text:
WASHINGTON - It could be the biggest espionage scandal of the century, or the greatest journalistic non-starter in many a decade, but it's clear that the story of the Israeli art students in New York - dozens of alleged spies living in the United States - refuses to die down. Anyone who believes the story says that everything is accurately documented and confirmed, and that only a conspiracy on the part of the U.S. administration - which is desperate to keep the affair quiet, partly out of shame and partly because of its warm relations with Israel - is keeping the affair out of the spotlight of public discussion. Those who repudiate the affair say it is baseless, just another unfounded urban legend that has taken on a life of its own on various marginal Internet sites.

Either way, the story of the Israeli spies is alive and kicking. The most recent mention of the affair came last week in the highly respected Internet magazine, Salon.com, which recapped the main points of the scandal and even added some new details of its own. The official Israeli response was the same as ever: "Nonsense," they say. The outline of the scandal is the same wherever it is published, with the more respectable journals taking more care over the details and relying more on reports and documented evidence, while the more marginal publications pile on spurious details and compare the scandal to the great conspiracies of the past.

According to reports of the scandal, around 120 young Israeli citizens, posing as art students and selling paintings door-to-door, have been arrested and deported from the United States. The door-to-door sale of art works, it is claimed, was a front for a sophisticated spy ring: the students would turn up at homes and offices - especially at buildings housing federal authorities and military bases, and even went to the homes of those employed in these offices. The students attempted to form friendships with federal employees, photograph their offices, tap their phone lines and infiltrate their databases.

It is also claimed that the spy ring kept tabs on Arab targets inside the United States, including Arab Americans who were in contact with the Al-Qaida network. According to some speculations, the Israelis' intelligence work enabled the spy ring to know in advance of the planned terror attack on September 11, without lifting a finger to prevent it.

BEWARE STUDENTS SELLING ART

There is one source for all these stories and it is not an unreliable one. The source is the 60-page draft of an internal report by the intelligence division of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Thedraft was leaked to the media and its existence was confirmed by spokesmen from the DEA and the Justice Department, which is responsible for running the DEA. But confirming that the report exists is not the same as verifying its contents.

According to the report's author, whose identity has never been published, DEA officials identified an increase in the number of incidents in which young Israelis, claiming to be art students, tried to sell them works of art. "It is entirely possible," said the report, "that this is an organized intelligence-gathering activity."

A warning was sent out by the federal anti-espionage office to other federal agencies in March 2001,warning them to be wary of students trying to sell them art works and gain entry to federal facilities. The document records several encounters between DEA officials and Israelis all over the United States. In one incident, the report documents an attempt to gain entry to the Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, where the AWACS spy plane and the B-1 bombers are serviced.

What is really keeping this story alive is the claim of a link between the Israeli "students" and Israeli intelligence. The original report, as well as subsequent media reports, say that many of the young Israelis arrested served in the IDF's Intelligence Corps and were involved in operating electronic bugging equipment; one even said he was the son of a senior Israel Defense Forces officer. It took just one small leap to turn this into a conspiracy, whereby all the Israelis arrested were in the pay of the Mossad.

The report also documents how those arrested in the U.S. were connected to Israeli companies that had provided telephony services for American companies and U.S. federal authorities, while also claiming the Israeli companies should be investigated, in case they had installed "back door" services, which would allow some future operative to access the American companies' systems. The DEA, it is claimed, purchased communications equipment worth some $100 million from Israeli companies five years ago, and that is said to be the reason for the widespread Israeli activity around this agency.

ONE PARANOID OFFICIAL

Even though the claims made by the DEA and the various journals that have delved into the affair sound convincing and well-based, so do the Israeli counter-claims. Firstly, say anonymous Israeli representatives in the United States, it is true that more than 100 young Israelis were arrested in the U.S. following the events of September 11 - all of them for immigration and visa infringements. Most of those arrested were deported after being charged by the U.S. immigration service. The sources also admit that many Israelis are currently working illegally in the U.S., occasionally as door-to-door art salespersons.

As far as Israel is concerned, this is the only explanation for the affair, and anything more is just a fabrication based on the original reports, which in itself is based on the paranoia of one government official. There is also an explanation for the military background of the arrested Israelis: every Israeli has a military background, often in the various intelligence units. But this is not easy to explain to the Americans, who see the Israelis as "former intelligence officers" or "retired officers." As for the supposed connection between the young Israelis and various high-tech companies, all the companies mentioned strongly deny any involvement.

Those who deny that there is a spy ring in action also ask why none of the Israelis arrested was ever charged with espionage-related crimes. Why were their cases handled by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), rather than the FBI, which is responsible for investigating spies? And the main question - why did Israel chose the DEA as its espionage target? Those who back the spy theory say that because the DEA is not usually involved in security matters it is easier to infiltrate, and that the DEA's war on the international drug trade has provided it a wealth of information that could be useful to Israel in a wide range of areas.

But while each side of the argument is sticking to its guns, without either party presenting clear evidence that could clear up the affair once and for all, the media is carrying out its own merry dance around a fascinating spy story - whether it's true or not.

The first mention of a mass arrest of Israeli art students on suspicion of involvement in spying was on Fox News on December 12, 2001. The dramatic report stated that around 60 Israelis had been arrested for immigration offenses, but were suspected of spying against the United States, and added that some of those arrested were members of the Israeli military. The report also stated that some of those arrested had failed lie-detector tests.

Instead of raising a storm, however, Fox's story slowly died away and was only briefly reported in the international press. Three months later, however, the affair came back to life, this time on a French Internet site, Intelligence Online. The story was immediately picked up by Le Monde. This time, the reporters claimed to have the entire DEA report, and the number of people arrested climbed to 120.

At this stage, the American media also woke up to the story. News agencies based their reports of the story on a French Internet site and on the official U.S. reaction. The Justice Department confirmed that it had investigated the alleged connection between Israeli students and anti-American espionage; the DEA confirmed that it had prepared a draft report, but did not say what had become of it; the FBI said that it had not received any complaint relating to spying by Israeli students.

The New York Times, according to sources in Washington, looked into the affair but, having concluded that it lacked a suitable factual base, decided not to write about it. The Washington Post, on the other hand, did publish an article, but cast doubt on the veracity of the affair. Post reporters found that the report was written by a "disgruntled [DEA] employee," who was upset that his claims of Israeli espionage were not being treated seriously.

Even this report was not enough to finally kill off the affair. Two weeks later, the New York Jewish weekly, Forward, published a report connecting the spy affair with the arrest in New Jersey, on September 11, of five Israelis whose behavior was defined as suspicious. The five were employed by a moving company and did not have valid work permits. According to Forward, the FBI concluded that the five were on a spy mission on behalf of the Mossad, and that the moving company was nothing more than a front. This story also died out quietly.

The final round of publications started last week with the publication of the art student affair in Salon.com, which repeated all the known details of the affair. It even added a claim that the spy ring was active in more than 40 cities across the U.S., and included offices belonging to the secret service, the FBI and the U.S. military.

Now the story is coming to life once more, with news agencies and at least one national television station regurgitating all the details. The American public will continue to be divided over the truth behind the so-called spy ring, with some believing that the original DEA report was the work of a problematic employee and others convinced that shadowy government officials are involved in covering up the exposure of one of the largest spy rings ever to operate on American soil.

question: Approximately when was the article written?

answer: Probably sometime in 2002

question: Who published the article?

answer: That information can't be found

question: How many students are alleged to have been deported?

answer: Around 120

question: What cover were the alleged Israeli spies using?

answer: They claimed to be art students selling paintings door-to-door

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Various news sources have reported on an alleged Israeli spy ring in which people claiming to be art students have been selling paintings door-to-door as a cover. The only evidence to support the allegations is a leaked DEA draft, which some claim was simply written by one disgruntled employee.


split: train

text:
Us four sat ensuring my stay.
In conversation, Rick was indirectly called a liar by Rob and Megan
because of me.
The price of being a father.
Any words spoken to him sounded like "Liar".
Any words spoken to me were in question.
As if I was being interrogated.
I had nothing to say unless asked.
The house was a mansion.
My cousin played the role of Keith Cozart.
I looked forward to good times as the house was left mostly
unattended.
As we spoke my mind wandered into flashbacks and daydreams.
Rob was showing me the room where I was going to stay.
There were many rooms and hallways.
Some rooms were connected by doors and weren't connected to hallways.
I opened a door to a bathroom and there was someone in the bathtub.
At first I laughed and looked away but Rob quicly put his arm around me and
led me away, and as he did I caught another quick glimpse of the bathtub and
noticed that it was a body. I was shocked and Rob started to remind me that I
didn't see anything that there was no one there. I instantly protested to
staying in the adjacent room which was where we were headed. I threatened to say
what I saw if forced to stay there. I was led away. The confusion and
unknowingness turned into fear and Plan. We returned downstairs and played it
off, acting as if that didn't happen. Later I spoke with Rob's sister about
what I had seen and she told me that it was not infact a body but pieces of
bodies that were created from insecurities. That she herself had created some
of the pieces that were in the bathtub. We walked and talked. I thought about
what I heard. Generations of insecurities brought about what was in the
bathtub. They all knew. Did Rick know? Did Megan know? I didn't know.
Who was it? Was it one of their own. We ended up back at the bathroom and I
looked in again and what I saw shocked me to the point that I couldn't clearly
make out what it was. Was it a body or was it pieces? It was entirely
underneath the water. I faked emotion and accepted the pieces of insecurities
and agreed to stay in the adjacent room. It was the only way to survive.
I spent most of the first week alone in the room.
I heard them speaking about me. About how I spent time alone.
I was genuinely afraid. The first chance I would take it.
It was a Saturday. I had stolen a few grams of Rob's cocaine and
over the course of 2 days had made it injectable with no one knowing.
The owner of the mansion, the famous Dr. Bob, had syringes in the
downstairs bathroom. Everyone left late in the night.
The only ones left were Rob and Megan. Who were passed out. I stabbed Rob with
the needle and injected it. As he woke and saw me he knew what my
intentions were but could not prevent them as the high almost instantly kicked
in and he fell into a euphoric state. Megan didn't even wake up.
The thought crossed my mind. Did she know about the bathtub? Had she noticed the
change in my behavior? I weighed the risk of foiling my Plan in my mind before
deciding to leave her behind as I escaped into the night. I stole a car from
the mansions garage and left leaving no trace of where I was going.
The insecurity of being insecure. Being insecure was my only security, the
only thing that led me to escape the fate that awaited me. Where all others had
failed and gave in to become part of the fate themselves I had broken free.

title: the fate that awaited

question: Summarize the narrator's escape and the reason for doing so.

answer: The narrator notices a body in a bathtub at a mansion where he stays with acquaintances or friends. Rob and his sister seem to be the residents of the mansion. Rob tries to underplay the body, but his sister explains later that the body was created from insecurities through generations. The narrator's fears aren't assuaged, and he grows more and more paranoid over the week. He hears Rob and Megan talk about him and resolves to escape at the first chance. He manages to get hold of cocaine, turning it into injectable syringes. He stabs Rob and Megan one night, hops into a car in the garage, and leaves.

question: Summarize Megan's descent into madness.


text:
KHATOOL MOHAMMADZAI (; born c. 1966) is an Afghan brigadier general who serves in the Afghan National Army. She was first commissioned in the military of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan during the 1980s, when she became the first woman from the country to be trained as a paratrooper; she has since logged over 600 jumps in her career. She continued to serve in the Afghan military as an instructor until the Taliban took power in 1996. Reinstated to the military created after the United States invasion in 2001, she became the first woman in Afghan history to reach general officer rank.[1]

Career

Mohammadzai was born in Kabul, Afghanistan around 1966. She joined the Army in 1983 after she graduated from secondary school, and volunteered to be a paratrooper. Succeeding at the strenuous training, including completing a march across the mountains in two days, she made her first jump in 1984.[2] After earning her wings, she studied at the Kabul University legal faculty, graduating with a bachelor's degree, so she could be commissioned as an officer. She would later undertake advanced studies at a military academy in the Soviet Union.[3] During the Soviet–Afghan War, she was denied combat positions, so she served as a paratroop instructor training soldiers for paratroop and commando roles.[4][5]

She married in 1990 and had one son before her husband, a fellow army officer, was killed in combat in 1991. After the collapse of the government in 1992, she served under the Mujahadeen government during the civil war in the early 1990s, and was put in charge of women's training for the army's air defense branch. However, she was barred from parachute jumps and subject to new restrictions such as a requirement to wear an abaya while in public.[6] After the Taliban took control of the country in 1996, she was forced out of the military and as a widow was effectively confined indoors. She survived on odd jobs such as sewing, and ran a secret school for girls.[7] [Brig. Gen. Khatool Mohammadzai with female agents of the Afghan National Police] Following the fall of the Taliban in 2001, she joined Afghanistan's newly formed military, and was promoted to the rank of brigadier general by President Hamid Karzai.[8] At first, Mohammadzai got back into physical shape and resumed parachute jumping. She trained with American paratroopers, and worked with NATO officers on starting a new paratroop training program for the ANA. In 2004, she competed against 35 male competitors from Afghanistan and other countries in a parachuting contest, and won.[9]

In addition to serving to serving as a paratrooper, Mohammadzai was made deputy director for women's affairs in the Ministry of Defense.[10] However, as a result of what some observers, such as Amnesty International, say is institutionalized gender discrimination in Afghanistan's leadership, she has not been allowed to jump since 2006, instead serving at Ministry of Defense headquarters, starting in a position not befitting a general officer.[11] By 2012, she had been promoted to director of women's affairs in the National Army, and deputy director of planning and physical training for a planned disaster preparation force, and was the highest ranking female officer in the Afghan military.[12][13]

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title: Khatool Mohammadzai

question: Who was the first woman in Afghan history to reach general officer rank?

answer: Khatool Mohammadzai was the first woman in Afghan history to reach general officer rank.

question: Where was Mohammadzai born?

answer: Mohammadzai was born in Kabul, Afghanistan.

question: How many jumps did Mohammadzai participate in?

answer: Mohammadzai logged over 600 jumps in her career.

question: Who won the parachuting contest in 2004?

answer: Mohammadzai won the 2004 parachuting contest against 35 other competitors.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Khatool Mohammadzai is Afghanistan's first woman brigadier general. Much of her career was spent paratrooping and teaching paratrooping. She is currently the highest ranking woman in the Afghan military.


text:
I love this show, the cat chasing that mischievous little mouse around the house all day to no avail. I love visiting these two, just watching their foolishness all day makes a smile cling to my face. The cat has schemed up another ingenious plan to catch the little mouse scoundrel, his affinity for TNT especially evident in this one. It really looks like he is going to have his way this time; the mouse seems to be blinded by his love of cheese as he approaches the trap. He inches cautiously closer to the chee--CLICK. The cat and mouse slowly fade into the black box as I feel the smile gradually lose grip of my face before evaporating into the air. I turn around and see her towering above me, control in hand. “Go to your room” she grunts. I know the drill; I shuffle up the stairs to my door. My door, like everything else in this house has needed repair for years. After using every bit of strength my 11 year old body could muster, I finally get into my room and collapse onto the bed. Bed. If you can even call this pile of dirty clothes and newspaper that. I lay face up staring at the ceiling, trying unsuccessfully to fall asleep, kept up by the loud music and voices coming from downstairs. I hear the sound of glass breaking, followed by an argument full of feet stomping and slurred words. A door slams shut and the normal noises continue. My stomach roars at me, demanding nutrients. I glance down at the patch of bruised flesh on my right arm, reminding myself that I know better than to go ask for some. After all, I did just eat yesterday. To divert my mind, I think back to a movie I had watched earlier that day. It was about a married couple who had just got a divorce and were fighting over who got to keep their only daughter. At first I thought the fight was over who got to be free from taking care of this child. But no, these two were fighting passionately, WANTING to be with this girl. It was such a foreign concept to me, living with a woman who wanted nothing to do with me. From what I gathered through my observations of TV and the outside world, a mother’s love for her son is the strongest there is. I wracked my brain, searching for a reason for why this didn’t seem to be the case with me. Was I ugly? Stupid? Maybe I misbehave too much. After what seemed like hours, my mind finally zeroed in on a conversation I had overheard between my mother and grandmother a few years back.
I was as usual, having my daily play date with the cat and mouse. The cat had cleverly placed a pile of dynamite strategically under a generous portion of cheese; a fool-proof plan to be rid of his rival once and for all. Not to be fooled, the mouse slyly takes one of the dynamite sticks and sneaks around to put it right behind where the cat is hiding. The cat, who is waiting excitedly to see his cheddar borne explosive find its victim, is completely oblivious to the turn of events. A match, which matches the mouse in size, is lit and the ember starts the fuse. Just as the fuse is running out, I hear my name being mentioned by raised voices. Without turning around, I perked my ears and heard my mother say under her breath “I can’t believe you stopped me from aborting him”. My grandmother’s voice was shaky now, “It is not God’s will” she said. Not fully understanding the words being spoken, I caught up with my friends the cat and mouse, who were now frantically running circles in the house. I had never thought very much, or even understood the conversation until now. We learned a new word in school today, abort. To stop, end, cancel or halt. In her examples the teacher referred to space missions or military operations, but to abort a person? I wasn’t quite sure how it could be applied.  There lying in my bed staring at the ceiling, I made the realization that I had made many times before; she never wanted to bring me into this world. My life is a mistake. Everything I have done, my accomplishments, my feelings, aspirations; just one big mistake.  So with tears rolling down my check, I place two musty socks over my ears and let the muffled bass of the music cradle me to sleep, knowing that tomorrow I’ll at least be able to visit that wonderful house with the cat and the mouse.

title: [RF] A young man who is love with somebody who doesn't love them back

question: What does the story say about hunger?

answer: The narrator is so hungry that their stomach is roaring at them and demanding nutrients. They seem to prolong their hunger due to a bruise on their arm that insinuates their mother hurts them when they ask for food. The last time they ate was the day before. They distract themself from hunger by watching a movie.

question: What does story say about the narrator believing they're a mistake?

answer: The narrator recalls a conversation they heard between their mother and grandmother. Their mother expressed disdain towards the grandmother by saying that she couldn't believe she stopped her from aborting the narrator. The narrator realizes this means to end something, and realizes that their mother never wanted to bring them into this world. This makes them feel that their accomplishments, feelings, aspirations, and life overall are mistakes.

question: Summarize how the mother feels about the narrator.

answer: The mother is dismissive towards the narrator and sends them to their room. The narrator has normalized her behavior, and assumes that most parents would want to be free of taking care of their child. The mother wants nothing to do with the narrator, and even once expressed regret that she did not abort them.

question: Summarize everything relating to the father.


text:
Story highlights

-   A handful of conservatives have used the term "fascism" to describe Trump's rhetoric
-   The use of such a loaded word marks one more step in the evolution of the establishment's view of Trump

(CNN)Conservative warnings about Donald Trump have grown increasingly somber. At first he was just an entertainer; then he became a worrisome distraction, and soon, there was fear that he would permanently scar the reputation of the Republican Party.

But it was after Trump started calling for stronger surveillance of Muslim-Americans in the aftermath of the Paris terrorist attacks that a handful of conservatives ventured to call Trump's rhetoric something much more dangerous: fascism.

Since launching his campaign this summer, the billionaire real estate magnate has regularly deployedinflammatory rhetoric about immigrants -- particularly regarding Latinos -- and repeatedly raised the alarm about foreigners entering the country. That has escalated following the series of shooting rampages and explosions in Paris this month allegedly perpetrated by ISIS and amid a national debate over accepting Syrian refugees.

Most striking has been Trump's aim at Muslims in the United States. He's been widely denounced for claiming that people in New Jersey — a state with "large Arab populations," he said — cheered after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. That, coupled with his seeming endorsement of a national registry to track Muslims in the country, has sparked a new level of condemnation from conservatives already on edge about Trump's endurance.

"Trump is a fascist. And that's not a term I use loosely or often. But he's earned it," tweeted Max Boot, a conservative fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who is advising Marco Rubio.

"Forced federal registration of US citizens, based on religious identity, is fascism. Period. Nothing else to call it," Jeb Bush national security adviser John Noonan wrote on Twitter.

Conservative Iowa radio host Steve Deace, who has endorsed Ted Cruz, also used the "F" word last week: "If Obama proposed the same religion registry as Trump every conservative in the country would call it what it is -- creeping fascism."

Even one GOP presidential hopeful -- albeit a little-known candidate barely registering in the polls -- has used this language. In an interview with Newsmax TV on Friday, former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore said Trump's immigration policies, including the idea of creating a "deportation force" to remove undocumented immigrants from the country, amounted to "fascist talk."

The fresh accusations of fascist behavior are extraordinarily charged -- the term is often equated with Nazism. The use of such a loaded word marks one more step in the evolution of the establishment's view of Trump, from a political clown to something much more malevolent and dangerous.

And it also reflects an increasingly visible and acute level of frustration and disbelief about Trump within the GOP, as Republicans view Trump's candidacy as an explosive mixture of economic populism with strongman personality politics. While it's unclear whether Trump is motivated by any coherent political philosophy, it's hard to recall another recent presidential candidate who has campaigned so openly on solving problems by sheer personal will.

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Boot and Deace couldn't be reached for comment, and a Bush spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on behalf of Noonan.

Academics who study fascism say that while Trump seems to have an authoritarian sensibility, his behavior doesn't meet the dictionary definition of fascism. The term describes an overtly anti-democratic movement that suppresses all opposition as a way to fulfill political goals, and a fascist leader is a dictator that wishes to exercise complete control, even by condoning violence.

Scholars of fascists like Benito Mussolini in Italy and Adolf Hitler in Germany (none of Trump's conservative critics have compared him to either man) say, however, that Trump does display some of the key characteristics of a fascist.His comments about a national registry for Muslim-Americans, together with his propensity to stir up anti-immigrant and xenophobic sentiments among his supporters, amount to a perception of hostility toward ethnic and religious minority groups.

"The most recent comment he said about creating a national registry of all Muslims -- that's very dangerous," said Steve Ross, a professor of history and scholar of fascism at the University of Southern California.

Ross, who proposes the label "right-wing bully" for Trump, said he can certainly understand why the question has come up. "You're talking about an American government that would move towards the persecution of citizens and people living within its own country," he said. "That is why people are saying, 'Gee, if you follow this through, it's fascism.' "

"Fascism sometimes becomes an attribute to describe someone that is intolerant or totalitarian or even racist," said Federico Finchelstein, an expert on fascism at the New School who said Trump is better described a populist. "When dealing with an important part of the nation such as Hispanics, I think he definitely fits those categories."

When a reporter asked Trump last week how a national database of Muslims would be different from the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany, Trump responded: "You tell me."

Historians say they see other characteristics of fascism in Trump in addition to his propensity for racial and ethnic stereotyping. Among them: nativist undertones, attempts to control the media; and even condoning violence against his critics.

At a Trump campaign rally in Birmingham, Alabama, a black protester was physically attacked by a handful of Trump fans in the crowd. Video captured by CNN shows the man being shoved to the ground, punched and at one point even kicked. The next day, Trump drew fierce backlash when he said that perhaps "he should have been roughed up."

The sentiment was then echoed by Trump's senior counsel Michael Cohen. "Every now and then an agitator deserves it," Cohen saidon CNN's "New Day" Tuesday morning.

Ross said the incident illustrates behavior that is only steps removed from fascism.

"We had the same thing happening in Germany in the 1920s with people being roughed up by the Brownshirts and they deserved it because they were Jews and Marxists and radicals and dissidents and gypsies — that was what Hitler was saying," Ross said. "I'm not saying Trump is Hitler, but the logic of condoning violence against those who oppose you -- you can imagine, a man who would condone it as a candidate -- what would he do as an official president?"

Trump's interactions with the media — in particular, his attempts to shut out reporters critical of his campaign —have also shown authoritarian tendencies.

The businessman regularly lashes out at reporters who give unfavorable coverage, and his campaign has denied credentials to journalists as retribution. Trump has more than onceboycotted appearing on Fox News, in protest of what he has deemed unfair treatment.

"What they expect from the media is praise. This is another element in this character and in other leaders of this type, which is that they are extremely messianic and narcissistic," said Finchelstein. "Whatever they see, they see as a personal attack against them."

History professor Robert Paxton of Columbia University, who has studied the rise and spread of fascism, said he would not call Trump a fascist. But Paxton also said he can understand why some people might be inclined to point out similarities between Trump and fascist leaders.

"He's good at making astonishing speeches that make people sit up and take notice. So there's some of that manipulation of public emotions that is visible with Trump," Paxton said. "Hitler and Mussolini -- no one had ever seen public rallies like the meetings they'd have. People were absolutely mesmerized."

question: What are Conservatives concerned about?

answer: About Trump's rhetoric being fascist.

question: What has been most striking about Trump's comments?

answer: Trump's aim at Muslims in the US.

question: What do Historians say about Trump?

answer: They see other characteristics of fascism in Trump in addition to his propensity for racial and ethnic stereotyping.

question: What did Trump suggest about a national registry?

answer: Creating a national religion registry for all Muslim Americans.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The story highlights conservatives using the term "fascism" to describe Trump's rhetoric. Warnings of Trump have grown increasingly. One of the most striking at has been Trump's aim at Muslims in the US.


text:
[Kurdish Fighters take positions at the top of Mount Annan overlooking the Tishrin dam, after they captured from ISISmilitants, south of Kobani, Syria December 27, 2015. (Photo: Rodi Said)]

Kurdish Fighters take positions at the top of Mount Annan overlooking the Tishrin dam, after they captured from ISIS militants, south of Kobani, Syria December 27, 2015. (Photo: Rodi Said)

CHILE — While some measure of stability has returned to pockets of northern Syria following the Syrian Army’s recent liberation of al-Qaeda from Aleppo and elsewhere, external forces seem determined to keep the region volatile, regardless of the cost. In the latest example of aggressive foreign intervention in Syria, Turkey, which has long played an antagonistic role in Syria’s nearly six-year-long conflict, has now cut off the flow of the Euphrates River into Syria, depriving the nation of one of its primary sources of water.

According to the Kurdish Hawar News Agency, Turkey cut water supplies to Syria around Feb. 23, which subsequently forced a hydroelectric plant at the Tishrin Dam to shut down while also significantly reducing water levels on its associated reservoir. The dam supplies both water and power to key parts of northern Syria, such as the city of Manbij and other parts of the predominantly Kurdish Kobani Canton.

The dam is one of several major dams along the Euphrates River. Just downstream from Tishrin lies the Tabqa Dam and its reservoir Lake Assad, which supplies Aleppo with most of its power and drinking water, as well as irrigation water for over 640,000 hectares (2,500 square miles) of farmland. A city official in Manbij told Hawar that the city would provide generator fuel to civilians to help cope with the blackout that has resulted from the river being cut off. The same official added that Turkey had “violated the international conventions of water and rivers energy by cutting off Euphrates water.”

This is not the first time Turkey has deprived Syrians of water as a means to advance their political goals in the region. Turkey previously cut the river off in May of 2014, causing water levels on Lake Assad to drop by over 20 feet and creating the potential for genocide by means of dehydration. By blocking the river, Turkey threatens Iraqi civilians as well. Major urban centers like Mosul, whose water supplies largely depend on reservoirs fed by the Euphrates, could be gravely impacted if the river continues to be blocked.

The act of cutting off the river is not unprecedented, but its timing is peculiar. Just days prior to Turkey’s act, U.S. Senator John McCain “secretly” visited the Kobani Canton, the very region that now finds itself without water, before heading to Turkey, where he met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.  According to the senator’s office, “Senator McCain’s visit was a valuable opportunity to assess dynamic conditions on the ground in Syria and Iraq.” It adds that McCain looks forward to working with the Trump administration and military leaders “to optimize our approach” on fighting the Islamic State.

While the U.S. has backed the Kurds in their fight to keep their territories along the Syrian-Turkish border free of terrorist influence, it has come at the cost of greatly complicating diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Turkey.  For example, in early 2016, Erdogan dramatically demanded that the U.S. choose between an alliance with Turkey or with the Syrian Kurds. The diplomatic stand-off has since reached new heights of tension, with Turkey threatening to invade Kurdish-held Manbij less than two weeks ago. Manbij is suffering the most from Turkey’s blockage of the Euphrates, suggesting that the move could be intended to destabilize the Kurds before something more drastic takes place.

It also warrants mentioning that despite Erdogan’s and McCain’s claims that they are eager to “defeat” the Islamic State and other terrorist factions, both have close ties to those very same groups. This, of course, suggests that McCain’s visit, as well as recent moves by Turkey, have ulterior motives that have yet to be publicly expressed.

For example, McCain has been so intent on removing Assad from power that he has fostered relationships with the Syria’s “moderate rebels” and its more notorious opposition factions such as the Islamic State. Photographic evidence has confirmed this, with one infamous photo showing McCain posing with Khalid al-Hamad – a “moderate” rebel who gained notoriety after a video of him eating the heart of a Syrian Army soldierwent viral online. McCain has also admitted meeting with ISIS on national television, going so far as to acknowledge that he is still in contact with the infamous terrorist group.

[Senator John McCain in Syria with members of the U.S.-backed rebel group Northern Storm.]
    Senator John McCain in Syria with members of the U.S.-backed rebel group Northern Storm.

Erdogan, for his part, was revealed to be a major player in the smuggling of Islamic State oil out of Syria for sale on the global market. It was these oil sales that enabled the Islamic State to grow into what it is today and to become one of the world’s most well-funded terror groups.

With such connections now well-documented, it seems unlikely that McCain and Erdogan discussed how to defeat the Islamic State. Based on the evidence, it seems much more likely that both remain eager to destabilize the region due to their shared goal of deposing Assad. With Turkey already working to destabilize Northern Syria by cutting off key resources, we will soon see what other measures may have been discussed during this “secret” meeting.

question: What is the main focus of this article?

answer: Turkey cut water supplies to Syria, which forced a hydroelectric plant at the Tishrin Dam to shut down.

question: What is the source of the conflict between Turkey and Syria?

answer: That information is not discussed in the article.

question: Explain the purpose of Senator McCain's visit to the Kobani Canton.

answer: McCain went to assess the dynamic conditions on the ground in Syria and Iraq before heading to Turkey to meet with President Erdogan.

question: When was this article published?

answer: That information can't be found.

question: List the key individuals mentioned in this article.

answer: U.S. Senator John McCain, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Assad, Khalid al-Hamad

question: Write a ~6 sentence summary.

answer: Turkey cut off water supplies to Syria, which caused a hydroelectric plant at the Tishrim Dam to shut down. Turkey has deprived Syrians of water before for political reasons. Days prior, U.S. Senator John McCain secretly visited the region where the water supply was cut off to assess the conditions on the ground. The U.S. backing of the Kurds has caused tension between the U.S.and Turkey. McCain has been so focused on removing Assad from power that he has even formed relationships with moderate Syrian rebels, including Khalid al-Hamad.


text:
On November 9–12, 2016, protests occurred in Oakland, California against the election of Donald Trump. While originally peaceful, these protests became violent, with protesters lighting trash cans and cars and a building on fire and smashing store windows and throwing bottles at police. Thirty protesters were arrested, and three officers were injured.

Riots

Shocked and angered at the election results, students marched out of Berkeley and into Oakland in the early morning hours of November 9. As they marched into Oakland, more people joined the protest. The protesters blocked roads and lit several trash cans and newspaper boxes on fire in the middle of the streets.[1] Protesters vandalized cars and burned American flags for hours in Oakland.[2]

On the night of November 9, protesters returned to downtown Oakland to express anger over the election of Donald Trump. While the protest began peaceful, it descended into violence later that night. Protesters smashed the windows of several stores and police cruisers and lit a large fire in the Oakland Chamber of Commerce ground floor.[3] Protesters lit bonfires in the street, set dumpsters and garbage cans on fire and clashed with riot police throughout the night.[4][5] A police cruiser was also set ablaze by angry demonstrators in downtown.[6]

On November 11, several hundred protesters blocked a freeway in Oakland for an hour.

Aftermath

Overall, 30 people were arrested and eleven were issued citations. Three police officers were injured.[7]

Other than the Oakland Police Department, twelve law enforcement agencies were involved.[8] Authorities stated that there were 16 reports of vandalism against businesses in Oakland over two nights, and a vandalism incident in which the three Pleasanton Police Department SUVs had their windows smashed and were defaced by graffiti.[9]

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title: 2016 Oakland riots

question: What caused the 2016 Oakland Riots?

answer: The riots were caused by the violent escalation of a peaceful protest.

question: What was the protest about?

answer: Shocked and angered by the results of presidential elections, the students marched out of Berkeley. Other people joined them in the streets of Oakland.

question: How did the protest turn violent?

answer: Some people started lighting up trash cans, vandalizing flags, and burning flags. Actions kept escalating -windows of stores were smashed, police cruisers were attacked, and a large fire was lit in the ground floor of the Oakland Chamber of Commerce. A freeway would also be blocked by the protesters.

question: How did the riot end?

answer: Riot police were deployed and clashed with the protesters; a total of twelve law enforcement agencies were involved and 30 people were arrested (11 were issued citations).

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The 2016 Oakland Riots began peacefully but ended violently. When Berkeley students marched to the streets in protest of the results of the presidential elections, they were joined by other people. Soon the peaceful demonstration got out of hand as the protesters began to damage public and private property. The riots ended with the involvement of law enforcement and the arrest of 30 people.


text:
[[File:Wilhelm Studemund - Imagines philologorum.jpg|thumb|

Wilhelm Studemund

]] WILHELM STUDEMUND (3 July 1843, in Stettin – 8 August 1889, in Breslau) was a German classical philologist, known for his decipherment of the Ambrosian palimpsest of Plautus.[1]

He studied philology at the University of Berlin under August Boeckh and Moritz Haupt, and at the University of Halle as a student of Theodor Bergk. He received his doctorate in 1864, and then spent several years in Italy, during which time, he devoted his energy to the deciphering of palimpsests. In 1868 he became an associate professor at the University of Würzburg, and soon afterwards, he attained a full professorship. In 1870 he relocated to the University of Greifswald.[2][3]

In 1872 he was named a professor at the University of Strasbourg, and during following year, appointed chairman of the scientific examination board for school candidates. In 1882 he became a member of the high school council for Alsace-Lorraine. As an advisor to Edwin von Manteuffel, he was the target of frequent verbal attacks at Strasbourg. Following the death of Manteuffel in 1885, he relocated as a professor to the University of Breslau.[4][5]

He was founder and editor of the journal _Breslauer philologische Abhandlungen_.[6]

Selected works

-   _De canticis Plautinis_ (dissertation, 1864).
-   _Commentatio de Vidularia Plautina_ (edition of Plautus, 1870).
-   _Emendationes Plautinae_ (1871).
-   _Analecta Liviana_ (with Theodor Mommsen, 1873).
-   _Gaii institutionum commentarii quattuor; Codicis Veronensis_, etc. (edition of Gaius, 1874).
-   _Studien auf dem Gebiete des archaischen Lateins_ (3 volumes, 1873–91).
-   _Anecdota varia Graeca musica metrica grammatica_ (with Rudolf Scholl, 1886).
-   _T. Macci Plauti fabularum reliquiae Ambrosianae Codicis_, (1889).[7][8]

[1] A History of Classical Scholarship ...: The eighteenth century in Germany ... by Sir John Edwin Sandys

[2] Schmidt - Theyer / edited by Walther Killy _Dictionary of German Biography_

[3] Leopold Cohn: ADB:Studemund, Wilhelm In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Band 36, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1893, S. 721–731.

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7] Wilhelm Studemund de.Wikisource (bibliography)

[8] [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Search/Home?lookfor=%22Studemund,Wilhelm,1843-1889,%22&type=author&inst= HathiTrust Digital Library] (published works)

title: Wilhelm Studemund

question: What was Wilhelm Studemund known for?

answer: His decipherment of the Ambrosian palimpsest of Plautus.

question: Did Wilhelm Studemund ever spend time in South America?

answer: The text doesn't say.

question: List 2 works by Wilhelm Studemund.

answer: Emendationes Plautinae and Studien auf dem Gebiete des archaischen Lateins.

question: What does this text say happened to Wilhelm Studemund in 1982?

answer: He became a member of the high school council for Alsace-Lorraine

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This article is a brief biography of German classical philologist Wilhelm Studemund. Studemund (1843-1889) was best known for his work deciphering the Ambrosian palimpsest of Plautus.


text:
_CYBAEOPSIS_ is a genus of tangled nest spiders first described by Embrik Strand in 1907,[1] and transferred from Agelenidae to Amaurobiidae by Pekka T. Lehtinen in 1967.[2] They all occur in North America except for _C. typica_, found in Russia and Japan.[3]

Members of this genus closely resemble those of the genus _Callobius_, especially the females.[4] It is considered a senior synonym of _Callioplus_,[5] but not of _Alauximus_, which is a synonym of _Tugana_.[6]

Species

The former _C. crassa_ and _C. infumata_ have both been moved to the Cuban genus, _Tugana_, and several species have synonyms with the name “Amaurobius”, such as _C. armipotens_ and _C tibialis_. this genus contains ten species:[7]

-   _Cybaeopsis armipotens_ (Bishop & Crosby, 1926) – USA
-   _Cybaeopsis euopla_ (Bishop & Crosby, 1935) – USA, Canada
-   _Cybaeopsis hoplites_ (Bishop & Crosby, 1926) – USA
-   _Cybaeopsis hoplomacha_ (Bishop & Crosby, 1926) – USA
-   _Cybaeopsis macaria_ (Chamberlin, 1947) – USA
-   _Cybaeopsis pantopla_ (Bishop & Crosby, 1935) – USA
-   _Cybaeopsis spenceri_ (Leech, 1972) – USA
-   _Cybaeopsis tibialis_ (Emerton, 1888) – USA, Canada
-   _Cybaeopsis typica_ Strand, 1907 – Russia (Sakhalin, Kurile Is.), Japan
-   _Cybaeopsis wabritaska_ (Leech, 1972) – USA, Canada

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title: Cybaeopsis

question: What is cybaeopsis?

answer: Cybaeopsis is a genus of tangle nest spiders first described by Embrik Strand in 1907.

question: What other genus do members of the cybaeopsis look like?

answer: They closely resemble the members of the genus Callobius. especially the females.

question: How many species are under cybaeopsis?

answer: Ten.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Cybaeopsis is a genus of tangled nest spiders that were first described by Embrik Strand in 1907. Members of the cybaeopsis genus closely resemble those of the genus Callobius, especially the females. The cybaeopsis genus contains 10 species.


text:
   At 2:00am I had to go to the bathroom so I got out of bed. The bathroom light was already on and standing inside was my brother, casting a dreary brown gaze into the mirror, razorblade in hand, slicing off chunks of long bristly hairs from under his chin. Earlier in the night, during dinner, Mom and Dad had appraised his unkempt look.

   “You’re not helping your chances.” Dad said.

   “Why do you keep it?” Mom asked. My brother hadn’t shaved since he moved back in. Striding past him across the hall and down the stairs I could hear the fragile knocking of rain atop the roof and against the windows. Before I stepped into the downstairs bathroom I flicked on the floodlight out back to take a look. It must have been coming down for a while because I could see two small puddles that had pooled themselves in a little depression on the far side of our yard. In their reflections I caught glimpses of the woods that lay past our home. The leaves were gone now. It was getting cold. All there was to see were barren brown branches and ashen tree trunks. Those puddles looked so trapped and dreary all wadded-down in that little depression.

   “Don’t worry little puddles, It’s not gunna rain forever. Things’ll dry up.” After I finished in the bathroom I walked back up the stairs and past my brother again. This time he had his beard trimmed down and there was shaving cream over his face and around his lips and he was making short choppy strokes at his cheeks with a disposable razor. I stopped in the doorway for only a moment. I wasn't used to him again. His petrified self-stare: a pillar of salt.

   By morning the rain had stopped and as my parents and I were leaving for work we could hear my brother in his bedroom getting ready for his interview.

   “Did you shave?” Dad asked.

   “Yeah.” My parents smiled at each other.

   “Good luck!” Mom wished as she stepped out with Dad. I reached for my keys from the counter and my brother came out of his room. He had cuff-linked his wrists, had a tie wrapped around his neck, and was sporting a terribly fuzzy mustache that crawled over his lip. I gave him a smirk as I grabbed my keys and he lilted his eyebrows at me like he used to do when we were younger, before he moved away. He almost looked happy. I walked out to my car and as I pulled away I wondered if those sad little puddles had any chance to escape, before they froze.

title: Puddles

question: Who are the main characters of the story?

answer: The narrator, brother, mom, dad

question: Why is the brother shaving his beard at 2:00 AM?

answer: Mom and dad called him out for his unkempt look during dinner.

question: Explain the significance of the puddles.

answer: It could be a metaphor for grown children still living with their parents and the need to leave before they get rooted in place.

question: Define what "chances" was the dad talking about.

answer: The dad was telling the brother that having a beard and looking unkempt isn't helping his chances of getting a job.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator wakes up at 2:00 am to go to the bathroom but finds her brother shaving off his beard. He just moved back into their parent's house, and they told him to shave to increase his chances of getting a job. The narrator uses the bathroom downstairs and sees two puddles that looked trapped and dreary. The next day, the narrator pulls away in her car and wonders if the sad little puddles had a chance to escape before they froze.


text:
Was bored, wrote this in about an hour. Constructive criticism and general feedback are both appreciated.

---

Lyra stood in the doorway of the dressing room, her hands placed expressively on either hip. She knew that it was time to speak up. She would give the Master one last chance, but she had a feeling that this would be his final show.

“Ah yes, my sweet Lyra. What do you come about for? You've hardly any makeup on yet! Don't you know the show's about to start? Go get...”

“I'm not performing with you tonight.” she said, as firmly as she could.

“Excuse me?” the Master replied, dumbfounded. His mouth hung slightly agape.

“I'm done with the show. I'm not doing it anymore. You're going to have to find a new assistant.”

At this point, she knew there was no retracting her sentiment. She stood in the doorway, grasping the frame with palms of nervous sweat.

“Well, Lyra, I... Frankly I... I don't think you're in any position to make such brash decisions.” His face  glistened with the same sweat of her palms. “You signed the contract, and the contract says...”

“You drugged me, you bastard.” She was beginning to shudder with pent up rage, anger coursing readily through her heated veins. “I couldn't even speak when I signed that thing. You promised me money, fame, love...”

“...But the promises of a madman are as empty as your pretty little head, aren't they darling?” The nervous sweat had vanished from his face, replaced with only the darkest shades of malevolent confidence. The chuckle that followed was far from hearty.

Not once did Lyra move her gaze from his. She knew he would refuse to release her, and now that he had, she cognized the weight that his refusal carried. This brought her some emotional relief. She knew his triumph would be short-lived.

“Now go put on your things, you filthy slut.” He moved his eyes from hers and peered down into his tobacco pipe. A swift light drew out a large plume of smoke, and a few puffs later he returned his stare. “If you're not ready in five, you're in for one hell of a beating.”

She realized that the only viable response was to feign momentary subservience. “Yes master.” she replied, with an eerie calmness to her tone. She had stopped shaking; her anger had subsided. She knew that she had won, but the Master knew not.

As sharp as he was, he found nothing awry with her sudden obedience, and seemed more than pleased that his threats had done their job. “Yes, good girl. Now off with you!” Elements of playfulness pervaded his own tone, underscoring his outright insanity.

Lyra turned on her heel and walked to her dressing room. The door hung slightly open, and she pushed it the rest of the way in with her body. She knew it would be her final visit, so she made a point to gather the few things she truly cared for.

“Hairbrush, mace, lockpicks...” She briefly ran through a mental list of things to keep. When she got to the end, her suitcase was practically overflowing. She paused and thoughtfully gazed at her sandals.

“This is it.” She said to herself. She reached her hand into the hidden compartment of the suitcase and pulled out “the instrument” – a common knife with a single edged blade sharpened to a razor point. The Master seldom allowed her to use utensils when they ate together, but she had managed to garner the knife following the post-meal alcohol daze of his Friday eve meat feast.

The illumination of the red light in the hallway caught her attention as it reflected off of the blade in her hand. The show was starting - it was time to go. Her stature was firm and her goal clear in her mind as she strutted towards the stage, grasping the instrument for dear life.

She heard the roar of the audience as was blinded by the incessant haze of the overhead lights. Everyone had come to see the Master perform his tricks, fooling them as charmingly as he had her on the night that she was signed into servitude.

“And now...” roared his voice, “put your hands together for my lovely assistant... Lyra!”

The audience was familiar with this routine. Every member applauded her entry with great enthusiasm, for the more they expressed, the more bewildering the Masters tricks would be.

As she walked onto the platform, the applause tapered off abruptly, perhaps with the most acute decrescendo of the century. They saw her dressed casually, not as her usual subservient self. Boos began to replace former cheers, and the master felt a fair mix of anger and embarrassment.

He marched over to her while waving at the audience with a 'just a moment' gesture. “What on great mother earth do you fancy you're doing, you little whore? You're ruining the show! I told you to get your act together! And what the bloody hell are you fumbling with!?”

As her arm shot towards his collar, his eyes widened with terror. She plunged the instrument deep into the front of his neck, and it penetrated his adam's apple with ease. To her, it felt as if she were cutting butter.

He managed to let out a few exasperated gurgles before she slid the knife further up the sides of his neck. As it severed his carotid artery, blood spurted from the resulting wounds in a manner that seemed almost cartoonish. It was an unsettling sight, but she relished in the moment like none other, watching his life slowly drain away, his hatred and cruelty being replaced by emptiness and his consciousness slipping deeper into the void of oblivion.

Most of the members of the audience had left in a panicked frenzy. However, one particular man, deluded as he was, came up onto the stage and began to charge at Lyra, thinking her to be some sort of murderer who needed to be brought to proper justice.

She had very little time to finish her task. She looked the Master in his near-vacant eyes one last time as he lay on the polished hardwood floor of the stage, his brain cells rapidly atrophying. “It's all in your eyes, Master.” she whispered. “It's all in your eyes.”

With that, a swift kick to the head did him in. She hastily recovered the Nekraf from his front suit pocket, a device that could teleport the user to any destination of their choosing. Just before the enraged man grabbed the bottom portion of her blouse, she closed her eyes, pressed the prime button, felt a sharp jolt, and vanished into thin air. He stood around confused for a few more moments, looking up, down and every which way, but ultimately concluded that she truly was gone. In a minutes time, no one was left in the house save for the corpse of the accursed Master himself.

His show was no more, his tricks no longer existent. His mind control was nullified, and most of the audience members had recovered their full wits and were flabbergasted as to what they'd just experienced. Many speculated, but none remembered for sure. The Master was a forgotten man, his show a sullen piece, and his evils finally lain to a well-deserved rest.

Lyra awoke on a sunny beach of crystal blue waters, palm trees surrounding her sunken form. She stood up and looked into the distance, eyes set upon a singular tropical cabana.

“Home.” she said to herself, in near disbelief. “I'm finally home.”

She walked on.

title: The Instrument - 1280 words

question: Who is the main character?

answer: Lyra.

question: How did Lyra end up with the Master?

answer: He drugged her and convinced her to sign a binding contract.

question: What is 'The Instrument'?

answer: A knife taken from the previous night's dinner table.

question: What is Lyra's goal?

answer: To kill the Master so she can have her freedom and return home.

question: What is the Master's goal?

answer: To put on a show of illusions for a rapt audience.

question: What are the main events of the story?

answer: Lyra tells the Master she is resigning from his show, but he refuses and says she signed a contract. Lyra gets her things ready to leave, including a knife she took from the dinner table, and stabs him with it onstage. The audience panics and leaves, except for one man, who charges. Before the man can grab her, Lyra kicks in the Master's head and takes his teleportation device to escape back to her home by the beach.

question: What is the story's genre?

answer: Science fiction/fantasy.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Lyra decides to give the Master one last chance to release her from the contract he drugged her to get her to sign, but he refuses and threatens her with a beating if she doesn't get ready to go onstage as his magic show assistant. Lyra gets her things ready to leave, including a knife she took from the previous night's dinner table, and stabs him with it onstage. The mind-controlled audience panic, and one man charges at her. Lyra kicks in the Master's head and takes his teleportation device to escape back to her home by the beach.


text:
NEW ORLEANS — A court-supervised deal agreed to Tuesday will require the troubled New Orleans Police Department to implement the most sweeping police overhaul ever negotiated by the Justice Department.

Attorney General Eric Holder joined Mayor Mitch Landrieu in announcing the signing of a federal consent decree designed to clean up a police force that has been plagued by decades of corruption and mismanagement. The department came under renewed scrutiny following a string of police shootings in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The 124-page agreement spells out a series of strict requirements for overhauling the police department's policies and procedures for use of force, training, interrogations, searches and arrests, recruitment, and supervision.

Holder said the agreement is the most wide-ranging in the Justice Department's history and resolves its allegations that New Orleans police officers have engaged in a pattern of discriminatory and unconstitutional activity.

''There can be no question that today's action represents a critical step forward,'' Holder said. ''It reaffirms the Justice Department's commitment to fair and vigorous law enforcement at every level.''

Landrieu estimates the city will pay roughly $11 million annually for the next four or five years to implement the changes. He expressed confidence that the agreement will produce ''the new NOPD.''

''There is no problem here that cannot be solved,'' he said. ''We can and we must change, and we now have a clear roadmap forward.''

A federal judge must approve the agreement and oversee its implementation. Among its provisions:

P - All officers will be required to receive at least 24 hours of training on stops, searches, and arrests; 40 hours of use-of-force training; and four hours of training on bias-free policing, within a year of the agreement taking effect.

P - All interrogations involving suspected homicides or sexual assaults will have to be recorded in their entirety on video. The department also will be required to install video cameras and location devices in all patrol cars and other vehicles within two years.

P - The department will be required to completely restructure the system for paying officers for off-duty security details, develop a new report format for collecting data on all stops and searches, and create a recruitment program to increase diversity among its officers.

P - The city and Justice Department will pick a court-supervised monitor to regularly assess and report on the police department’s implementation of the requirements.

P - The city and police department can ask a judge to dissolve the agreement after four years, but only if they can show they have fully complied with its requirements for two years.

The Justice Department has reached similar agreements with police departments in Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Oakland, and Detroit. But the scope of the New Orleans consent decree is billed as the broadest of its kind and includes requirements that no other department has had to implement.

For instance, the agreement requires officers to respect that bystanders have a constitutional right to observe and record their conduct in public places. Its ''bias-free policing'' provisions, which call for creating a policy to guide officers' interactions with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender residents, also are believed to be unprecedented for a police department's consent decree.

Holder said Landrieu and Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas did not wait for the agreement to be signed before instituting reforms.

''The problems that we have identified were many years in the making and preceded this current administration,'' Holder said. ''They are wide-ranging and they are deeply-rooted. Sustainable reform will not occur overnight, but we can all be encouraged that it is already happening here thanks to the leadership of Mayor Landrieu, Chief Serpas, and so many others.''

question: What decree did Eric Holder and Mayor Landrieu sign?

answer: They announced the signing of a federal consent decree designed to clean up a police force that has been plagued by decades of corruption and mismanagement.

question: How much will the city pay to implement the changes?

answer: The city will pay roughly $11 million annually for the next four to five years to implement the changes.

question: Why was the police department under scrutiny?

answer: The police department came under scrutiny following a string of police shootings in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

question: Have similar agreements been made with other police departments?

answer: Similar agreements have been made with police departments in Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Oakland, and Detroit. But none include the requirements that New Orleans has to implement.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer:
The New Orleans police department has come under scrutiny following a string of police shootings in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Attorney General Eric Holder and Mayor Mitch Landrieu signed a federal consent decree designed to clean up the police force which has been plagued by decades of corruption and mismanagement.

The city will pay roughly $11 million annually for the next four to five years to implement the changes the federal judge approves. Similar agreements have also been made with police departments of other cities like Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Detroit. But none include the requirements that New Orleans will have to implement.


text:
_MURDOCH V MURDOCH_[1], also known as the Murdoch Case, was a controversial family law decision by the Supreme Court of Canada where the Court denied an abused ranch wife any interest in the family ranch.[2] This case is most notable for the public outcry it created at the time and for what many believe is Justice Laskin's most famous dissenting opinion.

Irene Murdoch, the wife of an Albertan rancher, submitted a claim for half the interest in the family ranch that was registered under the husband's name. The question put before the Court was whether there was an implied trust on behalf of the wife for all her years of labour on the ranch.

In a 4-1 decision, a majority of the Court dismissed the wife's application. Speaking for the majority, Justice Martland upheld the trial judge's finding that the wife's labour was not beyond what was normally expected of a ranch wife.[3] Martland J. held that since there was no financial contribution nor intention to create a trust, there could be no resulting trust, relying on a similar English case, _Gissing v. Gissing_.[4][5]

In dissent, Laskin J. argued that the Court did not need to examine intent in order to find a trust; rather a constructive trust based in equity could be found.

Laskin's dissent proved to be among his most famous. Many scholars, himself included, believed that his dissent was a major factor in his unexpected promotion to Chief Justice several years later.

Canadian feminists publicized the case across the country. The outcry against the decision contributed to substantial reforms to matrimonial property laws across the country, giving husbands and wives equal rights to property acquired during the course of the marriage.[6][7]

Following the Supreme Court decision, Irene Murdoch started a new proceeding, a petition for divorce. In the divorce proceedings, she was found to be entitled to a lump-sum award of $65,000 from James Murdoch, in place of monthly spousal maintenance.[8]

[1] _Murdoch v Murdoch_, (1973) [1975] 1 S.C.R. 423.

[2]

[3]

[4] _Gissing v. Gissing_ [1971] A.C. 886 (H.L.), [1970] UKHL 3.

[5] _Murdoch v. Murdoch_, pp. 437-439.

[6]

[7] Murdoch v. Murdoch and family property law in Canada.

[8]

title: Murdoch v Murdoch

question: What might have happened if Justice Lankin did not dissent?

answer: He might not have become Chief Justice. Additionally the reforms to matrimonial property might not have taken place.

question: What was Irene Murdoch's motivation in bringing the claim for half the interest in the family ranch?

answer: She separated from her husband and was awarded spousal maintenance. She still felt that her years of labor on their ranching operations entitled her to half of the ranch through the law of trust.

question: Summarize the legal action taken by Irene Murdoch.

answer: Irene Murdoch was awarded spousal maintenance. After this she submitted a claim for half the interest in the family ranch. This claim was dismissed by the Supreme Court. She proceeded with a petition for divorce and was awarded a lump sum from James Murdoch.

question: How did the relationship between Irene and James Murdoch change over time?

answer: They were married and built an increasingly larger ranch business. Then they separated and Irene Murdoch was awarded spousal maintenance. The relationship deteriorated further and she suffered abuse at the hands of James Murdoch. After the claim for half of the interest in the family ranch was denied, she petitioned for divorce.

question: Is the decision by the Supreme Court in the case of Murdoch v. Murdoch ethical?

answer: No. The judgement dis counted the labor that Irene Murdoch performed on their ranching operations by equating it to that of a normal ranch wife.

question: What does it mean for a judge in the Supreme Court to dissent?

answer: It means that the decision in the finding of the claim was not unanimous and that there is new legal ground to explore.


text:
Have you ever paused and thought, what if I died today?
If my ghost stumbled by would you have something to say?
These are two questions stuck consuming my lonely night mind.
Rife with fear, I fall unto ears and knees and I pray.
“God please protect me from the perils of the outside world"

But what if the biggest dangers came from inside my own head?
I imagine them mobilizing, and arrayed all over my bed.
I picture them crawling all over me while I play dead.
But then I replied with a move of my own,
I silenced them out with my boast and a shout

But what if they had managed to hurt the ones I love?

They broke down my wails and chanted their own,
Meticulously reciting as if they had designed a plan to make me fear.
I begged for my mommy and divine intervention to be near.
And then they grew.
they flew one by one at me with unprecedented speed.

The first announced himself to be Greed.
Avarice,
The consuming avatar of malice had encroached on my space.

"Bitch get the fuck out my face."
And that was that, his chains corroding to rust.

Then came Lust,
a disgusting manifestation of the ladies I have come to trust.
She pulled out a picture of the girl I’ve come to like and said,

“Baby would you like some head,
or maybe just bust while I do all the thrusts?”

Yes, I admit it, yes I was tempted
but then the actual girl sexted and I then repented.
“Look slut
you are beautiful and you have a thick butt,
but that pussy crust just won’t do,
and I’d rather have my balls cut off then spend a night with you”.

Ha! That’s two down
and if I remembered my Catholic studies correctly,
there were still five prowling around.

“Hello I am the Glutton,
I was wondering if you could help me button up?
I have this mutton would mine if we muttoned up?"

This one was tricky
obese and yet he moved quickly
Yet I was faster

“Damn you’re a disaster,
you’re the master,
of your own destiny,
and here you are trying to get me plastered,
You tempt me to indulgence you hefty fat bastard but I will remain stout,
take with you your scrapings and get the fuck out!"

And on to the next
The third test had come and gone,
I cheered above the rest,
but the battle was afloat I chose to ride on.

The fourth was Sloth, procrastination at it’s best,
but he crept forth timidly and whispered in my ears...

“You’ve got talent boy,
but the materials you work with are toys so stop,
Sit and chop it up with me,
learn what it takes to be
lavish excellency."

I knew he was right/
the truth hit me like a deer in headlights,

“Oh Sloth,
the only sin I’ve maybe betrothed,
your slights upon my honor are sour and vast,
but I refuse to be last.
So for now I’ll look to the past,
to all the situations where I’ve emerged victorious,
It makes me realize that no matter how much effort I put into whatever I do,
it’ll still be glorious.
and if not that then notorious,
I'll command the forces across the whole planet,
And I’ll be damned if my figure won’t be solidified in granite.”

So he vanished,
and in the midst of his departure,
All the hatred I have banished,
over the years, suddenly reappeared,
It was neither man or woman but simply a shade,
garbed in all black and brandishing a blade.

“I am Wrath, and I come to offer thou revenge
A chance to avenge all the harm done against thou,
we can cut them open with a mere strike of my plow."

Wow, a chance of revenge? I suddenly thought of Miss Kang,
or the cops who made me break my bong.
But no it was wrong.

“My friend, this opportunity is a great on but this I must not allow,
I wouldn’t be able to deal with all of the pain caused because of me,
I’ll take a knee."

That was a close call
I still remember how that one freaked me out the most of all.
Then he popped up,
The douche who stole my buttercup.

“What the fuck do you want?
You already haunt me whenever you can."

Standing up, I rushed at him headfirst.
Fueled with Wrath, my breath grew heavy as I battled with Envy,
He cut across my path,
but I had already done the math,
had him fooled,
I laughed at him while my head cooled.
He was gone.

It was five in the morning and still I had no break,
struggling for I knew these sins were out to take,
my soul,
digging holes in my chest,
but I was the best and I laughed, reflected,
and what came next was something I never expected,
Thinking of all the strides I had to make to keep myself vigilant and awake,
my body began to quake,
my soul began to shake,
my heart accepted a new ache,
I made a fatal mistake,
I cried while my body died and my soul swallowed alive by the tide,
brought around by my very own consuming Pride.

title: [Capital Vices:Life's Seven Spices] Xpost from poetry

question: Who are the main characters?

answer: The narrator/speaker and the embodiments of the seven deadly sins that the narrator/speaker appears to be struggling with

question: Who is the narrator/speaker?

answer: A Catholic individual (implied to be male)

question: What does the narrator / speaker want?

answer: To overcome temptation / the seven deadly sins while praying during a sleepless night.

question: What are the main events in the story?

answer: The narrator addresses and banishes the sins of Greed, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Wrath and Envy in turn, over the course of a sleepless night, but falls victim to Pride when he believes himself to have succeeded.

question: Why does the story end the way it does?

answer: The narrator/speaker believes that have overcome temptation and in doing so succumbs to the sin of pride.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: This is a poem that recounts the speaker's struggle with temptation and the seven deadly sins. They address and overcome the sins of Greed, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Wrath and Envy in turn. Near the early hours of the morning, they begin to feel pleased with what they have achieved, only to succumb to the sin of Pride.


text:
The C.H. KING COMPANY AND FIRST NATIONAL BANK BUILDING, also known as YELLOWSTONE DRUG, is one of the oldest buildings in Shoshoni, Wyoming. The building was built for Charles Henry King in 1905–1906. King was a central Wyoming businessman who established a lumber business in the building. King is otherwise notable as the biological grandfather of U.S. president Gerald R. Ford. The First National Bank of Shoshoni was also located in the building.[1]

From 1919 a grocery store operated in the building. In 1937 a Masonic lodge, the Wind River Lodge #25 bought the building for back taxes and established their lodge hall upstairs. During the 1970s the building housed an antique store and a residence. In the late 1970s Yellowstone Drug moved into the building.[2] The drugstore became a popular stopping point in central Wyoming. The store closed in 2012.[3]

Description

The two-story frame commercial building has two bays with entrances. The exterior is covered in metal panels pressed to simulate stone with pressed metal accessories and cornices. An oval stained glass window is to the left of the right-hand storefront. Four windows face the street in the upper story. Another storefront is midway on the side elevation. The building has a nearly flat roof sloping to the rear between parapets. On the interior, the partition between the main bays has been removed. The bank vault remains. A basement lies beneath the main level. The upper level is fitted out for meetings.[4]

The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 8, 1994.[5]

[1]  with

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

question: What is the C. H. King Company and First National Bank of Shoshoni also known as?

answer: Yellowstone Drug.

question: Where is C. H. King Company and First National Bank of Shoshoni located?

answer: Shoshoni Washington.

question: Who was C. H. King Company and First National Bank of Shoshoni built for?

answer: Charles Henry King.

question: When was C. H. King Company and First National Bank of Shoshoni built?

answer: 1905.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This article is about the C. H. King Company and First National Bank of Shoshoni. It discusses the history of the building.


text:
QURIAQOS OF TAGRIT (, )[1] was the Patriarch of Antioch, and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church, from 793 until his death in 817. He is commemorated as a saint by the Syriac Orthodox Church in the _Martyrology of Rabban Sliba_, and his feast day is 13 or 16 August.

Biography

Quriaqos was born and raised at Tagrit in the 8th century, and became a monk at the Monastery of the Pillar near Raqqa, where he studied theology. He was elected as patriarch of Antioch, and ordained at Harran on 17 August 793. Soon after his ascension to the patriarchate, Quriaqos had to resolve the issue of Zachariah, the former Bishop of Edessa, who had been deposed by Patriarch George I of Antioch in 785/786 due to complaints from the city's clergymen and chief laymen, and had unsuccessfully petitioned Quriaqos' predecessor Joseph to restore him to his former see. Quriaqos travelled with Zachariah to the city, and it was agreed that he would receive four rural districts in the diocese on the condition that they revert to the city's bishop on his death, and he ordained a monk of Qenneshre named Basil as bishop of Edessa. In the same year as his ascension to the patriarchate in 793, Quriaqos travelled to Tagrit in response to an appeal to resolve a dispute between the archbishop of Tagrit and the monks of the Monastery of Saint Matthew. The patriarch declared that the archbishop of Tagrit had the authority to ordain an archbishop for the monastery, Nineveh, and some churches of Mosul.

Quriaqos aimed to put to an end to the phrase, 'we break the heavenly bread in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost' in celebrating the Eucharist, which the Patriarch George had declared heretical as he argued it implied a division of the person of Christ, but its usage had not been banned in fear of a schism as it was popular at the monasteries of Gubo Baroyo and Qartmin. Priests ordained by Quriaqos were forbidden from using the phrase. This drew the ire of the proponents of the phrase, and at the synod of Beth Batin in November 794/795, it was decided that the phrase was permissible, to Quriaqos' chagrin. The patriarch's opponents further disrupted his policies in his attempt to reconcile with the Julianists, a fellow non-Chalcedonian sect. Quriaqos held a synod at the Monastery of Nawawis in 797/798, and on 7 September, a union with the Julianists was agreed after a creed co-written by Quriaqos and the Julianist patriarch Gabriel was accepted. It was stipulated that Gabriel would become the next patriarch of Antioch if Quriaqos predeceased him. However, the agreement did not come to fruition as Quriaqos' opponents refused to accept the union, and accused him of becoming a Julianist.

Quriaqos had some success in confronting his opponents, in that Severus of Samosata was successfully dealt with after the patriarch appealed to the Muslim authorities. His success was short-lived as Quriaqos' deposition of Bishop Bacchus of Cyrrhus prompted an open schism. Bacchus was deposed after several warnings, but he defied the patriarch, encouraged the use of the aforementioned 'heavenly bread' phrase amongst clergymen in his diocese, and demanded that all future bishops of Cyrrhus have first been a monk at the Monastery of Gubo Baroyo, where he resided. Quriaqos disregarded Bacchus' demand, and ordained Solomon, a monk of the Monastery of Jacob of Cyrrhus, as bishop, but this incensed his opponents, and Quriaqos was removed from the diptychs of the diocese of Cyrrhus. The dispute escalated in 807 as monks from the Monastery of Gubo Baroyo met with the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, and accused Quriaqos of being an eastern Roman sympathiser and spy, and of constructing churches on the frontier with the eastern Roman Empire so to further aid them in the conflict against the caliphate. All churches on the frontier were thus destroyed on the caliph's orders, as well as churches at Antioch and Jerusalem. The patriarch survived the incident unscathed as Harun's secretary Isma'il ibn Salih, who was acquainted with and on good terms with Quriaqos, was charged with handling the accusations, and exiled the monks.

To reassert his authority on the church, Quriaqos summoned a synod at Beth Gabrin near Cyrrhus in 807/808, and excommunicated and deposed his opponents. After the synod, a monk of Qartmin named Abraham, who was resentful towards Quriaqos for refusing to pardon his brother Simeon, a monk of Gubo Baroyo, joined the schismatics and was subsequently proclaimed patriarch by the monks of Gubo Baroyo. Abraham consecrated his own bishops, accused Quriaqos of being a Julianist, and promoted the 'heavenly bread' phrase, to which the patriarch responded by excommunicating him and his supporters. Abraham unsuccessfully appealed to the Coptic Pope Mark II of Alexandria for recognition, but was met with excommunication after the pope received a letter from Quriaqos. The schism with Abraham and his supporters went unresolved for the remainder of Quriaqos' reign.

He summoned another synod at Harran in 812/813. In c. 816, in response to an invitation from Prince Ashot Msaker to debate the Chalcedonian Theodore Abu Qurrah, Quriaqos sent Nonnus of Nisibis to represent the non-Chalcedonians. A dispute between the Archbishop Basil I of Tagrit and the Monastery of Saint Matthew erupted in 817 as Basil opposed the monks' election of a certain Daniel as archbishop, and Quriaqos was forced to intervene as the situation deteriorated. Quriaqos supported Basil I as the archbishop had precedence over all other bishops in the former Sassanian Empire, and excommunicated the monks. The patriarch convened a synod at Mosul to resolve the issue, and acknowledged Daniel as archbishop of the Monastery of Saint Matthew, on the condition that he accepted his subordination to the archbishop of Tagrit. Although the precedence of the archbishop of Tagrit was established at the synod, his power was limited, whereby it was decreed he must not act in a suffragan diocese without its bishop's consent, nor ordain a bishop without the approval of the archbishop of the Monastery of Saint Matthew, and thus the dispute was resolved. Quriaqos died soon after at Mosul in June or August 817, and was buried at Tagrit. As patriarch, he consecrated eighty-six bishops.

Works

Quriaqos issued forty-six canons at the synod of Beth Batin in 794/795, one of which ordered clergymen and laymen to not enter the churches of the Nestorians, Chalcedonians, and Julianists, and to not participate in their services. The canons also forbade the baptism of adherents of the aforementioned churches, and condemned clergymen who were involved in divination. As well as this, he enacted twenty-six canons at the synod of Harran in 812/813.

The patriarch also wrote a biography of Patriarch Severus of Antioch, an anaphora, and ten letters in response to questions from Yeshu, deacon of Tirminaz. Additionally, he is credited with writing a book on theological teaching, divided into three volumes and 98 treatises.

[1]

title: Quriaqos of Tagrit

question: Why did the monasteries of Gubo Baroyo and Qartmin oppose Quriaqos of Tagrit for much of his reign as the Patriarch of Antioch?

answer: Quriaqos was born in Tagrit in the 8th century and studied theology at Raqqa. He was made patriarch of Antioch in the year 793 and, shortly after, declared his intentions to remove the phrase 'we break the heavenly bread in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost' from the Eucharist. The reason behind this was because Quriaqos believes the phrase implied a division in Christ's person. The monasteries of Gubo Baroyo and Qartmi were against this change and fought to have it maintained. Though Quriaqos banned the use of the phrase from his inner circle, he was not able to stop its use in public.


text:
SKYTEL GROUP () is one of Mongolia’s leading mobile phone operators that currently holds a quarter of the mobile market. With over 500,000 active subscribers and 400 employees of which 90% have a bachelor's degree or higher education. The company's network functions on an HSPA+ network in Ulaanbaatar and [CDMA2000 1x] & [EVDO] network technology in the rest of the country.

Skytel has 43 branches and over 4000 retail shops across Mongolia, and their network covers another 250 counties worldwide.

Skytel Group was founded in 1999 and was a joint venture between private Mongolian and Korean firms until December 2010 when it became a 100% national enterprise with equal shareholders of Altai Holding and Shunkhlai Group. In 2011, Skytel has expanded into a group of companies through the full acquisition of Sky C&C, a well established internet, IDD, SI service provider, as well as major shares of Telemax Communications, a mobile WiMax operator, and Tengis Movie Theatre, the first modern cinema in Mongolia. The company also owns 50% of Skynetworks, a nationwide fiber optic infrastructure operator, and a minor share of Sky Resort, a modern ski, golf resort in Ulaanbaatar.

The company offers a variety of services including SkyMarket an e-market of cellular phones to its post-paid OPEN and Nice subscribers, as well as to its pre-paid d20, SkyPhone and SkyCall subscribers. Its headquarters are located in the center of Ulaanbaatar city, on Chinggis Khaan Avenue - 9.

History

Skytel Group was founded in May 1999 with Mongolian and Korean (SK Telecom and Taihan) joint investment. Since February 12, 2001 the company started operating on CDMA IS-95B system eventually emerging to more advanced CDMA 2000-1x technology. In 2010 the company has successfully introduced 3.75G HSPA+ network providing up to 21Mbit/s speed in wireless broadband. Skytel is expected to launch its IPTV services in summer of 2012. In December 2011 Mongolian business groups have acquired the Korean shares of the company making it a 100% national enterprise. In middle of 2012, Skytel Group has expanded its CDMA 3G network to all province center. CDMA 2000 Evdo Rev.A network has been covered all province centers. Since 2012, the corenetwork systems, all telecommunications and transmission equipment, China's ZTE doors of equipment manufactured by replaced.

Operating Branches in Ulaanbaatar

-   Skytel Plaza
-   Skytel Unur
-   Skytel Zaluuchuud
-   Skytel 4 Zam
-   Skytel Narlag
-   Skytel Tengis
-   Skytel Sky
-   Skytel Sansar
-   Skytel Dragon
-   Skytel Orgil
-   Shine Ger /Viva city/

Operating Branches in other areas

-   Arhangai
-   Bayan-Ulgii
-   Baganuur
-   Bayanhongor
-   Bor Undur
-   Bulgan
-   Govi-Altai
-   Govisumber
-   Darhan
-   Dornod
-   Dundgovi
-   Zavhan
-   Zuun Haraa
-   Nalaih
-   Uvurhangai
-   Umnugobi
-   Sainshand
-   Selenge
-   Sukhbaatar
-   Tarialan
-   Toson Tsengel
-   Tuv
-   Uvs
-   Uyanga
-   Harhorin
-   Hovd
-   Huvsgul
-   Hujirt
-   Hentii
-   Erdenet
-   Hanbogd
-   Tsogttsetsii

title: Skytel (Mongolia)

question: Summarize Skytel's network coverage.

answer: Skytel is a leading mobile phone operator in Mongolia. The company has over 500,000 active subscribers. Their network functions on an HSPA+ network in Ulaanbaatar and [CBDA2000 1x] and [EVDO] network technology in the rest of the country.

question: Summarize the services offered by the group.

answer: The company is not only a major mobile phone operator but they also provide a variety of other services. One of those is SkyMarket, an e-market of cellular phones to its post-paid OPEN and Nice subscribers, and to its pre-paid d20, SkyPhone, and SkyCall subscribers.

question: Summarize the reason behind making the company a national enterprise.

question: Summarize the history of its operations.

answer: The group was founded with Mongolian and Korean joint investment in 1999. In 2001, the company started operating on the CDMA IS-95B system and eventually advanced to CDMA 2000-1x technology. In 2010, they introduced a 3.75G HSPA+ network. Two years later, they expanded their CDMA 3G network to all province centers.


text:
LUCCRETH MOCCU CHÍARA[1] (_floruit_ c. 665 AD)[2] was a poet from County Kerry, Ireland who wrote in archaic Old Irish. _Moccu_ is an archaic form marking affiliation to an ancestral population group or _gens_,[3] in this case the Cíarraige. James Carney identifies the poet in genealogies of the Cíarraige as the last of six sons of a certain Áine, a descendant of Mug Airt, also known as Cíar, son of the legendary Ulaid hero Fergus mac Róich and supposed founder of the Cíarraige. The genealogies add that Luccreth had no children, and that “His dwelling-place faces the church of Cluain on the south”.[4]

Works

Three poems attributed to Luccreth are preserved, all on genealogical themes. Eoin MacNeill describes him as “an experimenter in the production of new metres”, blending older syllabic and alliterative verse forms with newer, accentual and rhyming verse forms.[5]

_Conailla Medb míchuru_

The 73-line poem _Conailla Medb Míchuru_ (“Medb enjoined evil contracts”) is preserved, along with a later prose introduction, in a genealogical tract in the 15th-century manuscript Laud Misc 610 in the Bodleian Library,[6] and has been edited and translated by P. L. Henry.[7] It contains one of the earliest references in Irish literature to events and characters of the Ulster Cycle, telling of the Ulaid hero Fergus mac Róich's exile from his king, Conchobar, to queen Medb and king Ailill, and his involvement in their war over the Ulaid's cattle. However, his exile is not in Connacht, as in the extant versions of _Táin Bó Cúailnge_ and related stories, but in Tara. Cú Chulainn does not appear, his role taken by Fergus' son Fiacc, who defends the Ulaid against his father's battalions. The poem goes on to tell how the descendants of the Ulaid hero Cethern settled in the midlands, and later migrated to Munster in the time of Óengus mac Nad Froích (d. 490).[8] Luccreth refers to the material he presents as _sen-eolas_ (“old knowledge”), traditional material passed down from his ancestors.[9]

_Ba mol Mídend midlaige_

Another poem ascribed to Luccreth is _Ba mol Mídend midlaige_ (“It was the prophetic utterance of Midend, the fool”),[10] also found in the Laud genealogical tract.[11] It tells how the ancestors of the Corcu Óchae, a people of Munster who traced their ancestry to an Ulster Cycle character, Dubthach Dóeltenga,[12] migrated from Ulster to Munster following the eruption of Lough Neagh.[13]

_Cú-cen-máthair_

The third work attributed to Luccreth is _Cú-cen-máthair_ (“hound without a mother”), a poem on the genealogy of the Eóganachta king Cathal Cú-cen-máthair (d. 665).[14] It includes an early account of the 72 peoples said to have been dispersed from the plain of Shinar, each with their own language, following the Tower of Babel. However, their names, arranged in Irish metre, have been shown to derive not from _Genesis_, but rather from the roster of nations, former Roman provinces and other places mentioned in St. Isidore's _Etymologiae_ (Books IX and XIV):

  "_Bithin, Scithin, Scuitt, Scill,_
  _Scarthaig, Greic, Guitt, Gaill._
  _Germain, Point, Pampil muaid,_
  _Moraind luind, Lugdoin uaig._
  _Oatri, Cipri, Ciclaid, Creit,_
  _Corsic, Sardain, Sicil, Reit._
  _Rigind, Rudi, Romain mair,_
  _Masail, Mussin, Macedoin nair._
  _Numin, Noric, Nombithi braiss,_
  _Bretain, Belgaich, Boet maiss._
  _Magoich, Armein, amais gairg,_
  _Galait, Achaid, Athain aird._
  _Alain, Albain, Hircain oig,_
  _Etail, Espain, Guith goich._
  _Grinne fairne Frainc, Frig,_
  _Fresin, Longbaird luind lir._
  _Lacdemoin, Tessail, Traic,_
  _Troian, Dardain, Dalmait, Daic._

This listing, in several variants, seems to have become well known in medieval Ireland, as forms of it appear in both _Auraicept na n-Éces_[15] and the later _Lebor Gabála Érenn_.

[1] alternative spellings: Luccrad, Luccraid, Lucrith; mocu; Cíara, Chérrai, Cheri, Cerai, Gerai

[2] Eoin MacNeill, “A Pioneer of Nations: part II”, _Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review_ vol 11, no 43, 1922, pp. 435-446

[3] T. M. Charles-Edwards, _Early Irish and Welsh Kinship_, Oxford University Press, 1993, p. 149

[4] James Carney, “Three Old Irish Accentual Poems”, _Ériu_ vol 22, 1971, pp. 23-80

[5]

[6] Kuno Meyer, “The Laud Genealogies and Tribal Histories”, _Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie_ 8, 1912, pp. 291-338

[7] P. L. Henry, “_Conailla Medb Míchuru_ and the Tradition of Fiacc Son of Fergus”, in Séamus Mac Mathúna and Ailbhe Ó Corráin (eds.), _Miscellanea Celtica in memoriam Heinrich Wagner_, Uppsala, 1997, pp. 53-70

[8]

[9] James Carney, “Language and literature in 1169”, in Dáibhí Ó Cróinín (ed.), _A New History of Ireland 1: Prehistoric and Early Ireland_, Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 451-510

[10]

[11]

[12] Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, “Prosopographical Analysis of _Táin Bó Cúailnge_ in a Historical Setting”, in Hildegard L. C. Tristram (ed.), _New Methods in the Research of Epic_, Gunter Narr Verlag, 1998, pp. 153-160

[13]

[14]

[15] George Calder, _Auraicept na n-éces : the scholars' primer_, 1917: Introduction, p. xxxii.

title: Luccreth moccu Chiara

question: Describe everything about the poetic tradition Luccreth worked in.

answer: Luccreth composed poetry in the Old Irish language, and lived around 665 Anno Domini. This means that he was one of the first poets to work in Christian Ireland. He appears to have recorded several poems which refer to events in the Ulster Cycle which are not found elsewhere. Luccreth refers to the material that he passes down as sen-eolas, or old knowledge from the ancestors. Thus we can see in Luccreth an incredibly rare and important Irish poet, one who is firmly part of the tradition, and composing verses at a transition point between the druids and Christianity.

question: What innovations did Luccreth add to the Irish poetic tradition?

answer: Eoin MacNeill describes Luccreth as "an experimenter in the production of new metres." He blended older syllabic and alliterative verse forms with newer, accentual and rhyming verse forms. It is not clear when his poems were written down, probably after his life, but they are part of the transition from an oral to a literate culture. However, he says that his poetry comes from the ancients, "sen-eolas."

question: Describe the three poems attributed to Luccreth which have survived.

answer: The three poems are Conailla Medb michuru, "Medb enjoined evil contracts", referring to the character Queen Medb who enjoys a prominent part of the Tain Bo Cuailgne. This poem contains material relating to Fergus mac Roich's exile from Conchobar mac Nessa to queen Medb and king Ailill and the war of the Ulaid's cattle. This is a familiar episode from extant parts of the Tain, except his exile is in Tara instead of Connacht. THen there is the Ba mol Midend midlaige, a poem which tells of the ancestors of Corcu Ochae, a people of Munster. Finally there is the Cu-cen-mathair, or "hound without a mother" which tells of the genealogy of Cathal  Cu-cen-mathair. It discusses an account of 72 peoples dispersed from the plain of Shinar, each with their own language, following the Tower of Babel.

question: Describe the influence Luccreth had on Irish poetry.

answer: The list of peoples of the Tower of Babel Luccreth gives in Cu-cen-mathair appear also in the Lebor Gabala Erenn and the Auraicept na ne-Eces, two of the most important documents in Irish literature. In addition, Conailla Medb michuru appears to be a very ancient version of the Tain bo Cualigne. It can be said that Luccreth was both an innovator of new forms, and a preserver of the Irish poetic tradition, at a time when it was going through a great transition.