text:
Dunkin' Donuts has made a public apology on behalf of its Egyptian franchisee after an anti-black online advertisement for glazed doughnuts led to a social media backlash.

Dunkin' Donuts has made a public apology on behalf of its Egyptian franchisee after putting out an online advertisement widely viewed as racist and leading to a social media backlash.

Last week, Dunkin' Donuts Egypt decided it was a good idea to post an ad on its Instagram account of a chocolate glazed doughnut next to a sugar-frosted one.

The caption read: "Blackness equals a half beauty. Whiteness equals total beauty".

The slogan played on an old-fashioned folk proverb now widely deemed by many Egyptians as being highly offensive.

To make things worse the accompanying text read: "Because we are against racism we'll eat both not just one. Which will you choose?"

It wasn't long before social media users caught wind of the ad, prompting the franchise to quickly remove the offending image.

On Tuesday, a Dunkin' Donuts spokesperson made an apology to Egyptian state media: "As soon as we became aware of the social media post by our Egyptian franchisee, we asked for it to be removed. Our franchisee immediately complied. We apologise for the offence this posting caused."

The Egyptian franchisee, however, has yet to issue a statement of its own on the incident.

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
|                                   | []                                |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
|                                   | Egyptian newspapers have used     |
|                                   | highly offensive terms            |
|                                   | when blaming criminal activity on |
|                                   | black communities                 |
|                                   | [Youm7]                           |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

Egypt's black community constitutes a substantial proportion of its population. Yet many Egyptians consider them an inferior minority, subjecting them to varying degrees of racial discrimination.

The folk saying used in the doughnut advert perpetuates the commonly-held belief that having pale skin - especially with women - is more desirable and attractive than dark skin.

Nubians, who have markedly more African features than most Egyptians, have long been presented in films as either bumbling illiterate caricatures or as obedient domestic workers and doormen.

Meanwhile Nubian women appear as nannies, maids or exotic fortune tellers.

In May, an Egyptian official landed himself in hot water after its envoy to a UN meeting in Nairobi described sub-Saharan African nations as "dogs and slaves".

A major Egyptian newspaper used the word _Zunouj_, Arabic for "n******", for a front-page story in July on the Black Lives Matter protests in the US.

Sudanese and Nubian people living in Egypt have previously told _The New Arab_ about their experiences in the country and the kind of ill treatment they were subjected to based on the colour of their skin.

"In the street, people call you different names if you are black, like chocolate or blacky," Mamado Hawary, a Sudanese-Egyptian living in Cairo said.

"Also _zarboon_, which means slave."

question: Why is Dunkin' Donuts apologizing?

answer: Dunkin' Donuts is apologizing on behalf of its Egyptian franchise for posting an offensive Instagram caption.

question: What was the offensive caption?

answer: The caption read, "Blackness equals a half beauty. Whiteness equals total beauty".

question: How are Nubians commonly portrayed in media?

answer: Nubians, who have more African features than most Egyptians, have been portrayed as illiterate caricatures and  domestic workers and doormen.

question: Is racism common in Egypt?

answer: Yes, there have been many instances of racism against Sudanese and Nubian people living in Egypt.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Dunkin' Donuts issued an apology on behalf of its Egyptian franchise for a racist Instagram caption that it posted. The image was removed promptly.


split: train

text:
A front-page article in the People’s Daily in May sent shockwaves through the Chinese bureaucracy. It quoted an unidentified “authoritative figure” warning readers of the ruling Communist party’s flagship newspaper about the country’s dangerousaddiction to debt.

After a tumultuous start to the year, which began with a stock market and currency crisis, the government had needed strong first-quarter growth to restore confidence in its ability to manage the world’s second-largest economy. So there was relief when it was announced, on April 15, that the economy had grown 6.7 per cent in that period. The feeling soon evaporated, however, over concerns that the growth had been “bought” at the expense of financial discipline. In January alone, banks had issued Rmb2.54tn ($380bn) in new loans, expanding China’s property bubble and giving rise to a new one on its commodity exchanges.

According to party and government insiders, the article — a blunt warning that things had to change — was written by one of President Xi Jinping’s key economic advisers, Liu He, who runs a Communist party “leading group” on financial and economic affairs. Such groups have existed for decades but since Mr Xi took office in March 2013 they have achieved a new prominence as he employs them to drive home his status as the country’s most powerful leader since Deng Xiaoping.

The front-page story was interpreted by party officials as a shot across the bow of the government’s top body, the State Council, traditionally responsible for the day-to-day management of the economy, and headed by Premier Li Keqiang. That the criticism can be traced back to a group headed by Mr Xi and one of his key advisers hints at their frustration with the State Council’s handling of the economy.

“The leading group was annoyed by the first-quarter growth statistics because it felt that using the property sector and government-directed leverage to boost growth was irresponsible,” says one person familiar with the group’s deliberations. “Its argument was that Xi was going to have to get more involved [in economic policy]. Li hadn’t used the space effectively.”

The State Council information office says suggestions of discord between Mr Xi and Mr Li are “without foundation”. According to Li’s defenders, such debates are not suggestive of a broader factional rift between the president and premier. There is, however, increasing disagreement over how fast and effectively agreed polices are being implemented.

Presidential consolidation

China’s party-state has always been just that — a party-led entity. Mr Xi’s real power flows from his positions as party general secretary and head of its military commission, which controls the People’s Liberation Army. He assumed both posts in November 2012, four months before becoming president.

The party’s primacy, however, has never been more blatant than it is today. In less than four years Mr Xi, the son of one of China’s founding revolutionary heroes, has placed it front-and-centre in spheres, such as economic policy, that were previously delegated to the State Council and its ministries. In doing so, he has transformed the nature of power in China and changed the way foreign governments, multinational corporations and international financial investors interact with the world’s most populous country.

“It [the article] was as if the chairman of a large state-owned enterprise had sent a critical email to the chief executive, cc’d to everyone in the company,” says one Asian diplomat. “After that, nobody was sure what to do.”

By telegraphing his intentions so explicitly on the front page of the party’s flagship newspaper, the president was further raising the stakes in what is already a bold gamble. Mr Xi had already shocked the establishment by unleashing the party’s anti-corruption watchdog to target not just the senior echelons of the party and government, but also the military. Now he is using another party entity to deliver a similar jolt to those running the economy.

His boldness appears motivated by two convictions: that China’s economy is poised at a “make-or-break” moment, and that only a reformed party can steer the country through the treacherous rapids ahead.

Mr Xi has built his formidable reputation on the strength of his domestic anti-graft drive and a willingness to project power abroad, as Beijing asserts its territorial claims in the South and East China seas. But he will have to tackle deep-rooted economic problems in order to be recognised by history as a “transformative” leader in the mould of Deng, the architect of the country’s economic reforms, and its revolutionary founder, Mao Zedong. This partly explains the urgent tone of the People’s Daily broadside in May, especially as growth is slowing to rates not seen in a quarter of a century.

He has a commanding presence and rhetorical eloquence but also a ruthlessness that his two immediate predecessors, Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, lacked. “Xi’s rivals were shocked at how quickly he consolidated power,” says one senior Chinese government official.

By dint of his family’s revolutionary heritage and a career that has taken him through every level of government — from an impoverished village in the country’s north-west to head of one of its most economically advanced provinces — China’s president has demonstrated a fearsome understanding of the internal power dynamics of the Chinese Communist party.

Unlike his two predecessors, Mr Xi assumed control of the party military commission at the outset of his term and heads a streamlined Politburo Standing Committee, the party’s top decision-making body, which has been reduced in number from nine members to seven. Adding to the sense that China’s president had an ambitious blueprint, two of his erstwhile rivals — Bo Xilai and Zhou Yongkang — were jailed for life in 2013 and 2015 respectively for corruption.

“Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao both began their terms in office with anti-corruption campaigns,” David Shambaugh, a Sinologist at George Washington University, said at a recent lecture in Beijing. “[The campaigns] both lasted about six months. They fizzled out and corruption continued to grow. This one has not fizzled out.”

Mr Xi’s anti-graft effort, which has felled more than 150 senior officials with vice-ministerial rank or higher plus thousands of other low-ranking figures, and the more muscular foreign policy are closely interlinked. One of the core aims of the crackdown has been to clear out the rot in the People’s Liberation Army, transforming it into a lean military capable of enforcing the country’s territorial claims.

Both initiatives are popular with the Chinese public. Ask any man or woman on the street what they think of their president, and the most common reply is that he is a strong leader who is _fan fubai_ — “opposed to corruption”. His willingness to project power across the South and East China Seas also touches a chord with a populace steeped in nationalist propaganda — so much so that the party risks a political backlash if it is ever perceived to be weak in asserting territorial claims.

That popularity has in turn given Mr Xi the political capital he needs to tackle his third and arguably most difficult policy objective — the most ambitious set of economic reforms since those launched by Deng almost 40 years ago. These include some 340 policy initiatives, ranging from the relaxation of China’s “one-child policy” to land reform, unveiled at the third plenary of the 18th Communist party congress in 2013.

Many of Mr Xi’s core reforms are politically risky, especially a “supply side” restructuring of the economy away from investment and heavy industry to consumption and services. They entail plant closures and job losses and must be enforced by central government ministries and local officials who fear the instability they could create. So far, China’s president has little to show for his bold economic vision.

“Almost three years later we see minimal implementation,” said Mr Shambaugh. “The [reform] package was more of a blueprint than a road map . . . There was no sense of prioritisation or sequencing in it. They sort of threw it all out there and said here are 340 things you [party and government officials] have to do.”

Party control

In frustration, Mr Xi is using the party to assert authority in areas traditionally devolved to central or local governments. The change has been so dramatic, especially over the past year, that party and government officials talk about Mr Xi’s rapid consolidation of power in martial terms. “The south,” they say, “has taken over the north.” The reference is to the 1.2 sq km compound at the heart of the Chinese party state, Zhongnanhai, where government offices are situated near the north gate while party offices are clustered further to the south.

A central element of Mr Xi’s power grab has been his use of the party “leading groups” — whose existence was in some cases treated as a state secret for many years — to co-ordinate policymaking and implementation across government agencies.

The leading group for financial and economic affairs run by Mr Liu, the president’s adviser and author of the People’s Daily article, is the most prominent. It first began to garner attention in the wake of the State Council’s botched effort last summer to rescue China’s cratering stock markets. “[Its] influence really increased in July [2015] after the stock market crisis,” says one Asian investment strategist who now receives news alerts every time Mr Liu or any of his party colleagues are quoted in the Chinese media. “What the leading group says seems to have more influence. Its voice is clearly becoming louder.”

Under Mr Xi they are increasingly recognised as important power centres. The president is director of at least six of the leading groups, including newly created ones focused on cyber space, economic reform and national security.

Evan Medeiros, a former Asia adviser to President Barack Obama now with the Eurasia Group, the political risk consultancy, says the function of the leading groups is “similar but not identical to” the National Security Council or National Economic Council in the US. “They can call together most other organisations and try to drive everybody to answers on difficult policy questions,” he says.

Foreign governments, companies and investors have taken notice. US and EU negotiators, for example, have been surprised to see representatives of the party in attendance at bilateral trade negotiations, in addition to usual suspects such as officials from the National Development and Reform Commission and banking regulator. “We always knew the party kept a close eye on things,” says a European diplomat. “But it never had a seat at the table before.”

Similarly, when US and European business groups last year sought to express their concerns over draft regulations governing Chinese banks’ use of foreign IT equipment, they sent a letter to the newly created Party Leading Group for Cyberspace Affairs, bypassing the banking regulator.

“There was a lot of discussion about whether to send it to the banking regulator,” says one person involved in the lobbying effort. “But we were worried it would just get lost in the weeds [there]. In our analysis the cyber space leading group was the swing factor.” After an intense lobbying effort by western trade associations and government officials, including Mr Obama, implementation of the draft regulations was delayed.

‘Disrupting the pecking order’

Such incidents have not endeared the party leading groups to front-line ministries and regulators, especially those traditionally entrusted with responsibility for the economy and financial sector.

“The leading groups add another layer to the decision-making process, which the bureaucracy hates,” says a former Chinese government official who maintains close ties to his former colleagues. According to another person close to Chinese policymakers, the leading groups have coalesced into a kind of “kitchen cabinet around Xi Jinping that has disrupted the pecking order”.

“The leading groups have gained more authority under Xi at the expense of the State Council and the ministries,” agrees Timothy Heath, a China specialist at the Rand Corporation. “There is consensus in the [party] about the need to centralise power in this manner to ram through reforms.”

Whether Mr Xi succeeds in his ambitious project will have reverberations far beyond China and the Asia-Pacific region.

“Xi Jinping’s stable hold on power matters to us in ways that probably weren’t true even three or four years ago,” says Kerry Brown, a Chinese studies professor at King’s College London. “The EU is in disarray [and] America looks like it’s very unstable at the moment . . . [So] suddenly Xi becomes hugely geopolitically important in ways he probably didn’t want to be.

“We’re going to see pretty soon whether this man is for real. That means that he’s got to not just start talking about initiatives but really effectively implementing them.”

_Additional reporting by Gabriel Wildau_

Xi’s leading man: When Liu met Lew

The Communist party leading groups that President Xi Jinping has used to consolidate his power often receive little, if any, mention in Chinese state media.

A notable exception is the group responsible for financial and economic affairs, which is increasingly at the forefront of important policy debates. Headed by Mr Xi, it has some two dozenmembers including Liu He, a key presidential adviser who runs the group’s general office and oversees its operations on a daily basis.

Mr Liu’s clout is increasingly recognised abroad. When China’s equity and currency markets melted down in January, it was Mr Liu who spoke about the developments in a phone call with Jack Lew, US Treasury secretary.

While Mr Liu holds a government position — he is one of 10 vice-ministers at the National Development and Reform Commission — he derives his real power from his party leading group job. It was in the latter capacity that he spoke to Mr Lew.

The US Treasury secretary has also visited Mr Liu at his office in an unmarked compound within easy walking distance of Zhongnanhai — the compound at the heart of the Chinese party state. According to visitors, one of the rooms in Mr Liu’s compound is lined with pictures of him meeting foreign dignitaries including Susan Rice, US national security adviser, and Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

One foreign government official who recently visited Mr Liu says the president’s adviser is worried about the Chinese economy’s prospects. “He told us not to believe the people who say it’s spring in China again. It’s still winter.

“Our meeting with him was in English without translation and he was surrounded by overseas-educated staffers,” the person adds. “It was like meeting with a group of Americans except they were all members of the Chinese Communist party.”

question: In what year did Xi Jingping become president?

answer: 2013

question: Who is Lew?

answer: Jack Lew is the U.S. Treasury secretary.

question: Who did additional reporting?

answer: Gabriel Wildau.

question: Who is Liu?

answer: Liu He is an economic advisor to President Xi Jingping. He is one of 10 vice-ministers at the National Development and Reform Commission but according to the article, he derives his real power from his Communist party leading group for financial and economic affairs. He is reportedly worried about Chinese economic prospects.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This article focuses on warnings about China's economy not being as strong as otherwise reported. It mentions the popularity of President Xi Jingping and the involvement of party 'leading groups' in the bureaucratic process.


text:
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question: Summarize what the Stretch Internet portal is?


text:
President Donald Trump's strategy on Afghanistan is a "good first step," former Ambassador Nancy Soderberg told CNBC on Tuesday.

In a speech Monday night, Trump said the United States will ramp up military engagement in the 16-year-old war in Afghanistan. He also blasted Pakistan for supporting terrorists.

Soderberg, a former ambassador to the United Nations and deputy national security advisor to President Bill Clinton, said pushing Pakistan harder "is a good thing."

Trump did not detail how many more troops the U.S. would send or specifically what he felt it would take to finally achieve victory in the war.

However, he insisted the U.S. is "not nation building again" and called on India to help more with Afghanistan's economic development.

Soderberg told "Power Lunch" she believes it will take more than military action to win the war.

"Right now the Taliban are making a comeback so a strategy that focuses on denying them the ability to come back and gain more territory is crucial," she said.

That said, "killing terrorists in Afghanistan has been our policy for 16 years but it's not winning. And so what's the winning strategy here? We still haven't heard that."

She believes Trump also needs to listen to the diplomats and come up with a plan that will deal with both the threats and the cause of the terrorism, Soderberg said.

"We're not going to end up getting at an end to this war until we get at the root cause of the terrorism which is the abject poverty and corruption in the government. And that's a long-term effort."

Soderberg expects Trump's strategy to evolve as he gets more involved in the details.

_— CNBC's Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report._

question: What does President Trump announce in a speech?

answer: That the US will ramp up military engagement in Afghanistan.

question: What does Trump blast Pakistan for?

answer: For supporting terrorists.

question: What does Trump's strategy focus on?

answer: Denying the Taliban ability to come back and gain more territory.

question: Explain what has been the policy for 16 years.

answer: Killing terrorists which is something that is not being won.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer:
A CNBC report addresses President Trump's strategy on Afghanistan.
In a speech, Trump blamed Pakistan for support terrorists and announced that the Taliban are making a comeback. President Trump confirmed he would ramp up military engagement in the 16-year-war.


text:
"My best friend was telling me last night about his amazing new discovery: some guy on the Internet was telling everyone how to easily make lucid dreams. The trick was to lay still on your bed, for up to half an hour, concentrating on staying awake. Your body would then fall asleep, but not your mind. Interested, he'd tried and told me how great it was, being half in reality and half in a dream.

The same night, I tried to find a comfortable enough position on my bed, but ended up on my back. I closed my eyes and focused my thoughts in resisting sleep. Soon I started aching, wasn't comfortable anymore. Still, it'd been probably over ten minutes and I lacked the motivation to start all over again. Five minutes passed, then ten.

It was at least fifteen later that I realised my body couldn't move anymore. It felt weird, like being paralysed. My imagination started running, and the panic became overwhelming: what if someone broke into my apartment and I just couldn't move? What if I was just dead? My friend hadn't told me anything about paralysis. Did he hide that, or was there a problem?

I was still panicking when I heard steps. My mind was running wild, in contrast to my body that only let me move or close my eyes. Two men in white entered my room and my heart nearly stopped; as one flicked the light switch, I realised I was lying on a hospital bed. All sorts of machines were wired to my arms, and I pictured myself from the point of view of my visitors: a seemingly lifeless body, miserable on its bed.

**No**. I wasn't lifeless, my eyes were moving! But then, they started talking to each other.

"- For how long has he been there?, said the first one.
- More than a week. His brain stopped functioning on the impact. His family wants us to let him go, they believe we're preventing him from finding peace."

"I am going to **die**", I thought. Killed in my dream. My friends would find me days later, and forget about me in a minute. I never achieved the social life I had hoped for. I was going to die before I even truly lived.

"- What about his eyes? He seems to react to our conversation."

**Yes**.

"- Just the remains of his nervous system. That's what kept him alive until he got here, actually."

I wanted to shout at them! "You can't just do this to me, treat me like a corpse! I want to live, this is a mistake!" Not a single word came out of my mouth. So I gave up and kept listening, my eyes shaky from the adrenaline rush.

"- Let me just check him for a minute before I give you the permission to do it.", said the first one.

I didn't allow myself to hope, and kept thinking about my short sad life. It really was a miserable way to leave, I had always hoped for better.
The doctor checked my pulse, breath, and did other things I didn't see. At some point I heard him whisper to my ear "I hope we're not making a mistake. If we are, I'm sorry."

My brain went hysterical after this one; hadn't it been for the paralysis, I would've burst out laughing. But I stood as still as I had been for the past few minutes, and permission to kill me was granted. This doctor had just sentenced me to death.

A button was pushed, and the last thing I heard was the place and time of my death.

I slowly regained control of my body, which was sweaty, thirsty, hungry and still under the effect of the huge adrenaline rush. First thing tomorrow, I'll punch my best friend in the face. "

Thanks for reading my first short story here and please report any mistakes because my first language is French and I want to learn. Thanks!

title: A Lucid Night

question: Who are the main characters?

answer: The narrator, his best friend, the doctors in his dream.

question: How did the narrator become paralyzed?

answer: He followed his friend's instructions on how to lucid dream.

question: What was the doctor doing there?

answer: The doctor only exists in the narrator's dream, in a hospital room. The doctor examines the narrator one last time before pulling the plug and killing him.

question: Why was the narrator panicking?

answer: He was panicking because he was paralyzed and couldn't do anything if someone broke into his apartment.

question: Write a ~9 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator's best friend told him how great lucid dreaming is and taught him how to do it, without telling him about the paralysis that comes with it. The narrator is successful on his first attempt to lucid dream but feels he did something wrong because he's now paralyzed and his imagination is running wild. While freaking out about his paralysis, he sees two men in white enter his room and turn on the lights. The narrator is on a hospital bed with machines wired to his lifeless body, only his eyes moving. He overhears the men talk about his family wanting to pull the plug (killing him) so he can find peace. He wants to scream that he's not dead, but can't move. One of the doctors does a final check and apologizes to him if they're making a mistake. The last thing the narrator hears is a button being pressed and the time and place of his death. He gains control of his body, all sweaty and hungry, and plans to punch his best friend in the face the following day.


text:
[] | Posted on April 5, 2018 |

[]

The Washington Wizards had a 104-87 fourth-quarter lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night but wound up choking it away down the stretch. Washington’s John Wall failed to capitalize on several possessions in the final minute en route to a 119-115 win for Cleveland.

When Wizards guard Tomas Satoransky drained a three-ball with eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Cleveland Cavaliers called a timeout and everyone who looked on thought the game was over. Personally, the Satoransky three forced me to flip over to the Clippers/Jazz game and at that point, I generally felt happy for the Wiz — they _deserved_ the W.

From that point on, however, the game flipped. The 17-point lead they held disappeared in the final seven minutes and their star, John Wall, muffed three consecutive possessions in the final 32 seconds. As for Cleveland, they roared back by spreading the ball around to whoever was open. Kyle Korver, Jeff Green, Rodney Hood, and of course, LeBron James combined for every point from the 7:23-mark until they finally took the lead on a free-throw from Green with 23 seconds remaining.

If you’re a fan of the Wizards, you’ve gotta be looking at John Wall with a WTF face. The dude is supposed to be a superstar; he can’t let his team piss away one of their biggest wins of the year, and he certainly can’t choke on three straight possessions with the game on the line.

First, he missed a 23-foot bomb while holding a one-point lead. Then, after Cleveland finally went up on the Green free-throw, he front-rimmed a wide-open 12-footer and was visibly upset at either himself or a perceived foul (there wasn’t one). Finally, down 117-115 with under 10 seconds, an out-of-control Wall got caught in the air and had his bail-out pass intercepted by Cleveland. It was as textbook a choke as you’ll ever see.

For the Cavs, this was yet another block to build off of. They need their supporting cast to be strong come playoff time and this comeback proved that they may have what it takes.

As for the Wizards, they’ve gone 2-7 over their last nine games and will take a three-game losing streak into Atlanta on Friday night. While that’s all bad, the team does have a playoff spot clinched — they’ll be either the sixth, seventh, or eighth seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

question: Which basketball team won the game?

answer: The Cleveland Cavaliers?

question: Which two basketball teams were playing against each other?

answer: The Washington Wizards and the Cleveland Cavaliers were playing against each other.

question: Who on the Washington Wizards is supposed to be a superstar?

answer: Jon Wall

question: Which basketball players are on the Cleveland Cavaliers?

answer: Kyle Korver, Jeff Green, Rodney Hood, and Lebron James

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: This article describes a basketball match between the Washington Wizards and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Wizards had a large lead against the Cavaliers, but in the last quarter the Cavaliers caught up and won the game. The mistakes and highlights of players on both teams are described.


text:
 ¥2,300 (Approx. $21.95 USD)

Release Date: October 2018

OVERVIEW

BANANA FISH will be having a limited time cafe and bar featuring themed food, drinks, and goods!

SHIPPING POLICY

Once shipped most domestic orders take anywhere from 2 to 10 business days to arrive depending on the efficiency of your local postal service. International shipping delivery times may vary between 2 and 12 weeks. Please note that all orders will be shipped out via Air Mail from Japan unless the buyer pays for Tracking, which the item will then be shipped via Japan Post EMS. By choosing regular shipping (Air Mail), the buyer takes on the responsibility that should the item become damaged or lost in transit, the seller is not required to issue a refund or partial refund for lost or damaged items.

BANANA FISH Cafe & Bar Goods Tote Bag

question: What will Banana Fish be having for a limited time?

answer: A limited time cafe and bar featuring themed food, drinks, and goods.

question: How long does it take for domestic orders to arrive?

answer: Two to 10 business days.

question: How long does international shipping take?

answer: Two to 12 weeks.

question: When was this announcement released?

answer: October 2018.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Banana Fish will be featuring a limited time cafe and bar with themed food, drinks, and goods. The cost is $21.95 USD. Shipping time varies between domestic and international. Those who select air mail on domestic shipping take the responsibility should the item(s) become lost or damaged.


text:
I.I.M.U.N. (INDIA'S INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT TO UNITE NATIONS, also known as: INDIAN INTERNATIONAL MODEL UNITED NATIONS)[1] is a youth organisation comprising 26,000 young organisers who put together student conferences in 160 cities across 22 countries, and work with over 7,500 schools impacting 10 million students.[2][3][4][5] The organization simulates the workings of Indian Parliament and multi-lateral organisations for school students to engage them in debates about international relations, current affairs and world politics. [6][7] The aim of the organisation is to get Indian students between 13 to 19 to become global citizens with an Indian mind-set.[8][9][10]

History

I.I.M.U.N. was founded in 2011 by Rishabh S Shah, with its first conference being held from 2–5 August 2012 at the Mumbai World Trade Centre.[11]

Board of Advisors

The organisation is guided by a board consisting of Dr. Ajay Piramal, Mr. Deepak Parekh, Mr. A.R. Rahman,[12] Dr. Nadir Godrej, Dr. Shashi Tharoor,[13] Mr. Subhash Ghai,[14] Mr. Bomani Irani, Dr. Jamshed Bharucha,[15] among others.[16]

Academic Advisory Council

The organisation also has an Academic Advisory Council which includes Amb. P. S. Raghavan, Amb. Prakash Shah, Amb. J.N. Misra, Amb. Ashok Sajjanhar, Mrs. Shivali Lawale.[17]

Conferences

I.I.M.U.N. held a conference inside the United Nations headquarters in New York City in August 2016, and it has since become annual.[18][19][20][21][22] They have conducted the world's largest Mock UNO conference in Mumbai with 7,500 students participating in it.[23][24][25] Every year, annually in August, the organisation puts together its yearly finale event which has taken place in Aamby Valley City, Taj Mahal Palace Hotel & the World Trade Centre. Winning students from across the country and globe come to participate in the same, which is called I.I.M.U.N. Championship Conference.[26][27][28] The students learn about yoga and indian best practices in the mornings, followed by debating on issues after which speakers come and engage with them.[29][30] The conferences are held in cities in india ranging from Srinagar[31] to Kanyakumari[32] & Port Blair[33] to Kohima,[34] countries ranging from Japan to Uruguay, Poland to South Africa.[35][36]

Issues discussed

One of the central topics being discussed in all conferences has been Security Council reform to get India a permanent seat in the Council, which is a topic lobbied for by the Indian government in the actual United Nations.[37][38] Other issues that are discussed range from debating the 26/11 terror attacks, ISIS, environmental issues, human rights concerns, and economic topics such as demonetisation.[39][40][41] The organisation also simulates councils based on Indian history and polity.

Speakers

Previous luminaries who have spoken at I.I.M.U.N. include Heads of Nations such as Dr. Pranab Mukherjee[42] to UN Secretary Generals such as H.E. Ban Ki-moon, Indian cinema stars,[43][44] Nobel Prize winners, Armed Forces Chiefs amongst others.[45][46]

Controversy

About 50 students were hospitalised due to stale food served at one of the conferences by Box8.[47]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]  Akshara|last=|first=|date=2018-09-25|website=Akshara International Schools|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-02-29}}

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]  Indian Navy|website=www.indiannavy.nic.in|access-date=2020-02-29}}

[21]

[22]  Aga Khan Academies|website=www.agakhanacademies.org|access-date=2020-02-29}}

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]  India.com|language=en|access-date=2020-02-29}}

[29] top residential schools in India{{!}}Best school in Ranchi{{!}}top international school in ranchi|website=www.sisranchi.com|access-date=2020-02-29}}

[30]

[31]

[32]

[33]

[34]  G.Rio School|website=grioschool.com|access-date=2020-02-29}}

[35]

[36]

[37]

[38]  Tourism {{!}} Breaking News J&K|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-13}}

[39]

[40]

[41]

[42]

[43]  Imran Khan Event Photo Gallery {{!}} 332575|website=www.bollycurry.com|access-date=2020-02-29}}

[44]

[45]

[46]

[47]

title: I.I.M.U.N.

question: What does I.I.M.U.N. stand for?

answer: India's International Movement to Unite Nations or Indian International Model United Nations

question: What is I.I.M.U.N.?

answer: a youth organization that simulates the workings of Indian Parliament and multi-lateral organisations for school students to engage them in debates about international relations, current affairs, and world politics

question: How many participants are there in I.I.M.U.N.?

answer: 26,000

question: How many countries have I.I.M.U.N. conferences?

answer: 22

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: I.I.M.U.N. is a youth organization that simulates the workings of Indian Parliament and multi-lateral organisations for school students to engage them in debates about international relations, current affairs, and world politics.


text:
NAZARETH COLLEGE was a Catholic college in Kalamazoo, Michigan that operated from 1914 until 1992.

Origins

Nazareth Academy opened in 1897 and received a charter from the State of Michigan which provided for the future extension of the school to the collegiate level. On May 7, 1913, Monsignor O’Brien announced the formation of the O’Brien scholarship and the opening of Nazareth College. In 1914, Margaret Packard became the first recipient of the O’Brien scholarship and Nazareth’s first graduate in 1918 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Sister Mary Celestine Connors, S.S.J., served as Acting Dean of the college from 1918–1932 when she became the college’s first President, a post she held until 1938.

Chartering

Under the auspices of Bishop Michael J. Gallagher, of the Diocese of Detroit, Nazareth College was chartered in 1924 at Nazareth, Michigan by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Nazareth. At that time the college was granted its Articles of Incorporation by the State of Michigan as a four-year liberal arts college.

Construction

A seven million dollar campus construction project was begun in the 1950s. In 1959, groundbreaking began on Albers Hall, named after Bishop Joseph Albers of the Diocese of Lansing, which by then was the local diocese. Construction began on Connors Hall in 1959. Originally named Immaculata Hall, it was renamed in honor of Sister Mary Celestine Connors, S.S.J. In 1962, the administration building was begun, closely followed by Dooley Hall in 1963, initially called Madonna Hall. The change of name was to honor the famed Naval officer, Dr. Tom Dooley, who had worked in refugee camps in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War and later went to Laos to help the people there. He received a Congressional Gold Medal posthumously for his humanitarian work in that country. Work on Dillon Hall and the library was completed in 1967.

The next major addition to the physical campus was the completion of the Athletic Center in 1989, though it was never truly finished. This provided the students with a much needed outlet for physical fitness and activities as well as contributing to the college sponsored varsity sports for men in soccer, basketball and baseball; and for women in volleyball, basketball and softball. It surely also contributed to the victory of the women’s volleyball team in 1991 at nationals.

Change in admissions

Under the Presidency of Sister Mary Bader, S.S.J., (1962-1974),[1] the decision was made in 1971 to admit men to the college, thus changing the campus culture forever. By the late 1980s, twenty-three undergraduate majors and two graduate programs were being offered. Nazareth College was also noted for its night and weekend classes designed to meet the needs working adult students. Off-campus programs were located at Glen Oaks Community College in Centerville, Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor, and Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek.

Degree offerings

In 1987 it offered bachelor's degree programs in: accounting, America studies, biology, business administration, computer information management, elementary education, English, fine arts, fine arts management, human services, learning disabilities, liberal studies, medical technology, natural science, nursing, pharmaceutical and medical services representative, pre-medical pre-dental and pre-veterinary, secondary education, social psychology, and social work.

Closure

The Nazareth College Board of Trustees announced their decision to close the college in April 1991. The college closed slowly and gracefully over the course of the next 18 months, allowing many students to finish their degrees. Ownership of the physical college campus reverted to the Sisters of Saint Joseph. The Sisters wanted to find a purpose for the buildings that fit with their mission of service. Connors, Dooley and Albers Halls have been leased to Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Department. Borgess Medical Center purchased the athletic center and has converted it into Borgess Health and Fitness Center. Unfortunately a purpose for the administration building and the library could not be found and they were torn down in 1995 and 1996, respectively.

The college seal, that was inlaid in the main floor of the administration building, was saved and is now on display on the grounds of former campus. It is located on the west side of the main entrance road to Nazareth, close to where the administration building was.

[1] Nazareth Alumni Association “News”

title: Nazareth College (Michigan)

question: What does the text say about the reason why Nazareth College closed down?

question: What does the text say about Sister Mary Celestine Connors, S.S.J.?

answer: Sister Mary Celestine Connors, S.S.J. served as Acting Dean of the college from 1918-1932. She eventually became the college's first President, a post she held until 1938. In 1959, construction began on Immaculata Hall, later renamed Connors Hall in honor of Sister Mary.

question: What does the text say about the origins of Nazareth College?

answer: Nazareth opened as an Academy in 1897. It received a charter from the State of Michigan for the future expansion of the school to the collegiate level. On May 7, 1913, Nazareth College formally opened together with the formation of Monsignor O'Brien scholarship. In 1914, Margret Packard became the first recipient of the O'Brien scholarship and Nazareth's first graduate in 1918 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

question: What does the text say about the closure of Nazareth College?

answer: The Nazareth College Board of Trustees announced their decision to close the college in April 1991. The college closed slowly and graciously, allowing many students to finish their degrees. Ownership of the physical college reverted to the Sisters of Saint Joseph. The Sisters wanted to find a purpose for the buildings with their mission of service, so they leased several to the Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Department. Borgess Medical Center purchased the athletic center, while the administration building and library had to be torn down in 1995-1996.


text:
     Lez-bee-iiin? What a funny word. What’s a lesbian? Why am I a lesbian? Jackie looked as if she’d just scored the new not-squeaky swing after she said it. “Carly , you’re a lesbian!”
Do I get mad? I guess I do. I should.  I tell Jackie to shut it and crane my neck out from under my heavy backpack. Maybe Mom won’t be last car today. I really wanted to be in the backyard with the dogs. School gave me that stale, dizzying feeling. When I’m with my dogs, I forget about school, Jackie, and Dad.
Sometimes.
      A scoff brought my attention back to Jackie and her band of aggressors. She stepped forward abruptly, hard and in false assault.  When I didn’t respond, her shove reminded me of my place at school. Right where I should be, at the bottom.
     I made my situation worse without a second thought. I dropped my things and lunged. Jackie was going down. I landed my fist in her stomach and she stumbled back in confusion. As I turned, her hand slipped under my t-shirt sleeve and clawed me on the shoulder .An adult took notice of our altercation.  We were separated by a couple pushes and grabs by a younger teacher that I didn’t know. I felt burning  and with a look at the bloody scratches on my shoulder a rush of terror swept through my whole frame. My stomach ached and my body tingled. Dad was going to know.  Going home with the marks of fight was a nightmare. The last time I fought, he belted me in my bathroom. He had rushed in without a second’s notice and raged. Naked and bewildered, I couldn’t run, I couldn’t stop the blows. Soon I wouldn’t even try. I’d take his punishment if it meant that I would learn to be good. If I could learn to be good then he wouldn’t need to  hurt me.
Why can’t I just be good?
 The teacher sluggishly  brought me and Jackie to the office. This cost her precious energy. She’d been with kids acting like assholes all day and now these two decide to maul each other. She silently prayed that the vice principal would just deal with it and take them off her hands. Lucky for me, he did just that.
Mr. Parks was an aging black man with a  small fro that somehow always looked wet. I was memorized by this hair and often stared at it when being reprimanded.He was a kind man, intent on doing his work for the good of the young ones.  I felt the tingles dissipate when Mr. Parks took me into his office first.  While Jackie waited  and sulked with the secretary that smelled like soap, I sat in the same squishy leather chair that I had bounced into many times before. I squirmed into a comfortable position until Mr. Parks looked up from his paperwork. He always had stacks of pages and file folders around. It amazed me that one person could have so much to read for work. I wondered if he had to remember it all. Mr. Parks sighed at me and I felt tears coming. I knew what seeing him meant. It meant punishment and today I was going to be punished for being a lesbian. Mr. Parks assigned me to I.S.S. for hurting Jackie and told me he would be calling my parents. He reminded me that this was my third fight and while he did not think I was bad kid, that I needed to stop acting like one. I wondered if Mr. Parks could teach me to be good and how to not be a lesbian.
When the phone call came, I begged a silent god for my father to not answer. My body stiffened when I heard his voice sweep into the room. He was that loud, or maybe I was  just searching and waiting for him.  I hated myself. The other kids knew how to be good, why couldn't I?
 When my mother arrived, she was crying. “How could you do this again, Carly? What’s wrong with you?” I slinked away from her. Her teary, shouting pleas made my stomach hurt and I didn’t want her to look at me. She must hate me because I’m a lesbian. I just wished she would tell me what it meant. At home  I sunk into a corner in the back of the house, hugging my knees. He was coming for me. It wouldn’t be long until he came home like a whirlwind , storming through the house to come  get me. I kneaded the carpet with my fingers and tried not to breathe. When I heard gravel crunching and brakes squeaking outside, a  familiar shock went through my body. He was here. Doors slammed, my mother wept, and I could hear him calling for me. I prayed that I would disappear, that I would never be a lesbian again, and that I could be a good girl someday. Maybe this time would be the last time.

         I surfaced this, now decades old, memory to better understand the paradox the exists within my very nature. Recently I wrote a letter to my younger self.
    “I am so sorry this happened to you. I am sorry that so many years of your life were spent waging a war against yourself. I am sorry for the unknowing that surrounded you. I am sorry for the denial that bruised you time and time again.  I am sorry for what you went through. And I am sorry that I left you alone.”
I greatly lamented being a “bad” child; all the while I tried very hard to be good . I was drafted to harbor the shame of a family who was imprisoned in a dichotomous view of morality and judgment. For years I blamed myself for the abuse.When the physical abuse ceased, I allocated my own disciplines to replace it. If I could have behaved better,ran more, worked harder, looked prettier, I could have made the world happy and I would have finally been loved. I was the mirror to their secrecy and even today I still do not have all the answers that I crave.What do the words “good” and “bad”  really mean anyway? Lest I pretend that I have any semblance of astute morality, me being without a religion and all, I would not propose any conjecture. However, I am sure that my motivation to be “good” for “bad” people has dwindled away. Never will I hold that privileged place within my familial system, and I have actively stopped hustling for their acceptance. I do not wonder of ways to be a good girl anymore, nor do I depict my reality by the hurled words of others. Put simply, I have chosen to seek the best in myself each day, for myself. I owe it to that little girl who saw darkness in her own home and truly believed that it lived  within her own heart.

title: [NF] The Unknowing

question: Summarize the narrator's feelings towards her father.

answer: The narrator is very scared of her father. Her father beats her because she gets into fights. Her father brutally beats her and she tries to keep herself subdued, but still ends up getting into fights. The narrator also keeps questioning herself as to why she is a lesbian and how she wishes she could disappear and not be a lesbian, in fear of her father.

question: Summarize how the narrator feels throughout the whole ordeal of getting into a fight and then dealing with the consequences of being in a fight.

answer: The narrator is really confused about being a lesbian. She gets bad when Jackie calls her a lesbian and gets into a physical fight with her, without even knowing why she did so. The narrator is then very scared about the consequences as she knows her parents will be called and she will have to deal with the brutality of her father. The narrator has an internal crisis, wishing she could just be good, but somehow she keeps slipping up and its because she was a lesbian. As the narrator grew older, she apologizes to her younger self for what happened to herself and how she shouldn't have blamed herself for the abuse she had to endure.

question: Will the narrator, Carly, be able to help other young girls who identify as lesbians be more comfortable with who they are?


text:
LOS BARRERAS is a census-designated place (CDP) in Starr County, Texas, United States. It is a new CDP formed from part of the La Rosita CDP prior to the 2010 census with a population of 288.[1]

Geography

Los Barreras is located at (26.391164, -98.918353).[2]

[1]

[2]

title: Los Barreras, Texas

question: Where is Los Barreras located?

answer: Los Barreras is located in Starr County, Texas, United States.

question: What is the population of Los Barreras?

answer: Los Barreras is home to 288 people.

question: What was Los Barreras formed from?

answer: Los Barreras was formed from part of the La Rosita.

question: How old is Los Barreras?

answer: Los Barreras a new census-designated place formed in 2010.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Los Barreras, a new census-designated place in Starr County, Texas, United States. It home to 288 people.


text:
It used to be that a man ranting and raving in the street would be deemed insane.

It used to be that murder and sin would be scarce, and that we could all sleep safe in our beds.

I long for the days that used to be.

Times were that we could live solely for ourselves, develop hobbies, and survive. Now, it's a do or die enviroment, where theres just two choice: Co-operate, or kill.
Should it be that we choose kill, we become no better than those who hound us, seek our scent and divulge into the most barbaric of natures. However, co-operation carries it's own risks.

Emotional attachment is always far too common, and not a day goes by where we don't lament upon the fate of others, or envy the fortune of the rest. It appears that the seven deadly sins strike into each corner of the globe, taking victims as they deem fit.

Sloth strikes upon most, the creatures of the wastes striking as they simply just lay there, incapable of movement. Their cries are heard throughout the encampments, and no one man is safe, regardless of weaponry or strength.

Lust fuels the savage, whether it be for money, power, or more... carnal desires. These men show no mercy, and create in-fighting, deterring our attention from the true enemy.

Gluttony leads to a drain on resources, and as famine and starvation plague our "society", we are left far too weak to retaliate, and so some are left to die, their frail bodies posing no threat to those outside.

Greed appears to fuel all these sins, sowing the seeds of treason, trickery, manipulation and violence. This avarice simply descends into anarchy, devolving a once civilized location to simply survival of the fittest, or the most under-hand, as it would seem, with raiders occupying many old-world establishments.

Envy and Pride are rarely seen seperate, as many men are born and slain by their own hubris. We all long for a greater life, and so we channel this through personal possessions. When bartering cannot offer you that which you seek, some would descend into such primitive nature, as, to quote an ancient bard, civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

And so we all invoke Wrath.
We all are led to the same fate.
And we all, inevitably, decay.

title: Seven (First time writing in roughly a year)

question: What is meant by "lament upon the fate of others"?

answer: The text is not clear.

question: What are the creatures of the wastes?

answer: Sloths?

question: Why does the author say that emotional attachment is far too common?

answer: They do not seem to know.

question: Why does the author take issue with the conflation of envy and pride?

answer: It seems the author believes it has something to do with hubris.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The author thinks society is too far gone because humans are too emotionally attached and value things like pride and envy.


text:
DYGL are a four-piece indie rock band from Tokyo, Japan.[1]

The three members of the band, Akiyama, Kachi and Kamoto are also the member of five-piece indie rock band Ykiki Beat.

Band members

-   Nobuki Akiyama – lead vocals, guitars
-   Kohei Kamoto – drum
-   Yosuke Shimonaka – guitar
-   Yotaro Kachi – bass[2]

Biography

DYGL is formed in Tokyo, Japan at one of the most famous music society in the universities. DYGL (pronounced Day-glo) might have begun via a hometown tradition, but it's in this cross-continental, wide-reaching approach that they've truly found their place.

The band released their first EP recorded in the US. As Nobuki Akiyama (vo) said that the1st album would be the first step for public recognition,[3] they successfully released the 1st album in April 2017, which was produced by Albert Hammond Jr.. With huge supports and love from Albert,[4] DYGL did ASIA tour, JAPAN tour and some shows in the UK and US.[5]

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Title                 | Album details         | Peak                  |
|                       |                       | chart                 |
|                       |                       | positions             |
+=======================+=======================+=======================+
| JPN                   |
| Oricon                |
| [6]                   |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| _Say Goodbye to       | -   Released: 19      | 37                    |
| Memory Den_           |     April 2017        |                       |
|                       | -   Label: HardEnough |                       |
|                       | -   Formats: CD,      |                       |
|                       |     digital download  |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| _Songs of Innocence & | -   Released: 3 July  | 38                    |
| Experience_           |     2019              |                       |
|                       | -   Label: HardEnough |                       |
|                       | -   Formats: CD,      |                       |
|                       |     digital download  |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

Extended plays

+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Title                 | Album details         | Peak                  |
|                       |                       | chart                 |
|                       |                       | positions             |
+=======================+=======================+=======================+
| JPN                   |
| Oricon                |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| _EP #1_               | -   Released: 1 June  | -                     |
|                       |     2015              |                       |
|                       | -   Label:            |                       |
|                       |     Self-released     |                       |
|                       | -   Formats: digital  |                       |
|                       |     download          |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| _Don't Know Where It  | -   Released: 4 May   | 128[7]                |
| Is_                   |     2016              |                       |
|                       | -   Label: HardEnough |                       |
|                       | -   Formats: CD, LP,  |                       |
|                       |     digital download  |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

Singles

+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Year            | Single          | Peak chart      | Album           |
|                 |                 | positions       |                 |
+=================+=================+=================+=================+
| JPN             |
| Oricon          |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| 2014            | “Let's Get Into | -               | _EP #1_         |
|                 | Your Car”       |                 | _Don't Know     |
|                 |                 |                 | Where It Is_    |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| 2016            | “Waste of Time” | -               | _Say Goodbye to |
|                 | /               |                 | Memory Den_     |
|                 | “Sightless”[8]  |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+

[1]  The Japan Times|newspaper=The Japan Times|access-date=2016-12-23}}

[2]  JpopAsia|last=JpopAsia|website=JpopAsia|access-date=2016-12-23}}

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6] For _Songs of Innocence & Experience_:

[7]

[8]  Make Believe Melodies|date=2016-10-05|newspaper=Make Believe Melodies|access-date=2016-12-23}}

title: DYGL

question: Where is DYGL from?

answer: Tokyo, Japan.

question: What are DYGL?

answer: A four-piece indie rock band.

question: Who are the members of the band?

answer: Nobuki Akiyama, Kohei Kamoto, Yosuke Shimonaka and Yotaro Kachi.

question: What other band are three of the members a member of?

answer: Ykiki Beat.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The article is about DYGL an indie rock band from Tokyo. It lists the members of the band.


text:
I read an article about Millennials the other day. No, not the one about the billionaire startup founder or the other one about the entitled brat willing to trade getting fired to publicly make her point.

The headline said Millennials "feel more working class" than any other generation. While it caught my eye, I almost skipped it. I have Millennial-bashing fatigue.

If I'm feeling that worn out, I can only imagine how actual Millennials feel--stereotyped, put down, and possibly a little embarrassed about the more visible and vocal members of their generation who can't seem to get out of their own way. The two extremes most often reported about this generation fail to deliver any real career perspective, but this piece was different. It had data!

_The Guardian_ and Ipsos MORI (a U.K.-based market research firm) analyzed social survey data and found 56.5 percent adults in the U.S. aged 18 to 35 (approximately 80 million) describe themselves as working class. Further, this percentage has "fallen in almost every survey conducted every other year, dropping from 45.6 percent in 2002 to a record low of 34.8 percent in 2014."

Is this real or proof of Millennials' lack of understanding about what working class is?

It turns out that the decline in earnings is real in absolute terms (when the numbers are adjusted for factors such as inflation), and the trend goes beyond just the U.S. A related study by _The Guardian_ found, "in seven major economies in North America and Europe, the growth in income of the average young couple and families in their 20s has lagged dramatically behind national averages over the past 30 years." The combined factors of college loan debt, limited jobs, rising home prices, and changing demographics result in financial inequality between generations.

This study is surprising because there have been such significant advancements in technology and health that it would seem logical for income to tag along. It's also surprising because of the persistent media dialogue about Millennials and success. Articles tend to focus on one of two common themes: Millennials are brilliant and worthy of our admiration as they sit atop exceptionally popular startup companies, _or_ Millennials are frustrated and fretting about their hardships and the painful amount of time they perceive that it takes to rise to the top.

What is missed in these frequent stories is that Millennials face some real concerns and challenges that their predecessors didn't, and, as a result, the rest of us don't fully appreciate.

It got me thinking about how we each place ourselves on the broad spectrum of financial well-being and career opportunities, regardless of generation. Part of this personal assessment comes from reading the economic studies and part comes from asking ourselves the question, "Am I better off than my parents were at my age?"

Whether you consciously ask this of yourself or not, the answer to this question in our minds has to be a resounding YES to feel like you're on a generally upward trend. Increasingly, Millennials answer NO. They feel stuck in place or in a downward spiral.

As a Generation X-er toiling away at my computer on the sidelines of these generational debates, I'm left with two main takeaways. First, there is truth to some of the concerns raised by Millennials about the economic challenges they face. While their claims come across as whiny at times, I'd miss the bigger point--and the opportunity to engage with them differently--if I stopped listening. Also, it feels like the breakout success of some Millennials has put real success out of reach for others.

I'd encourage Millennials out there to consider three things:

1.  First, DON'T GIVE UP. Quitting a low-paying job that you otherwise love feels, to me, like quitting on possibility. Who knows what the future will bring, maybe a promotion or a significant job transfer? And if you quit, what are you going to do? You'll be in an even worse position to affect change.
2.  This leads to the second consideration: THE NUMBERS DON'T HAVE TO DEFINE YOU or your peers. There are decades remaining in your professional lives to reimagine what your economic future looks like. It's a massive task, but one that your truly creative, status quo-challenging generation is well equipped to tackle.
3.  Don't wait for someone to call or to reach out with something important. Instead, empower yourself toLEAD FROM WHERE YOU ARE. No boss's sign-offs needed. You approve you. Know that it's you, and know the time is now. Granting yourself permission to move forward with your ideas is freeing and powerful.

I believe the vast majority of Millennials will have careers--great careers, in fact--that they'll be able to pull off in spite of the economic challenges they face today. This generation's persistence and resourcefulness could result in nothing less.

question: What might the narrator's opinion of Millenials ultimately be?

answer: Being of an older generation, it appears the narrator has some level of respect for Millennials and believes that they are a creative, out-of-the-box thinking generation but may have a backward, pessimistic view of their future because of years of the drastic economic decline and feels terrible for those Millenials who feel lost in the shadow of their more vocal and exposed contemporaries.

question: Explain the term 'Millennial' and why is this terminology the primary discourse for the narrator?

answer:
The term 'Millennial' refers to a group of individuals born within the early eighties and mid-nineties. This class of individuals has been known to be the most studied generation over time because they grew up in the age of technology, which ultimately has shaped them into what they are today.
About the article, the narrator's sudden interest in this generation was piqued as a result of some recent studies which discussed how Millennials had viewed their success. This can be apparent in the current economic decline, which has seen many Millennials suffer from the hardship of the economy and has affected their psyche over time.


text:
This one time my friend and I were at his lakehouse with some other friends. We had a fun evening playing video games and watching anime and browsing reddit.com. It was a good time. But then we decided to go to bed around 10:25 pm. So we went to our rooms and I was on the bottom floor in the room with my friend Ronnie. Above us on the 2nd story were Cliffton and Henry while the other guy Mickey just slept on the couch in the porch outside. I had known Ronnie since Grade 7 Elementary school so we were pretty close friends. I prepared myself to go to sleep so I grabbed my Kyubey doll and got into bed. I was about to fall asleep when a noise was dragging me from my peaceful slumber. My grip on the Kyubey doll tightened and I began to look around. But it was dark and I couldn't see good. The noise got louder and louder and then I realized where it was coming from. The bed next to mine. Ronnie erupted from underneath his covers, flailing about wildly.

"Wait Ronnie no the demon must be possessing you please halt" I contemplate as earlier in the day we had drawn some symbol things that were supposed to summon powerful demons from Heck and also Cliffton said his house was haunted.

But Ronnie wouldn't listen. Ice cream in hand from the chunky rocky road chocolate ice cream he had gotten from the freezer before he came downstairs and decided to share the bedroom with me (which had two twin beds! Don't want you to think we were sleeping in the same bed together), he plowed me over and over and over again despite my pleas in protest to stop. The demonic Ronnie was not satisfied yet though, as he tore off the head of my Kyubey doll and slurped down it's inner stuffing. This made me mad but I couldn't fight Ronnie in his current State as he was to powerful. Ronnie ran from room to room, plowing as he went, all of us powerless to face the Greater Demon that possessed him. I escaped outside to the woods with my ruined Kyubey doll, my face still fresh from the tears I wept at my Kyubey's death. But I refused to be deteared. I continued to room through the woods looking for any help. But then a growl shattered the piercing peaceful calm of the night in the woods. My pace doubled with greater speed. But the growling was not ceasing. In fact, it was growing more loud and echoed through the woods. I realize to late that the growling source was in fact my Kyubey doll, Ronnie had infected it!

"No! Kyubey! Not you too! You must fight it!" screech the words from my mouth as I drop the Kyubey doll in the lake by the woods in attempt to defeat the demon within. But then there is a reaction from the water and it soaks up all the water and grows triple in size. I now face a 37 foot monstrousity that used to be my very best plushie and prized possession. By this time though my friends Cliffton and Henry had escaped into the woods and found me too. So there we were, the three of us versus the greatest threat we had ever faced. Yet before the battle could begin, Ronnie comes charging in and attacks the monster Kyubey doll. The two do great battle and exchange many vicious blows as the three of us friends stand by in the woods in awe and shaking in out boots. But eventually the battle winds down, and Ronnie's demon proves to be the more ferocious of a beast. However he is very wounded and begins to approach me and Cliffton and Henry as we sit in the woods. Luckily the clock then strokes Midnight, the hour of ending the Demon's time on earth and saving our lives. We sigh with relief and plop down by each other in our spot in the woods beside the lake. It had been a long night so we excited the woods back to my friends lakehouse and went to bed because we were tired.

That night, I had nightmares. I was lucid dreaming because I had mastered it in the years past to help get over my fear of Clowns but it was still scary because demon Ronnie, Kyubey, and Pico were in it and chasing after me as I ran through the woods. I woke up and cried and reached to snuggle with my Kyubey doll but then remembered it's fate and cried some more.

We don't go to his lakehouse anymore. Rumor has it that he sold it and the other people who moved in were never seen from again. They say that on dark nights on the lake you can still hear the growling. And if you go out on the water... Well. I hope your boat can outrun a 37 foot Kyubey, or else you will face a fate worse than that any of mankind has ever experienced in it's history before. And as for the woods around his house and the lake, well, you don't even wanna know what happens there.

(PS: I also wrote 2 more parts so if you guys wanna see em just say so but i'll probably post them here soon anyways so it's whatever :D)

title: Wieners ga Daisuki

question: How did Ronnie get possessed?

answer: The house is said to be haunted, and earlier the group of boys drew symbols to summon demons.

question: How does the narrator deal with the possessed Kyubey doll?

answer: The narrator throws it into the lake near the house, which only makes it grow in size.

question: Where is the story set?

answer: The narrator's friend Cliffton's lakehouse.

question: Does the narrator save Ronnie?

answer: No, but the demon does leave Ronnie; the clock runs out on the demon's time on earth.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator and four other guys are staying at their friend's lake house when one of them, Ronnie, becomes possessed in the night. The house is said to be haunted, and earlier the group of boys drew symbols to summon demons. Ronnie bites off the head of the narrator's doll, infecting the doll, so the narrator throws the doll in the lake while escaping from Ronnie. The doll absorbs the lake water and grows in size to 37 feet and Ronnie arrives to fight it, defeating the doll before the demon's time on earth runs out at midnight and his friends are spared.


text:
Imagine a whisper, tickling your ear. This whisper magnifies into a soft speech, building to a stern statement. A shout forms, turning into a screaming, shaking crescendo, bursting into your tiny defenceless ear. With a giant ‘pop’ a cloudy, confusing darkness envelopes the scene.

Reality opens a blue door, squeezes through a colourful, brightly lit corridor, and then stands in front of a black handle free door. Reality kicks the door from its hinges and stands there staring at an ear, a shaken traumatised ear. Squirming on the floor, your ear feels the presences of reality, and hears a slight whisper that magnifies into a soft speech.

Paranoia finds a blue door.

title: I Need A Holiday

question: What is the whisper magnifying into?

answer: Into a soft speech building up to a stern statement.

question: What does the shout turn into?

answer: The shout turns into a screaming.

question: What does reality do?

answer: It opens a blue door, squeezing through a brightly lit corridor

question: Explain what paranoia finds?

answer: A blue door.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: A whisper develops into a soft speech which builds into a stern statement and into a shout. Reality kicks in.


text:
I don't usually drink alone in bars, but the idea seemed great. Ever since she left, the urge was steadily building. Nothing else I did felt like a proper ending. She lingered. So one night I  went out, alone, to a bar, aiming at becoming the idea. I sat and ordered my drink. The experience was nothing like the idea. Quietly wasting away, the first twenty minutes or so were horrendous. Then he sat down- at least I think he did. I don't remember, maybe he was already there. I do remember the first thing he said: "How's your beer?" My beer was excellent- I had become an expert on my beer. Sit alone for twenty minutes (or more?) sipping your beer, and you will be quite primed to describe said beer. So I did. And he listened. It was not a very interesting description.

That's how we got to talking. We talked about where we were, the bar itself, and we talked about our beers. We joked about the news, and the weather, then exchanged tiny best-of's we'd gathered from our lives. Best jokes heard, best one-liners, best pranks. Best tricks, best stories. We shared and drank some more, and we never asked the other his name. We didn't talk about what we did, or who we were. We talked about what we thought. There is a difference. The night was long, and in a way it was tiring. It was also a release. Hours later, as the sun started to rise, I thought it prudent to finally get my friend's name. Which is when he suddenly plopped down his final glass, and as if reading my mind, said "No need for names." We'd gotten into sync with one another. Hours of intense conversation will do that. Then he stretched, got up, and put on his hat. He said something to me then, and I don't think I'll forget it. He said, "You know something? I'm not what a lot of people would consider successful, but I love Time. Time and death. I love time, because it means even someone like me is a traveler." He paused to throw on his scarf.

Then he continued, "You know, I had a physics teacher once, and he explained how space and time are cut from the same cloth- fact, they are the same cloth. You and me, we sat here, and we drank, and we talked, and the whole time we traveled. Time keeps you moving, even when it seems like you aren't." He put on his jacket.

I asked him, "And death?"

He stopped, his hands in his sleeves, and said "Death is always the end of the line. So it 's the journey that matters. Without death, we'd think the destination was the point." That was the last thing he said to me.

I said "goodbye" to him, and as was my habit, "good luck." too. Then I went home and slept, and maybe dreamed, perhaps about how far I'd come from who I'd been.

title: Like many others, I delude myself into thinking I'll one day be an author. Here is some flash fiction: "Drinking Alone"

question: Why did the narrator go alone to a bar?

answer: Because "she" lingered, and he had the urge.

question: How long did the narrator talk to the man who sat down with him?

answer: Until the sun came up.

question: What was the man's name?

answer: The man declined to share his name, saying there was no need.

question: What did the man say about death?

answer: That it's always at the end of the line, and without it, people would think the destination is the point, when in reality it is the journey.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator has been broken up with or left by a woman and he goes to a bar by himself to help get her off his mind. He is joined eventually by a stranger, and they talk intensely all through the night. When the sun comes up and the man goes to leave, he refuses to share his name when asked. He shares some interesting thoughts about time, how it makes travelers out of all people because it's cut from the same cloth as space, and that the journey is the reason.


text:
EAST LAKE LIBRARY is one of 15 branch libraries formerly in the Minneapolis Public Library System and now one of 41 branch libraries in the Hennepin County Library System in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Three different buildings have housed the library since 1924.[1]

First East Lake

The first East Lake Community Library opened in February 1924, between the Hosmer Community Library and Roosevelt Community Library, which is modeled closely after East Lake.[2] Situated on Lake Street, it featured simple architecture and a skylight. Because of its appearance, seemingly like a storefront, the library was called a 'Reading Factory'.[3] East Lake was one of the last libraries built in a library 'building boom' that Minneapolis experienced starting in 1905 and ending in 1937.[4]

The first East Lake remained until the mid-1970s when the need for a new, larger library grew. By 1974 East Lake was circulating 121,459 items and fielding tens of thousands of reference questions.[5] In 1976 the library closed and was reopened as a Montessori day care. In 1987 Northern Sun Merchandising purchased the building and runs it there to this day.[6] In 2000 the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2004–5, 80 solar panels (9.6 kW) were installed on the roof. The original library shelves still circle the walls of the building.

Second East Lake

[East Lake Library, 1976] The second East Lake was built two blocks west of the original library. It had of space and 30,000 volumes.[7] It also had a meeting room.[8] The building was built by the Minnehaha Mall which included a Target and SuperValu store, and helped bring growth to the area.[9] It served patrons of the Longfellow and Phillips neighborhoods well (second in circulation numbers to only Washburn Library), although by around the start of the 21st century, the building was beginning to show wear.[10]

In 1999, a plan called _Outlook Twenty Ten_ outlined some options for the renewal of the library:

Option A

Option A called for a expansion to the building, which was to cost almost $3 million.

Option B

Option B outlined a expansion and the acquisition of neighboring properties. This was to allow greater creative flexibility in the designation of a new library building.[11] It was to cost almost $3 million.

Option C

Option C simply had the library repaired and slightly renovated. No cost was projected.

Third East Lake

[The third incarnation of East Lake library] None of Outlook Twenty Ten's original suggestions were followed, and on April 30, 2005, the second East Lake was closed to make way for the third building.[12] The newest East Lake was modeled after Minneapolis's Central Library, which was also under construction at the time. The new East Lake facility features a glass and metal exterior and was designed by KKE Architects.[13] It was the first green branch library in the MPL system.[14]

The library opened on March 10, 2007. It includes a teen area, a small business/entrepreneurial knoll and fully automated checkout systems.[15] It is located in the same place as the 1976 building, 2727 E. Lake Street.[16]

Community partnerships

Alliances between East Lake Library and the community include Learning Dreams. Begun as a complement to Homework Hub programming, Learning Dreams grew to include children as well as their parents, supporting them with unique learning opportunities to learn fun and practical knowledge.[17] Programs include computer classes for seniors, provided through a partnership with Minnesota Board on Aging and Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging and job search assistance.[18] Neighborhood Revitalization Program funds provided for a permanent exhibit featuring Longfellow neighborhood history through photographs, articles and books.[19]

Art at the library

East Lake Library art includes Zoran Mojsilov's 2007 piece _Zoomorphy_, presenting large granite rocks held in place by sinuous steel rods. Weighing 26,000 pounds, _Zoomorphy_ is located in the external rain garden.[20] Visitors looking through the library's external windows encounter Janet Lofquist's _Pages_, featuring etched glass versions of literary excerpts from Dr. Seuss's _Cat in the Hat_, Galileo Galilei's work, and Miguel de Cervantes's _Don Quixote_.[21]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16] East Lake Library http://www.hclib.org/about/locations/east-lake

[17] Marty, Gayla, “Dreaming at the Library,” University of Minnesota, College of Education and Human Development, Spring 2013, http://www.cehd.umn.edu/connect/2013Spring/LearningDreams.HTML

[18] Star Tribune, “Get Help in your Job Search,” 03/08/2015, http://www.startribune.com/business/295417651.html

[19] Russell, Scott, “East Lake Library to Re-open March 3,” The Twin Cities Daily Planets, 02/26/2007, http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/node/3823

[20] Start Seeing Artists, “Zoomorphy by Zoran Mojsilov,” http://www.startseeingart.com/sculpture/zoomorphy-by-zoran-mojsilov/

[21] Lofquist, Janet, “Pages,” http://janetlofquist.com/pages/#4

title: East Lake Library

question: What does the text say about the qualities that make a good librarian?

question: What does the text say about East Lake Library?

answer: East Lake Library is one of 15 branch libraries formerly in the Minneapolis Public Library System. It is now one of 41 branch libraries in the Hennepin County Library System in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Three different buildings have housed the library since 1924.

question: What does the text say about the three different East Lake Community Libraries (First, Second, and Third)?

answer: The first East Lake Community Library opened in February 1924, between the Hosmer Community Library and Roosevelt Community Library, which is modeled closely after East Lake. Situated on Lake Street, it featured simple architecture and a skylight. The second East Lake Library was built two blocks west of the original library in 1976. The building was built by the Minnehaha Mall which included a Target and SuperValu store. The third East Lake Library was modeled after Minneapolis's Central Library, replacing the second East Lake in 2007, but the building is in the same location where the 1976 library stood.

question: What does the text say about community partnerships?

answer: Alliances between East Lake Library and the community include Learning Dreams. What started as a complement to Homework Hub programming, Learning Dreams grew to include children and their parents supporting them with unique learning opportunities and fun, practical knowledge. Programs include computer classes for seniors made possible via a partnership with the Minnesota Board on Aging and the Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging and job search assistance.


text:
**Tradition**

The clock struck twelve.

I awoke.

I was alone.

I would forever be alone.

I got out of bed, my feet tentatively reaching for the floor.

One foot, another, toe by toe.

One has to be careful getting out of bed.

You never know just when the floor will disappear on you.

Really.

It’s happened to me before.

I slipped into my slippers, donned my housecoat. It would be another one of those days, apparently. The days that are filled with despair from the start. At least there would be no false hope this time. It had been too long to start hoping again.

Shuffling downstairs, I wondered: Would this be all there ever would be for me? Eternity, stuck in this prison? Had I no chance of escape?

No.

I did not.

But no matter. I was more or less used to it by now.

More or less.

In the kitchen, I opened the fridge, grabbed the milk and blueberries. I always enjoyed blueberries with my cereal. I snatched a bowl from the shelf behind me, Cheerios from the cupboard beside it. I poured the blueberries and Cheerios into the bowl simultaneously. It was tradition, after all. Then the milk. Always the milk last. Can’t break tradition. If people start breaking tradition, then their floors start falling away.

I took a spoon from the cutlery drawer, set it by the bowl, and headed towards the front door to bring in the morning paper. But she was there, visible just on the other side of the peephole. I could see her howling and screaming and crying. In my mind I could hear the words that were being formed a short distance away. A very short distance, and yet infinitely far. I wanted to open the door. I wanted to let her in. I wanted to hold her and caress her and love her more than anything in the world. But I couldn’t open the door now, not even to get the paper.

She was lost to me forever.

She was my wife.

Instead, I stared mournfully through the glass, knowing that this day would not be so simple after all. There would be hope. And it would be crushed.

She was not alone. My mother was there, and my father. My sister and brother. My aunts and uncles and cousins and friends. Everyone who still cared for me or loved me was standing just outside, just out of reach. I knew, and I could do nothing. I could not even tell them that I knew. I could not even tell them that I was here. They just had to guess. Guess and hope.

Knowing that there would be no paper today, I decided on some television instead. I turned away from the door, towards the living room. It had windows facing the front of my house. I could see the throng of people crowding around, growing ever larger. I shut the curtains. They would do no good now. It was too late. It had always been too late.

I switched on the TV, flicked to the news. I flicked to the news every morning. It was tradition. And, as tradition dictated, the same story was playing. Every morning the top news item was the same. In the papers, on the TV, even on the internet, it was the same. There had been a car crash. A man on his daily commute home from work had been blindsided by a drunk driver as he turned off the highway. The man’s car had fishtailed and flipped and struck a pole. The drunk driver’s had run off the road. The drunk driver died. The man did not. He was rushed to the nearest hospital, declared to be in critical condition. The doctors hoped he would wake up and make a full recovery. He hadn’t done either.

I turned off the news, switched to sports. It was the same game that had been playing for as long as I could remember. For as long as that man had been comatose the Blue Jays had been playing the Pirates in spring training baseball. It was a tradition, after all. I knew each play before it happened. The game was boring. I turned back to the news, and for the first time in a long time it was different.

I was shocked. I remembered the story of the man like it was my own. I could feel my fingers gripping the steering wheel as I was hit, vomit splashing into my face as the car was hurled into the pole, the pain spreading through my nervous system like cracks through marble. I could remember the dread, and then the hopelessness. I could remember the world going black as I gave up. I had relived this story through the news so many times I was convinced it was my own.

But it was gone. There was a new story today. They had finally given up on the unconscious man. They were going to let him die peacefully. There was a camera capturing the whole event. After all, this was a man who had captivated the nation, the world, the universe. His wife was clutching his hand, howling and screaming and crying. His mother and father stood next to his bed. So did his sister and brother, his aunts and uncles and cousins and friends. Everyone who still cared for him or loved him. His wife pulled the cord.

The screen went black.

title: My first short story, Tradition. Any feedback is much appreciated.

question: Summarize the twist ending.

answer: The narrator has actually been in a coma for most of the story. At the end of the story, his wife decides to finally pull the plug, and he dies.

question: Summarize the narrator's daily routine.

answer: After he gets out of bed, the narrator goes to the kitchen and pours himself some Cheerios with blueberries. He then goes to the living room and watches a news story about a car crash. After the news, he watches a game between the Blue Jays and the Pirates.

question: What clues does the story provide that the narrator is not quite alive?

answer: He is worried about the floor disappearing on him. He can see his wife howling and screaming. He is also unable to interact with any of his family. Finally, the screen goes black when the man's wife pulls the cord.

question: What does the story say about cultural traditions?