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FMD2500 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders in the U.S. Congress have agreed to work together on legislation to protect “Dreamers,†the illegal immigrants who were children when they entered the United States, the lawmakers said on Wednesday, although a dispute erupted over exactly what had been agreed. Following a dinner with Trump at the White House, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said the “productive meeting†focused on “DACA,†a program established by former President Barack Obama. “We agreed to enshrine the protections of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) into law quickly, and to work out a package of border security, excluding the wall, that’s acceptable to both sides,†Schumer and Pelosi said in a statement. All year, Democrats have insisted that they will block any legislation that contains funding for a wall along the length of the U.S. border with Mexico, a top Trump campaign goal that many Republicans in Congress also do not support. While White House officials have suggested legislation on DACA could move forward without wall funding, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders disputed the characterization that a deal had been reached to leave it out of any legislation focused on the Dreamers. “While DACA and border security were both discussed, excluding the wall was certainly not agreed to,†she said on Twitter. Throughout his 2016 campaign for president and since taking office in January, Trump has demanded the construction of a wall to keep out illegal immigrants and drugs. He initially said Mexico would pay for the wall but has requested money from the U.S. Congress after the government of Mexico refused to pay. The dinner was the latest effort in a new initiative by Trump to work with opposition party Democrats on major legislation. Following the dinner, a White House official said the president, Schumer and Pelosi discussed tax reform, immigration, border security, infrastructure investments and trade as part of Trump’s bid to reach out to Democrats. “The administration looks forward to continuing these conversations with leadership on both sides of the aisle,†the official said. Over a dinner of Chinese food, Trump and the Democratic leaders also discussed issues related to U.S.-China trade, according to a congressional aide briefed on the meeting. Schumer and Pelosi also said that they urged Trump to make permanent government subsidy payments under the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare.†“Those discussions will continue,†the lawmakers said. Trump and most Republicans in Congress have demanded the repeal of Obamacare but have been unable to agree on a replacement for the healthcare program that became law in 2010. Using his executive powers, Trump canceled Obama’s DACA program in which about 800,000 undocumented young people have escaped the threat of deportation and been able to apply for work permits in the United States. Trump argued that Obama over-stepped his authority in creating the program. But Trump gave Congress six months to come up with a replacement program in the form of legislation to be enacted into law. Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar, who attended a White House meeting with Trump earlier on Wednesday, told reporters the president said he would not insist on wall funding as part of a Dreamers bill, but would pursue it on other, future legislation. Cuellar said Trump urged lawmakers to link a Republican bill to cut legal immigration to the United States with protections for Dreamers. But many Democrats oppose lowering the cap on annual legal immigration. | 1 | [
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FMD2501 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: European Council President Donald Tusk said on Friday that 27 EU leaders meeting in Brussels had agreed to give the green light to internal preparations for the second phase of Brexit talks with London. The 27 EU states want to be ready to move to talks with London about their post-Brexit relations after the chief divorce issues are settled in negotiations that are already taking place. They have, however, stalled and British Prime Minister Theresa May failed to break the deadlock when she appealed to her EU counterparts during a Brussels dinner on Thursday night. The 27 have said they hope they can announce enough progress in agreeing the exit terms with London in December to be able to start new talks with Britain on their ties after Brexit materializes, as is due in March, 2019. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday night talks with Britain were moving forward and were unlikely to break down. | 1 | [
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FMD2502 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Did a Woman Come Out of Her Grave and Walk After Being Dead for 3 Years? Claim summaries: Tall tales of "walking dead" corpses in Indonesia appear to have been inspired by the unusual funerary practices of the Toraja people of Sulawesi.
contextual information: In mid-2017, an article published on the web site Women's News (WNews.world) gained notoriety among social media users, thanks to its outlandish claim that an Indonesian woman deceased for three years not only returned to life and walked among the living, but was actually photographed doing so: article The text of the article makes reference to a "special rite" used by the locals to bring the corpse back to life: In Indonesia, in the town of Toraja, a woman leaves her grave after being dead for 3 years. Fortunately, this event was caught on camera and its the evidence of how this woman was resurrected after that much time. There is no doubt that this is a frightening and surprising fact. They say that in order to bring her back to life, a special rite is performed in the place of the womans tomb. The premise struck us as both preposterous and familiar, so we dug deeper and found many other versions, including one that was posted to the snopes.com message board in September 2010: posted We found an even older version posted on an Indonesian blog in November 2009. It included the writer's personal reminiscences around witnessing a "walking corpse" in his or her youth (although the narrative suffers a bit due to machine translation): posted The story of a dead corpse has been around since time immemorial. Hundreds of years ago it was said that there was a civil war in Tana Toraja namely the Toraja West fought against the East Toraja people. In the battle the West Toraja was defeated because most of them were killed, but at the time of going home their entire corpse of the Toraja West was walking, while the East Toraja people though only a few were killed but they took the corpses of their dead brother, Then the war is considered a series. On the next offspring the Toraja people often bury their corpses by way of the corpse walking alone to the grave. The phenomenon of "Walking bodies" that I myself have witnessed directly. The incident occurred around the year 1992 (I'm new grade 3 elementary). At that time in my village there was a man named Pongbarrak whose mother died. Such as Toraja custom the corpse is not directly buried but still has to go through a customary procession of burial (signs solo '). At that time after bathing the dead body of the mother is placed in bed in a special room before it is inserted into the coffin. On the third night the whole family gathered to talk about how the funeral procession would take place. At that time I sat on the porch of the house understand the children so like to pace. But after the meeting is over (around 10 pm), suddenly there is a noise in the house where some mothers shout. Out of curiosity I tried to look into the house and the dead man was walking out of the room, just cash me and my friends screamed hysterically and ran down the stairs. I ran and got my dad hysterically scared. After that I was taken home by father and I do not know what happened next. Common to every variant we've encountered are references to the Tana Toraja region of South Sulawesi, an island in Indonesia. (If you've ever tasted any of the earthy, subtly spicy coffees imported from Sulawesi, odds are the beans were grown and hand-harvested in Tana Toraja.) Nor is it a coincidence that virtually every travel guide offering information about the remote location spotlights certain "peculiar," "complex," and purportedly "gruesome" funerary practices found there (practices that are indeed so unusual and elaborate that entire books have been written about them and tourists flock to record them on their mobile devices). The more we learned about these traditions, the more we became convinced they were the inspiration for tales about Indonesia's so-called "walking dead." Tana Toraja books flock It's unclear precisely how long the Toraja people, who descended from Austronesian speakers living in central Sulawesi well before Europeans arrived in the 1500s, have inhabited the island. During the 1700s, the Toraja population was driven into the southern mountains (where the majority of them are still concentrated) by another ethnic subgroup, the Buginese. Although most Toraja now identify as Christian or Muslim, many still honor beliefs and customs handed down from their ancestors beliefs and customs in which death takes center stage. Anthropologist Kelli Swazey described the Torajans' intimate, intricate relationship with the dead in a 2013 TED Talk entitled "Life that Doesn't End with Death": Life that Doesn't End with Death In Tana Toraja, the most important social moments in people's lives, the focal points of social and cultural interaction are not weddings or births or even family dinners, but funerals. So these funerals are characterized by elaborate rituals that tie people in a system of reciprocal debt based on the amount of animals pigs, chickens and, most importantly, water buffalo -- that are sacrificed and distributed in the name of the deceased. So this cultural complex surrounding death, the ritual enactment of the end of life, has made death the most visible and remarkable aspect of Toraja's landscape. Lasting anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, funeral ceremonies are a raucous affair, where commemorating someone who's died is not so much a private sadness but more of a publicly shared transition. And it's a transition that's just as much about the identity of the living as it is about remembrance of the dead. In Toraja society, Swazey explains, death is seen as a process -- and a lengthy process, at that -- rather than as a singular event: So where we see an unquestionable reality, death as an irrefutable biological condition, Torajans see the expired corporeal form as part of a larger social genesis. So again, the physical cessation of life is not the same as death. In fact, a member of society is only truly dead when the extended family can agree upon and marshal the resources necessary to hold a funeral ceremony that is considered appropriate in terms of resources for the status of the deceased. And this ceremony has to take place in front of the eyes of the whole community with everyone's participation.... Until the funeral ceremony, which can be held years after a person's physical death, the deceased is referred to as "to makala," a sick person, or "to mama," a person who is asleep, and they continue to be a member of the household. They are symbolically fed and cared for, and the family at this time will begin a number of ritual injunctions, which communicates to the wider community around them that one of their members is undergoing the transition from this life into the afterlife known as Puya. So I know what some of you must be thinking right now. Is she really saying that these people live with the bodies of their dead relatives? And that's exactly what I'm saying. A National Geographic video shot in 2016 provides brief glimpses into Tana Toraja death and burial rites (warning: includes graphic scenes of animal sacrifice): rites Of particular interest with regard to the "walking dead" tales we're investigating is the ma'nene ceremony, in which the mummified corpses of dead family members are exhumed, washed, reclothed, and walked through the center of town, examples can be seen both in the latter half of the National Geographic video above and this tourist video uploaded to YouTube in 2016: video Bringing our investigation full circle, Loyola University anthropology professor Kathleen Adams, who spent two years in Tana Toraja observing the lives and culture of its people, confirmed in an interview with Loyola Magazine that the "walking dead" stories represent a corrupted version of the truth: interview What started happening, as best as I can piece together, was migrants who had moved to Jakarta and other parts of Indonesia, who were often second-generation migrants, were coming back, Adams says. The city folk would want a picture next to their deceased relatives, and the images started circulating on Facebook. Toraja became suddenly internationally associated with this idea of the walking dead and zombies. That's not to say that concept is entirely foreign to the culture. "Torajans also tell stories about corpses that walk on their own to their final resting place," Kelli Swazey told us via e-mail: Many Torajans relate that in the past, powerful ritual practitioners could make a corpse walk on its own. This practice is not done anymore, according to many Torajans, because it is a kind of magic that is not appropriate for modern Christians, and the majority of Torajans identify as Protestant Christians today. In addition, there are many stories of other kinds of revenants that the living encounter in Indonesia, so the circulation of these kinds of stories is quite common in the Indonesian media. So, folklore and media sensationalism notwithstanding, do the deceased really rise from their graves and walk in Tana Toraja, Sulawesi? Yes, but no not literally. They do so only with the help of surviving family members, who continue to demonstrate their love and devotion long after the physical bodies of their loved ones have gone quiet. The photograph does not show an actual zombie. Bennett, Amanda. "When Death Doesn't Mean Goodbye."
National Geographic, March 2016. Gaynor, Anna. "One Culture's Unique Rituals for the Dead Have a Lot to Teach Us About Life."
Loyola Magazine. Accessed 12 July 2017. Kugel, Seth. "In Indonesia, A Region Where Death Is a Lure."
The New York Times. 30 July 2015. Swazey, Kelli. "Life that Doesn't End with Death."
TED Talks. April 2013. Tomkiw, Lydia. "Funeral Tourism in Sulawesi: Is It Ethical?"
CNN. 27 March 2013. WB, Stephen. "Walking Dead Version Toraja."
Mamasa Online. 10 November 2009. Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Toraja."
Accessed 12 July 2017. Lonely Planet. "Introducing Tana Toraja."
Accessed 12 July 2017. Women's News. "Woman Comes Out from Her Grave and Walks After 3 Years of Being Dead."
Accessed 12 July 2017. | 0 | [
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FMD2503 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Organizers of the Fyre Festival — a promised “luxury†music festival in the Bahamas that left guests who paid tens of thousands of dollars scrambling immediately to find flights home — have been hit with a $100 million lawsuit alleging the whole enterprise was a “ scam†from the beginning. [Attorney Mark Geragos filed the $100 million proposed lawsuit in California Sunday on behalf of client and festival attendee Daniel Jung, Billboard reports. The claim alleges that Fyre organizers — namely, the rapper Ja Rule and entrepreneur Billy McFarland — attempted to “fleece attendees for hundreds of millions of dollars by inducing them to fly to a remote island without food, shelter or water — and without regard to what might happen to them after that. †Ticket buyers — some of whom spent up to a reported $200, 000 on the most luxurious festival accommodations — arrived at the Island of Exumas on Thursday to find a festival site in disarray, with unfinished infrastructure and stages, disaster relief tents in place of luxury villas, and “gourmet†bread and cheese sandwiches in a cafeteria organizers had promised would be staffed by a celebrity chef. The festival — which had been heavily promoted for months by models and influential social media personalities including Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and Hailey Baldwin — had been billed as a unique “cultural experience,†with planned performances from and the rappers Tyga and Desiigner, and opulent ticket packages offering the ability to charter a yacht. The festival’s official video promised the island was once owned by legendary drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. But guests who made it to the island reported seeing wet, soggy tents, a lack of security and food, and even stray animals roaming the campgrounds. After organizers cancelled the event Friday, attendees struggled to schedule return flights home as the Island of Exumas’ tiny airport was overrun with travelers. In the lawsuit, Geragos alleges that the festival was “more like The Hunger Games or Lord of the Flies than Coachella,†according to Billboard. The suit alleges fraud, breach of contract and negligent misrepresentation, with Geragos charging that the island was not “private,†as had been advertised, and had never been owned by Escobar. The lawsuit also claims that Rule and McFarland knew the festival would be a catastrophe and warned promoters not to attend. “They called all the names and the modeling agencies and told them not to come,†a source told the New York Post‘s Page Six over the weekend. “They were just like, ‘Oh, come next weekend when all the kinks have been worked out.’ This was before the chaos even started. †Organizers issued a statement to Billboard claiming “full responsibility†for the festival, but promised full refunds and VIP accommodations to next year’s event, which they said would take place at a “United States beach venue. †“We apologize for any inconvenience the past has caused and we look forward to making a considerable donation to the Bahamas Red Cross Society as part of our initiatives,†the organizers wrote. “We need to make this right. And once we make this right, then we will put on the dream festival we sought to have since the inception of Fyre. †Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum | 1 | [
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FMD2504 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: The shutdown is projected to result in $10 billion in costs to the economy per week.
contextual information: Now that we're living in a federal government shutdown, what is the impact on the economy? U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz waved her calculator at the GOP and cited a staggering figure on Twitter: $10 billion in costs to the economy per week. This is what the Republicans had to say? tweeted Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, who also serves as the chair of the Democratic National Committee. We wanted to verify her number: How much will the shutdown cost the economy? Wasserman Schultz's figures align with those from the White House. A White House spokesman stated that the $10 billion figure originated from an August report by the investment group Goldman Sachs. We also found similar estimates from Moody's and IHS. These financial firms agree that the impact depends on the duration of the shutdown. The longer the closure lasts, the worse the impact becomes. A brief shutdown would delay, not cancel, most spending, according to the Goldman Sachs report. In a brief shutdown, it is likely that only federal employee compensation would be lost; most of the other activity would simply be delayed and made up later. A longer shutdown—the longest on record, which occurred in late 1995 and early 1996, lasted about three weeks—would affect a greater share of federal activities. The report includes three scenarios based on a two-day, one-week, and three-week shutdown. It predicts a $2.6 billion economic loss for a two-day shutdown, $10.4 billion for a week, and $36.8 billion for three weeks. Moody's found that a shutdown lasting three to four weeks would cost $55 billion, with costs accelerating over time. Moody's takes into account the losses from federal workers not getting paid, the delay of housing and small business loans, the hit to tourism spending, and the interruptions for contractors. To be clear, these are rough estimates of what we think the impacts will be, Moody's analyst Brian Kessler told PolitiFact. There are just a ridiculously large number of moving parts. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's, testified before the Joint Economic Committee about the shutdown in September. A shutdown lasting only three or four days would have modest economic consequences, costing the economy approximately 0.2 percentage points of annualized real GDP growth in the fourth quarter. However, shutting the government down for three or four weeks would cause significant economic damage, reducing real GDP by 1.4 percentage points in the fourth quarter. This likely understates the economic fallout, as it does not fully account for the impact of such a lengthy shutdown on consumer, business, and investor psychology. IHS calculated a loss of $1.6 billion for one week due to furloughs, with the impact increasing for a longer shutdown. The spending habits of government employees probably would not change if the shutdown were short-lived, particularly if they believed they would receive back wages, as in 1995, states the September IHS report. Any uncertainty about compensation, however, could increase the impact on consumer spending. Meanwhile, incomes would be maintained for Social Security beneficiaries. Medicare payments would also continue, so spending on health care services would not be harmed, and hospitals and doctors would receive payments. We also reviewed studies about previous shutdowns and media reports analyzing the potential hit to the economy. We interviewed Tad DeHaven, a budget analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute; Jason Peuquet from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget; and Dean Baker, an economist with the liberal Center for Economic Policy Research. Our experts generally agreed on one key point: The economic hit will depend on how long the shutdown lasts. Jason Peuquet of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget told us that it is extremely difficult to quantify the impact of a shutdown on the economy. Sure, analysts can calculate the direct costs of furloughing federal employees, Peuquet told PolitiFact in an email. But once you factor in the impacts on thousands of federal contractors, the time and resources lost preparing for and implementing the shutdown, the added economic uncertainty of how lawmakers will resolve this, how the Federal Reserve may respond if the shutdown continues for an extended period, and then the ensuing economic reverberations of these changes, it becomes a very imprecise exercise. DeHaven of Cato emphasized that these analyses from economists are just estimates and that the actual impact on the economy could differ. If you go back and look at previous shutdowns, there was no long-term effect..., DeHaven said. For Wasserman Schultz or the White House to tweet out that this is going to cost X amount of money is nonsense. You could discuss the costs associated with the government creating uncertainty in the economy due to many actions taken in Washington. The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service concluded that the cost of shutdowns in fiscal year 1996 was $1.4 billion—most of that was for back pay to furloughed workers, according to University of Maryland political science professor Roy Meyers. In 1995, the government first closed from Nov. 14-19 and then again from Dec. 16-Jan. 6. However, Peuquet and Meyers noted that some factors could make the economic hit from a shutdown different today, meaning we can't simply adjust for inflation from the mid-1990s shutdowns. Back then, several appropriations bills had already been enacted, allowing spending in various areas of the federal government. This time, those bills haven't been enacted. The federal government also relies more heavily on contractors than it did in the 1990s, and they are unlikely to receive back pay. We are still learning a lot of this as we go, Peuquet said. Another factor to consider is that the economy is much weaker now than it was in the mid-1990s. This shutdown is likely to have a larger daily cost..., Meyers told PolitiFact. The economy is weaker and cannot handle as much of a shock as it could in 1995-96. Overall, we rate this statement Mostly True. | 1 | [
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FMD2505 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross wants more than 70 percent of North American content in vehicles built in the United States, Canada and Mexico under a renegotiated NAFTA trade deal, the head of Canada s largest private sector union said on Friday. Jerry Dias, national president of Unifor, told reporters he suggested in a recent meeting with Ross that the level be raised to 70 percent from the current 62.5 percent, and that the U.S. commerce secretary suggested a more aggressive level. Ross has long advocated strengthening the rules of origin for the auto industry as a way to bring back automotive production from Asia and other non-NAFTA countries. Negotiations to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement are in their second round this weekend in Mexico City, where rules of origin are expected to be discussed. U.S. negotiators, however, may not reveal specific rules of origin targets until later rounds, according to auto industry lobbyists. In fairness to Wilbur, he was more aggressive than I was, Dias said of Ross desired North American content level. Dias said he thought that a 70 percent rule would be a step in the right direction for an industry whose jobs have migrated from the United States and Canada to Mexico, and would help shift production of some automotive electronics and other parts from Asia and Europe back to North America. A spokesman for Ross in Washington could not immediately be reached for comment. Dias said tougher NAFTA rules of origin would only be a small part of restoring manufacturing jobs, and that far stronger labor standards were needed to boost wages in Mexico that are far below those in the United States and Canada. He said he agreed with U.S. President Donald Trump s threat to terminate NAFTA if it cannot be improved enough. NAFTA has been a disaster for workers in Canada, Mexico and the United States. So when he threatens to walk away from it, that s OK. So now we need to reconfigure how we fix things, he said. At the same time, Dias said that Trump was not an ally of unions, describing him as batshit crazy. | 1 | [
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FMD2506 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: A young Singaporean blogger who says he was persecuted for his political opinions in the Southeast Asian country was released on Tuesday from U.S. detention in Chicago after a federal immigration panel ruled in his favor. The federal Board of Immigration Appeals upheld a March decision by a Chicago immigration judge granting asylum to Amos Yee, 18, who had been jailed twice in Singapore for social media postings critical of government officials, his attorneys said on Tuesday. Now I can criticize the Singapore government without being sent to prison, Yee told Reuters after his release. Yee s trials in Singapore were closely watched by rights groups and the United Nations, and fueled debate in Singapore over censorship, the limits of free speech and political correctness. Yee had been in U.S. immigration detention since December 2016 when he arrived seeking asylum, according to Yee s attorney Sandra Grossman. The court made its ruling on Sept. 21, but Grossman said she only learned of the outcome this week. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which opposed Yee s asylum application and argued the Singapore government had legitimately prosecuted him, could not be immediately reached. The department could appeal the ruling to a circuit court but Grossman said she believed it was unlikely. Chicago immigration Judge Samuel Cole found Yee s prosecution, detention and treatment by Singapore authorities constitute(s) persecution on account of Yee s political opinions. Officials at Singapore s embassy in Washington could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday. In March, the country s Ministry of Home Affairs issued a statement in which it quoted Yee s remarks against Muslims and Christians and noted Yee had pleaded guilty to charges against him. In September last year, Yee pleaded guilty to six charges of deliberately posting comments on the internet | 1 | [
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FMD2507 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: An electrical contractor wrote to the 54-year-old host of Dirty Jobs to say that he finds it offensive when the media constantly refers to majority of the Republican nominee s supporters as uneducated white men. If the media is referring to Trump supporters who happen to be male caucasians suffering from a lack of knowledge brought about by an absence of formal or practical instruction, than I guess uneducated white men is a fair description, Rowe responded in a lengthy Facebook post. However, if the Trump supporters in question are being dubbed uneducated, simply because they didn t earn a four-year degree, I d say the media s slip is showing. Let s assume that Donald Trump is indeed popular among white men who didn t graduate from college. The first question is, so what? Is this information newsworthy? Obviously, thousands of journalists think it is. To your point, the words uneducated white men now appear in hundreds of articles about Trump. But if this is truly important information, where were these reporters four years ago? In the last election, an even greater majority of African-American males who voted for President Obama had no college on their resume. Maybe I missed it, but I don t recall any headlines or articles that delved into Obama s popularity among uneducated black men. If the media didn t care about the lack of college among black men supporting Obama, why do they care so much about the lack of college among white men supporting Trump? Moreover, when exactly did a lack of college become synonymous with a lack of education? There are many ways to become educated that don t involve the purchase of a diploma. Why would the media ignore thousands of apprenticeship programs, on-the-job-training opportunities, and all the other alternative educational options that have led so many people into so many successful careers? The answer is obvious many in the press are looking for ways to impact the election. If a biased reporter can get away with labeling Trump supporters who didn t graduate from college as uneducated, he can simultaneously imply that any ballot cast for Trump is the hallmark of an uneducated voter. It s impossible for me to have this conversation and not think of my grandfather. Pop never made it to college. In fact, he never made it out of the 7th grade. But he never stopped learning or studying. He started as an electrician s helper, became an apprentice, a journeyman, a master electrician, a contractor, and then a small business owner. Later, as an electrical inspector for the state, he was responsible for guaranteeing the safety of hundreds of buildings in Maryland, as well as all the rides on the carnival midway at the State Fair. He was a modest man of real intelligence, admired and respected by everyone who knew him. But today, he d be right there with you, Albert swelling out the ranks of uneducated white men. Closing the skills gap and making college more affordable is beyond my pay grade, but it seems like we could start by reminding the media that a college degree is not the only path to success. It s well and good to promote higher education, but it s crazy to suggest the most expensive road to enlightenment is the best path for the most people. And it s equally nuts to pressure our kids to keep borrowing vast sums of money to become educated in careers that no longer exist. The media has minimized your work, insulted your intelligence, and ignored your contribution to civilized life. Try not to take it personally. Just keep doing what you do. Run your business. Vote your conscience. Keep the lights on for the rest of us. Read more: Daily Caller | 0 | [
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FMD2508 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: OVER 1 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE DROPPED OFF OF THE FOOD STAMP LISTS GREAT NEWS!The surprising group that dropped off is illegals Yes, some illegals ARE eligible for food stamps! The USDA has this SNAP FOR NON-CITIZEN GUIDANCEWith the states of Georgia and Alabama leading the way, more than 1.1 million Americans dropped off the food stamp rolls since President Trump took office in January 2017, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) statistics on food stamp enrollment. Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) dropped to 41,496,255 in May 2017, the most recent data available from the USDA, from 42,691,363 in January 2017 when Trump took office.According to the latest data, SNAP enrollment during the first few months of Trump s presidency decreased by 2.79 percent.Food stamp participation on average in 2017 has dropped to its lowest level since 2010, and the latest numbers show that this trend is continuing.Trump proposed cuts to SNAP in his 2018 budget proposal, suggesting that states match up to 20 percent of federal money allotted for the food stamp program and expand work requirements for able-bodied adults receiving food stamps.Trump s crackdown on illegal immigration has also prompted many immigrants, both legal and illegal, to cancel their food stamps over concerns that they might be denied citizenship or deported.Federal lawmakers are also working on legislation that would seek to expand food stamp work requirements and put time limits on how long those enrolled in the food stamp program can receive benefits.Read more: Breitbart News | 0 | [
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FMD2509 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Mike Martinez has supported increasing taxes and utility rates, as well as discontinuing complimentary bus services for senior citizens.
contextual information: Austin voters should doubt mayoral aspirant Mike Martinezs commitment to an affordable city, his opponent in a Dec. 16, 2014, runoff maintains. The narrator of a Steve Adler TV ad says that as an Austin City Council member, Mike Martinez has voted to raise taxes and utility rates while ending free bus service for seniors. That statement is made against this visual backdrop: Source: TV ad from Steve Adler, Austin mayoral candidate,Mike Martinez Record on City Council, posted online Dec. 2, 2014. Martinez has been a council member since June 2006. So its no surprise he would have had a say on taxes and rates charged by the city-owned utilities, though unsaid here is that no single council member controls any such decisions; its been a seven-member body, including the mayor. Martinez also chairs theeight-person boardoverseeing Capital Metro, which provides local bus and limited rail service. So he could have voted on fares charged the elderly. Lets recap Martinezs actions on fares, city taxes and utility rates. Bus fares To our inquiries, Adlers campaign didnt provide comprehensive backup for his ad claim. But by email, spokesman Jim Wick pointed out a September 2010Austin American-Statesmannews storystating the Cap Metro board voted to require bus riders 65 and older to pay 50 cents a ride or $15 for a 31-day bus pass, starting in 2011. The story also said the board was deciding to charge seniors and people with disabilities to ride buses for the first time since 1989. For Capital Metro, spokeswoman Francine Pares told us by email Martinez has been a board member since June 2007 and chairman since January 2010. Pares also confirmed the boards decision to charge the 50-cent fares, though she said that change was adopted at the boards November 2010 gathering, which Martinez didnt attend, she said. According tominutes of the Nov. 10, 2010, board meeting, the six members who were there unanimously approved a resolution authorizing higher fares in part, the resolution said, to generate additional operating revenues while striving to meet growing demand for transportation options. Martinez and another board member were recorded as absent. Pares told us theboard in September 2013approved another increase in senior fares, to 60 cents, effective in 2015. Generally, she said, senior citizens receive 50 percent off regular fares. By phone, Martinez agreed he and fellow board members agreed to charge the fares for elderly residents. But that happened, he said, only after a state panel issued marching orders including a recommendation calling for Capital Metro to raise more money from fares. In a 2010 report, the staff of the Sunset Advisory Commission recommended the authority charge a bus fare of 50 cents for groups currently riding free. The commission had said 30 percent of Capital Metros passengers were riding for free and, it noted, the board had rejected proposed fares in 2008 and 2009. In its finalJuly 2011 reporton Capital Metro, the commission said: While fare increases are difficult, requiring only a portion of its ridership to bear the burden of these increases is not equitable or sustainable, especially in bad financial times. Martinez pointed out the sunset review occurred in keeping withlegislation passed into lawby the 2009 Legislature, which wanted Capital Metro to get its finances in order. City taxes On taxes, Wick of Adlers camp offered as backup news stories indicating thatin 2009, Martinez said taxpayers would have to pay a little more in taxes and fees through 2010 to maintain services andin 2010, the council acting to raise the citys property tax rate from 42.09 cents per $100 of property value to 45.71 cents; the city tax on a median value home was expected to increase $52 to $843. Wick followed up by emailing us achart made by Adlers campaignindicating city property taxes on a median-valued home going up on Martinezs watch. For a non-campaign analysis, we turned to the Travis Central Appraisal District; the chief appraiser, Marya Crigler, emailed us achartindicating city property taxes on a median-value homestead in 2007 were $715; in 2014, the comparable figure was $1,014. We converted the 2007 figure to 2014 dollars, using afederal inflation calculator. Upshot: Adjusted for inflation, city taxes on a median-value Austin homestead went up $278, or 34 percent, from 2007 through 2014, Martinezs council years. Over those years, according to the district, the median taxable value of an Austin homestead went from $177,257 to $228,032. Adjusting for inflation suggests there was a nearly $18,800, 9 percent, increase. Martinez agreed property owners paid more in taxes in his council tenure, results influenced by surging property values, he said. Still, he said, in five of eight years, council members voted to keep the citys property tax rate the same or to lower it. When the rate was raised, he said, the economy was in recession. For another fact check, the city provided this chart of tax rates, which shows the council raised the rate three times in Martinezs tenure, most recently for 2013, but cut the rate four times, most recently for 2014. In September 2014, the council left the 2014 rate intact for 2015. Utility rates In 2011,we found Mostly Truea claim that Austin Energy, the city electric utility, was considering its first hike in rates since 1994. The base electric rate, covering staff, the electric system, power plants, vehicles and the like, hadnt changed since 1994. Meantime, residential customers were paying less for electricity than they once had, taking inflation into account. On June 7, 2012, the council unanimously voted to raise the base rate, theAmerican-Statesmanreported. The news story said: The complicated new rate structure will hit customers in different ways; generally speaking, the larger and more energy-hungry the home, the higher the percentage increase, effective October 2012. A typical home, which uses an average of 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month over the course of a year, will see its monthly bill rise by $8, to $113, according to Austin Energy calculations. A home that uses a lot of electricity would see its monthly bill increase by $59, to $332, the story said. How would Adler have voted? We asked Wick how Adler would have voted on the bus fares, tax and utility rate hikes we confirmed. Theres no simple answer, Wick said by email, but Adler favors free fares for senior citizens. Our ruling Mike Martinez has voted to raise taxes and utility rates while ending free bus service for seniors. Austin residents pay more in taxes and could be paying more for electricity thanks to council actions Martinez supported. He also backed a decision by the Capital Metro board to charge half fares to elderly bus riders who had previously not been charged, though Martinez hardly did this by himself; its worth clarifying, too, that Capital Metro was under pressure to improve its finances and that Martinez missed the vote creating the then-50-cent fare. We rate this statement Mostly True. MOSTLY TRUE The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. Click here formoreon the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check. | 1 | [
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FMD2510 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Scientists have heard unusual messages from deep space probably coming from aliens Please scroll down for video
Recently scientists have heard unusual messages from the most distant stars in the observable universe that they think are extra-terrestrial. Upon new analysis of strange modulations in a tiny set of stars, 234 out of 2.5 million stars that have been observed during past surveyance of the sky, new evidence has been found that this tiny fraction of stars is behaving oddly. Aliens Are Trying To Make Contact With Us From Distant Stars. Scientists Say
The new study reports the finding of specific modulations in just 234 out of the 2.5 million stars that have been observed during a survey of the sky. The work found that a tiny fraction of them seemed to be behaving strangely. No obvious explanation has been concluded for what is going on, leaving the scientists observing these phenomena theorizing that aliens are in fact trying to alert us to their existence.
“We find that the detected signals have exactly the shape of an [extraterrestrial intelligence] signal predicted in the previous publication and are therefore in agreement with this hypothesis, ” write EF Borra and E Trottier in a new paper on this study.
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific has published the journal under the title 'Discovery of peculiar periodic spectral modulations in a small fraction of solar-type stars'. Originally it was suggested that it be named 'Signals probably from Extraterrestrial Intelligence,' according to a pre-print version of the paper hosted online .
Like with all scientific theories, further research will need to be undertaken to confirm or deny that hypothesis. This will be achieved by watching for the same signals using different technology so that many other possibilities of what it could be can be eliminated.
Earlier this year an initiative called 'breakthrough listen' was set up to search for alien life which has even been supported by both Stephen Hawking and Mark Zuckerberg. Although they agree this news is promising, they also state that further evidence must be found before these signals can be “unequivocally attributed” to aliens.
“The one in 10,000 objects with unusual spectra seen by Borra and Trottier are certainly worthy of additional study, ” the team said in a statement. “However, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." In fact, Internationally agreed-upon protocols for searches for evidence of advanced life beyond Earth (SETI) require anomalies to be confirmed by independent groups using their telescopes, and extraterrestrial agents can only be considered as an explanation when all natural phenomena are ruled out.
This article (Scientists have heard unusual messages from deep space probably coming from aliens) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with full attribution and a link to the original source on Disclose.tv Related Articles | 0 | [
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FMD2511 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: According to a new report, health insurance premiums will shoot up 74% for the Average American under the health care bill being served up by the Republican Senate. Older customers will be hit even harder with some paying twice as much for plans comparable to what they currently have.The nonpartisan group Kaiser Family Foundation analyzed the costs for individual market plans that cover 70% of medical costs what most Obamacare plans cover and factored in insurance prices and subsidies under the Republican bill.Mitch McConnel s health bill encourages customers to purchase plans with high deductibles, reduces subsidies for lower-income Americas, and allows insurers to charge older people more.These changes would result in plans varying dramatically due to age and income, with low-income and older persons suffering the most.People between 55 and 64 would see an increase of 115$ on average, which is more than double the Obama care prices. Low-income Americans who make less than $24,000 a year would receive an increase of 177$, versus only 57% for people that bring in more money.Younger and higher income Americans will see less sweeping changes in their insurance premiums.Customers who have the disadvantage of being bother older and low-income will see premiums go up 294%, an increase of almost fourfold.The Senior Vice President for Special Initiatives at Kaiser Family Foundation, Larry Levitt, weighed in on the drastic situation. Faced with premiums almost quadrupling, many of these low-income adults would tend to either go without coverage entirely because it s unaffordable or gravitate towards a plan with lower premiums and higher deductibles. The Congressional Budget Office even admits this bill is going to be disastrous for Americans. Their own analysis concluded that premiums will most likely be too high for low-income Americans to purchase coverage, causing millions more to be stranded without insurance than under the current health care law.Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images | 0 | [
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FMD2512 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: The U.S. Senate voted Monday to approve a senior Transportation Department nominee and advance another nomination, after Republicans accused Democrats of blocking some nominees to push for funding of a New York area infrastructure project. Derek Kan, who was previously an official at San Francisco-based ride services company Lyft Inc, won confirmation to be undersecretary of transportation for policy on a 90-7 vote. Senate Republicans have said their Democratic rivals were stalling a number of nominees over a dispute over funding for the $24 billion “Gateway Program,†which includes building a new tunnel underneath New York’s Hudson River. At least eight other Transportation Department nominations are pending and other jobs vacant, including a top auto safety regulator. In addition to confirming Kan, the Senate voted 50-47 on Monday to advance the nomination of Steven Bradbury, a Washington lawyer, to be general counsel at the Transportation Department. During the administration of President George W. Bush, Bradbury was one of the principal authors of the legal justifications for “enhanced interrogation techniques†called the “torture memos†by critics. Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, said in June that Bradbury “lacked the judgment to stand up against (the Bush) administration’s use of torture.†Bradbury defended his work in June, saying the “questions we addressed raised difficult issues about which reasonable people could disagree.†In September, President Donald Trump met with top elected officials from New York and New Jersey over the fate of the Gateway Program deemed critical to northeast U.S. transportation, but Trump made no commitments to finance the project. Republican Senator John Thune accused Democrats of holding nominations “hostage†while awaiting “assurances that the Trump administration will approve and fund†the Gateway project. “While no one questions the importance of this corridor, there are many other important projects that also are awaiting approval and funding at the Department. No project should get to cut the line based on the machinations of a handful of our†colleagues, Thune said. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday he opposed Kan because of administration roadblocks to the project. “Time is running out and we must quickly build new tunnels,†Schumer said. A Senate Democratic aide confirmed, separately, that Democrats were holding up some nominations “because they want assurances from the Transportation Department the Gateway Project will quickly move forward after it’s funded.†The Transportation Department regulates the nation’s vehicles, airplanes, railroads, pipelines, ports and highways. | 1 | [
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FMD2513 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Is It Dangerous to Wear a COVID-19 Protective Mask for Too Long? Claim summaries: Prolonged usage of certain masks can cause some health concerns.
contextual information: During the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic in the spring of 2020, questions arose about protective measures. Social media users shared related images, and in one case, a newspaper column claimed that continual or prolonged use of face masks resulted in breathing too much of one's own exhaled carbon dioxide, which can lead to health concerns. images, one case, "Dr. Dennis A Castro B" wrote in the Nigerian newspaper Vanguard, for instance, that prolonged use of face masks causes hypoxia: Vanguard Breathing over and over exhaled air turns into carbon dioxide, which is why we feel dizzy. This intoxicates the user and much more when he must move, carry out displacement actions. It causes discomfort, loss of reflexes and conscious thought. It generates great fatigue. In addition, oxygen deficiency causes glucose breakdown and endangered lactic acid rise. The post does not specify what kinds of masks cause these issues (though the article image does show N95 respirator masks), nor does it indicate whether this affects people with respiratory conditions more. It should be noted that hypoxia is a condition in which the tissues of the body are starved of oxygen. hypoxia Another post on Facebook argued that prolonged mask usage caused hypercapnia, a condition arising from too much carbon dioxide in the blood. Facebook hypercapnia Image via Facebook. Symptoms cause hypoxia But research articles and experts suggest that such extreme symptoms are unlikely to occur in most people. Dr. Abrar Ahmad Chughtai, an epidemiologist and lecturer at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at University of New South Wales Australia, says the risk of hypoxia and hypercapnia are unlikely to take place with cloth and surgical masks, because they are not tight-fitting: Dr. Abrar Ahmad Chughtai Some people with pre-existing respiratory illnesses (like asthma, COPD), may face breathing difficulty with use of certain types of tight fitted masks, called respirators. [There is] less chance of hypoxia as they may discontinue using masks in that case. Risk is very low with cloth and surgical masks as they are not tight around [the] face. He also argued that in the case of prolonged usage of any of these masks, "Dizziness [was] less likely, but fatigue may occur." The N95 respirator is an example of personal protective equipment (PPE) usually worn by health workers to protect the wearer from airborne particles and from liquid contaminating the face. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not recommend that the general public use these masks because health workers and other medical first responders need them more. N95 respirator A team of Stanford engineers is developing an N95 face mask to counteract the side effects of oxygen deficiency. In an interview, John Xu, a mechanical engineer behind the effort, said: interview N95 masks are estimated to reduce oxygen intake by anywhere from 5 to 20 percent. Thats significant, even for a healthy person. It can cause dizziness and lightheadedness. If you wear a mask long enough, it can damage the lungs. For a patient in respiratory distress, it can even be life threatening. And their focus is on getting these masks to healthcare workers first. We are targeting this to anyone who has to wear a mask for the long term, first responders, doctors, nurses and even patients who dont want to infect others. In the near term, we hope to get these into healthcare workers as soon as possible. The general public is unlikely to wear masks for a prolonged period other than for short stints outside of homes, according to Reuters. A CDC representative spoke to Reuters: Reuters The CO2 will slowly build up in the mask over time. However, the level of CO2 likely to build up in the mask is mostly tolerable to people exposed to it. Youmight get a headache but you most likely [would] not suffer the symptoms observed at much higher levels of CO2. The mask can become uncomfortable for a varietyof reasons including a sensitivity to CO2 and the person will be motivated to remove the mask. It is unlikely that wearing a mask will cause hypercapnia. The CDC recommends that the general public wear cloth masks, leaving N95 respirators and surgical masks to healthcare workers. They also offer exceptions for who should be wearing them: recommends exceptions Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance. With these recommendations comes the additional guidance that face masks should not be a substitute for social distancing. guidance The CDC also responded to Snopes about the impact an N95 respirator would have on healthcare workers: Hypoventilation (deficient ventilation of the lungs) is a primary cause of significant discomfort while wearing an N95 filtering facepiece respirator (FFR). However, studies [indicate] that hypoventilation did not pose a significant risk to healthcare workers over the course of less than one hour of continuous N95 use. When healthcare workers are working longer hours without a break while continuously wearing an N95 FFR, CO2 may accumulate in the breathing space inside of the respirator and continuously increase past the 1-hour mark, which could have a significant physiological effect on the wearer, including headache, altered cognitive judgement, and increased breathing frequency, among other symptoms. deficient To fix the problem of breathing too much CO2 that has built up within the respirator facepiece, a worker can simply remove the respirator. Some facilities practice oxygen supplementation during these breaks from respirator use, but there really is no need for this as the oxygen in the environment is more than enough to relieve most of the symptoms listed above. The Vanguard piece also says it is dangerous to use masks in cars: Some people drive their car with the mask on, that is very dangerous, because, the stale air can make the driver lose consciousness. Chughtai said he believed such danger was "less likely," and that running while wearing such a mask also was "unlikely" to cause breathing issues, unless the runner had a pre-existing respiratory illness. In all, little research has been done on the impact of masks on wearers, according to Chughtai. In some studies, participants noted breathing difficulties, but not hypoxia. Ultimately, the impact of a mask on its wearer depends on the wearer's health, any pre-existing respiratory illnesses, the type of mask, and the length of time the person wears it. In most instances, the effects of prolonged cloth mask usage are small. Masks, like most short-term measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, should be worn only if the wearer has to be in close proximity to others, and be used in addition to necessary measures like social distancing, and more. As such, we rate this claim about the dangers of masks as "false." only if Castro B, Dennis A. "WARNING: Prolonged use of facemask produces hypoxia."
Vanguard. 3 May 2020. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "How to Protect Yourself & Others."
24 April 2020. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Use of Cloth Face Coverings to Help Slow the Spread of COVID-19."
13 April 2020. Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Hypoxia."
Updated 17 October 2019. Medical News Today. "What to know about hypercapnia."
5 January 2018. Medical News Today. "What to know about COPD hypoxia."
4 December 2019. Reuters. "Partly false claim: Continually wearing a mask causes hypercapnia."
5 May 2020. Stanford. "COVID-19 prompts Stanford engineers to rethink the humble face mask."
14 April 2020. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "N95 Respirators and Surgical Masks (Face Masks)."
5 April 2020. | 0 | [
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FMD2514 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Apparently, Trump has been unable to fill more than 600 executive posts in his administration, according to a new report from The New York Times. With Obama leaving office now, and his swearing-in ceremony looming, he only has one option left: Retain Obama s staffers, at least for the time being.That has to be galling for someone who keeps insisting he s the best at everything, has the best of everything, and has a cabinet with the highest IQ ever (don t make us laugh too hard, sir ). He clearly isn t the best at appointing staff or working with other people. Senior Obama administration officials, along with some Republican lawmakers, have watched with growing alarm as the pace of the transition stops and starts. They ve said, repeatedly, that Trump s team won t coordinate with them.The Times says that aides released the names of over a dozen fresh appointments, but that barely scratches the surface of what they have to do. They also announced that they would keep 50 essential personnel in both the Department of State and Department of Homeland Security for the time being, including current Obama appointee Thomas A. Shannon Jr., who will stay on as acting Secretary of State pending Rex Tillerson s confirmation.Other Obama officials sticking around for now include:And White House press secretary Sean Spicer tried to spin it as ensuring continuity of government. Har de har har.Things are so terrible that Strobe Talbott, the president of the Brookings Institution and former Clinton official, said: In 21 years of covering the State Department and in eight years of serving there, I ve seen rocky transitions and experienced what feels like a hostile takeover, but I ve never seen anything like this. 21 years is a long time to never see anything like this.For his part, Trump really doesn t seem to care. He s floating around Washington, working to draw the crowds he so desperately needs to keep his ego properly inflated and still avoiding a lot of real work. He s acting like the demagogue he is, preparing to be crowned tomorrow, rather than sworn in. He even said it was bad karma to get too involved with the transition, and, according to the Times report, wanted to stop planning altogether.Besides, appointing people to his administration? That s grunt work. He s above grunt work.Featured image by Drew Angerer via Getty Images | 0 | [
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FMD2515 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Did 'Biden's Leadership' Play Role in Social Security Increase for 2023? Claim summaries: A significant increase in Social Security benefits was announced for 2023. Did Biden play any role in the change?
contextual information: On Nov. 1, 2022, the official White House Twitter account suggested that an increase in the amount of money provided to seniors via Social Security benefits occurred "through President Biden's leadership." Several users on Twitter, including Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, took issue with the suggestion that specific actions taken by the Biden administration could have led to an increase in the value of these benefits, largely because the adjustment to benefits "is an automatic formula." This critique, also articulated beneath the White House tweet when it was flagged through the crowd-sourced misinformation Twitter initiative Birdwatch, is valid. In short, no action performed by the Biden administration could plausibly have any direct bearing on the size of the increase in Social Security payments. This is because the amount of increase from year to year, as a result of a law passed 50 years before Biden took office, is directly tied to a standardized index. The White House deleted its tweet the following morning. Prior to 1975, the only way to adjust the size of Social Security payments was through an act of Congress. Without regular acts of Congress, the effective value of Social Security benefits would decline over time due to inflation. Beginning in 1975, thanks to legislation passed in 1972, the benefit size increased based on an automatic Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The CPI is calculated each month by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and "represents changes in prices of all goods and services purchased for consumption by urban households." Their data come from "75 urban areas throughout the country," from "about 23,000 retail and service establishments," and also from a survey on rent prices collected from around 50,000 landlords or tenants. The COLA update for 2023 is 8.7%, which makes it the fourth-largest increase since COLAs were introduced. The three higher adjustments occurred in 1980 (14.3%), 1981 (11.2%), and 1979 (9.9%). Such adjustments are standardized, and the causes of inflation are myriad, complex, and at least in part international in nature. As a result, the assertion by the Biden White House that its leadership was responsible for larger Social Security payments to seniors in 2023 is untenable. | 0 | [
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FMD2516 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: What is the reason for NFL players standing on the sidelines during the National Anthem? Claim summaries: For much of the NFL's history, players weren't present on the field during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner."
contextual information: An image widely circulated on Facebook in response to the National Football League's anthem controversy claimed that NFL players did not stand on the sidelines during the playing of the U.S. national anthem before games prior to 2009. Instead, they stayed in locker rooms during the anthem and did not begin standing along the sidelines for renditions of "The Star-Spangled Banner" until after the Defense Department began paying the NFL to hold patriotic displays in 2009. The issue has been in the public spotlight ever since San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began protesting police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem during exhibition games played prior to the start of the 2016 NFL season. Several other players, including some in other sports, have since participated in similar silent demonstrations during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Tom E. Curran of Comcast Sportsnet New England reported in a story published on August 29, 2016, that teams standing together on the field during the national anthem was a relatively recent development in NFL history. "NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed that this practice began in 2009, adding, 'As you know, the NFL has a long tradition of patriotism. Players are encouraged but not required to stand for the anthem.'" What actually changed in 2009, according to NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, was that players had previously remained in their locker rooms during the national anthem for primetime games due to network timing issues. After 2009, players appeared on the sidelines for the anthem during primetime games, just as they had been doing all along for Sunday afternoon games. The distinction often went unnoticed by viewers, as network telecasts frequently did not air the pre-game anthem ceremonies. ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith referenced Curran's report during a segment on September 14, 2016, adding a "paid patriotism" element to the mix. The players were moved to the field during the national anthem because it was seen as a marketing strategy to make the athletes look more patriotic. The United States Department of Defense paid the National Football League $5.4 million between 2011 and 2014, and the National Guard paid $6.7 million between 2013 and 2015 to stage on-field patriotic ceremonies as part of military recruitment budget-line items. The practice of "paid patriotism" came to light on April 30, 2015, when Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) released a statement chiding the New Jersey Army National Guard for paying between $97,000 and $115,000 to the New York Jets for a series of promotions involving military personnel. That November, Flake and fellow Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain issued a report stating that the Defense Department had been paying for patriotic displays in football and other sports between 2011 and 2014. Contrary to the public statements made by the DOD and the NFL, the majority of the contracts—72 of the 122 contracts analyzed—clearly show that the DOD paid for patriotic tributes at professional football, baseball, basketball, hockey, and soccer games. These paid tributes included on-field color guards, enlistment and reenlistment ceremonies, performances of the national anthem, full-field flag details, ceremonial first pitches, and puck drops. The National Guard paid teams for the opportunity to sponsor military appreciation nights and to recognize its birthday. It paid the Buffalo Bills to sponsor its Salute to the Service game. The DOD even paid teams for the opportunity to perform surprise welcome home promotions for troops returning from deployments and to recognize wounded warriors. While well-intentioned, it raises questions about how many of these displays included a disclaimer that these events were, in fact, sponsored by the DOD at taxpayer expense. Even with that disclosure, it is hard to understand how a team accepting taxpayer funds to sponsor a military appreciation game, or to recognize wounded warriors or returning troops, can be construed as anything other than paid patriotism. However, this report did not cover the year 2009, so it is unclear whether NFL teams' appearances on the field for the national anthem truly began in conjunction with the "paid patriotism" policy. In a September 2017 piece about the anthem controversy, CNN noted that the connection between "paid patriotism" and players being mandated to be present for the anthem is tenuous. The report does mention several instances where teams were paid for anthem performances, but that was about the specific artist or presentation. There is nothing in the report to suggest teams were paid or coerced into pulling players onto the field as part of "paid patriotism" initiatives. In fact, Pentagon spokesman Army Major Dave Eastburn recently clarified the Defense Department's current relationship with professional sports. "DoD does not require or request that athletes be on the field during the playing of the national anthem when military members are part of the patriotic opener," he said in a statement to CNN. The league announced in May 2016 that they would refund $723,724 to taxpayers, which they said "may have been mistakenly applied to appreciation activities rather than recruitment efforts" during the years in question. This story was updated to note that the 2009 changes in NFL anthem policy were specific to primetime games. | 2 | [
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FMD2517 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: The Vatican, at the start of a conference on protecting children from online sexual abuse, pledged on Tuesday to seek the truth about one of its diplomats whom it recalled after he became suspected of possessing child pornography. This is a very painful episode and a great trial for all involved, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican s Secretary of State and number two in the Holy See. Parolin was referring to the case of a monsignor who was recalled to the Holy See from its Washington embassy in August after the U.S. State Department said he may have violated child pornography laws. We are treating the case with the maximum seriousness, the maximum commitment and the maximum attention, Parolin told reporters as he arrived to deliver the conference s keynote address. He said the case was under judicial secrecy to protect the investigation and to protect truth and justice . The Vatican never identified the monsignor, who is also wanted in Canada on suspicion of uploading child pornography from a social networking website in 2016. He is being investigated by Vatican prosecutors and will stand trial in the Vatican if indicted. In his keynote speech, Parolin said the Catholic Church wanted to share the experience it had acquired from dealing with its own scandals concerning priestly sexual abuse of children so that it may prove useful for an ever greater good . He said all sectors of society, including companies that promote and drive the development of the digital world, have a responsibility to protect vulnerable children from forms of sexual abuse on the internet. The conference is also being addressed by Jacqueline Beauchere, the chief online safety officer for Microsoft and Antigone Davis, head of global safety policy for Facebook. The three-day conference, which will present its findings to Pope Francis on Friday, will discuss themes such as bullying and the preying on children by pedophiles. The kids aren t alright, said Baroness Joanna Shields, founder of Britain s WeProtect, an alliance to end child exploitation online. If a child s first lesson in sexual education is a pornographic video, then this will become their reference point, she said. Professor Ernesto Caffo, the Italian founder of a 30-year-old hotline to report cases of endangered children, told the conference that 18 million children suffer sexual abuse in Europe and that there were more than 57,000 URLs containing child sexual abuse images. He said that in nearly 25 percent of cases, adult survivors of sexual abuse suffer from psychological problems, including depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and self harm. There was an urgent need to provide specialized training for professionals working in education, Caffo said. | 1 | [
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FMD2518 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Less involvement by the United States in international affairs under President Donald Trump will have an impact on Germany and its European neighbors, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Tuesday, warning of a shifting world order. The withdrawal of the United States under Donald Trump from its reliable role as a guarantor of western-led multilateralism accelerates a change of the world order with immediate consequences for German and European interests, Gabriel said. | 1 | [
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FMD2519 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: When people go to the voting booth, they expect certain values to be represented when they pull the lever for someone with a (D) next to his or her name. If a candidate for office says (s)he is a Democrat, we expect that person to be pro-choice and in favor of equal rights for women, pro-LGBTQ rights, pro-criminal justice reform, in favor of raising taxes on the rich, in favor of unions and workers rights, and in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, among other things. However, this is not always how things shake out. Case in point West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin.Manchin voted in favor of racist Jeff Sessions for Attorney General, bucking Democratic values of the defense of equal rights for all. He has also been staunchly against equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. That is just for starters, too. Manchin has consistently voted with Republicans in the Senate more than he has voted with those of his own party, and at Donald Trump s first address to a joint session of Congress, he could be seen cozying up to the bigoted president, and hopping to his feet with a standing ovation during the speech at every chance. At the end of it, he eagerly went to shake hands and kiss Trump s ass, rather than standing in solidarity with #RESISTANCE minded Democrats.Liberal pundits and bloggers are not the only ones noticing Joe Manchin s bizarre, Republican-like behavior, either. Right-wingers believe he is just doing this stuff in order to make sure that his deep-red state re-elects him in 2018. West Virginia GOP Chair Conrad Lucas says of what Manchin is doing: It is obvious that West Virginia was the most pro-Trump state and Joe Manchin was a steadfast supporter of Hillary Clinton since Day One of the 2016 campaign and he is up for re-election in 2016, so he is going to do everything he can to mask his past. But I think voters in West Virginia are much smarter than falling for Joe Manchin. However, liberals have a different and likely more accurate theory of Manchin s true leanings. Progressive Change Campaign Co-Chair Adam Green Committee says: Senate Democrats running for re-election in red states will lose their general elections if they don t inspire independent voters and the Democratic base. To win in 2018, he needs to be more in touch with the times and stand up more strongly to Trump and his team of billionaires and bankers. Adam Green is correct. Someone needs to primary Manchin and defeat him. He is doing the bidding of Republicans and Donald Trump in the Senate under the guise of being a Democrat. He isn t he s just a DINO, a wolf in sheep s clothing. I wouldn t be surprised if it turned out he voted for Trump once he was in the privacy of the voting booth.Look at candidates, not just party, folks. If you find rethugs hiding behind a (D) get rid of them.Featured image via Mark Wilson/Getty Images | 0 | [
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"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2520 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: When Nancy Nusbaum was Brown County executive, spending went up nearly 50 percent.
contextual information: As she campaigns to upend GOP state Sen. Robert Cowles in one of the closely watched Wisconsin recall campaigns, Democrat Nancy Nusbaum is talking up her long record of public service.Now anally of Cowles, the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, is trying to use that record against Nusbaum.In a television ad paid for by its issues fund, the heavyweight business group is ripping Nusbaums fiscal record during her eight years as Brown County executive, which ended in 2003.Spending went up, taxes went up,theadsays in part. Everything Nancy Nusbaum touches goes up. When Nusbaum was Brown County executive, spending went up nearly 50 percent. Tell Nancy Nusbaum we expect fiscal responsibility to be real, not a lot of hot air.In the ad, hot air balloons and rockets rise to underline the point.When we sought backup from WMC, the group did not return calls. So we checked the record.Brown County officials looked up the budget numbers for us, focusing on the seven budgets Nusbaum signed from late 1995 to early 2003.Operating spending went up 53 percent over those seven years. That works out to an average increase of 6.3 percent per year. State, local and federal funds contribute to the budget.So the ad is on target numerically.Indeed, Nusbaum does not dispute the numbers in it and did not criticize the ad as unfair but noted the County Board had a role in the budgets.By contrast, the spending increase over the seven years following Nusbaums tenure was 34 percent, which is 4.2 percent per year on average.The ad pulls the statistic out without any context for what was behind it.Why the dramatic difference in spending?Nusbaum pointed to replacement of an overcrowded jail, the cost of state-mandated services, increasing urbanization and associated social service costs, and the costs of caring for an aging population, among other reasons.Property values and state aid to counties were rising, welfare and jail spending grew rapidly, and counties saw big increases in administrative costs for things such as information technology, said John Reinemann, legislative director for the Wisconsin Counties Association.Levy limits on counties were minimal compared with today, Reinemann noted.Reinemann told us that 7 percent to 8 percent annual spending increases such as those in Brown County were not uncommon in the late 1990s among Wisconsin counties.His view is backed up by a ranking of counties that shows Brown in the middle of the pack in growth of spending per capita from 1993-2001. That is from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, a research organization.Spending in six key categories went up 6.3 percent annually during that time, the group found.Nusbaum, a retired teacher and former mayor of De Pere, said she prefers to point to the property tax rate instead of the total tax levy and kept it stable as executive. Brown County records show she did that.But the rate does not reflect the true cost of government, especially when it comes to property taxes. The rate can stay steady or decline, but tax bills can rise if the property tax levy (an indicator of spending) goes up.In Brown County, as elsewhere, increasing property values in the 1990s helped hold down the tax rate even as total tax levy collections rose. Statewide values jumped up 7.7 percent a year from 1993-2002, WTA found. In fact, statewide, net property tax rates actually dropped during the decade as property values soared.Lets conclude.A business group spotlighted the budget increases during Nusbaums term, suggesting through words and graphics that they were sky high.They certainly were large compared with the years that followed, for reasons related to decisions by Nusbaum, county supervisors, the state, and local residents -- as well as demographics and sociological trends.The number -- 50 percent -- is on target.But the ad leaves out information about the other factors that went into the spending. Indeed, Brown Countys spending was not atypical for the time and by at least one groups measure was in the middle of the pack.We rate the WMC claim Mostly True. | 1 | [
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] | 1 |
FMD2521 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Purchasing SpaceX shares prior to its public offering is a fraudulent tactic employed by misleading online posts. Claim summaries: The scam was being promoted in Facebook ads and perhaps also on Instagram by an account that showed signs of originating in Vietnam.
contextual information: On Oct. 10, 2022, a paid ad on Facebook promoted a fake investment opportunity with the words, "How To Buy SpaceX Stock Before It Goes Public." The ad showed a picture of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and directed users to chat with a person on Messenger, who then told users to visit a WhatsApp group chat named "Stock Learning Group 28." But none of this was legitimate. It was all a scam to steal users' money. Stock Learning Group 28 The full scam post that promised a way to "buy SpaceX stock before it goes public" read as follows: Bullish on the future of space travel? See how to invest in SpaceX before it goes Public! We help you pre-buy stocks in the latest up-and-coming companies, before most retail investors. Getting in on the best companies before they go public is how you can get the returns like recent IPOs such as: AirBnB - 130% return in 7 months.Palantir - 226% return in 10 months.Snowflake - 331% return in 10 months. We do one thing very well.....get you access to the most popular companies before the public market has a chance. Click the Learn More button now and well show you how to invest in SpaceX before the public This post appeared to follow the same playbook we had seen before with numerous crypto scams. In those scams, users were also led from one social media platform to another, where they were told that their money would be invested in a special crypto opportunity. However, it was all a lie. Just like the scam post about SpaceX, some of the crypto scams featured photos of Musk as a way of trying to create trust. crypto scams featured photos of Musk The Facebook account that hosted the ads showed up as a personal profile and not a page. It was named Tut Pro 1 38801324. The profile picture showed an image that said "Half Price Books," a company that had absolutely nothing to do with the scam. We asked the account about the strange profile photo. They responded, "This event is sponsored by Mr. Nino, a senior stock analyst. Join Mr. Nino's stock research group now and receive a stock book when you join the group." The crypto scams we covered in the past also claimed to feature a specialist who could help deliver on the scam's promise. In the crypto scams, the scammers called this person "the teacher." We asked the user if this "Mr. Nino" was "the teacher." The account responded, "Yes." If the strange account name weren't enough of a red flag, the profile also once featured two seemingly random pictures of young girls. According to TinEye.com, a handy reverse image search website, at least one of the photos was traced to websites that were managed in Vietnam. This may have indicated that the scam was being operated from Southeast Asia. TinEye.com reverse image search As for the reality of SpaceX going public in the future, CNBC previously reported that Musk told employees the company was not likely to go public until 2025 or later. reported Evon, Dan. Snopes Tips: A Guide To Performing Reverse Image Searches. Snopes.com, 22 Mar. 2022, https://www.snopes.com/articles/400681/how-to-perform-reverse-image-searches/. Sheetz, Michael. Elon Musk Says an IPO of SpaceXs Starlink Satellite Internet Business Is Still 3 or 4 Years Away. CNBC, 7 June 2022, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/07/spacex-starlink-ipo-elon-musk-says-offering-is-3-or-4-years-away.html. TinEye Reverse Image Search. https://tineye.com/. Tut Pro 1 38801324. Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084130714561. On Oct. 18, 2022, we added a note that said a real company named Half Price Books had nothing to do with the scam. | 0 | [
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FMD2522 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: No, Associated Press Did Not Report that Obama Was 'Kenyan-Born' Claim summaries: Internationally syndicated news stories are sometimes edited or added to by local newspaper publishers.
contextual information: Example: [Collected via e-mail, October 2009] What most people know is that the Associated Press (AP) is one of the largest, internationally recognized, syndicated news services. What most people don't know that is in 2004, the AP was a "birther" news organization. How so? Because in a syndicated report, published Sunday, June 27, 2004, by the Kenyan Standard Times, and which was, as of this report, available here. here The AP reporter stated the following: Kenyan-born US Senate hopeful, Barrack Obama, appeared set to take over the Illinois Senate seat after his main rival, Jack Ryan, dropped out of the race on Friday night amid a furor over lurid sex club allegations. (Sunday Standard/Internet Archive) article However, The Associated Press made no such reference; the identification of Barack Obama as "Kenyan-born" was added to the Sunday Standard's version of the AP story by someone else (who misspelled the politician's given name as "Barrack" in the process) and is apparently unique to that publication. The full text of the "Jack Ryan Abandons Senate Bid" article as originally issued by the Associated Press is retrievable from the LexisNexis archive of global news sources, and it contains no reference (in the lead-in or elsewhere) to Barack Obama's being "Kenyan-born": Associated Press Online June 25, 2004 Friday Illinois' Jack Ryan Abandons Senate Bid BYLINE: MAURA KELLY LANNAN; Associated Press WriterSECTION: NATIONAL POLITICAL NEWSDATELINE: CHICAGO Illinois Senate candidate Jack Ryan dropped out of the race Friday amid a furor over lurid sex club allegations that horrified fellow Republicans and caused his once-promising candidacy to implode in four short days. "It's clear to me that a vigorous debate on the issues most likely could not take place if I remain in the race," Ryan, 44, said in a statement. "What would take place, rather, is a brutal, scorched-earth campaign - the kind of campaign that has turned off so many voters, the kind of politics I refuse to play." The campaign began to come apart Monday following the release of embarrassing records from Ryan's divorce. In those records, his ex-wife, "Boston Public" actress Jeri Ryan, said Ryan took her to kinky sex clubs in Paris, New York and New Orleans and tried to get her to perform sex acts with him while others watched. Ryan disputed the allegations, saying he and his wife went to one "avant-garde" club in Paris and left because they felt uncomfortable. In quitting the race, Ryan lashed out at the media and said it was "truly outrageous" that the Chicago Tribune got a judge to unseal the records. "The media has gotten out of control," he said. Top Illinois Republicans immediately began the work of selecting a new candidate. Their choice will become an instant underdog against Democratic state Sen. Barack Obama in the campaign for the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Peter Fitzgerald. Obama held a wide lead even before the scandal broke. "I feel for him actually," Obama said on WLS-AM. "What he's gone through over the last three days I think is something you wouldn't wish on anybody. Unfortunately, I think our politics has gotten so personalized and cutthroat that it's very difficult for people to want to get in the business." Ryan had faced mounting pressure to quit from party leaders, who met several times in Washington this week to discuss whether the campaign could survive. "He really was a dead man walking," Gary MacDougal, former Illinois Republican Party chairman. Ryan conducted an overnight poll to gauge his support. After reviewing the results, Ryan's advisers told the candidate that the only way to survive would be wage an extremely negative and expensive response. "Jack Ryan made the right decision. I know it must have been a difficult one," said House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois, who made his feelings known by canceling a fund-raising event scheduled for Thursday with Ryan. Ryan was a political neophyte when he got into the race - a millionaire investment banker who had left business four years ago to teach at an all-boys parochial school in Chicago. He spent $3 million of his own fortune to win the primary. With his good looks and Harvard background, Ryan was seen by many as the party's best hope for revitalizing the Illinois GOP. The party lost control of the governor's office and nearly every statewide office two years ago in the wake of a corruption scandal involving then-Gov. George Ryan, who has since been indicted. He is not related to Jack Ryan. During the primary, Ryan waved off rumors of damaging sex allegations in his sealed divorce records, assuring state officials there was nothing in the file to worry about. But the Tribune and Chicago TV station WLS sued for the records' release, and a California judge ordered them unsealed. The couple fought to keep the records sealed, saying the release could harm their 9-year-old son. "The fact that the Chicago Tribune sues for access to sealed custody documents and then takes unto itself the right to publish details of a custody dispute - over the objections of two parents who agree that the re-airing of their arguments will hurt their ability to co-parent their child and hurt their child - is truly outrageous," he said. Although most party leaders abandoned Ryan, Fitzgerald said Friday that he had encouraged him to stay in the race. "I think the public stoning of Jack Ryan is one of the most grotesque things I've seen in politics," the senator said. He said the party's bigwigs pushed Ryan out: "It was like piranhas. They smelled blood in the water and they just devoured him." Ryan won the GOP primary by more than 10 percentage points over his two closest rivals, dairy owner James Oberweis and state Sen. Steve Rauschenberger. Both Oberweis and Rauschenberger said this week that they would step in as Ryan's replacement if party leaders asked. Other possible candidates mentioned include U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, former Gov. Jim Edgar and Sen. Fitzgerald, though all three have said they are not interested. Likewise, archived versions of U.S. newspapers that published the same AP wire story (such as the San Diego Union-Tribune and the Seattle Times) do not include lead-ins identifying Barack Obama as "Kenyan-born." San Diego Union-Tribune Seattle Times Lannan, Maura Kelly. "Illinois' Jack Ryan Abandons Senate Bid."
The Associated Press. 25 June 2004. | 0 | [
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] | 0 |
FMD2523 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Hillary Clinton is a complicated woman running in a country that wants its political platforms to fit on a trucker s cap. As a candidate, she has taken a lot of heat from progressives for being late to coming around to marriage equality. She was, but it s not that simple. If you scratch just a little beneath the surface, you ll find a true champion of LGBT rights throughout the world.When it comes to Clinton s evolution on LGBT rights, there are a lot of legitimate complaints. First, her husband s legacy, although also not that simple, is the failed military policy of Don t Ask, Don t Tell. Bill Clinton didn t love the policy, but it was what he saw as the best compromise at the time.Of course, that wasn t Hillary s policy. In fact, in 1999, she said she was against Don t Ask, Don t Tell, so let s move on. The criticism that has the most teeth is that Hillary didn t come around to accepting marriage equality until just three years ago, but that was only one step in a long history of support.One accomplishment that has received scant attention is that she ushered gay rights onto the international stage. It is fair to say that without Clinton s efforts, the global struggle for equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people would not have proceeded as fast as it has in the past several years, nor would the United States be seen today as a global leader in that struggle. At the heart of these efforts was the 2011 United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, otherwise known as the UNHRC Gay Rights Resolution, an international agreement whose drafting and signing Clinton oversaw. With that document, and a sister UNHRC resolution of 2014 condemning anti-LGBT violence and discrimination, the UN has formally recognized gay rights as part of the international human rights regime.Clinton s gay rights crusade began within the State Department, which she transformed into one of the most if not the most gay-friendly bureaucracies in Washington, both in terms of its policies and its administration. This signaled a radical makeover for the stodgy institution, which under Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, Clinton s predecessors in the George W. Bush administration, had seen little drive for gay equality. Largely beholden to the Christian right and social conservatives, the Bush administration was hostile toward LGBT people and issues. As president, Bush endorsed an amendment to the federal constitution banning same-sex marriage, and his political managers used same-sex marriage as a wedge issue during his reelection campaign in 2004 with the intention of mobilizing so-called values voters in swing states like Ohio.Source: Foreign AffairsHer support of LGBT rights didn t stop in international waters. She extended family leave and other government benefits to families of same-sex couples who worked in the State Department.She fought discrimination in the State Department, despite a 1950s executive order by Dwight Eisenhower to fire all gay people, because homosexuality was considered a risk. Clinton instead recognized the Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Association (GLIFAA) for its courageous actions in the face of historic discrimination. She also ended the firings.Clinton even had gay pride celebrations at embassies and consulates throughout the world. Every May 17th, to celebrate International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, embassies hang rainbow flags. She also made a concerted effort to be inclusive in her hiring, by, among other things, appointing six openly gay ambassadors to serve on several continents.Here she is with her own words:Don t take my word, or hers, for it. She s been endorsed by nearly every LGBT organization.Featured image via Getty Images | 0 | [
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FMD2524 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Ronald Reagan raised taxes in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987.
contextual information: U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-11th, recently invoked the name of Ronald Reagan to drum up support for raising taxes for a new stimulus program.During a June 5floor speech, Connolly lamented the refusal of House Republican leaders to allow the American Jobs Act to come up for a vote. The bill, proposed by President Barack Obama, calls for $447 billion over 10 years to pay for infrastructure and school improvements, new job training programs, unemployment insurance, and temporary tax cuts for working families and small businesses.The stimulus would be funded by levying taxes on corporations and people earning more than $1 million a year.Connolly said the House, in considering the legislation, should ask, What would Ronald Reagan do?Many Republicans decried the use of additional revenue to help offset any increase in national debt, Connolly said. Apparently, they forgot that when faced with rising deficits, Ronald Reagan looked to revenue increases, broadening the tax base, closing loopholes and raising taxes. Yes, he raised taxes in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987.Did the Gipper really raise taxes during five years of his presidency? We checked.Lets start by noting that if you recall Reagan as tax cutter, your memory is good. Reagan campaigned in 1980 on reducing taxes. During his administration, the top income tax rate decreased from 70 percent in 1981 to 28 percent in 1986.But to combat a rising deficit and debt burden, Reagan also approved increased taxes.In 1982, The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act raised taxes by $37.5 billion per year, and the Highway Revenue Act raised the gasoline tax by $3.3 billion.In 1983, Reagan signed off on legislation to raise payroll taxes and tax Social Security benefits for some higher earners.In 1984, the Deficit Reduction Act included increases in taxes on estates and distilled spirits and ended some business tax breaks, to the tune of $18 billion per year.In 1985, Reagan signed legislation making permanent a 16-cent federal excise tax on a pack of cigarettes, then worth about $2.4 billion a year.In 1986, the Tax Reform Act lowered the top income tax bracket from 50 percent to 28 percent. To pay for the reductions, however, the legislation closed a number of tax loopholes.In 1987, Reagan signed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act that extended the telephone excise tax and eliminated a real estate tax deduction loophole.So its accurate to say Reagan increased levies during five years of his administration, but theres a caveat: The overall tax burden on businesses and individuals went down during his presidency.We examined data from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center that computes the nations tax revenues as a percentage of its Gross Domestic Product -- the total of all goods and services produced.When Reagan took office in 1981, federal taxes were 19.6 percent of GDP, the highest level since World War II. That figure dropped to 17.3 percent during his first term and rose to 18.2 percent at the end of his second term.For comparison, federal tax revenues for this fiscal year are estimated at 15.8 percent of GDP.Reagans efforts to cut top income tax rates at the same time he was increasing defense spending created strain, and the federal debt rose from $994 billion at the start of his first term to almost $2.9 trillion at the end. As a result, Reagan was willing to accept and sometimes promote proposals that would close loopholes and create a broader tax base, according to C. Eugene Steuerle, who organized the Treasury Department's 1984-86 tax reform effort and is now a fellow at the Urban Institute and Tax Policy Center.This April, President Barack Obama said Reagan understood repeatedly that when the deficit started to get out of control, that for him to make a deal, he would have to propose both spending cuts and tax increases. PolitiFact National rated the claimMostly True, noting that Reagan did not repeatedly propose increases but agreed to tax hikes put forth by Congress.Our rulingConnolly said Reagan, as president raised taxes in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987. Reagan did, in fact, sign off on at least one tax increase during each of those years.Some of the increases were modest in scope. And its important to note that overall U.S. taxes, when measured as a portion of the nations GDP, went down during Reagans presidency.But theres no doubt that Reagan was willing to cut budget deals that included raising revenues. We rate Connollys statement True. | 1 | [
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"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2525 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Did Police in Paris Confiscate 'Baguette Knives' from Fuel Tax Protesters? Claim summaries: This is not exactly what's meant by "breaking bread."
contextual information: In November and December 2018, French demonstrators known as 'gilets jaunes' (yellow vests) garnered international attention for their (at times) destructive protests against President Emmanuel Macron's proposed carbon tax increase in the country's 2019 budget. protests On 5 December, the French government announced they would be removing the fuel tax hike from the budget, after weeks of demonstrations that saw extensive property damage and clashes with police take place on the streets of Paris. removing Against that background, one Twitter user with a penchant for sharing viral visual content posted photographs of what was presented as quintessentially French weapons seized from the gilets jaunes protesters. On 3 December, @HansReloaded tweeted images of what looked like a bread knife disguised in a modified baguette and described as "Bladed weapons confiscated from rioters by the Paris police": bladed weapons confiscated from rioters by the paris police. pic.twitter.com/fyVe8alMbv pic.twitter.com/fyVe8alMbv Hans (@HansReloaded) December 3, 2018 December 3, 2018 The tweet was widely promulgated on both Twitter and Facebook, with many users (whether or not they actually took the "weapon" to be authentic) reveling in the stereotype-affirming use of a baguette in the context of violent crime: A knife hidden in a baguette is the most French shit ever. https://t.co/3uqHl3bAOc https://t.co/3uqHl3bAOc Baby D (@ZGAplease) December 4, 2018 December 4, 2018 The photographs posted by @HansReloaded did not originate in the gilets jaunes protests of November and December 2018, and could be found online well before that period. They appear to have been posted originally in September 2017 by a French Twitter user who added the caption "French self-defense": found French self-dfense. pic.twitter.com/tgvymxZCrK pic.twitter.com/tgvymxZCrK Buby-stoukette (@BubyBuubs) September 12, 2017 September 12, 2017 That user confirmed in a later tweet that the photographs were taken at a branch of La Chaise Longue, a chain store with locations throughout France that specializes in novelty household items and gifts, such as the "couteau pain baguette" ("baguette knife") -- which can be purchased from La Chaise Longue's online store for 21.95 ($24.99 as of 6 December 2018): confirmed purchased Willsher, Kim. "Macron Scraps Fuel Tax Rise in Face of Gilets Jaunes Protests."
The Guardian. 5 December 2018. | 0 | [
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] | 0 |
FMD2526 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: 21st Century Wire says Author David Icke talks about the US election shocker and what it says about the relationship between society and big government.In the end, Trump s success was an expression of a complete rejection of the political establishment and the two party system. Like BREXIT, Trump s surprise electoral result represents a much bigger social and spiritual tremor happening beneath the establishment s feet one that the mainstream are prepared to admit. Watch: SUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 0 | [
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FMD2527 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: An influx of up to 300, 000 migrant children could overwhelm the German school system and lead to a ghettoisation of German classrooms, hindering attempts at integration. [The German Philological Association is warning German lawmakers that there could be up to 300, 000 migrants entering the school system and schools are totally unprepared. Meidinger, head of the Philological Association and the Gymnasium teachers’ union said “there is too little state support for this mammoth task†and claimed politicians had little understanding of the real issues, Die Welt reports. “Politicians believe that they have done their homework with the new formation of thousands of classes and the recruitment of 13, 000 teachers,†Mr. Meidinger said. He warned, “The transfer of children from welcome language learning to transition classes in mainstream schools has massive problems and deficiencies. †Meidinger also noted that many of the migrant students and their families tend to live neighbourhoods already largely populated with migrants and that is reflected in the schools they go to. “The social and ethnic segregation that we know is a source of poison for both successful school and social integration. It threatens a ghettoisation in the school system. †The comments echo a study published in December that revealed migrants were increasingly becoming more insular, rather than integrating. The largest obstacle for any teachers of migrant children is the language barrier. Meidinger said due to the language issue many of the teachers and school leaders have said the overall education outcomes of migrant children will likely suffer. Education is an important pillar for integration into German society in both a cultural and economic sense. Some academics and experts have already warned that migrants and their children will likely be a drain on the economy rather than a benefit. Education for migrants in Germany is estimated to cost more than €3 billion (£2. 55 billion) per year. Recent reports have shown the number of migrants in the German school system is rapidly increasing and has doubled in the last five years. Despite the large increase, the percentage of migrants who actually manage to finish school has gone from only 38 per cent to 43 per cent. A teacher in Austria warned migrants are on track to becoming a “lost generation†due to the difficulty they have in learning the German language. She said that it was likely the migrants would be under the care of the state most of their lives. She was silenced by the Education Ministry due to her comments. | 1 | [
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] | 1 |
FMD2528 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: This blogger s piece is a glimpse into the future of America. Unless we all find a way to stand together and stop Barack Obama and the Democrat party s fundamental transformation from happening we ll be looking for another country who cares more about its citizens than its immigrant population This is the last post on this blog. I am leaving Sweden for good shortly, and will no longer be following its descent from what was once the third most prosperous country in the world. Frankly, it s just too damn depressing.I was born and raised in Sweden, which leaves a cultural mark even though I moved to USA in the 1990s and have spent the better part of my adult life as an American. Coming back for a few years has been a shocking experience.When I was a child, Sweden was a dull yet very safe place to live. Yes, there was a heavy blanket of socialism and collectivist values covering everything, but there was a core of pragmatism beneath the redness. The intention and goal was always to benefit the citizens, even though they went about things in a backwards manner.Prime minister L fven Today, it s as if the inmates are running the asylum. The politicians are participating in a chicken race of goodness where everybody tries to one-up each other in caring for the citizens of OTHER countries while Swedish retirees, school children, handicapped and other vulnerable categories of people are thorougly ignored. Violence is exploding. Jihadist Trojan horses are flowing through the porous border along with the tens of thousands ID-less refugees.But what makes me the most pessimistic about Sweden s future is how the social fabric itself has been undermined.Now, to be clear, it is my opinion that modest immigration is healthy for society and beneficial for trade, cultural development and so forth. Protectionism as a concept is counter-productive, while free trade and the ability for skilled labor to go where they re in demand is beneficial for everyone.Having said that, what Sweden is doing is something completely different. The once homogenous population has been forever altered by a rapid and massive addition of people from vastly different cultures and value-systems. 26,8% of the population is now foreign-born or with at least one foreign-born parent, and the national census bureau estimates that some 150 000 per year will arrive to the country of just 9,8 million residents.There simply is no possible way to absorb and assimilate such volumes of people, period. Then you are merely creating ethnic enclaves, which due to incompatible language, culture and job skills become ghettos, which in turns brews crime, misery and extremism. Once the inflow has exceeded the capacity for absorbtion, further immigration only makes the problem worse.It s like someone having read that a cup of green tea per day is healthy, so they make it a policy to chug four gallons per day, every day. It s a good thing overdone to the extreme until it becomes toxic.Then you have the Swedish school system. There really is no nice way to put it; it s a complete disaster. The minister of education is a man-boy who spends his time making Youtube-videos showing heart-signs with his hands to boost school results, while university-level students can t read and comprehend the course literature.Education minister Gustav FridolinSince there is a delay in the changes in the school system, it is only in recent years the full impact of the knowledge-averse progressive school system is starting to be felt. Hard facts are largely irrelevant; the important thing is to sit in a group and discuss things until a consensus is reached. But with no hard facts to base the conclusions on, it becomes an exercise in futility because it s all random assumptions and opinions. As a university-level history student (!) was quoted as saying in newspaper Svenska Dagbladet the other day: Why would all these dates matter? Who cares in what order things happened? That s not exactly fertile soil for creating the researchers and engineers of the future.Financially, Sweden is an oddity in that it never had its real estate correction when Lehman Bros went belly-up and the housing market everywhere in the West crashed. Sweden just kept steaming ahead, which means housing is ridiculously overinflated. In Stockholm, the real estate prices increased 19% and in Gothenburg 24% in the last 12 months alone from an already sky-high level.Tear-down abandoned house from 1932 with small, unremarkable lot in the outskirts of Stockholm. Current bid: 7,5 million SEK, or close to $900,000.As a result, personal debt of the Swedish population is at an all-time high. To keep all this afloat the normal mortgage interest rates are at 2% with central bank Riksbanken at -0,25%, and yet a significant portion of the borrowers are hanging by a thread. If and when foreign banks and investors decide it s time to turn their backs on Sweden (as happened in the early 1990s) there s going to be a lot of pain.Then you have the financial obligations going forward. Like much of the western world, there is a demographic change where fewer tax-paying adults are to support a glut of retirees. What makes it especially dire for Sweden is that in addition to the old Swedes, there s also a ton of elderly immigrants that are granted family visas based on younger relatives having been granted asylum. They ve never paid a dime in taxes, yet enter the system with full benefits from day one. In theory, this would be made up for by the younger relatives working and paying taxes. Sadly, this is not the case; while ethnical Swedes have a 82% employment rate, immigrants only have 57% with non-Europeans coming in at just 51%.If Sweden was a person, it d be like the guy with three mortgages, seven maxed-out credit cards and four collection agencies chasing him that just signed a lease for a brand new BMW X6. Simply put, there s a lot of red ink in the future; it just hasn t been fully realized yet.Finally, there s the sorry state of the Swedish defense. After decades of constant slashing of the defense budget, the extent of Swedish ambition is to stall an invader for a week in a limited area. This with war raging in Europe, Russian missiles pointed at Sweden in Kaliningrad, and Russian submarines and bomber jets openly thumbing their nose at Sweden as they intrude on Swedish territory on a regular basis. The power vacuum in Scandinavia is so tangible you can almost hear a sucking sound as you fly over it. This, too, will require massive investments when the penny finally drops amongst Swedish politicians.So while I can t claim to be any kind of authority on macroeconomics or social predictive models, I see red lights across the board.In some ways, I d compare the country to a farm. Previously, Sweden acted like a sensible farmer and planted wheat here, carrots there, potatoes over there et cetera, by implementing free schooling, sound infrastructure investments, state-financed research and so forth. A few decades later, they reaped the rewards and climbed the prosperity ladder.In the late 1960s, this pragmatic line was abandoned as leftist idealist Olof Palme took over. But there was plenty to harvest from previous years, so Sweden continued to be the land of milk and honey for a good long while. Then things started drying up, and the process has been one of gradual erosion and decline since the 1990s.The famous Swedish health care system is a good example. 120 000 hospital beds in the late 1960s became 20 000 today. Cancer patients are put on waiting lists for months. Entire emergency wards shut down for summer. The crumbling Swedish railroad system is another symptom I examined in-depth last year. The aforementioned defense that now consist of about three fat generals and a rusty rifle (bullets withheld for budgetary reasons).A sensible farmer would see the problems for what they are and hurry to plant new seeds, so as to return to bountiful harvests of wheat, carrots, potatoes etc. Instead, the Swedish politicians goes by dogma and plants what they think SHOULD grow. So they plant M & Ms, hot dogs and pretzels. The results won t be fully evident for a few years yet, but as the last reserves of the old harvests are depleted, things will get Interesting.From what I can see, there simply is no plausible scenario where these social tensions and future financial committments will not lead to a downward spiral of hardship and strife. I hope I m wrong. I really do, because I have friends and family I care about that will remain here to see it all play out.But I won t. I ll be back in the US being mad at Obama for being a lying scumbag. And if Trump manages to get elected in 2016? Whoo boy. A racist ignoramus who takes pride in the worst qualities of a cranky eight-year old should make George Dumbo Bush seem like Abe Lincoln by comparison. So every country has its problems. USA has its corrupt yokel in office, just as Sweden has Stefan L fven. Via: The Sweden Report | 0 | [
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FMD2529 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Was there an alleged increase in U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell's net worth by approximately $2.4 million annually over the span of ten years? Claim summaries: A meme based on a 2014 campaign ad has continued to make the online rounds years later.
contextual information: In late February 2019, a misleading meme was circulated on Facebook that led viewers to ask whether U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky had mysteriously amassed vast wealth in yearly increments to the tune of $2.4 million while in office: As Senate Majority Leader, McConnell received an annual salary of $193,400, but the Kentucky Republican reported an influx of family wealth between $5 million and $25 million in 2008, according to his financial disclosures. That influx was the result of an inheritance his wife received upon the death of her mother, and that information has been part of public discourse since 2014, when it became campaign fodder for McConnell's Democratic opponent, Allison Lundergan Grimes: salary Although the meme and the campaign ad upon which it was likely based were set up to make it seem as if McConnell's wealth increase were the result of his role in the Senate and thus involved unethical or illegal activities, most of his net worth actually derives from his wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who hails from a wealthy business family and married McConnell in 1993. Chao is the daughter of James S.C. and Ruth Mulan Chu Chao. Her father is the founder of the New York-based international shipping and trading company Foremost Group, an organization her sister, Angela, chairs. How wealthy is the Chao family? Wealthy enough to have bestowed Harvard Business School with a $40 million gift in 2012. chairs gift According to the non-profit government transparency organization Center for Responsive Politics, McConnell's net worth jumped from an estimated $7.8 million in 2007 to $17 million in 2008, owing entirely to a tax-exempt, money market fund in an account he held jointly with his wife: 2008 As the Washington Post reported in 2014, McConnell's increase in wealth reflected inheritance mone Chao received when her mother passed away in 2007: reported Thats almost a sevenfold increase in 10 years. McConnell has quadrupled his net worth since 2007, when it was $7.8 million. So what happened in 2008? His financial disclosure form tells the storysuddenly there appeared a tax-exempt money market fund, valued at between $5 million and $25 million, listed as a gift from a filers relative. (Look at Line 2 and then Line 3.) Indeed, a McConnell spokesman confirms that this was an inheritance for McConnells wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, after her mother died in 2007. Chao, who married McConnell in 1993, earns significant income on her own, serving on corporate boards, and has at least $1 million in a Vanguard 500 Index Fund. (Since these shares are in her name, McConnell only needs to report they have a minimum value of $1 million.) The Center for Responsive Politics estimated McConnell's net worth in 2015, the most recent figure available, to be nearly $27 million. 2015 Kessler, Glenn. "How Did Mitch McConnells Net Worth Soar?"
The Washington Post. 22 May 2014. Newmyer, Tory. "The Secret to Mitch McConnell's Millions."
Fortune. 20 March 2014. | 2 | [
"0",
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] | 2 |
FMD2530 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Did Congress Use a 'Slush Fund' to Pay $17 Million to Women They Sexually Harassed? Claim summaries: Although the term "slush fund" signals secret money stashed for illicit purposes, Congress has authorized public money in a fund set aside to pay settlements.
contextual information: In November 2017, a meme circulating on social media reported that Congress has been using a "slush fund" to quietly pay out $17 million in settlements to women who had been sexually harassed or abused by lawmakers. Although there is a U.S. Treasury fund devoted to paying settlements, it is not a "slush fund" which implies it is secret and utilized for illicit purposes. The fund is administered by the Office of Compliance (OOC), which was established in 1995 with the Congressional Accountability Act and is used for the payment of awards and settlements. The OOC is overseen by the House Administration and Senate Rules committees. Unlike a "slush fund" which would be off the books, the fund is a line item and every year its activity can be viewed by the public in Treasury reports for example money laid out from the fund in Fiscal Year 2016 can be viewed here under "Awards and Settlements, Office of Compliance." In FY 2016 the fund paid out a total of $491,733.97. here Yearly breakdowns dating back to 1995 can be viewed here (click on the year desired then scroll to "Part Three Fiscal Year 2016 Detail of Appropriations, Outlays, and Balances," then click on the report for the Legislative Branch). viewed here Citing increased public interest in the issue of sexual harassment settlement funding sources, Office of Compliance Director Susan Tsui Grundmann released a compilation of money paid from the fund by year since 1997, totaling more than $17 million. But not all of that money went to congressional harassment cases, she pointed out. The money is used to settle workplace disputes on Capitol Hill and the amounts for various complaints are not broken out by type: compilation A large portion of cases originate from employing offices in the legislative branch other than the House of Representatives or the Senate, and involve various statutory provisions incorporated by the [Congressional Accountability Act], such as the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The statistics on payments are not further broken down into specific claims because settlements may involve cases that allege violations of more than one of the 13 statutes incorporated by the CAA. In at least one of the high-profile cases, that of accusations of harassment leveled against Rep. John Conyers (D-Michigan), settlement money was paid by his congressional office budget, not the Treasury fund overseen by OOC. The meme is false the money isn't paid from an illegal "slush fund." It's unknown how much of the $17 million total over the last 20 years went to sexual harassment claim settlements. However, allegations of sexual abuse and harassment against powerful men like Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, Rep. Conyers and Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota), NBC News anchor Matt Lauer and in the days leading up to the 2016 presidential election, President Donald Trump, have raised awareness of how rampant the problem is and how secretive and bureaucratically-cumbersome the process is for handling complaints against legislators -- at the expense of taxpayers. This has prompted Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Callifornia) to draft legislation to make the OOC's process more transparent and user-friendly for victims of harassment. (A spokesperson for Speier said the way the system currently works "is obviously created to protect the institution over the victims.") As it stands, people seeking to file complaints of harassment on Capitol Hill have to wait a minimum of 90 days after filing their initial incident report with OOC, during which time they must receive mandatory counseling and mediation, then wait an additional 30 days in a "cooling off" period. According to documents provided by Speier's office, the bill (dubbed "Me Too" after a social media campaign in which women and some men shared their stories of assault and abuse) seeks to change the process and help prevent future harassment by making the mandatory counseling and mediation voluntary, giving OOC more investigative power, allowing victims to file complaints anonymously, giving them more time to do so and providing them a central platform they can use. It would also implement sexual harassment training and require any members of Congress who settle a claim to personally reimburse the Treasury fund. OOC would also be required to publish the name of the employing office and amount awarded in settlements. Me Too some men Schor, Elana."Congress Sexual Harassment System, Decoded."
Politico.21 November 2017. Hartmann, Margaret."Representative John Conyers Settled Sexual-Harassment Complaint Using Taxpayer Money: Report."
New York Magazine.21 November 2017. Lee, MJ, et al."Congress Paid Out $17 Million in Settlements. Here's Why We Know So Little About That Money."
CNN.16 November 2017. Bennett, Jessica."The #MeToo Moment."
The New York Times.30 November 2017. | 0 | [
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FMD2531 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: A California neuroscientist vying to unseat Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher stepped up his criticism of the conservative on Tuesday, demanding he return a $1,000 contribution from indicted Trump adviser Paul Manafort. The Orange County seat held by Rohrabacher is key to Democrats’ hopes to increase their numbers in the U.S. House of Representatives in next year’s elections. Neuroscientist Hans Keirstead, a stem cell researcher and entrepreneur from Laguna Beach, is one of seven Democrats aiming to beat him, according to the Federal Election Commission. “We’ve got a Russian-tainted Congressman taking Russian-tainted money from Manafort,†Keirstead said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. “Something has to be put straight here.†Federal investigators probing Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election on Monday charged Manafort, a lobbyist and former Trump campaign manager, with money laundering. Rohrabacher, a senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, has frequently praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and was considered for a role in U.S. President Donald Trump’s cabinet. His Southern California base in Orange County was for decades a Republican stronghold and a center of support for Ronald Reagan. Reliably conservative voters there have sent Rohrabacher to the House for nearly 30 years. But the 48th Congressional district has undergone profound demographic shifts in recent years, and it is now one of nine Republican districts in California that Democrats have targeted. Hillary Clinton beat Trump in the district in 2016, winning 152,000 votes compared to his 146,600. “These are people who care about the environment, care about social issues,†said Drew Godinich, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in California. “Donald Trump and Donald Trump’s Republican Party are no longer a good match for them.†Democrats’ success in the district, however, is far from assured. Despite a tilt toward Clinton for the presidency, voters there chose Rohrabacher over Democrat Suzanne Savary by more than six percentage points in 2016. Through a spokesman, Rohrabacher indicated that he was not at this time prepared to reject Manafort | 1 | [
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FMD2532 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: The House Select Intelligence Committee Friday responded to fired FBI Director James Comey’s testimony the previous day, demanding he hand over any memos of his conversations with President Trump. [The committee announced that Reps. Mike Conaway ( ) and Adam Schiff ( ) wrote to Comey in the wake of the testimony, requesting “any notes or memoranda in his possession memorializing discussions Comey had with President Trump. †The request comes as part of the committee’s own investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. The request comes a day after Comey made the startling admission that he shared his memos with a friend at Columbia University so that he could then share them with the media and prompt a special counsel for the Russia investigation. It raised the question of why he shared them with a contact, and the media, but not with Congress. The most significant of the memos included one partially leaked to the New York Times, saying that Trump had asked Comey to end the investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. “I hope you can let this go,†Trump reportedly said to Comey, according to the memo — parts of which were read to the Times. In May, Rep. Jason Chaffetz ( ) wrote to the FBI in his capacity as head of the House Oversight Committee, requesting copies of any such memos. The House committee also wrote to White House Counsel Don McGahn Friday, requesting any recordings or memos of the conversations that President Trump may have. This request appears to be in response to a tweet Trump sent in which he warned Comey that he should hope there are no “tapes†of their conversations. James Comey better hope that there are no â€tapes†of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017, The Committee requested the documents by June 23. Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY | 1 | [
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FMD2533 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: About five million people in Kurdish-held areas of northern Iraq will be summoned to take part in a non-binding referendum on independence from Iraq on Monday. They will be asked to tick a yes/no box next to this question: Do you want the Kurdistan region and the Kurdish areas outside the region s administration to become an independent state? The Kurds are the largest ethnic group left stateless when Britain and France, the colonial powers which won World War One, carved up the Ottoman empire. The region s roughly 30 million ethnic Kurds were left scattered, mainly over four countries: Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. All of them suffered persecution and were often denied the right to speak their language. Those in Iraq were uprooted under Saddam Hussein s regime and suffered an attack using chemical weapons. The autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq says the Shi ite ruled central government in Baghdad has failed to respect autonomy established after the 2003 overthrow of Saddam Hussein in a U.S.-led invasion. The KRG says the vote acknowledges the Kurds crucial contribution confronting Islamic State after it overwhelmed the the Iraqi army in 2014 and seized control of a third of Iraq. WHAT S THE LIKELY OUTCOME AND WHAT S THE NEXT MOVE: The outcome is likely to be a comfortable yes . The KRG, led by Massoud Barzani, plans to use the vote as a legitimate mandate to press for negotiations with Baghdad and neighboring countries to achieve independence. Baghdad thinks the vote could lead to a messy breakup of Iraq at a time when it is struggling with reconstruction and the return of refugees. It offers talks to resolve disputes over land, energy and power sharing, including the status of the multi-ethnic oil region of Kirkuk. Iraq s powerful neighbors fear separatist contagion for their own Kurdish populations. Turkey is home to the largest Kurdish minority. It has been fighting Kurdish insurrection in its south-east since 1984. Iran s Kurds are close culturally to Iraq s Kurds and they speak the same Kurdish language. Tehran is also close to the Shi ite political parties who have been ruling Iraq or holding key security or government positions since 2003. Syria is embroiled in a civil war in which its own Kurds are pressing for self-administration. About everyone, including the United States and United Nations who fear a destabilization of Iraq while the war with Islamic State is not yet over. WHY OIL-RICH KIRKUK IS EMERGING AS A FLASHPOINT: Kirkuk is a multi-ethnic city. It lies outside the recognized Kurdish region and is home to Kurds, Turkmen, Arabs and Assyrian Christians. It sits on susbtantial oil reserves and its crude is exported through a pipeline to the Mediterranean that crosses KRG territory and Turkey. If Turkey decides to close the pipeline, it would deprive the KRG government in Erbil of most its hard currency income. Iraqi Kurdistan produces around 650,000 bpd of crude from its fields, including around 150,000 bpd from the disputed areas of Kirkuk. The region s production volumes represent 15 percent of total Iraqi output and around 0.7 percent of global oil production. The KRG aspires to raise production to over 1 million bpd by the end of this decade. Kurdish oil production has been dominated by mid-sized oil firms such as Genel, DNO, Gulf Keystone and Dana Gas. Major oil firms such as Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Rosneft also have projects in Kurdistan but they are mostly at an exploration stage. Russia s state oil major Rosneft, however, has lent over $1 billion to the KRG guaranteed by oil sales and committed a total of $4 billion to various projects in Kurdistan. Trading houses Vitol, Glencore, Trafigura and Petraco have lent a total of $2 billion to Kurdistan guaranteed by oil sales while Turkey has also provided a total of $1.5 billion to support Erbil in the past two years. All registered residents of the Kurdish-held region in northern Iraq, Kurds and non-Kurds, are eligible to vote. The Kurdish-held regions include those inside the official boundaries of the KRG and surrounding areas that Peshmerga fighters seized in the course of the war on Islamic State. Kirkuk lies outside the KRG and is also claimed by Baghdad. Internally displaced people from the disputed territories will be allowed to vote. Iraq s Kurdish diaspora will also be allowed to submit electronic ballots on Sept. 23 and 24. The United Nations opposes the referendum and says it will not participate in the process. | 1 | [
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FMD2534 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: House Republicans voted on Thursday to rip healthcare away from millions of Americans. Among those who are slamming the GOP for this despicable act are doctors, who know just how bad this will be for their patients.Following the passage of the American Health Care Act, the American Medical Association issued a scathing statement. The AMA, which is the largest group of its kind in the U.S. and represents more than 20,000 physicians, slammed the bill for leaving millions without access to medical care. The bill passed by the House today will result in millions of Americans losing access to quality, affordable health insurance and those with pre-existing health conditions face the possibility of going back to the time when insurers could charge them premiums that made access to coverage out of the question, AMA President Andrew Gurman said.The group conceded that action is needed to improve the current health care insurance system. After all, no one has ever claimed that Obamacare was perfect. However, the GOP s bill is not the answer we need. The AMA urged the White House and the Senate to work toward bipartisan solutions. The AMA urges the Senate and the Administration to work with physician, patient, hospital and other provider groups to craft bipartisan solutions so all American families can access affordable and meaningful coverage, while preserving the safety net for vulnerable populations, he said.The CBO has estimated that 24 million people will lose their healthcare coverage under the Republican plan. The elderly and sick (you know, the people who need medical care the most) will be hit the hardest by the GOP bill. Under the AHCA, states will be able to gut protections for pre-existing conditions and tell insurance companies that they can charge sick people as much as they want, even if that means these people are priced out of coverage altogether.Featured image via Alex Wong/Getty Images | 0 | [
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FMD2535 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Was Creator of 'Bernie Mittens' Taxed Out of Business? Claim summaries: That would be ironic considering the progressive senator's unabashed proposals to impose new taxes.
contextual information: As memes of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders wearing hand-crafted mittens at Joe Biden's presidential inauguration plastered the Internet in early 2021, rumors surfaced alleging that the creator of the mittens had stopped selling recycled wool products because of high federal taxes. Snopes received numerous inquiries to investigate the validity of the claim, which attempted to expose the hypocrisy of people who support the Vermont senator's goals of imposing new taxes to pay for various proposals, including free universal health care. Here's some background: Jen Ellis, a Vermont elementary school teacher, said she made the mittens out of discarded wool sweaters and gifted them to the senator after he lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. "I sent him these mittens kind of as a shoutout to who he is, and I put a note in that said something to the effect of, 'I hope you run again,'" she told Slate. The viral image of Sanders wearing Ellis' gift and sitting with his arms and legs crossed made the teacher famous by the viral standards of 2021. She gave multiple interviews to news outlets including NPR and Slate in which she discussed her support for Sanders and her reaction to the memes; social media users and other websites republished those comments, in part to harness the virality of the moment. Among the latter group was The Federalist, an online hub of articles with a conservative bent. Two days after the inauguration, the website published a page with the headline, "Woman Behind Bernie Sanders' Iconic Mittens Quit Making Them Because High Taxes Killed Her Business," reading: "The Vermont school teacher who made Bernie Sanders' mittens, featured in the most recent viral meme, said she had to stop making them after the federal government taxed her too much." To support the claim, The Federalist cited a portion of Ellis' interview with Slate. According to a transcribed version of that conversation, which Slate published on Jan. 21, the elementary school teacher indeed told writer Rachelle Hampton: "Speaking of bittersweet, you supported Bernie. How did you feel about watching Biden be sworn in as president?" Ellis responded, "Oh my gosh, I cried. I'm 42 and I've waited four decades of my life to see a woman be vice president. I wish that she was president, although I think Biden is pretty great. [...] And then there was this little side nagging thing of every five minutes I was getting several hundred more emails about the mittens. A year ago, when Bernie was on the campaign trail, he was wearing those mittens and Twitter buzzed about it then. I'm not really on Twitter—I have an account, but I don't really participate—but a lot of my younger colleagues do, and they were like, 'You've gotta check this out.' [...] So I put it out there that I made the mittens, they were a gift, and they're not knitted, they're sewn from repurposed and up-cycled sweaters. At that time, I had 30 or 40 mittens for sale, and being a little naïve about Twitter, I put my Gmail account on that, which someone picked up yesterday and retweeted it. People have been contacting me thinking that they can get mittens, and actually they can't. I don't have any more, and I don't have much of a mitten business anymore because it really wasn't worth it. Independent crafters get really taken for a ride by the federal government. We get taxed to the nth degree, and it wasn't really worth it pursuing that as a business, even as a side hustle. I mostly just make them as gifts." In other words, Ellis said she did not "have much of a mitten business anymore," or that she previously sold the handmade items for a price and then mostly stopped. She implied that federal taxes were a leading factor in her decision to make that change. On Jan. 20, as social media lit up with the memes following the inauguration, she confirmed on Twitter that she was not selling mittens like the senator's. Snopes reached out to Ellis to learn more about her history of trying to sell mittens for profit and paying federal taxes as a self-described independent crafter. We have not yet received a response, but we'll update this report when or if we do. All of that said, the size of Ellis' former business was unknown, as well as how long or via what methods she sold the handmade mittens. U.S. tax code requires all independent contractors—no matter if they use online marketplaces such as Etsy to sell handmade products—to pay local and federal taxes based on net profits. Also, we should note here: Sanders' proposed changes to the country's tax system would repeal aspects of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act so that taxpayers who earn between about $9,500 and $250,000 would pay about 4% more, and taxes on the country's top earners would generate the majority of revenue. Additionally, he wants to impose a new payroll tax on businesses that earn more than $2 million annually, a change that intends to protect ventures like Ellis' from paying more. So while it was true that taxes played a role in Ellis' decision to stop charging people money for mittens prior to her viral fame, it was false to claim that she "quit" making them altogether, as The Federalist headline alleged. Between Jan. 23 and 24, she said in a series of tweets that she made three more pairs of "Bernie mittens," two of which she donated to Passion 4 Paws Vermont and Outright Vermont for fundraising, and one that she was auctioning off to benefit her daughter's college fund. After that, Sanders' official campaign began selling merchandise with the senator's meme-worthy image that Ellis made possible. The so-called "Chairman Sanders" sweatshirts, T-shirts, stickers, etc., helped raise $1.8 million for charitable organizations in Vermont over the course of five days, The Associated Press reported. On Jan. 24, Ellis tweeted that the senator called her to tell her that "the mitten frenzy" had raised "an enormous amount of money" for the charities. Besides that evidence, it was unclear how, or to what extent, the teacher was involved in the making or selling of the campaign-official products featuring her mittens. As further proof to debunk claims that she had ceased all mitten-making, the teacher on Jan. 27 announced that she had partnered with entities including Darn Tough Socks to make socks inspired by the viral mittens, and the following day she said she was in the process of another project "to get Bernie Mittens for ALL." "I'm not opening a mitten factory or quitting my job as a second-grade teacher! However, I am going to choose a new adventure on the side," Ellis said on her official website and GoFundMe page. "Never fear—I will make more mittens, but I won't be selling them for myself. I will be donating them to Vermont charities to help them fundraise and make up for the funds lost due to the pandemic." In sum, while it was true that, prior to her viral fame, Ellis mostly stopped charging people for handmade mittens due to costs including federal taxes, she was still creating the recycled wool products, and people were spending money on them as of this writing. For those reasons, we rate this claim a "Mixture" of truthful and misleading information. | 2 | [
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] | 2 |
FMD2536 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: It s easier to hate Trump and spew venom at him and his supporters than to use logic and reason Donald Trump has already forced Mexico to clean up its national image, underscoring how the country suffering from NAFTA could actually benefit from a Trump presidency.Mexico is launching a massive PR campaign to improve perceptions of the country after Trump exposed many of its problems, but this is a good thing: sometimes it takes your worst critic to enforce needed change.In fact, Trump s proposed border wall, hatred of the North American Free Trade Agreement and nationalistic views could help America s southern neighbor.For one thing, a lot of people don t realize NAFTA has fueled mass unemployment in Mexico, which has caused thousands of illegal immigrants to flood into the U.S. looking for jobs. There are no jobs [in Mexico] and NAFTA forced the price of corn so low that it s not economically possible to plant a crop anymore, Rufino Dom nguez, the former coordinator of the Binational Front of Indigenous Organizations, revealed. We come to the U.S. to work because we can t get a price for our product at home. There s no alternative. NAFTA disrupted Mexico s corn production so badly that 75,000 Iowa farmers were able to grow twice as much corn as 3,000,000 Mexican producers and at half the cost because the U.S. maintained its corn subsidies under NAFTA.That resulted in the mass migration of Mexican farm workers flowing into America. The big wave in illegal immigration from Mexico began in the 1980s, but it picked up strongly after NAFTA that wasn t unexpected, NPR s Tim Robbins reported.And which presidential candidate has spoke out against NAFTA and other destructive trade agreements? Donald Trump. It s a disaster, he said in Sept. We will either renegotiate it, or we will break it. For entire story: Prison Planet | 0 | [
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FMD2537 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: An image of empty grocery store shelves shows the effect of President Joe Biden's Build Back Better plan. Claim summaries: Conservative commentator Kimberly Klacik posted a photograph of empty shelves at a grocery store, with a hashtag suggesting they were due to President Joe Bidens economic policies., The photograph was from a U.K. store in March 2020, during the earliest weeks of the pandemic.
contextual information: UPDATE, Oct. 14, 3:30 p.m.:This fact-check has been updated to include additional comment from Kimberly Klacik. The rating is not changed. Conservative commentator Kimberly Klacik posted a photograph of empty supermarket shelves, with a hashtag falsely suggesting they were depleted by President Joe Bidens policies. A look at #BuildBackBetter, Klacik wrote above the photograph in the Oct. 13 post shared on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The hashtag was an apparent reference toBuild Back Better,Bidens COVID-19 relief, economic and infrastructure plan. Supply chain disruptions have affected grocery stores throughout the pandemic and continue to hit some U.S. markets especially hard, theWall Street Journal reported in August. But the photograph that Klacik shared is not from a U.S. store, nor was it taken during the Biden administration. Kimberly Klacik's Oct. 13 tweet, since deleted, was missing context. The giveaway was the prices shown on the shelves. Theyrelistedin British pounds, not U.S. dollars. The original photograph appeared with aneditorial published by the Guardianon March 27, 2020, about supply-chain disruptions during the earliest wave of the pandemic. Empty shelves at a Tesco store in Worcester, the Guardians photo caption says. Klacik is a Republican who lost her 2020 campaign for a U.S. House seat representing most of Baltimore. She deleted the posts soon after posting them. Asked about the posts, she told PolitiFact: Build Back Better is used in the U.K. She didnt say whether her posts were meant to refer to U.K. stores or economic policies. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has used the same slogan and hashtag to describehis Conservative governments pandemic recovery plan. The Independentreportedthat Biden formally launched his plan first, but Johnson had been using the phrase throughout 2020. But the March 2020 photo long predated either leaders economic recovery plans. After this fact-check was published, Klasic claimed that she deleted the posts to prevent confusion. Even after Klacik deleted her tweet, screenshots of it remained online. PolitiFact was able to view the Facebook and Instagram posts via CrowdTangle, a social media insights tool. They were flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about ourpartnership with Facebook.) We rate the posts False. | 0 | [
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FMD2538 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: WASHINGTON — Senator Jeff Sessions, Donald J. Trump’s nominee for attorney general, pledged on Tuesday to “say no†to Mr. Trump if he tries to go beyond the law, and he spoke out against torture, a ban on Muslim immigration and other ideas that had been floated by Mr. Trump. Mr. Sessions, a deeply conservative Republican from Alabama who was an early Trump supporter, appears headed for confirmation after completing more than nine hours of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Mr. Sessions and his allies had girded for a coordinated attack on his civil rights record, but Democrats tempered their criticism and Republicans mounted a defense, describing him repeatedly as a man of integrity. In his two decades on Capitol Hill, Mr. Sessions has questioned whether the Constitution guarantees citizenship to anyone born in the United States, has said courts have interpreted the separation of church and state too broadly and has declared marriage a threat to American culture. He also voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. Much of the hearing focused on Mr. Sessions’s long record as a prosecutor and a senator, but Mr. Trump proved a dominant figure in absentia for much of the debate as Democrats sought to question the by proxy. They asked whether Mr. Sessions supported Mr. Trump’s most controversial statements and questioned whether he had the independence to rein in the Mr. Trump if he seeks to exceed his presidential authority. In his cool, Southern drawl, Mr. Sessions vowed repeatedly that he would, saying that an attorney general “cannot be a mere rubber stamp†for the president. “If an attorney general is asked to do something that’s plainly unlawful,†he said, “that person would have to resign ultimately before agreeing to execute a policy that the attorney general believes would be unlawful or unconstitutional. †But he indicated that he did not believe he would reach that impasse. If he advises Mr. Trump that a policy is illegal, he said, “I am confident that he would†heed that advice. A Methodist, he also pledged to set aside his personal beliefs and aggressively enforce all federal laws — even in areas like abortion, gay rights and hate crimes where he has made his opposition well known. “I don’t think it would be hard for me to be impartial and enforce laws that I didn’t vote for,†he said. “I think I can separate my personal votes of maybe years ago from what my responsibilities is today. †He was asked, for instance, about a law he opposed in the Senate making attacks based on sexual orientation a hate crime. “The law has been passed, the Congress has spoken, and you can be sure I will enforce it,†Mr. Sessions said. Many of Mr. Sessions’s answers appeared calculated to distance himself from some of Mr. Trump’s most contentious threats and pledges on the campaign trail. He said, for instance, that current law “absolutely†bans waterboarding and the use of other torture techniques against prisoners — even though Mr. Trump promised to reinstitute the practice and Mr. Sessions himself supported it for years. Asked about last week’s report by intelligence agencies that Russia tried to influence the American election, he said that “I have no reason to doubt that and no information that would indicate otherwise†— a sharp contrast from Mr. Trump’s weeks of skepticism. Mr. Trump last week called the uproar over Russia’s role a “political witch hunt. †He said he also opposed creating a registry of American Muslims or banning Muslim immigrants, as Mr. Trump proposed repeatedly during the campaign in response to terrorist attacks. “I have no belief and do not support the idea that Muslims as a religious group should be denied admission to the United States,†Mr. Sessions said. But he said he supported using “extreme vetting†of immigrants that might take into account religious beliefs — an idea Mr. Trump now appears to have endorsed. Mr. Sessions also appeared to play down the prospects that his Justice Department would seek to jail Hillary Clinton over her private email server, another pledge that Mr. Trump made repeatedly during the campaign. Mr. Sessions surprised lawmakers by declaring that he would recuse himself from any decisions on Mrs. Clinton’s emails or the Clinton Foundation because he said that critical statements he made about her during the campaign might pose a conflict. Mr. Sessions had previously supported appointing a special prosecutor to investigate Mrs. Clinton. The F. B. I. ’s investigation into her private email server is closed, and while a preliminary investigation into the Clinton Foundation is open, senior law enforcement officials say there is little basis for the case to move forward. He deflected questions about Mr. Trump with a calm stoicism, but he grew angry and emotional when Democrats pressed him on a more personal matter: accusations of racial insensitivity toward his employees and others as a federal prosecutor, which doomed his nomination for a federal judgeship in 1986. Protesters in the ornate Senate hearing room, who disrupted the proceedings more than a dozen times during the day, erupted in chants of “Sessions is a racist!†and “No Trump, no K. K. K. no fascist U. S. A. !†Two men dressed as Klansmen in white robes and hoods shouted their mocking support for Mr. Sessions before security officers hustled them out of the room. With his voice rising, Mr. Sessions called accusations that he had made racist remarks in the 1980s “damnably false. †Senator Susan Collins of Maine, a Republican friend who introduced Mr. Sessions for the hearing, came to his defense, pointing to Mr. Sessions’s prosecution of Klan members in an Alabama murder and his appointment of the first chief counsel to the Judiciary Committee’s Republican staff. “These are not the actions of an individual motivated by racial animus,†she said. Mr. Sessions was the first senator to endorse Mr. Trump’s presidential bid in early 2016, and they bonded over their shared agreement that immigration had had devastating effects on working people. While Mr. Sessions sought to distance himself on Tuesday from some of Mr. Trump’s controversial stances, he embraced the ’s focus on toughened immigration laws and a “law and order†agenda — priorities he himself has stressed for years. He promised to escalate federal arrests and prosecutions of undocumented immigrants, drug dealers, gun traffickers and violent criminals in response to a rise in crime in some cities, and he declared that “protecting the American people from the scourge of radical Islamic terrorism will continue to be a top priority. †Critical to that agenda, he said, will be improving federal relations with the police after the intense scrutiny that has followed a string of police shootings of black men, often unarmed. “Law enforcement as a whole has been unfairly maligned and blamed for the unacceptable actions of a few of their bad actors,†Mr. Sessions said. “They believe the political leadership in the country has abandoned them. †Indeed, Mr. Sessions questioned the Obama administration’s use of civil rights lawsuits and consent decrees to force changes in training and policies at police departments that have been accused of unconstitutional tactics. Although Mr. Sessions has completed his testimony, the hearings will continue on Wednesday with testimony by advocates on both sides. Witnesses supporting Mr. Sessions will include former Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey and Larry Thompson, a former deputy attorney general. Testifying against him will be officials from the American Civil Liberties Union and the N. A. A. C. P. as well as Senator Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, a rare case of a senator testifying against a colleague. | 1 | [
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FMD2539 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Is the battle to contain global warming now lost? With the election of Donald Trump, it certainly looked that way to many of the shellshocked diplomats gathered in Morocco earlier this month at the first climate summit following the breakthrough agreement in Paris last year to contain greenhouse gas emissions. During the campaign, the of the world’s second largest polluter claimed that climate change is a hoax, threatened to drop the Paris accord, committed to kill the Clean Power Plan at the center of President Obama’s emissions reduction strategy, and promised a new dawn for the fossil fuel industry. Don’t give up just yet. True, international diplomacy will become more difficult as China and India weigh their own energy policy commitments in the light of the possibility that the United States will walk away from its promises. But President Trump’s climate policy — or his lack of one — could work out in surprising ways. Ted Nordhaus and Jessica Lovering, in a report published on Tuesday by the Breakthrough Institute, pointed out that real progress on reducing carbon in the atmosphere has been driven so far by specific domestic energy, industrial and innovation policies, “not emissions targets and timetables or international agreements intended to legally constrain national emissions. †It’s certainly possible that a Trump administration will drop the Clean Power Plan and renege on the Paris accord. But as long as it keeps the nation’s nuclear power plants online, continues tax incentives for wind and solar energy and stays out of the way of the shale energy revolution, Ms. Lovering and Mr. Nordhaus write, “the U. S. might outperform the commitments that the Obama administration made in Paris. †For all his promises to bring back coal jobs in Appalachia, Mr. Trump might be drawn in a different direction by his own objectives of promoting natural gas and achieving energy independence. If he gives those goals high priority, he could well end up pursuing policies that would ultimately lower carbon emissions. Striking a meaningful deal on climate has proved an elusive goal. The first try, in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, committed advanced nations to reduce emissions between 1990 and 2010. But they actually achieved more in terms of reducing dependency on fossil fuels in the decade before the agreement than in the decade after. If the Kyoto target survived, it was only because of other forces: First, the collapse of the Soviet bloc wiped out a lot of European carbon emissions along with the decrepit Eastern European industrial base then the global downturn that started in 2008 reduced carbon emissions along with economic growth. Even the most aggressive proposals by the Obama administration probably packed less punch than supporters believe. President Obama’s original bill, which was blocked in the Senate in 2009, proposed emissions limits that were higher than what emissions have turned out to be. The steep decline was driven not just by the recession and slow recovery, but also by the wholesale move by the power sector over the last decade from coal to less polluting natural gas. As Robert Stavins of Harvard University put it, “The most important factor in terms of carbon emissions in the United States is the price of natural gas. †And for all the over the future of the Clean Power Plan, its demise might not even make that much of a difference. The shift from coal to gas will continue to happen anyway. A study commissioned last December by the Environmental Defense Fund concluded that most states could comply “by relying exclusively on existing generation, investments already planned within each state and implementation of respective existing state policies. †Of course, President Trump could do much more than simply stopping the Clean Power Plan, especially if he had eight years to work with. But why would he do that? Production tax credits for renewables have already been extended by a Congress until 2021. Mr. Trump supports nuclear energy, and could well be persuaded to extend federal subsidies to keep the nation’s teetering string of nuclear plants in operation. Most importantly, climate objectives could mesh with Mr. Trump’s goal of energy independence. According to the 2016 edition of the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook, the United States could pretty much become energy independent by 2040 — reducing its annual oil imports to 1 million barrels a day from 6 million in 2014 — as long as Washington sticks to current policies. Part of this has to do with rising shale oil and gas production. But the main driver would be efficiency. The Trump administration only has to maintain the Obama administration’s CAFE standards, which require the average fuel economy of cars and light trucks to rise to miles per gallon by 2025, from 34 today. This is not to say that the world could survive forever an American administration that doesn’t believe in climate change and does nothing to contain it. A recent analysis by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concluded that the promises made in Paris would reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at the end of the century to 710 parts per million from 750. That is still far from the 450 p. p. m. ceiling needed to tip the odds in favor of staying under the temperature threshold scientists consider safe. According to the International Energy Agency, the commitments made in Paris will cap the growth of greenhouse gas emissions between now and 2040 to 13 percent. The 450 p. p. m. target requires them to fall by 43 percent. Getting there will require rich countries like the United States to help finance much of the transition for poor countries. The role of global diplomacy will rise. “It will be a big deal that will affect economic growth and jobs,†said David Victor of the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego. “We need a strategy to assure countries that their economic competitors are undertaking similar types of policies. †For this to work, the United States, as the dominant economic player, must play ball. Simply pursuing energy independence will not go far enough. In four years, the United States might have an administration that is less hostile to the concept of climate change. In any case, the rationale for policies to support and energy sources will be even stronger then than it is today. “If a Trump administration lasts only four years, the process could maybe absorb that,†said Oliver Geden, head of research at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. The bomb is ticking, but the world still has some time. | 1 | [
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FMD2540 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: While campaigning for president, Donald Trump announced he would not take a salary if he were elected. True to his word, President Trump has donated his $400,000 annual salary to various government agencies of his choosing.In April, Trump donated his first-quarter salary of $78,333.32 to the National Park Service to fund the agency s battlefield preservation efforts, a program that is currently $229 million behind in deferred costs. Two days ago, President Trump donated $100,000 to the Education Department to help fund a STEM-focused camp for students according to Fortune.Power couple and top aides to the president, Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner have also declined government salaries for their positions. Today, the Daily Caller announced a new top Trump administration official would not be taking a salary for his job.White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci won t take a salary for his new job, a White House official told The Daily Caller.In the new role as a senior White House aide, Scaramucci could earn $179,000 annually.Scaramucci, a New York financier, made millions before entering the White House.A financial disclosure form he filled out for his previous post as chief strategy officer at the Export-Import Bank showed that Scaramucci made about ten million between January 1 and the end of June from his investment firm SkyBridge Capital, according to Politico.Scaramucci did not take a salary for his role at the Ex-Im Bank, which would have been $172,100 annually. Daily Caller | 0 | [
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FMD2541 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Has there been a suggestion that H.R. 2847 contains a provision indicating the downfall of the U.S. dollar on July 1, 2014? Claim summaries: Rumor: The U.S. dollar will officially collapse after 1 July 2014 due to the implementation of H.R. 2847.
contextual information: The U.S. dollar will officially collapse after July 1, 2014, due to the implementation of H.R. 2847. On this date, U.S. House of Representatives Bill "H.R. 2847" goes into effect. It will usher in the true collapse of the U.S. dollar and make millions of Americans poorer overnight. You now have just several months to prepare. This claim about the passage of H.R. 2847 causing the U.S. dollar to collapse as of July 1, 2014, is another example of financial scare lore put out in conjunction with an investment come-on, in this case, an ominous sales pitch from Stansberry & Associates Investment Research LLC. This latest panic piece is featured in a Stansberry & Associates presentation that includes a number of alarming statements about how we in the U.S. are soon to experience a "near-complete shutdown of the American economy," will see "the savings of millions wiped out," will be living under the imposition of martial law by the federal government, and will be struggling in the aftermath of various apocalyptic financial scenarios. According to Stansberry & Associates, this remarkable, radical collapse of the United States monetary system and "our normal way of life" is set to occur in just a matter of months, similar to a recent conspiracy scare about the federal government's plan to eliminate 16 states from the U.S. in the near future.
But wait... all one needs to avoid suffering from this devastating national calamity, which will collapse our entire monetary system and spell doom for the American way of life, is a little information. Information that can be yours if you just shell out $149 for a one-year subscription to Stansberry's Investment Advisory newsletter. As one wry commentator put it: in other words, if a financial company spews a bunch of alarming information and then promotes its product as something that will help protect people against this frightening scenario, it might lure gullible individuals into believing that a "fairly easy and inexpensive way to protect themselves" against losing their money is to send their money to that company instead. Unfortunately, such schemes work often enough to keep these types of schemers in business.
So what is this all really about? H.R. 2847, also known as the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (or HIRE), was a Congressional bill passed into law in March 2010 that sought to provide payroll tax breaks and incentives for businesses to hire unemployed workers. A section of that bill, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (known as FATCA), aimed to eliminate the non-compliance of U.S. taxpayers who hold foreign accounts by requiring those taxpayers (including those living outside the U.S.) to report certain foreign accounts and offshore assets to the government, and by requiring foreign financial institutions to report information about the ownership of overseas assets held by U.S. taxpayers to the government.
The problem originates from U.S. government efforts to prevent future offshore-banking tax scams like the UBS one in 2009. To keep better track of the flow of assets owned by U.S. citizens, FATCA requires bankers in other countries to send the IRS information about transactions by any of their customers who are Americans. Similarly, U.S. banks must report to the IRS information on their non-U.S.-citizen customers, so the IRS can send it on to their home countries.
You can understand the motivation behind the rule. It's a big, interconnected world economy; huge sums can be transferred anywhere in an instant. Just as INTERPOL or the World Health Organization have a legitimate interest in sharing data, so too might taxing authorities. In principle, everyone should pay his or her fair share somewhere. As noted on the American Citizens Abroad website, starting July 1, 2014, FATCA will require foreign financial institutions (FFIs) to provide annual reports to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on the name and address of each U.S. client, as well as the largest account balance in the year and total debits and credits of any account owned by a U.S. person.
If an institution does not comply, the U.S. will impose a 30% withholding tax on all its transactions concerning U.S. securities, including the proceeds from the sale of securities. Additionally, FATCA requires any foreign company not listed on a stock exchange or any foreign partnership with 10% U.S. ownership to report to the IRS the names and tax identification numbers (TIN) of any U.S. owner. FATCA also requires U.S. citizens and green card holders who have foreign financial assets in excess of $50,000 (higher for those who are bona fide residents abroad) to complete a new Form 8938 to be filed with the 1040 tax return, starting with the fiscal year 2011.
FATCA has faced criticism on several fronts, which the Treasury Department has attempted to counter in its own "Myth vs. FACTA" write-up. Critics argue that the costs of implementing it may outstrip the additional revenues it will generate, that it may prompt "capital flight" in the form of foreign financial institutions divesting themselves of U.S. assets, that foreign relations may be strained by the U.S. requiring foreign governments to gather and report (at their own expense) information on U.S. citizens, and that the law may make it difficult or impossible for U.S. citizens living and/or working abroad to open accounts in foreign banks.
However, casting such a wide net is producing unintended consequences for some Americans who faithfully pay their taxes from afar. Banks around the world are suddenly rejecting Americans as clients or customers because they don't want the reporting and bureaucratic hassles, plus the potential exposure to severe penalties. Non-Americans are pulling their assets out of U.S. banks. I receive emails every day from American expats who say they are facing various problems bringing their long-standing foreign-based banking lives into compliance with this new law. Some of them say they're considering renouncing their citizenship. Over the years, I've had accounts with banks in England, Japan, Malaysia, China, and now Australia while living or working in those places, and I'm wondering what I need to worry about to ensure the remaining ones "comply."
"I have always filed my U.S. taxes just as I am supposed to," says Brian Dublin, 47, an American businessman now based in Zug, Switzerland, who has lived overseas for many years, including stints in Russia. "However, as a result of FATCA, in the past year I have been kicked out of a Swiss bank that said, 'Hey, we love you, but we won't work with Americans.' I have also been kicked out of a Swiss pension fund. They told me they don't want any Americans in the fund. They don't want to work on behalf of the IRS," he says.
"And on top of that, I spend many hours and many dollars each year filing U.S. taxes when I sometimes turn out to have zero liability for that year because I have paid a lot of tax somewhere else," Dublin adds. Dublin, a New York City native, says he will be eligible for Swiss nationality in the next few years and that if the situation has not dramatically changed, he will seriously consider renouncing his U.S. citizenship. Writing in the New American, Alex Newman argued the more dire side of FATCA, speculating that it could potentially result in a large-scale movement by foreign investors to pull out of U.S. assets and markets.
Estimates suggest there is currently more than $21 trillion of foreign capital invested in American assets and markets, with about $10 trillion of that in the stock market. However, that could change as FATCA enforcement begins, possibly quickly. The Japanese Bankers Association, the European Banking Federation, the Institute of International Bankers, and others have all openly warned in recent years that some of their members could decide to divest from U.S. assets and markets in response to FATCA.
Luxembourg Bankers' Association CEO Jean-Jacques Rommes, speaking to Democrats Abroad, warned that the best way for banks to lower compliance risks was simply to reduce the amount of American assets they hold. "In other words, divest from the U.S. market in general," he explained, as summarized by the Luxembourg Bankers' Association.
Multiple reports have suggested that small and medium-sized firms, unable to bear the compliance costs or the crippling withholding taxes, would be especially likely to divest from American markets. "On the institutional side, the cost of becoming FATCA compliant may be prohibitive for some foreign institutions, and therefore they will divest from their American holdings," explained Douglas Goldstein, author of The Expatriate's Guide to Handling Money and Taxes and director of Profile Investment Services Ltd. Indeed, compliance costs borne by the private sector are expected to dwarf the amount of additional U.S. tax revenue—perhaps by hundreds of times.
Goldstein explained: "Faced with the choice between paying to implement the new rules or divesting from U.S.-based assets, smaller foreign banks that can't afford to shoulder these costs may choose the latter. After all, there are plenty of promising new markets in which to invest."
Needless to say, if foreign institutions started fleeing U.S. markets, the economic damage would be massive—potentially apocalyptic—especially considering U.S. trade deficits and America's outsized reliance on foreign investment and outside credit just to function. The full implementation of FATCA may, as some critics have maintained, ultimately prove more harmful to U.S. business interests and U.S. citizens living and working abroad than its benefits will merit. However, no credible source that isn't an investment firm trying to scare potential customers into forking over money for a newsletter subscription is seriously maintaining that a law passed five years ago will collapse the entire U.S. economic system, destroy the American way of life, and lead to the imposition of martial law. | 0 | [
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FMD2542 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would withdraw the United States from the landmark 2015 global agreement to fight climate change, drawing anger and condemnation from world leaders and heads of industry. Trump, tapping into the “America First†message he used when he was elected president last year, said the Paris accord would undermine the U.S. economy, cost U.S. jobs, weaken American national sovereignty and put the country at a permanent disadvantage to the other countries of the world. “We’re getting out,†Trump said at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden under sunny skies on a warm June day, fulfilling a major election campaign pledge. “We don’t want other leaders and other countries laughing at us any more. And they won’t be,†Trump said. “The same nations asking us to stay in the agreement are the countries that have collectively cost America trillions of dollars through tough trade practices and in many cases lax contributions to our critical military alliance,†Trump added. Republican U.S. congressional leaders backed Trump. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell applauded Trump “for dealing yet another significant blow to the Obama administration’s assault on domestic energy production and jobs.†Supporters of the accord, including some leading U.S. business figures, called Trump’s move a blow to international efforts to tackle dangers for the planet posed by global warming. Former Democratic President Barack Obama expressed regret over the pullout from a deal he was instrumental in brokering. “But even in the absence of American leadership; even as this administration joins a small handful of nations that reject the future; I’m confident that our states, cities, and businesses will step up and do even more to lead the way, and help protect for future generations the one planet we’ve got,†Obama added. Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, said his administration would begin negotiations either to re-enter the Paris accord or to have a new agreement “on terms that are fair to the United States, its businesses, its workers, its people, its taxpayers.†He complained in particular about China’s terms under the agreement. International leaders reacted with disappointment, even anger. “The decision made by U.S. President Trump amounts to turning their backs on the wisdom of humanity. I’m very disappointed... I am angry,†Japanese Environment Minister Koichi Yamamoto told a news conference on Friday in an unusually frank tone. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said in a rare joint statement the agreement could not be renegotiated and urged their allies to hasten efforts to combat climate change and adapt. “While the U.S. decision is disheartening, we remain inspired by the growing momentum around the world to combat climate change and transition to clean growth economies,†said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A summit between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and top European Union officials in Brussels on Friday will end with a joint statement | 1 | [
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FMD2543 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: An Ohio prosecutor said Monday that no charges would be brought against Michelle Gregg, the mother of a boy whose foray into an exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo led to the killing of a gorilla and set off a frenzy of condemnation online. The Hamilton County prosecutor, Joseph T. Deters, made the announcement at a news conference in Cincinnati after an investigation that relied on the recollections of four witnesses. “She was being attentive to her children by all witness accounts,†he said. “And the just scampered off. †Ms. Gregg, 32, who was also accompanied on the trip by three of the boy’s sisters on May 28, had turned her back for a matter of “seconds†when the child made a beeline for the Gorilla World enclosure, Mr. Deters said. “If anyone doesn’t believe a can scamper off very quickly,†he said, “they’ve never had kids because they can, and they do. †In a statement, the Gregg family said it was pleased with the decision. “This is one more step in allowing us to put this tragic episode behind us and return to our normal family life,†the statement said. “We extend thanks to all of those who have been praying for us and who have supported us through this trying ordeal and praise to God for his mercy and grace. †Ms. Gregg had faced intense public scrutiny, as well as unrelenting invective on social media, over what some saw as her failure to block the boy from the pen. After breaching a fence, the boy fell about 15 feet into a shallow moat and was then dragged around by Harambe, a western lowland gorilla weighing more than 420 pounds. Zoo workers, fearing for the child’s safety, shot and killed the animal. By early Monday, a petition demanding that Ms. Gregg be investigated for evidence of child neglect had nearly half a million signatures from people who called her attention to the boy “unacceptable†and “grossly negligent. †Ms. Gregg has declined to give interviews, but in statements released through a spokeswoman, Gail Myers, the family said it had cooperated with the police investigation. The family had no plans to sue the zoo, Ms. Myers said. Witnesses at the zoo described panicked moments as Harambe at times seemed to take a protective posture with the child, but would then yank him violently by the ankle. Thane Maynard, the zoo’s director, said the boy’s head was “banging on concrete. †In Ms. Gregg’s 911 call, she sounds frantic: “He’s dragging my son,†she says. “I can’t watch this. I can’t. I can’t. †The screams of the crowd added another volatile element, causing Harambe to become agitated and disoriented, zoo officials said. After about 10 minutes, zoo officials made the fraught decision to kill the endangered animal, firing a single rifle shot to Harambe’s head as he stood over the boy. The boy ended up with scrapes and bruises, but no serious injuries. “This is a beautiful little boy,†Mr. Deters said on Monday, “and had they not acted and this animal behaved sometimes like animals behave, we could have had a genuine tragedy here. †The zoo faced harsh questions over its decision to use live rounds rather than a tranquilizer dart, and was criticized for erecting a security barrier that could be so easily breached by a small boy. Mr. Maynard, the zoo director, said that the drug would not have acted quickly enough in a situation that at any second could have turned deadly for the boy. The pierce of a dart also presented a risk of startling the powerful animal, he said. The zoo has also defended the barrier around the gorilla enclosure as adequate, noting that until May it had not once been breached since the exhibit opened in 1978. Still, last week the zoo unveiled a reinforced version, raised to 42 inches and secured by wooden beams and knotted rope netting. The exhibit is scheduled to reopen on Tuesday. The Department of Agriculture and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums have both opened investigations into the episode. During his news conference, Mr. Deters defended the zoo’s decision to kill the animal: “The one thing I will say, the zoo lost a beautiful animal, one that many people in this area have enjoyed watching for a long time, but it’s still an animal. “It does not equate human life,†he added. “And they felt that this boy’s life was in jeopardy, and they made the painful choice to do what they did. †Western lowland gorillas are considered critically endangered, with fewer than 175, 000 left in the wild in Africa. The zoo said Harambe, who was born in captivity and turned 17 the day before he was killed, was an intelligent and curious animal on his way to becoming a group leader. Last week, the Gregg family asked that people offering to send money direct it instead to the Cincinnati Zoo in Harambe’s name. | 1 | [
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FMD2544 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Obama unilaterally announced he was delaying employer mandate through a blog post by a mid-level bureaucrat at the Department of Treasury.
contextual information: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz sees a consistent pattern of lawlessness from this president and this administration-- unilaterally altering laws and choosing which to enforce, Cruz said in Austin on Jan. 10, 2014. One example, the Texas Republican said, came last summer, when President Barack Obama delayed by a year the Obamacare laws requirement that companies with 50 or more employees provide coverage to their workers. The presidents a big fan of saying, Its the law of the land. We need to follow the law of the land. Oh, really? Lets see, that law of the land says on Jan. 1, 2014, the employer mandate shall kick in for big business, Cruz said at a Texas Public Policy Foundation conference. And yet the president just announced unilaterally, No, were not enforcing this. Im granting an exemption to all of big business. And by the way, this was done -- was this done through a big formal announcement, through an address to the American people: Theres a problem in this law; were going to have to change it? No. It was done through a blog post by a mid-level bureaucrat at the Department of Treasury on July 3, right before the Fourth of July break. Were not getting into whether laws were broken; not our purview. But we wondered if Cruz accurately captured how the change was revealed. Cruz spokesman Sean Rushton told us by email that Cruz was referring to a July 2, 2013,blog entryon Treasury.gov attributed to Mark Mazur, assistant secretary for tax policy. The post said, The administration is announcing that it will provide an additional year before the ACA mandatory employer and insurer reporting requirements begin. News coverage that day said the Treasury and White House websites broke the news.The New York Timesreported: In a significant setback for President Barack Obama's signature domestic initiative, the administration on Tuesday abruptly announced a one-year delay, until 2015, in his health care law's mandate that larger employers provide coverage for their workers or pay penalties. The decision postpones the effective date beyond next year's midterm elections. Employer groups welcomed the news of the concession, which followed complaints from businesses and was posted late in the day on the White House and Treasury websites while the president was flying home from Africa. TheWashington Posts Wonkblogsaid: The Obama administration will not penalize businesses that do not provide health insurance in 2014, the Treasury Department announced Tuesday. We have heard concerns about the complexity of the requirements and the need for more time to implement them effectively, Mark Mazur, Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, wrote in a late Tuesdayblog post. In a July 3, 2013,news story, Bloomberg News described the White House website announcement: Valerie Jarrett, a senior Obama adviser, said in a blog post announcing the move that the administration decided on the delay so officials could simplify reporting requirements and give employers a chance to adjust their health-care coverage. Some months later, it looks to us like the Treasury announced the change shortly before the White House did. Jarrettspostis time-stamped 6 p.m. Eastern; the Treasury blog entry does not have a time stamp. But the earliest news accounts we saw solely cited the Treasury post: the Washington Post news blog entry, stamped 5:51 p.m., a Business Insidernews storystamped 5:41 p.m., and a Huffington Postitemstamped 5:50 p.m. Eastern. With the announcements, the government put in motion one-year delays for businesses to report certain information to the IRS and related penalties. The Obamacare law, approved in 2010, essentially requires affected employers and other health coverage providers to report whether their insurance plans meet the laws minimum coverage standards and whether employees are enrolled in them. There were more notification steps: A July 9, 2013, IRSnoticeformalized the change, and Treasury and the IRSpublishedproposed versions of the rules for comment Sept. 9, 2013, in the Federal Register. When we called in January 2014, IRS spokesman Eric Smith told us by phone that the final rules had not yet been issued. Debate has swirled over whether the administration had the authority to unilaterally make this change. Rushton emailed us a link to a July 8, 2013,blog postby the libertarian Cato Institute saying the Affordable Care Act gives Treasury the authority to collect penalties, not to waive them or the reporting requirements. In contrast, a Treasury officialtolda House subcommittee on July 17, 2013, that the departmentgenerally may delay effective dates in some circumstances -- such as easing the transition to new requirements -- because of a lawstatingthe IRS can prescribe all needful rules and regulations to enforce relevant laws. So: The news was announced on two government blogs. And was the originator a mid-level bureaucrat? John Palguta, vice president for policy at the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan group that studies the federal workforce, told us by email, The assistant secretary for tax policy is far from a mid-level Department of Treasury employee. Of the approximately 2.1 million civilian employees in the executive branch of government (not counting the Postal Service), Mr. Mazur is one of only 1,217 Senate-confirmed, political employees in government paid at executive-level IV, which in 2013 was $155,500 a year. On the other hand, a University of North Carolina constitutional law professor who wrote abookon federal appointments told us by email, He could be described as mid-level but, because he is Senate-confirmed, not a bureaucrat. Under the Constitution, officials requiring Senate confirmation are thought of as officers of the U.S. a term, Michael Gerhardt said, that has been defined by the Supreme Court as someone who wields some substantial policymaking authority. A bureaucrat sounds as if it is someone who does not have much authority or discretion, he said. Gerhardt said mid-level typically means ranking somewhere within the middle of the hierarchy of the department. It is not unusual for Senate-confirmable officials to be in such posts. Our ruling Cruz said that Obama unilaterally announced he was delaying the employer mandate through a blog post by a mid-level bureaucrat at the Department of Treasury. The announcement was also made on a White House blog, and mid-level bureaucrat isnt necessarily accurate. We rate his statement as Mostly True. MOSTLY TRUE The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. Click here formoreon the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check. Correction, 4:10 p.m. Jan. 21, 2014:We revised this story, which originally overstated the salary of executive-level IV government employees. This correction did not affect our rating of the claim. | 1 | [
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FMD2545 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: What is the reason for Charles Shaw wine being priced so low? Claim summaries: Was Charles Shaw wine sold so cheaply because airlines could no longer use corkscrews after 9/11?
contextual information: Claim: Charles Shaw wine was sold cheaply because airlines could no longer use corkscrews after 9/11 and dumped their stocks of wine. Origins: We tend to equate quality with cost, so the appearance of an underpriced wine of surprising virtue is bound to spark its share of interesting backstories. We view wine as a luxury item, and since we reject the intellectual construct that such an item can be both good and inexpensive, we instead seize upon plausible-sounding (but apocryphal) tales to explain the disparity between cheapness and quality. Good wine must be expensive, and if a good wine is being vended at a bargain price, there must be a calamitous reason for this fortuity. In early 2002, rumors of airlines dumping their Merlot (and the like) were launched from this springboard. As the Los Angeles Times noted in a 2002 article about the burgeoning sales of Charles Shaw label wines: The morning after a friend served Anna McNeal a glass of Charles Shaw Merlot, she made a beeline to the Mid-Wilshire Trader Joe's to stock up on the wine selling at an astonishing $1.99 a bottle. "I had to come and get a case," she said in a checkout line with half a dozen other shoppers who had somehow heard of the mysterious "Napa" wine. Since it was introduced in February, Charles Shaw wine has gained a cult-like following in Southern California, with wine drinkers backing their cars up to the loading dock of the Los Angeles-based discounter to lay in a supply of the Trader Joe's exclusive. "It's selling like crazy," said Jon Fredrikson, a wine consultant based in San Mateo County. "A great story for consumers." Why was such a popular wine (Charles Shaw was one of the top 20 brands in the U.S.) being sold so cheaply? As usual, consumers collectively created several inventive urban legend-like explanations for this seemingly inexplicable phenomenon: Security regulations enacted after the September 11 terrorist attacks prohibited the carrying or use of corkscrews on commercial flights, so several airlines dumped their large stocks of wine on the market, thereby depressing prices. Financially-distressed United Airlines attempted to raise some quick cash by selling its food service stocks, including an ample supply of Charles Shaw wine. Charles Shaw himself, engaged in a bitter divorce struggle, attempted to reduce the value of his winery's assets by flooding the market with cheap wine. Also as usual, the real explanation why many wine brands (not just Charles Shaw) could be had so cheaply at the time (2001) was a mundane one: the market was experiencing a wine glut. The wine boom of the 1990s led vineyards to increase production, but a downturn in the U.S. economy and the effects of September 11 resulted in a greatly lessened demand (particularly in the restaurant industry), creating such an oversupply that many wines were selling for less than the cost of production. Some vintners in northern California were even allowing their grapes to wither on the vine because the cost of picking them exceeded their market value. The Charles Shaw label (known in local slang as "Two-Buck Chuck") was the focus of those "cheap wine" rumors because it bore a prestigious Napa label, even though it sold for less than $2 per bottle. The catch was that it's made with cheaper grapes from California's Central Valley rather than more desirable grapes from the Napa Valley, but because the label's parent company does own a winery and bottling facility in Napa, it is allowed to put "Napa" on the Charles Shaw label (which only indicates that the wine is "bottled and cellared" in Napa) even if the grapes used in the wine actually come from some other part of California: Napa Valley [W]ine industry experts say that despite the classy Napa label, there probably isn't a hint of those pricey grapes in a bottle of Charles Shaw Merlot, Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon. Even with the depressed market, grapes from Napa sell for around $2,000 a ton, said Brian Sudano of Beverage Marketing Corp. To make money on a $2 bottle, he added, a vintner would have to buy grapes for around $200 a ton the price of less desirable Central Valley grapes. This summer the market price for those grapes hit a low of $60 a ton. Swimming in excess wine, [Bronco Wine Co. head] Franzia revived the Charles Shaw label, believing it would be more cost-effective to dump his wine on the consumer market than to pour it on the ground. Taking advantage of the depressed wine grape market, he also bought up excess stock from other Central Valley vintners, according to several wine industry sources. "Franzia was able to take advantage of distress sales by other vineyards, said [wine consultant Jon] Fredrikson. "And he's got the high-speed production lines to do it and still make money." The Bronco Wine Co. produces a variety of low-cost wines, and its president, Fred Franzia, has earned the enmity of plenty of other Wine Country citizens: Franzia was forced to step down as Bronco's president for five years after Bronco was fined $3 million in 1993 for misidentifying grape varietals on its labels, and other Napa vintners have long been disputing Bronco's use of "Napa" in the names of wines, such as their "Napa Ridge" variety, made from grapes grown elsewhere (but so far the courts have sided with Bronco). That enmity was famously (albeit accurately) expressed in 2011 by Chris Knox, a self-described vintner who once caustically asserted on Quora, in a since deleted response to an inquiry about why Trader Joe's wine (and the Charles Shaw blend in particular) was sold so cheaply, that those wines were inexpensive to buy because they were ... well, made cheaply: asserted The basic gist of it all is that Two Buck Chuck is owned by Bronco Wines, which is owned by Fred Franzia, a trash-mouthed, unapologetic downright crude and shrewd business man who sees it as his mission to pretty much remove any shred of pretentiousness (and dare I say integrity and quality along with it) from the wine world. He started by buying the then failing Charles Shaw label years ago along with massive amounts of bulk wine in the 90's for pennies on the dollar and a staggering 35,000 acres of land in the very cheap San Joaquin Valley which he then planted to vines. That gives his Bronco Wines the prestige of holding the most acreage of vines of any American winery, even surpassing Mondavi and Gallo. A few things to keep in mind about his vineyards: one is that they are located in what is known as the Central Valley in the California wine world which is notoriously flat and quite hot producing massive yields of overripe grapes. The other thing is that Fred Franzia is no dummy he planted those vineyards in such a way as the rows run north-south, giving the vines maximum sun exposure and he made the rows as long as he possibly could, minimizing the number of turns his tractors would need to make. And third, these aren't hand-picked vineyards ... they are all machine harvested. And that means these large tractors with huge claws go down the rows of vineyards grabbing the grapes and depositing them in its huge receptacle. And it not only grabs ripe grapes, but unripe and down right rotten ones as well and throws them all together. Add to that leaves, stems and any rodents, birds, or insects that may have made those vines their home they all get thrown into the bin as well. And guess what? You think there's going to be any sorting when that truck arrives at the winery (or should I say processing facility)? Nope. Everything, and I do mean everything (including all those unripe grapes, rotten grapes, leaves, stems, birds, rodents, and insects) gets tossed into the crusher and transferred to large tanks to ferment. So think about all the animal blood and parts that may have made their way into your wine next time you crack open that bottle of Two Buck Chuck! Hardly even seems worth the $2 does it? If you were to taste that wine right after it was made, I guarantee you it would be undrinkable. They will then manipulate the finished wine in whatever way necessary, including adding sugar or unfermented grape juice if needed to make the wine palatable. And then the wine goes into bottling, packaging and shipping facilities, all of which Fred Franzia owns himself. They then get put on trucks (also owned by Fred Franzia) and shipped to Trader Joe's. The only part of the process Fred doesn't own is Trader Joe's itself and I'm sure if he got his way, he'd include that in his empire as well. So the summary is this to make $2 wine one must compromise all sense of integrity and quality, own tens of thousands of acres of vineyards in the worst possible wine region possible where land is incredibly cheap and yields are exceptionally high, use machines to execute every part of a homogenized system that substitutes manipulation for hand crafted quality, and own every step of the winemaking process including bottling, packaging and distribution, all while giving the finger to the entire wine industry and plowing down anyone who gets in your way. According to a CNBC report on the controversy engendered when Knox's comments were widely republished three years later: Franzia does use mechanized harvesting, as do an increasing number of grape growers. He insists the machines shake loose everything but the grapes, and there are other methods along the way to filter out leaves, twigs and animal residue. "We're in the grape-picking business," he said. "We're looking for quality wines and quality grapes. We're not looking for animals." Some animal matter does end up in winemaking, as it does in almost all agricultural products. "If you worry about things like that, you shouldn't eat anything, you shouldn't drink anything," Franzia said. "When the wine's fermenting, they're going to eliminate anything that's possibly there." But what about this mysterious "Charles Shaw"? Was he a real person? Indeed he was. Shaw, a Stanford Business School graduate, bought a Napa winery with his wife, Lucy, in 1974 and began to produce Charles Shaw Beaujolais. However, after the Shaws divorced in 1991, they sold the winery. The Charles Shaw label possessed a good reputation, though, and Bronco Wine Co., a mass-market wine conglomerate located in the Central Valley's Stanislaus County, bought it up and revived it in 2002 for sales of a line of inexpensive wines through the Trader Joe's chain of grocery stores. Trader Joe's Additional information: Charles Shaw (Interbrand) Last updated: 15 August 2014 Brown, Corie. "Hard Times at the Winery? Not for Everyone." Los Angeles Times. 26 February 2003 (p. F1). Emert, Carol. "Wine Drinkers Gaga Over 'Two-Buck Chuck'." San Francisco Chronicle. 26 December 2002. Moran, Tim. "$1.99 Wine Is Hottest Deal in Dodge." The Modesto Bee. 25 December 2002. Wells, Jane. "The Really Big Ruckus Over 'Two Buck Chuck.'" CNBC. 14 August 2014. | 1 | [
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FMD2546 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Donald J. Trump explicitly acknowledged for the first time during Sunday’s debate that he used a $916 million loss that he reported on his 1995 income tax returns to avoid paying personal federal income taxes for years. Mr. Trump’s response — “Of course I do. Of course I do†— was the fullest the wealthy developer had provided since The New York Times reported that he had declared the loss, and that the tax deduction could have been large enough to allow him to avoid federal income taxes for up to 18 years. Previously he had declined to comment on the documents, issuing a statement that neither challenged nor confirmed the $916 million loss. Asked directly during the debate if he would say how many years he had avoided paying federal income taxes, Mr. Trump responded, “No. †But at the same time, he asserted that he paid “hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes,†calling it a “simple†thing. “I pay tax, and I pay federal tax, too,†he said. Unless Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, releases his tax records, it is impossible to determine exactly how he has handled his taxes and what he has paid over the years. If he does not make his taxes public, he will be the first presidential candidate in four decades not to do so. Though the issue has been overshadowed in recent days by a recording of Mr. Trump’s lewd comments about women, his refusal to release his tax returns — and the possibility that he had not paid federal income taxes for years — has emerged as a central issue in the campaign. During the debate, Mr. Trump appeared to shed some light on his approach to taxes, saying that he knew more about the tax code than any other presidential candidate in history. “I have a . A lot of it is depreciation, which is a wonderful charge,†he said. “I love depreciation. †But as Mr. Trump explained his own tax situation, he tried to make the case that his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, was among those responsible for the tax code that enabled him to get benefits. “She has given it to us,†he said. Mr. Trump also went on to invoke Mrs. Clinton’s wealthy allies. “Many of her friends took bigger deductions,†he said. “Warren Buffett took a massive deduction. †Mrs. Clinton, though, contended that Mr. Trump provided an example of what needed to change in the tax code — saying he was among the people who “paid zero in taxes, zero for our vets, zero for our military, zero for health and education. That is wrong. †She proposed a tax on people who make more than $5 million, calling it the “Buffett rule. †In Mr. Trump’s case, what is clear is that he derived remarkable tax benefits from the financial ruin he left behind in the early 1990s through mismanagement of three Atlantic City casinos, his foray into the airline business and his purchase of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. “Simply put, the organization is in dire financial straits,†New Jersey casino regulators concluded after reviewing his business balance sheet woes in 1990. The 1995 tax documents, which were anonymously mailed to a New York Times reporter, were the first page of a New York State resident income tax return, the first page of a New Jersey nonresident tax return and the first page of a Connecticut nonresident tax return. They did not include any pages from Mr. Trump’s 1995 federal return. Mr. Trump was correct when he said he benefited from a provision that had been used by other wealthy families. Known as net operating loss, it allows an array of deductions, business expenses, real estate depreciation, losses from the sale of business assets and even operating losses to flow from the balance sheets of those partnerships, limited liability companies and S corporations onto the personal tax returns of people like Mr. Trump. In turn, those losses can be used to cancel out an equivalent amount of taxable income. With a $916 million net operating loss in 1995, Mr. Trump could have avoided paying more than $50 million a year in taxable income over 18 years. Mr. Trump appears to have embraced other elements of the tax code. In 1991, he lobbied federal lawmakers to relax tax rules that he claimed had strangled the real estate industry. And in less than two years, as part of a budget deal, Congress passed a set of provisions sought by developers that could have helped Mr. Trump avoid large tax bills linked to his enormous debt racked up by the early 1990s, while also allowing him to spin other real estate losses into valuable offsets on his future earnings in licensing, television and other ventures. One provision allowed real estate investors with highly leveraged properties to accept forgiveness of their bank loans without paying taxes on the money, in exchange for giving up other tax benefits. Another allowed them to apply some real estate losses against other kinds of income. While details of Mr. Trump’s income taxes and any deductions are scarce, limited details are contained in government filings that have been unearthed during his campaign. For example, Mr. Trump paid more than $71, 000 in federal income taxes on about $218, 000 of taxable income earned from 1975 to 1977, according to a 1981 report assessing his fitness for a casino license. During the next two years, 1978 and 1979, he paid no taxes, the report said. Mr. Trump also avoided paying any federal income taxes in 1984, tax court records show. With his Atlantic City casinos in financial trouble in 1991 and 1993, casino commission reports show that he claimed losses that would have allowed him to avoid paying income taxes in those years. Voters in recent polls have shown interest in Mr. Trump’s taxes. A CBS York Times poll last month showed that 59 percent of respondents said it was necessary for him to release his tax returns. Mr. Trump has said he will not release his taxes while he is facing an audit from the Internal Revenue Service. “I pay hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes, but, but as soon as my routine audit is finished I’ll release my returns,†he said. “I’ll be very proud to. †| 1 | [
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FMD2547 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj said on Thursday that he was hopeful that a U.N.-imposed arms embargo would be partially lifted against some branches of the country s military. The Libyan government is allowed to import weapons and related materiel with the approval of a U.N. Security Council committee overseeing the embargo imposed in 2011. ...We hope that this embargo will be partially ended at least against some of the military branches such as the presidential guard and the coast guard, Sarraj, the head of the Government of National Accord (GNA), said before meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at the Pentagon. He was speaking through a translator. President Donald Trump will host Sarraj at the White House on Friday for talks on counterterrorism cooperation and ways to expand bilateral engagement. The North African country has been in turmoil since Muammar Gaddafi s downfall gave space to Islamist militants and smuggling networks that have sent hundreds of thousands of migrants to Europe. Political and military fractures have left the country mired in conflict. Rival parliaments and governments have vied for power. Libya s eastern-based military commander Khalifa Haftar is aligned with a government and parliament in eastern Libya. He has rejected a U.N.-backed Government of National Accord based in the capital, Tripoli, as he has gradually strengthened his position on the ground. | 1 | [
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FMD2548 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: 100% FED Up! was able to easily find evidence about the anti-American, cop-hating, racist who attacked Trump during a rally on Sunday. Either the mainstream media news organizations don t have any investigative journalists working for them, or they prefer to hide the truth about Trump s attacker. We believe the latter is true.An even bigger question is how this radical cop hating, white hating (self-loathing) Bernie Sanders supporter is able to jump on the stage of the GOP Presidential front-runner, grab him, scuffle with the US Secret Service and only be charged with two misdemeanors? Watch new video that was just released of Tommy DiMassimo rushing to get at Trump on stage here:CNN interviewed Thomas (Tommy) DiMassimo, the man who was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and inducing panic after he rushed the stage at an Ohio Trump rally on Sunday.During the interview, Tommy DiMassimo explained to CNN that he just wanted to take the podium away from the GOP presidential front-runner to send a message. CNN never asked him a single quesiton about his past or his support for Bernie Sanders.It s almost as though CNN was giving Tommy DiMassimo, a Wright State University senior, a platform to express his dissatisfaction with Donald Trump. They wouldn t do that for someone who just committed a crime by rushing the stage of the top GOP Presidential candidate would they?https://youtu.be/RIAEQonBgO0Here is the real truth about the soft-spoken Tommy DiMassimo that appeared in the CNN video who was worried about Trump being a bully. We found these videos on YouTube that were co-written by the Wright State University senior. The name of the video is Red Black and Blue. The video appears to be promoting a Revolution featuring blacks killing cops and of course, cops killing innocent blacks.***LANGUAGE and VIOLENCE Warning***Here is the first shocking trailer for DiMassimo s movie Red Black and Blue :https://youtu.be/R8dgSibelNQHere is the second violent trailer. The video in its entirety can be found below:https://youtu.be/PEP4hWfHzj8Here are tweets that were sent out by Tommy DiMassimo just prior to the Ohio Trump rally where he rushed the stage. In the first tweet, he talks about becomig a martyr. The second tweet talks about getting into a Trump rally and slapping fire into Trump. From the Urban dictionary: The art of slapping fire out of a person is to give said person an intense slap that will leave their face red for an extended period of time. That sure sounds a LOT differnt that the non-violent explanation he gave CNN. The last tweet with the gun and smiley face emoji was sent to fake black guy, Shaun King. You be the judge of what he s trying to say in his tweets below.And of course, the fact that he s a Bernie Sanders supporter should come as no surprise:Folks in OHIOGo vote for Bernie and or Not Trump il ragazzo (@Younglionking7) March 13, 2016This tweet was posted in Sept, 2015. The most recent tweets (seen above) have all been deleted.DiMassimo posts a picture of a bloodied cop seen in the film on his Facebook page. One of his friends asks in the comment section, Is that you? He doesn t respond.This picture was taken from DiMassimo s facebook page advertising his one man show on Wright College campus.Here s DiMassio hanging out with a few sweet boys in the neighborhood:Oh, the irony of DiMassimo looking to the police officer for help when he was concerned about a concealed carrier, after spending the afternoon taunting the Confederate flag supporters, and actually burning a Confederate flag in front of them at a GA rally (see below):Open Carry Activist Prepares to Draw Gun on Counterprotester at Yesterday's Confederate Flag Rally in #GA #p2 #tcot pic.twitter.com/cNuEKHXmF6 CSGV (@CSGV) August 2, 2015Hero of the Day burns Confederate flag and waves it at 500 idiots at Stone Mountain. pic.twitter.com/iBzwN3ElcK Derf Backderf (@DerfBackderf) August 3, 2015Here s a video showing the controversy DiMassio created when standing on an American flag on campus:Here is the video of the actual event. Watch the disrespect this punk has an elderly veteran confronts him:https://youtu.be/Q0Kwcp2DLFoIf you can stomach it, here is the violent full-edition of the video co-written by Tommy DiMassimo, the intelligent, bright, college senior :Tommy DiMassimo is sadly, representative of many of the whiny, anti-American students we see supporting Bernie Sanders and a Black Lives Matter terror movement today. Black Lives Matter was created to threaten and intimidate Americans into giving them not equal treatment, but special treatment. Our hateful and divisive President is responsible for the groundswell of support for hate groups like this that are popping up across colleges, universities and large cities across America. The reason they are trying so hard to prevent a Trump presidency is because they fear he will call them out and expose them for their self-serving agenda. Their only hope to keep this radical movement going is to elect Bernie Sanders or Hillary. Trump is the only person who they fear is an obstacle standing in the way of their goal.We ll never know how far Tommy Massimo would have gone if he was allowed to get ahold of Trump on the stage. One thing is clear though, his ridiculous punishment and the special treatment he was given by CNN will certainly not dissuade the next radical from attempting to harm Trump at one of his public events.Here is a screen grab that shows DiMassimo as one of the co-writers of the Red Black and Blue video. Although we can t prove it, given his flair for drama, it is highly likely DiMassimo is one of the actors in the violent cop and white-hating film: | 0 | [
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FMD2549 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: President Trump has mentioned in the past that he would like to see ISIS completely wiped out within 30 days of taking office. If Mattis first day on the job was any indication, the president may just get his wish.In Iraq, Mattis continued to crush ISIS forces. One of the strikes, taking place in the city of Rutbah, eliminated a tactical unit, two weapons caches, a mortar and a vehicle. Strikes in the city of Beiji also demolished a unit and a vehicle, while another strike in Kisik blew up a building and a tactical unit.To cap it all off, Mattis oversaw two strikes against Mosul, the ISIS region capital in Iraq, which annihilated two units, a tank, a factory that manufactures car bombs, and three fighting positions.CNN Analyst retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling defends Obama s strategy and calls Trump s plan to defeat ISIS, A sophomoric approach to national security policy. Suggests that he might want to take a look at other countries to see how they defeat terrorism:Here s a video of Trump s new Secretary of Defense General James Mad dog Mattis reporting for duty on his first day:#SecDef James Mattis arrives at the #Pentagon on his first full day of office in #WashingtonDC, January 21, 2017. pic.twitter.com/KtOuwbTlQJ U.S. Dept of Defense (@DeptofDefense) January 21, 2017 | 0 | [
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FMD2550 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: CEDARHURST, N. Y. — On a brisk October day, Laura Gentile strolled through the orderly aisles stocked with matzo ball soup, apple juice, challah and cinnamon kokosh cake. Packing her cart with fresh peppers, canned tuna, pretzels and cake, she said the food pantry here on Long Island was the first where she felt like any other grocery shopper. It was welcome relief from the long lines and piles of unorganized food at other food banks. “You don’t feel destroyed just walking in,†Ms. Gentile, 45, said. “Renee greets you when you come in, and you can pick out what you want, what you need. You’re not just handed something. †Renee Harris, the food pantry coordinator, said she knew from experience the importance of creating a welcoming environment. When her husband lost his job in 2009, she found herself shopping at food banks for the first time in her life. “I felt the employees watching me — like I might try to steal something,†Ms. Harris said. “And I ran out of the store crying. †Then one day she stopped by the Rina Shkolnik Kosher Food Pantry. When her family got back on its feet a few years later, Ms. Harris started working there, hoping to replicate her experience for the 350 families who shop at the pantry each month. Emulating a traditional grocery store, the food bank is organized by food groups. Shoppers carry items home in marked bags donated by nearby shops. Ms. Gentile receives $182 a month in food stamps to feed herself, a son, Malliki Outlaw, and a daughter, Nevaeh Outlaw, who both have mental illnesses, she said. Once a month, she fills her cart with food from the pantry, a program of the Marion Aaron Gural J. C. C. a beneficiary of of New York, one of the eight organizations supported by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund. Having groceries in the refrigerator has made a difference in a home filled with difficulty, she said. At 19, Ms. Gentile and her young son were living with her parents, who she said had forced her to get an abortion when she became pregnant again as a condition for staying under their roof. She later moved out and became pregnant again while in an abusive relationship, she said, and gave birth to Malliki. Months later, she found out she was expecting twins. Two months along, she miscarried one of them. She named the surviving twin Nevaeh — heaven spelled backward. Abuse marks Ms. Gentile’s body. A white scar runs along her hand — the lasting effect of being stabbed by a sharp piece of plastic. She has also endured mental trauma. Ms. Gentile said she had lost count of the number of times her children had been hospitalized or institutionalized, because of the harm they were causing their mother and themselves. But she said the trouble had started after their father died in 2002. Ms. Gentile takes care of both children, who still live at home. Her son has bipolar disorder, and her daughter has anxiety, depression and mild intellectual disabilities. She said that medication and therapy had helped manage their symptoms, and that they had not been hospitalized since 2009. But Ms. Gentile’s own health problems, including depression, high blood pressure and arthritis, exacerbated by years of abuse, have worsened. She had an operation to remove her ovaries because of a precancerous cyst. Doctors have told her that she needs to have gallstones removed and both knees replaced, but she cannot afford the operations and fears leaving her children for the duration of the recovery without another caregiver. Injections would ease the pain in her arthritic knees, but her insurance does not cover the cost. Ms. Gentile, who worked as a medical office assistant and coordinator for a physical therapy clinic, stopped working in 2008 and started receiving Supplemental Security Income a year later. The family now subsists on a cumulative $1, 434 in Supplemental Security Income. The family’s benefits had previously been cut by $733 when her son’s Supplemental Security benefits were terminated in April, because proper documentation was not submitted. The benefits were reinstated this month but reduced by $30. In 2009 she moved from Queens Village to Far Rockaway in Queens. She sleeps on a makeshift bed and gives her children the two bedrooms. After a public housing subsidy, she pays $410 a month for rent. Marion Aaron Gural J. C. C. provided Ms. Gentile and her children with $630 from the Neediest Cases Fund to cover her December 2015 rent and $650 to help with rent again in September. At the food pantry, Ms. Gentile walked to the front to check out. Ms. Harris warmly pointed out a bag of grapes, adding it and a few other items to Ms. Gentile’s cart. She reminded her to return in a few weeks for a Thanksgiving turkey. As Ms. Gentile left, grocery bags in both hands, she was smiling. | 1 | [
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FMD2551 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Nope, it s not Hillary Yes, Communist agitator Bernie Sanders is the pick for satanists. Bern Like Hell In a highly popular pro-Sanders meme group created on Facebook, a post with an image stating, Satanists for Bernie 2016, has received over 1,100 likes and more than 200 shares.While the image s creator is unknown, it is discussed in the comments that the Church of Satan, a central hub of satanic worship, has not officially endorsed any candidate for president.Another group entitled the Satanic Communist Party, boasting over 2,000 members, also appears to lean pro-Bernie.While supporters attempt to distance Sanders brand of socialism from Communism, revolutionaries instrumental in shaping the ideology, in particular Vladimir Lenin, have openly admitted, The goal of socialism is Communism. In a 1986 book entitled Marx & Satan, author Richard Wumbrand, who was imprisoned for 14 years by the Communist government of Romania for espousing Christian beliefs, demonstrates through direct quotes that the man credited as the father of Communism crafted the ideology with inspiration from the powers of darkness and with the intent to destroy religion.Via: infowars | 0 | [
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FMD2552 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: The global warming hucksterism in the Obama administration has been going on since the beginning. The former EPA director was big on the environmental justice for minorities. It s a made up term just like environmental racism. I can t tell you just how important it is for Americans to pay attention and follow the money on this. Here s a video from the last EPA director that s full of pretty alarming lingo and propaganda: It [climate change] is an issue of justice, and it is an issue of human rights. African-Americans are at a higher risk of being close, or predisposed to areas of carbon, as well as other poisonous pollution in the air. And we have a disproportionate interest because we suffer disproportionately, Sharpton continued. You cannot, not deal with climate change as a health issue, as a moral issue, and as a civil rights issue. Aka: federally subsidize black communities because they are victim of geo-racism. | 0 | [
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FMD2553 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Trump no quiere que EEUU toma parte de Acuerdo de París 2016/11/13 13:22 Twitter El mandatario electo de los Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, ya está buscando formas rápidas para que Washington salga del acuerdo mundial de París contra el cambio climático.
USviewer, EEUU_ Así informó Reuters, citando a una fuente de su equipo de transición, quien reprochó al saliente presidente Barack Obama que firmara la adhesión del país mediante una orden ejecutiva, sin contar con el apoyo del Senado.
"Fue insensato que el Acuerdo de París entrara en vigencia antes de la elección" del martes, dijo la fuente, que habló bajo condición de anonimato. El Acuerdo de París obtuvo el 4 de noviembre el apoyo necesario para ser puesto en marcha.
Pues, según la fuente, la alternativa es enviar una carta de retiro de la Convención de 1992 que está asociada al Acuerdo de París, lo que restaría la participación de Estados Unidos en ambos en un año, o emitir una orden presidencial que borre la firma de Washington del acuerdo sellado en la capital francesa.
Muchos países se han mostrado optimistas para que EE.UU. se mantenga adherido al pacto, aunque Marruecos, sede de las actuales conversaciones, dijo que el acuerdo que busca reducir las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero en la segunda mitad del siglo es lo suficientemente fuerte como para sobrevivir al éxodo estadounidense.
El triunfo del candidato republicano a la Casa Blanca, Donald Trump, en los comicios del pasado martes, ha generado diversas reacciones tanto dentro del territorio estadounidense como en otras partes del mundo, una victoria que ha sido acogida con la satisfacción de algunos, el temor o la prudencia de otros.
En diciembre de 2015, tras 13 días de intensa negociación en un suburbio de París (capital de Francia), representantes de 195 países consiguieron el acuerdo histórico para reducir drásticamente las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero en un intento por detener el calentamiento global.
Hasta este sábado había sido ratificado por 109 países que suponen el 76 por ciento de los emisores de gases con efecto invernadero. Estados Unidos supone el 18 por ciento de las emisiones. No hay comentarios para esta noticia Nombre : | 0 | [
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FMD2554 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Are Asylum Seekers Paid More Than Social Security Recipients? Claim summaries: Claims that the federal government provides a much greater monthly allowance to refugees than to retirees are old and inaccurate.
contextual information: Some political issues, it seems, are so emotionally charged that proponents of one side or another will promulgate anything that reflects their viewpoint, no matter how irrelevant, inapplicable, outdated, or erroneous it might be. The ongoing debate over U.S. immigration policy is one such issue, and for years, claims about asylum seekers and refugees settled in the U.S. receiving financial assistance from the federal government that amounts to almost double the stipends provided to American retirees have been widely disseminated online: Pensioners should apply as refugees! It is interesting that the federal government provides a single refugee with a monthly allowance of $1,890.00, and each can also get an additional $580.00 in social assistance for a total of $2,470.00. This compares very well to a single pensioner who, after contributing to the growth and development of America for 40 to 50 years, can only receive a monthly maximum of $1,012.00 in old age pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement. Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees! Let's send this to all Americans, so we can all be upset, and maybe we can get the refugees cut back to $1,012.00 and the pensioners to $2,470.00 and enjoy some of the money we were forced to submit to the government over the last 40 or 50 years. Please forward this to every American to expose what our elected politicians have been doing over the past 11 years to the over-taxed American. SEND THIS TO EVERY AMERICAN TAXPAYER YOU KNOW. Virtually everything claimed in the textual example above is wrong: the information is fifteen years old, it was originally about government policy in Canada and not the U.S. (someone merely substituted the word 'American' for 'Canadian' throughout the text), and it wasn't true (about either Canada or the U.S.) when it was written and still isn't true now. The "pensioners vs. refugees" brouhaha began back in March 2004 when the Toronto Star published an article about plans for Canada to work in conjunction with the United Nations to settle asylum-seekers from a Somali refugee camp in some smaller Canadian cities (outside the usual immigrant magnet communities of Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver). As the Star's ombudsman later explained, a single paragraph in the midst of the article was somewhat ambiguous about the amount of financial assistance the Canadian government would be providing to these refugees: Halfway through the 1,500-word article, unforeseen trouble was lurking. In paragraph 16, the story said single refugees are eligible for $1,890 from Ottawa as a "start-up allowance, along with a $580 monthly social assistance, depending on how soon the person is able to find employment." In addition, they get "a night lamp, a table, a chair, and a single bed from the government," the story said. In painful hindsight, those details could have been clearer. Actually, the $1,890 "start-up allowance," including a $580 monthly social assistance cheque from Ottawa, was a one-time payment for basic household needs such as furnishings, pots, and linens. The furniture is used. Unfortunately, one Star reader who misunderstood the issue set loose an e-mail polemic about refugee entitlement without waiting for clarification, and the author of a follow-up letter to the editor published in the Star repeated the erroneous claim that the African refugees would be collecting monthly government allowances nearly double those provided to pensioners: In quick order, two things happened after the article ran. First, a reader sent a nasty e-mail to the reporter. Among other things, it said charity begins at home and Canada should not "roll out the welcome mat" for refugees. The e-mailer assumed—erroneously—that the refugees would collect $2,470 a month. They'd be better off than Canadian pensioners. More worrisome, the polemicist sent his rant to 100 recipients, some of whom likely spread the word to wider audiences. Ah, the wonders of the Internet! Alarmed by the e-mail, reporter Keung tried to contact the sender. It was too late. Having spread the misinformation, the e-mailer already had changed his address. At the same time, a second development occurred. The Star ran a letter to the editor that said the $2,470 "compares very well to a single pensioner who, after contributing to the growth and development of Canada for 40 years, can only receive a monthly maximum of $1,012 in old age pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement." "Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees?" reasoned the writer. In short order, e-mail forwards like the following began winging their way into the inboxes of thousands of Canadians (and a good many Americans to boot): Only in Canada. Do not apply for your old age pension. Apply to be a refugee. It is interesting that the federal government provides a single refugee with a monthly allowance of $1,890.00, and each can get an additional $580.00 in social assistance for a total of $2,470.00. This compares very well to a single pensioner who, after contributing to the growth and development of Canada for 40 or 50 years, can only receive a monthly maximum of $1,012.00 in old age pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement. Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees! Let's send this thought to as many Canadians as we can, and maybe we can get the refugees cut back to $1,012.00 and the pensioners up to $2,470.00, so they can enjoy the money they were forced to submit to the Canadian government for those 40 to 50 years. Please forward this to every Canadian you know. By November 2004, the Star noted that: It [has] become increasingly clear a disturbing urban myth has been born. Various offices at the Star have been getting e-mails from around the world, usually one or two a week. Many quote from the erroneous letter to the editor, expressing varying degrees of curiosity, dismay, envy, or anger. "Let's send this to all Canadians," one e-mail roared, "so we can all be upset and maybe we can get the refugees cut back to $1,012 and the pensioners up to $2,470 and enjoy some of the money we were forced to submit to the government over the last 40 or 50 years." Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) attempted to set the record straight about the amounts of financial assistance from the federal government provided to refugees vs. pensioners: CIC Refugees don't receive more financial assistance from the federal government than Canadian pensioners. In [a letter to the Toronto Star], a one-time, start-up payment provided to some refugees in Canada was mistaken for an ongoing, monthly payment. Unfortunately, although the newspaper published a clarification, the misleading information had already spread widely over e-mail and the internet. In truth, about three-quarters of refugees receive financial assistance from the federal government for a limited time and at levels lower than Canadian pensioners. They are known as government-assisted refugees. We have to remember that many of these people are fleeing from unimaginable hardship and have lived in refugee camps for several years. Others are victims of trauma or torture in their home countries. Many arrive with little more than a few personal belongings, if that. Canada has a humanitarian role to accept refugees and help them start their new lives here. For this reason, government-assisted refugees get a one-time payment of up to $1,095 from the federal government to cover essentials—basic, start-up needs like food, furniture, and clothing. They also receive a temporary monthly allowance for food and shelter that is based on provincial social assistance rates. In Ontario, for example, a single refugee would receive $592 per month. This assistance is temporary—lasting only for one year or until they can find a job, whichever comes first. This short-term support for refugees is a far cry from the lifetime benefits for Canada's seniors. The Old Age Security (OAS) program, for example, provides people who have lived in Canada for at least 10 years with a pension at age 65. The Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) is an additional monthly benefit for low-income pensioners. The Canada Pension Plan (CPP), or Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) for people in Quebec, pays a monthly retirement pension to people who have worked and contributed to the plan over their career. In July 2006, Canadian seniors received an average of $463.20 in OAS benefits and $472.79 in CPP retirement benefits ($388.94 in QPP). Lower-income OAS recipients also qualified for an average of an additional $361.94 in GIS benefits. In 2015 and 2016, the same statements began once again circulating around social media, this time focusing on refugees coming from Syria. The claims were getting so widely spread that the Canadian government once again addressed it on the CIC website, saying: CIC No. Refugees do not get more financial help from the federal government than Canadian pensioners do. A widely circulated email makes this false claim. The email mistakenly includes the one-time start-up payment as part of the monthly payment. The amount of monthly financial support that government-assisted refugees get is based on provincial social assistance rates. It is the minimum amount needed to cover only the most basic food and shelter needs. Many refugees selected for resettlement to Canada have been forced to flee their country because of extreme hardship. Some may have been living in refugee camps for many years. When they arrive in Canada, they must start their lives again in a country very different from their own. In keeping with Canada's proud humanitarian traditions, individuals and families get immediate and essential services and support to help them become established in Canada. It's worth noting that in Canada, much of the financial assistance is in the form of loans, which refugees have to pay back with interest. Also, as of January 2016, the alleged monthly allowances of these imaginary pensioners, no matter which country they are supposed to be living in, have not changed in more than a decade. In January 2010, some e-mailed versions of this item were prefaced with the following introduction: From a Florida ER doctor: Today I had a 25-year-old with 8 kids—that's right 8, all illegal anchor babies—and she had the nicest nails, cell phone, handbag, clothing, etc. She makes about $1,500 monthly for each; you do the math. I used to say, "We are the dumbest nation on earth." Now I must say and sadly admit: WE are the dumbest people on earth (that includes ME) for we elected the idiot ideologues who have passed the bills that allow this. Sorry, but we need a revolution. If the illegal immigrant is over 65, they can apply for SSI and Medicaid and get more than a woman on Social Security, who worked from 1944 until 2004. She is only getting $791 per month because she was born in 1924 and there's a 'catch 22' (notch) for her. It is interesting that the Federal Government provides a single refugee with a monthly allowance of $1,890. Each can also obtain an additional $580 in Social Assistance, for a total of $2,470 a month. This compares to a single pensioner who, after contributing to the growth and development of America for 40 to 50 years, can only receive a monthly maximum of $1,012 in Old Age Pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement. Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees! Consider sending this to all your American friends, so we can all be upset and maybe get the refugees cut back to $1,012 and the pensioners up to $2,470. Then we can enjoy some of the money we were forced to submit to the government over the last 40, 50, or 60 years. PLEASE SHOW THIS TO EVERY AMERICAN TAXPAYER YOU KNOW. In September 2017, an April 2016 Facebook iteration of the rumor shared by Dan Shea began circulating once again. As of 13 September 2017, it had been shared well more than a quarter of a million times: Dan Shea Keung, Nicholas. "New Refugee Plan Eyes Small Cities." The Toronto Star. 11 March 2004 (p. A1). Sellar, Don. "Can We Dispel This Urban Myth?" The Toronto Star. 27 November 2004 (p. H6). The Toronto Star. "Pay Pensioners Same as Refugees?" 12 March 2004 (p. A23). | 0 | [
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FMD2555 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Pizza Hut's 58th Anniversary promotion offering freebies is under scrutiny for being a scam. Claim summaries: Pizza Hut is not giving three pizzas away to contest entrants in celebration of their 58th anniversary.
contextual information: In October 2017, multiple versions of a dubious post titled "Pizza Hut is giving 3 FREE Large Pizza Coupons on their 58th Anniversary" circulated on Facebook. The link led to suspicious domains, including pizzahutfree.us, pizzahut.com-freezones.us, and massiveoffers.xyz/p/, none of which followed the proper formatting for a pizzahut.com subdomain, which is "link.pizzahut.com." Those who clicked through found a page that looked somewhat legitimate but showed signs of being a common survey scam. Users were first asked a series of questions. The page followed a typical scammer template, appropriating Pizza Hut's logo and Facebook's visual interface, but clumsily boasted that entrants had "a chance to get [a] Papa [John's] Coupon." Any interaction with the prompts (again mentioning Papa John's 58th anniversary, not Pizza Hut's) led to a screen encouraging potential victims to spread the scam further on Facebook. Underneath the "Congratulations" interface was a series of what appeared to be comments from real Facebook users who had successfully redeemed the purported coupon. All of the profiles featured individuals with jobs displayed as "MD, at the Hospital." Pizza Hut addressed a previous flood of customer queries on their Facebook wall during a similar scam in May 2016. Facebook users continue to regularly encounter survey scams (often the "anniversary" version) on the social network. A July 2014 article from the Better Business Bureau advised users on how not to fall prey: " | 0 | [
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FMD2556 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: United States Marine Field McConnell Plum City Online - ( AbelDanger.net ) October 31, 2016
1. Abel Danger ( AD ) claims that Clinton Foundation donors use 8(a) servers for online assassination betting and the trade in child pornography and torture killings as first staged in 1996 at pig farm raves in B.C. allegedly sponsored by so-called 'Libranos' in the Canadian government.
2. AD claims that Hillary Clinton or her aide Huma Abedin hired pedophile pimps to entrap and extort the directors of Boeing into mentoring the Federal Bridge Certification Authority, outsourcing C4I developments to Serco , moving the Boeing headquarters office from Washington State to Chicago in 2001 and attempting a bridge-based coup d'etat on 9/11.
3. AD claims that Serco has been providing a murder-for-hire service to Clinton donors by synchronizing Zulu death betting on 8(a) servers with in-flight snuff films which victims watch as they are flown to their deaths and with which loved ones and potential whistle-blowers are silenced by fear.
4. United States Marine Field McConnell – Global Operations Director of Abel Danger – has offered to serve as a five-star general in a Trump administration to help Trump destroy the Clinton bridge of pimps and obtain justice for victims of 'death by plane'.
FBI's Comey Bureau Re Opening Investigation into Hillary Clinton's Emails!! October 28, 2016
Boeing Honeywell Uninterruptible Autopilot Extortion of Lockheed Martin – a mentor of Clinton’s bridge of pimps.
Copy of SERCO GROUP PLC: List of Subsidiaries AND Shareholders! [Note British and Saudi Governments, AXA, HSBC , Teachers' and Gold man Sachs]
Defense Ammunition Center [Outsourced to Serco ]
Serco ... Would you like to know more?
"Digital Fires Instructor Serco - Camp Pendleton, CA Uses information derived from all military disciplines (e.g., aviation, ground combat, command and control, combat service support, intelligence, and opposing forces) to determine changes in enemy capabilities, vulnerabilities, and probable courses of action."
" Serco 's Enterprise Architecture Center of Excellence is based in Colorado Springs, CO. The team provides a variety of services in support of Boeing’s business units as well as research and development efforts. Serco 's architecture employs object-oriented (OO)/Unified Modeling Language (UML) to define, design and satisfy defense agencies' mission-critical requirements, including Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I). This approach improves system developer's understanding of operational requirements and how best to integrate enterprise operations and systems for the optimal fulfillment of C4I and other operational needs."
" Robert William "Willie" Pickton (born October 24, 1949)[ 2 ] of Port Coquitlam , British Columbia , Canada, is a former multi-millionaire pig farmer[ 3 ] and serial killer convicted in 2007 of the second-degree murders of six women.[4][ 5 ] He was also charged in the deaths of an additional twenty women,[6] many of them from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside; however, these charges were stayed by the Crown in 2010.[7] In December 2007, he was sentenced to life in prison, with no possibility of parole for 25 years – the longest sentence then available under Canadian law for murder.[8]
During the trial's first day of jury evidence, January 22, 2007, the Crown stated he confessed to 49 murders to an undercover police officer posing as a cellmate . The Crown reported that Pickton told the officer that he wanted to kill another woman to make it an even 50, and that he was caught because he was "sloppy".[9] Background[edit]
By 1992, Robert William Pickton and his brother David owned a Port Coquitlam farm. Worker Bill Hiscox called it a "creepy-looking place", noting that it was patrolled by a 600-lb. (270 kg) boar , one of the few actual pigs on the farm. "I never saw a pig like that, who would chase you and bite at you," he said. "It was running out with the dogs around the property." He later described Pickton as a "pretty quiet guy, hard to strike up a conversation with," whose occasionally bizarre behavior, despite no evidence of substance abuse , would draw attention.
Pickton's only vehicle was a converted bus, with deeply tinted windows, to which he was emotionally attached. The Pickton brothers gradually neglected the site's farming operations. They registered a non-profit charity, the Piggy Palace Good Times Society, with the Canadian government in 1996 as aiming to "organize, co-ordinate, manage and operate special events, functions, dances, shows and exhibitions on behalf of service organizations, sports organizations and other worthy groups." Its events included raves and wild parties featuring Vancouver prostitutes and gatherings in a converted slaughterhouse. These events attracted as many as 2,000 people. Hell's Angel members were known to often frequent the farm."
"650,000 Emails Found On Anthony Weiner's Laptop; DOJ Blocked Foundation Probe
by Tyler Durden
Oct 30, 2016 10:34 PM
Yesterday, we reported that the FBI has found " tens of thousands of emails " belonging to Huma Adein on Anthony Weiner's computer, raising questions how practical it is that any conclusive finding will be available or made by the FBI in the few days left before the elections Now, according to the WSJ , it appears that Federal agents are preparing to scour roughly 650,000 emails that, as we reported moments ago were discovered weeks ago on the laptop of Anthony Weiner , to see how many relate to a prior probe of Hillary Clinton's email use, as metadata on the device suggests there may be thousands sent to or from the private server that the Democratic nominee used while she was secretary of state, according to people familiar with the matter.
As the WSJ adds, the review will take weeks at a minimum to determine whether those messages are work-related emails between Huma Abedin, a close Clinton aide and the estranged wife of Mr. Weiner, and State Department officials; how many are duplicates of emails already reviewed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and whether they include either classified information or important new evidence in the Clinton email probe, which FBI officials call "Midyear."
And, as we further reported earlier today , the FBI has had to await a court order to begin reviewing the emails, because they were uncovered in an unrelated probe of Mr. Weiner, and that order was delayed for reasons that remain unclear.
More stunning is just how many emails were found on Weiner's computer. And while one can only imagine the content of some of the more persona ones, the WSJ writes that the latest development began in early October when New York-based FBI officials notified Andrew McCabe, the bureau's second-in-command, that while investigating Mr. Weiner for possibly sending sexually charged messages to a minor, they had recovered a laptop with 650,000 emails. Many, they said, were from the accounts of Ms. Abedin, according to people familiar with the matter.
Those emails stretched back years , these people said, and were on a laptop that both Mr. Weiner and Ms. Abedin used and that hadn't previously come up in the Clinton email probe. Ms. Abedin said in late August that the couple were separating.
The FBI had searched the computer while looking for child pornography, people familiar with the matter said, but the warrant they used didn't give them authority to search for matters related to Mrs. Clinton's email arrangement at the State Department. Mr. Weiner has denied sending explicit or indecent messages to the teenager.
As reported yesterday, it appears that there are potentially tens of thousands of Abedin linked emails on Weiner's computer:
In their initial review of the laptop, the metadata showed many messages, apparently in the thousands, that were either sent to or from the private email server at Mrs. Clinton's home that had been the focus of so much investigative effort for the FBI. Senior FBI officials decided to let the Weiner investigators proceed with a closer examination of the metadata on the computer, and report back to them.
The WSJ then connects the dots between how the Weiner emails were linked to the Clinton reopening of the Clinton probe, despite Loretta Lynch's and the DOJ's vocal urges not to do so :
At a meeting early last week of senior Justice Department and FBI officials, a member of the department’s senior national-security staff asked for an update on the Weiner laptop, the people familiar with the matter said. At that point, officials realized that no one had acted to obtain a warrant, these people said.
Mr. McCabe then instructed the email investigators to talk to the Weiner investigators and see whether the laptop’s contents could be relevant to the Clinton email probe, these people said. After the investigators spoke, the agents agreed it was potentially relevant.
Mr. Comey was given an update, decided to go forward with the case and notified Congress on Friday, with explosive results. Senior Justice Department officials had warned Mr. Comey that telling Congress would violate well-established policies against overt actions that could affect an election, and some within the FBI have been unhappy at Mr. Comey's repeated public statements on the probe, going back to his first press conference on the subject in July.
But wait it gets better.
Recall that this is the same Andrew Mcabe whose wife the Wall Street Journal reported last week received $467,500 in campaign funds in late 2015 from the political action committee of Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a longtime ally of the Clintons and, until he was elected governor in November 2013, a Clinton Foundation board member.
Mr. McAuliffe had supported Dr. McCabe in the hopes she and a handful of other Democrats might help win a majority in the state Senate, giving Mr. McAuliffe more sway in the state capitol. Dr. McCabe lost her race last November, and Democrats failed to win their majority.
FBI officials have said Mr. McCabe had no role in the Clinton email probe until he became deputy director, and there was no conflict of interest because by then his wife's campaign was over. Which brings us to the second big topic: the Clinton Foundation, and how the DOJ made sure that particular probe never made the light of day. At the same time as the Clinton server was being investigated, other Clinton-related investigations were under way within the FBI, and they have been the subject of internal debate for months.
Early this year, four FBI field offices—New York, Los Angeles, Washington and Little Rock, Ark.—were collecting information about the Clinton Foundation to see if there was evidence of financial crimes or influence-peddling, according to people familiar with the matter.
The WSJ touches on something fascinating: Los Angeles agents had picked up information about the Clinton Foundation from an unrelated public corruption case and had issued some subpoenas for bank records related to the foundation, these people said. So where did that trail go? Apparently nowhere.
The Washington field office was probing financial relationships involving Mr. McAuliffe before he became a Clinton Foundation board member, these people said. Mr. McAuliffe has denied any wrongdoing, and his lawyer has said the probe is focused on whether he failed to register as an agent of a foreign entity. The FBI field office in New York had done the most work on the Clinton Foundation case and received help from the FBI field office in Little Rock, the people familiar with the matter said.
In February, FBI officials made a presentation to the Justice Department, according to these people. By all accounts, the meeting didn't go well.
Some said that is because the FBI didn’t present compelling evidence to justify more aggressive pursuit of the Clinton Foundation, and that the career public integrity prosecutors in the room simply believed it wasn't a very strong case. Others said that from the start, the Justice Department officials were stern, icy and dismissive of the case.
"That was one of the weirdest meetings I've ever been to," one participant told others afterward, according to people familiar with the matter.
Needless to say, the probe into the Foundation faded.
But back to the Clinton probe, according to a person familiar with the probes, on Aug. 12, a senior Justice Department official called Mr. McCabe to voice his displeasure at finding that New York FBI agents were still openly pursuing the Clinton Foundation probe, despite the department's refusal to allow more aggressive investigative methods in the case. Mr. McCabe said agents still had the authority to pursue the issue as long as they didn’t use those methods.
At this point a question emerges: did McCabe seek to defend or press on with a Clinton probe: Mr. McCabe’s defenders in the agency said that following the call, he repeated the instruction that he had given earlier in the Clinton Foundation investigation: Agents were to keep pursuing the work within the authority they had.
Others further down the FBI chain of command, however, said agents were given a much starker instruction on the case: “Stand down.” When agents questioned why they weren’t allowed to take more aggressive steps, they said they were told the order had come from the deputy director—Mr. McCabe. Others familiar with the matter deny Mr. McCabe or any other senior FBI official gave such a stand-down instruction.
At this point the two probes, into Hillary's email and the Clinton Foundation converged:
For agents who already felt uneasy about FBI leadership’s handling of the Clinton Foundation case, the moment only deepened their concerns, these people said. For those who felt the probe hadn’t yet found significant evidence of criminal conduct, the leadership’s approach was the right response to the facts on the ground.
Things accelerated over the past two months, when in September, agents on the foundation case asked to see the emails contained on nongovernment laptops that had been searched as part of the Clinton email case, but that request was rejected by prosecutors at the Eastern District of New York, in Brooklyn. Those emails were given to the FBI based on grants of partial immunity and limited-use agreements, meaning agents could only use them for the purpose of investigating possible mishandling of classified information.
Some FBI agents were dissatisfied with that answer, and asked for permission to make a similar request to federal prosecutors in Manhattan, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. McCabe, these people said, told them no and added that they could not “go prosecutor-shopping."
Not long after that discussion, FBI agents informed the bureau’s leaders about the Weiner laptop, prompting Mr. Comey's disclosure to Congress and setting of the furor that promises to consume the final days of a tumultuous campaign
While much of the latest developments are known, or could have been inferred assuming more corruption within government agencies, the punchline is that the weeks if not months of upcoming work means that if Clinton wins the White House, she will likely do so amid at least one ongoing investigation into her inner circle being handled by law-enforcement officials who are deeply divided over how to manage such cases. It also means that Trump will be hounding Hilllary for the remainder of the campaign as being the only presidential candidate to seek election with a recently reopened criminal probe hanging over her head."
" Serco Processes 2 Millionth Patent Application for U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office Date: 18 Mar 2013 Serco Inc., a leading provider of professional, technology, and management services to the federal government, announced today that their Pre-Grant Publication (PGPubs) Classification Services team recently processed their 2 millionth patent application for the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). Each application was also processed within the contractually required 28-day window."
"3.4.1 Federal Public Key Infrastructure Policy Authority (FPKIPA)
Any infrastructure which cuts across multiple agencies requires the cooperation of the affected agencies to make it work. The Federal PKI is no different. While agencies may run their own agency-specific PKI domains to serve their own agency-specific needs, interoperating with other agencies imposes unique requirements and obligations. The model of governance reflects the fact that the Federal PKI has evolved from the bottom up, from agencies adopting this technology to serve their specific needs rather than having its use prescribed for them. In 1996, the Federal PKI Steering Committee was formed under the Government Information Technology Services Board, co-chaired by OMB and the National Partnership for Reinventing Government (NPR). The Steering Committee, comprising over 50 members representing over two dozen agencies, has as its focus the promotion of interoperable PKI solutions, the development of common guidance, and the sharing of information so that agencies considering or deploying PKI solutions can benefit from those who have already done so. Participation in the Steering Committee is voluntary. Its activities are published at http://gits-sec.treas.gov ."
"1107. Murder-for-Hire—The Offense
The "murder-for-hire" statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1958, was enacted as part of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, Pub.L. 98-473, Ch. X, Part A (Oct. 12, 1984). Section 1958(a) provides:
Whoever travels in or causes another (including the intended victim) to travel in interstate or foreign commerce, or uses or causes another (including the intended victim) to use the mail or any facility of interstate or foreign commerce, with intent that a murder be committed in violation of the laws of any State or the United States as consideration for the receipt of, or as consideration for a promise or agreement to pay anything of pecuniary value, or who conspires to do so [violates this statute].
… The maximum penalty for violating § 1958 varies with the severity of the conduct: a fine and/or ten years for any violation; a fine and/or twenty years if personal injury results; and a fine of not more than $250,000 and/or death or life imprisonment if death results. If the death penalty might be applicable, the United States Attorney's Office must comply with the guidelines at USAM 9-10.000 ."
"Super Serco bulldozes ahead
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER UPDATED: 23:00 GMT, 1 September 2004
SERCO has come a long way since the 1960s when it ran the 'four-minute warning' system to alert the nation to a ballistic missile attack.
Today its £10.3bn order book is bigger than many countries' defence budgets. It is bidding for a further £8bn worth of contracts and sees £16bn of 'opportunities'.
Profit growth is less ballistic. The first-half pre-tax surplus rose 4% to £28.1m, net profits just 1% to £18m. Stripping out goodwill, the rise was 17%, with dividends up 12.5% to 0.81p.
Serco runs the Docklands Light Railway, five UK prisons, airport radar and forest bulldozers in Florida."
" Serco farewell to NPL after 19 years of innovation 8 January 2015 Serco said goodbye to the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) at the end of December 2014 after 19 years of extraordinary innovation and science that has seen the establishment build a world-leading reputation and deliver billions of pounds of benefit for the UK economy. During that period under Serco 's management and leadership, NPL has delivered an extraordinary variety and breadth of accomplishments for the UK's economy and industry. Some of the key achievements during that time have been:… It has been estimated that work carried out by the Centre of Carbon Measurement at NPL will save eight million tonnes of carbon emissions reductions (2% of UK footprint) and over half a billion pounds in economic benefit over the next decade…. NPL's caesium fountain atomic clock is accurate to 1 second in 158 million years and NPL is playing a key role in introducing rigour to high frequency trading [for Serco 's front running banks] in the City through NPL [Zulu] Time."
"UK Cabinet Office – Emergency Planning College – Serco …..Types of Exercise Workshop Exercises These are structured discussion events where participants can explore issues in a less pressurised environment. They are an ideal way of developing solutions, procedures and plans rather than the focus being on decision making. Table Top Exercises These involve a realistic scenario and will follow a time line, either in real-time or with time jumps to concentrate on the more important areas. The participants would be expected to be familiar with the plans and procedures that are being used although the exercise tempo and complexity can be adjusted to suit the current state of training and readiness. Simulation and media play can be used to support the exercise. Table-top exercises help develop teamwork and allow participants to gain a better understanding of their roles and that of other agencies and organisations. Command/Control Post Exercises These are designed primarily to exercise the senior leadership and support staff in collective planning and decision making within a strategic grouping. Ideally such exercises would be run from the real command and control locations and using their communications and information systems [Feeling lucky, Punk?] . This could include a mix of locations and varying levels of technical simulation support. The Gold Standard system is flexible to allow the tempo and intensity to be adjusted to ensure maximum training benefit, or to fully test and evaluate the most important aspects of a plan. Such exercises also test information flow, communications, equipment, procedures, decision making and coordination. Live Exercises These can range from testing individual components of a system or organisation through to a full-scale rehearsal. They are particularly useful where there are regulatory requirements or with high-risk situations. They are more complex and costly to organise and deliver but can be integrated with Command Post Exercises as part of a wider exercising package."
"Christopher Rajendran Hyman CBE (born 5 July 1963 in Durban, South Africa)[1] was Chief Executive of Serco Group plc from 2002 to October 2013.[2] … On graduation, he worked for Arthur Andersen. In 1989, he won an 18-month exchange with Ernst & Young in London, who employed him after four months.[1] Head hunted in 1994 by Serco , Hyman became European finance director, and in 1999 was made group finance director. In 2002, Hyman became chief executive. .. Hyman resigned from his role of Chief Executive of Serco on 25 October 2013 following allegations that Serco had overcharged government customers. .. He was [making a presentation to Serco shareholder, including British and Saudi governments] on the 47th floor of the World Trade Center [North Tower] at the time of the September 11 attacks in 2001."
"Serco's Office of Partner Relations (OPR) helps facilitate our aggressive small business utilization and growth strategies. Through the OPR, Serco mentors four local small businesses under formal Mentor Protégé Agreements: Three sponsored by DHS (Base One Technologies, TSymmetry, Inc., and HeiTech Services, Inc.,) and the fourth sponsored by GSA (DKW Communications, Inc.). Serco and HeiTech Services were awarded the 2007 DHS Mentor Protégé Team Award for exceeding our mentoring goals."
"Base One Technologies, Ltd. is a DOMESTIC BUSINESS CORPORATION, located in New York, NY and was formed on Feb 15, 1994. This file was obtained from the Secretary of State and has a file number of 1795583. "
"Base One Technologies – Corporate Strategy – We are a Government Certified Women-Owned Business
We practice Diversity [Pride] Recruitment and Staffing for IT positions .. We are also partnered with firms that are 8A certified as Minority firms, Disabled Veteran firms, Native American firms, Vietnam veteran firms, women owned firms. .. Information Security Planning is the process whereby an organization seeks to protect its operations and assets from data theft or computer hackers that seek to obtain unauthorized information or sabotage business operations. Key Clients Benefiting From Our Information Security Expertise: Pentagon Renovation Program, FAA, Citigroup [Federal Bridge] , MCI. .. Base One Technologies … Develops, implements and supports Information Security Counter measures such as honey-pots and evidence logging and incident documentation processes and solutions."
"Opened in 1994 as the successor to the Transitional Immigrant Visa Processing Center in Rosslyn, Va., the NVC centralizes all immigrant visa pre-processing and appointment scheduling for overseas posts. The NVC collects paperwork and fees before forwarding a case, ready for adjudication, to the responsible post.
The center also handles immigrant and fiancé visa petitions, and while it does not adjudicate visa applications, it provides technical assistance and support to visa-adjudicating consular officials overseas.
Only two Foreign Service officers, the director and deputy director, work at the center, along with just five Civil Service employees. They work with almost 500 contract employees doing preprocessing of visas, making the center one of the largest employers in the Portsmouth area.
The contractor, Serco , Inc., has worked with the NVC since its inception and with the Department for almost 18 years.
The NVC houses more than 2.6 million immigrant visa files, receives almost two million pieces of mail per year and received more than half a million petitions from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) in 2011. Its file rooms' high-density shelves are stacked floor-to-ceiling with files, each a collection of someone’s hopes and dreams and each requiring proper handling. ….
The NVC also preprocesses the chief of mission (COM) application required for the filing of a petition for a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV). Such visas, for foreign nationals who have performed services for the U.S. government in Iraq and Afghanistan, require COM concurrence before the applicant can file a petition with USCIS. The NVC collects the requisite documents from such applicants and, when complete, forwards the package to the U.S. embassies in Baghdad or Kabul for COM approval"
Yours sincerely,
Field McConnell, United States Naval Academy, 1971; Forensic Economist; 30 year airline and 22 year military pilot; 23,000 hours of safety; Tel: 715 307 8222
David Hawkins Tel: 604 542-0891 Forensic Economist; former leader of oil-well blow-out teams; now sponsors Grand Juries in CSI Crime and Safety Investigation | 0 | [
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FMD2557 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: WASHINGTON — Robert S. Harward, the retired vice admiral who is President Trump’s top choice to replace his ousted national security adviser, is a member of the Navy SEALs who rose through the ranks to top military positions and is close with Jim Mattis, the new secretary of defense. Mr. Harward, 60, is a former deputy commander of the United States Central Command, the military’s busiest with management of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and served on the National Security Council under President George W. Bush, where he was responsible for counterterrorism issues. He is currently a top executive at Lockheed Martin, the weapons and aerospace company, overseeing business with the United Arab Emirates. Mr. Harward’s career has closely tracked that of Mr. Mattis, from the time the two worked together in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks of 2001 to his tour at Central Command from 2011 to 2013, which included an assignment heading detainee operations in Kabul. “He has faced down and defeated the world’s most ruthless and deadly enemies, and he has done all that by Mattis’s side,†said Fran Townsend, Mr. Bush’s former homeland security adviser, for whom Mr. Harward worked from 2003 to 2005. “He has been in tougher knife fights than this, and won. †Still, it is not clear whether Mr. Harward would be willing to surrender his lucrative position and comfortable existence in Abu Dhabi to step into the tumult of the Trump White House. The new administration has been troubled by an unusual level of infighting, disorganization and grievance — including within the ranks of the National Security Council — capped off on Monday by the resignation of Michael T. Flynn as national security adviser. Raised in prerevolutionary Tehran, Mr. Harward was known to startle his Afghan counterparts during his tours there by conversing with them fluently in Farsi, which is similar to their native Dari. Trained as an elite Special Operations officer, Mr. Harward is also known for his bravado and obsession with physical fitness. As the head of detainee operations in Afghanistan, he would lead weekly hikes in the mountains outside Kabul, outpacing colleagues who were 20 years younger, and has been known to challenge them to contests that left them vomiting. Mr. Harward looks the part of a military man, a crucial factor for a president who has made clear that he considers appearance an important indicator of a job candidate’s suitability for a role. With his bald head, eyes and long scar of mysterious provenance down his cheek, Mr. Harward has the bearing of an officer who once carried out risky secret operations. But he is also an effective inside player, according to people who know him, having worked for some of the military’s top policy leaders and at the White House. James G. Stavridis, a retired admiral and former NATO commander, said Mr. Harward was “someone who will find a way to succeed no matter how daunting the task. †“I have known him well for two decades, and have boundless admiration for his ingenuity, integrity and ability to navigate choppy seas — both operationally in the field and in the battlefield of Washington, D. C.,†said Mr. Stavridis, currently dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. “The real question,†he added, “is whether he wants to take the job. †Some question whether Mr. Harward’s decades of military experience are the right preparation for a senior post. In a Twitter post Tuesday, Max Boot, a senior fellow in national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, called Mr. Harward “a great SEAL,†but said it was “not clear that running detainee ops in Afghanistan or being No 2 at Centcom is right background for this. †Friends say Mr. Harward has experience with military special operations, but also in navigating the arcane world of the National Security Council, which is charged with synthesizing recommendations from national security and intelligence agencies and advising the president on policy. The process frequently involves managing turf battles and balancing competing interests. “He’ll bring a buffering calm and balance, as well as his using his previous experience at the N. S. C. ,†said Douglas H. Wise, a former deputy director at the Defense Intelligence Agency. Mr. Mattis is widely seen as a force for steadiness within the Trump administration, and some Republicans who have expressed misgivings about the president’s policies and his attitude toward national security matters have looked to his defense secretary as an island of reliability in a sea of unpredictability. Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said on Tuesday that Mr. Trump should name a new national security adviser “who is empowered by clear lines of authority and responsibility and possesses the skills and experience necessary to organize the national security system across our government. †Mr. McCain said he looked forward “to working with the president’s administration, especially Secretary Mattis, to defend the nation and support our military service members. †If he is chosen for the post and accepts, Mr. Harward would be reunited with his old boss and mentor, Mr. Mattis. But he would also have to contend with Mr. Trump’s inner circle, populated by political advisers with whom Mr. Harward is not familiar, including Steven K. Bannon, the chief White House strategist. In an executive order last month — which Mr. Trump later complained privately that he had not been fully briefed on — the president placed Mr. Bannon on the principals committee of the National Security Council, giving a political adviser a position of parity with the secretaries of state and defense, and with the national security adviser. Two former national security officials who have worked closely with Mr. Harward said he would be unlikely to take the position without strong assurances from Mr. Trump and his team that the council would not be driven by partisan considerations on national security policy, and that he would have the autonomy to provide principled counsel. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on Mr. Harward’s behalf. Mr. Harward’s name surfaced briefly in 2015 in connection to the scandal involving David H. Petraeus, the former general who was forced to resign as director of the Central Intelligence Agency after admitting that he had provided classified information to his lover, and who is now also said to be in the running to be Mr. Trump’s national security adviser. Jill Kelley, a Tampa socialite who had befriended Mr. Petraeus and then become a target of threatening emails from Mr. Petraeus’ lover, had also written gushing notes to Mr. Harward and Mr. Mattis. “You ROCK! !!†Ms. Kelley wrote to Mr. Harward in 2012 regarding his dealings with foreign heads of state at a social gathering, according to emails obtained by The Washington Post. “YOU ROCK MORE! ,†Mr. Harward replied. There was no evidence of impropriety in the friendly correspondence, which would have been routine between top military commanders and civic leaders in the communities in which they were stationed. | 1 | [
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FMD2558 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Home › WORLD NEWS › VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION ANNOUNCES HISTORIC MARCH AGAINST PRESIDENT MADURO VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION ANNOUNCES HISTORIC MARCH AGAINST PRESIDENT MADURO 0 SHARES [10/27/16] The Venezuelan opposition announced a national strike planned for Friday, October 28 and warned President Nicolás Maduro’s adminstration that it will hold another November 3 that leads to the Presidential Palace of Miraflores if a date is not set for the recall referendum postponed indefinitely early this year.
“We demand the government reverse this unconstitutional decision,” said Governor of the state of Miranda and leader of the opposition Henrique Capriles. “Either you return the constitutional order or we’re going to Miraflores on November 3.”
Capriles stressed that people are willing to go out into the streets to defend the constitution.
“Tell (President of the National Electoral Council) Tibisay Lucena that in the coming hours, she has to announce the date of an election and let the people decide because if we remain in this coup attitude next week … the people will mobilize at Miraflores,” the opposition leader said. Post navigation | 0 | [
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FMD2559 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: It is an idea universally indulged that escaping to a spot, preferably surrounded by landscapes of stunning natural beauty, will spark bouts of unnatural creativity. Four years ago, I tested that proposition when my wife and I left London for a tiny cottage in a remote valley in the Black Mountains of South Wales. It felt like another world. The view from the window was of sheep rather than the top deck of red London buses. Our nearest neighbor was a farm a walk across three fields. We couldn’t hear them watching television or smell what they cooked for supper. I found that, true enough, with no job, no friends and no television, a lot of writing is possible. I never stopped to consider the cost. Social interaction was so rare that after weeks alone in my writing shed, my ability to regulate conversation atrophied: A friendly question in the post office would elicit a response. I began to fear the prospect of friends visiting as a threat to my “space. †Then, after a year or more, just as the arrival of our first child transformed our isolation from a creative asset into a psychological liability, Rachel, our midwife, came with news. “Oh, there’s another author round here whose baby I just delivered. †Loneliness and prideful smugness did battle: An unspoken obligation loomed. The author in question turned out to be Owen Sheers. In due course, we admitted to each other the drawbacks of our rural situation. Yes, with nothing but my wife and sheep for company, I had written a second book much faster than the first. But I did like talking about books as well as writing them. In the now popular saying, cities are where ideas go to have sex. So much of contemporary cultural production and consumption takes place in urban settings, and, globally, the pace of urbanization is accelerating. Owen and I shared a latent fear: What were we missing out on? Owen knew several other writers in the area, the nonfiction writer Oliver Balch and the novelist Tom Bullough. I suggested a writers’ book club to discuss a different book every month from the perspective of craft, technique, style. “Yes, a few of us tried that before,†said Tom, wearily. “But someone said something unforgivable about Gogol, and that was the end of it. †Before the first meeting, we went to a reading and met two more. They, in turn, spread the word further and the net wider. In these hills, writers, it seemed, were more common than vermin. And their enthusiasm for the book club was palpable. To taciturn writers for whom small talk is a kind of torture, it was, I think, a convenient alibi for company. British sociability can often be a perilous obstacle course of implicit obligation where the goal of social occasions is to emerge unscathed without being caught in a web of suffocating reciprocity. We were explicitly gathered not to talk about ourselves, but about books. Now each month we assemble like a clandestine congregation of nonconformists in the basement of a charming local pub: the Bridge End Inn, Talgarth. After several months, we quickly overwhelmed our allotted table and colonized the whole room. Our membership is now pushing 18. Ideas, it seems, are desperate for their monthly hookup. So what of the product? Do the magic ingredients of peace, quiet and stimulating company make any difference to creative output? It’s hard to say. The main factor, we’d all agree, is the cost of time. Money vaporizes in London before you’ve even put your hand in your pocket. But will we write different books outside the city? Maybe not immediately, but the constellation of serious writers in a rural setting is an interesting phenomenon that, I think, reflects wider changes in the global economy and climate. Artists are getting priced out of global cities, and climate change has politicized the rural in new ways. The first book we read was “10:04,†by Ben Lerner. Although the group on the whole reacted badly to the narrow New York focus of the book, the example of the author’s supreme of place (it is taken as that Brooklyn is where anyone would want to live) has struck a chord in many discussions since. Away from the city, climate change as a totalizing political and cultural concern is hard to avoid. “How can anyone, now, justify writing a book that is not, in some way, about our relationship to this planet,†our dear late member Rebecca Loncraine said. It would be difficult, here, to write one of those nature books, with which Britain is currently awash, idealizing the natural world as a zone of innocence untouched by human influence. Lately, we have spent time talking, as all writers do, about the inadequacy of language of the need for a new vocabulary to describe things that humans have denatured, violated. The sea is no longer the same sea that the word initially signified. The air is no longer the air it once was, and so on. Pretentious perhaps, but urgent too. Strangely, I have met more writers in these hills than I ever knew in all the global cities in which I have lived: New York, Chicago, Nairobi, London. Not only has moving away from the city increased my productivity, but I am blessed with that rare thing: a fresh view. My citybound friends still refer to where I live as “the middle of nowhere,†but to me, it increasingly feels at the heart of things. | 1 | [
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FMD2560 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Ted Cruz has officially quit the 2016 Republican presidential race, according to a statement released by his campaign manager Jeff Roe. This brings an end to the last desperate hope that Republicans had to stop Donald Trump from leading their party directly into the 9th layer of Hell in the 2016 presidential election.Trump completely smashed Cruz, by approximately a 16 percent margin in the Indiana primary. John Kasich also technically still existed, coming in with less than 10 percent of the vote.Kasich has pledged to stay in the race until either he or Trump reach the required threshold of 1,237 delegates. Aside from most people saying John who? a reason this is a futile effort is that it s mathematically impossible for him to win enough delegates to beat Trump. To put it into context, Cruz needed fewer delegates and even he dropped out after Trump walked away with a gift-wrapped Indiana primary win.Cruz threw in everything including the kitchen sink to secure a win in Indiana. He colluded with John Kasich in a so-called alliance to try to swing a heavier vote count towards himself in order to take away from Trump s chances, he picked a VP candidate, even though she is universally reviled (what was he thinking?), and there was massive super PAC money doing ad-buys. He even netted the governor s endorsement.In the end, it was an embarrassing blowout that told him what everyone has been saying for months; The RNC is speeding towards the edge of a cliff, and Trump is in the drivers seat.Cruz issued some short remarks following his blistering defeat: We left it all on the field in Indiana. We gave it everything we ve got but the voters chose another path. So with a heavy heart but with boundless optimism for the long-term future of our nation, we are suspending our campaign. Sourece: CNNTechnically speaking, Trump still needs to gather more delegates in the remaining primaries before he will win the nomination hands-down, but with Cruz out and Kasich being relegated to obscurity as a GOP protest vote, there s really nothing stopping Trump from usurping control of the Republican party. Will you be watching as the Republican party has to smile and hand Trump his nomination in Cleveland?Featured image via Tombstone Generator | 0 | [
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FMD2561 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Two helicopters, an FBI bomb squad and riot police have been deployed at the University of Washington to control violent protesters before one of MILO’s final talks of the ‘Dangerous Faggot Tour. ’[As has been seen throughout the door, the protests have quickly turned violent, with protesters wielding baseball bats and sharpened sticks in an attempt to intimidate attendee. Protest underway where Milo Yiannopoulos is at the University of Washington to speak tonight. @GaryKIRO7 is at the scene. pic. twitter. — KIRO 7 (@KIRO7Seattle) January 21, 2017, Police have also been seen wearing riot gear in an attempt to control the protesters, who have formed a human blockade to prevent attendees from entering the venue. Police in riot gear at entrance of Kane Hall #komonews pic. twitter. — Suzanne Phan (@SuzannePhan) January 21, 2017, Helicopters have also been captured circling the venue. It is still unclear whether they have been deployed by local police or the media. Helicopters deployed at MILO event @WUSTL pic. twitter. — Ben Kew (@ben_kew) January 21, 2017, There are also reports of that an FBI Bomb squad is present at the venue. MILO has released a Facebook video declaring this the “face of the new progressive social justice left who are upset about Donald trump. The event is the second example of violence in a row, after MILO’s event at UC Davis was cancelled after violent protesters, one of whom was arrested, meant the event could not go ahead. You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart. com | 1 | [
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FMD2562 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Did a Twitter Ad Show Rebel Wilson During Her College Years? Claim summaries: The cruel and seemingly outdated Twitter advertisement in question led to a story that claimed Rebel Wilson and other celebrities "completely ruined their looks."
contextual information: On Dec. 20, 2020, the person who controlled the @TeddyFeed Twitter account created a tweet using Twitter Ads. The first of two pictures in the tweet showed actress Rebel Wilson during a 2015 appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon." The second photograph purportedly showed her years before in college wearing a crop top and ripped jeans. The tweet said, "Rebel Wilson Was Stunning In College," and appeared to compare her weight over time: tweet appearance However, the second photograph in this tweet did not accurately depict Wilson's change in weight over time, nor did it show Wilson at all. The woman in the second picture was British model Iskra Lawrence, photographed by Frank Lewis with startraksphoto.com. startraksphoto.com The owner of the @TeddyFeed Twitter account paid to advertise the misleading tweet. We confirmed that the ad was still running as of Jan. 20, 2021. Readers who clicked the ad were led to a lengthy slideshow article on TeddyFeed's website with the headline: "Unrecognizable Celebrities Who Completely Ruined Their Looks." The story spanned more than 30 pages. Wilson appeared on the final page with nothing but a picture comparison. No words accompanied her page to describe the photographs or her college days. In the past, Wilson shared a real photograph from her 2009 college graduation. She attended the University of New South Wales. real photograph The misleading advertisement from the @TeddyFeed Twitter account appeared to be comparing Wilson's weight over the years. The story on the TeddyFeed website was last updated on Dec. 20, 2020, (according to page source code). It completely omitted recent news. On Dec. 1, 2020, nearly three weeks before the TeddyFeed website's story was last updated, NBC's "Today" show published an article about Wilson's weight loss journey. It reported that the actress had lost 60 pounds: article She started calling 2020 her "year of health" in December 2019 and spent the past 12 months losing weight and getting healthy reaching her "goal weight" in late November. goal weight Wilson said she'd been getting so many questions about her wellness journey that she decided to do a sit-down Instagram Live on Tuesday night. Instagram Live "I was determined in 2020 the year of health to actually fully change my whole entire lifestyle," she explained in the video. "So it meant not only, like, physically but mentally as well." Wilson posted to her social media accounts multiple pictures and videos that showed a change in her weight. These photographs and videos were at odds with the 2015 "Late Night" appearance picture that was used by @TeddyFeed in the misleading Twitter ad: For further reading, browse our past "Fauxtography" stories for reports on other misleading photographs. "Fauxtography" stories Snopes debunks a wide range of content, and online advertisements are no exception. Misleading ads often lead to obscure websites that host lengthy slideshow articles with lots of pages. It's called advertising "arbitrage." The advertiser's goal is to make more money on ads displayed on the slideshow's pages than it cost to show the initial ad that lured them to it. Feel free to submit ads to us, and be sure to include a screenshot of the ad and the link to where the ad leads. submit ads to us | 0 | [
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FMD2563 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Barvetta Singletary Claim summaries:
contextual information: FACT CHECK:Did a Special Assistant to President Obama, Barvetta Singletary shot at a police officer in an incident of gun violence ignored by the media? Claim: A Special Assistant to President Obama, Barvetta Singletary, shot at a police officer in an incident of gun violence ignored by the media. WHAT'S White House staffer Barvetta Singletary was arrested and charged with assault after discharging a gun during a domestic dispute with her boyfriend (a Capitol police officer) in August 2015. WHAT'S /UNPROVEN: Singletary shot at a police officer because he was a cop, was trying to kill the victim, reported directly to President Obama, and her arrest was ignored by large media outlets. Examples: [Collected via e-mail and Twitter, October 2015] Assistant to president Obama shoots at boyfriend. Barvetta and her bad ass Beretta! Kicking ass ghetto style! Don't hold your breath waiting to read about this in the mainstream media. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wondering if it is true that an Obama assistant resigned after firing a gun a police. Her name is Barvetta Singletary. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A special assistant to the president the president who recently lamented that an inability to pass gun control was one of the great failures of his administration was arrested after she allegedly fired a pistol at her boyfriend during a domestic dispute. Barvetta Singletary, 37, didn't help advance her boss' crusade against gun violence when she invited her boyfriend, a Capitol Hill police officer, over to her house for sex. Afterwards, she accused him of seeing another woman and demanded to see the texts on his cellphones. When he refused, Singletary reached into her boyfriend's bag, according to the arresting documents, and pulled out the two cellphones and his service weapon, a .40 caliber Glock 23. She demanded he tell her the passwords to the phones. He refused. "Your phone is more important than me holding the gun on you," she said, shooting the couch where he was sitting. Singletary is the Obama administration's House legislative affairs liaison and was paid $125,000 a year. Let's just say she wasn't a low-level staffer. Her purposeful gun crime while working for this gun-hostile administration is more important than the time Dick Cheney accidentally shot a friend while Dove hunting. But which one received more news coverage? Obama Special Asst Barvetta Singletary Resigns, Charged Shooting At Cop | @bob_owens | #2A | https://t.co/edXK2l9Uks pic.twitter.com/9LPguvQO5j @bob_owens #2A https://t.co/edXK2l9Uks pic.twitter.com/9LPguvQO5j Hank Quinlan (@Quinlan_Hank) September 5, 2015 September 5, 2015 Barvetta Singletary, a special assistant to the President and the House legislative affairs liaison, was arrested last Friday after the Berwin Kleinstein (@hakylulamupe) September 5, 2015 September 5, 2015 Origins: In early August 2015, 37-year-old White House staffer Barvetta Singletary was arrested and charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment following a domestic dispute with her boyfriend. As Washington television station WRC reported, during an 7 August 2015 domestic dispute Singletary allegedly fired one shot towards the sofa on which her boyfriend was sitting (hitting the floor) after he refused to disclose the passwords to his cell phones: reported According to charging documents, Barvetta Singletary sent her boyfriend a text, asking him to come to her Upper Marlboro home for sex. After they had sex, Singletary confronted her boyfriend about the other woman he was dating. Investigators say Singletary asked her boyfriend to step outside, and they both went to his car. Once inside the car, Singletary asked to see her boyfriend's cellphones, police said. When he refused, Singletary reached into his bag and retrieved two cellphones and the victim's .40-caliber Glock 23 service weapon, charging documents state. Singletary pulled the gun out of its holster, pointed it at the victim and said, "You taught me how to use this. Don't think I won't use it," the arrest warrant said. Once inside, she demanded the passwords to his phones, yanking the Glock from its holster and pointing it at him when he didn't cooperate, the documents said. Your phone is more important than me holding this gun on you? she allegedly said to her boyfriend, who was glued to her sofa 10 feet away. When he still refused to give up his passwords, Singletary fired one round at him that hit the floor, sending the officer running, police said. E-mails and social media rumors about Singletary that were circulated months after the fact commonly claimed the altercation had occurred "last Friday," an ambiguity that lent plausibility to the rumor's claim the "mainstream media" suppressed reporting of the arrest (since it hadn't appeared in recent news). However, the incident was covered at the time it occurred by major mainstream news outlets such as the Washington Post, USA Today, the Daily Mail, the Washington D.C. Sun Times, Fox News, and the New York Daily News. Washington Post USA Today Daily Mail Sun Times Fox News Daily News The fact that the complainant was a police officer was incidental to the story; Singletary shot at him because he was a boyfriend with whom she was involved in a romantic dispute, not because he was a cop. And given that various news reports stated that Singletary fired a single round in the direction of the couch where her boyfriend was sitting but hit the floor, it isn't clear whether she actually intended to harm him but missed, or whether she deliberately sent the round into the floor in order to scare her boyfriend (without injuring him). Rumors commonly referred to Singletary as a "Special Assistant to President Obama," a term which is technically correct but which caused many social media users to incorrectly infer that Singletary reported directly to the President and served him personally in some sort of secretarial or administrative capacity prior to her September 2015 resignation. Senior White House staffers are granted the title "Assistant to the President," second-tier staffers are called "Deputy Assistant to the President," and third-tier staffers (of which Singletary was one) are termed "Special Assistant to the President." According to the White House's most recent staffer salary disclosure report, there are approximately 21 employees serving in the first-tier capacity, 19 in the second-tier of White House assistants, and 59 with the title "Special Assistant to the President." disclosure Singletary had served as a as deputy chief of staff in the House of Representatives before being named as a White House staffer in June 2014: named SINGLETARY GOES TO 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE: Barvetta Singletary is moving from one end of Pennsylvania Avenue to the other. Shes leaving Capitol Hill to join the White House legislative affairs team, an administration official confirms to PI. She comes to the White House from Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburns office, where she most recently served as deputy chief of staff and policy director. She has depth on a range of issues, including: transportation, appropriations, health care, energy, ag and budget issues. She is deeply respected by members and staff on both sides of the aisle for her policy knowledge and focused but even keeled nature. She is a team player in every sense, a senior White House official said. That official added: Fun fact: She also happens to have an amazing singing voice, which she puts to use at church and among friends, when she can be convinced. On 10 August 2015, a White House spokesperson released a statement regarding Singletary's arrest: We are aware of the matter and have temporarily placed the employee in question on unpaid leave and revoked her access to the complex until we have more information. We will take additional actions as needed. For further questions, I would refer you to the Prince Georges County Police Department. Singletary resigned her White House position the following month. Last updated: 14 October 2015 Originally published: 14 October 2015 | 1 | [
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FMD2564 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders, who stands a chance of being the Netherlands’ next prime minister, has said the demise of the European Union (EU) is now “irreversible†and that attempts by the bloc to punish the UK for leaving would backfire. [Speaking just five weeks before the Netherlands goes to the polls to decide on the composition of their next government, Mr. Wilders told The Telegraph he would seek to form a coalition government after the election if his vote share was comparable to the level presently being predicted by opinion polling. While the polls have failed to predict the outcome of major electoral battles in the United Kingdom and the U. S. in the past year, Mr. Wilders’ PVV had topped or tied every national poll for months. Of the EU, Mr. Wilders said the nationalist “genie†was now out of the bottle and the European elite had not only totally failed to grasp what it was, but couldn’t now do anything about it. Comparing the crumbling political bloc to the final days of the Roman Empire, beset by decadence and lack of direction, Mr. Wilders said: “The days of the old Roman Empire, which the European Union is, are over. They know it and they have been fighting for the last few years to extend it a bit, but this process is irreversible. †Mr. Wilders was bullish in the interview about his ambitions for the coming election, telling The Telegraph: “I want to be prime minister. The question is if they want me to be prime minister … The odds of me becoming prime minister, are perhaps not in my favour, but I’m confident that if we get the result, according to the current polls that it is a real possibility. †If the PVV took power, they would prioritise taking back “the key to our own front door†— a reference to the present open borders with the rest of the EU. But Mr. Wilders admitted it was possible other parties could refuse to cooperate with him, opening the way for a minority coalition to rule although he could command the largest single party. A similar fate could await his colleagues in other European nations, he said, but even if Marine Le Pen in France and Sebastian Kurz in Austria failed to top the ballots in 2017 the populist revolution would carry on going. The PVV leader’s remarks come just days after he called on Rotterdam to allow his party to place political on the sides of their trams in the to the elections. The proposed design which features the phrase “Stop Islam†written in large letters along the sides of the vehicles was turned down by the authority, who told press, “We do not work with politically tinged statements. We never do. †| 1 | [
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FMD2565 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Thursday 10 November 2016 by Matt Ward Swansea City ‘will win Premier League at a canter’ confirm pollsters
Swansea City are nailed on favourites to be crowned Premier League champions in 2017, it has emerged.
Polling companies predict the Welsh outfit will have the league sewn up by mid-March at the latest, powered by nearly 300 goals from former Wrexham full back, Neil Taylor.
“Public opinion tells us The Swans finish firmly in top spot, with Crystal Palace, Brentford and MK Dons securing the Champions League places,” said lead researcher, Simon Williams.
“Taylor’s goal tally will obviously be a major factor and we predict around 30 of them will come in a 41-0 rout of Liverpool at Anfield in January.
“That might surprise some people, but there’s a complex research formula behind all of this and the margin of error is so small only a complete lunatic would bet against it – we’ve spoken to nearly 40 people.
“Yep – the smart money’s on Swansea.” Get the best NewsThump stories in your mailbox every Friday, for FREE! There are currently | 0 | [
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FMD2566 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: A week ago, the US election looked to be over. Hillary Clinton was riding so high in the polls after a disastrous series of gaffes by Donald Trump that few could conceive of a Republican path to victory on 8 November. Friday’s shock intervention by the FBI may not be enough to change that outcome on its own, but it has certainly set political imaginations running wild.
The worry for Democrats is that fresh inquiries regarding Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state come at a difficult time. Not only is it hard to prove a negative and re-establish her innocence with barely a week to go until the election, but the letter to congressional officials from director James Comey capped a tricky run of news that was already making a sizable dent in her polling lead.
Momentum for Trump began to recover first thanks to another set of emails, the contents of which perhaps explain why the Clintons risked so much to try to retain control of her electronic communications in the first place. Released by WikiLeaks, a factor that US intelligence agencies have blamed on Russian hackers, these emails to and from campaign chairman John Podesta have been trickling out for weeks, with mostly embarrassing rather than damaging content.
That changed on Wednesday with the release of a report that appeared to confirm just how much the Clinton family has blurred the boundaries between its business, charitable and political interests. Though almost all of the new information related to Bill rather than Hillary, it gave Trump supporters fresh ammunition at a moment when they were desperate to shift attention from their candidate’s own scandals over taxes and alleged inappropriate behaviour towards women.
In an election that many pollsters describe as an unpopularity contest, it does not take much to swing the mood of independent voters. By Friday, the combination of no news from Trump and bad news from Clinton had halved her average lead in the polls since the last presidential debate.
“When the attention was on Trump, Clinton was winning. Now, the attention is on Clinton,†said political consultant Frank Luntz, who has predicted the winner in 2016 will be the campaign that keeps the focus on its opponent.
Sunday’s average lead for Clinton in national polls of 3.4% ought still to be a healthy safety margin. Bill Clinton’s lead over George Bush shrank from 11 points to just three in the last two weeks of the 1992 election, yet he won by nearly double that margin.
But among Democrats, a cause for concern – if not yet panic – is that very few polls published so far were carried out after news broke about the FBI and the emails.
One reputable survey that got close, an ABC News-Washington Post tracking poll released on Sunday, showed just a one-point overall lead for Clinton. It asked some voters on Friday evening what they thought and found the news had mostly hardened existing opinions but could also play a role at the margins.
“About a third of likely voters say they are less likely to support Clinton given FBI director James Comey’s disclosure,†said pollster Gary Langer. “Given other considerations, 63% say it makes no difference.â€
Only 7% of Clinton supporters felt it would make any difference, but this rises “much higher among groups already predisposed not to vote for herâ€, the poll found.
“The potential for a pullback in motivation of Clinton supporters, or further resurgence among Trump’s, may cause concern in the Clinton camp – especially because this dynamic already was under way,†Langer added. “Intention to vote has grown in Trump support groups in the past week as the intensity of criticisms about him has ebbed.â€
The notion that the FBI may not change any minds but will bolster opinion, and thus perhaps turnout, was also supported in a poll of voters in 13 battleground states. This CBS poll showed just 5% of Democrats said the issue might make them less likely to support Clinton, compared with more than a quarter of registered Republicans.
This risk also helps explain the ferocity of Democratic calls for the FBI to urgently exonerate Clinton.
Many loyalists are convinced the latest trove of emails, discovered on equipment shared by Clinton aide Huma Abedin and her estranged husband Anthony Weiner, are an irrelevance.
Even if some show more classified information passed its way through the private server, it should not change the FBI’s earlier decision that a criminal charge would be unfair without evidence of intent or coverup.
But so long as this is not categorically established, there may be a nagging doubt in some minds that the FBI suspects otherwise. Not everyone will be prepared to give Clinton the benefit of the doubt. Some studies have shown just 11% of voters describe Clinton as “honest and trustworthyâ€, lower even than Trump’s score of 16%.
While it may not be enough to the tip the balance, running for president while facing potential criminal investigation is never a good look. | 1 | [
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FMD2567 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Mitt Romney is proposing a tax plan that would give millionaires another tax break and raises taxes on middle class families by up to $2,000 a year.
contextual information: You comparison shop for cans of tuna. Mitt Romney rides on Donald Trumps jet.A new Obama campaign ad shows those scenes to hammer at the lifestyle differences between struggling middle-class Americans and the Republican presidential candidate. Then it takes aim at Romneys economic proposals.Now he has a plan, theadsays, that would give millionaires another tax break and raises taxes on middle-class families by up to $2,000 a year.We know from ourprevious reportingon Romneys tax plan that it offers across-the-board cuts, including for the very wealthy. But a new independent study offers broader perspective on how taxpayers at all income levels would be affected by Romneys plan. So we decided to take a look.Romneys tax plan We need to be clear from the start that the problem independent analysts, journalists and fact-checkers have with digging into Romney's tax plan is that much of the plan isn't yet known. Romneyhassuggestedgeneral parameters: The rate cuts would be paid for without adding to the deficit. People at the high end will still pay the same share of the tax burden theyre paying now. Everyone would see tax rate reductions. He has outlined specific tax cuts on hiscampaign website. They include: cutting marginal rates by 20 percent on a permanent, across-the-board basis; eliminating interest, dividend and capital gains taxes for taxpayers earning less than $200,000; eliminating the estate tax; and repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax.Romney would also cut the corporate rate to 25 percent. To offset those cuts, Romney hashinted thathe would eliminate some common tax write-offs and deductions for people with high incomes. The effect of Romney's plan Knowing all that, the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution that evaluates tax proposals submitted by presidential candidates,examinedthe effect of Romneys tax rate cuts combined with the elimination of several common tax deductions. Those include the mortgage interest deduction, charitable giving deduction and the exclusion for health insurance. The center published its findings on Aug. 1, 2012. To try and keep with Romney's guiding principles, the authors eliminated deductions and write-offs -- starting with the deductions for top earners first -- until they came up with enough revenue to offset the $360 billion in tax cuts that are part of Romney's plan. They determined that people who earn $1 million or more in taxable income would see an average net tax decrease of $87,117. Theyd save $175,961 from Romney's tax cut, but lose $88,444 in deductions. They would still get a tax cut, said Adam Looney, one of the authors. The dollar value of the tax cuts is just way bigger than the mortgage interest and other deductions. Theres no way to implement this plan in a way that doesnt result in a pretty big tax cut for that group (those making more than $1 million).People who earn between $500,000 and $1 million would see a cut of about $17,000, and taxes for people with incomes between $200,000 and $500,000 would decrease by about $1,800, the study found. But to make Romney's plan revenue neutral, deductions would also have to be removed for people with incomes below $200,000, and the effects of that would be significant, the study found. In fact, the elimination of the deductions would mean outright tax increases for everyone with incomes below $200,000. People with taxable income between $50,000 and $75,000, for example, would see an average net tax increase of $641. Theyd save $984 from Romney's rate cut, but lose $2,672 in write-offs.The authors specifically noted that taxpayers with children whose income is below $200,000 would see their taxes go up by an average of $2,041 -- the figure highlighted in Obamas ad.The reason for the increase is that the most popular tax breaks heavily benefit middle- and lower-income families, the 95 percent of the population earning less than $200,000 who carry mortgage debt and use employer-provided health insurance. And though Romney has suggested he would focus on taking the deductions away from the wealthy, the study concluded that alone would not make up the difference of the revenue sacrificed when rates are slashed.Somebody has to foot the bill for those tax cuts, Looney said. You have to tap into middle- and lower-income households. Bottom line: the study found that Romney couldn't keep all his goals based on what we know about his plan.Romney campaigns responseWhen the study appeared online, the Romney campaignposted a responseon its website that did not specifically address the discrepancy.President Obama continues to tout liberal studies calling for more tax hikes and more government spending. We've been down that road before and it's led us to 41 straight months of unemployment above 8 percent, said Romney spokesman Ryan Williams.Looney is a senior fellow in economic studies at Brookings who has a Ph.D. from Harvard University. He served on Obamas Council of Economic Advisers in 2009 and 2010.William Gale, another of the authors, is vice president of Brookings and director of its economic studies program. He served on President George H.W. Bushs Council of Economic Advisers.Lanhee Chen, the Romney campaigns policy director, later added in a press release that the study ignored the corporate tax rate cut Romney proposes and his deficit reduction plan.These glaring gaps invalidate the reports conclusions, Chen said. The Romney campaign said that the study ignored the assertion that lower tax rates will grow the economy -- which they say will translate into more tax revenues. That will help make the plan revenue neutral even with lower overall tax rates. Spending cuts, likewise, could help balance the tax cuts without having to raise taxes on people making less than $200,000. The study, for the record, did consider that possibility but concluded it was impossible to evaluate the effect of spending cuts without knowing what would be cut. They also noted that government spending tends to benefit low- and middle-income households. We find nothing in the study that distorts Romneys proposals. It makes assumptions favorable to Romney, namely that his plan would lead to greater economic growth and raise revenues. The Tax Policy Center, whose director is another former adviser to Bush, is well-respected for its unbiased work, and even the Romney campaign praised it in November 2011 for offering objective, third-party analysis. Our rulingObama said Romney is proposing a tax plan that would give millionaires another tax break and raises taxes on middle class families by up to $2,000 a year. The claims are based on a study by the Tax Policy Center, which used what Romney has said about his tax plan and attempted to calculate outcomes for different groups of taxpayers. The study prioritizes the idea that the plan would be revenue neutral. In that scenario, millionaires lose deductions, but the lower rates would still decrease their tax bill by an average of $87,000. Middle-class taxpayers would see lower tax rates, too, but the loss of exemptions and deductions would hit them harder. People making $200,000 or less a year would see their taxes rise by an average of about $2,000. The study is making the point that Romneys plan is untenable: to cut rates that much without adding to the deficit, something has to give. It necessarily makes some assumptions, and therefore these conclusions are not definite as long as the details of the plan remain unknown. For that reason, people should be cautious in calling this Romney's plan. We rate the claim Mostly True. | 1 | [
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FMD2568 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Texas Civil Rights lawyer Rob Ranco is a partner at The Carlson Law Firm at the Round Rock, TX location. He is the supervising attorney for the firm s three Austin offices.When Rob isn t busy chasing ambulances or using a bullying incident his daughter allegedly faced at school to gain celebrity, he s publicly telling the world he d be okay if Betsy DeVos, a mother, grandmother and US Secretary of Education was sexually assaulted. It looks the real bully has been exposed Here s Rob Ranco s vile tweet, that he quickly deleted after it started to get traction on Twitter:This is what Rob s Twitter account looks like now:Here is a link to the archived tweet and to the responses Ranco got to his disgusting comment: https://archive.fo/xNdigRob Ranco, a partner in the Texas Carlson Law Firm was apparently referring to a decision made by Betsy DeVos, that she announced earlier in the week regarding changes that would be made to Title IX as it relates to the unfair and unlawful way sexual assault cases are currently being tried on college campuses.Betsy DeVos spoke on Thursday, September 7, at George Mason University s Virginia campus. DeVos ignited a firestorm when she announced the end of yet another case of an unlawful overreach by Barack Obama, that affected every college student by stripping them of their right to due process in sexual assault cases.DeVos explained her reasoning for reversing an unfair and impractical solution to sexual assault on campuses: Survivors, victims of a lack of due process, and campus administrators, have all told me that the current approach does a disservice to everyone involved. A student says he or she was sexually assaulted by another student on campus. If he or she isn t urged to keep quiet, or discouraged from reporting it to local law enforcement, the case goes to a school administrator, who will act as the judge and jury. The accused may or may not be told of the allegations before a decision is rendered. If there is a hearing, both the survivor and the accused, may or may not be allowed legal representation. Whatever evidence is presented may or may not be shown to all parties. The notion that a school must diminish due process rights to better serve the victim only creates more victims. A better way also means we shouldn t demand anyone become something they are not.Click HERE for video of Betsy DeVos making her announcement that has the Ivy League educated attorney so angry.Ranco brags about his huge settlement against the Austin Police Department in 2016, for excessive use of force against an innocent citizen. Rob offered to give up his salary before the case was even settled in an effort to get the Austin Police Department to admit guilt before the settlement. The Youtube videos showing him asking for an apology for his client have all been mysteriously scrubbed, but we have managed to locate the grandstanding video and can be seen below:Rob mentions his wife Tonia, who has her own website and Youtube channel that caters to women in his profile on Twitter.Tonia has also shut down her Twitter account, as her husband s disgusting remarks are sure to harm her business whose primary market appears to be women.Leave it to a liberal to be so filled with hate for anyone who doesn t agree with him, that he s willing to destroy his own career, and in the process, destroy his wife s career as well.Here s a video of Rob promoting himself and his excellent skills as a lawyer: | 0 | [
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FMD2569 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Does the Biden plan require banks to report all transactions exceeding $600 to the IRS? Claim summaries: The American Families Plan has a reporting requirement for banks that has infuriated some.
contextual information: Announced in April 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden's American Families Plan is an ambitious proposal that aims to expand Americans' access to childcare and education and increase the number of women in the workforce. The plan intends to fund all of this through higher taxes on income earners and increased reporting requirements for banks that could potentially yield more tax revenue. These reporting requirements have drawn the ire of several banks that took issue with this less widely known section of the plan. A Facebook post by FNB Community Bank claimed: "The Biden administration has proposed requiring all community banks and other financial institutions to report to the IRS on all deposits and withdrawals through business and personal accounts worth more than $600, regardless of tax liability. This indiscriminate, comprehensive bank account reporting to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) could soon be enacted in Congress and will create an unacceptable invasion of privacy for our customers." Another screenshot shared by our readers expressed similar concerns: "The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) even began a campaign, calling on communities to send a letter to Biden to prevent this so-called intrusive proposal: 'Tell Congress: Don't Let IRS Invade My Privacy.' The Biden administration is proposing requiring financial institutions to report to the IRS all transactions of all business and personal accounts worth more than $600. This is an unprecedented invasion of privacy. In order to oppose this intrusive proposal, please send this letter to your representative and senators immediately." We looked up the proposal itself, and it does require more robust reporting of transactions across business and personal accounts. The proposal, which aims to go into effect after December 31, 2022, states: "This proposal would create a comprehensive financial account information reporting regime. Financial institutions would report data on financial accounts in an information return. The annual return will report gross inflows and outflows with a breakdown for physical cash, transactions with a foreign account, and transfers to and from another account with the same owner." This requirement would apply to all business and personal accounts from financial institutions, including bank, loan, and investment accounts, with the exception of accounts below a low de minimis gross flow threshold of $600 or fair market value of $600. We begin by explaining some of the more technical terms in this proposal. A "de minimis threshold" is broadly defined as the amount of a transaction that has such a small value that accounting for it would be unreasonable. We spoke to Visiting Assistant Professor of Tax Law at New York University, Nyamagaga Gondwe, who explained, "It is the amount below which the IRS would argue isn't worth investigating. It's the difference between your company giving you a $5 card to Subway versus traveling on a private jet on your company's dime. The latter is worth reporting." In this case, "gross flow" refers to the aggregate inflows and outflows of cash from bank accounts. In sum, the current proposal stipulates that an aggregate amount of less than $600 worth of cash flowing into and out of accounts is not worth reporting. The "fair market value" refers to the amount people are willing to pay for an asset in the open market. In this case, Gondwe argued, the use of the term could possibly refer to the changing market value of transactions exceeding $600 that may occur in foreign currency transactions. The ICBA claims that the proposal will make banks report "all transactions" above the limit, but this is misleading. While it is true that the IRS will have more information on cash flows above $600, that doesn't mean they will have all the information pertaining to all transactions. The Center for American Progress (CAP) points out that banks will only be providing aggregate numbers to the IRS after each year—gross inflow and gross outflow—and not individualized transaction information. This reporting requirement would also extend to peer-to-peer payment services like Venmo but wouldn't require people to report any additional information to the government. According to The Wall Street Journal, financial institutions must already report interest, dividends, and investment incomes to the IRS, and the IRS can obtain other information through audits. According to Marie Sapirie of Tax Notes, a publication focused on tax news, a parenthetical to the proposal indicates that there is some flexibility in raising the minimum account balance/inflow/outflow above $600. The Tax Notes report also states that the Treasury Department estimated this form of reporting would raise $463 billion over the 10-year budget window, making it the third-largest revenue raiser proposed in the budget. The aim is to target businesses outside of large corporations that carry out gross underreporting of their income, amounting to $166 billion per year. According to the proposal: "Requiring comprehensive information reporting on the inflows and outflows of financial accounts will increase the visibility of gross receipts and deductible expenses to the IRS. Increased visibility of business income will enhance the effectiveness of IRS enforcement measures and encourage voluntary compliance." Banks claim this would be an invasion of consumer privacy, with the ICBA saying it would allow the government to monitor account information. However, CAP analysts Seth Hanlon and Galen Hendricks argue, "Only the prior year's total inflow and total outflow would be reported on annual forms. No one would say that the IRS monitors you on your job because it receives a W-2 from your employer with your total wages every January." Another challenge not mentioned in the ICBA's consumer alert is the higher costs this reporting proposal may impose on banks. In May 2021, a coalition of banking associations wrote a letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, arguing that they already provide a lot of data to the IRS and that this would impose additional costs on their systems. The costs and other burdens imposed to collect and report account flow information would surpass the potential benefits from such a reporting scheme. New reporting would appear to require material development costs and process additions for financial institutions, as well as significant reconciliation and compliance burdens on impacted taxpayers. For example, reporting total gross receipts and disbursements would require a new reporting paradigm for depository institutions, necessitating system changes to collect the information. On the flipside, Sapirie wrote for Tax Notes, the benefits of such a reporting proposal may be difficult to realize: "Increasing the amount of information flowing into the IRS would not in itself lead to increased enforcement, and it might come with added challenges." Former IRS Commissioner Charles O. Rossotti acknowledged that the IRS today cannot use all the information it already receives, and significant areas of noncompliance are barely addressed, so more reporting alone will not solve the problem. It would almost certainly have a deterrent effect for taxpayers contemplating evasion, but the extent of that effect is unclear, and it might be insufficient to justify the costs to financial institutions and the federal government of implementing such a large new reporting regime. But CAP's analysis argues that this will help prevent tax evasion while also providing more funding to enhance data security for consumers: "Additional funding would go to enhancing data security. Even at present, the IRS's data security is already much better than that of the financial industry, with only very rare and limited breaches compared to the exponentially larger data breaches from financial institutions. Second, the reporting of information flows only from financial institutions to the IRS and not in the other direction, as some earlier proposals had called for." The Biden administration's bank reporting proposal is a critical element of the Build Back Better agenda. It gives the IRS some visibility into opaque forms of income that disproportionately accrue to high-income individuals. Despite fearmongering from bank lobbies, the proposal protects taxpayers' privacy while simply requiring banks to provide basic, aggregated information about flows. That enables the IRS to select audits in a more efficient and equitable way so that the vast majority of taxpayers will be less likely to be audited. By deterring and helping catch tax cheats, the proposal raises substantial revenue for the Build Back Better agenda, which provides critical investments to increase economic opportunities for American families and communities. On October 12, 2021, Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended the proposal in response to a question from a reporter, who said, "[Banks] are concerned about the tracking of transactions that are greater than $600; Americans are starting to get worried about this. Do you think [this] is going to stay in the Reconciliation Bill?" "With all due respect, the plural of anecdote is not data," Pelosi said. "Yes, there are concerns that some people have. But if people are breaking the law and not paying their taxes, one way to track them is through the banking measure. I think $600—that's a negotiation that will go on as to what the amount is. But yes." Whatever the impact of this proposal is, it does require additional reporting of certain bank transactions, just not in the way the banks are portraying it. | 2 | [
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FMD2570 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: This is a truly disturbing discovery and an unimaginable threat that needs to be taken very seriously by our government Mexican police discovered four men carting a kamikaze drone equipped with an IED and a remote detonator last week, in what analysts say is an example of cartels figuring out how to weaponizing UAVs.The disturbing development is a manifestation of something top American security chiefs warned Congress about earlier this year, when they said they feared terrorists would begin to use drones to attack targets within the U.S.Drug cartels had already been turning to drones to smuggle their product into the U.S., and had begun using IEDs in their turf struggles but now at least cartel appears to have put the two technologies together, according to Mexican reports analyzed by Small Wars Journal. A weaponized drone/unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)/unmanned aerial system (UAS) with a remotely detonated IED allows for a precision strike to take place against an intended target, Robert Bunker and John P. Sullivan, the authors of the new analysis, wrote.The drone-IED combination was found in central Mexico, by federal police who did a traffic stop on a stolen pickup truck with four men in it.Police found an AK-47, ammunition, phones and what the Small Wars Journal authors said appears to be a 3DR Solo Quadcopter, which retails for about $250 online. Taped to the drone was an IED, which could be trigger by remote detonator.Mr. Bunker and Mr. Sullivan said the dron bomba, as they labeled it, was the next step for cartels that have been using papas bombas, or potato bombs a roughly shaped sphere with a core of explosives and nails and other shrapnel packed inside for the most lethal reach.The analysts said several examples of potato bombs have been detected in Mexico this year.In August, U.S. Border Patrol agents nabbed a $5,000 drone and seized a $46,000 meth load in southern California, after one agent detected it flying overhead. Agents also apprehended the man assigned to pick up the load, who said he had made a number of such pickups and was paid $1,000 each time.Meanwhile, the chiefs of the FBI and National Counterterrorism Center told Congress last month that they are worried Islamic State terrorists who have pioneered weaponized drones in the Middle East will use the tactic inside the U.S. to spread a toxin or drop a grenade. Washington Times | 0 | [
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] | 0 |
FMD2571 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Did Fox News Discuss the 'War on Christmas' While Other Networks Covered Michael Cohen's Guilty Pleas? Claim summaries: Liberals and Fox News have ruined Festivus for everyone!
contextual information: On August 21, 2018, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges, including multiple counts of tax evasion and violations of federal campaign finance laws. Cohen also appeared to implicate his former client in possible criminal wrongdoing, alleging that Trump, while a candidate, directed Cohen to pay hush money to two women who claimed to have had affairs with the future president. Those bombshell revelations came on the same afternoon that a jury in Virginia convicted President Trump's former 2016 presidential campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, on eight counts of banking fraud and filing false tax returns, while failing to agree on a verdict for ten other charges. Both the Manafort and Cohen cases arose from investigative work undertaken as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into potential Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and the possibility of Russian collusion with the Trump campaign. Understandably, much of the news media in the United States gave these major developments extensive coverage that day, in print, online, and on the major television news networks. Some observers accused the conservative-leaning Fox News of downplaying the Cohen and Manafort stories or of deliberately focusing on other issues of lesser importance. Elements of this criticism were accurate and proportionate in pointing out the striking differences between how most TV news networks reported on the developments and how Fox News covered them. However, one viral Twitter post appeared to contain a screenshot of Fox News contributor Tomi Lahren discussing the 'War on Christmas,' while other networks covered Cohen's guilty pleas. The chyron in the image read, "TOMI: OBAMA CREATED FESTIVUS TO DESTROY CHRISTMAS." CNN: Michael Cohen to plead guilty. ABC: Michael Cohen to plead guilty. NBC: Michael Cohen to plead guilty. FOX News: pic.twitter.com/JR4uAnyCQn pic.twitter.com/JR4uAnyCQn Diane N. Sevenay (@Diane_7A) August 21, 2018. That tweet was then reposted on Facebook by the left-wing page "The Other 98%": The image is fake and is an old meme that first appeared in December 2017. Congrats, @BarackObama, on apparently creating Seinfeld pic.twitter.com/5g2t7eYDHj @BarackObama pic.twitter.com/5g2t7eYDHj jordan (@JordanUhl) December 24, 2017. Lahren herself publicly dismissed the meme: "Does it not bother you to circulate a photoshopped piece of FAKE NEWS? Classy." https://t.co/hvwdgwPkd2 https://t.co/hvwdgwPkd2 Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) December 24, 2017. The meme does indeed consist of a screenshot of a real Fox News appearance that Lahren made in August 2017, but with the original chyron digitally edited and replaced with something different and non-relevant: .@TomiLahren: "How about when the mainstream media stops covering Russia day in and day out, maybe we can drop the Hillary email scandal." pic.twitter.com/OwfYWfuhDD @TomiLahren pic.twitter.com/OwfYWfuhDD Fox News (@FoxNews) August 31, 2017. It's not clear whether those who posted the edited image in the context of Cohen and Manafort's legal troubles in August 2018 intended to engage in satire or to trick other internet users into believing Lahren really discussed Festivus on that day. Diane Sevenay, whose viral tweet was reposted by "The Other 98%," is a comedy writer. As reported by Mashable, a satirical Fox/Cohen news coverage meme emerged on August 21, with Twitter users taking turns to parody Fox News' content on the day of Cohen's guilty pleas: Mashable CNN - Cohen plea deal MSNBC - Cohen plea deal Fox News - Are cats becoming too tall? Fred Delicious (@Fred_Delicious) August 21, 2018. CNN: Manafort guilty on 8 counts NYT: Manafort guilty of fraud AP: Cohen pleads guilty Fox News: Were the lobsters on the Titanic happy that it sank? #1 Rachel (@rachel) August 21, 2018. Another widely shared screenshot purported to show Fox News reframing the conviction of Manafort by only mentioning, in a mobile news alert, the fact that a mistrial was declared on ten of the charges against him, while other news organizations reported his being found guilty on eight charges. The image, posted to Facebook by the "Angry Americans" page, is authentic but very misleading. Another screenshot shows that Fox News first sent out an alert that read, "Jury finds Manafort guilty on eight counts in fraud trial," before following up with a second one about the mistrial on the ten other charges: Same topic. Different perspectives. ?? #Manafort pic.twitter.com/r2ZUgFSxDS Push the Push (@pushthepush) August 21, 2018. Neumeister, Larry and Tom Hays. "Cohen Pleads Guilty, Implicates Trump in Hush-Money Scheme." Associated Press. August 22, 2018. Barakat, Matthew et al. "Ex-Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort Guilty of 8 Charges." Associated Press. August 22, 2018. Stanley-Becker, Isaac. "In Trump's Right-Wing Media Universe, It Was a Day Like Any Other." The Washington Post. August 22, 2018. Sung, Morgan. "What Was Fox News Covering While Manafort and Cohen Were in Court? This Hilarious Meme Has Some Answers." Mashable. August 21, 2018. | 0 | [
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] | 0 |
FMD2572 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: 0 comments Obama was speaking to donors at a private fundraiser in California when he railed against former House Oversight Committee Chair Darrell Issa for calling his administration corrupt.
“Here’s a guy who called my administration perhaps the most corrupt in history — despite the fact that actually we have not had a major scandal in my administration,” Obama said!
Obama has had more scandals than any president in history! Just because the MSM refuses to report on them does not mean they do not exist!
Breitbart reports :
Issa was the key figure in several investigations of the Obama administration, including the Fast and Furious debacle with Attorney General Eric Holder, Hillary Clinton’s failure in Benghazi, the failures in the Veterans Affairs department, and the IRS using its power to target conservative Tea Party groups for investigations.
Obama accused Issa of wasting taxpayer money “on trumped-up investigations that have led nowhere.”
“This guy has spent all his time simply trying to obstruct, to feed the same sentiments that resulted in Donald Trump becoming their nominee,” Obama said.
We could list 77 scandals, but here are just 7 of the biggest!
1.) IRS Targeting Scandal
In 2013, Lois Lerner, former director of the IRS Exempt Organizations division, admitted that officials in the IRS’ Cincinnati office acted improperly. 2.) VA Waiting List
The Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general first noted the waiting list problem at a Phoenix clinic in 2014 and then found other clinics with similar problems. Veterans were placed on phony waiting lists, and some even died while waiting for care. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki resigned from his position. 3.) GSA Spending Spree
In 2012, Martha N. Johnson, the administrator of the General Services Administration, resigned after the federal procurement agency was engulfed in a controversy. The department was accused of allowing excessive spending on travel and conferences for the agency and employees. 4.) Attack on the Benghazi Compound
On Sept. 11, 2012, weeks before a presidential election, terrorists attacked U.S. government facilities in Benghazi, Libya. Obama administration officials initially blamed this attack on a spontaneous protest against an anti-Muslim YouTube video that spun out of control. 5.) Clinton Emails
It was the Benghazi committee that first discovered that before, during, and after her time as secretary of state, Clinton maintained a private email server. This prompted the FBI to investigate questions of whether Clinton violated the law in terms of storing classified information. 6.) Fast and Furious Gun Walking
Operation Fast and Furious was a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives program, meant to be a sting operation. It allowed about 2,000 guns to flow to Mexican drug trafficking organizations under federal supervision before authorities lost control of the guns. 7.) Solyndra Subsidies
The Energy Department provided a $535 million loan guarantee to the politically connected solar panel firm Solyndra as part of the 2009 stimulus bill. Not long after building its factory, the California firm filed for bankruptcy protection and an FBI investigation ensued. The company did not find a buyer and eventually closed down. So Barack Obama…just shut up! | 0 | [
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] | 0 |
FMD2573 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Do Seniors on Social Security Have to Pay for Medicare While 'Illegal Immigrants' Get It Free? Claim summaries: It's a familiar trope on the internet but remains factually challenged.
contextual information: In May and June 2019, a misleading but widely seen meme about immigrants and Medicare benefits continued to circulate on Facebook. Although the trope that undocumented immigrants are cashing in on U.S. government-funded public benefits for free is common, it is generally misleading. Contrary to what the meme asserts, undocumented persons do not qualify to receive Medicare. Additionally, many undocumented persons acquire fake Social Security numbers to work, allowing them to pay billions of dollars into the system without ever reaping those benefits, said Steven Wallace, professor of public health at the University of California, Los Angeles, and associate director of UCLA's Center for Health Policy Research. "In reality, undocumented immigrants paying into these programs are actually helping to subsidize them," Wallace told us by phone. "So it's the other way around—it's not that they're draining the system. They're actually subsidizing it." The impacts of immigration on the economy and public benefits are political flashpoints in a larger national debate. For example, in September 2017, the Trump administration was criticized for rejecting a study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that concluded refugees have an overall positive effect on government revenue. A 2017 study conducted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine reported that immigration "has an overall positive impact on the long-run economic growth in the U.S." In the short term and at the local and state government levels, new immigrants do have a negative revenue impact largely due to costs associated with educating children, health care, and law enforcement. However, in the long term, they are a net positive on revenue due to the higher incomes of their descendants, who are among the strongest fiscal and economic contributors in the U.S. PBS News Hour reported that "In general, more people working means more taxes," and that's true overall with undocumented immigrants as well. Undocumented immigrants pay an estimated $11.6 billion a year in taxes, according to the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy. Immigrants are also less likely to take public benefits than the native-born population for two reasons. Those two reasons, according to PBS, are that undocumented persons aren't eligible to receive federal public benefits, and many of those who are authorized to be here aren't eligible because they earn too much money. | 0 | [
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] | 0 |
FMD2574 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: We Are Change
Hey — had you heard that uranium is an incredibly scarce resource and that Russia is buying it all up?
No, me neither.
But that’s what I’ve discovered on the campaign trail.
Apparently a few years back Hillary Clinton betrayed the country — yet again — by selling 20% of our precious uranium supply to Russia in return for yet more payola.
As secretary of state she “approved” a deal to sell Uranium One, a company that controlled a fifth of U.S. uranium production, to the Russian atomic agency Rosatom. In return she and Bill received vast amounts of payoffs from the Kremlin and related interests — most notably a $500,000 speaker fee for Bill from a Moscow-based investment bank, which works out at about $250,000 net of tax.
(Money also went to the Clinton Foundation charity, from which the Clintons personally steal money through a channel so clever and cynical that it remains hidden).
The deal is a perfect example of “Clinton Corruption,” says Donald Trump. “As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton signed off on a deal allowing Russians to take… control of about 20% of America’s uranium supply to the Russians.”
It shows the “long and lucrative history of financial deals with the Russians, particularly with the Russian government,” says Peter Schweizer, author of the book “Clinton Cash,” director of the film of the same name, and an editor at large for the always-reliable Breitbart website. Uranium is “a fundamental issue of national security,” Schweizer told Lou Dobbs Tonight on Fox Business. “It’s not like oil and gas that you can find all sorts of places. They are precious few places you can mine for uranium, in the United States is one of those areas.”
Even the New York Times — a wholly owned subsidiary of the Worldwide Clinton-Illuminati-Spectre Cabal — was critical. “Cash Flowed to Clinton Foundation Amid Russian Uranium Deal,” it reported in a big expose published earlier this year, in which it even floated the prospect of a Putin “monopoly” of uranium down the road.
It’s all very, very troubling. Apart from just one teensy weeny little problem.
Uranium isn’t a scarce resource that Vladimir Putin, or anyone else, is about to control.
Uranium is a massive drug on the international commodity markets. There is a worldwide glut. It is produced all around the world, and there is so much of it washing around that the price is in free-fall — and has been for almost 10 years. Right now the world’s uranium miners are so desperate that they are actually giving it away for less — literally — than it costs them to dig it out of the ground.
Uranium prices have collapsed by a staggering 88% since their peak in the summer of 2007. They are down about three quarters since the February 2011 Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster in Japan, which caused that country to switch off most of its reactors and caused everyone else to review their nuclear-energy production.
As it happens, the price of this allegedly precious commodity just hit a new low of $20 a ton (In 2007 it was $160). It’s now half the price it was when the Russians took control of Uranium One. According to the World Nuclear Association, the miners’ trade body, that’s about 20% below the average cost of digging it out of the ground. Two thirds of the world’s uranium costs more than $20 a pound to mine.
The problem is that while lots of mines are producing it, hardly anyone wants it. Nearly all of the commercial use for uranium is for nuclear energy. Nuclear reactors are being mothballed. Plans for massive nuclear expansion are being shelved or reconsidered. Fukushima caused a massive political backlash against nuclear energy.
Even countries that still plan on building many more reactors — such as China and India — started slow-walking their plans and rethinking. And then the price of other sources of energy, such as oil and gas, collapsed. So there is even less demand for new reactors.
Meanwhile, despite the panic, U.S. uranium output isn’t very important anyway. According to the World Nuclear Association, the U.S. ranks ninth among global producers. Our production is less than one quarter of Australia’s and less than one tenth of Canada’s. The U.S. accounts for about 2% of total uranium production worldwide — meaning that the U.S. mines now in Putin’s hands account for about 0.4% of world output.
Whoa! You can really see why Vladimir Putin wanted “control” of it — and why the Clintons were able to charge him in return a stratospheric $250,000 net (plus, of course, the secret funds stolen from the Clinton Foundation) in return.
Why hasn’t there been an investigation? Where is the FBI when you really need it?
OK, maybe “technically,” Hillary didn’t personally actually “approve” the deal. Turns out she had no actual veto power over it. But she was one of many people who could have referred it to the president, who could have blocked it. There are lots of others who also approved it, including multiple regulators and stock exchanges around the world (Uranium One is actually a Canadian company). The fact that they all waved it through just shows how wide the Clintons’ tentacles really stretch.
But I always like to end on a positive note, and I have one now. If uranium really is a scarce and precious resource and Vladimir Putin is secretly trying to corner the market, as so many of these sources allege, then obviously sooner or later the price is going to explode. And if that’s true, I know an easy way you can guarantee yourself a fortune.
Just go out and buy stock in Uranium Participation Corp. URPTF, -0.36% a publicly traded Canadian company that functions effectively as a uranium trust. It simply owns a lot of uranium on behalf of investors. Its price has, of course, absolutely collapsed along with the underlying price of the uranium in its vaults, and the stock is now at record lows.
Although it is a Canadian stock, and its primary exchange is in Toronto, the stock also trades freely over the counter in the U.S.
I assume that all those people raging against Hillary’s evil uranium “sell out” to Putin, and warning about the coming uranium apocalypse, have plunged tons of their own money into the stock. Right?
And if they haven’t — what does that tell you?
Via. Market Watch
Follow WE ARE CHANGE on SOCIAL MEDIA SnapChat: LukeWeAreChange
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lukewearechange I nstagram: http://instagram.com/lukewearechange Sign up become a patron and Show your support for alternative news for Just 1$ a month you can help Grow We are change We use Bitcoin Too ! 12HdLgeeuA87t2JU8m4tbRo247Yj5u2TVP Join and Up Vote Our STEEMIT The post Hillary Clinton Sells 20% of US Uranium To Russia WTF ? appeared first on We Are Change . | 0 | [
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FMD2575 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: What occurs when you unlawfully cross the border of the United States? Claim summaries: A viral Facebook post comparing U.S. immigration policy to that of North Korea and Afghanistan gets most of the facts wrong.
contextual information: A nine-year-old viral Facebook post that portrays the United States as soft on illegal immigration experienced a resurgence in early 2018, likely due to ongoing negotiations between President Donald Trump and Congressional Democrats regarding the fate of immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children by their undocumented parents and who have previously been allowed to stay in the United States under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The wording of the post, which was turned into a meme, has been repeated since at least 2009 and has been adapted for Australian and Canadian audiences over the years. There have been small variations here and there, but it typically goes something like this: Undocumented immigrants do have some rights and entitlements, but the meme vastly overstates these entitlements and omits the many burdens and disadvantages placed on these immigrants, including the constant possibility of arrest and deportation. Adults who enter the United States illegally are not provided with a job. In fact, it's illegal to knowingly hire any immigrant who isn't authorized to work in the country (whether they entered the United States illegally or overstayed a visa after entering legally). Of course, that doesn't stop the practice from happening, and according to a 2017 analysis by the Pew Research Institute, there were around 8 million unauthorized immigrants working or looking for work in the United States in 2014. This depends on where you live. As of January 2018, there are 12 states (and the District of Columbia) that allow immigrants without legal status to obtain a driver's license. Some of the states where unauthorized immigrants can drive (California, New Jersey, Illinois) have relatively high undocumented populations. An immigrant who does not have legal status in the United States is not eligible for food stamps (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), although their children might be. Indeed, undocumented immigrants do not receive most kinds of welfare benefits, even though they do pay taxes. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-partisan think tank, undocumented immigrants collectively contribute almost $12 billion per year in state and local sales, income, and property taxes. Generally speaking, undocumented immigrants are not eligible for federal housing benefits like public housing, rental assistance, and vouchers. However, as a 2015 Congressional Research Service report outlines, some undocumented immigrants may live in a household with citizens or qualified immigrants and thereby indirectly benefit from some public housing assistance (although the level of that assistance is reduced on a pro rata basis due to the presence of that undocumented immigrant). Undocumented immigrants are eligible for emergency assistance such as homeless accommodation and domestic violence shelters. It is possible for an undocumented immigrant to own a home, either by buying it outright with cash or by using something called an individual tax identification number (ITIN) mortgage. This allows non-citizens (including undocumented immigrants) to bypass the usual requirement of having a social security number to take out a mortgage. Some 31 percent of undocumented immigrants live in a home that is owned by at least one of its residents (as opposed to rented), according to a Migration Policy Institute analysis of data from the United States Census Bureau's 2014 American Community Survey. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible to enroll in Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) Health Insurance Marketplace, significantly curtailing the affordable health insurance and health care available to them. However, six states and the District of Columbia have rules that allow undocumented immigrant children to avail themselves of Medicaid benefits, and undocumented immigrants are also entitled to emergency medical care. According to a 2017 Kaiser Family Foundation analysis, non-elderly undocumented immigrants are four times more likely than United States citizens to be uninsured, and fears about immigration enforcement and detection often cause undocumented immigrants to forgo preventive healthcare, leading to worse outcomes. It's not entirely clear what the creator of this meme means by "child benefits," but let's take a look. Undocumented immigrant taxpayers (using an ITIN rather than a social security number) can avail themselves of a child tax credit. Low-income undocumented immigrants are also eligible for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which provides food and infant formula assistance, as well as nutritional and immunization assessments. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), a federal program that provides financial help to low-income families and pregnant women. In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states are constitutionally barred from denying children a public school education based on their immigration status. As a result, undocumented immigrant children can attend public schools for free, like any other children. While attending public schools, undocumented children can benefit from federal nutrition services like the School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program. Only two states (Alabama and South Carolina) do not allow undocumented immigrants to attend public colleges and other third-level institutions, and three others (Arizona, Georgia, and Indiana) do not allow them to pay lower in-state tuition rates, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Undocumented students are not allowed to receive federal financial aid for higher education, but they might be able to get state aid or private scholarships. This is completely false. Undocumented immigrants pay taxes, and there is no provision in law at the federal or state level that grants them any kind of "tax holiday." | 0 | [
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FMD2576 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Donald J. Trump issued an unusual videotaped apology early Saturday after a 2005 recording surfaced that showed him speaking in extraordinarily vulgar terms about women, setting off an uproar in the Republican Party. “Anyone who knows me knows these words don’t reflect who I am,†he said. “I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize. †The apology came as the presidential nominee faced extraordinary censure from Republican leaders after the tape was made public. The recording captures Mr. Trump speaking about pushing himself on women and boasting that he could get away with “anything†because of his celebrity. In the recording, which was obtained by The Washington Post, Mr. Trump recounts to the television personality Billy Bush of “Access Hollywood†how he once pursued a married woman and “moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there,†expressing regret that they did not have sex. But he brags of a special status with women: Because he was “a star,†he says, he could “grab them by the pussy†whenever he wanted. “You can do anything,†Mr. Trump says. He also said he was compulsively drawn to kissing beautiful women “like a magnet†— “I don’t even wait†— and talked about plotting to seduce the married woman by taking her furniture shopping. Mr. Trump, who was 59 at the time he made the remarks, went on to disparage the woman, whom he did not name, saying, “I did try and fuck her. She was married,†and saying, “She’s now got the big phony tits and everything. †On Friday night, Speaker Paul D. Ryan withdrew an invitation for Mr. Trump to appear alongside him in Wisconsin this weekend. Mr. Ryan described himself in a statement as “sickened†by Mr. Trump’s remarks. Hours before his video apology, Mr. Trump released a statement on Friday afternoon expressing regret “if anyone was offended†by his comments, but he tried to play down the tape as a snippet of “locker room banter. †His running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, brushed off the banter at a rally in Rossford, Ohio. “They’ll say, this time we got him,†Mr. Pence said. “This time we got another thing, another issue that’s come forward. Then they turn on the next television the next morning, and Donald Trump is still standing stronger than ever before and fighting for the American people. †But Mr. Pence also telephoned Mr. Trump on Friday night and urged him to show humility, according to an adviser to the nominee who requested anonymity to reveal a private conversation. (Mr. Trump had already decided to apologize when Mr. Pence called, the adviser noted.) Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, issued a statement late Friday night calling on Mr. Trump to express contrition — and possibly offering other Senate Republicans cover to disavow the nominee if he refused to apologize. “As the father of three daughters, I strongly believe that Trump needs to apologize directly to women and girls everywhere, and take full responsibility for the utter lack of respect for women shown in his comments on that tape,†Mr. McConnell said. While neither Mr. Ryan nor Mr. McConnell immediately withdrew formal support for Mr. Trump, Republican leaders in Washington held anguished discussions throughout the evening about how the party should proceed with a badly wounded and potentially toxic nominee. They cannot remove their nominee from the ticket, but some Republican lawmakers called on Mr. Trump to step down voluntarily, including Senator Mark S. Kirk of Illinois, who previously said he would not support Mr. Trump, and Representatives Mike Coffman of Colorado and Barbara Comstock of Virginia. Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who also has not endorsed Mr. Trump, recorded a live video on Facebook in which he asked the candidate, “with all due respect, to step aside. †Mr. Trump, seeking to minimize the import of the disclosure despite the public rebuke by Mr. Ryan, announced late Friday evening that he would no longer travel to Wisconsin as planned and would send Mr. Pence in his stead. Mr. Trump said he would spend Saturday preparing for his second debate with Hillary Clinton, set to take place Sunday in St. Louis. Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly attacked and mocked Mrs. Clinton’s marriage in recent weeks, also sought to implicate Bill Clinton in his coarse conduct. “Bill Clinton has said far worse to me on the golf course — not even close,†Mr. Trump said in a statement. “I apologize if anyone was offended. †And in his video apology later, he said: “I’ve said some foolish things. But there’s a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women, and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims. †Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack Mrs. Clinton over her husband’s affairs and how she responded to them. The disclosure of the recording comes at the end of a punishing two weeks, during which Mr. Trump has faced intense backlash over his treatment of women and intensifying scrutiny of his personal finances and views on national security. Mrs. Clinton’s campaign condemned Mr. Trump forcefully for the comments captured on the recording. Her running mate, Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, said in response to the remarks, “It makes me sick to my stomach. †More Republicans joined in the denunciation, including Gov. Gary Herbert and Representative Jason Chaffetz, both of Utah, who had said this summer that they would vote for Mr. Trump, and on Friday retracted their support. “Donald Trump’s statements are beyond offensive despicable,†Mr. Herbert wrote on Twitter. “While I cannot vote for Hillary Clinton, I will not vote for Trump. †Mr. Trump had already been on the defensive on Friday after telling CNN that he still believed the exonerated defendants known as the Central Park Five were guilty of a 1989 rape of a female jogger despite DNA evidence to the contrary that later overturned their convictions. Earlier in the day, he also asserted, again without evidence, that the Obama administration was allowing illegal immigrants to enter the country in order to vote in November. Also in the last week, The New York Times reported that Mr. Trump had declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns, a tax deduction so substantial it could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years. For Republicans on the ballot this fall, the uproar over Mr. Trump’s past statements about women touched off an agonizing political cycle, marked by partial denunciations of Mr. Trump — and demands from Democrats that their denunciations go further. Republican candidates for the House and Senate, and for governorships across the country, chastised Mr. Trump sternly but stopped short of renouncing him as their choice for the presidency. One Republican senator seeking Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, who was criticized this week when she called Mr. Trump a role model for children, said his comments were “totally inappropriate and offensive. †Ms. Ayotte, one of the most prominent women in the party, was facing immense pressure Friday night from other Republicans to disavow Mr. Trump entirely, and was said to be considering it. In an illustration of the Democratic onslaught, her opponent, Gov. Maggie Hassan, called Mr. Trump’s comments inexcusable. “It is beyond comprehension how Senator Ayotte could continue to support this man for the highest office in the land, let alone call him a role model,†Ms. Hassan said. Senator John McCain of Arizona, who has endorsed Mr. Trump, said, “There are no excuses for Donald Trump’s offensive and demeaning comments. †He was clearly worried about how they might affect his own campaign, adding, “He alone bears the burden of his conduct and alone should suffer the consequences. †Another Republican to turn his back on Mr. Trump on Friday was Jon M. Huntsman, the former governor of Utah, who just a week ago said he planned to vote for Mr. Trump. He told The Salt Lake Tribune that the nominee should withdraw from the race. “In a campaign cycle that has been nothing but a race to the bottom — at such a critical moment for our nation — and with so many who have tried to be respectful of a record primary vote, the time has come for Governor Pence to lead the ticket,†Mr. Huntsman told the newspaper. Mr. Trump’s behavior has at times startled and unnerved women in his life, from employees at his company to the contestants in his beauty pageants, The Times found after interviewing dozens of them for an article in May. They described unwanted romantic advances and unending commentary on the female form. Temple Taggart, Miss Utah in 1997, was uncomfortable with how forward Mr. Trump was with young contestants like her in his first year as the owner of Miss USA, a branch of the beauty pageant organization. As she recalls it, he introduced himself in an unusually intimate manner. “He kissed me directly on the lips. I thought, ‘Oh, my God. Gross.’ He was married to Marla Maples at the time,†she said. “I think there were a few other girls that he kissed on the mouth. I was like, “Wow, that’s inappropriate. †Dawn Laguens, the executive vice president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, suggested Mr. Trump had discussed committing a violent crime in his 2005 conversation with Mr. Bush. “What Trump described in these tapes amounts to sexual assault,†said Ms. Laguens. “Trump’s behavior is disgusting and unacceptable in any context, and it is disqualifying for a man who is running for president of this country. †The recording of Mr. Trump talking to Mr. Bush was made as they sat on a bus on the set of a soap opera where Mr. Trump was making a cameo appearance. The conversation was recorded after he had married Melania Trump, his third and current wife. At one point, the conversation in the video was interrupted when an actress arrived to take Mr. Trump and Mr. Bush to the set. Mr. Trump seemed excited. “You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them,†Mr. Trump says. “It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. †Ms. Trump was pregnant at the time that Mr. Trump’s remarks were recorded in 2005 their son, Barron, was born the next March. | 1 | [
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FMD2577 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: When will the libs start Delta Smelt shaming and demand answers from the left for putting a fish before the lives and livelihood of so many TV cop Tom Selleck may or may not have improperly swiped precious water by the magnum, but he didn t commit a crime, real California cops told NBC News on Wednesday.Selleck, the 70-year-old star of Blue Bloods and formerly of Magnum, P.I., and his wife, Jillie, were sued this week by the Calleguas Municipal Water District in Ventura County for allegedly sending a water tender like the giant tanker trucks used to supply fire engines to siphon off tankloads of water from a public hydrant at a construction site at least 12 times over the last two years.The water district said in its suit that it hired a real private investigator who several times observed the same water tender leave the 61-acre ranch the fictional P.I. owns in the ritzy Hidden Valley area of Ventura County, which is in a different water district and was assessed last year at more than $10 million (and was once owned by Dean Martin).The suit says the water district sent cease-and-desist letters to Selleck after its investigator spotted the truck at the hydrant eight times the week of Sept. 29, 2013.But the truck showed up again in December of that year, and was tracked as it proceeded to Selleck s property, according to the suit.Then, on four straight days just last March, the same truck again drained tankloads of water from the construction site and delivered it to the Selleck ranch, the suit says. The suit seeks an order forcing Selleck to stop using the district s water, plus reimbursement for the $21,685.55 it paid the investigator, with damages and other costs.But the suit is a civil action, not a criminal case. Ventura County sheriff s Capt. John Riley meanwhile told NBC News that the sheriff s office did investigate allegations of criminal water theft, but we are unable to establish a crime was committed. The Ventura County district attorney s office also confirmed that no case has been referred to it for prosecution.Selleck hasn t responded to requests for comment, and it s unknown whether he has anything to do with the water truck, which is registered under a commercial license.Eric Bergh, the water district s manager of resources, said the suit wasn t meant to be an example of drought shaming, a peculiarly California activity in which people suspected of hogging water are publicly called out. Our policies have been on the books for decades, Bergh said. We just want any such activity to stop that is the bottom line for us. It s really about doing the right thing and preserving our water supply for our users. Via: CNBC | 0 | [
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FMD2578 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: This maniac wants The Handmaid s Tale to become reality.Abortion is protected by the constitution in this country. But a Wisconsin lawmaker thinks that women should be forced to get pregnant and give birth.Wisconsin state GOP Rep. Scott Allen made the horrendous remarks while criticizing a bill that would block state employees from covering abortion with their health insurance.Because he doesn t think the bill goes far enough.Seriously.Allen pitched his idea to force women to give birth, and tried to justify his idea by claiming that forcing women to give birth will somehow help the economy. Labor force shortages are tied to population declines. Labor force shortages are a limiting factor in economic growth. Limited economic growth poses a problem when government tries to pay for public services and infrastructure. In spite of this Mr. Speaker, ironically, the Democrats continue their efforts to support the abortion industry. See what he did there? Allen claims that forcing women to give birth against their will is good for the economy. I m sure he would say the same thing about slavery, too.Here s the video via Twitter.Your #saturdaymorning WTF:WI Rep. Scott Allen says women should be made to give birth for the good of the economy.?pic.twitter.com/db01mkLQMl Holly O'Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) November 4, 2017Allen is, of course, wrong. The fact is that there are millions of Americans who are currently unemployed. There are more people in this country than there are jobs. More people will not solve the economic problems we face today. And if women are forced to have babies, it will only make the problem worse, especially among teens. Teen girls who get pregnant and have babies are at an economic disadvantage. Many are forced to drop out of school and forgo college, making it more difficult for them to get high-paying jobs.The lack of child care services in this country also makes it difficult for women to work and take care of their children at the same time.The cost of raising children is incredibly expensive now, and most people are struggling to get by as it is. More kids will just add more struggle and stress. This country has a sufficient labor force. The problem is that businesses would rather hire what amounts to slave laborers overseas. Wages are also too low, which prevents most people from sparking economic growth through spending. If all workers can do with the little money they get is pay bills, it leaves very little left to spend at area businesses.In the end, forcing women to have kids is unconstitutional and will do nothing to grow the economy. Forcing big business to pay worker a livable wage, however, will turn the economy into the powerhouse it once was.Featured Image: Screenshot | 0 | [
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FMD2579 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Recently, Michelle Obama posed for InStyle magazine. The First Lady was stunning in a custom-made teal dress by Brandon Maxwell but of course conservatives had to sh*t all over it.A ridiculously named yet somehow moderately popular right-wing garbage fire of a Facebook page called The Resistance: The Last Line of Defense decided to give their take on the matter, posting the photo of our lovely First Lady with the following message: What do you think of the new portrait of Moochelle by InStyle Magazine? The numbskulls who visit the page are then instructed to like if they think it is Photoshopped and share the post if they are still not convinced he s a she. Naturally, the denizens of Stupidville flocked to the opportunity, calling her every name they can think of and, thanks to the power of stupidity and a third grade education, even managing to accidentally make some up in their pursuit to out-stupid one another. Many, of course, leaped at the opportunity to fantasize about the First Lady being a man, with some even demanding to see her penis. Others stuck to the tried-and-true let s just call her a monkey or ape and get it over with. The modern conservative, folks.It s important to remember that each and every one of these vapid f*cksticks will be voting in November.Make sure you re there to vote BLUE because you know these idiots are voting for Trump.Featured image via screengrab | 0 | [
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FMD2580 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: It will be hard for Georgia, with its military budget of 380 million USD, to get rid of the Soviet military heritage. Even NATO member Poland with its 9 billion USD military budget failed to get rid of Soviet-old armament. At the same time, Poland is concerned over its “second-class country” status in the alliance. | 0 | [
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FMD2581 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Megyn Kelly’s jump from Fox News to NBC seems like it has hit a rough patch. [Kelly announced in early January she was leaving Fox News after 12 years and going to NBC to headline her own weekday news program and a Sunday night, 60 show, and to appear on panels during big events. However, according to a story in The Wall Street Journal, NBC still has not announced a definitive start date for Kelly, and neither of her shows seems to be coming together with any urgency. One proposal is for Kelly to anchor a 10 a. m. show in front of a live audience, but no producer has been named for the show and NBC won’t even confirm the plan. The Sunday evening show, which would need to be ready by early summer because Sunday Night Football will replace it in the fall, is even less far along, the Journal reported. It is not even clear she has departed Fox News. She has not appeared on the network since Jan. 5, when she signed off from The Kelly File. Fox News announced on Mar. 9 it had released Kelly from her contract nearly four months before it was to run out, so she could begin her work at NBC. Yet Kelly’s spokesperson, Leslee Dart, told the Journal, “The terms of the termination are still being negotiated. †Kelly seemed ready to leave late last year. She batted down talk that she had been the subject of a bidding war among NBC, CBS, and ABC. She turned down a reported $20 million offer to stay at Fox News and accepted an offer similar to her Fox News salary of about $15 million to go to NBC because, she said, she wanted to have dinner with her children at night and put them to bed. NBC needs to make progress on this because it must present its list of new shows to advertisers in May, and she would be a major asset for the network in ad rate negotiations, the Journal reported, It is highly unlikely Kelly would return to the Fox News airwaves. Her questioning of Donald Trump during the campaign — on his treatment of women, whether he would support the Republican nominee and other issues — raised hackles among the network’s viewers and led to an eventual reconciliation with the president. In her memoir Settle for More, released last year, Kelly accused Fox News chief Roger Ailes of sexually harassing her — a charge, also leveled by other women at the network, which led to Ailes’ departure. This also led to a spat with Bill O’Reilly, another Fox News star, who said in November, “If somebody is paying you a wage, you owe that person or company allegiance. †O’Reilly later backtracked and called Kelly a “very smart, talented woman,†and Kelly put it down to competitive juices. “We’re both Irish. We’re both Catholic. And we’re both very competitive,†she told Hollywood Reporter last November. “So the dynamic has changed. But I really will always be grateful to Bill. †Then there are the coworkers who told Breitbart News exclusively in December they were ready for the drama to end. “Everybody in the building is sick of it,†the source said. “We absolutely can’t stand it anymore. †| 1 | [
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FMD2582 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Philippine security forces on Sunday arrested the Indonesian wife of the slain pro-Islamic State militant leader who planned and led the attack on Marawi City, authorities said. President Rodrigo Duterte declared last month the liberation of Marawi City from the Maute group, a pro-Islamic State militant group which held the lakeside town after the death of two top leaders, including the woman s husband Omarkhayam. The army announced the termination of combat operations a week later, ending a five-month battle that killed more than 1,100 people, including 165 soldiers. Close to 400,000 people were also displaced as fighting destroyed the city. National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa said bomb-making materials were seized from Minhati Madrais, who was with her six children when security forces raided her home in Iligan City. Her children, who are all minors, will be turned over to the social welfare department, he said, adding that rebellion and illegal possession of explosive devices charges were now being prepared against her. He said Madrais, alias Baby, was among more than 100 people ordered arrested by Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana after martial law was declared by Duterte on May 23. Madrais passport is also expired, another violation of Philippine laws, he added. Sporadic gunfire were still heard in Marawi City on Sunday, almost two weeks after combat operations were formally terminated, Colonel Romeo Brawner, deputy commander of Task Force Ranao, told reporters. We are still hunting down stragglers, he said, adding there could be as many as 39 militants hiding in the ruined city based on information from captured Indonesian militants. We do not have information how many militants are still there. But, we will hunt them down. The new army commander, Lieutenant-General Rey Leonardo Guerrero, said he would work closely with Indonesia and Malaysia to step up coordinated sea and air patrols along the borders where kidnappings and attacks on shipping are happening. We intend to increase the frequency of our coordinated patrols with our ASEAN neighbors to stop piracy and militant attacks in these dangerous seas, he said. | 1 | [
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FMD2583 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Shouts of ‘Not my president!’ in California, following Trump victory 11/09/2016
PBS
Moments after Donald Trump’s stunning victory over Hillary Clinton for the White House, protests erupted in California and other states, including people crying “Not my president!”
The Los Angeles Times and other media outlets reported anti-Trump protesters amassing around the campuses of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and UC San Diego, among others.
In Oakland, the overnight protests led to a partial closure of the Bay Area Rapid Transit, or BART, the Times reported.
Photos and videos on social media captured the protesters marching and yelling “Who’s got the power? We got the power,” “Not my president!” and other anti-Trump chants filled with expletives .
UCSB student newspaper the Daily Nexus reported that hundreds of students left their dorms to protest. In the video captured by the paper below, one student is seen carrying a Mexican flag.
Likewise, hundreds of students at UC San Diego and UCLA demonstrated on campus early Wednesday morning. There also were reports of protests at UC Santa Cruz and UC Irvine. Officials said there were as many as 3,000 students that marched through the UCLA campus, ABC reported .
Elsewhere in the country, protests were reported in Portland, Oregon and Washington, D.C.
In Oakland, authorities said dozens of protesters gathered downtown, while hundreds blocked a local highway.
The San Francisco Chronicle also reported that a 20-year-old protester was severely injured after being hit by a car on Highway 20. Protesters had blocked the highway and lit several fires, officer John O’Reilly told BuzzFeed News . | 0 | [
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FMD2584 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Under economic sanctions, now Iran is suffering 30 percent inflation, 20 percent unemployment.
contextual information: An Iranian president says hesready to resolvethe nations nuclear standoff with the West what gives? Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich gives at least partial credit to economic pain orchestrated by the United States and international allies. While the United States must still be very cautious, he saidon ABCsThis Week, one of the big lessons here is that economic sanctions do seem to work. Right now Iran is suffering 30 percent inflation, 20 percent unemployment, he told a roundtable including CNNs Newt Gingrich, ABCs Jonathan Karl and PBS Gwen Ifill. I mean this nation is hurting and our economic sanctions, because we've been patient with them, because we have actually rounded up almost every other nation to support us, have had a huge impact. Is Iran suffering such high inflation and unemployment under economic sanctions? Tumbling oil exports Now, economic sanctions are nothing new for Iran, which hasfaced U.S. sanctionssince its 1979 Islamic revolution. But the pressure has been rising. Other nations have joined in sanctions since 2006 in response to Irans efforts to develop a nuclear weapon,according to a report by Kenneth Katzman of the Congressional Research Service, which provides nonpartisan analysis to Congress. Oil exports, which fund nearly half of Irans government spending, have fallen by about half since 2011, from about 2.5 million barrels a day to about 1.25 million. The drop has been driven, Katzman says, by a European Union embargo and U.S. pressure on Iranian oil customers. Iran also lost access to the international banking system. The combination has caused a sharp drop in the value of Irans currency, the rial, Katzman says. Meanwhile, sanctions helped trigger a recession thats driving up unemployment. Has that meant 30 percent inflation, 20 percent unemployment, as Reich told ABC viewers? Theres not a simple answer. Inflation estimates range from30 percent to 70 percent. Official unemployment statistics, meanwhile, are out of date, and outside experts question their accuracy, anyway. The International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development dont have up-to-date figures for Iranian unemployment. Still, Reichs in range. Gary Hufbauer, a former U.S. Treasury official and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics who has studied sanctions for 30 years, said Reichs numbers seem reasonable. Heres how the Congressional Research Service put it in June: Inflation: 30 percent plus, according to Iran Central Bank in May 2013, but believed to be over 50 percent by outside experts. Unemployment rate: Official rate is 15.3 percent as of the end of 2011, but outside experts believe the rate is higher. Reich pointed us to news articles from theAssociated Pressand energy news siteOilPrice.com which offer some support for his numbers while highlighting the uncertainty. The Associated Press reported in June inflation over 30 percent, though it cited a 14 percent unemployment rate. OilPrices.com noted Sept. 19 that analysts outside the country found that unemployment rate impossible to believe, and quoted an estimate from Mehrdad Emadi, an Iranian-born economic adviser to the European Union, of more than 20 percent. (The OilPrices.com report echoes a Reuters report from thesame day.) So reasonable seems like a fair assessment for Reichs numbers. We should also note theres not universal agreement on the size of sanctions role in all that financial pain, which experts also attribute to Iransfiscal management. Reich, a professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley with a background in economics, told PolitiFact it just makes sense unemployment and inflation would follow a slash in oil exports. The typical consequence for a nation dependent on exports when those exports are cut is high inflation and high unemployment, he said. Michael Malloy, a professor at the University of the Pacifics McGeorge School of Law who specializes in banking regulation and economic sanctions, told PolitiFact it's likely to be a much more complicated picture. Our ruling Reich told ABC viewers that under economic sanctions, now Iran is suffering 30 percent inflation and 20 percent unemployment. Irans own statistics arent widely trusted and international organizations dont have recent unemployment figures. But those numbers fall within a broad range of expert estimates cited by news reports and the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. Its worth noting that Irans economic struggle has been exacerbated by its own economic policies and other factors, not just sanctions. Still, theres good evidence theyve had a huge impact, as Reich said. We rate his claim Mostly True. | 1 | [
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FMD2585 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: ‘On Contact’: Chris Hedges and Medea Benjamin on the U.S.-Saudi Alliance
On this week’s episode of RT’s “On Contact,” Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges and Medea Benjamin, author of “ Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the US-Saudi Connection ,” explore why Saudi Arabia remains one of the United States’ closest allies in the Middle East despite the monarchy’s record of human rights abuses, including public executions, mistreatment of women, and the promotion of a fundamentalist religion that “sanctifies violence,” as Hedges says.
RT Correspondent Anya Parampil reviews the long alliance between the two countries. | 0 | [
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FMD2586 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: by BAR
Tens of thousands have demonstrated against the election of Donald Trump. Some are activists, continuing the struggle. Others are Democrats that are just “mad.” “The Black movement against police terror didn’t need a Donald Trump waiting in the vestibule of the White House to get “mad.” For those who fear Trump’s “fascism,” the threat level “depends on how he uses the arsenal of repressive tools bequeathed to him by the Obama administration.” None of Them Have Ever Been My President by BAR
“You can’t scare people with a specter if they have already been in combat with the real thing.”
As a revolutionary Black nationalist whose socialism predates my facial hairs, I have no problem saying Donald Trump is not my president. Neither is the current occupant of the White House, nor were any of the Democrats, Republicans and Whigs that preceded him.
On a chilly November day in 2009 a newly-created coalition, of which I was a co-founder, marched on the White House to denounce and renounce Barack Obama as a tool of white supremacy and the imperial war machine. “Obama, Obama, you can’t hide – We charge you with genocide,” we shouted, indicting the First Black President for the crimes he was busily committing in service to his masters on Wall Street. The Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations had been formed less than two months before, largely to demonstrate that not all Black people were bamboozled by the slick corporate politician from Chicago, elected one year earlier in the nation’s first billion dollar presidential campaign. As the Coalition’s founding press release stated :
“Black and Brown people continue to suffer the brunt of un/under-employment and predatory loan scandal crises. Military spending under Obama has increased as have the warfare this nation continues to export to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Venezuela and Colombia. Mass incarceration, police brutality and political imprisonment remain rampant...”
The Black is Back Coalition warned of the “traps set by Obama’s so-called ‘post-racial’ politics that perpetuates the same oppressive militarist agenda well known during the Bush regime.”
To paraphrase Fidel Castro, history has vindicated us.
“Obama joined George Bush and Bill Clinton in perpetuating the 20 year-long slaughter in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has claimed more than six million lives.”
Obama mobilized NATO air forces and jihadist proxies to destroy Libya, which had previously enjoyed the highest living standard in Africa. He redeployed these same al Qaida terrorists to Syria, killing 400,000 people, displacing half the surviving population and bringing the U.S. to the very brink of nuclear war with Russia. This so-called “Son of Africa” has effectively occupied most of the continent through a U.S. Military Command (AFRICOM) that was less than a year old when Obama was sworn into office. The African Union provides diplomatic cover for the CIA-run “peace keeping” mission in Somalia, while U.S. conventional forces have infiltrated the militaries of all but two African nations. The holdouts, Eritrea and Zimbabwe, are under constant threat of regime change. Obama joined George Bush and Bill Clinton in perpetuating the 20 year-long slaughter in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has claimed more than six million lives, the worst genocide since World War Two (“Obama, Obama, you can’t hide, We charge you with genocide!”)
With the eager assistance of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Obama baldly abetted a Nazi-spearheaded coup against the elected government in Ukraine -- and then blamed Moscow when Russian-speaking Ukrainians resisted, provoking a “New Cold War” that could turn hot in an instant. At the same time, Obama “pivoted” to militarily confront China, whose economy is already, by some measures, larger than the U.S. The jihadist war in Syria should also be seen as a theater of imperialism’s last ditch offensive to encircle “Eurasia” in hopes of preserving U.S.-based multinational corporate domination of a “rigged” system of dollar-based world trade.
Just as the Black is Back Coalition warned, Barack Obama was the Black face of imperialism -- a change of color without a difference. He tried to hand off the controls to Hillary Clinton, who got six million votes less than he did, and lost.
Back in 2007, when Obama and Clinton were pretending to be ideological opponents -- as cookie-cutter corporate Democrats often do -- we at Black Agenda Report wrote that “ There’s not a dime’s worth of difference ” between the two. Every decent, peace-loving person on Earth should be glad to be rid of both of them. Humanity would probably not survive another year of either one.
“Barack Obama was the Black face of imperialism -- a change of color without a difference.”
Donald Trump is also a danger to humanity, like every other U.S. chief executive since Truman nuked Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If words mean anything, Trump starts off posing less of a doomsday international menace, since he claims to want to establish talking, rather than shouting, threatening, nuke-rattling relations with Russia and China, while Clinton’s version of “reset” was an armed confrontation with Russia over the skies of Syria. Of course, all that could quickly change. Trump may be a “party of one” among Republicans in Congress and even in his own cabinet.
For those who fear Trump’s “fascism,” the threat level depends on how he uses the arsenal of repressive tools bequeathed to him by the Obama administration. These legal, infrastructural and technological instruments of the national security state are fascist in their intent; they were made for the purpose of tracking, disorganizing, neutralizing and locking up dissidents, and disinforming the public at large. Thus, President Obama and his predecessors were fascist- minded , whether you call their administrations operatively fascist or not. The Obama administration would not have pushed a bill through Congress allowing the U.S. military to detain American citizens without trial or charge if he had not anticipating using it. He would not have feverishly upgraded an omnipresent national and global surveillance apparatus if he did not anticipate putting it to the task of martial rule. Fascist-minded is all that can be said of Trump, at this point, as well.
Black Lives Matter activists have been under FBI surveillance since day one. Ever since Ferguson, the federal government has taken the lead in over-charging “rioters” in rebellious cities. New York City cops have used social media surveillance as the basis for conspiracy charges against groups of more than 100 young Black people in separate sweeps in Manhattan and The Bronx. The “fascism” that correctly described Jim Crow rule in the pre-Civil Rights South lives on at the core of the mass Black incarceration regime put in place with the crushing of the Black Liberation Movement, two generations ago. The current movement against police terror, which ultimately demands Black community control of the police, put activists in direct confrontation with the coercive arm of the State. There is no retreat from this response to the demands of Black people “on the street,” who bear the daily brunt of repression and are also among the most effective organizers.
“Obama would not have feverishly upgraded an omnipresent national and global surveillance apparatus if he did not anticipate putting it to the task of martial rule.”
The Black movement against police terror didn’t need a Donald Trump waiting in the vestibule of the White House to get “mad.” The movement has already crossed the Rubicon of confrontation with the State. The moment occurred in the second term of the First Black President, when a new generation learned that liberation cannot be vicariously experienced. The 21 st century Black movement emerged with the knowledge that Black corporate Democrats are not their allies, nor are Black police chiefs, or Black preachers whose real loyalties are to the Democratic Party and its Wall Street patrons.
If the Black movement were afraid of the likes of Donald Trump, it never would have gone up against the militarized police that occupy Black communities. You can’t scare people with a specter if they have already been in combat with the real thing.
To the extent that electoral activity is useful to the movement, it should be employed with special vigilance close at hand, against misleaders like the 32 members of the Congressional Black Caucus who failed to support the Grayson Amendment that would have halted Pentagon transfers of weapons and equipment to local police departments. These “ Treasonous 32 ”, comprising 80 percent of full-voting Black Democrats in the House, cast their shameful votes in June, 2014, just two months before Michael Brown was shot down in Ferguson, Missouri. (Rep. William “Lacy” Clay, representing Michael Brown’s district, was among the 32.) If the movement is to have any special targets for electoral vengeance, it is these homegrown enemies, who turn Black people’s votes against themselves.
Trump or no Trump, the Black movement must continue to press and refine its demands -- or Power will concede nothing. On November 6, after their annual march on the White House, the organizations of the Black is Back Coalition ratified a 19-point document that puts self-determination at the heart of the broadest range of issues confronting Black America: “Every central demand, every strategy of struggle, must be formulated with the goal of self-determination in mind. Otherwise, the movement will allow itself to be drowned in reformist schemes and projects that bind Black people even more tightly to structures of outside control.” The points range from “Black Community Control of Police,” to “Halting Gentrification,” to “Nationalization of the Banks.”
The points were compiled during Barack Obama’s time in the White House, and they will remain relevant under a President Donald Trump.
We’ve been mad. Let’s get organized, and get free. | 0 | [
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FMD2587 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Two-thirds of the people who receive the minimum wage are female.
contextual information: Many Democrats are eager to debateraising the federal minimum wagebecause its a popular issue to the party base, especially women, says ABC News political commentator Cokie Roberts. When you're talking about the minimum wage, you're talking about women, Roberts said March 31 onNPRsMorning Edition. Two-thirds of the people who receive the minimum wage are female, and this is one of many attempts on the part of Democrats to get out the voters who normally don't vote in an off-year election, to try to get them to the polls this year. Well see whether that works or not. Is her statistic accurate? The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, a hub for data on American workers and the unemployed, had just the report, Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers, 2013. The BLS collects this data through a national monthly survey of households called the Current Population Survey. It does not account for overtime pay, tips or commissions workers earn above their hourly wage. Of the 75.9 million Americans who earn hourly wages (and make up half of the nations workforce), 1.5 million earn exactly the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, and 1.8 million earn less than that, according to BLS. Here, were focused on the gender composition of those 3.3 million workers who earn at or below the minimum wage. We found its true that women have a disproportionately high place in the minimum-wage workforce than men. In 2013, 62.4 percent of workers, or 2.06 million people, who earned at or below the federal minimum wage were women. This was down slightly from the year before, when it was 64 percent. Its important to know this data only isolates workers who make the federal minimum wage of $7.25 or below. Many states have set a higher minimum wage for their residents. The BLS measure would not account for minimum-wage earners in California, who earn $8 an hour, or their counterparts in Washington, who earn the highest minimum pay in the country of $9.32. Arecent Congressional Budget Office reportpointed out half of all workers live in states where the minimum wage is more than $7.25 an hour. Still, these caveats do not undermine Roberts point, said Heidi Shierholz, a labor economist at the liberal Economic Policy Institute, which supports increasing the minimum wage. An increased federal minimum wage to $10.10 would set a new floor for all workers in the country, even those in states that set their own minimum wages. And it wouldnt just lift the pay of workers who earn $7.25 an hour, but also those who make slightly more, such as $8 or $9 an hour. Astudy by the Economic Policy Institutefound women would make up 55 percentpercent of workers who would benefit from raising the minimum wage to $10.10 by the second half of 2016, a congressional proposal backed by the White House. That figure aligns withCBO data, too. If you raise the wage floor, more women will be affected by that, Shierholz said. Thats the bottom line. The discrepancy in pay between men and women known as the gender gap is closer at the bottom of the income distribution than at the top 1 percent of earners, Shierholz said. The gap is closing as a result of more women going to college and stagnated male wages.The White House arguesraising the minimum wage would further tighten the gap because women are overrepresented in low-paying professions. The amount of women in tips-based jobs, such as hairstylists and waitresses, is even higher than the female share of the federal minimum wage workforce, Shierholz said. Employers are allowed to pay workers a minimum of $2.13 an hour as long as their tips or at least $5.12, or the difference between $2.13 and $7.25. The White House also wants an increase in the tipped minimum wage of $2.13 an hour to $4.90 by 2016 under the proposedHarkin-Miller legislation. Efforts to reach Roberts through ABC News were unsuccessful. Our ruling Roberts said, Two-thirds of the people who receive the minimum wage are female. The actual figure is just a little bit lower. Federal data shows62 percent of people who earn the federal minimum wage or below are women. The federal data has limitations, as it does not account for women in states with a higher minimum wage. One study says that if the federal government raises the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, women will benefit more than men by a 55-45 percent spread. Roberts claim is on the right track but needs some additional information. That falls into a rating of Mostly True. | 1 | [
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FMD2588 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: A student at the University of South Alabama is taking heat from administrators for failing to remove a Donald Trump sign from the window of his dorm room. [Student William David Meredith has been threatened with disciplinary action by administrators over his refusal to remove a Donald Trump campaign sign from the window of his dorm room. “I am asking that you remove the sign within 24 hours. I have included your RA, Tiffany, on this email so that she can check to ensure it is gone within 24 hours,†Community Director Dylan Lloyd wrote in an email, to which Meredith replied by simply stating: “1st Amendment. †Although Lloyd acknowledged that Meredith does have first amendment protections on the public university’s campus, he countered by arguing that federal buildings cannot display endorsements of political candidates. “The policy you’ve quoted pertains to political candidates, which President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are not,†Meredith argued. “Nothing on it says anything about campaigning and his campaign is over, which makes it memorabilia not campaign material. †“While I understand that, it still shows that the university supports a particular candidate,†Lloyd fired back in response. “While we are not actively in campaign season, Trump will run for reelection in four years. The sign makes it look like the university supports Trump as a candidate. †Meredith held firmly that no reasonable person would consider a sign in a student’s window to be an institutional endorsement of a political candidate. “No reasonable person would see a sign in a dorm room window and presume that the university is endorsing that message,†Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Travis Barham said in a statement. “The Supreme Court has long recognized that a university does not endorse everything on campus that it fails to censor,†he explained, noting that “in 1990, the Supreme Court ruled that even elementary school students could understand this, saying ‘[t]he proposition that schools do not endorse everything they fail to censor is not complicated’ [Bd. of Educ. of Westside Cmty. Sch. v. Mergens, 496 U. S. 226, 250 (1990)]. †Despite this, administrators maintained that Meredith would be disciplined by the university if he refused to remove the sign from his window. “If you are found responsible for violating policies, administrative sanctions will most likely be determined at the conclusion of the hearing, even if you do not attend,†an email from an administrator stated, asserting that Meredith “will be required to comply with all sanctions administrated [sic] as a result of the findings. †Ultimately, the school’s Executive Director of Marketing and Communications Michael Haskins confirmed that Meredith would be able to keep his sign up in his window, citing a misunderstanding on the university policy on behalf on the staff members who originally took issue with the sign. Tom Ciccotta is a libertarian who writes about economics and higher education for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @tciccotta or email him at tciccotta@breitbart. com | 1 | [
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FMD2589 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday said he would bring a “Dreamers†immigration bill to the Senate floor if bipartisan negotiations between senators and the Trump administration produce an agreement by the end of January. McConnell also said in a statement that he would offer the measure as a “free-standing vote,†without specifying when it would occur. Many supporters of the immigration initiative have argued that it would have the best prospects for passage if it was coupled with a must-pass bill such as a spending measure early next year that potentially increases military spending. The immigration measure would be designed to protect undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. Democrats in Congress have been pressing for passage well before early March, when an Obama-era program is due to be completely phased out by the Trump administration. Earlier on Wednesday, Republican U.S. Senator Jeff Flake said in a statement that McConnell had promised to bring such a bill to the full Senate next month. Flake is one of a group of seven Democratic and Republican senators negotiating a bill. Former President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals order temporarily protected around 800,000 Dreamers from deportation. President Donald Trump announced in September he was terminating the program but had asked Congress to devise a more permanent solution by March. A San Francisco federal judge on Wednesday wrestled with whether to order the government to keep DACA in place, while lawsuits challenging Trump’s decision unfold. At a hearing, U.S. District Judge William Alsup questioned whether he had the authority to review the decision to end DACA, but also said the administration’s justification for its move was brief and “conclusory.†Alsup did not rule from the bench. One of the plaintiffs, DACA recipient Dulce Garcia, attended the hearing and said she was in the sixth day of a hunger strike intended to urge lawmakers to make protection of DACA recipients a condition for passage of any more federal spending bills. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin said in a statement, “Bipartisan negotiations continue and we’re fighting to pass this measure soon.†He did not provide details on any progress being made in the talks. A bipartisan group of senators led by Durbin and Republican Lindsey Graham have been holding private negotiations over how many Dreamers would be covered by legislation giving them temporary legal status and whether they would ultimately be allowed to apply for U.S. citizenship. The negotiations have been complicated by Republican demands that increased border security be included in any legislation. Republicans also have been clamoring for more immigration enforcement throughout the United States. Democrats have been opposed to that as part of a Dreamer measure, saying it is a way for the Trump administration to step up its deportations of undocumented relatives of Dreamers, thus breaking up families currently in the United States. | 1 | [
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FMD2590 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: A school librarian in Cambridge, Massachusetts, rejected a shipment of books that were donated by first lady Melania Trump, according to CBS Boston.#HBFamilyReading: "Dear Mrs. Trump": @reflectlibrary says, Thanks but no thanks to the First Lady + Dr. Seuss https://t.co/98SUPkjUN6 pic.twitter.com/3t6U6vvwPI The Horn Book (@HornBook) September 26, 2017CBS Boston on Wednesday reported that Liz Phipps Soeiro of Cambridgeport Elementary School turned down the works Trump intended to send.The White House chose one school in all 50 states to receive a package of 10 books authored by children s literary author Dr. Seuss.The initiative was meant to promote education and childhood literacy as part of National Read A Book Day.Soeiro on Tuesday penned an editorial for the Horn Book s Family Reading blog explaining why her school did not need the donation. My students have access to a school library with over nine thousand volumes and a librarian with a graduate degree in literary science, she wrote. Multiple studies show that schools with professionally staffed libraries improve student performance, Soeiro added.Trump s package reportedly included such Seuss classics as Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. Soeiro criticized Seuss for being the only author represented in Trump s donation, citing controversy over some of his illustrations. You may not be aware of this, but Dr. Seuss is a bit of a clich , a tired and worn ambassador for children s literature, she told Trump. Another fact that many people are unaware of is that Dr. Seuss s illustrations are steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes. According to the School Library Journal when social justice warrior, Lizz Phipps Soeiro isn t influencing the minds of young children with her progressive drivel, she s working to influence the minds of the parents: Once a week, she invites a speaker for casual meetings with parents at the library. Guests have included the mayor, school committee members, and local artists. Following President Trump s executive order banning travel from six Muslim nations, she invited a representative from the Council on American Islamic Relations and an attorney from the Muslim Justice League to speak to an audience including some 25 Muslim families about their rights. The lawyer met with individual families afterward. The library s collection reflects Phipps Soeiro s commitment to social justice. Titles such as Margarita Engle s Drum Dream Girl and Debbie Levy and Elizabeth Baddeley s I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark spark discussions about government and fairness. During a field trip to city hall, students sat in council chambers and asked questions of city leaders.(So in other words, a donation of books from the wife of our Republican President just didn t fit into the public school library that employs a narrow-minded liberal librarian.)The Cambridge School system on Wednesday released a statement noting the opinions Soeiro expressed do not represent the district. In this instance, the employee was not authorized to accept or reject donated books on behalf of the school or school district, it said. We have counseled the employee on all relevant policies, including the policy against public resources being used for political purposes. CircaSo there you have it the librarian is being counseled and NOT fired!If this story happened two years ago, and we inserted Michelle Obama s name into the story instead of Melania Trump s, does anyone think this would be a major news story with the school librarian s face plastered all over every major news network?Liz Phipps Soeiro can be found on Twitter at: @Cport_SpecialHere is the nasty letter that was written by Liz Phipps Soeiro in reply to Melania Trump s sweet gesture:Dear Mrs. Trump,Thank you for the ten Dr. Seuss titles that you sent my school library in recognition of this year s National Read a Book Day. (Sent second-day air, no less! That must have been expensive.) I m proud that you recognized my school as something special. It truly is. Our beautiful and diverse student body is made up of children from all over the world; from different socioeconomic statuses; with a spectrum of gender expressions and identities; with a range of abilities; and of varied racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. According to the White House website, you selected one school per state by working with the Department of Education to identify schools with programs that have achieved high standards of excellence, recognized by State and National awards and Blue Ribbon Awards Each of those carefully vetted schools received ten books: Seuss-isms!; Because a Little Bug Went KaChoo; What Pet Should I Get?; The Cat in the Hat; I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!; One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish; The Foot Book; Wacky Wednesday; Green Eggs and Ham; and Oh, the Places You ll Go!. My students were interested in reading your enclosed letter and impressed with the beautiful bookplates with your name and the indelible White House stamp, however, we will not be keeping the titles for our collection. I d like to respectfully offer my explanation. * * * * * My school and my library are indeed award-winning. I work in a district that has plenty of resources, which contributes directly to excellence. Cambridge, Massachusetts, is an amazing city with robust social programming, a responsive city government, free all-day kindergarten, and well-paid teachers (relatively speaking many of us can t afford to live in the city in which we teach). My students have access to a school library with over nine thousand volumes and a librarian with a graduate degree in library science. Multiple studies show that schools with professionally staffed libraries improve student performance. The American Association of School Librarians has a great infographic on these findings. Many schools around the state and country can t compete. Yearly per-pupil spending in Cambridge is well over $20,000; our city s values are such that given a HUGE range in the socioeconomic status of our residents, we believe that each and every child deserves the best free education possible and are working hard to make that a reality (most classrooms maintain a 60/40 split between free/reduced lunch and paid lunch). This offers our Title I school and the district a lot of privilege and room for programming and pedagogy to foster high standards of excellence. Even so, we still struggle to close the achievement gap, retain teachers of color, and dismantle the systemic white supremacy in our institution. But hell, we test well! And in the end, it appears that data and not children are what matters. Meanwhile, school libraries around the country are being shuttered. Cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, and Detroit are suffering through expansion, privatization, and school choice with no interest in outcomes of children, their families, their teachers, and their schools. Are those kids any less deserving of books simply because of circumstances beyond their control? Why not go out of your way to gift books to underfunded and underprivileged communities that continue to be marginalized and maligned by policies put in place by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos? Why not reflect on those high standards of excellence beyond only what the numbers suggest? Secretary DeVos would do well to scaffold and lift schools instead of punishing them with closures and slashed budgets.So, my school doesn t have a NEED for these books. And then there s the matter of the books themselves. You may not be aware of this, but Dr. Seuss is a bit of a clich , a tired and worn ambassador for children s literature. As First Lady of the United States, you have an incredible platform with world-class resources at your fingertips. Just down the street you have access to a phenomenal children s librarian: Dr. Carla Hayden, the current Librarian of Congress. I have no doubt Dr. Hayden would have given you some stellar recommendations.Another fact that many people are unaware of is that Dr. Seuss s illustrations are steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes. Open one of his books (If I Ran a Zoo or And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, for example), and you ll see the racist mockery in his art. Grace Hwang Lynch s School Library Journal article, Is the Cat in the Hat Racist? Read Across America Shifts Away from Dr. Seuss and Toward Diverse Books, reports on Katie Ishizuka s work analyzing the minstrel characteristics and trope nature of Seuss s characters. Scholar Philip Nel s new book, Was the Cat in the Hat Black? The Hidden Racism of Children s Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books, further explores and shines a spotlight on the systemic racism and oppression in education and literature. I am honored that you recognized my students and our school. I can think of no better gift for children than books; it was a wonderful gesture, if one that could have been better thought out. Books can be a powerful way to learn about and experience the world around us; they help build empathy and understanding. In return, I m attaching a list of ten books (it s the librarian in me) that I hope will offer you a window into the lives of the many children affected by the policies of your husband s administration. You and your husband have a direct impact on these children s lives. Please make time to learn about and value them. I hope you share these books with your family and with kids around the country. And I encourage you to reach out to your local librarian for more recommendations. Warmly, Liz Phipps Soeiro School Librarian Cambridge, MALiz Phipps Soeiro is an elementary school librarian in the Cambridge, MA, Public Schools. She is an advocate for inclusive libraries and active in her community to create spaces that are welcoming to all students. She tweets @Cport_Special @ReflectLibrary and blogs at reflectivelibrary.blogspot.com | 0 | [
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FMD2591 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: President Donald Trump’s campaign promise for a $1 trillion infrastructure program will be in focus when U.S. governors gather on Friday in Washington, D.C., with some states making wish lists of projects ranging from a bullet train to statewide broadband internet service. The winter meeting of the National Governors Association running through Monday is expected to showcase rare bipartisan agreement on the need for more federal help in upgrading roads, bridges and airports, said Scott Pattison, the group’s executive director. “There’s just this pent-up demand to deal with, whether it’s a crack in a dam, a bridge, whatever it is,†Pattison said in a telephone interview. Although there is little movement on Capitol Hill to make Trump’s infrastructure vow a reality, governors have sent the White House a list of 428 projects they say are ready to go with some extra federal spending. The National Governors Association has not released the list but checks with some states hinted at the projects. Democratic California Governor Jerry Brown has asked for $120 billion, saying that since the state made up 12 percent of the U.S. economy it deserves 12 percent of Trump’s $1 trillion package. “We’re not talking about a few million, we’re talking about tens of billions,†Brown said of the infrastructure proposal this month as he sought federal aid to deal with a leaking dam and flooding. Among California’s big-ticket items is construction of a high-speed rail system linking San Francisco and Los Angeles. Colorado and Minnesota want help building statewide broadband systems, with Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, a Democrat, saying his state needs $150 million for its broadband grid. Republican Kansas Governor Sam Brownback’s top priority is $122 million for interstate highway repairs. South Carolina and Virginia want federal aid to deepen ports, among other projects. In a letter to Trump, Republican Governor Henry McMaster said South Carolina also needed help replacing roads and bridges. “An appropriation of $5 billion from your infrastructure plan will help us bridge this economic gap,†he wrote. Pattison said governors wanted a “toolbox†of financing options, including municipal bonds, cash, public-private partnerships and federal matching funds. The governors are scheduled to meet with Trump on Sunday evening and again on Monday morning. One of the speakers at the governors’ conference, Leo Hindery, a managing partner at New York’s InterMedia Partners, will tell state executives that creating a federal infrastructure bank is the only way to fund the hundreds of billions of dollars needed for public works. The United States has long been criticized for its lagging public works spending. The American Society of Civil Engineers has graded U.S. infrastructure at D+ and estimated the country needs to invest $3.6 trillion by 2020. During his campaign, Trump said he wanted action on infrastructure in his first 100 days as president. That now seems unlikely. He also talked about creating a tax credit to encourage private sector investment. Trump’s plans to create an infrastructure council have yet to get started. Republican lawmakers have said they expect to get White House infrastructure proposals but have given no details or timing. | 1 | [
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FMD2592 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: BALMEDIE, Scotland — Donald J. Trump has already built a wall — not on the border with Mexico, but on the border of his exclusive golf course in northeastern Scotland, blocking the sea view of local residents who refused to sell their homes. And then he sent them the bill. David and Moira Milne had already been threatened with legal action by Mr. Trump’s lawyers, who claimed that a corner of their garage belonged to him, when they came home from work one day to find his staff building a fence around their garden. Two rows of grown trees went up next, blocking the view. Their water and electricity lines were temporarily cut. And then a bill for about $3, 500 arrived in the mail, which, Mr. Milne said, went straight into the trash. “You watch, Mexico won’t pay either,†said Mr. Milne, a health and safety consultant and novelist, referring to Mr. Trump’s campaign promise to build a “beautiful, impenetrable wall†along the border and force the Mexicans to pay for it. The Milnes now fly a Mexican flag from their hilltop house, a former coast guard station that overlooks the clubhouse of Trump International Golf Links, whenever Mr. Trump visits. So do Susan and John Munro, who also refused to sell and now face an almost earthen wall built by Mr. Trump’s people on two sides of their property. Michael Forbes, a quarry worker whose home sits on the opposite side of the Trump property, added a second flag — “Hillary for President†— perhaps because Mr. Trump publicly accused him of living “like a pig†and called him a “disgrace†for not selling his “disgusting†and “slumlike†home. As many Americans are trying to figure out what kind of president they have just elected, the people of Balmedie, a small village outside the once city of Aberdeen, say they have a pretty good idea. In the 10 years since Mr. Trump first visited, vowing to build “the world’s greatest golf course†on an environmentally protected site featuring sand dunes, they have seen him lash out at anyone standing in his way. They say they watched him win public support for his golf course with grand promises, then watched him break them one by one. A promised $1. 25 billion investment has shrunk to what his opponents say is at most $50 million. Six thousand jobs have dwindled to 95. Two golf courses to one. An luxury hotel never materialized, nor did 950 apartments. Instead, an existing manor house was converted into a boutique hotel. Trump International Golf Links, which opened in 2012, lost $1. 36 million last year, according to public accounts. “If America wants to know what is coming, it should study what happened here. It’s predictive,†said Martin Ford, a local government representative. “I have just seen him do in America, on a grander scale, precisely what he did here. He suckered the people and he suckered the politicians until he got what he wanted, and then he went back on pretty much everything he promised. †Alex Salmond, a former first minister of Scotland whose government granted Mr. Trump planning permission in 2008, overruling local officials, now concedes the point, saying, “Balmedie got 10 cents on the dollar. †Sarah Malone, who came to Mr. Trump’s attention after being chosen as the “Face of Aberdeen†for a regional marketing campaign and is now a vice president of Trump International, disputed some of the figures publicly discussed about the project, saying that Mr. Trump invested about $125 million and that the golf course now employed 150 people. “While other golf and leisure projects were shelved due to lack of funds,†she said, “Mr. Trump continued to forge ahead with his plans and has put the region on the global tourism map, and this resort plays a vital role in the economic prosperity of northeast Scotland. †Mr. Salmond said that Mr. Trump’s impact on business in Scotland might actually be a net negative because his xenophobic comments have appalled the Scottish establishment so much that the Royal Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, known simply as the RA, is unlikely to award his other Scottish golf course, the Trump Turnberry, another prestigious golf tournament like the Open anytime soon. “I don’t see the RA going back to Turnberry, which is a tragedy in itself,†Mr. Salmond said. “But it’s also a huge economic blow: Several hundred million pounds lost — or, in Trump terms, billions. †Mr. Trump, whose mother emigrated from Scotland to New York in 1930, never showed any great interest in her place of birth. But in 2008, the same year he applied for planning permission in Balmedie, he visited the cottage on the Isle of Lewis in Western Scotland where she grew up. After emerging from his private jet and handing out copies of his book “How to Get Rich,†he reportedly told locals how Scottish he felt. “I feel very comfortable here,†Mr. Trump said before spending less than two minutes with his cousins in his mother’s homestead, The Guardian reported at the time. Within about three hours his jet had taken off. The visit clearly did not impress Mr. Ford, then the chairman of the planning committee at Aberdeenshire Council, which refused Mr. Trump permission for his golf course on environmental grounds. The ancient dunes, the committee concluded, were a “site of special scientific interest,†or as Mr. Ford put it, “Scotland’s equivalent of the Amazonian rain forest. †In the end, it was Mr. Salmond, a golf fanatic whose constituency includes Balmedie, who came to Mr. Trump’s defense, granting permission to proceed in the “national economic interest. †“Six thousand jobs across Scotland, 1, 400 local and permanent jobs in the northeast of Scotland,†Mr. Salmond said at the time. “That outweighs the environmental concerns. †Eight years later he contends that Mr. Trump took him in: “If, knowing what I know now, I had the ability to go back, I would rewrite that page,†Mr. Salmond said in an interview. “Most developments balance economic against environmental issues. The problem, and it’s a big problem, is that Donald Trump didn’t do what he promised. †Mr. Trump later fell out badly with Mr. Salmond (whom he now calls “mad Alex†and a “ â€) first because he refused to evict residents by eminent domain and then over his plans to install offshore wind turbines a couple of miles from Mr. Trump’s golf course. “If Scotland doesn’t stop insane policy of obsolete, wind turbines, country will be destroyed,†Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter in 2014. At a parliamentary inquiry about renewable energy in 2012, Mr. Trump warned that Scotland would get into “serious trouble†if it continued to build wind turbines. Asked what evidence he had, he said, “I am the evidence. †He then made a formal complaint about a Green Party politician who had made fun of the statement with a still from the Monty Python film “The Life of Brian,†accusing him of blasphemy and threatening to take him to court. The wind turbines, whose foundations are expected to be laid next year, still seem to rankle Mr. Trump. In a meeting right after his election victory, Mr. Trump urged Nigel Farage, the leader of the populist U. K. Independence Party — which has failed to win a single seat in Scotland — to fight offshore wind farms in Scotland on his behalf. “To actually believe that having a conversation with Nigel Farage and his henchmen about wind energy is going to change Scottish government policy is on the outer limits of possibility,†Mr. Salmond said. As a presidential candidate who was caught on a hot microphone bragging about sexually assaulting women, Mr. Trump found little sympathy among Scotland’s political leaders, most of whom happen to be women. Nicola Sturgeon, Mr. Salmond’s successor, has called Mr. Trump’s comments “deeply abhorrent†and stripped Mr. Trump of his membership in the Global Scot business network. Kezia Dugdale, who runs the Scottish Labour Party, commented after Mr. Trump’s election that a “misogynist†would move into the White House, while Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, described him as a “ guts, a fool. †And in Aberdeen, where 10 years ago public opinion was overwhelmingly in favor of Mr. Trump and his golf course, Robert Gordon University annulled Mr. Trump’s honorary degree after his comments about barring Muslims from entering the United States. Some local residents remain fiercely loyal to him. Stewart Spence, owner of the exclusive Marcliffe hotel, has a photo of Mr. Trump and himself on display in the lobby as well as his own honorary membership of the Balmedie golf course. “How many tourists have the dunes brought in? Zero,†he said. “What he has done is build a beautiful golf course and made the northeast of Scotland an amazing destination. †As for the American election campaign, Mr. Spence said, “He has done a fantastic selling job to the American people. †Until six years ago, the Munros could look out their kitchen window and see 10 miles across open land all the way to the Girdleness lighthouse on the other side of Aberdeen. Now they look out onto the nearly earthen berm built by Mr. Trump’s people. “He has a thing about walls, that Mr. Trump,†Ms. Munro said. “I hope America has a better experience than Balmedie. †| 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2593 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Did President Trump submit his re-election papers early in order to prevent nonprofits from engaging in political speech? Claim summaries: Legal experts don't believe President Trump's filing for re-election early will have a noticeable effect on the activities of nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations.
contextual information: On 29 January 2017, a community member at Daily Kos posted a string of tweets from "The Resisterhood" account, which claimed that because President Donald Trump had filed early for re-election, nonprofit organizations cannot oppose him without risking their nonprofit status. The story, which was widely shared, was created in a section of the site that allows Daily Kos community members to create their own posts. Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in or intervening in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violating this prohibition may result in the denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes. It is true that President Trump filed a letter on Inauguration Day, 20 January 2017, notifying the Federal Elections Commission that he had met the legal threshold for filing for reelection in 2020 (though the letter states that it is not a formal candidate announcement). The move appears to be geared toward getting a fundraising head start, as legal experts agree that Trump becoming a de facto candidate for 2020 on his first day in office will have no effect on the activities of charities. In the era of perpetual campaigning, tax laws have been interpreted by the Internal Revenue Service to mean that charities are free to criticize or praise public office holders as long as they avoid electioneering, which they are prohibited from doing anyway, said Marc Owens, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney who represents nonprofit organizations. Even though Trump is a candidate for the 2020 election now that he's registered, that really should not stop any charity from commenting on how he is doing as president of the United States, as long as they don't put it in the context of the 2020 election. The reality is that as long as they don't mention the election, which they shouldn't be doing anyway as charities, they're going to be fine. He added the caveat: "That's assuming Trump obeys the law." The Lawyers Alliance for New York later sent out a notice addressing the rumor: False Rumor: Nonprofit organizations cannot criticize President Trump because he filed a Statement of Candidacy form with the Federal Election Commission regarding the 2020 election. True: Organizations with 501(c)(3) status cannot take a position on who should win an election, such as the 2020 Presidential election. But all public charities can criticize or praise sitting public officials, including the President, for actions that they take while in office; take a position on issues, such as the environment, refugees, or school reform; and take a position on specific government actions, including Executive Orders and proposed laws and regulations. Taking such a position may count towards a public charity's limit on lobbying activity, and if the charity spends more than a minimal amount of money on this activity, it may be required to register as a lobbyist, but only if it asks a public official to act or asks members of the public to contact a public official. Notre Dame law professor Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer agreed, saying that in the modern era, most politicians are in a constant state of campaigning, whether they are formally declared as candidates or not. Charities can praise or criticize representatives as long as they do it in a way that's about them being in the House. The views of the IRS have always been that obviously you can praise or criticize someone because they're a public official, as a public official, even if they're running. Loyola law professor Ellen Aprill concurred, noting that Trump himself had advocated for lifting the prohibition on charities and campaigning. It seems inconsistent with the intent behind the campaign intervention prohibition for a president to prevent 501(c)(3)s from criticizing his policies and actions by declaring a candidacy so far in advance. Moreover, Trump is on record as wanting to eliminate the campaign intervention prohibition, although we have not seen anything on that since he became President. Nonprofits can address current topics like the environment, President Trump's proposal to build a new U.S.-Mexico border wall, or his recent executive order restricting refugee entry into the United States. They are also free to litigate on causes, as the American Civil Liberties Union and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington have done in recent high-profile cases. The fact that he has filed campaign paperwork with the FEC early does not mean any of these organizations are suddenly muzzled. Mayer also pointed out that pro-President Trump nonprofits are under the same laws as all the others, which casts further doubt on his early re-election filing being about anything other than getting a fundraising advantage. | 0 | [
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"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2594 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Did 50,000 'Freedom Convoy' Trucks Set Guinness World Record? Claim summaries: The vast majority of truck drivers in Canada are vaccinated.
contextual information: In January 2022, a number of trucks participated in a convoy across Canada to protest the country's requirement for cross-border truckers to be vaccinated for COVID-19. As videos of the so-called "freedom convoy" spread on social media, various claims emerged regarding the number of trucks involved in this event. These claims ranged from a few hundred to more than 50,000. Some even asserted that the freedom convoy had set a Guinness World Record for the largest truck convoy. As of this writing, the freedom convoy has not earned a place in the Guinness World Records book. Furthermore, the claim that this convoy involved 50,000 trucks appears to be a gross exaggeration that contradicts all available evidence. The largest truck convoy on record was set in November 2020 in Cairo, Egypt. That convoy involved 480 trucks and stretched 7.5 km (4.6 miles). Guinness states: "The largest parade of trucks consisted of 480 trucks and was achieved by Tahya Misr Fund (Egypt), in Cairo, Egypt, on 20 November 2020. With a length of 7.5 km, Tahya Misr Fund was able to organize a parade of 480 trucks amid harsh weather and heavy rain, breaking the Guinness World Records title for the largest parade of trucks, which was achieved 16 years ago in the Netherlands with a parade size of 416 trucks; thus, the Tahya Misr Fund became the new record holder." This Guinness World Records entry provides a data point that makes us skeptical of the 50,000 truck claim. If a 480 truck convoy stretched 7.5 km, a 50,000 truck convoy would stretch 750 km (about 460 miles). We have seen no evidence to support the idea that the freedom convoy is anywhere near 460 miles long. So just how many trucks participated in this freedom convoy? There's no official count for the number of trucks involved. Estimates are also difficult because this big rig convoy includes a number of cars and other smaller vehicles. Furthermore, the "freedom convoy" has been a multi-day event, and some trucks may only participate for a portion of the journey. These variables make it challenging to estimate the number of trucks involved. We reached out to the Canadian Trucking Alliance for more information and will update this article if more information becomes available. Many Canadian news outlets have used the word "hundreds" to quantify the number of trucks in this convoy. The CBC, for example, reported: "Hundreds of truckers set off from British Columbia to Ottawa on Sunday to protest a federal vaccine mandate despite the urging of the country's largest trucking federation to comply." Adrian Ghobrial, a reporter for the Toronto news outlet City News, stated that while thousands of people have come out to watch and support the truckers as they drive by, he was skeptical that the convoy consisted of more than 100 trucks. David Akin, the chief global correspondent with Global News, cited a report from the Ontario Provincial Police that recorded 113 trucks (as well as 276 personal vehicles) coming into Thunder Bay from Winnipeg. On social media, the estimate of trucks involved in this convoy has grown with each tweet. A post from Fox News host Sean Hannity, for example, claimed that the freedom convoy consisted of 10,000 trucks. Others claimed that this number exceeded 50,000 trucks. The claim that 50,000 trucks are participating in this convoy appears to have originated with one of the protest's organizers. However, the organizers may not be the most reliable source for this figure, as they have reason to inflate these numbers. The number also seems implausible given what we know about the trucking industry in Canada. According to the Canadian Trucking Alliance, the cross-border vaccine mandate would impact about 15% (or about 16,000) of the country's truckers. If the 50,000 truck claim is to be believed, that would mean that not only would every one of those 16,000 truckers have to participate in the event, but they would also need to be joined by 34,000 additional trucks who weren't impacted by the mandate. The Canadian Trucking Alliance stated that "the vast majority of the Canadian trucking industry is vaccinated, with the overall industry vaccination rate among truck drivers closely mirroring that of the general public. Accordingly, most of our nation's hard-working truck drivers are continuing to move cross-border and domestic freight to ensure our economy continues to function." | 0 | [
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] | 0 |
FMD2595 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: A segment of MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show displayed a chyron implying the widespread protests in Venezuela were actually against President Donald Trump. [The show, which aired on Thursday, implied that a donation to Donald Trump’s inauguration of $500, 000 from a subsidiary of a Venezuelan oil company was a cause of recent protests. A headline at the bottom of the screen during a segment explaining the donation read: “Unrest in Venezuela Over Trump Donations,†without noting the growing food and medicine shortages that have occurred there as a direct result of nearly two decades of socialist mismanagement. During the segment, Maddow claimed, “Venezuelans are enraged anew over by this brand new FEC filing from the White House [showing] … that Venezuela’s oil company somewhere found a half million dollars to donate to the very, very, very inexplicably overfunded Trump inauguration. †Maddow was referring to a report showing that Citgo Petrol, the American affiliate of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) the oil company, donated $500, 000 to the Trump inauguration. A report from November last year found that Venezuela’s oil corporation, Petróleos de Venezuela, has $11 billion unaccounted for in the past decade. While Maddow did not directly link the protests to the donation, the only thing close to an explanation for the protests she gave was that “the sanctions that the U. S. put on Venezuela were put there in 2014, after 43 people got killed while participating in protests. †Nowhere in the segment are socialist policies or political oppression, including the imprisonment of prisoners of conscience, mentioned, nor does she mention that the victims in the 2014 protests were largely killed by state police, national guard, or socialist gangs. There is no evidence suggesting the reason behind the civil unrest was the donation. Opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who was recently banned from holding public office for 15 years without cause, called for protests to fight the government’s military plan designed to silence opposition, promising that they “will not rest until Venezuela returns to constitutional order. †Many Venezuelans are starving living under the socialist dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro. The average Venezuelan lost nearly 20 pounds throughout 2016 due to food shortages, according to a recent poll. Over 15 percent of Venezuelans rely on industrial waste as food to survive. Maddow failed to link any of Venezuela’s socialist policies, such as the mass nationalization of industries, to the country’s current crisis. The show later apologized for the chyron and updated it in its web version of the broadcast. “Rachel was clear in calling the protests in Venezuela ‘’ but the banner on the screen while she said it was not correct. As a TV show, we have to get them both right, and sometimes we miss,†MSNBC said in a statement. The version of the segment posted online no longer includes the chyron to reflect the fact that producers did not, in retrospect, consider it an accurate representation of the situation in Venezuela or of Maddow’s commentary. Late dictator Hugo Chávez enacted sweeping socialist reforms to cripple the nation’s economy, including the aforementioned seizures of corporations, which resulted in many international corporations fleeing the country. Following his death, Nicolás Maduro has overseen mass shortages of food, medicine, and electricity, imposing a ration system and strict price controls, which have exacerbated the problem. This week, the Venezuelan opposition held the “mother of all protests†across the country, calling for an end to Maduro’s rule and the socialist policies that have led to the country’s decline. On Thursday, General Motors announced it had ceased all its Venezuelan operations after the government seized control of its plant in the city of Valencia. On Friday, the Associated Press reported that 20 people have been killed in recent demonstrations, as protesters clashed with riot police and militias. You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart. com | 1 | [
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"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2596 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Voter fraud is all too real — particularly so in Chicago, Illinois, where it seems dead Americans have been voting for decades.
How many dead Americans? A lot.
In fact, an investigation by local news station WBBM showed that “119 dead people have voted a total of 229 times in Chicago in the last decade.”
Here are just a few examples: Susan Sallee, who died in 1998 but voted in 2010 … Victor Crosswell, who died in 1994 but has voted six times since his death … Floyd Stevens, who died in 1993 but has voted 11 times since his death … Earl Smith, who died in 1997 but has voted twice since his death … Tadeusz Cielsa, who died in 1998 yet managed to somehow cast a ballot in 2010 …
Who the heck is going to vote next, huh — Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, JESUS!?
This sort of voter fraud exists because state governments refuse to do their due diligence and remove deceased voters from their records. Susan Sallee’s son would know. He claimed that despite having reported his mother’s death numerous times, she still remains on the voter roll.
“They’re just not taking her off the rolls,” he said.
Wonderful …
Obviously, 119 dead Americans voting 229 times seems like a small number, correct? Multiply that by 35,000 cities and towns, as estimated by The National Map , and suddenly those 119 Americans and 229 votes transform into 4.165 million Americans and 8.015 million votes.
See the problem?
Of course, the easiest way to remedy this dilemma would be to simply implement voter ID laws across the board, thus making it nearly impossible for cheaters and frauds to cast ballots on behalf of deceased Americans.
Unless the fraudsters were to look identical to the dead individuals whose identities they desire to co-opt, they would simply be out of luck. Case closed.
Except that liberals keep fighting voter ID laws tooth and nail, trying their hardest to prevent such laws from taking hold across the nation.
Why? Because they refuse to even acknowledge the existence of voter fraud, claiming instead that it “is very rare” and “nearly non-existent,” in the words of the liberal Brennan Center for Justice .
Just like with every other issue that divides Republicans and Democrats, the left refuses to recognize the facts, which are that voter fraud is real, and voter ID laws represent a reasonable solution to this problem.
Even worse, they have taken to outputting phony arguments such as this: “Voter ID laws are racist!”
Bull … | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2597 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: EverPet Dog Food Claim summaries: Rumor: EverPet brand dog and cat food is made in China and has killed several pets in the U.S.
contextual information: Claim: EverPet brand dog and cat food is made in China and has caused pets to fall ill and die in the U.S. Example: [Collected via Facebook, February 2015] Origins: On 2 November 2014, the above-quoted message about EverPet brand pet food was posted on Facebook and subsequently shared hundreds of thousands of times. Although that particular warning came in late 2014, rumors about adverse pet reactions to Facebook EverPet brand cat and dog food (commonly sold at Dollar General stores) have circulated on the internet since at least as far back as 2010. It is not uncommon to find stories on social media attributing a pet's death to a particular brand of cat or dog food, as people brand who have experienced the untimely loss of a beloved animal companion attempt to spare other families the trauma they have endured. Similar warnings have circulated about brands such as Purina, with grieving owners similarly convinced the food their pet consumed was responsible for the animal's illness or death. Purina In the absence of confirmation or denial from Dollar General, well-intentioned pet owners seized on anecdotal information about the brand on the web, but the owner of the dog referenced above later admitted that the pet's death had not been linked to EverPet: Unlike Purina, discount brand EverPet has no dedicated website or social media presence where they address such complaints. Consequently, rumors of recalls continue to circulate even though there has never been a recall of EverPet pet food. Representatives from Dollar General have replied to some of the rumors about EverPet food and stated unequivocally that the product is manufactured in the United States (not China), and that no recalls have been ordered for EverPet products. On 20 December 2013, Dollar General's Facebook page published the following response to a user who asked about EverPet rumors: response Last updated: 20 February 2015 | 2 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 2 |
FMD2598 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Catalonia s deposed president said he might consider a solution to Spain s political crisis that did not involve the region s secession, appearing to soften the staunchly pro-independence stance that cost him his leadership last month. In an interview with Belgian daily Le Soir, Carles Puigdemont was asked if a non-secessionist option was on the table to resolve a crisis triggered when Spain took over control of the region after its parliament declared independence on Oct. 27. I m ready, and have always been ready, to accept the reality of another relationship with Spain ... It (another solution) is still possible, Puigdemont said. I have, being pro-independence all my life, worked for 30 years to have another way of Catalonia being anchored to Spain, he added, giving no details of what form such a relationship could take. He posted a link to the interview, which was published on Monday, on his Twitter feed. The former president is in self-imposed exile in Belgium after running an independence campaign that prompted authorities in Madrid to fire his cabinet, dissolve the regional parliament and call new elections for December. Puigdemont, who had previously insisted the independence declaration should form the basis of any political negotiations with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, is under conditional release after an international arrest warrant was served against him. He and four other former members of the Catalan government with him in Belgium face charges of rebellion and sedition. Rajoy has said he was open to talks with Catalan leaders on resolving Spain s worst political crisis since its return to democracy four decades ago, but only within a legal framework and after the independence drive was dropped as a condition. In an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt published on Monday, Rajoy said the position of the former Catalan leaders focused on the independence vote and gave little room beyond that for debate. Many blame me for not seeking political solutions. But I ve been in politics for a long time and ... there was no alternative, Rajoy said, adding that the Catalan crisis was the largest problem he had had to face as prime minister. He said had tried to reach a compromise with the regional government, but it was impossible. The government of Catalonia had only one goal | 1 | [
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"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2599 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Santa Hung on a Cross in Japan? Claim summaries: Did a Japanese department store once display Santa Claus nailed to a cross?
contextual information: Driven by a thriving retail industry, a cultural penchant for obligatory gift-giving, and a fascination with the West, the Japanese adopted (and adapted) several traditional Western holiday celebrations after World War II. Stripped of their meaning and bent to the whims of retailers, however, these holidays have taken some rather unusual forms in Japan over the years. The Mary Chocolate Co. is credited with bringing Valentine's Day to Japan in 1958, with the twist that it should be a day for girls to give gifts to guys. Naturally, this led to the retail industry's creation of "White Day" on March 14, an occasion for boys to reciprocate all those chocolates they had received a month earlier by buying white presents (such as white candy, handkerchiefs, or panties) for their partners. Likewise, the Seibu department store recast St. Patrick's Day as "Green Day," a retail promotion featuring things green and Irish. (It didn't work.) The Japan Biscuit Association touted Halloween as an occasion that Americans celebrate by eating biscuits. (When that failed to go over well, the custom melded into one of friends giving each other orange candy and cakes.) However, the Western holiday that carries the most influence in Japan is, not surprisingly, the holiday that carries the most influence in the West as well: Christmas. Although St. Francis Xavier, a Spanish Jesuit missionary, brought Christianity to Japan in 1549, the celebration of Christmas was mostly limited to churches and missionary schools until the 20th century. (Indeed, Christianity was outlawed in Japan after a religious uprising in 1639 and henceforth practiced only clandestinely until 1854.) The exchanging of gifts at Christmastime by Japanese families began in a small way early this century, and Japanese stores began offering Christmas sales in the 1930s. Starting with the American occupation of Japan in 1945, Christianity enjoyed a brief surge in popularity, and Christmas took off in a big (and commercialized) way. As you'd expect in a country where less than 2% of the population is Christian, Christmas is primarily a secular occasion in Japan, with shops and businesses remaining open for the day. The Japanese have adopted many of the traditional trappings of 'Kurisumasu,' such as stores with elaborate displays of Christmas decorations and piped-in Christmas music, and homes made festive with Christmas lights, Christmas trees, and poinsettias. The elimination of the religious aspects of Christmas and its hyper-commercialization have led to some unique (and, to us, bizarre) ways of celebrating it. The exchanging of kurisumasu cakes is not exactly a Western tradition, but it doesn't sound too unusual to us. What we do find unusual are reports of Japanese Christmas customs such as young couples exchanging presents of expensive jewelry, heading out to high-priced hotels, and being directed by scantily-clad female elves to rooms complete with Christmas trees, where the lovebirds spend their Christmas Eve in romantic bliss. The co-optation of familiar Christmas figures, both secular and religious, in the service of mass merchandising has also produced some rather curious blendings (real and imagined): Colonel Sanders dressed in a Santa suit (as KFC tried strenuously to promote fried chicken as the "traditional" Christmas meal), nuns singing advertising jingles to the tune of Christmas carols, Christmas cards featuring a ghoulish Santa in a graveyard accompanied by the Virgin Mary on a broomstick, elves plastered on sake, and a Christmas revue featuring "stripping nuns and three lecherous Wise Men." And sometimes they just don't get it at all, such as when a Japanese TV station reportedly ran the movie Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, a disturbing film about English soldiers in a Japanese POW camp, as its festive holiday offering. By far the most well-known of these Japanese/Western holiday blendings is the notorious story of a department store somewhere in Japan that one year supposedly erected a prominent Christmas display featuring as its centerpiece the smiling figure of Santa Claus nailed to a cross. It's a perfect expression of the clash between the holy and the profane, the secular and the religious, the East and the West. It speaks to xenophobic fears (these foreigners can't be trusted with our religion and our traditions!), and it's a darn funny story. Examples: A few Decembers ago, a Japanese department store, desperate to appear westernized and with-it, mounted an extravagant Christmas display featuring a life-sized Santa Claus crucified upon a cross. The granddaddy of cultural faux pas in Japan occurred just after World War II when a Ginza department store rolled out its elaborate Christmas promotion: a smiling Santa nailed to a crucifix. A Japanese department store reputedly once put up a big Christmas cartoon that prominently displayed a Santa Claus on a crucifix. Whether or not this story, which has been circulating in Tokyo for some years, is true or just another urban legend is unclear. A famous story from 1945, the first year of the U.S. occupation of Japan after World War II, recounts how shopkeepers in Tokyo's Ginza district knew there was a big Western holiday coming and wanted to capitalize on it. "They knew there was this guy in a white beard and a red suit, and they knew there was a religious angle," he said. "And the result was little Santa Clauses on crucifixes." A few years ago, in Kyoto, one department store filled its center window with an enormous effigy of a crucified Santa Claus. However, despite all the people who assert that the tale of the crucified Santa is true and that they know someone who actually saw it, the literal truthfulness of this legend is suspect. No one to our knowledge has produced evidence documenting that such a Christmas display was ever used commercially in Japan (other than as a knowing joke), such as a photograph of the scene or a contemporaneous news account that recorded its date and location. In true urban legend fashion, the details of where, when, and how the crucified Santa Claus was displayed are vague and vary from telling to telling: Santa appeared on a cross in Kyoto, Tokyo, the Ginza district, or a specific department store (such as Mitsukoshi); he was represented with a gigantic figure, a life-sized display, several small characters, a billboard, or a cartoon drawing; and Santa was nailed to a cross in Japan in 1945 or 1962 or 1990 or anywhere between "just after World War II" to "a few years ago." The mixing of Christian crucifixion iconography and Santa Claus is an unlikely pairing, even to non-Christians. Nativity scenes, not crucifixes, are the religious displays featured at Christmastime, and anyone with the least bit of thoughtfulness would have to wonder why a smiling, happy, jolly figure would be depicted hanging from boards with nails driven through his hands and feet. Santa Claus in a creche might be a plausible mistake (there are claims that figures such as the Seven Dwarfs have been spotted standing in for the Three Wise Men in various parts of the world), but a crucified Santa challenges credulity. As parody, it's believable; as an honest mistake, we find it implausible. Perhaps the key to this legend is the timing. Despite claims of crucified Santas in Japan that span the entire post-war era, the earliest reports of this legend we've found so far all stem from the early 1990s. Not coincidentally, up until that time, Japan had been riding the economic high of their "bubble economy," and Americans watched in dismay as the Japanese business model was widely touted as superior to the American. Dire predictions were made about the dominance of the American (and world) economy by Japan, and asset-rich Japanese began snapping up foreign (especially American) real estate such as New York's Rockefeller Center. Should we be surprised that a xenophobic legend involving a clash between Japan and one of the most hallowed aspects of Western culture might arise from such circumstances? Alternatively, we can ignore all the foreign trappings and simply interpret this legend as a commentary on the commercialization of Christmas, a holiday in which Jesus Christ has now been replaced (symbolically and literally) by Santa Claus. This was the point artist Robert Cenedella was trying to make when he drew the ire of religious groups over his painting of a crucified Santa Claus, which was displayed in the window of New York's Art Students League in December 1997. | 1 | [
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