text:
The ALLIED MARITIME TRANSPORT COUNCIL (AMTC) was an international agency created during World War I to coordinate shipping between the allied powers of France, Italy, Great Britain, and the United States. The council (based in London[1]) was formed at a conference in Paris on 3 November 1917, in response to the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare earlier that year. The United States formally joined the AMTC only on October 1, 1918. The Transport Council existed until March 1919, when it was merged with the Supreme Economic Council. Its executive committees were disbanded.

Prelude

In January 1917 the Inter-Allied Shipping Committee was established with representatives from Great Britain, France, and Italy. However this body was ineffective lacking ministerial input for policy development or suitable officials to organise either shipping or supplies. Russia was not involved – shipping issues as regards this country being followed in a different basis. By the time the AMTC was established the Russian Revolution had occurred, and therefore Russia was not involved. However with the American entry into World War I on 2 April 1917 and increasing problems in handling supplies particularly in France and Italy made re-organisation essential.[2]

The system of control was based on that previously developed in the British Empire. Originally Italy had adopted a similar system by Royal Decree in 1915, where by ships were requisitioned for a period of time at a fixed rate of hire to carry Government cargoes. The owner was responsible for recruiting and paying the crew, with the Government paying the running expenses and managing the vessel. This was altered in January 1916 for a system whereby the ship owners were paid per tonnage delivered. However with 90% of the supplies consisting of cereals and coal this very soon led to shortages in both these areas and so the government returned to the requisitioning system.[3]

France had a more varied range of imports and did not face serious shortages until later. Some ships were requisitioned on a bare-boat basis – where the Government recruited and supplied the crew, a somewhat inefficient charter system with much trade continuing on a pre-war basis. However the British Time-charter requisitioning method was gradually introduced and the Minister of Commerce was exercising full control over French supplies by the time the AMTC was established.[4]

The USA introduced a requisitioning system in 1917, however paying increased costs. With the requirements which arose from shipping the Army to Europe, quite drastic steps were taken to organise control. Restrictions on imports were more exercised by policy decisions than control of shipping. In general the US did not face shortages, however public appeals were made for citizens to voluntarily reduce consumption so that goods could be sent to Europe. For example an appeal issued by the newly founded United States Food Administration for the public to eat more maize bread was successful, and more wheat could be exported to their European allies. Also the War Purchase and Finance Board was established with an American chairman. This met in Paris and London to arrange the allocation of credits for American purchases.[5]

Structure

The Council

Each nation appointed its respective ministers (or delegates) in charge of shipping to the council. The representatives were:

-   Robert Cecil and Sir Joseph Maclay for Great Britain;
-   Étienne Clémentel and Louis Loucheur for France;
-   Silvio Crespi and Salvatore Orlando, the latter replaced by Giovanni Villa in May 1918 for Italy;
-   Raymond B. Stevens and George Rublee (from July 1918) for the United States

The Council held six meetings:[6]

-   First Meeting of the Council, 11–14 March, 1918
-   Second Meeting of the Council, Paris, 23–25 April, 1918
-   Third Meeting of the Council, 29–30 August, 1918
-   Fourth Meeting of the Council, 30 September, 1918
-   Fifth Meeting of the Council, 1 February, 1919
-   Sixth Meeting of the Council, 10 March, 1919

The Committees

Main Executive Committee

The AMTC had a Main Executive Committee chaired by James Arthur Salter alongside Jean Monnet, (France), Bernardo Attolico (Italy) with the later addition of George Rublee.

Salter and Monnet called their business in the AMTC ‘international administration’. In more critical terms the Transport Council worked like a cartel, just run by states, trying to eliminate the economic and logistic competition between the partners. So the organization tried to hold prices down, pooled the allied tonnage and coordinated the allied logistics with substantial rationalization effects.

Their work was supported by three subcommittees, each responsible for reporting to the main committee

Tonnage Sub-Committee

The Tonnage Sub-Committee committee was responsible for implementing any decisions of the Council concerning the co-operative use or programming of tonnage. It also gathered information about the amount and disposition of the tonnage under the control of each Ally and examined any proposals made by them as regards any improvements made by them in this area as well as doing their best to see that any agreed improvements were carried out.

-   M. Revillon (France).
-   Lieut. Farina (Italy).
-   Mr. Shearman (U.S.A.).
-   Mr. Browett (Great Britain).

Imports Sub-Committee

-   M. Halgouet (France).
-   Bernardo Attolico (Italy)
-   Dwight Morrow (U.S.A.).

Statistical Sub-Committee

-   M. Seitert (France).
-   Signor Pardo (Italy).
-   Mr. J. A. Field (U.S.A.).
-   William Palin Elderton (Great Britain).

Bibliography

-   James Arthur Salter: _Allied Shipping Control_, Oxford:Clarendon Press 1921.
-   Jean Monnet: _Memoirs_, London 1978.
-   Marc McClure, “Earnest Endeavors: The Life and Public Work of George Rublee”, Greenwood 2003.

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title: Allied Maritime Transport Council

question: What was America's part in the construction of the Allied Maritime Transport Council?

answer: America joined the AMTC in 1918, which was almost a year after its initial inception. America joined the war in 1917 and due to increasing problems in the handling of supplies lead to its reorganisation. The U.S. had a hand in making sure people in Europe were fed.


split: train

text:
-   View author archive

May 2, 2017 | 5:07am | Updated May 2, 2017 | 5:07am

Enlarge Image

[Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani speaks at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, March 25.]

Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani speaks at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, March 25. AP

President Trump will soon have to decide what to do about Afghanistan. After weeks of wrangling inside his national security cabinet, top officials on Friday agreed on the broad outlines of a strategy to prosecute America’s longest war. The interventionists prevailed.

According to administration officials familiar with the deliberations of the cabinet’s principals committee, the Afghanistan strategy would tie the United States to the success of President Ashraf Ghani’s ambitious plan to build up an inclusive government and regain territory from the Taliban.

While the strategy envisions eventually forging a peace deal with the Taliban, in the meantime it would increase the pace of strikes — to encourage the Taliban to negotiate.

The new strategy, according to these officials, is not cheap. There would be a baseline of at least $23 billion a year to support a variety of initiatives in Afghanistan, not only subsidizing Afghan police and military forces but also funding anti-corruption programs and other priorities.

If that sounds expensive, bear in mind the untold costs if the United States instead failed to support Afghanistan’s recovery and the country became a safe haven for terrorists like it was before 9/11.

While no troop numbers have been set, US officials told me they would envision an increase in both US and NATO forces inside the country.

Most important, the strategy would jettison President Barack Obama’s approach of setting arbitrary deadlines for the withdrawal of US forces and instead would link the participation of US troops inside the country to meeting clear conditions on the battlefield, such as winning back territory from the Taliban and denying safe haven to al Qaeda, the Islamic State and other bad actors, according to these officials.

If all of this sounds familiar, it should. The Obama administration faced a similar choice in 2009. Back then the president chose to support a surge inside the country and a counterinsurgency approach.

And yet, Obama began to get cold feet about the strategy almost as soon as he approved it. Some voices in his administration, such as Vice President Joe Biden, favored a plan that focused on counterterrorism, striking terrorist leaders, but not rebuilding a discredited central government.

By the end of Obama’s presidency, he had blown through his own deadlines for withdrawing troops from the country as the Taliban and other terror groups grew stronger.

A similar dynamic has played out inside the Trump national security team. Throughout the deliberations, some officials raised concern that the plan would be throwing good money after bad, according to the US officials.

This worry is not without basis. The US special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction wrote in January that: “Afghanistan suffers from limited institutional capacity to conduct basic governmental functions, and from widespread and systemic corruption that consistently places it near the bottom of international rankings for public perception of corruption.”

Another fear raised at Friday’s meeting was that the strategy would be committing the US to a role in Afghanistan for the next several years. The view of the national security adviser, General H.R. McMaster, prevailed.

On Friday, none of those in the meeting objected to going forward with the more ambitious strategy. McMaster argued, according to these sources, that Trump should not make the same mistake Obama made by exiting Iraq too soon and allowing the Islamic State the room to regenerate and force another US intervention later.

A strategy paper reflecting the consensus of the meeting on Friday is now being worked over by regional experts at the policy coordination committee and is expected to be sent to the president’s desk as early as this week.

This will pose a particularly tough dilemma for the commander in chief.

On the one hand, Trump campaigned on the promise of defeating the Islamic State and other terrorist groups and trusting his generals to decide military strategy. In his first 100 days, Trump has largely kept his word on trusting military leaders and not micromanaging war planning from the White House as Obama did.

On the other hand, Trump also has repeatedly said the nation-building war in Iraq was a mistake. If Trump commits to Ghani’s success, he will be committing to the kind of globalism he disdained on the campaign trail.

Still, an American recommitment to Afghanistan now can avoid past mistakes. If there has been one lesson from recent US interventions, it is that premature exits are costly. Sooner or later, America gets drawn back into the wars it had hoped were over.

If Trump agrees, he will soon find himself rebuilding Afghanistan to keep America safe.

_© 2017, Bloomberg View_

question: What is the main focus of the article?

answer: President Trump's plans for dealing with Afghanistan

question: When was the article written?

answer: May 2, 2017

question: Who are the key figures mentioned in the article?

answer: President Ashraf Ghani, President Trump, President Barack Obama, General H.R. McMaster

question: Explain the relationship between Afghanistan and the United States as described in the article.

answer: America is in an ongoing war with Afghanistan

question: What does the Trump administration plan to do concerning Afghanistan?

answer: The administration's strategy supports President Ghani's plan to build and inclusive government and regain territory from the Taliban, with the aim of eventually forging a peace deal with the Taliban. It will involve increasing the pace of strikes to encourage the Taliban to negotiate.

question: What are some of the drawbacks of the Trump administration's strategy?

answer: It will be expensive, costing at least $23 billion a year. It will also commit the US to a role in Afghanistan for the next several years.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The article highlights the Trump administration's plans for dealing with Afghanistan. Their plan discards President Obama's approach of setting arbitrary deadlines for withdrawal, focusing instead on aiding President Ghani's plan for building an inclusive government. The plan will be expensive and will commit the United States to involvement in Afghanistan for several years. Despite these fears, no one at the strategy meeting objected to moving forward with the plan.


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[_Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe_, local temple of Cócorit] CÓCORIT is a town located in the municipality of Cajeme in the southern part of the Mexican state of Sonora. The name of the town is derived from the Yaqui (Yoem noki, or Hiak noki) word for a chili pepper, _ko'oko'i._ Cócorit and the municipality of Cajeme are within the Yaqui River Valley. The _comisario municipal_ (“municipal commissioner”) of Cajeme is Ing. Arturo Soto Valenzuela. Cócorit reported a 2005 census population of 7,953 inhabitants, and is the fifth-largest town in the municipality of Cajeme (after Ciudad Obregón, Esperanza, Pueblo Yaqui, and Tobarito).

History

Yaqui resistance

The town was founded in 1617 by the Spanish Jesuit missionaries Andrés Pérez de Ribas and Tomás Basilio, although the Spanish inhabitants were eventually forced to leave by the Yaqui native population of the area. In 1835 the town was reestablished, this time in an independent Mexico; the town was a dependency of the municipio of Buenavista. In 1867, the governor of Sonora (Pesqueira) organized two successful military expeditions to control the Yaquis in Cócorit, and in neighboring Guaymas. In 1875, Cajemé, a prominent Yaqui leader, attacked Cócorit, setting the town on fire. Under the protection of the Mexican army, Cócorit was repopulated in 1885 with inhabitants from the neighboring towns of El Quiriego and Baroyeca. In 1886, the Yaquis continued to strengthen their positions, but the state and federal governments confiscated more than 20,000 head of livestock that belonged to the Yaquis, weakening their position. In 1887 Cajemé was captured. After an interview with Ramón Corral, Cajemé was taken in the custody of a Mexican army detachment led by Lieutenant Clemente Patiño to El Médano on the steamboat “Demócrata.” He paraded through some of the Yaqui towns, and was then shot by the detachment on the pretense that he was trying to escape.[1]

American and European immigration

In the early 20th century, the Conant family received a concession from the Mexican government to develop agriculture in the Valley. American immigrants arrived and built a fire station and a water tower. The area was flooded after two years, and the population sought refuge in Providencia. In 1917, after the first World War, German and Yugoslav families sought refuge in the Valley. A year later, one of the immigrants, Herman Bruss, introduced the first internal combustion tractor, further supporting agriculture.

In 1927 Cócorit became its own short-lived municipio. In 1928 when the growing neighboring town of Cajeme changed its name to “Ciudad Obregón”, it became the _cabecera_ (capital) of the municipio.

Tourism

The main attraction of the town is _La Casona Cócorit_ (“Cócorit Mansion”), built in the (19th century) in the style of colonial architecture. The mansion is currently an art museum with permanent exhibits of paintings and handicrafts. Also, old adobe houses in the town are still preserved, and are an attraction. One of the main festivities is the _Feria de San Juan Cócorit_ (“San Juan Cócorit Fair”) that takes place every summer on June 24. The “Fundación Cócorit” (“The Cócorit Foundation”) also organizes its own fair with artistic presentations.

[1] Troncoso, Francisco P. _Francisco de Borja del Paso y Troncoso_ (1905). [http://cdigital.dgb.uanl.mx/la/1080012546/1080012546.html_Las guerras con las Tribus Yaqui y Mayo del estado de Sonora, Mexico._] Mexico: Tipografia del departamento de estado mayor.

title: Cócorit

question: Summarize the conflict between the locals and the colonials.

answer: The colonial town was first established in 1617, but the locals forced the newcomers to run and kept their sovereignty for a couple of centuries before the town was re-established, and the conflict restarted. The second time around, the conflict lasted for fifty years. The town was burned and repopulated before the local leader got captured, ending the hostilities in the colonialists' favor.

question: Who was in the right, the locals or the colonials?

answer: As the defending force, the Yaquis have a better claim to being the party in the right.

question: How would the local area and population develop in the absence of the colonials?

answer: While any answer given would be complete speculation, we can extrapolate from the European and American settlers bringing technology to the area that the locals probably wouldn't have modern agriculture or cities for a long time. The natives would've likely opposed the tourists, and the La Casona Còcorit wouldn't exist now. It's still possible that the locals and non-colonizing outsiders could've conducted in a peaceful manner due to the lack of hostilities between them. The population still living around Còcorit would be speaking the native language instead of the current Spanish.


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*Written by myself.*

Lubulo, the ruler of the city, was to be found by his farm patch on the southern slope of the Tall Vent. Relu approached him from above, rolling lazily as he did so to take in the heat.

“Word has come from Kallcho,” he said. “They’ve begun evacuating. Even the deepest parts are no longer safe from the burning water.”

Lubulo, who had been tending the thin film of bacteria, looked up and flashed in mild alarm. He pulsated nervously backwards and forwards, before settling down once again.

“They couldn’t have waited a little while longer?” he queried. “We might have been able to at least save part of the city.”

“There was nothing they could do,” replied Relu. “The people on the outskirts were starting to die, and even those by the vents were acquiring burns. They reckon it will only be about a month before Kallcho is entirely uninhabitable. Our own city is now the last one left.”

“Our defences will hold,” said Lubulo. “They *must*.”

Above them, vast nets hung between the walls of the canyon, blotting out the dim light from above. The organisms that grew on them provided a refuge for the city of Yoshlulo from the burning water.

There had always been burning water, as far back as the historians could recall. But where once it had kept near the bright surface waters, it had gradually crept deeper and deeper as did the Green. The higher cities went silent first, many centuries ago. Now they stood deserted. No one had been near them for generations. The bright, warm waters where once one could live without ever going near a lava flow were flooded with the Green, living off the light of the sun, absorbing otherwise useless nutrients and pumping out their toxic gas, dissolving it into the surrounding ocean.

The refugees had come to the deeper waters first in their hundreds, then thousands, then millions as the burning water choked city after city. After the survivors of the journey from Kallcho arrived, there would be no more refugees.

It had been scientists in Kallcho that first bred the organisms that now protected Yoshlulo, the last bastion of civilisation in the world. These gas-eaters not only consumed the burning water, they actively *needed* it in order to survive. Thus far they had been successful, and Yoshlulo had survived.

“Kallcho’s have not,” Relu pointed out, his luminescent cysts sparking and shifting nervously.

“Kallcho is not in a location like Yoshlulo,” replied Lubulo. “They are, or rather *were*, on a volcanic slope. If they had waited for our engineers to arrive, they might have been able to erect better defences. With us, the canyon walls allow us to hang the nets around the entire city. A complete border of protection.”

“And how long will that protect us?” asked Relu.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that we’re sitting on a vent. The city rises by a limb-span every year. The canyon roof is only fifty thousand limb-spans above us. That gives us only a few generations. Eventually we will be too high. The burning water will seep through and the city will die.”

“We will have to leave that to those who follow us,” replied Lubulo mildly. “We have done what we can. The nets are not the only defence. The gas-eaters are also being spread around waters higher up. I have people going on expeditions to plant colonies of them, and to record the progress of existing colonies. They’re doing well. It may be that they are enough to stem the harm done by the Green.”

Time continued its ceaseless march. Yoshlulo was destroyed and the last light of intelligence on Earth went out. The tectonic plates shifted, and all trace of civilisation was swallowed by subduction. Eventually, no evidence remained that it had ever existed at all. The distant descendants of the gas-eaters eventually looked back into the geological past of their planet and found no trace that they were anything but the first.

title: "Oxygenation"

question: What mood is the author trying to evoke?

answer: Foreboding


text:
YU ZIGAO (.1628)[1] was a Chinese admiral. He was responsible for forcing the Dutch to leave Penghu Island. While he enriched himself by way of an association with one notorious pirate, Li Dan, his position came under pressure because of another pirate, Li Dan's protégé, Zheng Zhilong.

Life

Zigao was the son of Yu Dayou, a notable pirate suppressor.[2]

He took command of Zhejiang and Fujian's military forces as _dūdū_ in February 1624 and immediately took a hard line against the Dutch East India Company stronghold on Penghu Island in the Pescadores.[3] They had previously agreed to withdraw to Taiwan but had continued to delay the move.[4] Yu commissioned several iron “red-barbarian cannon”, one of the first Chinese officials to do so.[5] He assembled his provincial forces and forced the Dutch to dismantle their fortifications in August the same year.[6] They then removed themselves to Taiwan, where they established Fort Zeelandia.[7] Following the recovery of the Pescadores, Yu had its Mazu temple refurbished and enlarged.[8]

Yu Zigao was on friendly terms with the merchant and pirate Li Dan[9] and used his position to enrich himself.[10]

In 1627 and 1628, Li Dan's protégé[11] Zheng Zhilong launched a series of massive pirate invasions of the Fujianese coast, maintaining his popularity by targeting the wealthy and reserving some of the plunder for assistance to the poor.[12] He sank hundreds of Ming vessels and captured several county seats around Quanzhou and Zhangzhou.[13] In 1628, he successfully attacked Xiamen (“Amoy”), the base of Yu Zigao's anti-piracy forces, and forced Yu to flee.[14] By capturing and executing pirates affiliated with Yu and offering to submit to Ming control, he was able to legitimize himself at Yu's expense.[15] (Yu himself had difficulty at the imperial court owing to his association with the eunuch faction under Wei Zhongxian.)[16]

Legacy

The 1624 stele recording Yu Zigao's ultimatum to the Dutch to abandon Taiwan was discovered at Magong's Mazu Temple in 1919[17] and is preserved by the temple.

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title: Yu Zigao

question: Who is Yu Zigao?

answer: He was a Chinese admiral responsible for forcing the Dutch to leave Penghu Island but was on friendly terms with the pirate Li Dan, using his position to enrich himself despite leading China's anti-piracy forces.

question: Where was the Dutch East India Company stronghold located?

answer: Penghu Island in the Pescadores

question: What is Fort Zeelandia?

answer: Located in Taiwan, the Dutch established Fort Zeelandia after removing themselves from Penghu Island.

question: What is Yu Zigao's legacy?

answer: Yu Zigao's ultimatum to the Dutch to abandon Taiwan was discovered at Magong's Mazu Temple in 1919 and the 1624 stele recording is preserved by the temple.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: Yu Zigao is a Chinese admiral responsible for forcing the Dutch East India Company out of Penghu Island and giving them an ultimatum to abandon Fort Zeelandia in Taiwan. Yu Zigao's father was a notable pirate suppressor and he followed suit, taking command of  Zhejiang and Fujian's military forces as in February 1624. However, he had a friendly relationship with pirate Li dan, using his position to enrich himself. Yu Zigao's position was threatened by Li Dan's protégé, Zheng Zhilong, who attacked Yu's base and forcing him to flee. Zheng also captured pirates affiliated with Yu and offered to submit to Ming control, legitimizing himself at Yu's expense.


text:
BY DAVID FRANCIS, _Foreign Policy_

It took $66 billion — the largest all-cash transaction in history — for German biotech giant Bayer to win control over Monsanto, the global seed market leader. The takeover creates a very unique — and to some, very unsettling — kind of corporate beast, one tasked with feeding billions as temperatures rise and farmlands shrink.

If the merger goes through — and that’s a very big if, given that both EU and American regulators are likely to carefully scrutinize the deal — the new firm would corner more than a quarter of the world market for seeds and pesticides. In the United States, it would control some 58 percent of cottonseed sales. According to Vox, the new company would be the largest agribusiness in the world, selling 29 percent of the world’s seeds and 24 percent of its pesticides.

That puts one firm in a pole position to influence, and potentially control, how the world feeds itself. Regulators are likely to investigate whether the merged company will be too big and able to squeeze farmers and shoppers at the price register. And it comes as the rest of the agribusiness industry is also consolidating, in part to counteract slumping commodity prices due to the economic slowdown in China, which trickles down and forces farmers to spend less on supplies.

The specter of greater market power for firms that make the seeds that many poor farmers need to buy each spring before planting is sparking panic in the developing world.

“It will lead to concentration of power and will result in market distraction. This is the third such merger of seed majors in recent times. This will leave only three players in the global market and will have a cascading impact on Indian agriculture,” N. Prabhakara Rao, President of the National Seed Association of India, told the Hindu newspaper.

But the merger could be the future of the industry. Low food prices have left smaller firms unable to innovate, forcing more consolidation of resources.

Monsanto isn’t immune to these pressures. The company for years relied on profits from the weed-killer known as Roundup, which went hand-in-hand with crops resistant to the product, called Roundup Ready crops. But weeds in the United States are developing a resistance and the company, based in Missouri, is scrambling to find a better product. Monsanto even tried to buy rival Syngenta but the latter’s CEO Michael Mack said the $45 billion bid fell “woefully short.”

And the Bayer-Monsanto marriage is just the latest in a string of combinations in the industry. Dow Chemical and Dupont agreed to combine their crop science divisions last year; the deal still hasn’t been approved by regulators. U.S. regulators signed off on a deal for China National Chemical Corporation to buy Swiss seed company Syngenta for $43 billion. Earlier this month, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan and Agrium merged in Canada.

These mergers are fueled by the need for increased research and development budgets. Agribusinesses are trying to develop crops that are resistant to climate change as temperatures around the world grow hotter and rainfall grows more erratic. They’re also going to have to feed a lot more people; by 2050, projections show there will be 9 billion people living on the earth. This means there is going to be less area to farm.

[The picture taken on September 8, 2016 shows a ripe corncob in a cornfield near Cologne, western Germany. ]
Patrik Stollarz/AFP/Getty Images

The picture taken on September 8, 2016 shows a ripe corncob in a cornfield near Cologne, western Germany.
To others, these kinds of merger are just excuses to corner the market.

“The attempted takeover of Monsanto by Bayer is a threat to all Americans. These mergers boost the profits of huge corporations and leave Americans paying even higher prices,” Sen. Bernie Sanders said in a statement. “Not only should this merger be blocked, but the Department of Justice should reopen its investigation of Monsanto’s monopoly over the seed and chemical market.”

Whether the Bayer-Monsanto deal will succeed remains to be seen. It could be especially difficult in Europe, where the use of genetically-modified seeds — Monsanto’s bread and butter — is widely frowned upon.

“We expect significant antitrust and political hurdles and assign 50 percent probability of deal completion,” Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analysts Jeremy Redenius said in a research note.

question: What does the text say about the threats of the Bayer-Monsanto merger?

answer: The Bayer-Monsanto takeover puts the firm in a position where it may be too big and be given the ability to squeeze farmers and shoppers. The move sets panic in the developing world as it may lead to market distraction and concentration of power. The merger will boost profits for the corporation and leave individuals paying higher prices.


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

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

Paranoia finds a blue door.

title: I Need A Holiday

question: Who is the narrator?

answer: That information can't be found

question: Where is the story set?

answer: That information can't be found

question: How does the narrator feel during the story?

answer: That information can't be found

question: What squirms on the floor?

answer: The reader's ear

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator instructs the reader to imagine hearing a whisper, which turns to a scream, and then suddenly disappears. Reality passes through two doors and finds the reader's ear on the floor and whispers into it. Paranoia finds the same door as Reality.


text:
ROBERT LICHAL (born 9 July 1932, Vienna, Austria) is a retired Austrian politician for the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP).

Life

Lichal graduated from high school in 1950 and subsequently went to Lower Austria. As a student he studied legal science, and in 1965, he earned a doctorate in law. As a so-called ''Weißer Jahrgang, ''he had to and rejected military service.[1]

He politically engaged himself as an Austrian Workers Federation (ÖAAB) member and member of the public service trade (OGB). From 1987 to 1991, he was the Federal Chancellor of the ÖAAB.

From 1976 to 1979, Lichal was a member of the Federal Council of Austria. From 1979 to 1987, he was a deputy to the National Assembly of Austria. From 1987 to 1990, he held the post of defense minister at the Federal Ministry for National Defence and Sport. In his tenure, militia structure was enshrined in the Constitution and the Austrian Army received missiles. From 1990 to 1994, he was again member of parliament and the Second President-in-Office in the Second Republic.

Lichal is a member of the Catholic fraternities Ö.kaV Rhaeto-Danubia Vienna and K.Ö.HV Franco Bavaria Vienna, both in the Austrian Cartellverband, and the Catholic Fraternity K.Ö.St.V. Austria Purkersdorf in the Mittelschüler-Kartellverband.

Oerlikon Scandal

In 1987, it became known according to a report in a news magazine profile that Lichal had an order for 50,000 pieces of tracer practice ammunition for antiaircraft guns worth 35 million Austrian Schilling that had been awarded to the Swiss manufacturer Rheinmetall Air Defence, although the French supplier Matra Manurhin Defense an offer for 15 million Schillings. At the time of the award, the Bundesheer had ammunition reserves of 2 years. Lichal had ordered the Bundesheer at least three times to pass the more favorable offer from Matra. In 1988, a criminal investigation for abuse of authority was introduced, which included house searches at Lichal's home, his secretaries Michael Spindelegger and Walter Schön home's, and the then Oerlikon-General representatives in Austria's homes'. Lichal and Schön were close friends and Spindelegger was a member of Cartellverband. One sticky note found read “2 party financing; and two million: Value of contract: 35 million Spindelegger: 1”. Prosecutors suspected an illegal party financing for the ÖVP, after which was considered non-partisan, but the ÖVP Minister of Justice Egmont Foregger initiated disciplinary proceedings against the investigating prosecutor and the case of the Supreme Public Prosecutor that rendered the investigations invalid in 1990.[2][3]

[1] _Kleine Zeitung: Politiker beim Bundesheer - Untauglich, unwillig, unabkömmlich_.

[2] Die Munitionsaffäre aus dem Archiv, Der Standard, 17.

[3] Der Spiegel: Fliederbusch für die Gattin, 15.

title: Robert Lichal

question: When was Robert Lichal born?

answer: 9 July 1932.

question: Where was Robert Lichal born?

answer: Vienna, Austria.

question: When did Robert Lichal graduate?

answer: 1950.

question: When did Robert Lichal earn his doctorate in law?

answer: 1956.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article is about Robert Lichal, a retired Austrian politician for the Austrian People's Party.


text:
Whistling at the dark

He stood in the blackness, his lips pursed together in a defiant sneer against the night. A soft sound escaped his lips, a pliant, fleeting tone that slipped through the night like the soft cries of a cornered prey. But it was with that sole musicless tone that he fought the night. It was like a dirge to him, a requim to be repeated over and over lest a chaotic fate take his life, some form of protection. The night carried dangers, of course. The night always carried danger, slow predators, fast prey, the ever present spiral of life and death. The forest in the distance was a trap. A slow death for those found within, pressed by others who would take their life for sustenance, and by the slow grind of the human machine which presses in on the trees like a vice, both metaphorical and not. The roads nearby hummed with motorcycle engines and the low drum of tractor trailers. The night was barely audible. The trees' rustle was sorrowful, as though they were aware of the sparse environment in which they grew. Perhaps they knew that their seeds, their children, would find pavement and poison. Perhaps plants were aware of the damage we did them. Perhaps not.

These were not the questions that He pondered as his tones and scales passed into the night. The question he pondered was a simple one. Does the night threaten, or protect? If a man finds his way into the forest at night, can he use the night as another tool, like a hammer to be weilded against the nails of the world? Humans were so good with tools. They used their world and changed their world and were positively okay with changing with their own alterations. Each new hell we press upon the world is one  which we will pay for. We are punished by our sins, not for them.

The tone changed. The man's face twitched, like he had caught the odor of something wistfully foul in the enveloping black. The whistling was a bit faster now, more of a plaintive groan than a playful twist of wind.  The man had made a realization. His mind had pierced the slow gloam of humanity to find a small point of universality. 'We are all trees' he breathed softly through his pursed lips. Then the meteor struck. The large rock flying through the universe had picked his small backwater planet and found his small backwater field where he stood whistling in the night. It was so massive, he had no chance of escape. By the time the news had reported the scientist's findings, the blast radius covered his entire nation. No vehicle could bear him from the damage now. He and his family would be lost, his home burned beyond even molecular recognition, with a force like an atomic bomb striking so close. He would be lost. But life would not be. The meteor was a predator, a cosmic wolf with gnashing teeth and cracked claws. But prey could be clever. Humans were so good with tools.

Inside a small black box buried feet under the ground lay a seed. A small seed, a tiny oak rock filled with all of the DNA and potential and history of life on Earth. The box was cracked, and water from the new storm clouds forming over the planet found its way to the cushioning around the seed. It took time. The little life had to crack its way out of its own shell; then the shell of the man, the little black box designed to handle even the force of an atomic bomb. It found its way out. Through the ashey dirt it fled, past the atoms of He and his family and their home and the ashphalt and chaos of humanity. Past humanity it fled, reaching towards light, unsure if the earth above it would bury it. But humans were so good with tools. A sharp metal stab rang out near the plants' new growth. It could feel the earth above it rended, torn from its roots and sent flying into the air. But its roots were strong, buried in humanity. The rending stopped. Above the plant, a small something opened up. It could not tell what it was; had never seen sunlight before. But there was a mass there, a white shining mass of hydrocarbons and polycarbonates. It was a human, come to sample the soil from the strike. 'Hello' said the plant in its own indiscernible language. 'and thank you.'

Later, a mighty oak grew in that spot. The small metal box rose to the surface over the years, and was discovered years after the tree was fully grown. On it, it said; “Humanity does not refer to human beings' selfish nature for self preservation. It refers to the quality within us which protects all life, both ours and others.”

title: Please judge this rough draft I would like to know if I have "writer chops." Thanks

question: Do humans come out of the metal box?

answer: Unclear.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: A man stands in the darkness when a meteor hits and destroys his entire nation. In a small metal box buried feet underground lay a small seed filled with all of the DNA and potential of the world. Above the plant a human comes to sample the soil from the strike. Later a oak grew in that spot and the metal box was discovered. On it it said "Humanity refers to the quality within us which protects all life, both ours and theirs."


text:
[]

(CBS) Some Bulls fans have expressed their displeasure with the organization’s management team in an old-fashioned way.

By commissioning a billboard.

A “Fire GarPax” billboard is now up at Lake and Racine in the Near West Side neighborhood, asking for the exit of executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman.

Brendon Henderson, a 22-year-old Bulls fan, spearheaded the fundraising campaign for the billboard by creating a GoFundMe account that drew about $8,000, according to the Sun-Times.

The anger from the Bulls fans comes after two middling seasons in which Chicago missed the playoffs in 2015-’16 and then exited in the first round the past year.

The Bulls recently embarked on a rebuild with the trade of three-time All-Star Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves, a move that some believe will keep them around for years as the team rebuilds from the ground up.

[]

question: What does "Fire GarPax" mean?

answer: It is a sign protesting the Bulls' executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman.

question: Why are Bulls fans displeased with the organization's management team?

answer: The Bulls had two middling seasons where they missed the playoffs and then exited in the first round around the time of this document.

question: Where are the Bulls from?

answer: Chicago

question: Who is Brendon Henderson?

answer: He is a 22-year-old Bulls fan who spearheaded a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe to put up a billboard to express displeasure with the Bulls' management team.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: At the time of the document, some displeased Bulls fans were able to raise money and  put up a billboard that said "Fire Garpax". This refers to the Bulls' executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman.


text:
A baroque chair crashed and splintered on the jutting rocks visible from the jetty on which I stood. Where the fuck did that come from? The cushions rested in sea foam and eventually sank; the legs, as far as I know, never sank.

I turned to my friend Reagan, "where the fuck did that come from?"

He was just as confused and eager to answer. It had probably fallen of a luxury liner or, more likely, a freighter. I was satisfied with that answer, but I like to believe the sea assembled the chair herself.

I kept the ridiculous notion to myself. I didn't say anything to Reagan for several minutes; even as he started walking toward the shore. He looked upset, so I didn't follow or try to stop him. I don't care that much. The jetty's where I stayed for an hour or two. Watching the ornately carved legs travel -- never sinking.

I walked back to my apartment thinking about the creation of that chair -- animated coral plating intertwined reeds of seaweed and adopting a cherry hue for my perception of of an expensive chair being exploded by stone. Sponges being enveloped by the flesh of deceased octopi heir to patterns so intricate, a fabric should be their only desirable fate. My nose was bleeding, and I probably seemed excitable. I let the blood drip down my cheap, white crew-neck. I lit a cigarette to distract myself from enjoying anything.

title: No Place for It

question: Where did the chair in the story likely come from?

answer: The chair's origin is not known, though it is surmised to be from a freighter or luxury liner.

question: Does the chair represent something else in the story?

answer: The chair could easily represent the narrator's repressed creativity, since he chooses to keep his thoughts about the sea's åart in assembling the chair to himself.

question: Is the narrator a poet?

answer: His imagination seems to create wonderful imagery based around the creation of the chair.

question: Why is Reagan upset?

answer: It is unclear, though it seems as though the elongated silence before he walks away may have something to do with it.


text:
There is a light, a street light, outside of my property. It rests on the corner of my street, between my home, and the rest of suburbia. Being a developing neighborhood, new houses are always being built, and new street lights being put up. This one though, this one is the only street light on the block. In solitude, it shines its dull orange light over the various insects, buzzing through its aura. From my porch, the light permeates through the darkness of my pitch black road. Although the light seems unaware of my presence, I like to imagine the light appreciates having something other then the bugs bask in its golden radiation. The strange thing is, that in between my thoughts, during the short pauses of reflection, the light shines a bit brighter. It seems the light wants me to stop thinking, and just exist with it it for a few moments, without me dangling the consciousness I posses over it. But I don't know if it even desires to have a soul. The light appears to be aware of the burden sentience, and would continue to exist without.

When I take my glasses off, the rest of the world becomes an incoherent blur, but the light only becomes brighter. Encompassing most of my field of vision, I start to notice the intricacies this street light contains. There is a deep purple outline that rotates ever so slowly around the massive orb. The actual sun like light no longer appears to be a flat orange sphere. It looks to have fibers connecting it. A small skeletal structure within this bright light. This artificial sun isn't isolated though. From it, beams of pale white light penetrate the surrounding emptiness. The once simple street light is now a complicated web of colors and lines, and I think I'm becoming jealous. In plain sight, it exists, never actually "being", but still remaining an actuality, in a world of life. When I look at this street light now, the gift of life seems less and less like a present, and more like a malediction. It gets to enjoy the unbroken cycle of patiently waiting through the day to emanate brilliance at night. Why can't I enjoy this flat, and direct rhythm that never changes?

Dawn peeks its head over the houses of suburbia,. It greets the day with its rays wide open, like arms stretching away the sleep early morning. A welcome sight, a return to the status quo. But in all the commotion of the daybreak, I miss the street light flickering off. When I look at it again, it's just sitting there at the corner of my street, waiting. Waiting the shine once again.

title: Relevance

question: Where does the story take place?

answer: This story takes place in an unidentified suburb.

question: What happens to the sun?

answer: A streetlight is being compared to the Sun, and appears distorted when the narrator takes off their classes.

question: Why is the narrator fascinated by the streetlight?

answer: They personify the lamp and reflect on the lamp's illumination as a metaphor for sentience or life. They think about the consistency of the lamp's behavior

question: What happens to the lamp after sunrise?

answer: It is turned off.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: In this short story, the narrator reflects on the symbolism of a streetlamp. They consider the lamp's cycle of being turned on and off with perfect consistency.


text:
The ABBEY OF SAINT-LOUP OF TROYES (_Abbaye Saint-Loup-de-Troyes_) is a religious building near Troyes in Champagne, France. It was established in the ninth century to shelter the relics of bishop Lupus of Troyes, Saint Loup, the legendary defender of the city against Attila in the 5th century[1] and patron of the city. The monastic community was reformed in 1135 by Bernard of Clairvaux, when the abbot and his monks embraced the Rule of Saint Augustine and became Canons Regular. The _Abbaye Saint-Loup_, which came to be enclosed within the burgeoning medieval city of Troyes, developed a renowned library[2] and scriptorium. The famous poet Chrétien de Troyes may have been a canon of this monastic house.[3]

The abbey[4] was founded — as were many abbeys— in an existing Gallo-Roman villa[5] abutting the former Roman Via Agrippa (now the rue de la Cité) just outside the former Gallo-Roman city. Charlemagne gave the abbey of Saint-Loup to the scholarly Alcuin,[6] and Adalelm, Count of Troyes (died 894) was a patron. Before the reform of 1135 Saint-Loup's secular canons could enjoy the fruits of their prebendaries.[7] In the fifteenth century an imposing Flamboyant Gothic abbey church was erected; the abbey church was rededicated in 1425. The scholarly Petrus Comestor was an Augustinian canon of Saint-Loup, among his other benefices.[8]

The abbey's church and buildings, largely reconstructed in the seventeenth century, were destroyed during the Revolution;[9] the only building left standing, in rue Chrestien de Troyes, was used to store books and manuscripts confiscated from neighbouring abbeys and convents, among which was the Abbey of Clairvaux. Thus a municipal public library in Troyes was first created.[10] The Musée Saint Loup (Musée des Beaux-Arts, Archéologie et Histoire Naturelle) was also installed in the building, where it has remained since 1830.

Notes

Category:Augustinian monasteries in France Category:Buildings and structures in Troyes Category:9th-century establishments in France Category:18th-century disestablishments in France

[1] The relics were transported from Saint Martin-ès-Aires, “Saint-Martin-in-the-Fields”, also within the historical centre of Troyes.

[2] For the development and contents of the library: see C. Lalore, _Inventaire_, ccxxii-iv.

[3] John F. Benton, “The Court of Champagne as a Literary Center” _Speculum_ 36.4 (October 1961:551-591) p. 13.

[4] C. Lalore, introduction to _Collection des principaux carulaires du diocèse de Troyes_ vol. i (Paris, 1874); A. Roserot, Les abbayes du département de l'Aube", _Bulletin historiqie et philologique_ 1904:558-71; M. Bur, _La formation du comté de Champagne, 950-1150_ (Nancy 1977:353-55)

[5] Roman archaeological remains may still be inspected _in situ_.

[6] _Encyclopædia Britannica_ 1911, _s.v._ “Alcuin”

[7] Christopher Harper-Bill, Ruth E. Harvey and Stephen Church, _The Ideals and Practice of Medieval Knighthood_ (1986:254).

[8] Eric Leland Saak, _High Way to Heaven: The Augustinian Platform Between Reform and Reformation_ (2002:179f)

[9] Precious manuscripts from the Saint-Loup library are conserved in the public library, Troyes, and a mid-fifteenth-century iron tabernacle door from the abbey came eventually to the Walters Collection, Baltimore, as one of Henry Walters' first medieval purchases, in 1899 (William R. Johnston, _William and Henry Walters, the Reticent Collectors_ 1999:151).

[10] The library was rehoused in a modern structure in 2002.

title: Abbey of Saint Loup, Troyes

question: What does the text say about the congregation of Champagne?

question: What does the text say about the Abbey of Saint-Loup, Troyes?

answer: The Abbey of Saint-Loup, Troyes is a religious building near Troyes in Champagne, France. It was established in the ninth century to shelter the relics of Bishop Lupus of Troyes, Saint-Loup, the legendary defender of the city against Attila in the 5th century and patron of the city. The Abbey of Saint-Loup, which came to be enclosed within the burgeoning medieval city of Troyes, developed a renowned library and scriptorium. The abbey was founded in an existing Gallo-Roman villa abutting the former Roman Via Agrippa (now the rue de la Cité) outside the former Gallo-Roman city. The abbey's church and buildings constructed in the 17th century were destroyed during the revolution and the only building left standing was the Abbey of Clairvaux.


text:
“Have you ever seen a pig's tit before?” The farmer whispered in my ear. His hot breath filling my canal as his coarse mustache tickled my cartilage. I leaned away from him, unsure of how to respond. I had not seen a pig's tit before and if it was anything like a woman's, I'm sure it would be a treat. But I had just met this man and his question unsettled me. I wasn't sure I wanted to look at any kind of tit with him, let alone a pig's. I proceeded cautiously.

“Are they big?” I asked him.

“The biggest.” he responded.

“And the nipples?”

“Exquisite.”

This was not going to be easy. We were locked in a mental chess match and it was clear the man was practiced. He was proud of his pig's tits and if they were anything like how he described, it would be hard to blame him. Even so, it was getting late. I simply didn't have time for this.

“Listen Mister, I'm sure your pig's tits are great, and I'd really like to look at them sometime, but I should be going.”

He looked at me with vacant eyes, his mouth slightly ajar. I was beginning to think I had deeply offended him when suddenly, he leaned close, and unleashed his secret weapon.

“I'll. let. you. milk. them.” He said slowly, making sure I drank in every word.

He can't be serious, I thought. No self-respecting farmer would let a perfect stranger touch his animals' tits, not to mention a pig's. Yet there he was, staring at me in anticipation, panting silently, eyes wet with excitement. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little excited too. These weren't just any ordinary tits, they were milkin' tits. The kind of tits you only hear about in stories.

As I wondered if he'd let me taste the milk, I felt a hand grip me firmly by the arm and yank me backwards.

“It's time to go Billy, didn't you hear me calling you?” Ms. Palanski began pulling me towards the school bus.

“But Ms. Palanski, the farmer said-”

“What farmer?”

I turned back only to see an empty field. The farmer had vanished.

I stayed silent while she escorted me onto the bus, my fellow classmates staring as I searched for an open seat. They have no idea, I thought. No idea how close I came to milking some tits.

The bus roared to life and slowly started down the farm's dirt driveway. I watched the barn get smaller and smaller through a cloud of dust, wondering if I'd ever come back. Wondering if the tits would still be there when I did.

title: Pig Tit

question: Who is Ms. Palanski?

answer: The narrator's teacher.

question: Why is the farmer talking about pig nipples?

answer: There is not enough information to answer the question.

question: Where does the story take place?

answer: on a schoolbus

question: is the farmer real?

answer: It's implied the farmer is a ghost or hallucination.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator perceives an apparition of a farmer who whispers to him about pig breasts.


text:
[] [] []

[]

THE REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN. ARE YOU READY?

[]

[] []

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question: What is Plan.com's marketing strategy?

answer: Much of Plan.com's marketing spiel focuses on features. From connectivity options, devices, security, and more. It states that they are fast growing, and that the technology they use is award winning. It places itself as a high quality service that is worth the price that it is charging -which is the information that is missing. Thus the company is not trying to compete in terms of price. Instead, by placing itself as a desirable high-end option, it tries to attract business that are willing to invest in a good communications provider.


text:
Intel showed off its Windows 8 hybrid tablet / ultrabook prototype at its Developer Forum (IDF) in Beijing last week and fresh details are emerging about the hardware and its pricing. Despite being the talking point of CES this year, ultrabooks are slowly merging into tablet hybrids thanks to advances in chipsets and design. Intel's Cove Point, known previously as the Letexo, was shown running on the company's Ivy Bridge platform and includes a 12.5-inch display, two USB 3.0 ports and an HDMI port — meaning this is a high-performance PC rather than a convertible with an Atom processor.

There is no timeframe on when Cove Point-style hardware will be available, or if any OEMs will opt to manufacture such a device, but Gary Richman, Director of Marketing for Intel’s PC Client Solutions Division, revealed to _Wired_ this week that the device shown off at IDF 2012 will cost around $1,000. With 75 different types of ultrabooks arriving during 2012, priced as low as $699, it's a tough ask to expect OEMs and even consumers to show interest in high-priced hybrid ultrabooks just yet, but once prices drop over time then high-powered hybrid tablets could be the next big selling point for Microsoft, Intel, and PC manufacturers.

question: What did Intel introduce to the public in Beijing?

answer: Its Windows 8 hybrid tablet/ultrabook.

question: When was the tablet presented in Beijing?

answer: The article isn't clear when the prototype was presented in Beijing, but the ultrabooks are scheduled to be released in 2012.

question: What is the future of ultrabooks?

answer: They are slowing merging into tablet hybrids.

question: What will be the next big selling point for Microsoft?

answer: The article predicts that high-powered hybrid tablets could be the next big selling point for Microsoft.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Intel introduces its Windows 8 hybrid tablet/ultrabook in Beijing with hopes of them being available to the public in 2012. The article predicts that high-powered hybrid tablets could be the next big selling point for Microsoft.


text:
Anis Sheikh Babu Mansuri, 25, was working at his tailoring machine at around 9 pm on Sunday, June 18, night after breaking his Ramzan fast when a police jeep pulled up outside his house. A police officer asked him to step outside. Mansuri, wearing only his nightclothes of a tee-shirt and shorts, complied. The police immediately seized him.

Over the next hour, the police picked up seven others from Mansuri’s village, Mohad, in Madhya Pradesh’s Burhanpur district.

Mansuri, who has a BSc and a DEd, and works as a tailor in his spare time to fund his education, is the most educated Muslim in the village, said his family and neighbours with a sense of pride.

His friend Subhash Laxman Koli, who also lives in the village and repairs dish antennae, was in the crowd that gathered around Mansuri’s house as the young man was arrested. Out of fear, Koli stood silent. After the arrests, however, he decided to go to the police station at Shahpur, the taluka headquarters, along with his father and a friend. The police there asked him his name and why he had come. Koli said he had come to see if Mansuri could be released.

“They asked me, ‘A Hindu has become friends with a Muslim?’ and hit me twice on the back of my head,” Koli said. His right ear still ached, he said, from the blows rained by the Town Inspector of Shahpur Sanjay Pathak and a constable.

At 11.30 pm, they took Koli’s phone and dialled 100 with it.

“I was sitting on the side, but I could hear them faintly saying, ‘I am from Mohad, some children are fighting in my village’,” Koli added. “Then immediately they took three cars and left the station.”

The next morning, the police called Koli on his mobile phone and summoned him to the police station.

“When I went there, Yadav sir was writing the report,” Koli said, referring to RA Yadav, the investigating officer in the case. “He wrote that some firecrackers had been burst by 15 people. Then, he added that some people raised the slogans of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’. He wrote this in front of me.”

“You can see from the video cameras [recordings] of Shahpur police station that I was there at this time,” he continued. “I did not question him because I was scared he would put some case against me. He added ‘people distributed boxes of mithais’. I almost began to laugh because he was adding mirchi-namak to make up this story. Then, he took my signature. I said that I am signing only to say that I have come to see if I can help Anis Mansuri, but I did not read the full report.”

The police report charged 15 Muslim men, aged between 17 and 40, with sedition for allegedly raising slogans and bursting firecrackers after the India-Pakistan match.

After the case hit the national headlines, the police removed the sedition charge, saying it would be difficult to prove in court, and replaced it with a charge of disturbing communal harmony which is punishable with five years in prison.

[]
Photo credit: Amnesty International India
“By making these arrests, we have actually managed to keep the peace in the village,” said Sanjay Pathak, Town Inspector of Shahapur taluka, under whose jurisdiction Mohad falls. “If we had not acted like the police in other places, there would have been violence. Would [the media] have questioned me then?”

Speaking to _Scroll.in_ on Friday night, Pathak claimed the police had recovered one gunny sack of burnt firecracker remains from 18 locations in all Muslim-dominated parts of the village. But residents of Mohad’s Muslim neighbourhoods, unrelated to the men who have been arrested, said they heard no crackers.

More significantly, Subhash Koli, who was identified as the complainant by Yadav, the investigating officer, in the initial statements made to the media, has publicly contested the police version. He gave interviews to the local Hindi media on Friday and spoke to _Scroll.in_ on Saturday afternoon at the Burhanpur district court.

“I want to speak the truth,” he said. “I am a son of Hindustan and I do not want to do any injustice. These days, one lie can destroy the lives of 15 people. And the lives of 15 people can also change with one truth.”

On Sunday morning, villagers called this reporter to say Koli had gone missing after the police had summoned him.

When called for a comment, Pathak suggested that this reporter had spoken to a different person altogether.

“Subhash made a statement yesterday in the court (recording his complaint),” Pathak said. “Yesterday he told me, ‘Saheb, so many press people are calling me that I have begun to give different answers.’ Because he is getting calls from Delhi, Bhopal. After all, he did not do any wrong in making the complaint. But now it is as if all the people of Hindustan feel that he has done wrong in making this complaint. He is being treated as if he has sinned.”

However, in the signed affidavit Koli submitted before the court magistrate, Koli says that nobody in the village either raised slogans or distributed sweets during or after the match, that many of the accused in this case were his neighbours and they had been within his sight at the time the firecrackers were set off, and that whoever had burst the firecrackers had done so secretly and then run away immediately from the scene. He categorically calls the police complaint a lie.

[]
A copy of the affidavit filed by Subhash Koli in the Burhanpur district court.
TERROR IN VILLAGE

Mohad is a mid-sized Muslim-dominated village just off the Maharashtra border. The Muslim families here live in three settlements. Masjid Mohalla, where Mansuri’s family lives, is where the police arrived first that night.

When the police were taking Mansuri away, a crowd – both Hindus and Muslims – had gathered around to watch. Sarfaraz Tadvi, who stays in the same neighbourhood, was the only one who objected. He told the police that Mansuri was a hardworking young man who could be seen studying or tailoring at every hour of the day and night, and that he could not possibly be involved in such celebrations. The police, said several witnesses independent of each other, beat him into silence. Then at 12.50 am, they returned and arrested him as well from his house.

“I came running from my namaz when I heard the noise,” Mansuri’s mother Shahadatbi recalled. “When I asked the police what crime Anis had committed and that if they were going to take him, they should take me as well, they began to abuse me and said even that wish of mine would be fulfilled.”

“We did not even know there was such a thing as an India-Pakistan cricket match,” said Shahadatbi. “We have a television at our home, but ask any other Muslim in the entire village and they will tell you that all televisions remain shut during Ramzan.”

[]
Shahadatbi Mansuri, in the room her son Anis uses for tailoring.. Photo credit: Mridula Chari
The police came to Javla, also known as Indira Mohalla, after the houses built there under the Indira Awas Yojana for people below the poverty line, on Monday, June 19, morning. Five people were arrested from this neighbourhood of Mohad, which is by far the least prosperous and set a few kilometres apart from the rest of the village, abutting the fields.

“When the police came into the village, we all panicked and grabbed our children and started running away,” said Jugdabai Ahmed, whose son Imam Khudabaksh Tadvi is one of those arrested. “My son was holding his one and half year old daughter in his arms when the police chased after him on motorcycles and he fell. If the police chase you, won’t anyone run?”

Tadvi’s daughter now has a deep scrape on her nose. He is still in jail.

Many men of this mohalla fled across the hills into Maharashtra, fearing arrest. Some, but not all, have slowly begun to return. The women have horrific stories to tell.

“The police came into our village as if there were terrorists here,” recalled an irate Madina Tadvi, whose husband’s brother Irfan Tadvi was taken. “Only after they took the people from here did they find out their names. The police have corrupted the atmosphere of this village. If they talk so much about respecting Bharat Mata, why don’t they start by respecting the real mothers who live in India?”

Sharifa Tadvi, another resident of Indira Mohalla, had gone to pick bananas with her husband Sharif and two young children on Monday, June 19, morning when the police came. They started to run away but the police caught Sharif from behind and beat him.

“I begged the police to let him go, saying that our children and I would starve and die without him,” Sharifa said. “They said, go ahead and die, we will bring wood and cremate you.”

[]
Sharifa Tadvi with her younger child. Photo credit: Mridula Chari.
“My husband is the only one who can earn in this family,” she said, with tears in her eyes. “He doesn’t even know what cricket is. He works hard every day and comes back every night exhausted. Why would he bother with celebrations?”

Pathak flatly denied all accusations.

“Are we the enemies of Mohad?” he asked. “They are all lying to you. If something had to happen, would it not have happened eight months ago (when he was transferred to Shahpur)?”

Many Muslim residents of Mohad fled in panic after the arrests.

“I was in my field when I saw around 10 to 15 boys running away from the village towards me,” said Ajit Allah Baksh Tadvi, a neighbour of Sarfaraz Tadvi’s. “I managed to stop four of them and gave them some water.”

Residents began to return only on Wednesday, when Pathak held a peace meeting at the village saying that those who had done nothing had nothing to fear and should return.

ALWAYS AT PEACE?

The Muslims of Mohad are mostly Tadvi Pathans – Bhils who converted to Islam hundreds of years ago. In Maharashtra, Bhils are on the list of Scheduled Tribes. In Madhya Pradesh, they are on the list of Other Backward Classes. Most of the Muslims arrested are Tadvi Pathans.

A board at the police station at Shahpur specifically lists sensitive Muslim-majority “jhagdalu gaon” [villages prone to arguments or clashes]. Mohad is one of them. There is no equivalent list for quarrelsome Hindu-dominated villages.

[]
The sign at the Shahpur police station that mentions Mohad as a Muslim-dominated quarrelsome village. Photo credit: Mridula Chari.
This board, Pathak said, was put up before he was posted to Shahpur eight months ago. It must have a result of the number of complaints recorded in the village police complaint book, he said. He claimed to have seized arms from smugglers from Mohad and a neighbouring village and recorded complaints of dacoity and money laundering.

Hindu and Muslim residents of Mohad were very clear that there had never been any communal tension in the village. Muslims celebrate Dussehra, Diwali and Holi with their Hindu neighbours, while the Hindus celebrate Eid with the Muslims. They have also been organising an annual qawwali on every January 15 for more than 100 years, residents said, where the entire village comes together to welcome qawwals from as far as Nagpur and Delhi.

“In 1992, when the rest of country and even Burhanpur was burning with what had happened in Ayodhya, we made sure we kept the peace,” said Sheikh Karim Sheikh Mansuri, the elderly father of Sajjad Mansuri, 18, one of the arrested men. “We went to our neighbours and said they must not let this violence enter here. Four years ago, when Hindus put gulal on our mosque, we kept the peace. Even now, when our children have been arrested, we are firm that we must not react.”

As recently as 2008, when there were communal riots in Burhanpur, Mohad remained peaceful.

Gulchand Sinh Barne, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader and mukhia of the zilla panchayat, who is widely respected for his stature by both Muslims and Hindus in the village, concurred.

“I was very grieved when I heard this news about Mohad,” Barne said. “Had I been in the village at the time, we would have come to an understanding, but by the time I returned, the complaints had been filed and the police had already arrested the wrongdoers.”

Though Barne was not in the village at the time, he maintained that some incident must indeed have happened to have provoked the arrests.

Koli too says that some firecrackers were set off.

“Yes, I will say that in Mohad, firecrackers were burst,” Koli said. “What is true I will tell you. But who burst it, nobody knows. If a single Hindu from our village says that a Muslim shouted ‘Pakistan zindabad’, then I will say don’t even wait to give him a death sentence, shoot him on the spot.”

Under the surface, there is a creeping entry of communalisation.

“The Bajrang Dal and RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] came here and made a group with 11 members around a year ago and they are the ones who have begun to stir up trouble,” said Baksh. “Until then, there was peace.”

Ubaid Sheikh Ahmed, lawyer for 12 of the accused, goes further.

“This is a shadyantara [conspiracy] to bring communalism into all of Madhya Pradesh through Burhanpur before the election in 2018,” Ahmed said.

[]
Ubaid Sheikh, lawyer of several of the accused. Photo credit: Mridula Chari
Meanwhile, the older generation of Muslims says that the younger generation is slowly changing and becoming less willing to participate in the festivals of other communities.

“The younger boys are no longer as interested in sharing these traditions,” said Imran, who works as a driver, who declined to share his full name. “The older generations still believed in sharing all festivals. But in my generation, people are moving towards pure Islam.”

THE ARRESTED

There is little that links the arrested men. Mansuri, 25, was highly educated. The oldest, around 40, lived in Javla and is a farm labourer without a television or even a sturdy house.

Sheikh Salim Mansuri, 33, is the older brother of Sajjad, 18, who might be the youngest among those arrested. When the police came to their house at around 1.30 am and did not find his brother, they took Salim and his brothers Arif and Taqdeer into custody instead. When Salim returned home in the morning – his family claims he had gone to the farm that night – he heard what had happened to his brothers and turned himself in at Shahpur at 6.30 am.

“Two police held him up by his shoulders while all the others took turns beating him,” recalled Salim, who was at the police station when Sajjad came in. “They demanded that he tell them two or three names of those who had been with him when he burst firecrackers. Finally, I was scared they would kill him, so I just put my hand on my own brother’s shoulder and told him to tell the police what they wanted.”

[]
Salim Mansuri, brother of Sajjad Mansuri, one of the arrested. Photo credit: Mridula Chari
The police had discovered firecracker boxes bought from the shop of a Hindu named Anilbhai at the Mansuris’ house. The police, Salim claimed, forced Sajjad to confess that he had bought these from the shop of a Muslim named Mahmud. These were crackers they had bought to celebrate their harvest, the family said.

_CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS: An earlier version incorrectly stated the name of the investigating officer as SP Yadav._

_This article was updated at 6 pm, June 25, with details of the affidavit submitted by Subhash Koli, disputing the police version._

_Support our journalism by subscribing to Scroll+. We welcome your comments at letters@scroll.in._
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question: How many degrees does Mansuri have?

answer: 2

question: What district is Mohad in?

answer: Madhya Pradesh’s Burhanpur district

question: What charges were levied against 15 Muslim men?

answer: Sedition

question: What lawyer represents 12 of the arrested men?

answer: Ubaid Sheikh

question: What does Koli say about the police allegations?

answer: He claims the report is dishonest.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: This article describes the detention of fifteen Muslim men in India. Some of the involved men have provided commentary in the article, as have lawyers and police. According to information discussed in the article, the truth of the allegations against the men is in question. A summary of some recent events, highlighting tensions between Hindus and Muslims in the province, is also given.


text: It was 1942, Vietnam, me and the boys where pinned down by a company of Nazi bastards.  For five days we sat in our trench with no cloths and no food.  The only water we had on hand was a thermos full of goat urine (surprisingly tasty).  Early one morning on the sixth day we heard a great rumbling sound from far way.  slowly it came closer, like ancient gods riding their chariots of thunder.  At first I thought it was a storm (as is common that time of year) but then I remembered that there is no weather in the arctic, it had to be something else.  As I looked up I saw the Red Barron pass over head.  He was flying low and fast, behind him a large black cloud that seemed to be pursuing his biplane.  I have never seen a look of fear as the one I saw on the faces of the Nazis as they retreated back in to the shadows, seemingly to flee from the black mass that was encompassing the sky.  “Whats happening?”  I yelled at a German straggler.  He turned around, in a soft voice he simple said “Heuschrecke”, and followed his companions back in to the woods.  What was this great mass?  This living being that the imposing Third Reich soldiers seemed to fear so much?  Quickly I pulled out my phone and began to translate the word that the German soldier had said to me.  Slowly, my trembling fingers typed out the letters as the dark cloud inched closer.  “H”, another inch “E”, another “u”, almost on top of me now.  My hands warmed up and I managed to type all the way to “ck”.  That’s when I heard my comrades call out in pain.  A terrible agonizing scream that still haunts me to this day.  The sun was completely obscured now, my phone was the only remaining source of light.  With out thinking my thumb fell on the “e” button.  The word “Heuschrecke” was now complete.  My eyes looked down with bewilderment, Google translate simply said “grasshopper”.  Heuschrecke meant Grasshopper.  Now it all made sense, this cloud, this great black mass was a swarm of hungry grasshoppers looking for food.  How hungry?  I was about to find out.  My friends screamed at first But their screams where in vain.  The swarm filled their mouths, grasshoppers poured down their lungs, cutting of air supply.  I managed to survive by keeping my mouth closed and using their limp body’s as protection from the malnourished mass of bugs.  Five days later I was found in a field out side of West Berlin and subsequently returned home.

title: A very strange, slightly humors short story that I wrote, tell me what you think

question: What war does the story take place during?

answer: World War II

question: What side of the war is the narrator on?

answer: The narrator belongs to the allies.

question: Describe the anachronism present in the story.

answer: Despite the story being set in 1942, the main character has a smartphone with Google Translate, both of which would not have been invented yet.


text:
   They were sitting on the floor playing video games, laughing about how terrible she is at the game. She watched his face light up with a laugh and it was as though time slowed down. She saw his smile spread through his lips, up to his eyes. It seemed genuine. In this moment, like each time they talk, Charlotte had a crippling fear that bubbled within her throat; it was as though her mind will have the words planned out, but her heart will say something entirely different. Do something different, something bad. Something that could be so detrimental to her social life, ripping it from its very roots and throwing it into a deep valley of Netflix and takeout on a Saturday night. Each time they come face to face, this very threat is there. One mistake, one wrong look could change things forever. She knew this was long coming, this love that was built upon drunken nights, early mornings, awful professors, and ever-lasting sexual tension—a love that came to be in college.

   Freshman year is where it all started for Charlotte. It was an innocent encounter, a merging of two groups of friends the first night of college. She ended up in his room, in Henry’s room, that night with several other people they had met. From there, it was inevitable. She had been used to busy day in high school, full of class, extracurricular activities, and of course studying. He was used to school and studying, and a strict social life, or lack thereof. So when the two finally emerged from their tight schedules of high school, they landed into this world of empty hours and open bars. The only thing that stopped this pair from sprinting into a whirlwind relationship was the fact that Henry had a girlfriend, a girl whom Charlotte actually knew from elementary school. Henry and her had been together for at least a year prior to entering this extraordinary life that is college.

   Having a girlfriend never stopped this friendship. He always texted Charlotte, asking if she was free for dinner, or wanted to study together. This trend continued for so long, so many of those empty hours were spent together doing nothing; playing video games, talking about nonsense. Soon they grew so comfortable together, their conversations changed. They drifted from discussions based around schoolwork and friends, to the girlfriend and sex. Oh, the conversations about sex were in plenty, he knew what she liked and what she wanted. She knew what he had trouble with in regards to his girlfriend, and she ever so dutifully gave him advice to help the couple in bed.  The advice about the girlfriend was not limited to sexual advice however. Henry asked Charlotte about real, emotional relationship issues. She actually had the opportunity to tell him to break up with the girlfriend several times, but she stayed true to being his friend and helped work them out.
While sex, or at least the intriguing topic of sex, was a prominent focus in their friendship, the conversations about themselves and family are what stood out the most. She talked about her depressed father, and how that put such a strain on her family. He held her when she cried about losing a friend. She smiled and laughed and he talked about his old pets, and his cute sister. It took him longer though, longer to open up to her. He told her that she was the only one to know some things about him. About how he had been depressed for so long, how he hates being alone, how very few things make him happy. She wanted to make him happy, she wanted to be the reason he smiled. She saw him smile and laugh so often, but she could only wonder if it was all an act, or if she did in fact make him laugh. He did not know though, he was unaware of the things she wished for, oblivious to how he made her feel.

   This unawareness that Henry held in regards to Charlotte was obvious by his manners, if only he knew how she felt. Sometimes the two would walk into an empty room and he would declare that they should fuck. It was all a joke of course, a joke to him. To her, it was as though someone was slowly breaking her heart—anyone could see it behind her plastered on smile, not Henry though. He became her worst enemy and her ultimate fantasy all rolled into one. She wanted him to be so much, to be there for her in a way that means more than friendship, to make her smile and cry with joy. She knew in her heart that he would never be those things.

   Charlotte was aware that he was sexually attracted to her, he was never vague about that. One night, she confessed to him that while she joked about sex all the time, all she really wanted was love. He said he understood and they chatted about it for a while. Later that same night though, he told her about how he and his roommate had come to the decision that Charlotte would be a solid lay. Such conversations were not unusual. Once, when they were gathered with a group of friends, they jokingly speculated on whether or not Henry and Charlotte would make a good couple. Henry stated that they would, at least for a month because it would all be physical. Each one of these was a blow to her. A reminder that he did not see her as anything more than a friend and would never be anything more than that.

   All of these memories came crashing back to Charlotte as she watched him laugh while playing video games. It  has been over a year and it is time for her to move on, she knows that because they’re friendship will never be more than what it is. From their first meeting, it was inevitable, not friendship nor love, but heartbreak.

title: Videogames

question: Summarize the main tension in the story.

answer: It's unrequited love. Charlotte is in love with Henry, who seems oblivious. His many remarks all imply that he doesn't see Charlotte as anything other than a friend, which slowly breaks her heart.

question: What does the story say about marriage?

question: What does the story say about Henry?

answer: He's a colleague of the narrator at the same university. They are close friends, but the narrator is in love with him. He has a long-time girlfriend and despite being open about his attraction to her, his behavior suggests that he sees Charlotte as a friend. He's also emotionally open to Charlotte as well, telling her some things that he didn't tell anyone.


text:
In case you haven't been keeping up ...

Last week, Pete Fiutak of Campus Insiders wrote that Texas A&M is 'The Kardashians of College Football.'

In the article, Fiutak compares the Aggies going through five-star quarterbacks like Kim Kardashian 'used to go through famous husbands' and says it "isn't going to be an SEC West championship season ... there won't be a conference championship. Texas A&M won't win anything, again, but it'll be dramatic, and it'll be entertaining."

Fiutak was a recent guest on the Paul Finebaum show -- in a segment which can be heard by clicking here -- to further discuss his comparison as well as give his analysis on the upcoming season for the Aggies.

His segment begins at the 23 minute mark, and highlights of the conversation are transcribed below.

_Fiutak's take and 'how he reached [Kardashian] conclusion'..._

FIUTAK: There's always these programs out there, they are big names. They have everything going their way. They've got the big giant fan bases, the big stadiums, they are on all the time and everyone knows who they are. They are bound by absolutely nothing. They have all the money in the world, all the attention in the world, sometimes they play a beautiful brand of football. And they just don't have any substance behind them, that's the Kardashian reference...

Texas A&M more than anyone, considering all the drama over Johnny Football. All the big things with the move from the Big 12 to the SEC... Here's a program that couldn't get by Oklahoma and Texas in the Big 12 South and now it's suppose to do something big in the SEC? All of the sudden it does, it takes the world by storm. It's the hot program, everyone wants to go there and they get all the big recruits. And Alabama wins the SEC title and the National Championship just about every single year.

_Where did Manziel situation get off tracks..._

FIUTAK: ...Having a guy like [Manziel] with that type of personality, with that much talent who does things that no one in the history of the SEC has ever done... [and] he's built like your average college kid. He comes out and sets the world on fire... Toward the end of the Manziel career you have Kevin Sumlin almost all but said I'm trying to control this guy, I'm trying to control Manziel fever and it didn't necessarily work between the autographs and everything else.

...At the time, the prevailing thought was 'Look the dude's in college,' ... That's what every college kid wishes he could do. Now it's not that much fun anymore.

_What does A&M need to do..._

FIUTAK: As long as they can just look like they are okay and look like they are on the right track. The problem in the SEC is that you can be really, really good and not win anything. That was the problem under A&M with Johnny Manziel too.

...They aren't going to win it this year, they just aren't good enough. Especially in that division. As long as it looks like the ship has been steadied... They might not be the fun program of a couple years ago but they have an improving defense... If they go 8-4 or 9-3 and look like they are on the rise back up, then I think everything is going to be okay with Kevin Sumlin.

_Why would someone else hire Sumlin short of a big time season in College Station?_

FIUTAK: Because his offenses all tend to work. Coming from Houston and what he did to start at Texas A&M. He was able to get the talent to come there but obviously it didn't quite mesh.

... At the end of the day if you're winning games and you're doing it in fun and exciting ways, teams are going to want you.

--

Fiutak discusses his expectations for around the SEC, including East and West champion predictions, in the podcast available here. You can read his article from Campus Insiders by clicking here.

question: Who is Pete Fiutak?

answer: He is a sportswriter for Campus Insiders

question: What are Pete's thoughts on Texas A&M?

answer: He says Texas A&M is 'The Kardashians of College Football' because the Aggies go through five-star quarterbacks like Kim Kardashian used to go through famous husbands. He adds that the team won't win anything, but watching them will be dramatic and entertaining.

question: Which show was Fiutak recently a guest on?

answer: The Paul Finebaum Show

question: In Fiutak's view, will Texas A&M win a championship this year?

answer: Fiutak thinks the team won't win because they just aren't good enough.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Campus Insiders sportswriter Pete Fiutak was a recent guest on the Paul Finebaum Show. Fiutak bashed Texas A&M, saying they were 'The Kardashians of College Football' because they go through five-star quarterbacks like Kim Kardashian goes through famous husbands. Fiutak adds that the team won't win anything this season, let alone the SEC West championship, because the team isn't good enough.


text:
On that clement Saturday afternoon I was journeying all the way back to my home for weekend off on Chennai mail and felt considerably happy that I managed to get a seat , a rare affair. We were seven  in that compartment and opposite to me positioned a  group of three charming energetic  talkative sensible looking  boys .To my left  was a middle aged aunty and  her daughter  (seems so..) sat next to her . Hmm… for  every reason she looks pretty beautiful …and right to me was an old man whom  on every running second doing  his very best to prove to be  a  gold winning champion in some “ irritate  competition”. I was the one who suffered due to his  unnatural doubts  and worries but I couldn’t  pay scant regard to his questions as I was at his mercy…seat no 26 was his reserve  and when  that large hearted  old desi clint eastwood  allowed me to share his seat  I was   unwaware of the fact that   in lieu of his mercy he is asking my right ear drum…..for every now and then he pokes me at my triceps with his index finger as if he is trying to scoop some flesh out of my  shoulder and throw some silly doubts ……a major share of an hour past.Boys opposite to me was in their world , laughing, enjoying and discussing there on matters…if this oldie wasn’t  here,I thought,I could have listen to their discussion. sometimes overhearing is an art by all means  or I could have read or listen to music or more importantly I could  have catch the glimpse of that beautiful girl not far away from me…..an  hour past ..if my shoulder was in pain due to his demonic poking my right ear drum was burning due to the sound pollution caused by that old tongue. Five more minutes past and then that old man took a wonderful decision (at least as far as I’m concerned)  that  to take a nap…I felt like mother india of august 14 1947’s midnight .Sleep dear sleep don’t wake till ernakulam, I prayed….subsequently  train  halted for some crossing and I lend my ear to those young lads discussion.One among them , a short one was briefing how he could not make out to some selection due to below par height….he doesn’t seems defeated due to  this shortfall but definitely  sounds concerned or  diffident   . I was not the only one who read his concern from his words but one of his friends , a medium tall boy too. Train started and gradually picked speed . The aunt next to me was devoted herself in some Malayalam magazine and that beautiful  girl ,resting her chin on left palm, was listening to some music  tapping her left hand fingers gently  and rhythimtically at  her cheeks and kept repeatedly tucking  her disobedient wisp of hair behind ears …the medium tall boy was still engaged in his motivation class for his short friend… I could feel his words were no nonsense and I sensed not only me everyone except the old man is overhearing his so called motivation talk. Meantime from another compartment some kid kicked off a  loud shrilling  cry that  pierced the air over there and our old man lost his sleep I conjured soon this man will  engage for  another bout of  irritate competition  but  to my surprise nothing happened for  a while . I checked, much to my relief he is seriously listening to the medium tall boy… his speech  veered to instances  of famous personalities  not tall. List ranged  from Sachin Tendulkar,Charlie Chaplin ,Beethoven to  Mozart  and Hitler ….suddenly a voice raised in that compartment  a voice which is eerily familiar to my right ear drum…….yes the oldie is back. He asked the young man  how tall is Sachin ? hw abt Chaplin? What is the case of Mozart  and  Beethoven? The medium tall boy was surprised by the  rapid fire of questions  especially he was not even aware of the  fact that somebody other than his friends are listening to his lecture but he kept his composure and answered that all of them are short may be below 165 cm . The old man fired the next question how tall was Hitler?  Boy said he too was a short man…his friends also gave him ample support  as all of them were sure that Hitler was a short man. The oldie turned his head and asked me the same   Hitler question  . I mused, as far as I know he must be a short person.     I said, I think he  was not that tall may be some 5 ft  5 or 6 inch. The old man enthusiastically passed the question to the lady participants. The aunty  said an immediate pass but the girl made a try that Hitler was about 165 cm. the oldie said with winners smile that we all are wrong .. Mr. Adolf Hitler  was not that short…….he was 173 cm tall  that means 5ft 8’’    . I was surprised by this interesting fact  and not the only one in fact everyone seemed so. The third boy ,a long haired bespectacled one,  out of mental indigestion flipped his iPad cover and  browsed   only to discover our oldie is absolutely correct. Everyone got convinced about this small  piece of information. I smiled at him admiringly and he acknowledged it with a nod. The ice broken in our compartment and everyone started to communicate each other. All of them were heading to Chennai,  those boys   for some interview ,aunty and her daughter(oh yes now confirmed) going for attending some function and oldie ,it seems like surprises are the order of the day, is all the way to meet Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and he is the director of a famous NGO. He kept talking . His topics  were nothing different than his former doubts  and worries but it didn’t feel like nonsense anymore…..what had changed?  ……train entered  ernakulam town station  I wished all of them a happy jouney and detrained….when I walked towards exit the same question raced around in my head.  what had changed? …….soon I got the answer , nothing but.. just my attitude..yes my attitude . I must put this entire episode in black and white,I decided. Walked fairly fast to pick an auto taxi …….THE END

NOTHING BUT… JUST MY ATTITUDE
LITHIN MATHEW THOMAS

title: NOTHING BUT… JUST MY ATTITUDE

question: What is the cause of the narrator's discomfort during his journey back home on the train at first?

answer: A male, elderly sitting partner.

question: What disrupted the old man's sleep?

answer: The scream of a child.

question: What was the conversation by the boys that grabbed the interest of the old man?

answer: They were discussing celebrities not tall.

question: What did the narrator wish to do throughout his journey?

answer: To stare at the beautiful girl on the train.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator is on his way back home on holiday to Chennai on a train where he encounters an old man who bothers him, an aunty and her beautiful daughter he'd like to stare at, and a group of boys discussing celebrities who are not tall. The narrator wants to either listen in on the conversation the boys are having or read a book or listen to music or most preferably stare at the beautiful girl. The old man bothering him joins the boys' conversation, and the narrator is glad he doesn't bother him again. He enjoys their conversation, and at the end of the journey, bids them all farewell.