

-   -

question: What setting does this document focus on?

answer: This document focuses on Iran.

question: Describe Hassan Rouhanj.

answer: Hassan Rouhani, at the time of the document, was being sworn-in as a centrist president of Iran. In the 1990's he was the deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament. He also used to teach law at Glasgow Caledonian University. He is said to have a modern approach to Shariah Law.

question: Describe the thesis Mr.Rouhani wrote for his PhD.

answer: Mr.Rouhani's thesis verifies that no laws in Islam are immutable.

question: What is described in the "Public interest" section?

answer: Mr.Rouhani's thesis, which verifies that no laws in Islam are immutable, is discussed. His desire to bring moderation to Iranian politics and to be more transparent about the Iranian nuclear program.

question: What are Rouhani's political duties?

answer: The document is referencing his political duties of being the deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament in the 1990s.

question: What is Mr. Rouhani's relationship to Great Britain?

answer: He chose to study there in the 1990's due to his respect for the legal, judiciary, and legislative system.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: At the time of this document, Hassan Rouhani is being sworn in as the president of Iran. This document profiles his political history and expectations for his presidency.


text:
Mark was a regular guy. Or at least he thought so. He didn't live a super exciting life. Woke up every morning, brushed his teeth, ate breakfast, got dressed for work, packed his lunch, got in his car,and went to work.

At work Mark was an accountant, spending his hours punching numbers. Add. Subtract. Multiply. Divide. At lunch time he went to the cafe to eat his lunch, which usually consisted of a sandwich, an apple, a greek yogurt, and occasionally a small desert. Usualy he would also converse with his co-worker, Dave.

"Hey Dave, how was her recital last night?"

"Oh not bad, she's finally getting the hang of it."

Their conversations never lasted long. He would usually awkwardly just finish lunch, walk away, and not pick up the conversation again until lunch time the next day. You could say he was introverted.

He liked spending the little free time he had on his own, he never tried meeting girls, because he never had the time. Ever since he was a kid, he had been on the less social side. Pretty far on the less social side actually.

So far in his life he had not done a single spontaneous thing. As far as his life had gone on, it was 100% routine. His heart never skipped a beat. In fact, it stayed in perfect rhythm. Until now.

When Mark was asleep, a thunderstorm had occurred, resetting his alarm clock. His sleep cycle would have woken him up naturally, had he not had trouble getting to sleep because of the thunderstorm.

He woke up a frightening five minutes late. Freaking out about not being on schedule, he rushed his shower, forgetting to shampoo. When he dressed up for work, he put his right sock on his left foot, and his left sock on his right foot. He even forgot to pack his apple.

The day at work was a dreadful one. He was in a bad mood about the combination of the horrible things that happened. such a bad mood that he didn't even talk to Dave.

That day when he got home he was exhausted. His entire life had been in perfect rhythm until today. So he just got home and crashed. Fell asleep faster than ever before.

The next day was a bit of a blur. He had a headache the entire day. He did shape up enough to strike up a conversation with his co-worker however.

"You know Bill, I had the weirdest dream last", he said

"well what was it about, kurt?", Bill replied

"huh... well, I can't really remember it now. Something about an office"

"well", Bill replied "We better get back to work. This guy's transmission isn't going to fix itself."

title: Reality

question: What does Kurt do for a living?

answer: Kurt is an auto mechanic.

question: Do socks ordinarily carry a right/left distinction?

answer: no

question: What is Kurt's coworker's name?

answer: Bill

question: What could have caused Dave to become Kurt?

answer: the story does not answer this question

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Dave is an accountant who lives a strictly routine life. One night he has trouble sleeping, and a few days later is an auto mechanic named Kurt, who had only dreamed of being Dave.


text:
	Long ago, there was a beautiful winter day, the sun shone bright and sparkling white snow lay undisturbed across the ground, silencing the world which it covered. It was on this day that I decided to take a long walk in the woods outside of the hustle and bustle of the city.
	As  I walked in the woods, I came upon an elder tree who had lived a great many years and whose bark harbored a great number of wounds. I brushed the thick, gleaming snow off of the tree’s tangled roots, which spread far and deep in all directions. Unto the roots I sat, and the tree accepted me as a friend upon its lap, though he knew not who I was or of what nature my intentions were. Naught else in this world would have ever accepted me so quickly and graciously, let alone trusted me so easily.
	For many hours there I sat, nurtured and nestled deep in the ancient and deep-reaching roots. In my time sat comfortably upon the tree I asked in a hushed tone what the tree had seen and felt in his many years, seated forever upon the land where he stood. The tree answered in words of silence, and by it I was taught to listen with my eyes, not my ears.
	‘I have been built upon.’ said he with the rotting plank in his branches; with the scars in his skin he said ‘I have been wounded.’; ‘I have been shelter for many lives.’ he said with the hole in his trunk and the abandoned birds-nest in his uppermost branch. He spoke very little, yet told very much.
	‘I have travelled far,’ I said in reply. ‘I have been very many places, yet I fear I have seen less than you have, though you are rooted in this singular area. I have found little happiness to no avail, and I am plagued by my solitude which hangs over my head as a metal weight. I am not so wise as you are, my time is short on this planet and I, who has been born before you, is fated to die before you. I fear whether the choices I make in my life will be ill choices.’ I said, despair was shown so heavily in my voice.
	The tree listened well, and said nothing.
	‘I have no one on this earth who listens so well as you, tree.’
	The tree said naught, though I waited in vain for many hours.
	No advice was given to me that day, the tree never responded, but it held me tightly in its roots and I felt warm inside, despite the cold weather. The tree accepted me blindly, as nothing else would, or possibly ever will, it had done enough for me. Perhaps this tree had helped others, such as it had helped me; it had taken me in my pity.
	I walked to the woods that day with only the intention of feeling the cold air nip at my exposed skin; I left the woods that day enlightened, inspired by the kindness and unconditional love which the tree so openly gave out. I was changed, by something so simple as the comfort of a tree. Love can be found in the simplest things, I learned that day, and we are never alone so long as we choose to see the life around us.

title: My first completed short story: The Elder Tree

question: What was the narrator asking the elder tree?

answer: The narrator silently asked it what it had seen and felt in many years standing in the land.

question: How did the elder Tree respond at the narrator?

answer: The tree responded in silence and said it has "been built upon", "wounded", and "been shelter for many lives".

question: How did the elder tree help the narrator?

answer: It accepted the narrator blindly as nothing else had or ever will

question: Explain what the narrator learned that day it met with the elder tree.

answer:
That love can be found in the simplest things and that we are never alone as long as we choose to see the life around us.
Narrator also learned to listen with their eyes, and not their ears.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator goes on a walk in the woods to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. It greets and silently talks with an elder tree that teaches them to listen with their eyes and not their ears. After a brief silent dialogue, the tree helped the narrator by accepting them blindly as no one ever had or ever will.


text:
Bipartisan support is still no guarantee that a bill to strengthen the federal background-check system will pass.

 Clare Foran
November 18, 2017

[Senator Chris Murphy]
Senator Chris Murphy heads to the House chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on June 22, 2016, to show support for the sit-down protest, seeking a vote on gun control measures.Alex Brandon / AP
Republicans and Democrats have found gun legislation both sides agree on. But that doesn’t mean it will pass.

In the wake of mass shootings in Nevada, Texas, and California, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, an outspoken advocate of gun control, introduced a bill to strengthen the federal background-check system for gun sales. Debates over gun control on Capitol Hill nearly always give way to inaction in the face of Republican opposition. But Democrats aren’t alone in supporting this new legislation: It is also backed by Republican Senators John Cornyn, the second highest-ranking Republican in the Senate, Orrin Hatch, Tim Scott, and Dean Heller.

The legislation doesn’t call for expanding restrictions on gun purchases; it’s meant to stop people from buying guns when they were never supposed to be able to in the first place. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, relies on state and federal officials to report mental-health and criminal-conviction records that legally bar individuals from purchasing firearms. But those records don’t always make it into the system.

After a gunman killed 26 people in Sutherland Springs, Texas, earlier this month, the Air Force conceded that it failed to report the shooter’s prior domestic violence conviction, an action that if it had been taken might have prevented the purchase of the firearms used in the shooting. The new legislation is intended to make sure that something like that never happens again.

Any Republican who decides to back the legislation can argue that they just want existing laws to be enforced. And it looks like the GOP won’t have to fear backlash from the gun lobby. “We applaud Senator John Cornyn’s efforts to ensure that the records of prohibited individuals are entered into NICS,” Chris Cox of the NRA said in a statement. “The National Rifle Association has long supported the inclusion of all legitimate records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.” The National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade association for the firearms industry, put out a statement on Thursday in which it “praised U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) for his leadership” on the bill.

Gun-control advocates support the bill too, and say it’s evidence that common ground between Republicans and Democrats in the gun debate is possible. “This is both parties affirming that there are people that we believe should not have access to guns, and we want to make sure that the system is set up in such a way that we prevent access to guns for those people,” Christian Heyne, the legislative director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, which supports the legislation, said in an interview. “This is a real, genuine effort from people who couldn’t be further from each other on the other side of the aisle.”

In addition to Senators Murphy, Cornyn, Hatch, Scott, and Heller, Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal, Dianne Feinstein, and Jeanne Shaheen are also co-sponsors.

But bipartisan support is still no guarantee that the legislation will actually move forward in Congress or ever be enacted. For that, it needs the support of the Republican congressional leadership. In response to a request for comment asking if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has plans to advance the bill, a spokesman for McConnell said, “We’re reviewing it.”

There are countless examples of a debate over guns flaring up in Congress in response to a mass shooting, only to stall out not long after. Some Republicans in Congress expressed a willingness to consider a ban on “bump stocks,” a device that enables semi-automatic weapons to fire faster, after 58 people were killed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in what has been called the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. In mid-October, Republican Representative Carlos Curbelo and Democratic Representative Seth Moulton introduced a bill to ban the use of bump stocks. Weeks later, the legislation had stalled.

Legislation doesn’t always stall out though: In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, Republicans and Democrats came together to pass a bill to improve the federal background-check system after it was discovered that the shooter had a history of mental-health problems that should have barred him from buying a gun. The NICS Improvement Amendments Act, a measure similarly intended to strengthen the background-check system, was later signed into lawby Republican President George W. Bush.

Of course, just as the legislation passed in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shooting has not fixed every problem with the federal background-check system, it’s possible that the current legislation under consideration wouldn’t end every instance where relevant records fail to end up in the national system.

The bill contains a number of provisions designed to ensure that records are reported, including a system of incentives and penalties designed to prevent gaps in the system. States could tap into federal-grant preferences if they implement plans to upload records, while federal agencies would be denied money for political appointees if they fail to report necessary background information.

Po Murray of Newton Action Alliance, a group formed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, killed 20 children in 2012, said that she “applaud[s] the bipartisan effort” and “agree[s] that NICS needs to be fixed,” but that she wanted Congress to pass other gun laws as well to reduce mass shootings, gun homicides, and suicides.

The Murphy-Cornyn legislation proposes changes that fall short of the full roster of reforms that advocates want to see made to the background-check system, including the implementation of universal background checks to cover private and online sales. Senator Murphy introducedlegislation in October that would expand background checks for private sales. That bill currently has no Republican co-sponsors, though pollingindicates that a majority of Americans support universal background checks.

The recent shootings in Las Vegas and Texas are now being counted as two of the five deadliest mass shootings in American history. That might increase pressure on Congress to do something.

“We’re always concerned that momentum can be lost,” said Robin Lloyd, the director of government affairs for Giffords, the gun violence prevention organization founded by former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. But Lloyd added that the recent tragedies “may be the catalyst for moving something like the Cornyn-Murphy bill over the finish line.”

This article is part of our project “The Presence of Justice,” which is supported by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.

Clare Foran is a former associate editor at _The Atlantic_.

question: What is the subject of the article?

answer: Bipartisan support for gun legislation.

question: Which significant people are mentioned?

answer: Democratic Senator Chris Murphy introduces a bill to strengthen the federal background-check system for gun sales. Backed by Republicans John Cornyn, Orrin Hatch, Tim Scott, and Dean Heller.

question: What was the purpose of the article?

answer: The purpose of the article is to inform.

question: Is there any resolution to the discussion?

answer: There is no resolution to the discussion.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: The article is an informative piece discussing bipartisan support for gun legislation. In June, 2016, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy introduces a bill to strengthen the federal background-check system for gun sales. Backed by Republicans John Cornyn, Orrin Hatch, Tim Scott, and Dean Heller. The article highlights incidents of gun violence that have occurred, indicating that the bill will reduce the likelihood of similar incidents reoccurring. Although the bill has bipartisan support, it is not guaranteed the legislation will ever be enacted.


text:
“PLEASE DON'T TALK TO THE LIFEGUARD” is a song by American pop singer Diane Ray.[1] It was featured on her 1964 album _The Exciting Years_,[2] and reached number 31 on the _Billboard_ Hot 100.[3]

Chart performance

The song debuted on the Hot 100 chart dated August 3, 1963.[4] It peaked seven weeks later at number 31.[5] “Please Don't Talk to the Lifeguard” spent a total of 9 weeks on the chart.[6] Ray's next single, “My Summer Love”,[7] failed to impact any chart, as did her subsequent singles, making her a one-hit wonder.[8]

Inclusion on compilations

The song has been included on numerous girl-pop compilations, including _Growin' Up Too Fast: The Girl Group Anthology_ (1996), _I Wish I Were a Princess: The Great Lost Female Teen Idols_ (1997), and _Early Girls, Vol. 3_ (2000).[9]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

title: Please Don't Talk to the Lifeguard

question: What year did the album "The Exciting Years" by Diane Ray come out?

answer: 1964.

question: What's the highest number "Please Don't Talk to the Lifeguard" reached on the Billboard Hot 100?

answer: 31.

question: When did the song debut on the Hot 100?

answer: 1963.

question: Why is Diane Ray considered a "one-hit wonder"?

answer: She only had one song break the Billboard Hot 100.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: "Please Don't Talk to the Lifeguard" is a song by Diane Ray released on her 1964 album "The Exciting Years". While it enjoyed the #31 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, none of her other songs would go on to chart, making Diane Ray what is colloquially known as a "one-hit wonder".


text:
A Human ~~misunder~~Stand~~ing~~

Trapped under a code of unspoken law existed a helpless body, the silhouette of a foreign and defected lie. It was on the bridge of denial where this deformed and self-threatening creature attempted to gain validation through the manipulation of belief, determination and euphoria. This creature denied accusation but exaggerated praise. At birth, each of these full of thought, yet thoughtless creatures would be unknowingly blessed with the burden of life. A task, which looked at through rosy glasses could resemble a noble quest, or an extended search for unjustified appreciation. In truth, the task was the opposite, instead of associating, joining or uniting, this species openly chose to disassociate, disjoin and disunite, inherently leading to its fatal yet oppressed demise. Although genuinely curious and often intelligent, the creature chose to rise to its defeat, thus loving itself for what it wasn’t, and hating itself for what it had become.

Passive and expecting change, scouring social and political conduct only to grow an acceptance to non-conform, on an ever changing wave that did right to others, but left to self. This creature often attempted to distinguish itself by claiming individuality so it could stand freezing whilst lying on a sweltering background. It was only an imaginary feature that allowed a pulse of self-sanity to remain omniscient. Memories that multiplied the sense of no escape crafted a promise that was already gone, a regret that recommended the colour of black and white. Fraudulence and deceit left a heavy head and feet made of stone, a quest lost, a quest stopped and a quest that questioned a deeper conscience. A painful smile and frown of anticipation, this creature was a twisted yet simple manifestation of everything that it wasn’t and nothing that it was.

title: Got carried away with a creative writing task in school - What are your thoughts?

question: What manner of task is the thoughtless creature blessed with?

answer: The burden of life.

question: How does the thoughtless creature seek to distinguish itself?

answer: By claiming individuality.

answer: n/a

answer: n/a

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The thoughtless creature, at birth, seeks to distinguish itself by pursuing what it thinks is a noble quest, disunifying and trashing its environment - a task that might ultimately lead to its demise.


text:
[_Judas Returning the Thirty Silver Pieces_ (Rembrandt 1629)] _JUDAS REPENTANT, RETURNING THE THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER_ is a painting by Rembrandt, now in Mulgrave Castle in Lythe, North Yorkshire.[1] It depicts the story of Matthew 27:3: “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders”.

Made in 1629 while he was working in Leiden, the painting is one of Rembrandt's earliest works. About 1630 Constantijn Huygens wrote an analysis of the figure of Judas in it, arguing that Rembrandt had surpassed the painters from Antiquity, as well as the great sixteenth-century Italian artists when it came to the representation of emotions expressed by figures that act in a history painting.

[1]

question: Where is 'Judas Repentant, Returning the Pieces of Silver"?

answer: "Judas Repentant, Returning the Pieces of Silver" IS IN Mulgrave Castle in Lythe, North Yorkshire.

question: What does the painting depict?

answer: The painting depicts the story of Matthew 27:3. Judas realizes that he was condemned, and returns the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.

question: When was the piece panted?

answer: The piece was made in 1629.

question: How much is the painting worth?

answer: Not answered.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This article is about the painting by Rembrandt titled "Judas Repentant, Returning the Pieces of Silver." It was made in 1629 and depicts the scene of Judas returning the 30 silver pieces to the chief priests and elders after being condemned.


text:
I was in a grungy restroom, trying to piss when I heard her come in. i focused on the many stains and graffiti that covered the wall. i was too pissed to piss, i thought, chuckling. the visitor was slamming doors and being loud.

she went into the stall next to me and I said "gimme some fucking paper" she did. I was done pissing. as I opened the stall door, she looked at me, pissing with the door open.

"holly. that's my name". she slurred. she stood up before she was done, effectively peeing all over herself and dispersing the blood on her pad.
"Katz. "
we fucked right there. i looked at her, makeup streaked down her cheeks, from the sweat of orgasm.
then I left.

title: holly

question: What genre is this story?

answer: This seems to be a sort of romance story.

question: Where does the restroom the narrator is in seem to be?

answer: It's possible it could be in a bar or nightclub.

question: What does "she slurred" indicate?

answer: It indicates that Holly is probably drunk.

question: Why did the narrator leave after they had sex?

answer: He probably just wanted to have a casual sexual encounter without getting to know Holly.


text:
Okay Reddit. First time I'm posting something to an audience outside of my small circle of friends. Hope you like it. I'm from India so you have the references here and there. Shouldn't stop you from getting it, though. Hope you like it :)

This story formed itself on three separate occasions and was finally written on a cold winter day on a Lutyens' Delhi building's terrace. It became more special after I recited it to someone immediately after its completion. Not very often do I get to read stories out but for the one time I did, it sure feels good. This story for me (like the others) is like winter. Cold, numb fingers and dull aches, but some warmth inside, and just about enough. I hope you like it :)

"Do ghosts live on Peepul trees?" I ask, peering across the terrace into the hazy silhouette of a clump of trees far away. The winter sun trying its best to warm my bones against the chilly wind that plays with my messy hair. "Ghosts and Gods both." says my aunt knowingly as she pours me yet another cup of strong, milky tea. A mug, rather. I warm my numb fingers on it. I am cold. I'm in a village for all practical purposes. My phone does not work here, buffaloes sit lazily basking in the faded sun, children quarrel over a game of marbles, and a twenty-year-old misfit sips tea sitting on a cot.

Needless to say, this is not my natural habitat. For one, I can see the sky in all its sprawling, blue glory. Two birds skip off the draft and dive one after the other to swoop onto some unknowing prey. Somewhere, a rooster crows, which is quite odd for two o clock in the afternoon. Also odd for this time of the day is the cold that seeps through to my bones. I tell my aunt about life in the city. She listens wide-eyed. She cannot fathom the coldness of it all, the steel and glass prison that I work in, the dreadful fact that I know exactly how each day is going to be. She does not understand how free I feel here without my cell phone chaining me like an invisible umbilical cord, how clear the air here is without a thousand conversations riding the airwaves form tower to tower. All is well in my world though, as she pours me yet another cup of tea. I smile. Family.

As the clock strikes four, children start pouring into the terrace. My cousin sister, all of nineteen, is the neighbourhood teacher, a prestigious title earned through months of reading aloud the alphabet, teaching children to dot their i's and cross their t's and much red ink spread over her soft palms. The children eye me suspiciously. After a while they decide I'm no threat and a couple of them greet me. "Good Morning, Sir!" they say in that sing song chorus I used to be a part of, long back. I smile again.

This class is quite different from any I have seen. The children, aging from five to ten, do not sit still. They laugh and cry freely. They sing their lessons. Some are struggling to hold pencils while some are proud to be old enough to wield pens, prized possessions no doubt for those little fingers. It is, in a way, like an overgrown garden. Disordered and chaotic but oh, so beautiful.

One little boy stands out, though. There's something strange about him even in this scene which is none too familiar to me. He takes and exceptionally long time to write. I kneel next to him and peer into his notebook, bound with thread. All the words are misspelt, the letters are fractured,misshapen little creatures, and the boy's face is a mixture of confusion and terror. I look at my sister with concern. She nods silently and tells the class to write numeral to a hundred. She walks over to me and looks into his book. Then she looks at me, her eyes full of exasperation and silent despair. "There's something wrong with him." she says, the winter haze making its way into her voice. "He's just slow to learn. He's not too rich. His father was supposed to come see me today." She looks at him with sadness. He merely smiles as he squints into the sun. "Take care of him will you?" she says and leaves me with him.

I am now a helpless subject of the boy's scrutiny. he squints at me face, the winter sun giving me a halo. I try to smile, but it falters. This will not go well, I think. I need something to say, to engage his mind, so much more free than mine. "Do you like aeroplanes? I ask him , finding my saviour in a flash of supposed brilliance. "Planes." he says after a couple of seconds of incomprehension, his face lighting up. "Planes!" he says again, his hands tracing a flight path, cutting through the cold air. "Let's make one!" I say with poorly disguised relief and I tear out two pages from his notebook and give him one. I make the first folds quickly, my fingers using their own memory saved from eons ago when I used to fly. He sits there confused, his fingers not grasping the movements, ever so slightly out of his control. I repeat slowly. He follows this time. He laughs clearly as he does and the air is warmer, if only by a fraction.

As his small hands struggle to give life to the piece of paper, I see him deep in penance, wanting nothing more to bend the paper and his own limbs to his will. Ages pass by with me lost in the slow dance his fingers play with the paper, becoming more and more refined until he makes the final fold with all the grace of a finishing pirouette. As we walk to the boundary I silently pray that it flies well, to some unknown tree-dwelling deity, lord of planes and the winter wind.

The child blows into the paper plane in a ritual he is sure will lend it magical wings, and jumps slightly as he releases it into the vast, cold expanse of air.

And it flies majestically, circling us and riding a draft into a slow dive reminiscent of the two birds, then stalling, then diving again and continuing its graceful pirouette as the boy's wide eyes follow it in flight, even as he dives and stalls with the plane, no longer bound by his form, and having lived its short life with the grace of a dying star, the plane lands on a buffalo sitting some distance away. The animal merely grunts and goes promptly back to chewing its cud, a business more important than all the machinations of this world.

I look at him. He is laughing. He is in fits. "You did well." is all I can muster. I ruffle his hair gleaming brown in the sun, and he nods with twinkling eyes. I turn around to see an old man, whose eyes tell me he is the father. "He did well." I say weakly to him. He merely nods, other gestures being foreign to him. He picks the child up into his arms, never too weak for his son. Then he looks at me with a smile and moist eyes. I cannot look away. They are too deep for me to swim away.

My mind goes back five years when I had returned with my examination results to my father. "You could have done better." was all he had said. I remember sitting there under the same sun with the result sheep in my hand, a piece of paper that would never, ever fly.

I look at the child and his father again. It's not cold anymore. The wind stands still as if in respect, and for a moment the sun shines brighter.

Then it hits me .

The boy isn't broken.

I am.

I walk away silently and gaze across the open fields into infinity until my eyes are moist.

Perhaps it is just the cold wind.

Perhaps.

title: Broken

question: Why did the narrator want to know whether ghosts live on Peepul trees?

answer: He was just curious and making small talk with his aunt.

question: Why did the narrator think the village was not his natural habitat?

answer: He was used to the busy city life.

question: Describe the little boy who stood out among the children.

answer: Unlike the other children, the boy was a slow learner, and he was self-conscious of it.

question: Compare the boy's father and the narrator's father.

answer: The boy's father was supportive and sympathetic to his son, while the narrator's father was strict and made the narrator feel inadequate.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator, a city boy, teaches a slow-learner village child how to make a paper plane, and the child is able to make it fly. The father feels happy seeing his child's little success. The narrator reflects on his own life and how his father makes him feel not good enough.


text:
The fifth season of _Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei_ aired between December 16, 1999 and March 24, 2000.

Format

René Steinke joined the cast.

Cast

-   René Steinke - Tom Kranich
-   Erdoğan Atalay - Semir Gerkhan

Episodes

Category:1999 German television seasons Category:2000 German television seasons

title: Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei (season 5)

question: What is the title of TV series?

answer: Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei

question: When did the fifth season air?

answer: between December 16, 1999 and March 24, 2000

question: What is the county of origin for the television series?

answer: Germany

question: Who was the cast for the series?

answer: René Steinke and Erdoğan Atalay

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The fifth season of German TV series "Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei" aired between December 16, 1999 and March 24, 2000 and casted René Steinke and Erdoğan Atalay.


text:
thumb|upright=1.35|The Pantanal, in central South America [Extent of flooded grasslands and savannas]

FLOODED GRASSLANDS AND SAVANNAS is a terrestrial biome of the WWF biogeographical system, consisting of large expanses or complexes of flooded grasslands. These areas support numerous plants and animals adapted to the unique hydrologic regimes and soil conditions. Large congregations of migratory and resident waterbirds may be found in these regions. However, the relative importance of these habitat types for these birds as well as more vagile taxa typically varies as the availability of water and productivity annually and seasonally shifts among complexes of smaller and larger wetlands throughout a region.[1]

This habitat type is found on four of the continents on Earth. Some globally outstanding flooded savannas and grasslands occur in the Everglades, Pantanal, Lake Chad flooded savanna, Zambezian flooded grasslands, and the Sudd. The Everglades are the world’s largest rain-fed flooded grassland on a limestone substrate, and feature some 11,000 species of seed-bearing plants, 25 varieties of orchids, 300 bird species, and 150 fish species. The Pantanal, one of the largest continental wetlands on Earth, supports over 260 species of fish, 700 birds, 90 mammals, 160 reptiles, 45 amphibians, 1,000 butterflies, and 1,600 species of plants. The flooded savannas and grasslands are generally the largest complexes in each region.[2]

[1]

[2]

title: Flooded grasslands and savannas

question: How many animal species are found in the Everglades?

answer: 450 species.

question: How many animal species are found in the Pantanal?

answer: 2255 species.

question: Is flooded grassland found on all continents?

answer: No, it is found on 4 continents.

question: Is water always available in flooded grassland?

answer: It might be, but water annually and seasonally shifts among complexes of smaller and larger wetlands throughout a region.


text:
The struggle for the fate of Christianity - in motion since the earliest times - has often devolved into a fight about whether Christians should seek worldly power or eschew it. It is a question constantly faced by Jesus in the Gospels himself, and it is one always resolved in Jesus' case by using love. Jesus had no politics. He sought no earthly power. But humans who live in a fallen world must live with power and under it. And in this fundamentalist age, where Christians and Jews as well as Muslims have embraced the power of government and law and war to reimpose their literalist beliefs, the battle is intense.

The defining element of Christianism is the pursuit of worldly power -  which is why I refuse to give these politicians and operators the term "Christian." The move into politics was a decision made by the Christianist right two generations ago. Its main vehicle is the Republican party, but it is not entirely partisan, as the remarkable story of "The Family" by Jeff Sharlet reveals.

"The Family," we now learn, is now part of a war to launch new anti-gay laws in Uganda that resemble legislation that preceded mass killings in Rwanda and Serbia in recent years (and, of course, the Shoah before that):

  The law would impose a sentence of life imprisonment on anyone who “penetrates the anus or mouth of another person of the same sex with his penis or any other sexual contraption.” The same penalty would apply if he or she even “touches another person with the intention of committing the act of homosexuality.”

  The law requires a three-year prison sentence for anyone who is aware of evidence of homosexuality and fails to report it to the police within 24 hours. It allows for the prosecution of Ugandans who engage in homosexual acts in foreign countries. And it imposes a prison sentence of up to seven years for anyone who defends the rights of gays and lesbians.

The origin of this law is not just Ugandan; it is backed by American Christianists determined to punish, imprison or terrify homosexuals violating their religious edicts. Sharlet explains:

  The Family is secretive, but not secret. You can go and look at 990s, tax forms and follow the money through these organizations that The Family describe as invisible. But you go and you look. You follow that money. You look at their archives. You do interviews where you can. It's not so invisible anymore.

  So that's how working with some research colleagues we discovered that David Bahati, the man behind this legislation, is really deeply, deeply involved in The Family's work in Uganda, that the ethics minister of Uganda, Museveni's kind of right-hand man, a guy named Nsaba Buturo, is also helping to organize The Family's National Prayer Breakfast. And here's a guy who has been the main force for this Anti-Homosexuality Act in Uganda's executive office and has been very vocal about what he's doing, in a rather extreme and hateful way. But these guys are not so much under the influence of The Family. They are, in Uganda, The Family.

If you want to know what senators like Coburn, Ensign, and Inhofe really believe about gay people and our rights, look at Uganda. If you want to know what motivates the traditionalist Episcopalian break-away church, look at their leader, Archbishop Henry Orombi, who is a strong supporter of the Ugandan law. If you want to see who Rick Warren's long-time allies in Africa are, check out Pastor Martin Ssempa, a Warren acolyte, who also enthusiastically backs the bill - although Warren has publicly opposed it and has said “Martin Ssempa does not represent me, my wife Kay, Saddleback Church.”

Rip off the mask and see what these people would do if they could.

(Update: I've amended the last sentence of this post to correct my impression that Warren has actually opposed the anti-gay law in Uganda. I conflated his distancing from Ssempe with opposition to the law. Warren is trying to have it both ways in public while privately enabling and abetting the stigmatization, terrorizing and murder of gay people.)

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.

2006-2011 archives for The Daily Dish, featuring Andrew Sullivan

question: What is the author's stance on the conflation of religion and politics?

answer: They believe that Christians should not seek worldly power and refuse to deem politicians "Christian".

question: What is the sexual orientation of the author of the article?

answer: They are homosexual.


text:
 Coronavirus and Volunteering

Due to the present crisis we are only recruiting volunteers to train as Initial Advisers who will volunteer remotely from home. You will be trained to do email advice first which gives you plenty of time to research the issue, write your advice and get it checked by the Advice Session Supervisor before sending it to the client.Once you are confident with email advice you can progress to phone advice and if you wish to webchat advice.

Full training will be given by a combination of lessons over Microsoft Teams and independent study. An Advice Session Supervisor will always be on duty to consult with via Microsoft Teams or telephone.

You will need a computer and webcam or tablet, a smartphone and internet access. You will need a safe space to work where your screen cannot be overlooked and you cannot be overheard during telephone supervision. If you progress to phone advice you will need a phone with the voicemail turned off.

21,500 people can't all be wrong

The Citizens Advice service nationally has 21,500 people across the country who give their time voluntarily to help their local communities. Citizens Advice Staffordshire North and Stoke-on-Trent has a team of around 80 volunteers at any one time. They fill a range of roles and we are always looking for new people to join our team.

MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE

By volunteering you’ll be playing an active part in improving the lives of millions of people and influencing the development of national and local policies and services.

WE NEED YOU!
Seventy seven per cent of the people who work in the Citizens Advice service are volunteers, and we simply wouldn’t be here for our clients without them.

-   BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE
-   DO SOMETHING INTERESTING AND CHALLENGING.
-   MEET NEW PEOPLE
-   IMPROVE YOUR PROSPECTS AND PUT YOUR TALENTS TO USE
-   GET TO KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY
-   ENJOY FREE TRAINING
-   GAIN OFFICE-BASED WORK EXPERIENCE

We pay travel expenses. Some roles are more flexible than others. We’ll do our best to find a role for you that fits in with your interests, and we’ll be as flexible as possible in enabling you to volunteer at the times that suit you best.

Clients as Volunteers

Many of our volunteers were once clients who want to give something back to the service that helped them. Having experience of the service from both sides can be extremely valuable. However, it is Citizens Advice policy not to accept current clients as volunteers as there is a risk of a conflict of interest arising. Please contact us if you would like to discuss this with us. Depending on the type and level of support we provided to you we may suggest taking a little break between being a client and becoming a volunteer. If you are likely to need ongoing advice it may be in your best interest to keep this option open for yourself by not volunteering at this time. If your situation changes we can look at things again.

Step by step guide to volunteering with Citizens Advice[P1010102]

>Step One - choose a volunteering role

visit the Volunteer Roles page to see which role(s) you are interested in.

Not all roles are available at all times and at all offices so take that into consideration when you choose.

Still not sure which role is right for you? Take the volunteering quiz www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/support-us/volunteering

> Step Two - Check when our volunteering opportunities are available

 visit the When We Need Volunteers page to see the days and times each role is available at each of our offices.

> Step Three - Choose a training course

Visit the Volunteer Training Courses page to find a course

If you want to be an adviser you will need to find a course you are able to attend in full. For other roles there may be more flexibility.

> Step Four - fill in an expression of interest slip

Visit the Expression of Interest page to find out how to contact us.

> Step Five - what happens next

Visit the What Happens Next page for information on the application process, providing references and our selection process.

Download our Volunteering Publicity Materials

Can you display a poster or some leaflets for us? Visit Volunteering Publicity page to view and download our volunteering posters and leaflet.

question: What does the article say about the restrictions to volunteering?

answer: A private space is necessary for all work in addition to access to a computer with internet access. For phone support, voicemail must be disabled. Current clients aren't accepted to be volunteers. There are classes to be taken, and not all roles are always available.

question: What does the article say about therapists?


text:
QIKIQTARJUAQ (; formerly known as Broughton Island until November 1998 ,[1] is a community located on the island of the same name in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. The island is known for Arctic wildlife, whale watching, and as the northern access point for Auyuittuq National Park (see also Pangnirtung)

At the 2016 census the population was 598, an increase of 15.0% from the 2011 census.[2]

Qikiqtarjuaq hosts an annual “Suicide Prevention Walk”.[3] Local participants would walk a total distance of across the tundra from Kivitoo, an old whaling station.[4] Today the walk is much shorter than the original two and a half days, but it is still meant to promote hope among the community.

The community hosts a two-week celebration over the Christmas and New Year period every year. Visitors are warmly welcomed and encouraged to join the festivities and games.

Near Qikiqtarjuaq was the home of FOX-5, a Distant Early Warning Line and now a North Warning System site.

In July 2011, Qikiqtarjuaq was featured in the BBC Radio 4 comedy series _Cabin Pressure_.

Geography

[Mountains near Qikiqtarjuaq] Qikiqtarjuaq is situated off eastern Baffin Island. Davis Strait and Baffin Bay run to the east, and the Baffin Mountains are located to the west, more specifically the Arctic Cordillera mountain range. It is also one of the Nunavut communities closest to Greenland.

Services

[Airport terminal building] [St. Michael and all Angels Church] [Fox 5 North Warning Site] It is served by Qikiqtarjuaq Airport, , and a nine-room inn, the Tulugak Hotel. A nursing station and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) detachment provide vital resources for the community. The nursing station is composed of two nurses plus local volunteers and assistants and the RCMP station is a one-person detachment but sometimes hosts two officers.

Qikiqtarjuaq is a popular stop for pilots who fly smaller aircraft to and from Europe. The airport has a gravel runway that is well compacted, well cared for, cleared of snow daily, and lit. Qikiqtarjuaq is considerably closer to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland than Iqaluit (CYFB). The instrument approach minima for the non-directional beacon (NDB) approach at CYVM is relatively high (2,000 feet barometric, 1,982 AGL) due to high terrain surrounding the airport. An airport advisory service, Qikiqtarjuaq Airport Radio, (a Community Airport Radio Station [CARS]) provides assistance to pilots during normal business hours, and provides weather observation services. An automatic weather observation service (AWOS) operates when Qikiqtarjuaq Radio is unattended. The fuel supplier at the airport can assist with all ground handling arrangements, including transportation, parking, de-icing, and accommodations.

In the summer of 2010, construction began on the new airport terminal building, and a new municipal office will be built in 2011. There is also an access road that was built to Tisunaaq, also known as Ceetee Land to the Elders, and another road is proposed to Qikiqtarjuaqruluk, or Old Broughton, an abandoned settlement. Kivitoo, an old whaling station, is located to the north and is currently abandoned.

Broadband communications

The community has been served by the Qiniq network since 2005. Qiniq is a fixed wireless service to homes and businesses, connecting to the outside world via a satellite backbone. The Qiniq network is designed and operated by SSI Micro. In 2017, the network was upgraded to 4G LTE technology, and 2G-GSM for mobile voice.

Climate

Qikiqtarjuaq has a tundra climate (ET), with the warmest month averaging below . Summers tend to be cool with chilly nights, while winters are long and cold. Early winter is the snowiest time of the year, with more than half of all year snowfall on average falling during this period.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

title: Qikiqtarjuaq

question: Why was the community island's name-Qikiqtarjuaq-changed and changed back?

answer: It was likely changed due to colonialism and other people's taking land from the natives, or First Nation, and then the reclamation of those names as people became more politically aware.

question: Why might a community in this geographical location host a suicide prevention walk?

answer: The area is geographically isolated and cold. It might be a place where it is easy to be depressed, and few distractions from depression.

question: Why would a small aircraft stop in Qikiqtarjuaq?

answer: It is easy to get assistance for refueling and such on land in Qikiqtarjuaq, and it is close to Greenland.

question: When was this article written and/or updated?

answer: It had to have been after 2017.


text:
Despite the unstable economic climate Russian advertising industry keeps developing. In the first half of 2014 the growth of Russian advertising budgets landed at 6%. Online advertising grew the most, TV and radio – slightly, while print lost a low of advertisers’ money. Let’s find out who are the largest players on the Russian media scene – according to TNS Russia and Sostav.ru.

The most popular TV channels in Russia

Despite Yandex’s monthly audience surpassed Channel 1 already in 2012, all in all TV continues to be the most popular medium in Russia. According to TNS, the leading TV channels reach 99% of the Russian population. 73% of Russian people watch TV daily, and 93% – at least once a week.

Among the numerous Russian TV channels Channel 1 (Первый канал) has kept its leading position in the country and even increased its market share from 13.7% in 2013 to 14.5% in 2014. The second most popular TV channel is Russia 1 (Россия 1), which also managed to strengthen its position on the market increasing the market share from from 12.8% to 13.2% during 2014. The third largest channel – NTV (НТВ) lost audience in 2014; its market share went down from 12.7% to 11.2% during the year.

LARGEST TV CHANNELS IN RUSSIA

[top-tv-channels-in-russia]

Despite the highest reach, TV stands for only 47% of advertising expenditures in Russia, however the experts predict a slight increase in 2015 based on experiences from other economic downtimes in the country.

The most popular online media in Russia

When it comes to Internet-based media, Yandex with its multiple properties kept the leading position throughout 2014. Mail.ru Group with its 28 properties holds the second place in the rating of Russia’s most visited online media, followed by vKontakte (VK) – Russia’s largest social network – which technically also belong to Mail.ru Group as well as Odnoklassniki (6th most visited site), which is Russia’s second largest social network.

[top-internet-sites-in-russia]

Internet is one of the fastest growing media in Russia when it comes to advertising spend. The latest numbers from ACAR (Association of Communication Agencies in Russia) show that online advertising expenditures in Russia grew by 20% in H1 of 2014 comparing to the same period of the previous year, and the trend continued throughout the 3rd quarter of the year.

Contextual advertising (Yandex.Direct, Google AdWords) showed the largest increase in 2014, while display advertising expenditures went down as a result of unstable economic situation.

The most popular newspapers and magazines in Russia

Print in Russia have been losing both audience and advertising budgets for several years, and 2014 was not an exception. During the entire 2014 print lost 10% of ad spend per quarter. Yet, some of the newspapers and magazines still hold very strong positions in the market. “Антенна/Телесемь” (TV guide and entertainment) came out as a leader in terms of reach, followed by “За рулем” (auto), “Аргументы и Факты” (nation-wide newspaper) and “Cosmopolitan” (fashion).

[top-print-media-in-russia]

The most popular radio stations in Russia

Radio has been the most stable medium in terms of both audience and advertising expenditures. The largest radio station in Russia according to TNS is “Европа Плюс” followed by “Дорожное радио”, “Авторадио” and “Русское Радио”.

[top-adio-stations-in-russia]

2015 is expected to be a tougher year for the Russian economy. Based on the experiences from the previous downturns (e.g. 2008-2009), the experts expect the following trends to prevail in the Russian advertising industry:

– Press will continue declining.

– TV will strengthen its positions on the market.

– Advertising budgets will be shifted towards performance-based activities.

– Channels that are normally used to raise awareness will see decreased budgets.

In other words, the Russian market is following the trend we have seen in many of the Western countries the last years. But since the overall market is going through such a rough time I would not be surprised if we would see even more focus toward the performance-based marketing in the coming year.

question: Who are the largest players in the Russia media scene?

answer: TV and internet

question: What is the most popular online medium in Russia?

answer: Yandex

question: Is TV popular in Russia?

answer: It continues to be Russia's most popular medium, but it only stands for 47% of advertising expenditures in Russia.

question: Why has print in Russia been losing both audience and advertising budgets for several years?

answer: That information can't be found in the document, but it can be assumed that it's due to the increase in online media.

question: Describe radio's popularity in Russia?

answer: Radio is described as the most stable medium in terms of both audience and advertising expenditures.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: At the time of the document, the most popular type of media in Russia is discussed. TV and internet were the most popular forms, and print showed a decrease in popularity.


text:
	Kurt was taking his time walking down the street, his feet moving him ever forward as small droplets of water fell down from the sky, splashing all across the city. Everyone around him was rushing, with umbrellas, hoods, newspapers covering their heads. Kurt's sweatshirt had a hood, but he didn't think of placing it over his head. The cold orbs of water felt nice running down his shaggy brown hair, dropping off of curls in front of his face, onto his nose and then down to the ground with a “plop.” The water had just started to fall from the sky, but, unlike most times it rains, it did not start off slowly. There was no build up toward the release. One moment, no rain, the next, it felt like the massage setting on a shower head. Kurt forgot where it was he was going, but continued walking anyway, to get his feet wet. As people ran by, they looked at him oddly, as if he was insane to act as he did.
	After about thirty seconds, Kurt's clothes were soaked through. His hair was dripping completely, it looked as if head been in a shower for a few minutes. His sweatshirt clung to his body, dark gray from the moisture. In the pockets of his jeans his cell phone had short-circuited, the water had soaked into the electronics and caused too much energy to be placed on the motherboard, killing it forever. Kurt didn't care. He didn't notice that fact until a day later, when he went to clean up, and the phone fell from his pocket to the floor. His feet kept leading him down the street, which was growing increasingly familiar to Kurt, as he looked around him. He still did not know where he was going, but let his feet lead him.
	After five minutes of walking in the rain, his feet brought him in front of the door to an apartment building. The building he recalled knowing, but he did not know where from. Water still dripped down his brow to his nose, and off to make a “plop” in the puddle created under his feet. It was still raining, but a canopy provided relief. Kurt's right hand made its way to his pocket, where it found cold metal, damp from the cloth around it. The metal fit into the door in front of him, and his feet pulled him into the stair well, and up the stairs in front of him. He left a trail of water as his feet trotted up the steps, one by one.
	Everything around him he knew well, but Kurt could not figure out why. His feet had brought him in front of a door now. On the door were the numbers four, zero, and seven. His right hand lifted up, and knocked twice. The sound of flesh on wood was thick and loud, echoing down the hall. The water dripping off of Kurt soaked a floor mat that read “Welcome!” Kurt heard some shuffling inside, and the door opened. Standing there, staring at Kurt was a woman. Kurt remembered her. She stood in the doorway, wearing gray sweat pants and a t-shirt much too big for her. Her auburn hair was tied above her head in a ponytail that reached down past her shoulders. Her eyes were puffed and red. Inside the room, Kurt could see tissues and an open bottle of wine on the coffee table. He looked at her and said quietly,
	 “Angela... You're beautiful. Marry me.”
	“Fuck off.”
	Water went “plop” on the now-soaked floor mat.
	The door slammed shut, followed by the sound of metal clinking with metal.  Kurt turned, and started walking back down the stairs. As he got to the bottom, he realized that it looked brighter outside. When he walked out of the apartment, he looked up into the clouds. They were thinner. Water dripped from his nose and went “plop.” His eyes were red and puffy.

title: This is the first story I have written in the longest time. I give you: Plop

question: Why was Kurt walking in the rain without any protection?

answer: It appears he was absent-minded and only concerned about getting to his destination no matter the state of his condition. He equally appeared unbothered about catching the flu from the cold.

question: What exactly was wrong with Kurt? Why did he not seem to know where he was going?

answer: It is unknown why Kurt behaved the way he did.

question: What is the relationship between Kurt and Angela?

answer: They were likely lovers.

question: In what state did Kurt meet Angela?

answer: It appears she had been crying for a while.

question: What did Kurt do that made Angela pissed off with him?

answer: That information is unknown.

question: What was Kurt's motivation to keep walking in the rain?

answer: His motivation was to meet the woman he probably loved and ask her to marry him. He was determined to find his way to her place and let her know how he felt about her.

question: Explain the imagery used in the narrative.

answer:
The narrative uses auditory and tactile imagery in the narrative.
The auditory imagery, used more often in the narrative, is used to describe the sound of the raindrops (plop) from the saturated character walking in the rain, determined to get to his destination irrespective. Also, to tell the echoing sound of someone knocking on a door.

The tactile imagery used likens the sudden downpour to a shower head to describe how the force of rain feels on the body and how wet the body gets from being drenched in the rain.

question: How does the title place any importance on the story or the protagonist?

answer: This title explains that the protagonist was drenched in the rain while he was journeying to what seemed like his lover's house, and every droplet from his body landed on a pool of water surrounding his feet.


text:
Dozens of previously dismissed radio signals were actually credible transmissions from Amelia Earhart, according to a new study of the alleged post-loss signals from Earhart's plane. The transmissions started riding the air waves just hours after Earhart sent her last in-flight message.

The study, presented on Friday at a three day conference by researchers of The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), sheds new light on what may have happened to the legendary aviator 75 years ago. The researchers plan to start a high-tech underwater search for pieces of her aircraft next July.

"Amelia Earhart did not simply vanish on July 2, 1937. Radio distress calls believed to have been sent from the missing plane dominated the headlines and drove much of the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy search," Ric Gillespie, executive director of TIGHAR, told Discovery News.

PHOTOS: JARS HINT AT AMELIA EARHART CASTAWAY PRESENCE

"When the search failed, all of the reported post-loss radio signals were categorically dismissed as bogus and have been largely ignored ever since," he added.

Using digitized information management systems, antenna modeling software, and radio wave propagation analysis programs, TIGHAR re-examined all the 120 known reports of radio signals suspected or alleged to have been sent from the Earhart aircraft after local noon on July 2, 1937 through July 18, 1937, when the official search ended.

They concluded that 57 out of the 120 reported signals are credible.

"The results of the study suggest that the aircraft was on land and on its wheels for several days following the disappearance," Gillespie said.

TRACKING EARHART'S TRANSMISSIONS
Earhart used radio transmissions on her last flight on July 2, 1937, during her record attempt to fly around the world at the equator.

At 07:42 local time, as she flew toward the target destination, Howland Island in the Pacific, with her navigator Fred Noonan, Earhart called the Coast Guard cutter Itasca, stationed at Howland Island to support her flight.

“We must be on you, but cannot see you — but gas is running low. Have been unable to reach you by radio. We are flying at 1,000 feet,” she said.

NEWS: EARHART'S ANTI-FRECKLE OINTMENT JAR POSSIBLY RECOVERED

Earhart's final in-flight radio message occurred a hour later, at 08:43.

“We are on the line 157 337. We will repeat this message. We will repeat this on 6210 kilocycles. Wait,” she said.

According to TIGHAR, the numbers 157 and 337 refer to compass headings — 157 degrees and 337 degrees — and describe a navigation line that passed not only Howland Island, the target destination, but also Gardner Island, now called Nikumaroro.

This uninhabited atoll in the southwestern Pacific republic of Kiribati is where TIGHAR believes Earhart and Noonan landed safely and ultimately died as castaways.

According to TIGHAR's hypothesis, Earhart would have used the aircraft's radio to make distress calls for several days until the plane was washed over the reef and disappeared before Navy searchers flew over the area.

DETAILED ANALYSIS DONE
TIGHAR built a detailed catalog and analysis of all the reported post-loss radio signals, and selected the credible ones based on their frequencies.

PHOTOS: AMELIA EARHART

Transmissions from Earhart's Electra (NR16020) were possible on three primary frequencies: 3105 kHz, 6210 kHz and 500 kHz. For the latter, however, there were no reported post loss signals.

On her world flight, Earhart transmitted on 3105 kHz at night, and 6210 kHz during daylight, using her 50-watt WE-13C transmitter.

The Itasca transmitted on 3105 kHz, but did not have voice capability on 6210 kHz.

Under favorable propagation conditions, it was possible for aircraft operating on the U.S. West Coast at night to be heard on 3105 kHz in the central Pacific. Indeed, the Itasca reported hearing such signals on one occasion.

There were three 50-watt Morse code radio stations in Nicaragua that could be heard on a receiver tuned to 3105 kHz, but the stations sent only code, not voice.

Moreover, all transport aircraft in the area used assigned route frequencies, instead of 3105 kHz.

"Therefore, other than Itasca, Earhart’s Electra was the only plausible central Pacific source of voice signals on 3105 kHz," said Gillespie.

SPURIOUS CLAIMS IDENTIFIED
Although several of the analyzed post-loss signal reports were determined to be hoaxes, Gillespie ruled out the hypothesis of an illegal transmitter "given the numerous constraints militating against successfully perpetrating a signal transmission hoax."

"We do not really have hoax transmissions but rather reports from people who, for whatever reason, claimed to have heard something they did not hear," Gillespie said.

To make multiple transmissions, the Electra plane needed to run the right-hand, generator-equipped engine to recharge the batteries.

"The safest procedure is to transmit only when the engine is running, and battery power is required to start the engine," said Gillespie. "To run the engine, the propeller must be clear of obstructions, and water level must never reach the transmitter."

To verify the hypothesis that the plane landed on Nikumaroro's reef, TIGHAR researchers analyzed tidal condition on the island from 2 to 9 July 1937, the week following Earhart disappearance. It emerged that transmission of credible signals occurred in periods during which the water level on the reef was low enough to permit engine operation.

FOUR MESSAGES OF PARTICULAR INTEREST
According to Gillespie, at least four radio signals are of particular interest, as they were simultaneously heard by more than one station.

The first signal, made when the pilot had been officially missing for just five hours, was received by the Itasca, and two other ships, the HMS Achilles and the SS New Zealand Star.

The Itasca logged, “We hear her on 3105 now — very weak and unreadable/ fone” and asked Earhart to send Morse code dashes.

The Achilles did not hear “very weak and unreadable” voice, but heard Itasca’s request and heard dashes in response. The SS New Zealand only heard the response dashes.

In other cases, credible sources in widely separated locations in the U.S., Canada and the central Pacific, reported hearing a woman requesting help. She spoke English, and in some cases said she was identified as Amelia Earhart.

In one case, on July 5, the U.S. Navy Radio at Wailupe, Honolulu heard a garbled Morse code: “281 north Howland - call KHAQQ - beyond north — won’t hold with us much longer — above water — shut off.”

At the same time, an amateur radio operator in Melbourne, Australia, reported having heard a "strange” code which included KHAQQ, Amelia's call sign.

According to Gillespie, the reanalysis of the credible post-loss signals supports the hypothesis that they were sent by Earhart’s Electra from a point on the reef at Nikumaroro, about a quarter-mile north of the shipwreck of the British freighter SS Norwich City.

"The results of the study show a body of evidence which might be the forgotten key to the mystery. It is the elephant in the room that has gone unacknowledged for nearly 75 years," said Gillespie.

question: What did researchers find out about Amelia Earheart?

answer: The results of the study suggest that the aircraft was on land and on its wheels for several days following the disappearance.

question: Where do they believe the plane landed?

answer: Researchers believed the plane landed on Nikumaroro's reef and that they died as castaways.

question: Why were her distress calls left unanswered?

answer: Information can't be found.

question: How do they know that the distress calls came from Amelia Earhart?

answer: In Australia, an amateur radio operator reported having heard a "strange” code which included KHAQQ, Amelia's call sign.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Researchers have found new evidence possibly answering Amelia Earhart's disappearance. Researchers believed the plane landed on Nikumaroro's reef and that they died as castaways.


text:
Republic of China |flag_p1 = Flag of the Republic of China.svg |s1 = Wang Jingwei regime{{!}}Reorganized National Government of China |flag_s1 = Flag of the Republic of China-Nanjing (Peace, Anti-Communism, National Construction).svg |s2 = Soviet occupation of Manchuria |flag_s2 = Flag of the Soviet Union (1924–1955).svg |image_map = Mengjiang.png |capital = Kalgan |common_languages = |government_type = Military dictatorship |era = |year_start = 1939[1][2] |date_start = 1 September |event1 = Autonomous region of the Reorganized National Government |date_event1 = 24 March 1940 |date_end = 19 August |year_end = 1945 |stat_pop1 = ~5,500,000 |stat_area1 = 506,800 |currency = Mengjiang yuan |today = }}

MENGJIANG (MENGKIANG), also known in English as MONGOL BORDER LAND[3] or the MENGJIANG UNITED AUTONOMOUS GOVERNMENT, was an autonomous area in Inner Mongolia, formed in 1939 as a puppet state of the Empire of Japan, then from 1940 being under the nominal sovereignty of the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China (which was itself a puppet state). It consisted of the previously Chinese provinces of Chahar and Suiyuan,[4] corresponding to the central part of modern Inner Mongolia. It has also been called MONGUKUO[5] or MENGGUGUO (or MENGKUKUO; ) (in analogy to Manchukuo, another Japanese puppet state in Manchuria). The capital was Kalgan, from where it was ruled by the Mongol nobleman Prince Demchugdongrub. The territory returned to Chinese control after the defeat of the Japanese Empire in 1945.

Background

Following Japan's occupation of Manchuria in 1931 and the establishment of the puppet state of Manchukuo, Japan sought to expand its influence in Mongolia and North China. In a series of actions, starting in 1933, the armies of Manchukuo and Japan occupied Chahar and in 1936 proclaimed itself the independent Mongol Military Government, allied with Japan under Prince Demchugdongrub.

In 1936 and 1937, similar operations in Suiyuan saw the occupation and absorption of that province also.

History

Formed on May 12, 1936, the Mongol Military Government (蒙古軍政府) had Prince Yondonwangchug of Ulanqab as its first chairman. It was renamed in October 1937 as the Mongol United Autonomous Government (蒙古聯盟自治政府).[6] On September 1, 1939, the predominantly Han Chinese governments of South Chahar and North Shanxi were merged with the Mongol United Autonomous Government, creating the new Mengjiang United Autonomous Government (蒙疆聯合自治政府). The capital was established at Zhangbei (Changpei), near Kalgan (Zhangjiakou), with the government's control extending around Hohhot. On August 4, 1941, it was again renamed: the Mongolian Autonomous Federation (蒙古自治邦).

In 1939 Wang Jingwei reorganized the remnants of the occupied Chinese government for a Japanese puppet state, commonly referred to as the Wang Jingwei Regime, or the Reorganized National Government, with its capital in Nanjing. Mengjiang was nominally incorporated into the regime in 1940, though it remained autonomous from Nanjing.

Mengjiang capitulated in 1945 when it was invaded by the Soviet Red Army and Mongol Red Army as part of the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation. Most of the area, with the notable exception of Kalgan, is now part of Inner Mongolia in the People's Republic of China.

File:Administrative map of the United Mongol Autonomous Government.png|A map of the Mengjiang United Autonomous Government File:Map of Reformed, Provisional Gov of ROC and Mengjiang (1937-1940) - en.svg|The Reformed Government's territory in central China from 1937 until 1940 when all three states, Mengjiang, the Provisional Government of the ROC (not to be confused with the 1912 government of the same name and flag) and the Reformed Government of the ROC, merged into the Reorganized National Government of the ROC. File:“Mongolian Self-determination” lecture, Waseda University, October 1940.png|alt=A lecture with a map of Mengjiang|A lecture held in Japan in 1940 discussing Inner Mongolia and Mengjiang, note the map in the background featuring the state File:Menjiang Flag (1936).svg| Flag of the Mongol Military Government (1936–1937) and Mongol United Autonomous Government (1937–1939) File:Flag of Chanan.svg| Flag of the South Chahar Autonomous Government (1937–1939) File:Flag of Jinbei.svg| Flag of the North Shanxi Autonomous Government (1937–1939)

Politics

[Demchugdongrub (left)] [Foundation ceremony of Mengjiang's government]

Institutions

-   Mongolian Royal Family
-   Japanese Central Academy of Kalgan
-   Directorate General of Communications
-   Bank of Mengjiang
-   Mongolian Military Command Headquarters
-   Mengjiang national army
-   United Autonomous Mongolian Aimags
-   Autonomous Government of Northern Shanxi
-   Autonomous Government of Southern Chahar
-   The United Autonomous Government of Mengjiang
-   Government Mongol administrative uls
-   People’s Autonomous Government of Eastern Mongolia
-   Inner Mongolia Pailingmiao Autonomous Political Council (Mongolian political movement)

People

-   Demchugdongrub: Khungtayji Head of State; Commander of the Mongolian Military Command Headquarters
-   Li Shouxin: Chahar warlord, Chief of Staff of the Inner Mongolian Army (1937-1945)
-   Yondonwangchug: First Chairman of Mengjiang (1936-1938)
-   Altanochir: Minister of Communications, Head of the Mongolian Cultural Centre, Rector of the Mongolian Academy
-   Altanochir (1882-1949): Deputy Head of Ordos City, General commander of the Ordos army
-   Wu Heling: Director of the Counseling Bureau and Sub-General, Chairman of the House, President of the Preparatory School for Studying in Japan
-   Jodbajab: Commander of the Mongol Militia, Deputy commander of the Pao An Tui
-   Xia Gong: Supreme Member of the Northern Shanxi Autonomous Government, Vice-Chairman of the Mongolian United Autonomous Government
-   Cui Xiaoqian: Director of the Department of Finance (1937-1939), Member of the Mengjiang Bank Committee
-   Yu Pinqing: Supreme Member of the Southern Chahar Autonomous Government, Vice-Chairman of the Mongolian Autonomous Federation
-   Wang Ying (ROC): Commander of the Grand Han Righteous Army, Chinese bandit and Warlord
-   Gen Sugiyama: Commanding General of the Mongolia Garrison Army
-   Sadamu Shimomura: Commander of Mongolia Garrison Army
-   Hideki Tōjō: Commander of the 1st Independent Mixed Brigade, Chahar Expeditionary Force
-   Kitsuju Ayabe: Colonel, engaged in Chahar area operation as Staff Officer, Kwantung Army, North China Detachment
-   Torashirō Kawabe: Military advisor

[Inner Mongolia in 1911]

Name

_Mengjiang_, meaning “Mongolian Territories”, came from the acceptance speech of chairmanship by Demchugdongrub:

    To recover the _territories_ originally owned by the _Mongolians_
    (收復_蒙_古固有_疆_土)

Economy

[One-yuan banknote issued by the Bank of Mengjiang, 1940] [A 1943 postage stamp of Mengjiang]

The Japanese established the Bank of Mengjiang that printed its own currency without years on it. Some traditional local money shops also made currency with the Chinese year numbering system, such as the Jiachen Year (甲辰年), on it.

The Japanese had mineral interests in their created state of Mengjiang. In one example the Japanese put the iron mine in Xuanhua Longyan into production, with a reserve of 91,645,000 tonnes in 1941; and analyzed the reserves of coal in land, one was 504 tonnes, and another with a potential production of 202,000 of tonnes (1934).

The Mengjiang iron deposits were exported directly to Japan. At the same time, the Japanese sought the coal reserves of Suiyuan (another Mengjiang occupied sector), including one of 417 million tonnes, and one with a potential extraction of 58,000 tonnes in 1940.

Military

The MENGJIANG NATIONAL ARMY was the Japanese-created native army organized in Mengjiang; not to be confused with the Mongol Army. It was a Kwantung Army special force group under direct command, having native commanders alongside Japanese commanding officers, as in other auxiliary outer sections of the Kwantung Army.

The purpose of the army was to support any eventual Japanese operations against Outer Mongolia (Mongolian People's Republic), or the north China areas, and to act as a local security force, with the local police forces. It also had the duty of protecting Prince De Wang, the head of state, and the Mengjiang native establishment and local government properties.

The army was equipped with rifles, pistols, light and medium machine guns, mortars and some artillery and anti-aircraft guns. It was organised as a mobile cavalry and light infantry force with little artillery support and no tanks or aircraft.

History

[Mengjiang shrine in Zhangjiakou, Hebei, in the 1950s]

In 1936, the Inner Mongolian Army was armed with Mauser rifles and they had 200 machine guns: mostly the Czechoslovak ZB-26 and a few Swiss Sig. Model 1930 submachine gun for Teh Wang's 1,000 bodyguard troops. They had 70 artillery pieces, mostly mortars and a few captured Chinese mountain and field guns of a variety of types (making ammo and spare parts a problem). The few tanks and armored cars were captured Chinese vehicles crewed by Japanese.

After the Suiyuan Campaign, the Mengjiang National Army was rebuilt from the defeated remnants of the Inner Mongolian Army, the new eight Mongol cavalry Divisions were 1,500 men strong, in three regiments of 500 men. Each regiment were to have three Saber companies and a machine gun company of 120 men. However these divisions actually ranged in size from 1,000 men to 2,000 men (8th Division).

In 1939, the ethnic Chinese troops in the Mongol Divisions were brigaded together in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Divisions and turned into the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Ch'ing An Tui Brigades of the “Mongolian Pacification Force” and used against various guerrilla groups.

In 1943, the Mongol 4th and 5th Divisions were combined to form a new 8th Division and the old 7th and 8th Divisions formed the new 9th Division. Strength of the army was between 4,000–10,000 men, all cavalry at this time and had little heavy equipment.

The Mengjiang state also had 5 Defense Divisions in 1943, made up of local militia and other security forces, nominally of three regiments. Apparently only one of these regiments in each division was capable of operations. In 1944, the Japanese reorganized them along with the Chahar garrisons into four Divisions of 2,000 men each.

At the end of the war, a total of six divisions (two Cavalry and four Infantry), three Independent Ch'ing An Tui Brigades and a “Pao An Tui” Security Force Regiment made up the Army.

The sole secondary language which could be taught in schools was Japanese while students were forced to pay respect to the Emperor of Japan and Shintoism.[7] The government and army of Mengjiang were complete puppets of the Japanese.[8]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5] http://www.americanairmailsociety.org/APJbackissues/Volume%208/APJ,%20Issue%2085,%20Vol%20ViII,%20No%208,%20Mayl%201937f.pdf page 24

[6]

[7]

[8]

title: Mengjiang

question: Why did the Empire of Japan form the Mongol Military Government?

answer: Japan wanted to expand its influence in North China and Mongolia and they needed a puppet state to do it.

question: When did Mengjiang return to Chinese control?

answer: After the Japanese Empire's defeat in 1945.


text:
_PHALOTRIS_ is a genus of snakes of the subfamily Dipsadinae.

Geographic range

All species of the genus _Phalotris_ are found in South America''.[1]

Species

The following 15 species are recognized as being valid.[2]

-   _Phalotris cerradensis_ Silveira, 2020
-   _Phalotris concolor_ Ferrarezzi, 1993
-   _Phalotris cuyanus_ (Cei, 1984)
-   _Phalotris labiomaculatus_ de Lema, 2002
-   _Phalotris lativittatus_ Ferrarezzi, 1993
-   _Phalotris lemniscatus_ (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854)
-   _Phalotris matogrossensis_ de Lema, D'Agostini & Cappellari, 2005
-   _Phalotris mertensi_ (Hoge, 1955)
-   _Phalotris multipunctatus_ Puorto & Ferrarezzi, 1993
-   _Phalotris nasutus_ (Gomes, 1915)
-   _Phalotris nigrilatus_ Ferrarezzi, 1993
-   _Phalotris normanscotti_ Cabral & Cacciali, 2015
-   _Phalotris reticulatus_ (W. Peters, 1860)
-   _Phalotris sansebastiani_ Jansen & G. Köhler, 2008
-   _Phalotris tricolor_ (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854)

_Nota bene_: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than _Phalotris_.

Etymology

The specific name, _mertensi_, is in honor of German herpetologist Robert Mertens.[3]

The specific name, _normanscotti_, is in honor of Norman Scott, Jr., in recognition of his contribution to the knowledge of the herpetofauna of Paraguay.[4]

[1]

[2] .

[3] Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). _The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles_. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (_Phalotris mertensi_, p. 176).

[4] "_Phalotris normanscotti_ ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

title: Phalotris

question: What does Phalotris refer to?

answer: A genus of snakes of the subfamily Dipsadinae.

question: List 5 species of Phalotris.

answer: Phalotris nasutus, Phalotris reticulatus, Phalotris tricolor, Phalotris concolor, and Phalotris matogrossensis.

question: List the continents on which Phalotris can be found.

answer: South America.

question: Who is Robert Mertens?

answer: A German herpetologist.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This text briefly overviews Phalotris, a genus of snakes of the subfamily Dipsadinae. The 15 valid Phalotris species are all found in South America.