text:
“The world knew its mother was returning. It began to prepare like a bird protects its nest or as a mother deer eats her baby’s waste. Everything changed before anyone realized it was changing. At some time, somebody thought the globe was heating up too much. It was like a comforting flame in the fireplace, though, and not the suicidal oven everyone predicted. Just one more thing for her it was later seen. The disease was nature’s greatest sacrifice. So many things changed then.

“The disease mostly just killed humans. It would break them down and turn their insides to water before they died. Most plants became inedible to humans. But, if you did eat them, you caught the disease, although animals seemed unharmed. The spirits of animals were awakened as they hadn’t been in many years. It seemed rabbits and squirrels scurried everywhere, that bears and wolves were twice as big and fearless. The deer were the uniquely altered. The herds grew and they relearned an old tongue, unspoken for generations. Their eerie clicks and chirps pealed through the forest each evening.

“Most affected were still the humans. Certainly, a great many died from the disease, but those who didn’t were the Callisto of progress—something far more mystical than what was called evolution, but betterment nonetheless. Indians got sick, but none died. One night, deer came into the reservation towns, snorting ancient rhythms like the drums. Indians woke up. Their bones felt the old songs, and everyone sang. The sick were healed. The old ways returned.

“The United States’ Department of Natural Resources studied the first changes curiously. Soon, it became apparent that nature was being reshaped into something unknown. They began massive conservation efforts to preserve everything as it had been. At first, they tried to control pollution and invasive animals, but after the disease that had to be abandoned. There were not enough people left. Then, when it became apparent that wild game was the sole source of food, the DNR found its leverage. It seemed as if a Senate or President hardly mattered anymore, it was the DNR whom the citizens obeyed.

“Now in control, the DNR doubled its conservation efforts. Studying whatever they had the resources for, they discovered that they hated what nature was doing. They wondered what had happened to forests of concrete and stars of streetlights. Despite what nature was doing elsewhere, the DNR in patches prevailed preserving things as they had been and always fighting for more. They wanted conservation above all things, the conservation of what had passed away.

“Then, Mother returned. No one knew she was coming, but we should have known the signs. The DNR called her a demon; we loved her as a god. She would guide us, give us counsel. The old ways had brought her back. She blessed us and taught us about our new world. She would say, ‘How beautiful is this world! Would you do anything to protect it?’

“The DNR met with her early on, to try and make out what she intended. It was not hard for them to understand that she wanted nature to prosper. She saw their conservation as a mother sees her child’s first art. Obviously threatened, the DNR began attacking. They would burn forests and kill animals. Once, after they had slaughtered most of a herd of deer, some Indians joined in the survivors song of mourning.

“I’m not sure if the DNR had forgotten the people living off of the land, but they were surprised. They invited us into their cities, assuming we would be with them. But, how could we desert the mother? She came and she told us, ‘We must protect this world! Would you die for me?’ And we would die for her. We began attacking DNR agents in the forests. We never went to their cities, because there were too many of them.

“A war of sorts began. They saw us as minions of a demon trying to destroy nature. So, they began fighting back. People died on every side. But, Mother urged us, ‘You are protecting the world! Don’t I deserve your life?’ We all gave our lives. Every living Indian came together. We fought and we died. Because I was too old, I just remembered. I saw the story and wrote the songs, even though there is no one left for me to pass it onto. Mother came to me and said, ‘The world has been saved! Go and tell the enemy of your victory.’

“So, I walked for a week to come to you. No one had told me how many of you had been killed. It was another week before I even saw traces of anyone. I thought maybe I was alone in this world. But, tonight you found me as I was eating this meal. Now you have heard my story.”

Billy Little-Fawn sat on the ground next to a pit of embers. The bones of a rabbit had been thrown into a hole. He intended to bury it before he left. A weary DNR agent, watched an old man who could not escape tell his story. He looked at the agent, who smiled showing small pieces of leaves stuck in his teeth. Billy covered his hole. Then, the DNR agent shot him between the eyes. Afterward, he staggered away. He threw himself on the ground to sleep. Something like sweat seeped from his pours, and the man never woke up.

“That’s the last of them,” said Mother.

title: That's the Last of Them

question: Who is 'Mother'?

answer: Mother  seems to be a deity, a creature for which the world has changed. She is someone who reveres nature and teaches the last surviving humans how to appreciate the world around them. Mother seems to have a sinister ulterior motive: to eradicate the humans.

question: WHo are the DNR?

answer: The United States' Department of Natural Resources.

question: Describe what happened to the human race.

answer: Humans were mostly wiped out by a disease that infected people who ate plants. The disease would turn their insides to water. Indigenous people seems to be spared from the disease and became storytellers.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The story of the return of 'Mother' and the disease that preceded her return, wiping out most of the human race. The story ends with the last human being killed.


split: train

text:
STELLA CHESS (March 1, 1914 – March 14, 2007) was an American child psychiatrist who taught at New York University (NYU). With her husband, Alexander Thomas, she undertook research into whether the temperaments of children are innate or are dependent on their nurturing. She also conducted studies on the potential links between rubella during pregnancy and autism in the child.

Early life and education

The middle of three children, Chess was born in New York City to Russian immigrant parents.[1] Her father was a lawyer and her mother was a schoolteacher. Chess graduated from the Ethical Culture School and Smith College. She then enrolled at New York University (NYU) School of Medicine in 1935, receiving her M.D. from there in 1939.[2] While a student there, she took an elective with Lauretta Bender, which solidified her interest in child psychiatry and development.[3]

Career

Chess taught at New York Medical College after she received her M.D., and in 1954, she became the first professor of child psychology there.[4] She first joined NYU in 1964, at the university's Bellevue Hospital Medical Center.[5] In 1966, she became an associate professor of child psychiatry at NYU, and in 1970, she became a full professor there. She continued to teach at NYU into her 90s.[6]

Research

Chess was known for conducting the New York Longitudinal Study, which concluded that children's temperaments are determined before they are born, and not by the parenting they receive. This study, which she conducted with her husband, Alexander Thomas, also led to her developing a theory, which postulates that the interaction between a child's temperament and the personality of his or her parents can affect the child's mental health. Also on the basis of this study's results, Chess and Thomas categorized children into three categories based on their innate temperaments: “easy”, “difficult”, and “slow to warm up”.[7] She also conducted studies on the potential link between rubella and autism.[8] In these studies, which were published in the 1970s, she found that children with congenital rubella syndrome developed autism at rates 200 times higher than the general population at the time.[9]

Death

Chess died in Manhattan on March 14, 2007. She was 93 years old. Her cause of death was pneumonia.[10]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

title: Stella Chess

question: Who was Stella Chess?

answer: Stella Chess is an American child psychiatrist.

question: What was one of the research Chess undertook with her husband, Alexander Thomas?

answer: Chess researched whether the temperaments of children are innate or dependent on their nurturing.

question: Where was Chess taught after he received her M.D.?

answer: She taught at the New York Medical College and became the first professor of child psychology there.

question: What is Chess most known for?

answer: Chess is known for conducting the New York Longitudinal Study, which concluded that children's temperaments are determined before they are born.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer:
Stella Chess was an American child psychiatrist who researched the temperament of children - whether they are innate or dependent on nurturing.

Chess first taught at the New York Medical College after she received her M.D. and soon became the first professor of child psychology there.

Chess is well-known for conducting the New York Longitudinal Study, which concluded that children's temperaments are determined before they are born.


text:
Last night Everett and I went to our “icky Kroger” for a few essentials.  I had planned to go alone and leave the boys with Jason, but Everett insisted.  Mostly because he did not trust that a treat would end up in the bags; if he wasn’t the one pushing the cart.  I conceded, but secretly was looking forward to an hour of aimless wandering without any boy noises or fighting.  We pulled in about eight pm and went through our parking lot ritual of jumping over all the yellow lines.  Ever’s nonstop enthusiasm and chatter lost on me; as I went over the mental list of items we needed for the week.
 The cart I chose was stuck to another one. This seems to happen to me more than most people. Then again, maybe I just don’t have an understanding of how the buggies all fit together. I would have moved to another one; but, at that point I felt committed.  So I plastered on a smile and yanked just hard enough not to draw attention to my overflowing frustration.  When I finally set my purse inside it and walked through the automatic doors I was annoyed, tired, and dead set on getting out of there as fast as I could.
“Mom, Mama, Mom…”  I hear it so much that sometimes I don’t respond; just to see how long they can keep it going without changing tactics.   This time it was about a cookie. See, Everett knows that the bakery keeps a stand with them out for kids.  Unfortunately for him, and me, they didn’t have any left at that time of night; and to his growing horror they didn’t have any donuts either.  I managed to keep him distracted with the Little Debbie choices long enough to throw some bread in the cart.  After only a minor melt down at the thought of Kroger brand go-gurts, we moved on.
About that time is when I noticed her- Out of my hurried, grumpy haze I saw that someone was shopping the aisles with me. She was young, maybe nineteen, but it was hard to tell with the infant seat perched on the cart in front of her.  She filled her basket and made her way through the store just as I did.  After that, I never gave her another thought and went about finishing my chore.
 Now, I’m not sure what it is about the grocery checkout line that makes my children have a form of temporary insanity, but it does.  They run around pressing all the switches and buttons. They touch every piece of candy on the shelf and, if I’m not watching, will end up getting some of it in the cart.  This time I thought I had it beat though, because I wasn’t outnumbered.  I sent Everett to pick out some bubble gum and watched as my total climbed.
“I’m sorry; it’s just not going through”
“Please, just try it again. I don’t know what’s wrong, it should work.”
I turned to see that young mother in the lane behind me.  Her panicked eyes shifting from the cart to the cash register.  I watched as the card was declined again, her heart breaking with the news. The cashier was sympathetic but ready to move past the mother’s sad eyes and finish her shift. The mother looked into her cart calculating which was the most important item- milk, formula, or diapers.  That’s when I heard my little boy’s voice…
“My Mama’s card always works.” He told the few others in line.
“Yes it does, Everett.” Was my thought as I took the card in my hand, the one I was about to swipe for my groceries, and handed it over to the other cashier.  The women looked at me like I was crazy and asked if I was sure, glancing at the total.  I just nodded my head and pressed the card into her hand.  The mother broke down and with tears in her eyes thanked me.  She took her basket and baby and went out the door saying God bless you- And I knew that he already had.  Everett and I took our food and walked out to the car…
This time I jumped over the yellow lines with the joy and enthusiasm that only God’s Grace can give.

title: This moment

question: Explain why Everett didn't trust his mother.

answer: He went to the store with her to make sure he got a treat, not trusting it would end up in the bags if he didn't go.

question: Why was the narrator frustrated and annoyed before even stepping into the grocery store?

answer: She had a hard time yanking the grocery carts apart from each other, flustering her.

question: How was the narrator able to avoid her son from temporarily going insane in the checkout line?

answer: This time she was not outnumbered by her other sons and sent Everett on a search for bubble gum.

question: Explain why the other woman in the store was so grateful for the narrator?

answer: Her credit card was being declined and the narrator paid for her baby's essentials.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator intended to go grocery shopping alone to get a break from her boys. However one of her sons insisted in coming along to ensure he got a treat. At the checkout line, another woman's credit card was being declined so the narrator paid for her baby's essentials.


text:
[The Cooks Creek Watershed Association and Stop the PennEast Pipeline teamed up to erect a billboard in Kintnersville, Pa. (Photo courtesy of Mike Spille)]

The Cooks Creek Watershed Association and Stop the PennEast Pipeline teamed up to erect a billboard in Kintnersville, Pa. (Photo courtesy of Mike Spille)
Jacqueline Evans is a single mother with three young children living on the certified organic farm her family built in rural New Jersey. She keeps sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and honeybees.

A proposed pipeline that’s upended her community would go right past her front door in the bucolic town of Stockton, N.J. She fears it would destroy her farmland, ruin her property value and place her children in “an incineration zone” — that is, if the natural gas in the pipeline catches fire and explodes.

Evans accuses the PennEast Pipeline Company’s surveyors of trespassing on her property and harassing her family. She thinks the company’s plan to invoke “eminent domain for corporate gain” is un-American.

“They are so aggressive, so mean. They show no respect at all. They’re intimidating,” Evans told Yahoo News. “Your home is supposed to be some place you feel safe, and they take that away.”

Vince DiBianca, who lives on a farm in Delaware Township, N.J., is frustrated that the pipeline will come right by his driveway, but he’s just as concerned for his neighbors.

Many homeowners who would be affected by the proposed pipeline route — including DiBianca and Evans — have banded together to form HALT PennEast, which stands for Homeowners Against Land Taking. They’re well organized and vocal.

“It’s disturbing and will permanently scar one of the most environmentally, culturally and historically sensitive areas in the region. Why would they possibly do this?” DiBianca said.

[Anti-pipeline signs are displayed on a farm in Pennsylvania. (Photo: Courtesy of Mike Spille)]

Anti-pipeline signs are displayed on a farm in Pennsylvania. (Photo: Courtesy of Mike Spille)
Would you believe it’s for the money? The roughly 120-mile-long pipeline linking the state to gas fields in Pennsylvania isn’t necessary for New Jersey to meet its energy needs, even during peak demand, as the company admits in legal documents. Instead, the companies behind the pipeline stand to profit from building it, whether it’s needed or not.

Tom Gilbert is the campaign director for energy, climate and natural resources at the New Jersey Conservation Foundation and ReThink Energy NJ, which have been fighting to preserve farmland on their side of the Delaware River for three decades.

“There’s a lot of compelling evidence from credible sources that there’s no need for it,” Gilbert said. “It’s one thing to have all these impacts if the project is truly in the public’s interests and there’s some legitimate public need for the gas. But several experts have concluded that’s just not the case on this project”

“This isn’t a hospital or a needed highway,” Evans said. “It’s unbelievable.”

The New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel (NJDRC), the independent consumer utility watchdog, conducted an analysis that found no need for the project and concluded it would be unfair to ratepayers. NJDRC reports that New Jersey gets more than 100 percent of the gas it needs from existing pipelines.

“This is not something that New Jersey Rates Counsel has ever said before about any other pipeline — and there are numerous proposals in the state — so it’s a pretty damning position that this agency took in terms of what’s really driving this project,” Gilbert said.

According to the NJDRC report, the return on investment the companies would receive would be “like winning the lottery for the company.”

Energy companies stand to profit from owning the pipeline rather than relying on the legacy pipelines from which they already get their gas. The companies involved in PennEast — New Jersey Resources, South Jersey Industries, Southern Company Gas, Spectra Energy Partners and the UGI Corporation — would be both owners and customers of the pipeline, meaning they would essentially be selling to themselves.

[The shoreline in the borough of Riegelsville in Bucks County, Pa., is where the pipeline would cross over the Delaware River to New Jersey. (Photo courtesy of Mike Spille)]

The shoreline in the borough of Riegelsville in Bucks County, Pa., is where the pipeline would cross over the Delaware River to New Jersey. (Photo courtesy of Mike Spille)
Mike Spille, whose home abuts the proposed pipeline route in West Amwell, N.J., said the primary buyers of gas from the pipeline are subsidiaries of those very companies. He said PennEast admits in its FERC filings that the pipeline is being built not to meet demand but because they plan on letting their contracts with existing pipelines lapse.

“Currently, there’s a tariff on the money that they pay the pipeline companies that’s going out the door. With PennEast, they’re basically paying the money back to themselves so they have a new revenue stream,” Spille said. “That’s the real reason they’re doing it — to get a growth strategy for Wall Street. They’re not doing it to help the region at all.”

Michael Heffler, of Lambertville, N.J., is also a member of HALT PennEast. He said he’s not opposed to businesses making money when they provide a service to the community. But he takes issue with companies that push through unnecessary and harmful projects solely to make money.

“I don’t mind profits. What I mind is profits with no value. We don’t need the gas. We’ve got over 100 percent of the gas we need. If you’re getting a profit, you should get value. They’re providing no value,” Heffler said. “It’s actually worse than them being greedy. They’re immoral and unethical.”

“It’s a pretty smart move from a corporate perspective,” DiBianca said. “It’s an incredibly damaging move from a community, environmental and homeowner perspective.”

Patricia Kornick, the project spokesperson for the PennEast Pipeline, argued that there are many reasons to construct a pipeline other than meeting peak demand: cost savings, supply security, supply diversity and reliability.

“Objective observers can understand how accessing one of the most abundant and affordable supplies of natural gas in all of North America — rather than paying 34 percent more for gas transported over 1,000 miles from the Gulf Coast only to return to the Northeastern market from which it originated — enhances reliability, increases supply security and lowers consumer utility costs,” Kornick said.

[Nearly 100 residents of Bucks County, Pa., and Hunterdon County, N.J., marched across the Uhlerstown–Frenchtown Bridge on April 29, 2017, to protest the Trump administration's environmental policies and the proposed PennEast pipeline. (Photo: Paul Warchol)]

Nearly 100 residents of Bucks County, Pa., and Hunterdon County, N.J., marched across the Uhlerstown–Frenchtown Bridge on April 29, 2017, to protest the Trump administration’s environmental policies and the proposed PennEast pipeline. (Photo: Paul Warchol)
According to Kornick, PennEast evaluated approximately 100 route variations to minimize environmental impact, and the route it chose is largely based on input from landowners, public officials and agencies.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) rejected PennEast Pipeline’s application for water permits on June 28. The DEP told PennEast that its application did not provide enough information to properly evaluate land use permits.

On April 26, DEP told PennEast that it had 30 days to submit additional information about issues with its application — otherwise it would be deemed incomplete and “administratively closed.”

The company was not able to provide information for two-thirds of its proposed route — through farmland, preserved space and private property — because people have denied it access.

Critics celebrated this denial as a major setback for PennEast, which needs the water and wetland permits to start construction.

“DEP did its job and saw through PennEast’s con-game. Under the rules, they had to reject this application because PennEast is missing so much information and was a sham,” Jeff Tittel, the director of the New Jersey Sierra Club,said in a statement. “We are glad DEP denied this worthless permit application.”

According to Kornick, however, this administrative rejection was “not unexpected” and is only a “temporary action.”

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), an independent agency that regulates the transmission of electricity and natural gas, is reviewing the PennEast Pipeline project. FERC issued a final environmental impact statement in early April and concluded that there will be harm to the environment but that it could be mitigated.

[The proposed PennEast Pipeline route would travel from Dallas, Luzerne County, in northeastern Pennsylvania to Pennington, Mercer County, in central New Jersey. (Maps4News/Yahoo News)]

The proposed PennEast Pipeline route would travel from Dallas, Luzerne County, in northeastern Pennsylvania to Pennington, Mercer County, in central New Jersey. (Maps4News/Yahoo News)
“Based on that final, favorable environmental impact statement, PennEast does anticipate receiving a certificate of public convenience and necessity approving the project,” Kornick said. “PennEast remains on track to receive a final project approval late this summer. Following federal approval, PennEast will simply resubmit its permit application to the New Jersey DEP.”

The proposed gas pipeline would start in Dallas, Luzerne County, in northeastern Pennsylvania, where there’s fracking of the Marcellus Shale wells. Then it would traverse the Lehigh Valley and northern Bucks County before crossing the Delaware River into New Jersey, where it would essentially run parallel to the river through Hunterdon and Mercer counties. It would terminate at Transco’s pipeline interconnection near Pennington.

“There’s a lot at stake here. It really would cut through an incredibly beautiful, historic, environmentally significant area,” Gilbert said. “When we learned about this proposal that would cut through an area where there’s over 4,000 acres of land that’s been preserved, we felt we had to come to the defense of those lands.”

Environmentalists generally worry that natural gas pipelines will further lock the region into reliance on fossil fuel at a time when the international community is trying to move toward renewable energy. But there are even more immediate concerns.

Many residents were worried that pipeline construction in the region’s arsenic-rich bedrock could lead to water contamination.

Tullis Onstott, a professor of geosciences at the University of Princeton, said the design of the pipeline would result in a maximum impact on groundwater contamination if anything untoward happened during its construction or operation.

[Supporters from the “March Across the River a Rally to Stop PennEast” gather in Riegelsville, Pa. (Photo: Courtesy of Ann Marshall)]

Supporters from the “March Across the River a Rally to Stop PennEast” gather in Riegelsville, Pa. (Photo: Courtesy of Ann Marshall)
He is concerned that the pipeline would be particularly damaging because of two underlying factors of the region’s geology: high levels of arsenic and uranium, and the low porosity of the rocks.

“That means if you mobilize even a small fraction of arsenic that’s in that rock into the water, it gets concentrated very quickly at high levels and migrates great distances,” Onstott told Yahoo News. “It’s that combination of the geology and the hydrology that makes it the worst possible site to put this in. And on top of that, they have it oriented in such a way that it maximizes the potential impact it would have. You couldn’t design it worse in that regard.”

Kornick adamantly denied that the arsenic poses a risk, saying that has “absolutely been discounted numerous times.” PennEast is promoting a study conducted from 2015 to 2016 by Michael Serfes, a former research scientist at the New Jersey DEP, who accused Onstott of being “speculative” and “alarmist.”

He argued that the construction of roadways, sewer lines, housing and commercial developments carry contain the same — if not a greater — risk of arsenic release.

“The results of my study clearly demonstrated that, during construction, although some of these freshly broken rock materials will release a relatively insignificant quantity of arsenic initially, the concentrations quickly decrease toward expected natural background levels that will have insignificant impacts to drinking water,” Serfes wrote.

[The pipeline route will go right past a dam and under the water pipe in Lambertville, N.J., that provides drinking water to the city, according to Michael Heffler. (Photo: Courtesy of Michael Heffler)]

The pipeline route will go right past a dam and under the water pipe in Lambertville, N.J., that provides drinking water to the city, according to Michael Heffler. (Photo: Courtesy of Michael Heffler)
Paul Boudreaux, the president of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, testified at a FERC hearing about the pipeline last year in Clinton, N.J., on behalf of the chamber’s 930 member companies. He argued that the natural gas supply would be a boon for New Jersey’s residential and business consumers, lead to a more reliable electricity grid and put downward pressure on gas prices.

“We just look at the whole energy environment, which is fascinating right now. There are so many changes, so much new technology, and we are absolutely in favor of renewables but we don’t think they can provide the capacity we need over the next five to ten years at a minimum,” Boudreaux told Yahoo News.

PennEast has been promoting the jobs the pipeline would create, but critics say their numbers are inflated and that most of them — being construction rather than maintenance positions — would only last for the six or so months needed to construct the pipeline.

By PennEast’s own figures, the ongoing maintenance and operation of the pipeline would create only about 98 permanent jobs in New Jersey and Pennsylvania combined.

“But that’s not what they tell you. They just say thousands of jobs,” Gilbert said. “They’re not telling you that those jobs are just six months in duration. They’re not telling you that half of those jobs go to specialized workers from other states. So the picture they are painting is a lot rosier than the reality of it. And the fact that small number of jobs and those short terms jobs to not justify or outweigh the incredible environmental damage that would result, especially when there’s no evidence that there’s a real public need for this project.”

The Goodman Group evaluated the economic impact study provided by PennEast and concluded that the organization was overstating the total number of jobs — estimated at 12,160 — it would create by at least two-thirds, and that most of the jobs would be short-term in nature: namely, construction jobs lasting between six months and a year.

Despite recent setbacks, PennEast expects to receive final federal approval for the project and plans to resubmit a permit application to the NJDEP this year, Kornick said. PennEast anticipates a construction phase of roughly seven months resulting in an operational pipeline in the second half of 2018.

But the opposition isn’t backing down anytime soon.

“It’s just a mess. It threatens everything that we have,” Evans said. “And it’s the gas industry’s big push to get as much out of the ground before it’s over for them. We don’t need this. We don’t want it. They brought this fight to us.”

[A closeup of yet another Stop PennEast pipeline sign on Durham Road in Durham, Pa. (Photo: Courtesy of Mike Spille)]

A closeup of yet another Stop PennEast pipeline sign on Durham Road in Durham, Pa. (Photo courtesy of Mike Spille)
READ MORE FROM YAHOO NEWS:

-   A Southern city struggles with the paradoxes of ‘school choice’

-   Senators vacate Washington, a president’s recriminations ringing in their ears

-   As a grand jury begins work, defiant Trump calls Russia investigation a ‘fabrication’

-   Murkowski, Collins reflect on bucking the GOP line on health care

-   Photos: ‘Just the Facts’ — Illuminating invisible lives at the 2017 LightField photo festival

question: What did the Cooks Creek Watershed Association and Stop the PennEast Pipeline team up to do?

answer: They teamed up to erect a billboard in Kintnersville, Pa. against the not-needed pipeline that would be unfair to taxpayers, while profiting the oil companies.

question: Summarize Jacqueline Evans' role in this article.

answer: Jacqueline is a single mother living on a certified organic farm in rural New Jersey. She opposes the proposed pipeline because it would go right past her front door, and she fears it would destroy her farmland and put her children in an "incineration zone".

question: What is HALT PennEast?

answer: Homeowners Against Land Taking.

question: Why do energy companies support the construction of the pipeline?

answer: The companies stand to profit from building it, whether it's needed or not.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: Cooks Creek Watershed Association and Stop the PennEast Pipeline teamed up to erect a billboard in Kintnersville, Pa. against the not-needed pipeline that would be unfair to taxpayers, while profiting the oil companies.


text:
OLD JOKE: FATHER O’BRIEN WAS DRIVING HOME AFTER LUNCH WHEN A POLICEMAN PULLED HIM OVER. “WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DRINKING?” ASKED THE COP. “ONLY WATER,” REPLIED THE PRIEST. “THEN WHAT’S THAT NEXT TO YOU?” SAID THE POLICEMAN, POINTING TO THE HALF-EMPTY BOTTLE OF PINOT NOIR IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. “GOOD LORD!” SAID FATHER O’BRIEN. “HE’S DONE IT AGAIN!”

Father O’Brien was onto something. Drinking at work can be miraculous. Scientists at the University of Illinois at Chicago discovered that creativity increases 50% after a few drinks — and speeds up response times.

In a study published this year in the journal Consciousness and Cognition, psychologists gave their subjects enough vodka-and-cranberry to put their blood-alcohol at almost 0.08, which is the legal limit. Then the volunteers played a game in which they were given a group of words, such as peach, arm and tar, and asked to come up with another word that could be used in combination with any of the above, such as pit.

Tipplers delivered more correct answers and delivered them more quickly. Drinkers solved nine problems on average, versus six for the sober group, and came up with answers in an average of 11.5 seconds as against 15.2 for the teetotalers.

Twenty-five percent faster, 50% more creative? Don Draper, once again you have been proven right.

Psychologists have speculated that drinking may spur creativity because it decreases the ability to control your thoughts. In other words, the very reason we use alcohol in social situations — to lower the barriers — works on an intellectual plane as well.

The main problem with drinking at lunch is that there isn’t enough of it.

For once, society really is to blame. Order a midday Bloody Mary and your co-workers become Frowny Harrys. Here in the city, though, we aren’t driving home afterwards or, for the most part, operating heavy equipment. So the no-booze-at-lunch stance tends to be more moralistic than practical.

There is also a perception that drinking at lunch, or even dinner, is linked to lower intelligence. Another psychological study, this one to be published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology by Scott Rick of the University of Michigan and Maurice Schweitzer of Wharton Business School, discovered what they called an “imbibing idiot bias.” They found that, during job interviews over dinner, candidates who ordered a glass of wine were rated as less intelligent than non-drinkers by their dining companions.

Drinking didn’t seem to impair the mental agility of the late Christopher Hitchens, who consumed half a bottle of wine or so each midday, though he advised, “Try to eat something . . . at every meal.”

Drinking at lunch has long been opposed by Puritans, jihadists, miserable freaks in general and Jimmy Carter in particular. In 1976 Carter actually campaigned against “the three-martini lunch” before putting on a sweater and lecturing us about how depressed we all were (at least as long as he was president). His first lady bragged that she enjoyed seeing people “kind of squirm” when they learned no liquor was served in the Carter White House.

When Ibn Saud, the founder of Saudi Arabia, explained to Winston Churchill that his religion forbade smoking and drinking, Churchill said that for him it was “an absolutely sacred rite” to have “alcohol before, after, and if need be during all meals and in the intervals between them.”

We’ve got it all wrong at lunch these days, savoring our locally nurtured bean sprouts sprinkled with organic vinaigrette. No sprout that ever crept out of the ground (where, frankly, it should probably be left) tastes as good as a glass of cheap chardonnay, much less a Chateau Petrus.

Then there are the business reasons for drinking at lunch. It’s a power play. It shows confidence. It makes things happen.

Longtime Playboy drinking columnist Dan Dunn, author of “Living Loaded,” told BusinessWeek that a lunchtime tipple is “sending a very clear message that you’re not the kind of guy to be trifled with.” He added that enjoying a liquid lunch was “like sex” — “someone may find your proposal a lot more interesting after six or seven vodka tonics.”

question: What statistic is being touted about drinking?

answer: Creativity increases by 50% while drinking.

question: Where did they discover this?

answer: University of Illinois at Chicago

question: What did a study indicate about drinking during lunch?

answer: Drinking in moderation midday with a meal does not hinder intelligence.

question: What else are drinkers good at?

answer: Solving problems faster.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: A handful of studies indicate that everyday drinkers aren't incapable or intelligent as assumptions would have it-in fact, researchers have found drinking can lead to increased creativity and faster problem-solving. Some journalists also think that ordering a drink in some situations-such as a job interview-makes one look bolder, which they say is a positive thing.


text:
“Please sit down.” The lady is old with fraying grey hair. “You got into another fight. What was it this time?” Her disapproving glare only matches the backdrop of disappointment and anxiety that is my high school.

I keep my mouth shut. How can I explain to her the secret smirks of the other students? How can I tell her of the way they all stop talking as soon as I round the corner? They have names for me, I know they do. They are written on bathroom stalls, whispered secretly from ear to ear, and sometimes left in a crumpled note in my classrooms.

Will she understand me if I tell her the fight was just to send a message? My abusers are not bigger than me, they are not stronger than me, and in fact they are not even people. Rather they are a collective movement. They are a wall of bullies masked by smiles and shrugs. None of them hate me, or dislike me for any reason; I was simply ‘selected’.

I look at the tired eyes of the Principle, a lifetime’s worth of dealing with hate born of nothing but spite lay behind those eyes. In that moment, I know that she knows. She can’t admit to it though because then she would have to do something and she knows there is nothing she could do for me. The feigned ignorance is to give me hope, a false hope that there might still be a chance for me. Too bad I know that there is nothing anyone can do for me anymore.

So I take her lecture, I take the blame, I take the fault and I discard the false hope she tries to instill within me. Three more days and it will all be over. One way or another, I promise you, I will end it.

title: To my bullies

question: Why does the narrator not tell the woman the truth?

answer: He knows that she knows he is being bullied and there is nothing she can actually do.

question: Why is the narrator being bullied?

answer: He was singled out to be an outcast.

question: What happened to the young man that got him in trouble?

answer: He got into a fight.

question: How does he know that she knows?

answer: He can see it in her eyes.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This story is about a young man who gets into a fight in high school and must face punishment for it.


text:
This morning, the strangest thing happened when I was checking the messages in my spam folder. My mom’s great grandfather had always been regarded as insane, the butt of jokes, a sort of stigma. You know, “don’t be a Looney Liam” or “Lousy Liam” and the sort; but after what just happened to me, it all sort of makes me think differently.

Let’s start with his story.

Back in World War 1, in January of 1915, my mom’s great grandfather Liam was in France by means of the Treaty of London, sent from England as a response to Germany invading neutral Belgium. As part of the British Expeditionary Force, he found a position in trenches on the Western Front. Invaders were pushing hard on his location, and it became imperative that reinforcements be sent to help stop the foreign soldiers, as well as rescue his team from their plight. There had been some very expensive radio equipment brought along for the purpose of communicating with the Allies, but the donkey team carrying it had just been killed, and the soldiers were forced to abandon it in favor of saving their lives. Having no radio, a French soldier took of one of the pigeons they brought and sent it back to it’s loft with a message containing a call for help. Reinforcements soon came, and my great great grandfather was eternally grateful to that French soldier, they eventually becoming best of friends. And he promised that if he could ever repay him, he would.

The newly freed friends were later sent back east, but in separate units. They marched across France, ever set out to push back the Front. At each checkpoint, they would send intel back to the base via radio. With new equipment, they still preferred to stay in communication with each other via pigeon, regularly sending each other little updates, but also jokes and notes of comfort. As time went on, they began to find the number of invading forcing increasing. Once again, the radio was lost, pigeons were sent to the Allies, and also directly to my great great grandfather. Liam’s friend began to ask that immediate troops be sent to rescue them from the overwhelming invasion. Eventually, the final message was sent out, asking why no help had come. Why had Liam broken his promise to repay his help? Heartbroken, they were defeated.

The Command sent Liam's troupe orders to help his friend, but they arrived too late. My great great grandfather was distraught at the loss of his friend. He never got over it. It broke him. I heard stories about how he was always saying that he would have gone to help his friend immediately, had he only known there was any need of help. He had never known they were so close to being invaded. The strangest thing of all was that the carrier pigeons had arrived all right. One after another, right up until the orders for aide. In fact, they had messages attached. But those messages were completely different from the ones originally sent. I have just received those original messages: the desperate pleas for help and reinforcements, the coordinates, the request for a repaid promise. I have only just discovered them in the spam folder of my e-mail account. One after another, in order, describing the growing numbers of troops, the loss of the radio, and finally desperate pleas for help.

100 years ago, my mother’s crazy great grandfather Liam received one message after another, assuming they were practical jokes from his best friend. Messages inviting him to check out hot singles in his area, on how to claim lost assets, and links to click to make tax free money from home.

Messages that should have been in my spam folder, where I found those urgent pleas for help that were meant for him…

title: [SF] The Tragedy of Loopy Liam (Twilight Zone fan fiction, concept draft)

question: What does the story say about how the narrator's great grandfather lost his sanity?

answer: His great grandfather, Liam, served in the British army during the First World War. He became friends with a French soldier who saved his life. At some point, this friend's regiment gets overrun, and he asks for help from Liam. However, the messages don't reach Liam, and he fails to save his friend even though he would've gone to his aid. 100 years later, those messages intended for Liam reach the narrator as emails. The practical jokes meant for the narrator reach Liam. So, Liam eventually loses his sanity.

question: What does the text say about trench warfare?


text:
*Are you really happy?*

The advertisement’s subtitles scrolled across the screen in time with the voice, Demetri could imagine a little ball bouncing across them in time with the speaker. His voice was like warm velvet, full of all the intonations and expression to imbue it with a feeling of altruistic concern, as if it were some great fatherly deity looking down upon its children and asking them if they were all right, did they want anything from the store? Was school going okay for them?

It was a question Demetri could imagine coming from a doctor too, the voice wasn’t simply prone to philosophical musings, no this was a question about a symptom.

Are you hot?

Are you cold?
Where does it hurt?

Can you feel this?

*Are you really happy?*

The symptom was unhappiness, not merely limited to true melancholic depression, nor the more colloquial ‘blues,’ no, the advertisement called out to everyone who simply wasn’t happy all of the time.

The advertisement called out to the entirety of the human race.

Unhappiness was a symptom of the sickness that was the human condition, and Elysia was the cure. Elysia,a serum that was cheap, efficient, and ultimately accessible by all. It cornered a market that had existed for eternity, a market that in itself contained all others; vacations, travelling, dining out, film, entertainment, all of them fell in comparison. If the generally accepted goal of life was to be happy, and one could be happy simply by buying, and charging, an eRing™, eBracelet™, or for the truly opulent, the eNecklace™, then what was the point of anything else?

What was the point of anything at all?

The eccessories™ were just the tools for the medication, a mixture of needless and electrical pulses that influenced the body’s blood flow in conjunction with the added Elysia substance to create, inspire, evoke, engineer, happiness.

*Are you really happy?*

It came in varying degrees, depending on the eccessory™ you used as well as the potency, or ‘mix,’ of Elysia that you bought. Demetri liked all of the mixes (as did everyone of course, how could they not, it was happiness), but his recent favourites included Warm Summer Picnic™, First Kiss™, and Hugs on a Cold Day™ . He had saved up enough recently to purchase his own eNecklace™ but had not yet accumulated enough money to try the recently released Happily Married™. But that didn’t matter, because he was happy, fulfilled even, whatever that meant. Work didn’t tire or stress him, he was happy to do it so he did. He wasn’t a particularly attractive man, but he wasn’t unattractive either, so as long as he was wearing his eNecklace™ women knew they would be happy with him.

‘The most attractive quality to have is a truly happy smile,’ the advertisement proclaimed, and it was true, all people wanted was to be happy, what else mattered? And a smile meant you were happy, right?

In the last few years there had been very few technological advances outside of anything directly related to Elysia, Demetri wondered if there was any point. Wasn’t this the pinnacle of human civilisation, being happy? He imagined the Elysia-Deity staring at a computer screen with the words “GAME OVER: YOU WIN” scrolling across it in the same way the words “Everything is easier when you’re happy, try new ‘Won the Lottery™’ today!” scrolled across the electronic billboard above him, Demetri smiled happily, that mix had been a good one.

*Are you really happy?*

If Demetri wasn’t so happy he’d be frustrated hearing that question so often. Of course he was happy, he’d just taken a 6 hour dosage of First Kiss™ and was strolling happily, hands in his pockets, towards a pretty woman he’d made quite inviting  eye contact with.

It occurred to him that he couldn’t actually remember his first kiss.

Why was he thinking that? What did it matter? He shrugged off the thought, letting it fall from his mind like a damp and heavy coat. Yet still it lay, clumped and crumpled there, on the floor of his consciousness. Come on, it couldn’t be so hard to remember something like that. A feeling he was so used to these days…

Lost in his mind, Demetri stumbled on the sidewalk, his idle hands too slow to catch himself and protect his smiling face.

He heard a series of cracks as his jaw crashed against the footpath and left a lovely half-skid of blood as he lifted himself up.

*Are you really happy?*

He pulled himself up and tried to wipe the red spittle from his face, but instead it just smeared across his cheek, he got the odd feeling that it must look like a long crimson smile.

It hurt.

Their first fight had been in a park, they’d yelled and she’d tried to walk away and he’d caught her and held her. Their first kiss had been there too, it had been raining and she’d been cold. And there, nestled against him, she’d looked up and kissed him.. It had been a year or so before she’d gotten cancer. Cancer was hardly an issue now though, the suffering were given free Elysia, what more could they want, they died happily?

Demetri’s stomach tightened, his chest heaved slightly.

He didn’t want to think about her, the long hours he’d spent by her side in the hospital. The moments and feelings they had shared. No, that wasn’t happy.

No.
No.
No.

*Are you really happy?*

In his head, the deity-doctor seemed to sound concerned, almost frustrated, with Demetri’s lack of answer. What did it matter that she had died? He was happy, everyone in the whole world was so fucking happy all the time, what did it matter.

No.

No.

He just wanted to be happy, and then he felt it hit him.
A dark wave of nostalgia, fear, anger, pain, frustration, boredom, cold, weakness.

And love.

A wave from an ocean so deep, and thick with restrained thoughts and memories. Feelings from the time his mother had told him his hamster had ‘run away,’ feelings from the time his friend Derrick had joined the ‘cool’ kids, feelings like his mother crying when she only had to make one cup of tea in the morning.
Feelings like a soft kiss in the rain.

Like the rain they washed over him, feelings that affected him, feelings that were different. Feelings that made and unmade him, created him and destroyed him, defined and erased him.

Feelings that were real.

*Are you really happy?*

And like rain they fell to the ground in front of him, like rain they slid and dripped and stayed.

And then they were gone.

His consciousness writhed in frustration for but a moment, stretching, reaching for any vestiges of the pain.
But it was gone.

Demetri blinked.
He stared at the smooth concrete in front of him.
The scrape of blood was slowly coalescing with a few soft, small drops around it.

*Are you really happy?*

Of course he was.

title: [Real]

question: Who is the narrator?

answer: The narrator is a man named Demetri.

question: Explain what Elysia is.

answer: Elysia is a cheap and efficient serum that cures unhappiness/

question: What happened to the woman the narrator loved?

answer: She died of cancer.

question: What does the narrator see an advertisement for?

answer: The narrator sees an advertisement for a serum called Elysia.

question: Why is Demetri bleeding?

answer: Demetri trips and scrapes his jaw against the footpath.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Demetri sees an advertisement for Elysium, a serum that cures unhappiness by eliciting artificial positive feelings that mimic experiences like summer picnics and first kisses. He's recently taken a dosage of First Kiss, and he struggles to remember his actual first kiss, with a woman who eventually died of cancer. He trips and scrapes his jaw, and is overwhelmed by a sudden rush of genuine emotions, including pain. The emotions quickly fade, and he decides that he is happy.


text:
Coursework in aerodynamics, structures and materials, propulsion, and dynamics and control provide a strong fundamental basis for advanced study and specialization, while technical electives offer a concentration of study in fields of special interest. Design philosophy and practice are developed throughout the curriculum to relate analysis to aerospace engineering design. The design of aerospace system components is particularly emphasized in the junior- and senior-level courses. A senior-level two-semester design sequence, involving specific goals, objectives, and constraints, integrates analysis and design tools and requires students working in small teams to design, build, test, and even fly an aerospace system, such as an aircraft, rocket, or spacecraft. Application of modern engineering and computational tools is required and emphasized in all courses.

The freshman year is identical for degrees in aerospace engineering, architectural engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, electronic systems engineering technology, environmental engineering, industrial distribution, industrial engineering, interdisciplinary engineering, manufacturing and mechanical engineering technology, mechanical engineering, multidisciplinary engineering technology, nuclear engineering, ocean engineering, and petroleum engineering (Note: not all programs listed are offered in Qatar). The freshman year is slightly different for chemical engineering, biomedical engineering and materials science and engineering degrees in that students take CHEM 119 or CHEM 107/CHEM 117 and CHEM 120.  Students pursuing degrees in biological and agricultural engineering should refer to the specific curriculum for this major. It is recognized that many students will change the sequence and number of courses taken in any semester. Deviations from the prescribed course sequence, however, should be made with care to ensure that prerequisites for all courses are met.

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
Fall
Semester Credit Hours
CHEM 107
General Chemistry for Engineering Students 1,4
3
CHEM 117
General Chemistry for Engineering Students Laboratory 1,4
1
ENGL 103
or ENGL 104

Introduction to Rhetoric and Composition ¹
or Composition and Rhetoric

3
ENGR 102
Engineering Lab I - Computation ¹
2
MATH 151
Engineering Mathematics I 1,2
4
University Core Curriculum ³
3

Semester Credit Hours
16
Spring
ENGR 216/PHYS 216
Experimental Physics and Engineering Lab II - Mechanics ¹
2
MATH 152
Engineering Mathematics II ¹
4
PHYS 206
Newtonian Mechanics for Engineering and Science ¹
3
University Core Curriculum ³
3
Select one of the following:
3-4
CHEM 120

Fundamentals of Chemistry II ⁴

3,5

Semester Credit Hours
15-16

Total Semester Credit Hours
31-32
Plan of Study Grid
Second Year
Fall
Semester Credit Hours
AERO 201
Introduction to Flight ¹
3
AERO 211
Aerospace Engineering Mechanics
3
MATH 251
Engineering Mathematics III ¹
3
PHYS 207
Electricity and Magnetism for Engineering and Science ¹
3
PHYS 217/ENGR 217
Experimental Physics and Engineering Lab III - Electricity and Magnetism ¹
2
Select one from the following:
3
COMM 203

Public Speaking ¹

COMM 205

Communication for Technical Professions ¹

COMM 243

Argumentation and Debate ¹

ENGL 210

Technical and Business Writing ¹

Semester Credit Hours
17
Spring
AERO 212
Introduction to Aerothermodynamics
3
AERO 214
Introduction to Aerospace Mechanics of Materials ¹
3
AERO 222
Introduction to Aerospace Computation ¹
3
ECEN 215
Principles of Electrical Engineering ¹
3
MATH 308
Differential Equations ¹
3
High Impact Experience ⁶
0
AERO 299

Mid-Curriculum Professional Development ⁷

Semester Credit Hours
15
Third Year
Fall
AERO 301
Theoretical Aerodynamics ¹
3
AERO 304
Aerospace Structural Analysis I ¹
3
AERO 307
Aerospace Engineering Laboratory ¹
3
AERO 310
Aerospace Dynamics ¹
3
University Core Curriculum ³
6

Semester Credit Hours
18
Spring
AERO 303
High Speed Aerodynamics ¹
3
AERO 306
Aerospace Structural Analysis II ¹
3
AERO 321
Dynamics of Aerospace Vehicles ¹
3
AERO 351
Aerothermodynamics and Propulsion ¹
3
University Core Curriculum ³
3

Semester Credit Hours
15
Fourth Year
Fall
AERO 401
Aerospace Vehicle Design I 1,7
3
AERO 413
Aerospace Materials Science
3
AERO 423
Orbital Mechanics
3
AERO 430
or MATH 401

Numerical Simulation
or Advanced Engineering Mathematics

3
Select one of the following:
3
AERO 405

Aerospace Structural Design

AERO 417

Aerospace Propulsion

AERO 426

Space System Design

AERO 428

Electromagnetic Sensing for Space-Borne Imaging

AERO 451

Human Spaceflight Operations

AERO 472

Airfoil and Wing Design

Semester Credit Hours
15
Spring
AERO 402
Aerospace Vehicle Design II ⁷
2
AERO 422
Active Controls for Aerospace Vehicles
3
AERO 452
Heat Transfer and Viscous Flows
3
Select two of the following:
6
AERO 404

Mechanics of Advanced Aerospace Structures

AERO 405

Aerospace Structural Design

AERO 417

Aerospace Propulsion

AERO 419

Chemical Rocket Propulsion

AERO 420

Aeroelasticity

AERO 424

Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics and Control

AERO 425

Flight Test Engineering

AERO 426

Space System Design

AERO 428

Electromagnetic Sensing for Space-Borne Imaging

AERO 430

Numerical Simulation

AERO 435

Aerothermochemistry

AERO 440

Cockpit Systems and Displays

AERO 445

Vehicle Management Systems

AERO 451

Human Spaceflight Operations

AERO 455

Helicopter Aerodynamics

AERO 472

Airfoil and Wing Design

AERO 489

Special Topics in...

ECEN 421

Digital Control Systems

ENGR 385

Problems for Co-Op Students

University Core Curriculum ³
3

Semester Credit Hours
17

Total Semester Credit Hours
97

Total Program Hours 128

question: How many credit hours are required for an engineering degree from this institution?

answer: 128

question: What degrees in engineering are offered by this institution?

answer: Degrees in aerospace engineering, architectural engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, electronic systems engineering technology, environmental engineering, industrial distribution, industrial engineering, interdisciplinary engineering, manufacturing and mechanical engineering technology, mechanical engineering, multidisciplinary engineering technology, nuclear engineering, ocean engineering, petroleum engineering, chemical engineering, biomedical engineering, and materials science may be offered.

question: Can deviations from the assigned course schedule be made?

answer: Yes, but should be made carefully so as not to miss prerequisites.

question: How many credit hours will an engineering student take in a given semester?

answer: 15 - 17

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This page outlines the course of study for a degree in engineering from the host institution. The host institution is not indicated.


text:
Part of the Council for International Schools (CIS) accreditation process asks schools to “demonstrate a commitment to internationalism/interculturalism in education” and that this should be “reflected throughout the life of the institution.” In this article, I will be presenting the case that schools of a religious tradition are best placed to fulfil this aspect of education given their deeply rooted sense of history, tradition and culture.

In her book “International Mindedness” Lesley Stagg concludes by paraphrasing Dan Young “Internationalism advocates the quality of ‘being’ international within the overall climate and character evident when you enter the school. It includes the one for all organizational principles that reflect a global community concern (known to its community to exist inside and outside its walls), as well as an overall positive attitude between diverse cultures (and countries). It is evidenced where students and faculty celebrate this quality as they come together for learning and teaching… when common global interests and collaboration are recognized as imperative.”

To my mind, in order to successfully meet this goal, it is essential that the school have at least one unifying feature. There must be something tangible that unites all in the midst of diversity. CIS exhorts the guiding statements of a school as this focal point and these guiding statements must be embedded in the curriculum and in the culture of learning. This is not particularly controversial and is something commonly accepted in the domain of international schools. However, I would like to suggest that in reality, many international schools across the world do not have this one unifying feature and that, in fact in many cases, their guiding statements are contrived, jargonistic and essentially meaningless. The exception to this fact being those schools, which have a deep-rooted sense of history, enshrined in tradition and have a culture that is known and embraced by the wider community. I would argue that this is the case in schools underpinned by a religious tradition.

Moreover, in order to create an “overall positive attitude between diverse cultures (and countries)” it is necessary to celebrate what unites families from diverse cultures and countries and in many cases, this is their religious experience. Children from a multitude of countries, different races, speaking different languages and having a range of cultural norms, inevitably populate an International School. Finding something to unite such a diverse community is a challenge CIS recognizes, but within a school embracing a religious tradition, there is no challenge because, despite the obvious diversity, children and their families are united by their religious beliefs. This is more obviously the case when they all hark from the same religious tradition, but I contend that it can also be the case when children of different religions, or denominations within a particular religion, are educated together as their belief in God (or in some cases a Supreme Being) transcends any of their apparent differences. Many dismiss too often religion as a cause of conflict but I would argue the contrary and suggest that in reality religion unites people due to the fact that they have a common sense of purpose and of human dignity. Nothing is more unifying than a common set of beliefs. This permeates deeper than any contrived ideology.

Central to religious identity is a call to community, to social justice, to a respect for human dignity, to peace and reconciliation and to celebrating unity in diversity. These are the features of international mindedness that CIS wants schools to embrace. Whilst many schools barely touch the tip of the iceberg with respect to international mindedness, schools with a religious identity and faith commitment are deeply rooted in their sense of mission, of their ethos, of their values. International Schools of a non-religious nature could learn a lot by looking at schools of a religious nature. They would observe that in the vast majority of cases (some schools with a religious identity are clearly better than others) that the guiding statements of the school are embedded throughout the institution. In the best schools, the mission and ethos of the school are deeply embedded in the curriculum. Such schools do not have a narrow view of curriculum as merely the teaching of a syllabus or academic program but moreover that it is inclusive of all aspects of a child’s learning experience and development as a human person. Subsequently, children will learn explicitly about issues of prejudice and discrimination, different belief systems (other than that of the denomination of the institution), ethical systems, cultural norms, the dignity of the human person, social enterprise and the like. Furthermore, schools with a religious tradition have always valued prayer and meditation as an essential part of human development. Recognizing this the secular world now promotes “mindfulness” as a non-religious alternative to meditation. Separating meditation from faith, where Buddhist, Christian or another, is somewhat morally bankrupt and a very dubious business in itself.

Many international schools have adopted mission statements but sometimes these are a uniformity of bland clichés with no deep sense of an underlying philosophy. Perhaps even more worrying is the trend for schools to adopt the language of “No child left behind” and focus on college and workplace preparedness as the raison d’etre of education rather than focusing on the development of the whole child with the human dignity. It is immoral to see a child as no more than economic fodder for the future workplace. Schools should reject any policy or system that diminishes the dignity of the human person and refutes the idea that anyone can be reduced to the status of an economic unit or passive-dependent.

Recognizing the distinct nature that schools underpinned by a religious tradition have, and by learning from their best practice, International Schools across the world can learn to emulate the “one for all” educational principles that underpin faith schools. The shared “worldview” that unites people of faiths underpins the values and mission of such schools and enables them to be truly international.

question: Summarize everything relating to Lesley Stagg.

answer: Lesley Stagg is an author who wrote the book "International Mindedness". In the book, she says that internationalism reflects the one for all organizational principles that reflect a global community concern and a positive attitude between diverse cultures. She says that when common global interests and collaboration are recognized as imperative in teaching and learning, internationalism is evidenced.

question: What does the text say about a school's mission?

answer: The author of the text sees schools with a religious identity and faith commitment as deeply rooted in their sense of mission, and the best of which have their mission deeply embedded in the curriculum. However, many schools have adapted meaningless, cliché missions and guiding statements. Truly international schools have a shared worldview which unites people of faiths, and underpins the mission of schools.

question: What does the text say about meditation?

answer: The author sees some schools with a religious tradition as always having valued meditation as an essential part of human development. Some schools promote "mindfulness" as a non-religious alternative to this. However, the author sees this separation of meditation from faith as somewhat morally bankrupt and dubious.

question: What does the text say about Judaism?


text:
“Do you remember that time that you and I drove around looking at green hills, and we hooked up, our bodies entangled in a kaleidoscope of shapes and movements?   We had taken my mother’s Jeep Cherokee to the end of the road and then hiked along the Caney Fork.  You made me bring a full backpack stuffed with your favorite blanket, and a shit ton of rubbers, I mean, so many that there was no possible way we were going to use them all.  You said we would, and you did that smile you always did when you were up to something.  Your lip curled in the corner, and your teeth just barely peeked through their coral covers.  You forced me to carry the backpack because after all, ‘I was such a big, strong man.’

“I was barely a man at all, more like a boy.  I was twenty, and we had only been dating for four months.  This is going to sound childish, but, I was so excited that I was able to get laid that those first few months were a complete blur.  I remember this moment so clearly though.  It’s surprising what sticks with you.  Anyways, we had hiked along the Caney Fork and made it to Scott’s Gulf.  Remember that waterfall? And how it snuck out of the canyon wall, came out, fell, and when it finally reached the bottom it snuck back into the ground?  Goddamn, it was almost as beautiful as you were that night.  The water was so clear.

"We laid the blanket down, wrapped in each other’s arms, and stared at the waterfall for what felt like ages.  There was something hypnotizing about it.  You turned away from the water and towards me.  You whispered in my ear, ‘Is it going to be like this forever?’ I was staring at the sky, which was melding colors like melting Neapolitan ice cream.  I hesitated, thinking about it for a second, you might not have known that, but I was young, and I’m sure you’ve had the same thoughts before too.  ‘Yeah, I think so.’ I responded, the words seem so far from me now, like it was a totally different conversation than what I remember.  You kissed me on the cheek and said, ‘I hope you’re right.’ I turned and kissed you on the lips, before I knew it we were a sweaty mess of skin, and shapes.

"We eventually headed home; you fell asleep in the passenger seat with your feet on the dash, and your hand clutching mine.  That day was so passionate, and uncanny, so unlike us now.  It’s not the same as when we were younger. Maybe we can rekindle those feelings.  I want to make love to you, not just love you.   We could go back, maybe, and hike along the Caney Fork.  What do you say?”

       “That wasn’t me.”

title: Kaleidoscope

question: Who was the narrator talking to?

answer: It appears it was his partner.

question: What made the narrator reminisce on the early days of his relationship with his lover?

answer: It might be implied that there was lost love between him and his partner.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator took a trip down memory lane on the time he spent with his lover when he was only twenty years old and excited to be in a loving, sexual relationship. The memories made him wish he could rekindle the romance between him and what seemed to be his current partner, but unfortunately, she was not the one he shared those moments with.


text:
April 25, 2017 | 7:09pm

More than a year after news first broke of the NYPD corruption scandal, Acting US Attorney Joon Kim on Tuesday unveiled fresh criminal charges in the case — and the investigation’s not done yet.

This particular scheme had the added fillip of making a mockery of New York’s highly touted gun-control laws.

Corruption was “pervasive” at the NYPD’s gun-licensing division, according to Kim. Among those charged with taking payoffs for processing and expediting pistol permits was the division’s No. 2.

Starting in 2013, the alleged scam got gun licenses for pretty much anyone willing to pay a bribe. No background checks, no questions as to whether the applicant actually needed a gun, no follow-up on major red flags.

One license, Kim said, went to a man who’d been the subject of a domestic-violence complaint involving a death threat. As a result of the probe, more than 100 gun licenses have been yanked.

Businessman Alex “Shaya” Lichtenstein recently was sentenced to 32 months in prison for bribing cops as an “expediter” of gun licenses. The new charges allege that several cops tried to cash in and corner the expediter market for themselves by forcing Lichtenstein to deal with them. A former Brooklyn prosecutor also allegedly set himself up in the expediting business.

All are said to have lavished cops in the licencing bureau with cash, jewelry, paid vacations and visits to strip clubs.

Commissioner James O’Neill says the licensing bureau has been swept clean and permit approval limited to the commanding and executive officers.

All well and good. But the overall investigation is still open, with the largest corner of the scandal unresolved.

Kim’s office (then under Preet Bharara) filed charges last year against four officers in connection with alleged bribes and favors involving businessmen Jeremiah Reichberg and Jona Rechnitz, who were also big donors to Mayor de Blasio.

Yet the names of other top brass have surfaced as involved with Reichberg and Rechnitz, including ex-Chief of Department Philip Banks, once deemed a top contender to succeed then-Commissioner Bill Bratton.

How much more is coming?

question: What is the main topic of the article?

answer: The Acting US Attorney of NY unveiled fresh criminal charges in the NYPD's gun-licensing division.

question: Summarize the alleged scam.

answer: The scam began in 2013; it involved giving gun licenses to anyone willing to pay a bribe: no background check, no question, and no follow-up on red flags.

question: When was this article posted?

answer: 2017

question: What were the newly unveiled criminal charges?

answer: The article doesn't indicate.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The Acting US Attorney of NY unveiled fresh criminal charges in the NYPD's gun-licensing division. The scam began in 2013; it involved giving gun licenses to anyone willing to pay a bribe: no background check, no question, and no follow-up on red flags.


text:
_I DISMEMBER MAMA_ (also known as _POOR ALBERT AND LITTLE ANNIE_ and released in the UK as _CRAZED_), is a 1972 American horror film written by William Norton and directed by Paul Leder. The film centers on a violent sex criminal who goes on a killing spree while watching over the daughter of one of his victims. During its original theatrical release, patrons were given free paper “Up Chuck Cups” with the purchase of a ticket. There is a well-known US trailer advertising a double feature of this film paired with the 1972 horror film _The Blood Spattered Bride_ which was filmed in the style of a news report covering the “story” of an audience member who had gone insane while watching the films.[1] The title is a pun on the famous play _I Remember Mama_.

Plot

Albert (Zooey Hall) has tried to kill his rich, snobbish mother once, for which he was institutionalized. The low-security hospital she has sent him to, however, is not prepared to deal with the extent of his problems. Obsessed with his own hatred for his mother, Albert is dangerously violent toward all women and attacks a nurse, after which his doctor decides to send him to a high-security state institution. Albert easily escapes by murdering an orderly and the police put his mother in hiding after he phones her and threatens her. When Albert returns to his mother's home, he finds her housekeeper Alice (Marlene Tracy), whom he tortures and murders.

When Alice's 9-year-old daughter Annie (Geri Reischl) returns home from school, Albert immediately takes a liking to her and tells her that her mother has gone to the hospital and left him to take care of Annie while she is away. Albert reverts to a childlike persona and they immediately form a friendship, playing games, talking and laughing together. Albert takes Annie on a day of doing activities like riding paddleboats and a small train and that night he takes her to a hotel where they conduct a mock wedding ritual. Albert considers Annie to be a pure “woman” and he truly loves her. When his sexual attraction to her manifests itself while she is sleeping, instead, Albert goes out and picks up a woman in a bar and brings her back to the hotel room. His bizarre sadism comes out again and he murders the woman, but Annie wakes up and sees it happening. She screams and escapes out of a window, climbing down the fire escape with Albert chasing after her. They run into a mannequin factory, where Annie attempts to hide among the figures. Albert sees her, and envisions her wearing makeup like a harlot and decides she is just like all the other women after all. When he attempts to kill her with a cleaver, Annie defends herself by holding one of the mannequins in front of herself. She pushes Albert backwards and he falls out of a fourth story window onto the concrete below. The police arrive moments later and comfort Annie, while Albert lies dying on the ground.

Cast

-   Zooey Hall as Albert
-   Geri Reischl as Annie
-   Joanne Moore Jordan as Mrs. Robertson
-   Greg Mullavey as a detective
-   Marlene Tracy as Alice
-   Frank Whiteman as Dr. Burton
-   Elaine Partnow as a nurse
-   Rosella Olsen as a girl in poolroom
-   Robert Christopher as a man in poolroom
-   James Tartan as an attendant

Production

_I Dismember Mama_ was directed by exploitation filmmaker Paul Leder. Principal photography began in 1972 under the title _Poor Albert and Little Annie_,[2] with a planned release date that same year.[3]

Release

Home media

The film made its DVD debut on April 21, 2009, and was released by Substance.[4]

Critical response

TV Guide panned the film calling the film's production “shabby” but also noted that actor Zooey Hall's performance as Albert as “interesting”.[5] Author and independent filmmaker John Kenneth Muir awarded the film one out of a possible four stars, commenting that, although the performances were solid and it was technically well made, the film's theme of pedophilia went too far, to the point of being exploitative. On this theme, Muir wrote, “_I Dismember Mama_ makes one feel dirty about watching because its main concern is not just violence, but sex. The film makes it plain that Albert sees little Annie as a possible sexual conquest, and that is really disturbing thing to see in a film with no aspirations to be anything but entertainment.”[6] Joseph A. Ziemba from _Bleeding Skull!_ gave the film a negative review, writing, “_I Dismember Mama_ is somewhat suspenseful and definitely bizarre. However, given the subject matter and so-so execution, it’s not something I’d ever want to see again.”[7] Blockbuster Inc.'s _Guide to Movies and Videos_ rated the film one out of four stars, calling it “junk”.[8]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

title: I Dismember Mama

question: What does the text say about the critical response to the movie?

answer: The film was universally panned by critics. TV Guide called it "shabby," and John Kenneth Muir described the content as "disturbing." Joseph A. Ziemba said it was not something they'd "ever want to see again," and Blockbuster's Guide to Movies and Videos called it "junk."

question: What does the text say about the advertising for the movie?

answer: There is a well-known US trailer for a double feature of the film paired with the 1972 horror film The Blood Spattered Bride. It was filmed in the style of a news report covering a false story of an audience member who had gone insane while watching the films.

question: What does the text say about the film's producers?


text:
Google has rolled out six new voices for its Google Assistant feature for a better user experience. The Google assistant feature impressed users with many features but didn’t provide multiple voice options. The developers have unveiled just one more voice option in the earlier year. Yet, the only identical difference after that update is the male and female voices.Now, users can change Google Assistant voice as per their choice among the eight voice options for the smart assistant.

The new update will be made available for all Google Assistant compatible devices. Even Google Home users can also change Google assistant voice on home speaker as per their choice. However, Android users need to run Android 6.0 Marshmallow or above version for to run smart Assistant.

-   How to Change Google Assistant voice on Home Speaker:
    -   Steps to Change Google Assistant voice on Home Speaker:
        -   Steps to change the Google Assistant voice on your phone:

Users can change Google Assistant voice on Home Speaker through the Google Home app. But, the change automatically appears if you have already changed it on your phone with the same account. As of now, Google Home currently supports Voice 1 and Voice 2. Selecting one of the new options from the device will get back to default voice. The blue mic speaker icon on the side gives the preview of each new available voice.

[Change Google assistant voice on home speaker]

STEPS TO CHANGE GOOGLE ASSISTANT VOICE ON HOME SPEAKER:

Here we provide you step by step process to change Google Assistant voice on home speaker and avail new voices.

-   Open the Google Home app.
-   Open the left-side menu.
-   Click on More settings.
-   Choose Preferences.
-   Tap on Assistant voice.
-   Select the new voice of your choice

HOW TO STOP OK SOUND FROM ALEXA: BRIEF MODE

STEPS TO CHANGE THE GOOGLE ASSISTANT VOICE ON YOUR PHONE:

-   Activate Google Assistant by a long press of the home button
-   Tap on the explore button in the top right corner.
-   Choose the three-dot menu button.
-   Open the Settings tab
-   Click Preferences.
-   Go to Assistant voice
-   Choose the voice of your choice.

The newly added voices include male-female and range from soft to deep. Though all of the new voices are robot-generated, they manage to sound good. This initiative from Google Assistant team will make a difference and lure new users. Now, new voice gesture is the most welcomed feature among the existing users. Hope introducing these new voices for google smart assistant might be a good move to take on the Amazon alexa. Never the less, Google assistant is having steady growth in the recent past. However, there is a long way to go and stand top among other rivals like Alexa, Siri and Cortana.

question: Where was this published?

answer: Not explicitly mentioned, but this is probably a tech-focused people with some interest in technology and who have high-tech devices, but who are probably not that well-versed in jargon.

question: Who is the intended audience?

answer: Individuals interested in / who already own new technology, and who likely already use Google assistant (given the step-by-step advice on how to change the Google assistant voice).

question: What is the purpose of the change(s) highlighted in the article?

answer: The new voices for the Google assistant are meant to create a better user experience and attract new users.

question: What is the stance taken by the author?

answer: The author is broadly positive of the changes, although they note that it is some way off from competitors Alexa, Siri and Cortana.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Google has rolled out six new voices for Google assistant, to improve the user experience. The article offers a guide to change the Google assistant voice, which include male-female and range from soft to deep. The change is welcome but Google assistant has a way to go to compete with other rivals.


text:
“THE LAW OF SACRIFICE” is the 18th episode of season 3 of the supernatural drama television series _Grimm_ and the 62nd episode overall, which premiered on April 11, 2014, on the cable network NBC. The episode was written by Michael Duggan from a story by Duggan and Michael Golamco, and was directed by Terrence O'Hara.

Plot

OPENING QUOTE: “The Queen was terrified and offered the little man all the riches of the kingdom, if only he would leave the newborn child alone.”

Prince Viktor (Alexis Denisof) has Rispoli (Philip Anthony-Rodriguez) dispatch corrupt FBI Agent and Verrat associate, Weston Steward (C. Thomas Howell) in Portland to retrieve the baby. Adalind (Claire Coffee) and Renard (Sasha Roiz) begin to discuss the baby when Renard is told that Nick (David Giuntoli) is entering the condo. Nick confronts Renard in the hallway but they decide to discuss the matter in his apartment.

While Nick speaks with Renard and Adalind, Kelly - Nick's mother - (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) watches Agent Steward enter in the condo. Nick convinces Adalind to work with them and then leaves. Kelly knocks out Steward but two Verrat agents are going upstairs to get Adalind's baby. Nick warns them, and he and Kelly kill the Verrat agents. They then go with Renard, Adalind and the baby to Monroe's (Silas Weir Mitchell) house for safety. They decide not to tell Adalind of her mother's killing by Kelly in order to avoid any further conflict.

Nick, Renard and Kelly burst into Steward's house. Renard discovers that the last call to Steward was from Vienna and that Rispoli and Viktor are coming to Portland for the baby. The next day, Hank (Russell Hornsby) spies on the airport just as Viktor and Rispoli arrive at Portland and meet Steward. Steward asks them for permission to kill Renard. Later, Viktor visits Renard in the police station and warns that if they don't give them the baby in two hours, Renard, Adalind, and Renard's mother will be killed.

Police officers arrest Kelly at Monroe's house for the murder of Adalind's mother, shocking Adalind. Via phone Renard tells Adalind to come to the station to make a statement and bring the baby. At the station, she names the baby Diana and leaves the baby with Renard while she makes her statement. Adalind confronts Kelly in the room, who claims that she was justified to kill Adalind's mother to save Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) and wants Adalind to understand she had to give up her son and that they have to sacrifice what they love the most. With this, Adalind realizes something is wrong. While they were talking, Renard takes the baby outside and gives it to Viktor. Adalind arrives too late. Renard claims that he did it to protect them, causing Adalind to woge and scream breaking the car's windows.

Viktor and Rispoli arrive at the airport and are intercepted at gunpoint by five Resistance members, demanding the baby. Viktor reluctantly gives them the baby and the Resistance members drive off in the limo. It is revealed they are Nick, Renard, Hank, Monroe, and Kelly. The episode ends as Kelly drives away, in a car Nick and Juliette bought, with Diana in the other seat, planning to put Diana in a safer place.

Reception

Viewers

The episode was viewed by 4.73 million people, earning a 1.1/4 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale, ranking third on its timeslot and seventh for the night in the 18-49 demographics, behind _Kitchen Nightmares_, _Last Man Standing_, _Hawaii Five-0_, _Blue Bloods_, _20/20_, and _Shark Tank_.[1] This was a 4% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 4.89 million viewers with a 1.4/5.[2] This means that 1.1 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 4 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it. With DVR factoring in, the episode was watched by 7.25 million viewers with a 2.1 ratings share in the 18-49 demographics.[3]

Critical reviews

“The Law of Sacrifice” received positive reviews. The A.V. Club's Kevin McFarland gave the episode a “A-” grade and wrote, “When things do slow down for a beat, there's a great little scene between Kelly and Sean about Aunt Marie and the other thing the show seems to have completely forgotten about: the key. There's still a lot in the mythology of _Grimm_ the show hasn't bothered to explain, instead just making things up as it goes along. But when it's as fiercely committed to making the task at hand the most important venture in the moment, it's much easier to forgive the narrative shortcomings of the show at large.”[4]

Nick McHatton from _TV Fanatic_, gave a 4.2 star rating out of 5, stating: “Au revoir, Diana, you creepy baby, you! In a truly shocking ending, _Grimm_ Season 3 Episode 18 pulled the wool over our eyes as Captain Renard and the rest of the Nick's team end up ultimately helping Kelly hit the road with Diana.”[5]

MaryAnn Sleasman from _TV.com_, wrote, “'The Law of Sacrifice' had so many WTF moments and such a big, surprising pay-off that it felt, at times, like a season finale (and don't think I'm not worried about the fact that it felt like a finale even though we still have several episodes to go before summer vacation omg plz don't blow it, _Grimm_, this season has been so gooood).”[6]

[1]

[2]

[3] Live+7 DVR Ratings: 'The Big Bang Theory' Has Biggest 18-49 Ratings & Viewership Gain, 'Parenthood' & 'Reign' Top Percentage Gains in Week 29

[4]

[5]

[6]

title: The Law of Sacrifice

question: When did the episode debut?

answer: April 11, 2014

question: What number of what season was the episode?

answer: The 18th episode of season 3

question: Who directed the episode?

answer: Terrence O'Hara

question: What network did the episode air on?

answer: NBC

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: "The Law of Sacrifice" is the 18th episode of the 3rd season of Grimm, a supernatural drama television series on NBC. The episode aired on April 11, 2014 and received generally positive reviews.


text:
When he awoke, he came to a sudden realization.

This isn't my bed. I'm not in my home. I don't know this person laying beside me. This hand doesn't belong to me, although it seems that I control it.

He awoke terrified.

The air crept out of his lungs, and try as he might, it wouldn't draw back in. He started shuffling back up the bed, back against the headboard. Where was his breath? Why did the air taste so... unfamiliar?

He had woken up like this every day for the last year.

His wife woke up beside him, her eyes bleary, dark circles under them. She hardly slept, because he hardly slept. She knew better than to try to reach out to him. He hadn't let her for a year.

At first she tried to calm him. "I'm Juilie," she would say "your wife. I love you."

"You're not Julie," he would say "Julie is blonde... well I know you're blonde, but you're not her blonde. Her voice is like yours, but its not yours. I mean, you're like Julie, but you're not Julie. I know Julie. I love her, and you're not her."

And through the day, she would walk him through their home, where they had lived for almost a decade. It was their first home, their daughter Anna's room was upstairs. The tiles were the same. She would show him mail with his name, and her name, and show him how it arrived in the mailbox each day fresh, and with their names on it. He would concede that all of the facts were the same. The address, the names, the colors, the ages. But he wouldn't believe it. Not for a second. This life wasn't his, but he couldn't remember where he'd placed his own.

His anxiety over the matter kept him (and her) awake, day after day, until he collapsed from the exhaustion of trying to figure out where everything had gone. Somehow though, he never came to believe that it was a conspiracy, that his life had been replaced. He always seemed to have an awareness that somehow he was mistaken. As though, perhaps, he'd come through some curious means that remained shrouded in a confused memory, to be in this place. Where the people claimed to know him, even if he didn't know them. He knew that he couldn't remember a huge portion of his life. The present, for him, lacked a history. He knew the answer was in that history, but without it, without the story, all he had was the certainty that this wasn't his life. And how could it be? It didn't feel at all like it. It didn't feel warm. It didn't feel familiar.

But then, nothing did. Warm sun on the skin felt kind, and soothing. But it felt like moonlight. Something about it made it not the sun of memory. It didn't feel like his sun. The air didn't feel like his air. His hands didn't feel like his hands. Nothing felt right. And he worried. Even the worries felt as though they came from outside. As certain as he was about them, they didn't seem like his concern. There is worry, therefore I am, I worry.

And this is what kept him from fleeing, from being paranoid, or angry. His fears seemed unfounded, because he didn't recognize them as his own. All he feels is lost. Like he has fallen asleep on a bus, and at last shaken awake by the driver, found himself alone on a dark lit street. Around are the objects of his own landscape -light poles, parked cars, buildings, people. And he knows that home lies on that bus route. But for now the line is closed, and he will have to wait until morning. For now, he spends the night in the company of strangers, in a place that's not his home. Nothing to do but wait for the clarity of morning, when an opportunity will present itself, and offer to fill in the missing information that would make it all make sense.

And so he waits. He thinks this woman knows how lost he is, maybe she's claiming to be Julie to save him from some hurt. She seems kind. She tries very hard. But she's not Julie, because he knows Julie.

It's been this way for a year.

He's in the garden. It's springtime. He likes it in the garden. Out of the places to be lost in, it is certainly the best. It's warm, and the flowers are beautiful, vibrant, and smell wonderful. He doesn't recognize the species that are here. He thinks it looks the way his garden used to. He'd tend to it while Anna slept in her basket, shaded from the sun. Never out of ear shot.

There's a small bird on the ground. An infant. Fallen from a high tree branch. It struggles as he picks it up, but it doesn't resist, just goes through the motions. It's been here for a while. It's dehydrated. It struggles for air. But it's just going through the motions.

He strokes its tiny head. It stops struggling.

His head spins. Anna.

He falls to his knees as the air fills his lungs in a deep, desperate gasp. This breath feels familiar. He knows this breath. And it burns. Ohh god how it swells in his chest. How it hurts. But he knows this breath.

This breath of fresh air.

title: A breath of fresh air

question: What is the protagonist experiencing?

answer: Sounds like alzheimer's.


text:
Ever since the Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal Net Neutrality, the organization and its chairman, Ajit Pai, have been facing bipartisan criticism from the public.

A poll conducted and published by the University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation shows 89 percent of Democrats, 75 percent of Republicans, and 86 percent of independents, oppose repealing net neutrality.

In spite of this, Net Neutrality is, effectively, dead. This poses a legitimate question: What is the internet without Net Neutrality like?

In countries where there are no regulations, everything on the internet is segregated, compartmentalized, repackaged, and sold at a higher price.

In December last year, _Slate_ writer April Glaser suggested that Americans should look to other countries if they want to know what the internet without Net Neutrality is like. In countries such as Portugal, for instance, consumers choose between different internet packages while streaming sites and texting platforms, for example, are sold independently and separately.

According to _The Inquirer_, South Korea ranked number 1 for the 12th consecutive quarter for the world’s fastest internet connection speed. The country’s average broadband adoption rate is 26.1 megabits per second. This puts South Korea ahead of countries such as Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Merrick Laravea, an American PR consultant based in Seoul, argues South Korea’s internet infrastructure “shows how Net Neutrality should be done.”

In a piece published today on _Forbes_, Laravea wrote, “While private sector innovation has played a big role in making cheap, lightning fast internet available across South Korea, forward-thinking government policies have helped preserve these gains.”

[internet speed south korea america]

The American ISP market has an extremely high barrier to entry and looks oligopolistic. According to data published on _BGR_ in December 2013, 67 percent of Americans have two or less options when it comes to internet service providers. Koreans, on the other hand, according to Laravea, have access to multiple ISPs across the country. The average monthly bill in South Korea is $29.34 per household. In contrast, American consumers pay as much as $66.17.

Private sector innovation, in combination with well-thought-out government policies, has helped preserve Net Neutrality in South Korea, while ensuring fair competition among ISPs. This drives down costs and improves overall service.

This seemingly Utopian collaboration between the government and the private sector can be traced back to 1987. In 1987, the South Korean government installed a policy called the “Framework Act on Information Promotion.”

This policy incentivizes ISPs to serve communities across the country, prioritizes equal access for all South Korean citizens, and ensures ISPs remain open to regulatory changes. But, most importantly, in South Korea, regulations are paired with funding. This allows ISPs to build necessary infrastructure without suffering losses.

So, instead of being dominated by a small number of large sellers, like the American ISP market, it seems like the South Korean market allows enough maneuvering space for companies and consumers alike, creating competition and choice in one fell swoop, instead of offering an illusion of choice and allowing a small group of powerful corporations to control the internet.

Could the South Korean model for Net Neutrality be the answer for America? At the moment, this seems to be a matter of political will.

question: Why is the American internet market so expensive, compared to other developed countries?

answer: Because of a lack of political will to regulated the market.