text:
Cheongha}}

KIM CHUNG-HA (, born Kim Chan-mi []; February 9, 1996),[1] better known mononymously as CHUNGHA (stylized as CHUNG HA), is a South Korean singer, dancer, songwriter, and choreographer. She finished fourth in Mnet's girl group survival show _Produce 101_, becoming a member of the resulting girl group I.O.I. Following the dissolution of I.O.I in 2017, Chungha debuted as a solo artist with the extended play _Hands on Me_.

Early life

Chungha was born as Kim Chan-mi () on February 9, 1996, in Seoul, South Korea. Under her English name Annie Kim,[2] she lived in Dallas, Texas, for eight years before returning to South Korea to become a singer. As a result, she is able to speak both English and Korean.[3] She graduated from Sejong University, majoring in dance.[4] She auditioned for YG Entertainment and was a JYP Entertainment trainee prior to joining MNH Entertainment.[5][6] Kim trained for three years before debuting, and had been dancing for 6–7 years. She revealed that she almost quit attending dance classes at some point due to financial issues.[7]

Career

2016–2017: _Produce 101_, I.O.I, and solo debut with _Hands on Me_

From January 22 to April 1, Kim represented MNH Entertainment on reality girl group survival show _Produce 101_.[8] She finished in fourth place and debuted on May 4, with the project girl group I.O.I with the mini-album _Chrysalis_.References:

-   -    On June 10, YMC Entertainment revealed Chungha as one of the seven members of the group's unit group, slated to promote their second single, “Whatta Man”, during the summer of 2016.[9] It was revealed that three teams were contacted to make the choreography for the single, but hers was chosen because it was deemed to be the highest quality.[10] The single was a commercial success peaking at number 2 on the Gaon Digital Chart and on the Gaon Album Chart, for its digital (downloads and streaming) and physical sales respectively.References:

-   -   -

[Chungha performing as a member of I.O.I during the Lotte World Youth Festival in 2016.|alt=Chungha on a stage facing left, she is doing a sideways peace sign around her right eye|left] On June 30, it was revealed that Chungha would be having a cameo appearance on Korean drama, _Entourage,_ along with groupmate Lim Na-young.[11] On July 24, she was revealed to be a new cast member on dance survival show, _Hit The Stage_.[12] On August 17, it was announced that Chungha would be collaborating with groupmates Choi Yoo-jung, Jeon So-mi, and DIA's Ki Hui-hyeon for the digital single, _“_Flower, Wind and You_”_, which was produced by Boi B.[13][14][15] The music video was released on MBK Entertainment's YouTube channel. On December 21, MNH Entertainment confirmed that she will be debuting as a solo artist in the beginning of 2017 after wrapping up I.O.I's promotions.[16] On December 23, Chungha collaborated with Heo Jung-eun and HALO's Ooon for the holiday carol, “Snow in This Year”, that was featured on the Korean drama, _My Fair Lady_.[17]

On January 10, 2017, Chungha was selected to be a host for EBS' _Ah! Sunday – A Running Miracle_. Chungha would show the public how to improve their physical fitness via jogging and would take a team of challengers under her wing for the show.[18] On April 21, she released her pre-debut single titled “Week”, on the official M&H Entertainment YouTube account,[19] followed on June 7 by her debut EP, entitled _Hands on Me_, with the lead track “Why Don't You Know”.[20][21] Chungha subsequently featured in Samuel Kim's solo debut album entitled _Sixteen_ with the track “With U”, and in Babylon's single, “La La La”.[22][23] From September 3 onwards, she took over Kisum as a DJ for EBS's radio program _Listen_,[24] and on September 19, it was announced that she would be an MC for FashionN's _Please Take Care of My Vanity_ alongside Super Junior's Leeteuk and Han Chae-young.[25] On November 22, the first episode of her own reality show, _Chungha's Free Month_, was released on YouTube and NaverTV.[26]

2018–2019: _Offset_, _Blooming Blue_, _Gotta Go_, and _Flourishing_

[Chungha performing during the 2018 Winter Paralympics torch relay, on March 3.|thumb|upright] Chungha released her second extended play _Offset_ on January 17, 2018. The EP contains five tracks including the title track “Roller Coaster”.[27] On June 26, MNH Entertainment confirmed that she would be having a comeback on July 18 with her third mini-album titled _Blooming Blue_, with “Love U” serving as the lead single.[28] Chungha became the ambassador for the Seoul International Architecture Film Festival in October of the same year.[29] It was announced on August 8 that she would join the project group consisting of Red Velvet's Seulgi, (G)I-dle's Soyeon and GFriend's SinB called Station Young for SM Entertainment's project album _SM Station X 0_. They released their single, “Wow Thing” on September 28.[30] Chungha collaborated with Super Junior's Yesung with the song, “Whatcha Doin'”, with the music video released on December 16.

On January 2, 2019, she released her single album, _Gotta Go_.[31] On January 9, Chungha won her first-ever music program trophy on the MBC Music's _Show Champion_.[32] She was featured in VIXX member Ravi's new single, “Live”, which was released on February 18, 2019.[33] Chungha released her fourth EP _Flourishing_ on June 24, 2019, alongside the music video of the lead single, “Snapping”.[34] “Snapping” was placed first on _Show Champion_ on July 3, 2019.[35][36] In August, she joined the soundtrack lineup for the tvN drama _Hotel del Luna_.[37] The track, titled “At the End”, was released on August 3, 2019.[38][39] Chungha collaborated with Grizzly on the single “Run”, released on August 22,[40] and with Mommy Son on the single “Fast”, released in September for the JTBC Seoul Marathon.[41] In October 2019, Chungha collaborated with Indonesian rapper Rich Brian on the single “These Nights”.[42] The track serves as the single for 88rising's second compilation album, _Head in the Clouds II_.[43] Chungha was featured in rapper Changmo's “Remedy” for his album _Boyhood_, released on December 25, 2019.[44][45] For her accomplishments in 2019, Chungha was awarded the Producer of the Year and Hot Performance Award of the Year with “Gotta Go” at the 2019 Gaon Chart Music Awards.[46][47] On December 12, 2019, _Billboard_ published their list of the “25 Best K-pop Songs of the 2019”, with Chungha's single “Gotta Go” ranked at number three.[48] _Billboard_ described the latter as “Chungha fully embracing her stronger, more confident side; a side that's stayed consistent throughout her major year and can help guide her to even greater heights in the new decade”. The single was also ranked hundredth on _Billboard's_ “The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s”.[49]

2020–2021: Promotion in the United States and _Querencia_

In January 2020, Chungha collaborated with Paul Kim on the single “Loveship”, which was released on January 21, 2020.[50][51][52] She was part of the soundtrack lineup for the SBS drama _Dr. Romantic 2_ with the track “My Love”, released on February 4, 2020.[53][54][55] Chungha made her first comeback in 2020 with a new single, “Everybody Has” on February 29 as part of MNH Entertainment's _New.wav_ project.[56][57][58] On March 10, MNH Entertainment announced that Chungha had signed with American agency, ICM Partners, for her America and global promotions.[59][60][61]

In April, Chungha collaborated on the pop song “Lie” with TVXQ singer Max Changmin. The song was featured on Changmin's debut extended play _Chocolate_ and talks about the emotions exchanged between lovers who feel love in different intensities.[62][63] On April 27, “Stay Tonight” was released as a pre-release single from the singer's upcoming album.[64] The song debuted and peaked at number 9 on the Gaon Digital Chart, and peaked at number 4 on the _Billboard_ World Digital Songs chart.[65][66]

Chungha released the single “My Friend” which features ph-1 and produced by Zion.T on May 30, 2020.[67][68][69] She then collaborated with Sprite on the promotional single “Be Yourself” on June 9, 2020.[70] The single was also part of MNH's _New.wav_ project.[71][72] On July 6, Chungha released her second pre-released single, “Play”.[73][74][75] The maxi single which consists of the two pre-released singles, peaked at number 7 on the Gaon Album Chart with 12,613 sales.[76][77] It was announced that Chungha would be a cast member in _Law of the Jungle in Wild Korea_, the first domestic filming in the programme history due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[78][79]

Chungha made a soundtrack appearance for the tvN drama _Record of Youth_ with the track “You're In My Soul”, released on September 14, 2020.[80][81] She then collaborated with Danish singer, Christopher on the single, “Bad Boy”. The live version was released on September 23 while the music video was released on September 25.[82][83] Chungha signed with 88rising in November 2020. She then collaborated with R3hab on the single “Dream of You” released on November 27, 2020.[84][85]

Chungha is set to release her first full-length album _Querencia_ on January 4, 2021.[86]

Influences

Chungha has stated singer IU is her role model as she admires the way the soloist is able to sing, dance, and perform various other things.[87] She also stated that singer-songwriter BoA is one of her role models.[88]

Endorsements and promotions

Chungha has endorsed various products ranging from electronics to clothing and cosmetics. Her first endorsement was for Nike's “Nike x W Korea”, alongside singer Amber Liu and dancer May J Lee in 2017.[89]

Chungha's endorsements includes modeling for Umbro,[90] women's clothing brand Muzak Ifne,[91] Lens Town's contact lenses, endorsing Lotte Liquor's 'Chungha',[92] and being the brand model for Guljak Topokki Chicken restaurant.[93] She has also endorsed the video games _Sudden Attack_ and _Bosslave_, and LG Corporation's mobile service U+ 5G.[94][95][96] In March 2019, Clinique announced that they had worked with and chosen Chungha as the brand's global ambassador.[97][98] In May 2019, Sprite Korea announced her as the new model and face of the brand and their Summer 2019 _Dive in Sprite_ Campaign alongside actor Jang Ki-yong.[99]

Discography

-   _Querencia_ (2021)

Filmography

Television series

  Year               Title                         Original title         Role         Network        Notes                         Ref.
  ------------------ ----------------------------- ---------------------- ------------ -------------- ----------------------------- -------
  2016               _Entourage_                   안투라지               Herself      tvN            Episode 1 with Lim Na-young   [100]
  2017               _Idol Drama Operation Team_   아이돌 드라마 공작단   KBS          Episode 5, 6   [101]
  2018               _YG Future Strategy Office_   YG전략자료본부         Netflix      Episode 4      [102]
  _Top Management_   탑 매니지먼트                 YouTube Premium        Episode 14   [103]

Television shows

  Year                              Title                               Original title                 Network       Notes / Role   Ref.
  --------------------------------- ----------------------------------- ------------------------------ ------------- -------------- -----------------
  2016                              _Produce 101_                       프로듀스 101                   Mnet          Finished 4th   [104][105]
  _Hit the Stage_                   힛 더 스테이지                      Contestant                     [106]
  2017                              _Ah! Sunday – A Running Miracle_    기적의달리기                   EBS           Host           [107]
  _Please Take Care of My Vanity_   화장대를 부탁해                     Fashion                        MC            [108]
  _Chungha's Free Month_                                                —                              Documentary   [109]
  2018                              _Real Life Men and Women_           현실남녀                       MBN           Cast member    [110]
  _The Call_                        더 콜                               Mnet                           Cast member   [111][112]
  2020                              _Law of the Jungle in Wild Korea_   정글의 법칙 in 와일드 코리아   SBS           Cast member    [113][114][115]
  ''Running Girls ''                달리는 사이’에                      Mnet                           Cast member   [116]

Radio shows

  Year        Title      Network   Notes   Ref.
  ----------- ---------- --------- ------- -------
  2017–2019   _Listen_   EBS       DJ      [117]

Awards and nominations

Notes

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title: Chungha

question: When was Kim Chung-Ha born?

answer: February 9 1996.

question: What was Kim Chung-Ha born as?

answer: Kim Chan-mi.

question: What is she known as?

answer: Chungha.

question: What does Kim Chung-Ha do?

answer: She is a singer, dancer, songwriter and choreographer.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article is about a South Korean singer, Kim Chung-Ha, born in 1996.


split: train

text:
By: Express News Service | New Delhi | Updated: December 4, 2015 7:45:47 am

 [mohan bhagwat, RSS, RSS bhagwat, RSS, India, India intolerance, intolerance, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Mohan bhagwat India, Writers protest, BJP government, Chinmaya Mission, nation news] RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

A day after Mohan Bhagwat said he was confident of seeing the Ram Temple built in his lifetime, the RSS chief, in a series of tweets on Thursday, urged society to prepare the ground for it.

“The temple will be built within my lifetime… We need to plan it carefully… (we need) a good mix of ‘josh’ and ‘hosh’,” Bhagwat had said in Kolkata on Wednesday.

While he said that the Ram Temple could be built anywhere, Bhagwat added that Ayodhya was the birthplace of Ram. “Just as terrorists attacked the twin towers of World Trade Centre in the US because it was their economic centre. Similarly, this Ram Temple was attacked several times earlier as it was our cultural heart. We couldn’t do anything earlier because at that time we were weak. Now it is in a broken state and should be redone,” he said.

On Thursday, the RSS’s official Twitter handle sent out three tweets quoting Bhagwat on the issue. In one tweet, he recalled that the Somnath temple was rebuilt with the “efforts” of then Home Minister Sardar Patel. In another tweet, Bhagwat asked society to prepare for the building of a grand Ram Temple.

“Ram aur Sharad Kothari ke jeevan se prerna lekar samaj khada ho aur Somnath ke samaan bhavya Ram mandir ke nirman hetu taiyyar ho (Society should draw inspiration from Ram and Sharad Kothari and prepare for building a grand Ram Temple like Somnath),” the RSS chief was quoted as saying, referring to the kar sevaks who were killed in the police firing in Ayodhya in 1990.

The BJP, meanwhile, evaded questions on Bhagwat’s comment. “I do not know,” was the first response of union minister Nirmala Sitharaman when asked to react to his remarks. She, however, added, “It is not a new statement. It has been said several times. BJP definitely believes Ram Temple should be built sometime.”

Bhagwat, however, found a tacit supporter in spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who said on Thursday that the Ram Temple in Ayodhya should be constructed, but with everyone’s consent. He was speaking at an event in the Capital.

📣 _THE INDIAN EXPRESS IS NOW ON TELEGRAM. CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR CHANNEL (@INDIANEXPRESS) AND STAY UPDATED WITH THE LATEST HEADLINES_

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-   Tags:
-   Mohan Bhagwat
-   Ram temple

question: What is the main subject of the article?

answer: Chief Mohan Bhagwat's declaration that the Ram Temple will be built within his lifetime.

question: Explain what the Ram Temple is.

answer: That information can't be found.

question: Who is Bhagwat?

answer: Mohan Bhagwat is the RSS chief.

question: What country does the article concern?

answer: India

question: When was this article written?

answer: That information can't be found, but it was last updated on December 4, 2015.

question: What does RSS stand for?

answer: That information can't be found.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat has declared that the Ram Temple will be built within his lifetime. He plans to construct the temple in Ayodhya, the birthplace of Ram.


text:
A man was cut in the face during a fight early Sunday in an Old Irving Park neighborhood parking lot on the Northwest Side.

Shortly after 1 a.m., the 19-year-old tried to stop an argument between a male and two females in the parking lot of a restaurant in the 3600 block of North Pulaski, according to Chicago Police.

The male then pulled out a knife and cut the 19-year-old on the right side of his face. He was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where his condition was stabilized, police said. No other injuries were reported.

The suspect ran away after the incident and no one was in custody early Sunday as Area North detectives investigated.

question: Where did the incident take place?

answer: In the Old Irving Park neighborhood in Chicago.

question: Who was the victim of the incident?

answer: A 19-year-old male.

question: Describe everything that is known about the suspect.

answer: The suspect is male and was in an argument with two females. They fled the scene after the incident.

question: What was the motivation behind the crime?

answer: The victim tried to stop an argument between the perpetrator and two females in a parking lot.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: A 19-year-old male intervened in an argument between a male and two females in a parking lot in Chicago's Old Irving Park neighborhood. The male then pulled out a knife and cut him on the side of the face before fleeing the scene. The 19-year-old was taken to the hospital and his condition was stabilized.


text:
**[disclaimer box thing: I'm 17 years old, and I've read for a long time and always wanted to write but i've never really been particularly good. Just looking for some feedback on my first short story, ideas and thoughts. 500 words]**

It wasn't that he didn't want to write, or that an idea never came to him naturally, but rather just that he was never truly inspired. For 40 years of his life he wrote and wrote his way through the old desk in the study, the desk of memories. His father had written on it, painted whole worlds and collages of life and love, and his father before him, still remembered musings and prose that you could occasionally chance upon if you searched hard enough in dusty bookshops in small towns that were fast becoming a thing of the past. Even now, as he glanced down, he could see the marks and etchings of generations of writers, scratches filled with the days of distance. A faint exclamation mark, at the top left, from his father's last work, signing off with a flourish as the last words were put to paper. A gash, shearing through the middle of the surface, an angry imprint of failure, his own, many years ago.

But many of the marks he failed to recognise. It was no secret that his memory was nothing like what it was. Indeed, his last visit to his son, a rigid, cold affair where the only topic thicker than the silence was the bitterness emanating from his own failure, surrounded by his son's success, was permeated with the worry of decline, as words that may have previously meant something to him tumbled from his son onto him like unfamiliar rain. Who were these people he met? What book is he talking about? When did we go there? The questions deafened the silence in his mind, drowning out the blank sheet in front of him, the cold room, the faded desk.

But at last! A spark! From the corner of his mind the idea began to form. Characters bounced through his consciousness, as he wrote with unabashed joy, a fury, at the paper in front of him. The paper would not conquer him like he had thought, like his father had thought. He would not be the one to fail the desk. He wrote and he scrawled like never before, the idea flowing through the pen onto his enemy.

After what seemed like hours, he put the pen down. Triumph resonated in him. The enemy sat in front of him, ravaged with scars of ink. He had won. Tommorow began a new chapter in his life, one that made up for his shortcomings, his failures, his memory, his distance with his family. He placed the paper down to one side and went to sleep.

The next day, he rose. He made the long walk towards the study, towards the desk of memories, the centre of the room and the centre of his life. He sat down, moved the old papers to one side. He picked up his pen. He stared at the enemy. But, it wasn't that he didn't want to write, or that an idea never came to him naturally, but that he was never truly inspired..

title: The Desk

question: Why was the old desk important to the writer?

answer: His father has written on it, and the father before him.

question: What happened after the writer finally found a spark of inspiration to write?

answer: He began to write with a fury like never before as ideas flowed.

question: Explain what the writer considered as the enemy.

answer: The enemy was the paper that mostly sat blank.

question: Explain what the writer felt after a successful writing session.

answer: Triumph resonated in him. He had won.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: For 40 years, the writer wrote but now was facing his enemy. The enemy was the blank paper as he couldn't find the inspiration. Finally, a spark of inspiration, and the writer begins to write with a fury like never before.


text:
Also known by its English title _CONTROL, OPTIMISATION AND CALCULUS OF VARIATIONS_ (COCV), it is a journal published by EDP Sciences on behalf of Société de Mathématiques Appliquées et Industrielles (SMAI) that specializes in articles on control theory, optimization, optimal control and calculus of variations.[1]

[1]

question: What is Contrôle Optimisation et Calcul des Variations?

answer: a journal published by EDP Sciences on behalf of Société de Mathématiques Appliquées et Industrielles that specializes in articles of control theory, optimization, optimal control and calculus variations

question: What other name is used for Contrôle Optimisation et Calcul des Variations?

answer: Control, Optimisation and Calculus Variations

question: How is Société de Mathématiques Appliquées et Industrielles initialized?

answer: SMAI

question: What is calculus?

answer: the article does not answer this question

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: Contrôle Optimisation et Calcul des Variations is a journal published by EDP Sciences on behalf of Société de Mathématiques Appliquées et Industrielles that specializes in articles of control theory, optimization, optimal control and calculus variations


text:
BOB KENNARD is an author and agriculturalist from Mid-Wales. He has over 20 years experience in farming, organic food and notably mutton. He was named a Food Hero by The Times in 2005.[1] He received the 'Best Campaigner Award' from BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme in 2009.[2] In 2014, his first book “Much Ado about Mutton” was published by Merlin Unwin press.[3]

[1]

[2] Food and Farming Awards

[3] Merlin Unwin Press

title: Bob Kennard

question: What genre of book does Bob Kennard write?

answer: That information can't be found, but presumably nonfiction.

question: Where was Bob Kennard born?

answer: Presumably in Mid-Wales, although that is not explicitly stated.

question: List the awards received by Bob Kennard.

answer: He was named a Food Hero by The Times in 2005 and received the "Best Campaigner Award" from BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme in 2009.

question: Name one of Bob Kennard's books.

answer: Much Ado about Mutton

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Bob Kennard is an author and agriculturalist from Mid-Wales. He specializes in mutton, and published a book on the subject in 2014. He has received the Food Hero award from the Times and The Best Campaigner Award from BBc Radio 4's The Food Programme.


text:
Via Rail Canada Inc. wants to team up with private-sector investors to pay for expensive upgrades to passenger rail service in the key Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto corridor – with ambitions to build a long dreamt of high-speed connection.

Via chief executive officer Marc Laliberté said in an interview Thursday that if the Crown corporation can make progress in improving service on its key routes, it could attract private financing for new investments requiring deeper pockets.

Most of the high-speed rail expansion in Europe is now done through private-public partnerships, he said, and the same thing could happen in Canada. "This is something we need to look at."

But first, Via has to make enough improvements to show it can make money on its existing track, Mr. Laliberté said. After that foundation is in place, further upgrades to increase speeds – and perhaps dedicated high-speed tracks – could be considered. "If you can bring in a service that attracts a lot of customers and you can make it profitable, then private money could be [attracted to it]," Mr. Laliberté said.

Ideally, he said, the private sector funds would be used to "finance, design, build and maintain" new infrastructure, while "we can operate it."

He noted that big Canadian institutional investors, such as pension funds, seem very interested in ploughing more money into infrastructure projects, so a potentially profitable domestic rail service could glean their interest as well.

Indeed, some large Canadian funds have already bought into high-speed rail projects in other countries. In 2010, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and Borealis Infrastructure – an arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System – paid $3.4-billion for the right to run High Speed One, the rail link from London, England, to the mouth of the channel tunnel.

Currently, Via loses money on most of its services, although the busiest routes in the Windsor-to-Quebec corridor come closest to breaking even.

With $1-billion in infrastructure funding from the federal government that began flowing in 2007, Via is upgrading its locomotives and cars, fixing up stations, adding new tracks and improving its internal information systems. It has also upgraded its wireless Internet service on trains and has built a new first-class lounge in Toronto's Union Station.

That "foundation" is helping the company to improve service and performance, and to run more efficiently, Mr. Laliberté said. It will be followed up by efforts to reduce travel times between major centres – and some of that work could involve private sector funding, he said. But existing track, even in the best conditions, could only accommodate trains running up to 160 kilometres an hour, he said, adding that anything faster would require dedicated rails.

In the meantime,Via is under pressure to reduce its operating expenses because Ottawa has put it on notice that it will be reducing its public support. In the last federal budget, Ottawa said the subsidies to the Crown corporation will be cut by $41-million over the next three years.

Via has already trimmed service on some of its less popular lines, laid off 200 employees, and cut some of the trips on its long-distance Ocean train from Montreal to the Maritimes and the Canadian Transcontinental service from Toronto to the West Coast. Those moves were made in the name of efficiency, rather than in response to the government's cuts, Mr. Laliberté said.

One way to make Via Rail work better and to improve ridership, he said, is to make sure the train schedule is co-ordinated with other forms of travel. The company has already moved to link its schedules with some bus lines in Eastern Canada, commuter rail service in Toronto and Montreal, and Air Transat's service out of Montreal's Trudeau Airport. That allows passengers from Ottawa, for example, to disembark from a Via train at Dorval station – near the airport – and catch a flight to Europe.

question: Who is Marc Laliberté?

answer: He is the CEO of Via Rail Canada Inc.

question: Summarize everything that Marc Laliberté said in the interview.

answer: He said that in order to attract private sectors that could finance its upgrades, Via Rail Inc. needs to improve its current services and show that it can make money on its existing track. He said, to improve ridership, Via needs to make sure the train schedule is coordinated with other forms of travel.

question: What did Via do with the $1-billion in infrastructure funding from the federal government?

answer: It upgraded its locomotives and cars, fixed up stations, added new tracks, improved its internal information systems, upgraded its wireless Internet service on trains, and built a new first-class lounge in Toronto's Union Station.

question: Why did Via lay off 200 employees?

answer: It was a move to improve the company's efficiency.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Via Rail Canada Inc. wanted private investors to fund upgrades in the key Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto corridor. In an interview, CEO Marc Laliberté commented that in order to attract private investors, Via needed to improve its current services and show that it could make money on its existing track.


text:
I'm well into mid-life, have earned both kinds of bachelor's degrees--arts and science--and have given countless presentations as part of this education, as well as through my workin corporate communications. Yet, public speaking has never been something I enjoy doing, mostly because it feels like my nerves wreck everything.

I just finished a book which may be an antidote to my awkwardness in front of a group. In "Five Stars: The Communication Secrets to Get From Good to Great," bestselling author Carmine Gallo lays out exactly how to tell a compelling story, which he explains is the cornerstone of any good pitch, presentation or interview.

While I tell stories on a page all the time, presenting to an audience in-person is an entirely different animal. The written medium is editable, but you've only got one shot when you're talking to a roomful of faces, or even when you're selling yourself or an idea to someone one-on-one.

You need good stories to rock an interview

Gallo tells many stories throughout his book, including that of former poker champion Haseeb Qureshi, who became a millionaire playing cards, but left the game behind to go to Silicon Valley where he learned to code in a year and set off to get hired by a tech company. While he didn't have the kind of talent or experience of others competing for the jobs he was going after, what he did well was perfect his compelling story--the one which was so good it set of a frenzy of offers from the likes of Yelp, Google, Uber and Stripe. The best offer, and the one he accepted, was from Airbnb and worth $250,000 a year. Qureshi's advice for crafting your story:

  Consider yourself a character in a story and structure the story with a beginning, middle and end. There should be inflection points, characters, and easy-to-understand motivations. Keep it as short as possible, while preserving the color that makes you interesting. When they ask, 'Tell us about a challenging bug you faced and how you solved it?,' tell a story.

Gallo writes that Qureshi practiced the stories he used in interviews over and over, recorded himself doing it and got feedback from others.

A good story doesn't blather on

Gallo discusses the reason TED Talks don't go past 18 minutes--anything longer is a recipe for audience boredom. In fact, some of the best stories are much, much shorter. Many of the ones he cites in the book can be delivered in about a minute. "One of the challenges with storytelling is keeping the audience's attention without putting them to sleep with a long, ponderous story," he writes. "Details are vital, but it takes practice and feedback to keep your stories compelling and brief."

Your story needs tension, struggle and a happy ending

Gallo describes the classic three-act storytelling structure, which involves three parts: the set-up, the confrontation and the resolution. It's a framework commonly used in Hollywood screenwriting, as well as in the startup world wherein founders sell their stories to elicit buy-in from investors, customers and consumers. Take Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. While Gallo takes a couple of pages to script the story, basically it comes down to:

_THE SETUP_: Two friends in San Francisco need money, rent out a couple of air mattresses on their floor and decide to turn the idea into a business.

_THE CONFLICT_: Chesky has no money for food, loses 20 pounds and vacillates between stress and overconfidence in the idea of people renting out their couches and bedrooms to strangers. Investors walk away from the opportunity to own 20 percent of the now $30 billion company for only $100,000.

_THE RESOLUTION_: Even after missing the deadline for application (more tension), Airbnb gets into the highly selective Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator.

This strategy which keeps an audience in suspense and includes tension, struggle and a happy ending, triggers a release of oxytocin in listeners' brains, Gallo writes.

I could highlight several other storytelling principles Gallo includes in the book, but you're probably better off reading through the whole thing yourself. Of the many self-improvement books I've read in the last six months, this one is hands-down the most helpful, at least for someone like me who doesn't see herself as a naturally gifted orator.

question: Summarize what the author of this review thinks are the highlights of "Five Stars: The Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great".

answer: The author seems to appreciate that the author of this book, Carmine Gallo, is not loquacious or pretentious in his wording, making the content more accessible and applicable. He has good stories plucked from his own life, that are unique and well-spun. Gallo also utilizes what this author considers the crucial tenets of any good story, screenplay, or book to talk about what makes for good storytelling: tension, the build-up, and resolution.

question: Describe the stages of good storytelling.

answer: The first is the setup, which is where you would provide the context from which the story springs and unfolds. Then is the conflict, or source of tension. Next the resolution follows, which allows for everything to be smoothed over. This three-part structure, according to Gallo, is a typical Hollywood framework, but it also translates to the world of tech startups.

question: Explain the author's (of this article) intention in writing this review.

question: Summarize how this text relates to public speaking.

answer: Public speaking can prove daunting even to those in the academic or tech world who have ample material and are used to communicating with others-something to which the author can attest, as they have degrees in both the arts as well as the sciences, but harbor a fear of talking in front of other. The text they are reviewing relates storytelling strategies utilized by writers in traditional contexts-dating back to historic times-to communicating effectively and with ease in the sphere of public speaking. The author admires how Gallo discusses how a poker champion not well-versed in tech became a well-paid programmer due to having the ability to craft and to relay a compelling story. The story is what hooks people and gets you what you want. Gallo encourages his readers to consider themselves a character in the stories they are telling, and believes that speaking to others will come more easily once one has honed this aspect of great storytelling.


text:
Last night, a Las Vegas gunman killed over 50 people and injured hundreds in the worst mass shooting in modern American history.

The hundreds wounded are being tended to in Clark County’s network of hospitals in Nevada. But because this is a country that has never had guaranteed universal health care, they will soon be besieged by a second tragedy: enormous medical bills.

This morning, Clark County Commission Chair Steve Sisolak, set up a GoFundMe, a private crowdfunding platform, to request charity for those injured in the massacre.

Sisolak, who is running for governor as a Democrat, pitched in $10,000 and explained that he is currently at the county’s level-one trauma center with victims:

  I’m Steve Sisolak, Clark County Commission Chair from Las Vegas. We are raising funds to assist the victim’s of the tragic Las Vegas shooting. I am at Clark County’s only level-one trauma center with the victims and their families as we speak.

  Funds will be used to provide relief and financial support to the victims and families of the horrific Las Vegas mass shooting?.

Nevada’s Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval vetoed legislation over the summer that would have allowed Nevadans to buy into the state’s Medicaid program.

Asking strangers for charitable donations to tackle medical bills is ubiquitous in the United States. A report by NerdWallet released in 2015 found that $930 million of the $2 billion raised by GoFundMe since its 2010 launch have been related to medical bills. Yet NerdWallet’s comprehensive survey of crowdfunding sites found that barely 1 in 10 medical campaigns raised the full amount they asked for.

Contrast this American experience with that of some of our allies. In June, dozens of people were injured and eight people were killed when London terrorists ran a van through a crowd and then proceeded to stab multiple people. It was the second major terror attack of the year, the first one being in March in Manchester.

In the United Kingdom, most health care is free. The National Health Service, erected in the ashes of World War II, provides comprehensive health care to all British residents.

At the London attack, NHS staff were on the scene within  six minutes, aiding the injured. Last month, the NHS gave a special honor to the first responders, nurses, and doctors who aided the victims of the London terror attack. “They highlighted the resilience and the compassion of the NHS staff who time after time responded to victims, who had suffered unimaginable injuries – putting the needs of those people first. This is the NHS at its best,” Jane Cummings, chief nursing officer of the NHS, said.

In the Manchester attack, American Kurt Cochran was killed. His wife, Melissa Cochran, returned to the U.S. with the need for continuous care. With no American NHS, she had to set up a GoFundMe to finance her treatment. Thankfully, this one both met and exceeded its goal, having raised $83,512.

It’s the price of a free-market approach to health care.

Top photo: A wounded victim is walked in on a wheelbarrow as Las Vegas police respond during an active shooting situation in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, 2017.

question: What is the first tragedy?

answer: A gunman killed over 50 people and injured hundreds.

question: What is the second tragedy?

answer: This is a county that has never had guaranteed universal health care, the second tragedy will be enormous medical bills.

question: Who set up the Gofundme crowdfunding campaign to request charity for those injured in the massacre?

answer: Steve Sisolak, Clark County Commission Chair from Las Vegas.

question: Why did he set up the crowdfunding campaign?

answer: He is running for governor as a Democrat.

question: How does the American health care system differ from that in the United Kingdom?

answer: In the United Kingdom, most health care is free. The National Health Service provides comprehensive health care to all British residents. In America health care is not free.

question: What is the author's conclusion?

answer: That this is the price being paid for a free-market approach to health care.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: In the aftermath of the worst mass shooting in American history, a second tragedy is unfolding - medical bills. There is a major difference between the American health care system and that of other developed countries. In other countries, health care is covered, in America crowdfunding is employed to cover medical expenses. This is the price of a free-market approach to health care.


text:
“Be careful what you wish for.”In the Arizona desert,in a small town,on a motel bed,this thought goes through Travis Tanners mind. He looked at his hand,The gun had fused with his skin 3 days ago. It contained 1 bullet then,now it carry's 3. Travis remembered what the gun said to him the day he found it. “kill them, leave me.” a cryptic message that was decoded to late. All he had to do was kill a man and the gun would let go. He refused,causing unforeseen consequences. The next day a bullet was added. In some sick way he knew what it meant,now two people must die. He knew what he had to do. Guided by the words of the gun,he came to Red Sand Flats. A kind of town that has a diner,a motel,a convenient store,and a police station. That's it. 8 people live in this town,cut off from the rest of the world. On the day he rode in to this place,Travis was drunk. He passed out in his motel room,and woke up with another bullet. He sobbed.

Travis was going to be a writer. He had tried for years to get a book published. Sadly his own perfectionism got in the way. He ripped up many rough drafts,threw them away. He needed to get the emotions perfect. Three months of working on a horror story. In anyone's eyes it would be considered a masterpiece. Travis deleted it because he couldn't get the emotion of killing someone 100% accurate. Countless hours watching interviews with soldiers, and reading serial killer autobiographies was to no avail. He gave up, decided to change genres,but it was to late. The package had been sent,there was no going back. Halfway through his new book he got a package at his apartment. A present complete with warping paper,and a bow. Inside it was the most beautiful revolver he had ever seen. Custom bone grip, and a barrel so polished he could see himself in it. It called to him,beckoned him to pick it up. He made the greatest mistake of his life that day.

She was gaining more power. Everyday that went by,every bullet added to the gun. Was more control over Travis. If he failed to sacrifice,she would have complete control over him. She had to wait only three more days,three more bullets,until she won this sick game. Until she finally broke free of her prison. This was not her first time going through this. She had created many psychopaths in her time. From school shootings to bank robbery's,someone always shook her off. Not this time, Travis wasn't going to kill anyone,she was sure of it.

The writer,with eyes bloodshot,and breath that could get you drunk,left his room. The sun nearly blinded him, though he didn't care. The gun controlled parts of him already, if he waited any longer it would never let him kill. Never get him his freedom back. On the way to the dinner he stopped to look at his reflection in a window. Black jeans,White tank top with beer stains,and messy hair. He looked like a man with nothing to loose. He didn't,with only a dog at home,no one would mind him going to jail. Or something similar.

He thought about the events leading up to this as he crossed the street. All the serial killers he studied, all the interviews with family members of the victims. Here he was about to create another 20/20 special. “ If I wait any longer it will be worse. Just go in there and do it.” he gives himself a pep talk.”You don't have to kill anyone.” the gun spoke directly to his brain. She was part of him now. She could read his mind,control some actions. That goes both ways though. He knows what she needs,knows what she will do if she get's it. Travis has to do this or worse things will happen. It was a sacrifice he had to make,just like the others before him.

It took all the strength he had to open the diner door. She used as much control over him as she had. Not fully powered, all she could do was slow him down. 5 people in the diner,some tourists stopped by earlier, but he couldn't tell them apart from the locals. he gets a table and orders a pink lemonade. He sips it as he thinks of what will happen. People will die,families will grieve,the town will be filled with a sadness for months,and he would go to jail. It was a sub-par situation to put it blankly. Having no way to choose who to kill,he did a simple thing. He played spin the bottle. He laughed to himself of how childish it was. She started talking to him.”Sleep,rest,relax” Each word was a command,and each was disobeyed. He tried hard to probe his brain for any memory of Hers that had passed to him. Visions of previous hosts moved like a sick slide show in his mind. Some loved it,embraced it,became psychopaths. Some killed the first day,some the 5th . No one had let her win,and he wasn't about to brake the streak. He took a deep breath,prayed,and opened fire.

Each bullet that left the gun was like taking an allergy pill. His vision got better as he killed the waitress. Killing a biker gave him back control of himself. Shooting a hiker made the gun fall to the floor. It detached with a pop, it was the most glorious feeling he had ever felt. The sensation of air where the gun was made him smile. It hit the tiled floor with a clank. His hand was red and itchy but he couldn't scratch it,there were people that wanted him to put his hands in the air. Being as happy as he was, he came peacefully.

  Mark and Lucy sat at the dinner table. They did the usual small talk,but mostly they just ate. “Did you hear about that psycho down in Red Sand Flats?” mark asks through a mouthful of food. “You mean that writer that went crazy? Yeah Jamie told me about it at work. Poor town it was a nice place, sad there have to be people like him in the world” she took a sip of her wine. Mark talks while she drinks. “Yeah what a freak,they say he says he thought a gun was attached to his hand. The only way he could get it off was to kill people. Can you believe that? What a text-book freak.” they both agree and change the subject.

That Is Travis Tanners reward for saving humanity. Being talked about at dinner tables across America,hated by everyone. He gets to rot in a padded room, deemed crazy for telling the truth. So is the fate of those chosen to make the sacrifice.

title: The Sacrifice.

question: What does he refuse?

answer: To kill a man

question: Are the unforeseen consequences that two people must  die?

answer: Yes a bullet gets added everyday that he doesn't kill someone.

question: Who sent the package?

answer: Someone who is referred to as 'she'.

question: What does 'guided by the words of the gun' mean?

answer: The gun seems to be able to communicate telling him if he kills someone it will detach itself from his hand

question: Write a ~6 sentence summary.

answer: Travis gets a package with a gun when he grabs the gun it fuses with his hand. In order to remove the gun he must kill someone. Every day he doesn't a new bullet gets added which means he has to kill another person. At first he refuses to kill anyone and she (the person who sent the gun) gains power over him every day he doesn't kill someone. Eventually Travis decides to kill. Everyone thinks he is just a deranged killer for thinking a gun was attached to his hand.


text:
The SANDOW ATHLETIC CLUB was a sports club in the Philippines.

Established in 1906, the football team participated in the first official match in the Philippines on October 15, 1906 in celebration of the opening of the Philippine Assembly. Sandow was awarded a trophy, a silver cup by then Governor William Howard Taft for winning the contest. The football team then became the Sandow Athletic Club in 1909 and began to accommodate other sports.[1]

[1]

title: Sandow Athletic Club

question: What future president awarded Sandow a trophy?

answer: William Howard Taft

question: When was the club's name changed?

answer: 1909

question: How long ago was the club formed?

answer: More information is needed to answer the question.

question: What was the full name after whom the club was named?

answer: More information is needed to answer the question.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This article discusses the Sandow athletic team. It goes over its history and some accolades received by the team.


text:
In these, the last few hours of International Women's Day, we should point out at least one industry that women are still largely shut out of: the movie trailer voice-over racket. Despite research that suggests people prefer the soothing cadence of a woman's voice to a man's voice, — hence the nearly ubiquitous British lady monotone on GPS devices — a man's voice apparently sounds more credible, an important characteristic if you're a studio head trying to convince people that your new movie isn't just a big bag of shit.

Jeff Dannis, the bespectacled voice-over authority featured in this BBC clip, confirms that men are perceived by the people hawking movies as holding more sway over potential audiences. "Science," he says, "has said that women trust men's voice more than women's voices, and certainly men trust men's voices more than women's voices. That's how it's been, but it's evolving." To be fair, Dannis, after he's done citing vague scientific findings, and everyone else in this clip seem pretty upbeat about women's voice-over prospects in the future, if for no other reason than studios are dying for ways to fill increasingly vacant theaters. Even if it means having a woman tell you, over the cacophony of digital monsters, that _Wrath of the Titans_ is the must-see movie event of the doldrums stretching between award season and summer.

Do you hear that? It's the gravelly baritone of the patriarchy telling you to go see a movie, any movie, this weekend.

Why Don't Women Narrate Trailers? [Movie Line]

Why Men Will Always Tell You to See Movies [NY Times]

question: Why do GPS voices are mostly women's?

answer: The author says people prefer the soothing cadence.

question: Why do movie trailer voiceovers are spoken mostly by men?

answer: The consensus seems to be that people find men's voices more trustworthy.

question: What does the author think the cause of the gender disparity is in trailer voiceovers?

answer: Patriarchy.

question: How desperate are the movie studios for customers?

answer: So desperate that they would consider letting a woman do the voiceovers, alleges the author.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: In the last few hours of International Women's Day, the author points out that virtually no women are narrating over movie trailers. The author says people prefer the soothing cadence of a woman's voice, citing the ubiquitous British lady voices on GPS devices. Then, she quotes Jeff Dannis who says people trust men's voices more than women's, insinuating his opinions come from some vague research. She finishes by saying "It's the gravelly baritone of the patriarchy telling you to go see a movie, any movie, this weekend."


text:
The 315TH RIFLE DIVISION was a standard Red Army rifle division formed for the first time on February 12, 1942 in the Siberian Military District before being sent to the vicinity of Stalingrad, where it was engaged in the futile efforts to break through to the besieged city from the north near Kotluban. After rebuilding, it was part of the southern thrust of Operation Uranus in November, helping to encircle the German 6th Army and also to hold off its would-be rescuers. During 1943 and early 1944 the division advanced through the southern Donbass and into Ukraine, where it was honored for its role in the liberation of Melitopol, before taking part in the liberation of the Crimea in April and May, 1944. The men and women of the 315th ended their war on an anti-climactic note, serving for the last year as part of the garrison of the Crimea. However, the unit, and its successors, continued to serve well into the postwar era.

Formation

The 315th began forming on February 12, 1942, at Barnaul in the Siberian Military District.[1] Maj. Gen. Mikhail Semyonovich Knyazev was assigned to command the same day and he would remain in this position for the next year. When it finished forming in the Altaisk region in May it had 12,439 officers and men assigned, 64.4 percent of whom were under 30 years of age. Its basic order of battle was as follows:

-   362nd Rifle Regiment
-   724th Rifle Regiment
-   1328th Rifle Regiment
-   1012th Artillery Regiment

By the end of May the division had moved west and was assigned to the 8th Reserve Army in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command.[2]

Stalingrad Campaign

In August the 315th was first assigned to the 1st Guards Army,[3] to the north of Stalingrad, but it arrived at the front at a moment of particular crisis, just as the German 6th Army's XIV Panzer Corps completed its advance from the Don River to the Volga River, north of the city, on August 23. Col. Gen. A.I. Yeryomenko, commander of the Southeastern Front, ordered the division to reinforce the defenses of 4th Tank Army, on the north side of the “Volga Corridor”. Two days later it was part of _Group Kovalenko_, along with two tank corps and two other rifle divisions, ordered to attack southwards against the corridor. The attack made little progress.[4]

On August 30, the forces of _Group Kovalenko_ were integrated into 1st Guards Army, which had been transferred to Stalingrad Front,[5] but they had already suffered heavy losses in the fighting south and southeast of Kotluban between August 26 - 28; the 315th was down by about one-third of its initial strength. During a further assault by 1st Guards on September 3 the 724th Rifle Regiment penetrated the corridor and worked its way into the defense of the village of Orlovka, north-northwest of the city, coming under command of 62nd Army. As of September 11, this Army reported the 315th with a strength of 2,873 men, but as only one regiment of the division was under its command, this must refer to the 724th. By September 12, the remainder of the division, less the 724th, had been transferred to 24th Army, still north of the corridor. On the 16th, 62nd Army reported that the remnants of the 315th under its command were part of the Northern Combat Sector, and were continuing to defend their previous positions. The remaining men of the 724th were eventually incorporated into the 124th and 149th Rifle Brigades, which continued to hold their positions at Spartanovka for the duration of the battle.[6]

Meanwhile, the rump 315th was transferred briefly to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for rebuilding, then into the rear of Stalingrad Front on September 25, along with the rebuilding 87th Rifle Division, first to Kamyshin on the Volga and ultimately to the 10th Reserve Army, positioned 70 - 80km southwest of Kamyshin. In late October these divisions were officially subordinated to 62nd Army, but they remained on the east bank as a strategic reserve.[7] As the planning for Operation Uranus progressed, its starting date was postponed several times, in part due to delays in making these two divisions completely operational. Gen. G.K. Zhukov sent a message to the _STAVKA_ on November 11 notifying that he was postponing the offensive until the 15th in part because: In the end, rail and road transport remained inadequate and major bottlenecks existed throughout the buildup; when the offensive finally opened on November 19, the two divisions, which were supposed to be in Stalingrad by this time, were stranded at the railroad station at Borisoglebsk.[8]

When the division finally arrived near the front in the first days of December it was assigned to 51st Army in Stalingrad Front, south of the now-encircled 6th Army. Anticipating an attempt to break through to the encirclement, on December 8 the _STAVKA_ ordered the formation of the new 5th Shock Army in the area of the confluence of the Don and Chir Rivers to counter any German offensive from the shorter western route, and the 315th was assigned to this Army. The assembly of 5th Shock went remarkably quickly, and by the end of the day on December 10 the division was taking up jumping-off positions on the east bank of the Don opposite Nizhne-Chirskaya. 5th Shock began its offensive on the 13th; the 315th cleared the enemy from the woods east of Verkhne-Chirski while 7th Tank Corps captured the vital strongpoint of Rychkovsky, which compromised the German bridgehead east of the Chir. On the following day the division seized a small bridgehead on the west bank of the Don. These actions, plus others by forces of 5th Shock, eliminated any threat of a German relief operation from the west.[9]

The relief operation from the southwest, Operation Winter Storm, had been defeated by December 19. Three days previously, the Soviet forces launched Operation Little Saturn, which smashed the Italian 8th Army and began sweeping the Axis forces out of the Caucasus. In the last days of the month the 315th took part in the Tormosin Offensive Operation against the German Corps Mieth in the region between the lower Chir and the lower Don. The town of Tormosin fell to units of 2nd Guards Army on December 31, and 5th Shock continued driving westwards to the Donbass in early 1943.[10]

Into the Donbass and Ukraine

In January, 1943, the 315th, along with the rest of 5th Shock Army, was reassigned to Southern Front.[11] General Knyazev departed from the division and was replaced by Col. Dmitry Semyonovich Kuropatenko on February 4. Kuropatenko would be promoted to Major General on September 1. On February 18 the division was coming up against the Mius River, at Berestovo and Russkoe, facing the German defenses that had been built along that line a year earlier. The next day enemy counterattacks forced the division's units back to the eastern edge of Berestovo. Despite repeated efforts during the rest of the month to force the German line, only small bridgeheads were won, and the fighting stalled on the Mius until July.[12]

On July 17 the commander of Southern Front, Col. Gen. F. I. Tolbukhin, launched a new assault across the Mius with 5th Shock and 2nd Guards Armies, backed by two mechanized corps and supported by an attack from the 44th Army. Seven rifle divisions, including the 315th, were committed against the boundary of the 294th and 306th Infantry Divisions of XVII Army Corps. Under the weight of massive artillery and air attack the German forces suffered serious casualties, and the Soviet divisions soon won a bridgehead as much as 4km deep. On the morning of the 18th the German commander threw in his only mobile reserve, 16th Panzergrenadier Division, which made no progress and lost 20 tanks. By the end of the day the Soviet bridgehead was 30km deep and 45km wide, but German reserves were approaching.[13]

After the Red Army offensive came to a standstill, those armored reserves launched _Operation Roland_ at 0810 hrs. on July 30. While the 2nd SS Panzer Corps made a poor showing against the main part of the Soviet bridgehead, the supporting attack by XXIV Panzer Corps against the 315th was much more successful due to neglect of the most basic defensive precautions. Most of the division was encircled by 1145 hrs. 3,000 men were lost as prisoners, and the entire left flank of the bridgehead was destabilized.[14]

In August the division went into the 54th Rifle Corps in 51st Army, still in Southern Front, which became 4th Ukrainian Front on October 20. Three days later, the 315th was granted the honorific “Melitopol” for its role in the liberation of that city:

Crimean Campaign

54th Corps moved to 2nd Guards Army in February, 1944, and the 315th took part in the liberation of the Crimea in April - May, 1944. In recognition of its success in the Perekop and Sivash operations the 315th was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on April 24. In late May, after the Crimea was cleared of the enemy, the division was transferred to the Separate Coastal Army, where it remained for the duration of the war on garrison duty under the Reserve of the Supreme High Command.[15] On November 2, Col. Askanaz Georgievich Karapetian was promoted to the rank of Major General, and he would hold this command until the end of hostilities. At the end of the war, the official title of the division was 315th Rifle, Melitopol, Order of the Red Banner Division. (Russian: 315-я стрелковая Мелитопольская Краснознамённая дивизия.)

Postwar

The division was garrisoning Kerch by the end of the war. By the spring of 1947, the division had become the 7th Separate Rifle Brigade, part of the Tauric Military District. In December 1951, the 7th Brigade was expanded to reform the 315th Division. In 1955, the division was redesignated the 52nd Rifle Division. On 4 April 1956, the district headquarters was converted into the 45th Rifle Corps, of which the division became part. In 1957, the division became the 52nd Motor Rifle Division, and the corps became the 45th Army Corps. In March 1967, the corps headquarters was transferred to Bikin, and 52 MRD, remaining in the Crimea, was subordinated to the new 32nd Army Corps.

The division was transferred to Nizhneudinsk in the Transbaikal Military District in April 1969. However, its 91st Motor Rifle Regiment was left in Crimea to become the base for the 157th Motor Rifle Division. The division, along with two others moved from European Russia, formed the nucleus of the new 29th Army. The new 459th Motor Rifle Regiment replaced the 91st MRR. On 1 December 1987, the division became the 978th Territorial Training Center. On 1 July 1990, it became the 5208th Weapons and Equipment Storage Base. The storage base was disbanded in 1994.[16]

[1] Walter S. Dunn, Jr., _Stalin's Keys to Victory_, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2006, p. 108, states the month was March.

[2] Charles C. Sharp, _“Red Swarm”, Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From 1942 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. X_, Nafziger, 1996, p. 118

[3] Dunn, Jr., _Stalin's Keys_, p. 108

[4] David M. Glantz, _To the Gates of Stalingrad_, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2009, pp. 339, 350

[5] Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, p. 171

[6] Glantz, _Armageddon in Stalingrad_, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2009, pp. 38-39, 41-42, 61, 68, 85, 102, 144

[7] Glantz, _Armageddon_, pp. 272, 440

[8] Glantz, _Endgame, Book One_, p. 92

[9] Glantz, _Endgame at Stalingrad, Book Two_, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2014, pp. 26-27, 58-59, 65, 71, 79, 125

[10] Glantz, _Endgame, Book Two_, pp. 273, 280-81

[11] Sharp, _“Red Swarm”_, p. 118

[12] Glantz, _After Stalingrad_, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2009, pp. 207, 212, 214

[13] Robert Forczyk, _Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front 1943-1945_, Pen & Sword Books Ltd., Barnsley, UK, 2016, p. 150

[14] Forczyk, pp. 152-53

[15] Sharp, _“Red Swarm”_, p. 118

[16]

title: 315th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

question: What is the focus of this post?

answer: The Soviet Union's 315th Rifle Division.

question: What was the first engagement of the formation of the 315th Rifle Division?

answer: The first engagement was in Stalingrad, where it tried to break through to the besieged city.

question: Who was in command when the division was first formed?

answer: Maj. Gen. Mikhail Semyonovich Knyazev was in charge of the division.

question: Why was the division awarded the Order of the Red Banner?

answer: In recognition of its success in the Perekop and Sivash operations.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The post details Soviet Union's 315th Rifle Division. When the division was first formed, it was under the command of Maj. Gen. Mikhail Semyonovich Knyazev.


text:
Last Friday, Tommy Robinson was arrested and jailed for live streaming members of a gang accused of grooming children on their way to face trial at Leeds Crown Court. The former leader of the English Defense League and outspoken anti-Muslim right-winger has used Facebook Live and Twitter to rant many times in the past on Muslim immigration and the rise of rape in Britain by predominantly Muslim gangs. Although Robinson was excused from serving prison time (with a warning) in the past, this incident led to a 13-month sentence. We are now left with interesting questions regarding free speech, hate speech, and harassment, both in America and as an international community.

On one hand, such powerful consequences for Robinson’s speech, despite its hateful content, may be viewed as a deeply problematic attack on freedom and democracy. Western society not only allows but relies on the open exchange of ideas and opinions. Even if some ideas are more worthy than others, a government filter on what or who may come to the conversation is not a truly just conversation at all. On this view, Robinson should be allowed to freely use the most relevant forms of speech today, including Facebook and Twitter, to provide his opinions.

On the other hand, however, one may question whether Robinson’s particular methods are really forms of speech so much as unbridled harassment. Rather than simply sharing his opinion thoughtfully or geographically removed from the courts, Robinson has aggressively pursued darker-skinned men on trial, making his anti-Muslim accusations. His presumption of Muslim guilt is itself an attack on Western justice, disrespecting the courts’ wishes for privacy and space to determine these cases.

So…what do you think? Should people be able to express these anti-Muslim sentiments? Or, do you believe Robinson’s speech merits prison time?

*By taking this poll, you consent to receive poll results and email newsletters from The Western Journal. You can update your preferences or unsubscribe at any time.

question: What freedom is called into question in this article?

answer: Freedom of speech

question: What was Robinson's sentence?

answer: 13-months in jail

question: What kind of activism des Robinson engage in?

answer: Anti-Muslim activism

question: What kind of gangs was the subject of the article accused of filming?

answer: Muslim gangs

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This article reports on the arrest of Tommy Robinson, accused of filming and live streaming Muslim gangs. It also raises the question of whether such an arrest is a violation of free speech, or an act necessary to preserve the integrity of the legal system.


text:
Latest updates

9.58pm on Jun 11, 2016

Full-time: England 39 Australia 28

TRY England! Australia lose the ball near halfway and Danny Care makes a clean break. He keeps it alive, Ford kicks through and Jack Nowell seals the victory. Farrell converts. Eddie is a happy man but the notoriously hard taskmaster will know it's job only partly done.

9.53pm on Jun 11, 2016

Australia run it from their own 22. Determined to keep it in hand for this final assault...

9.51pm on Jun 11, 2016

Mumm steals the ball in the lineout and with three-and-a-half to go and behind by seven Australia win a scrum penalty. Foley puts it straight through the uprights. AUSTRALIA 28 ENGLAND 32

9.49pm on Jun 11, 2016

That man Kuridrani bundled over the sideline by Ford and Mako Vunipola. Good front-foot ball for the Wallabies, with Folau going close to breaking the line, but England now looking to slow down the match. They maul it off the lineout and go downtown.

9.46pm on Jun 11, 2016

Wallabies come back again

Try Kuridrani. That's his strength, direct and unstoppable close to the line. Good ball from Phipps. Foley converts. AUSTRALIA 25 ENGLAND 32

9.43pm on Jun 11, 2016

England holding out under huge pressure. Folau makes the break on the right, but Phipps gets smothered in some desperate defence. Kuridrani could have done better but England scramble well.

9.40pm on Jun 11, 2016

Pocock knocks on after Hooper did well in the lineout. With the ball loose, Mumm, tries to pick it up from an offside position. Three more to Farrell. Penalties the story of this game for the Wallabies. AUSTRALIA 18 ENGLAND 32

9.37pm on Jun 11, 2016

Foley's kick too deep and George Ford takes the mark. It settles down play after a midfield kicking duel. Slipper comes on for Sio, after his sin-bin period was up. Australia actually made a net gain while Sio was off.

9.34pm on Jun 11, 2016

It hasn't changed in the second half.

9.32pm on Jun 11, 2016

Australia back in this! Good phase possession, quick ball and Foley picks out Folau with a wonderful skip pass. Hooper goes over out wide. Australia asking questions whenever they do well in the collision zone at the breakdown. Foley misses the conversion. Big finish coming up. AUSTRALIA 18 ENGLAND 29

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question: What is the main point of this document?

answer: The main point of this document is to report on a rugby game between England and Australia.

question: What does Kuridrani do?

answer: He is bundled over the sideline by Ford and Mako Vunipola

question: Who wins the game?

answer: England appears to win the game.

question: Where does the subject of this document take place?

answer: It's not clear where the game is being played.

question: Why is Eddie a happy man?

answer: Eddie is a happy man because England won the game.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: At the time of this document, a rugby game between Australia and England is described. England secured a win for the game.


text:
DOUGLAS M. BAKER JR. (born December 5, 1958) is chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Ecolab, Inc.,[1] a Fortune 500 company in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services.[2]

Career

Baker joined Ecolab in 1989, initially holding various marketing and leadership positions in the U.S. and Europe including vice president and general manager of Kay Chemical Co. a division of Ecolab that provides cleaning and sanitizing programs tailored specifically for the quick food service (fast food) and food retail (supermarket and grocery) markets.

Baker then became vice president of Ecolab’s Institutional business sector, which provides cleaning and sanitation products, programs and services to food service, hospitality, healthcare, and commercial customers in North America.

Baker was named Ecolab’s president and chief operating officer in 2002, president and chief executive officer in 2004 and added chairman of the board responsibilities in 2006. From 12/31/2013 to 12/31/2017, Ecolab's sales grew from $3.6 billion to $14 billion, a 268% increase, and shareholder's equity increased 476%.[3]

Baker has received numerous awards and recognition throughout his career. Most recently, he was awarded the 2018 Deming Cup for Operational Excellence.[4] He was named to the Forbes Global 2000: Hall of Fame CEOs,[5] and named 2014 Responsible CEO of the Year by Corporate Responsibility Magazine. He also was named one of the world's top CEOs by Harvard Business Review in 2016 (#41) and 2017 (#39)[6] and was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame in 2012.[7]

Before joining Ecolab, Baker spent seven years with Procter & Gamble in various brand management positions.

In addition to his Ecolab responsibilities, Baker serves as a member of the board of directors of Target Corporation, as a member of the board of trustees of Mayo Clinic,[8] and as trustee emeritus of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. He is a former member of the board of directors of U.S. Bancorp and past member of the board of overseers at the University of Minnesota. [9] He also serves on the board of trustees of the College of the Holy Cross, his alma mater.[10]

Community involvement

Baker is active in the civic life of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn. He serves on the executive committee of the Greater MSP Partnership, a private-public partnership whose mission is to stimulate economic growth and prosperity in the region. Baker also serves on the board of overseers of the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota and on the executive committee of the Minnesota Business Partnership, an organization of CEOs from Minnesota’s top 100 companies focused on further enhancing the region’s quality of life. He is a board member of Parent Aware for School Readiness (PASR), a nonprofit organization to support the statewide expansion of Parent Aware, Minnesota’s Quality Rating and Improvement System. Baker and his wife Julie also chaired the 2012 Twin Cities United Way fundraising campaign. [11]

Baker also was a co-chair of the host committee for Super Bowl LII, which was held in February 2018 in Minneapolis. [12] He co-led a successful $40 million campaign for Catholic Charities to support a new campus for homeless services in downtown St. Paul.[13]

Education

Baker earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., where he majored in English. He currently serves on the college's board of trustees.

[1]

[2] Ecolab New Releases: http://www.ecolab.com/media-center/news-releases

[3] https://investor.ecolab.com/earnings-center/annual-reports

[4] https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/deming/the_deming_cup/2018

[5] Forbes Global 200 Hall of Fame CEOs: https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveschaefer/2015/05/06/global-2000-american-tower-gilead-ryanair-nrg-energy/

[6] https://hbr.org/2017/11/the-best-performing-ceos-in-the-world-2017

[7] http://tcbmag.com/honors/articles/2012/2012-minnesota-business-hall-of-fame/douglas-baker-jr

[8] https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/ecolab-ceo-joins-mayo-clinic-board-of-trustees/

[9] DOUGLAS M. BAKER, JR. BIO: http://www.ecolab.com/our-story/our-leadership/meet-our-chairman-and-ceo

[10] https://catalog.holycross.edu/governance/#trusteestext

[11]

[12]

[13] https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/05/05/40-million-raised-to-meet-stpaul-homeless-needs

title: Douglas M. Baker Jr.

question: When was Douglas M. Baker Jr. born?

answer: December 5, 1958.

question: What year did Baker join Ecolab?

answer: 1989.

question: What is his present-day position there?

answer: He is chairman of the board and chief executive officer.

question: What was Baker's college major?

answer: English

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: Douglas M. Baker Jr. is chairman of the board and chief executive officer at Ecolab, a Fortune 500 company in water, hygiene, and energy technologies and services.


text:
Silver Heart
By Tom Brosman

Three silver salmon with dark green backs and chrome colored sides rested in the clear water of Charlie Creek.  They were less than a mile from home where they would spawn and they could smell their “home waters” where they began their lives.

Charlie Creek was eight feet across.  It drained with the outgoing tide into Grays Harbor and at full tide it was several feet deep.  The three great fish had made the perilous trip home from the ocean into Grays Harbor and found the smell of Charlie Creek like the welcoming porch light to a weary traveler.   It was a journey to spawn and start more journeys.

Noland saw them there in the clean cold water.  He had parked his pickup by the 3 big fir trees and walked slowly through the salt grass.  He smelled the air and felt the warm sun on his shoulders like an act of kindness to another weary traveler.  He closed his eyes to see her again, to feel her, to perhaps breathe some of the last air that she had breathed.  He could just hear her voice now, just smell her hair and feel the tug inside of him of the abiding, forever love he carried for her.

He stood there, with his fishing pole and thought of happier times and a love that was rooted deeply in the bottom of his soul.  It was an unrequited love that he still dangled upon.  He could hear them, Noland and Jenny when they were six years old playing along these banks.  He remembered those years of youth and times with Jenny.  He remembered her hair and her laughter.  She always said that he was too serious about things and that she made it a point never to be.

Noland was a complex man, except for how he loved.  He was born and old soul with room for only one woman and for her, there was and abundance of nurturing, protection and devotion.  Jenny it was and Jenny it would always be.  Jenny was a kind girl with a yellow pony tail and laughing eyes.  She was never meant to be someone’s’ soul mate.  “What an odd concept” she had thought.  She gave Noland friendship and laughter and even dated him in their high school years, but she would belong to no one.

Noland had fallen for her when they were children.  When he was 12, he had mowed lawns all summer and taken the money to Herbig Jewelers and bought a sterling silver heart with a loop in the top for her to hang it in her bedroom.  The heart filled her palm and he told her that she owned his heart forever.  She was gracious as always and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Jenny came to his high school football games and many nights they walked the banks of Charlie Creek and talked as the moonlight made the water sparkle and sent long shadows from the big fir trees.

A flock of Canadian Geese flew over him as he visited the past.  He felt at home there on Charlie Creek.  It was the best place to remember her.  Not only were the smells and sounds the same, but the trees and rocks along the creek remembered Jenny and her laughter.  So, he was among friends who understood.

It was at Christmas time in their senior year at Aberdeen High School that his fears came true and Jenny found a new boyfriend that was “more fun”.  A few days after graduation, his dad and mom had driven him to SeaTac where he caught a plane for Marine Corp boot camp and a new life.

The Corp was a haven to Noland and he took to the lifestyle.  He won two Purple Hearts  fighting in the Middle East.  He had just finished his 23rd year as a Marine, when a letter from his mother found him in Iraq.  He was the sergeant of the Stryker Brigade and as the Humvee bumped along, he opened her letter.  Usually his mother told him about the salmon runs or how it was time that his dad retired from Weyerhaeuser, a job he loved.
This letter was short.  “Son, I am so sorry.  Jenny passed away from cancer this morning.”  The decorated sergeant, strong from battle who shared the Humvee with 5 of his men began to sob.  The marines around him gave him his privacy and looked the other way.  Loss was a part of life to them and to a man, they understood.

Noland finally cast his lure upstream from the salmon and twitched it down to them.
A large male took the lure and he set the hook and fought the fish until he could beach him.  The fish was just what he needed for his parent 55th anniversary and he placed it in the gunny sack he had carried and wet it in the water to keep the fish fresh until he could get it home and clean it.  He put the fish in the shade and went back to his memories.

There was a big boulder that Jenny and Noland used to set on talk and joke.  He found his old place there and dangled his legs in the warm sunshine.  Without thinking, the wounded man reached into a crevice in the rock that was protected from the weather.
It had been their secret hiding place and their post office where they left notes for each other.  He reached inside and felt a plastic object.  He placed it on his lap in wonder.
With his knife he cut the strings and unwrapped several layers of plastic garbage bag.
There was a tremble that ran from body to soul in the retired Marine.  There was a wooden box inside with a hinged lid.  He slowly opened it and found a folded piece of paper, on top of more plastic.  Just as the magnificent salmon had come home, so had he.
Again he cried, as he read a message from across the veil.

“My Dearest Noland,
When you find this, I will have gone.  I never thought much about life and it’s complexities like you do.  That is, until the Dr. said I had a month or less to live.
I knew I was sick, but avoided getting it checked.  Until Dr. Erickson gave me my death sentence, 20 minutes was the most I thought into the future.  When he said, ‘I am sorry Jenny, you haven’t long to live,’ it dawned on me, that I have lived, through children and marriages and never deeply loved!  Sitting beside the Dr. while he was trying to comfort me, I fell head over heals, deeply, madly in love with you, Noland.  I am so sorry I missed our life together and I am tormented by the off hand way I treated you.  You who loved only me, deeply, forever.  At the bottom of this box, is my most prized possession.  It is your heart that you gave me that you worked so hard for.  It is mine and I give it back to you.   I am yours Noland, at last.

Love,
Jenny”

The clouds moved in and the sunlight changed and still he sat, holding her heart to his.
Hours passed and tide went out and a cool breeze came in from the sea and enveloped the man who belonged as much to the wind and the rocks and to Charlie Creek as he did to his folks and the men he had fought with.  It was a quiet man who cleaned the fish at his parents’ house and left the bright orange fillets in a container in their fridge.

He dad got him a job with Weyerhaeuser and he worked there until he retired.  He never did marry.  His folks left him the house and the garden out back with the apple trees.
The mayors of Hoquiam and Aberdeen, the towns along the Harbor, spent many coffee catches trying to figure out who it was that paid the doctor bills, the flat tires, the late rent for those on the Harbor who came up short at the end of the month, or were just stranded on their way to  somewhere.  Noland always left cash in an envelope at the right time, for the right people, those in dire need.

Noland had an attorney deliver the money when there was no way of hiding his gift.
His attorney kept his secrets and he was the executor to Nolands' sizeable estate.
When Noland passed away and crossed the river to Jenny, he was given a hero’s funeral.
His attorney sent some of the money to a cousin of Nolands’ and the rest, was donated to the Aberdeen Rescue Mission.  The attorney directed the completion of Nolands’’ most important wish.

At Grays Harbor Memorial Graveyard there are two headstones, side by side on the edge of the property that looked out on Grays Harbor and across to Charlie Creek.  The brick mason that the attorney used had been hand picked for his skill and his understanding.  The mason had joined the headstones and built a recess in the center where he had mounted an object that had hung in Herbig Jewelers window six decades before, their silver heart.

title: "Silver Heart" is a romantic short story about love lost but still deep, still strong, even past the grave.

question: Does Noland have an internal conflict?

answer: Yes, he loves a woman who doesn't fully love him back until it is too late.

question: Describe the origin of Noland's feelings for Jenny.

answer: Noland had fallen for her when they were children, and their friendship dates back to when they were at least six years old.

question: Why was the Corp a haven to Noland?

answer: That isn't clear, but it could be because it was an escape from heartbreak.

question: How does Noland die?

answer: Noland dies of old age it seems.

question: Does Noland experience heartbreak?

answer: He experiences heartbreak when Jenny gets a new boyfriend, and when he learned Jenny died.

question: What is the most positive emotion Noland experiences?

answer: There isn't a specific moment mentioned, but his most positive emotions were probably felt when he was in a relationship with Jenny in high school.

question: Who was loss a part of life to?

answer: Marines and to men

question: What animals are mentioned in this story?

answer: Salmon

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: Noland had fallen for his one and only love, Jenny, when they were children. They dated when they were in high school, but Jenny left him for someone more fun. Twenty-three years later, Noland, now a Marine, learns that Jenny had died of cancer. While fishing, he finds a note from Jenny in their old secret spot that contains the profession of her love post cancer diagnosis, and her most prized possession, a necklace he gave her. When he dies many years later, it seems that he is buried next to her and the necklace is mounted between them.


text:
[Pablo Sandoval San Francisco Giants]

The _Pablo Sandoval Unapologetically Over The Giants Tour_ made another stop, this time USA Today. Jorge Ortiz got the new Red Sox third baseman to open up about the Giants once again, and Sandoval is still upset at management for how negotiations went last year in Spring Training, he’s still ready to move on (he even changed his phone number), and one part of that Bleacher Report article was misconstrued by many.

  “I said I miss Hunter and Bochy,” said Sandoval, 28. “If I start naming the 25 players, I’d spend all day. How could I not miss them? It was a group that formed a dynasty.”

Sandoval was more than happy to leave, rather than continue building that dynasty. And beyond those reasons that we already knew about respect and the desire for a “new challenge” in Boston, we found out another, meatier reason why Sandoval didn’t even have any interest in hearing the Giants’ “final offer.”

The Red Sox know the way to a Panda’s heart.

  Sandoval acknowledged he was irritated by what he considered the Giants’ harping on his weight, which tended to increase significantly during the season, hampering his defensive range. He pointed out the Red Sox have hired a nutritionist and he’s trying to pay heed, but conceded the results don’t show so far. He wouldn’t reveal where the scales stop, saying simply he’s comfortable at his current weight.

  Sandoval is pleased the Red Sox have not made an issue of his weight, and they smartly refrained from bringing up the topic while pursuing him in the offseason.

  However, Sandoval’s less-than-svelte physique has already created consternation among New England fans, as an unflattering photo early in camp showed him sporting a significant gut.

  “I’m a professional and I know what I have to do,” said Sandoval, listed as 5-11 and 255. “I know where I’ve failed and how I’ve grown up. If I had signed (with the Giants), I knew I would be under a (weight) regimen for five years, and I’m not going to be happy someplace where I’m under that kind of regimen, where I can’t be myself.”

None of this is all that surprising. The Giants nagged Sandoval to lose weight after the 2010 season (leading to the creation of “Camp Panda”), and it was public knowledge that they were upset about his weight two years ago. To go from making so-called insulting offers before the 2014 season, to a five-year, $95 million offer that could’ve gone higher after the World Series, was going to come with some strings. Namely, the Giants wanted assurances that Sandoval wouldn’t let himself balloon to the point where he couldn’t field his position.

It sounds like the Red Sox came in with a different tact. Maybe something like, “Oh, we love you the way you are — you’re the kind of postseason star who’ll become an instant hero for Red Sox Nation. We know you’ll work hard, don’t worry about daily weigh-ins and a wayward eye every time you reach for an unhealthy option in the team kitchen.” Companies that are in the courtship phase don’t have to show all their cards right away. Why would they? Honey and vinegar comes to mind here.

The Red Sox may have hired a nutritionist, but that’s a person whose advice is available — if requested — for meal-planning suggestions that include lots of baked chicken and kale. That’s different than mandatory time on a treadmill or stationary cycle. That could be a first step in the protect-our-investment-in-Sandoval plan, while the Giants didn’t have anything to hide or a desire to change their approach. They certainly couldn’t tell Sandoval the weight management stuff would cease AFTER he signed his first mega-deal.

Boston banked on the recruiting powers of David Ortiz when they locked down Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez, and Ortiz could represent a backchannel the team will use to keep Sandoval’s weight under 300 pounds.

  “I’ve been getting after Pablo about that,” Ortiz said. “Because Pablo is very agile, but he’s 28 now. If he doesn’t take care of himself, in a couple of years he could lose that agility overnight. So I’m talking to him about eating better, because if you want to stay in this game, you have to take care of yourself.”

It sounds weird that he’s getting dietary advice from a man called “Big Papi,” but maybe that’s what Sandoval needs to keep him on the straight and narrow: a peer who’s been through the same struggles and can connect with Sandoval in a more fun/gentle/respectful way. By now it’s probably obvious that he wasn’t connecting all that well with Buster Posey, the Giants’ leader on the position player side, a man who seems like he’s never made a mistake in his life. In fact, the Giants don’t have anyone on the roster like Ortiz, a larger-than-life (figuratively) Latin player, but that’s a discussion for another time.

How much did the weight thing have to do with Sandoval’s situation? Only he and his representation know for sure, but it always seemed a little weird that he’d want so badly to leave a successful team, with so many adoring fans and teammates he appeared to get along with over the past several years, all because Brian Sabean took a hardline stance last March. Based on his comments to USA Today, the freedom for Sandoval to be himself — without the restrictions of a balanced diet, regular exercise and regular visits to the training room scale — was non-negotiable.

question: What is Pablo Sandoval still upset about?

answer: How negotiations went last year in Spring Training.

question: Why wasn't Sandoval interested in hearing the Giants' final offer?

answer: He was irritated by their harping on his weight.

question: How old is Sandoval?

answer: 28

question: Who is the interviewer at USA Today?

answer: Jorge Ortiz

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Baseball player Pablo Sandoval rejected the Giants' offer to play for them following their coverage of his weight. He stopped by USA Today to tell journalist Jorge Ortiz about his journey and his decision, which concluded with his acceptance of an offer from the Boston Red Sox. The latter team has seemingly criticized his weight-which he maintains is 255lbs-less, or at least less publicly. The publication doesn't rule out their hiring a nutritionist to help out the twenty-eight-year old who,while young now, will eventually experience health consequences if his weight continues to be above optimal.


text:
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[]

Today, our IBM Research team published the first real world demonstration of a rocking Brownian motor for nanoparticles in the peer-review journal _Science_. The motors propel nanoscale particles along predefined racetracks to enable researchers to separate nanoparticle populations with unprecedented precision. The reported findings show great potential for lab-on-a-chip applications in material science, environmental sciences or biochemistry.

NO MORE FAIRY TALES

Do you remember the Grimm version of Cinderella when she had to pick peas and lentils out of the ashes? Now imagine that instead of peas and lentils you have a suspension of nanoparticles, which are only 60 nanometer (nm) and 100 nm in size — that’s 1,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. Using previous methods, one could separate them with a complicated filter or machines, however these are too bulky and complex to be integrated into a handheld lab-on-a-chip.

[nanoparticles]

IBM scientist Dr. Armin Knoll with the experiment’s set-up in his lab in Switzerland.

ROCKING BROWNIAN MOTOR

To address this, we take inspiration from nature. In our cells molecular motors are tiny walkers that transport cargo along microtubule guiding tracks with minimal fuel consumption. They are an integral part of the muscle contraction in our body. These motors are fascinating because they overcome and even exploit the random motion that particles of the size of the walkers typically experience at this scale, called Brownian motion. This chaotic, trembling motion of the particles is caused by the water molecules, which randomly collide with particles. Fun fact, it was Albert Einstein who first gave a correct description of Brownian motion in 1905.

A Brownian motor converts this random motion into mechanical work by forcing the randomness into a straight particle movement. For this purpose scientists use the principle similar to a ratchet screwdriver, in which asymmetric teeth allow movement in one direction, but not in the other.

In addition, an oscillating external force is used, which pushes the particles against the ratchet teeth. For the particles it is much easier to pass the teeth in one direction, resulting in the directed movement of the particles. A Brownian motor does not produce directed motion, it only prevents particles from moving backwards.

BUILDING A NEW DEVICE FOR PARTICLE SEPARATION

To start with we used a tiny, heatable silicon tip with a sharp apex to create a 3D landscape for nanoparticles by “chiseling” away material of a polymer layer. This technique is called thermal scanning probe lithography. It was used to create the world’s smallest magazine cover back in 2014.

[]

IBM researcher Dr. Christian Schwemmer prepares a water droplet containing the 60 nm and 100 nm small gold spheres.

Since we wanted to separate two different types of particles, we combined two ratchets with opposite transport directions that had differently sized teeth. We then put a water droplet containing the 60 nm and 100 nm small gold spheres on the ratchets and covered it with a thin glass, leaving a tiny gap between the tips of the teeth and the glass. Due to the electrostatic interaction between the charged surfaces and particles, the particles float in the liquid with the highest possible distance to the glass and teeth. Since a particle of greater size is less likely to explore the ratchet having the bigger teeth, the spheres moved in opposite directions and were separated. The 60 nm particles rocked to the right and the 100 nm particles to left hand side of the system within only a few seconds.

A model, which we also published in the paper, suggests that our device can separate particles ranging from 5 nm to 100 nm in size and having a radial difference of merely 1 nm. We are very confident that there are no significant hidden effects in the system since it behaves exactly as predicted by theory and we can measure all the relevant physical parameters.

APPLICATIONS IN VARIOUS FIELDS POSSIBLE

Our device has a very small footprint, uses only 5 volts and, in contrast to existing tools, does not need any pressure or flow. This makes it ideal for lab-on-chip applications e.g. for a size analysis of particles such as DNA, proteins, quantum dots and other nanoparticles in tiny liquid volumes. It could be used in a broad range of research fields like material science, biochemistry or environmental research. One could think of structures which deliver the nano-objects of interest to sensors in order to detect ultra-small quantities, such as nanoscale pollutants in our drinking water.

The development of such a device was based on IBM’s capabilities in nanostructure fabrication and its knowledge in microfluidics. In fact, it is fascinating to consider that the operation and performance of the device are determined by the precision of a single lithographic step used to fabricate the device.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

NANOFLUIDIC ROCKING BROWNIAN MOTORS, _Michael J. Skaug, Christian Schwemmer, Stefan Fringes, Colin D. Rawlings, Armin W. Knoll, DOI: 10.1126/science.aal3271
_

question: What does the rocking Brownian motor for nanoparticles do?

answer: It separates nanoparticle populations with unprecedented precision.

question: What is the Brownian motion?

answer: Brownian motion is chaotic, trembling motion caused by water molecules, which randomly collide with particles.

question: What is the device ideal for?

answer: Because it has a very small footprint, it is ideal for lab-on-a-chip applications in material science, environmental sciences, or biochemistry for a size analysis of particles such as DNA, proteins, quantum dots and other nanoparticles in tiny liquid volumes.

question: What was the development of the motor based on?

answer: IBM’s capabilities in nanostructure fabrication and its knowledge in microfluidics

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The rocking Brownian motor separates nanoparticle populations with unprecedented precision. It has a very small footprint, making it ideal for lab-on-a-chip applications in material science, environmental sciences, or biochemistry for a size analysis of particles such as DNA, proteins, quantum dots and other nanoparticles in tiny liquid volumes.