id
stringlengths 4
7
| query
stringlengths 166
33.3k
| answer
stringclasses 3
values | choices
sequencelengths 3
3
| gold
int64 0
2
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
FMD2600 | 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: Senator Jeff Flake: Solar Energy Can't Power Lights at Night? Claim summaries: A comment made by Arizona senator Jeff Flake during a town hall meeting was reproduced without context to make him seem ignorant about the basics of solar power.
contextual information: On 13 April 2017, Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona participated in a town hall meeting with some of his constituents that, like several other such events held by U.S. Congress members in the early part of the year, proved to be contentious for the Republican senator. Flake encountered a raucous audience at a town hall meeting in Mesa, Arizona. Constituents peppered the Republican lawmaker with questions about President Donald Trump's actions in office, his broader agenda on climate change, the president's taxes, the Supreme Court, and Planned Parenthood. Much like other GOP town halls held since Trump assumed the Oval Office, attendees expressed their frustration with Flake, many accusing him of being a rubber stamp for Trump. Flake, like Reps. Jason Chaffetz, Mike Coffman, and Sen. Mitch McConnell before him, attempted to address the audience's concerns, though most of his explanations drew shouts and boos from the crowd. Although Flake's town hall did not appear to have a large presence of demonstrators like those at some high-profile congress members' events in recent months, he at times struggled to contend with fits of chanting and jeering from the crowd at the Mesa Convention Center. Not all of the questions were hostile, and some constituents applauded Flake for sharing his time. The senator extended the meeting by one hour to take more questions, but the mood frequently returned to a bitter note. "Can you just remind me when you're up for reelection?" one woman asked, prompting cheers from the audience. During that town hall meeting, Senator Flake engaged in a several-minute exchange with a constituent who urged the lawmaker to support efforts to promote alternative energy sources over fossil fuels and address climate change issues. One small portion of that exchange was later incorporated into an image macro that was widely spread online, making it appear as if the senator were ignorant about the basics of solar power. Portraying people as fools for claiming that wind and solar power technologies don't work when the wind isn't blowing or the sun isn't shining is a common trope. However, although Senator Flake did make the statement attributed to him—expressed as "you can't tell people we're gonna turn off your power at night because the sun isn't shining"—that trope has been unfairly applied to him, as his comment has been stripped of context that showed it to be not so foolish or unreasonable. As video of the town hall event captures, Senator Flake engaged a constituent (who introduced himself as a major in the U.S. Army Reserve and a recent graduate of Arizona State University with a degree in Sustainability) in a fairly extensive conversation about alternative energy sources, with the constituent advocating for the promotion of solar power technologies in Arizona, given that the state is blessed with an abundance of sunshine. In response, the senator did not dismiss the idea by expressing the absurd concept that solar energy wouldn't be available at night. Rather, Flake's contention was that battery technology was not yet sufficiently developed to store enough solar-derived energy to provide "base load power" to cities during non-daylight hours. Thus, if we wished to completely eliminate our use of fossil fuels, solar power would have to be supplemented by other non-carbon energy sources, such as nuclear power. This discussion of alternative energy sources begins at the 13:00 mark in the following video, with Senator Flake's now-infamous comment occurring at 18:20 after more than five minutes of back-and-forth that established the context in which he made it. As the constituent interrupted the senator's remarks by interjecting "battery ... battery" (contending solar energy can be harvested and stored), Flake responded by saying that "what we've gotta do is we've gotta have baseload power now ... you can't tell people we're going to turn off your power at night because the sun isn't shining." Clearly, Senator Flake was aware that solar-derived energy can be stored in batteries for later use, as the point he was disputing with his constituent was the state of the art in battery technology. Flake maintained that batteries couldn't currently provide "base load power" levels to cities, while the constituent countered by referencing a solar energy station built by Tesla on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Renewable energy supplies are great because they produce power without filling the air with pollution. Yet, once the sun goes down, solar panels become pretty useless. But Tesla and Hawaii have a solution that will use the sun's rays both day and night using Powerpacks built at the Gigafactory. The Kapaia project is a combination of a 13MW SolarCity solar farm and a 53MWh Tesla Powerpack station on the island of Kauai. In partnership with the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC), the project will store the sun's energy during the day and release it at night. The station (along with Kauai's other renewable resource solutions, including wind and biomass) won't completely eliminate the island's use of fossil fuels, but it will temper the need. In addition to using Tesla's station to combat the island's incredibly high electric bills, it's also part of a long-term Hawaii-state plan to be completely powered by renewable energy sources by 2045. Kauai has its own goal of using 70 percent renewable energy by 2030. With this project, the island is getting closer to that goal and can now produce 100 percent of the energy it needs during high usage mid-days and low loads via renewables during a brief period of time. Whether Senator Flake was right or wrong about the particulars of the current state of solar energy and battery technologies, he did demonstrate a working awareness of how energy from the sun is collected and stored, and he did not express a belief that dependence on solar energy would necessarily mean residents would have to go without power at night. The video of the town hall event shows that Senator Flake and a constituent disagreed about the current scalability of power gathered from the sun but were not in disagreement about the existence of solar technologies or the availability of sun-harvested energy at night. Nonetheless, the senator's remarks were misleadingly truncated and altered (replacing "power" with "lights") and shared online in a form that falsely suggested he did not understand how solar power works. | 2 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 2 |
FMD2601 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: The temporary alliance between Senator Ted Cruz and Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, formed to deny Donald J. Trump the Republican presidential nomination, was already fraying almost to the point of irrelevance on Monday, only hours after it was announced to great fanfare. With the pact, the two candidates agreed to cede forthcoming primary contests to each other. Mr. Kasich would, most crucially, stand down in Indiana’s primary on May 3 to give Mr. Cruz a better chance to defeat Mr. Trump there, while Mr. Cruz would leave Oregon and New Mexico to Mr. Kasich. It appeared to be a measure of last resort, but initially it seemed like a breakthrough. Mr. Cruz trumpeted what he called the “big news†in Indiana, a state that appears pivotal to stopping Mr. Trump from winning a majority of delegates. “John Kasich has decided to pull out of Indiana to give us a contest with Donald Trump,†he said. But at his own campaign stop in Philadelphia on Monday, Mr. Kasich tamped down Mr. Cruz’s triumphalism. Voters in Indiana, Mr. Kasich said, “ought to vote for me,†even if he would not be campaigning publicly there. He added, “I don’t see this as any big deal. †Under the best of circumstances, the arrangement between Mr. Cruz and Mr. Kasich would seem to be a long shot — more of an expedient to stop Mr. Trump from taking a big step toward winning the nomination next week in Indiana than a permanent joining of forces. Far from forming any kind of unity ticket, Mr. Trump’s surviving challengers have both vowed to triumph in an open convention in Cleveland, and they remain irreconcilable on key matters of policy. Their agreement dealt only with three states, leaving an open question as to how directly they might compete with each other everywhere else. Even in Indiana, emerging as the most important state, the pact appeared something less than decisive. While Mr. Kasich’s campaign canceled his public appearances in the state, the governor was still slated to visit Indianapolis on Tuesday for a event at the Columbia Club. And he still had meetings scheduled with a series of Indiana Republicans, including Gov. Mike Pence, according to a leading Republican in the state. Mr. Cruz’s campaign privately advised supporters on Sunday not to endorse tactical voting, whereby his supporters might switch their allegiance to Mr. Kasich in states where the Ohio governor is running stronger against Mr. Trump. “We never tell voters who to vote for,†read the suggested Cruz talking point. “We’re simply letting folks know where we will be focusing our time and resources. †Mr. Trump, who has taunted his opponents throughout the race for their Keystone Kops approach to undermining his campaign, seemed to relish the continuing strain between his remaining rivals. On Twitter, he mocked “Lyin’ Ted Cruz†and “1 for 38 Kasich,†referring to the latter’s dismal winning record in the Republican race, for being unable to beat him on their own. “So they have to team up (collusion) in a two on one,†Mr. Trump wrote. “Shows weakness!†At a campaign rally in Rhode Island, Mr. Trump boasted that his opponents were united against him, and said he welcomed their “collusion. †“Actually I was happy,†he said, “because it shows how weak they are. †Allies of both Mr. Cruz and Mr. Kasich did not exactly disagree with that assessment, and acknowledged that the prospect of imminent disaster in Indiana had been the impetus to reach their deal, such as it is. Still, aides to Mr. Cruz and Mr. Kasich seem acutely aware that they risk turning off voters who find the arrangement unseemly. Even before his rivals’ agreement, Mr. Trump had complained repeatedly that the nominating process was “rigged†against him. With Mr. Trump expected to win all five of the East Coast states that vote on Tuesday, the next opportunity to slow his campaign will come a week later in Indiana. Republicans believe he must be stopped there if they are to deny him the nomination. “Indiana is a for Ted Cruz, and it’s a for anybody who doesn’t think Donald Trump should be the nominee,†said David McIntosh, the president of the Club for Growth, a conservative group opposed to Mr. Trump and supportive of Mr. Cruz. The group is airing an ad in Indiana urging voters to vote for Mr. Cruz, not Mr. Kasich, to stop Mr. Trump, and officials said they intended to keep it on the air despite the agreement. On Monday, Trusted Leadership PAC, a group supporting Mr. Cruz, said it also planned to keep a previously announced attack ad against Mr. Kasich on the air in Indiana. The group added, though, that it had shelved advertising plans in New Mexico and Oregon. Charles R. Black Jr. an adviser to Mr. Kasich, said it would be helpful to his candidate — and “a big blow to Trump†— for Mr. Cruz to win Indiana. The point of announcing the deal, Mr. Black said, was to indicate to outside “super PACs†where the campaigns and candidates were marshaling their resources. Mr. Black played down the degree to which voters would cast their ballots strategically, switching allegiance between candidates to thwart Mr. Trump. “Either the guy gets to 1, 237 or he doesn’t,†he said. “Voters don’t focus on this tactical, inside baseball stuff. †For months, rivals of the Republican have claimed that he has succeeded only because the vote has been spread among so many alternative candidates. That argument appeared to falter in New York last week, when Mr. Trump won 60 percent of the vote and captured nearly all of the state’s delegates. Now that each of them has been granted a cleaner shot against Mr. Trump — in different states, and at different moments over the next few weeks — Mr. Cruz and Mr. Kasich will have no easy excuse if Mr. Trump continues to prevail. While Mr. Cruz faces the more immediate test in Indiana, Mr. Kasich will have to make swift use of his free hand in Oregon. Though the state’s primary date is May 17, the election there is conducted by mail, and voters will begin to receive their ballots this week. Ron Saxton, a prominent Kasich supporter in Oregon, said the deal “puts more pressure†on Mr. Kasich and Mr. Cruz to perform strongly against Mr. Trump. But Mr. Saxton, a former Republican candidate for governor, said there was catching up to do in his state. “None of the three G. O. P. campaigns have any real Oregon visibility yet, just the national press,†Mr. Saxton wrote in an email. “Since Cruz’s name remains on the ballot, my guess is that he’ll get close to the same votes he’d get if he hadn’t ‘withdrawn.’ Is he going to actively encourage his supporters to vote for Kasich?†On Monday, both candidates swatted away questions about whether the deal was something of an underhanded ploy. Mr. Cruz said the agreement was aimed at empowering voters against the denying that the effort to stop Mr. Trump was subverting the will of the people. “This is entirely about the will of the people,†he said. “This is about winning the votes of the Hoosier State. †Mr. Kasich, in Pennsylvania, grew quickly agitated at the suggestion that his deal with Mr. Cruz reflected desperation. “Me? No, I’m not desperate — are you?†he asked a reporter. “Are you desperate?†| 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2602 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Donald Trump has been trying to suppress internal documents from his controversial Trump University business, but a judge has just ruled that they must be released into the public domain.The Friday ruling, in which Judge Gonzalo Curiel cited heightened public interest in presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, was issued in response to a request by The Washington Post. The ruling was a setback for Trump, whose attorneys argued that the documents contained trade secrets.Curiel s order came the same day that Trump railed against the judge at a boisterous San Diego rally for his handling of the case, in which students have alleged they were misled and defrauded. The trial is set for November.The documents reportedly contain information on how Trump University advised its employees on how to squeeze the most money from students who had signed up for information on building their own real estate business. Trump University has been criticized by former students and investigators like the Attorney general for New York for trying to make money from people desperate to be entrepreneurs, when in fact much of the material they received was worthless.Trump University students have previously said they were constantly upsold new material, while rarely making the kind of money that was promised in ads featuring Trump and his personal branding.On Friday, Trump included an attack on the judge in the Trump University case in his remarks at a campaign rally. He described the judge as a Mexican, when in reality he is a U.S. citizen.Trump University is among the many failed businesses Trump has been involved in over the years. Other companies that failed include Trump Steaks, Trump Air, and Trump Magazine. Trump s business and casinos have filed for bankruptcy several times. Yet despite these failures, Trump has regularly presented himself as a winner who is unfamiliar with losing.Featured image via Flickr | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2603 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: This could be YUGE news for conservatives who were on the fence about Trump..Gov. Mike Pence is dropping his re-election bid in Indiana to become Donald Trump s running mate.IndyStar has confirmed that Trump plans to announce Pence as his selection for vice president, ending a weeks-long vice presidential casting call during which Trump vetted a handful of high-profile Republicans.Trump s national campaign spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, said a decision has not been made. A formal announcement is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday in Manhattan.The long-awaited decision upends the political landscape in Indiana and at least partially remakes the Trump campaign in Pence s image.In Pence, Trump has added a social conservative who GOP strategists say will reassure rank-and-file Republicans that Trump can be trusted to pursue their interests. Veteran political observers say Pence, a former U.S. House member and chairman of the House Republican Conference, will provide a disciplined counter to Trump s improvisational campaign style. Pence also brings fundraising power and credibility on a wide range of policy issues that are important to conservatives. How Governor Mike Pence will help Trump:Indiana Gov. Mike Pence would bring constitutional fidelity, conservative credentials, traditional faith, foreign policy, Washington know-how, and a calm, steady, Midwestern demeanor to a national ticket with Donald Trump, boosting the New York businessman with several types of voters that may prove to be the key to building an electoral coalition that could propel Trump into the White House.Pence was an Indiana talk show host who took on the party establishment to get into Congress. Once there, he was regularly a thorn in the establishment s side, routinely opposing the go-along-to-get-along establishment playbook. But he did so as a happy warrior who kept disagreement focused on policies, while being friendly and personable with his opponents.Over time, Pence became very popular among conservatives, and effective at communicating a conservative message through the national media.Pence repeatedly opposed George W. Bush s proposals to expand government. When Republicans lost the U.S. House in 2006, Pence took the ultimate anti-establishment step of running against John Boehner to be the leader of House Republicans. He lost that bid, but garners almost 30 voters against the future Speaker, making a name for himself as someone willing to oppose anyone who Pence believed would not lead as a conservative.Pence was regarded as an effective legislator under both Republican and Democratic presidents. Trump has no experience negotiating with Congress or experience with the vast complexity of the federal government. Pence could remedy all that.Pence is also an evangelical Christian with a model family.For a much more in-depth look at Governor Mike Pence and what he brings to a Trump ticket: BreitbartPence is set to officially become the vice presidential nominee during the Republican National Convention, which starts July 18 in Cleveland. He could become the first vice president from Indiana since Dan Quayle took office in 1989 under George H.W. Bush.Pence s departure for national politics sets up a scramble among Indiana Republicans to determine who will replace Pence to run against Democratic challenger John Gregg in the November gubernatorial election. Via: IndyStar | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2604 | 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: Credit Card Scams Claim summaries: E-mail chronicles various ways scammers might obtain your credit card numbers.
contextual information: Claim: E-mail chronicles various ways scammers might obtain your credit card numbers. POSSIBLE, BUT NOT COMMON Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2004] Good Information This was just passed on to me. Seems to make a lot of sense. IT COULD CERTAINLY HAPPEN TO ME EASILY ENOUGH...... SCENE 1: A friend went to the local gym and placed his belongings in the locker. After the workout and a shower, he came out, saw the locker open, and thought to himself, "Funny, I thought I locked the locker. Hmmmmm." He dressed and just flipped the wallet to make sure all was in order. Everything looked okay all cards were in place. A few weeks later his credit card bill came a whooping bill of $14.000! He called the credit card company and started yelling at them, saying that he did not make the transactions. Customer care personnel verified that there was no mistake in the system and asked if his card had been stolen. "No," he said, but then took out his wallet, pulled out the credit card, and yep, you guessed it, a switch had been made. An expired similar credit card from the same bank was in the wallet. The thief broke into his locker at the gym and switched cards. Verdict: The credit card issuer said since he did not report the card missing earlier, he would have to pay the amount owed to them. How much did he have to pay for items he did not buy? $9,000! Why were there no calls made to verify the amount swiped? Small amounts rarely trigger a "warning bell" with some credit card companies. It just so happens that all the small amounts added up to big one! SCENE 2: A man at a local restaurant paid for his meal with his credit card. The bill for the meal came, he signed it, and the waitress folded the receipt and passed the credit card along. Usually, he would just take it and place it in his wallet or pocket. Funny enough, though, he actually took a look at the card and, lo and behold, it was the expired card of another person. He called the waitress and she looked perplexed. She took it back, apologized, and hurried back to the counter under the watchful eye of the man. All the waitress did while walking to the counter was wave the wrong expired card to the counter cashier, and the counter cashier immediately looked down and took out the real card. No exchange of words nothing! She took it and came back to the man with an apology. Verdict: Make sure the credit cards in your wallet are yours. Check the name on the card every time you sign for something and/or the card is taken away for even a short period of time. Many people just take back the credit card without even looking at it, thinking that it has to be theirs. FOR YOUR OWN SAKE, DEVELOP THE HABIT OF CHECKING YOUR CREDIT CARD EACH TIME IT IS RETURNED TO YOU AFTER A TRANSACTION! SCENE 3: Yesterday I went into a pizza restaurant to pick up an order that I had called in. I paid by using my Visa Check Card which, of course, is linked directly to my checking account. The young man behind the counter took my card, swiped it, then laid it flat on the counter as he waited for the approval, which is pretty standard procedure. While he waited, he picked up his cell phone and started dialing. I noticed the phone because it is the same model I have, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then I heard a click that sounded like my phone sounds when I take a picture. He then gave me back my card but kept the phone in his hand as if he was still pressing buttons. Meanwhile, I'm thinking: I wonder what he is taking a picture of, oblivious to what was really going on. It then dawned on me: the only thing there was as my credit card, so now I'm paying close attention to what he is doing. He set his phone on the counter, leaving it open. About five seconds later, I heard the chime that tells you that the picture has been saved. Now I'm standing there struggling with the fact that this boy just took a picture of my credit card. Yes, he played it off well, because had we not had the same kind of phone, I probably would never have known what happened. Needless to say, I immediately canceled that card as I was walking out of the pizza parlor. All I am saying is, be aware of your surroundings at all times. Whenever you are using your credit cards, take caution and don't be careless. Notice who is standing near you and what they are doing when you use your card. Be aware of phones because many have a camera phone these days. When you are in a restaurant and the waiter/waitress brings your card and receipt for you to sign, make sure you scratch the number off. Some restaurants are using only the last four digits, but a lot of them are still putting the whole thing on there. I have already been a victim of credit card fraud and, believe me, it is not fun. The truth is that they can get you even when you are careful, so don't make it easy for them. FORWARD THIS TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN THINK OF. LET'S GET THE WORD OUT! Origins: The item quoted above is another example of a "crime warning" message that is difficult to classify as either true or false. The scenarios it describes are possible, and someone, somewhere, might very well have been victimized by them, but on the other hand the message provides no details of time, place, or person, to use in verifying these tales, and the scenarios proffered are generally too implausible to be of much legitimate concern to the average person. The first two entries describe scammers who supposedly switch expired credit cards for valid credit cards, thereby enabling them to run up thousands of dollars in charges before the victims realize their cards are missing. This isn't a scheme likely to be successful in most cases, for a number of reasons: Not all credit cards look alike. Common credit cards such as VISA and MasterCard vary quite widely in appearance, featuring different logos (based upon the issuing financial institutions), different colors of plastic, and even different (customer-selected) background designs. For this scenario to work, the putative thieves would have to carry around a plethora of different styles of cards and hope to hit a long shot by coincidentally matching one of their cards to a victim's particular style card. The deception would be obvious the next time the victim used (or, presumably, even looked at) his card, which wouldn't give the scammers much time to try to run up a huge charge on the stolen card via many small purchases. Contrary to the claim made above, most credit card issuers will flag as suspect thousands of dollars' worth of charges made on a credit card within a short period of time, even if none of those charges are for large amounts. Also contrary to a claim made above, a credit card customer could not be held liable for $9,000 worth of charges made to a stolen credit card, whether he reported the card stolen or not. According to the Federal Trade Commission, under federal law a credit card holder's maximum liability for any unauthorized credit card use is $50. (If the cardholder reports the loss before the credit card is used, he cannot be held responsible for any unauthorized charges at all.) If the loss involves the credit card number, but not the card itself, the cardholder also has no liability for unauthorized use. liability Frankly, if you're habitually leaving your wallet unattended in an easily-opened locker, you've got a lot more to be concerned about than potential visits from card-swapping scammers. The third scenario covers a situation we've already written an article about, that of identity thieves supposedly snapping pictures of credit cards with cell phone cameras. This scheme too is possible but implausible, since: article It's still quite difficult (given the quality of cell phone cameras, the reflectiveness of plastic credit cards, and the usual lack of contrast between the colors of a card's imprinted numbers and its background) to quickly snap off a clear photo of a credit card. Taking a picture of the front of a credit card won't capture the CVC2 or CVV2 security code required for most CNP (i.e., "card not present") purchases. (American Express, however, is an exception to this, as their security codes are printed on the cardfaces.) security code CNP Retail clerks and others who typically handle customers' credit cards in the course of business transactions have many, many ways of recording card numbers that are better and easier (and less obtrusive) than literally pointing a camera at a card and taking a picture of it. The admonition to "take caution and don't be careless" with your credit cards is generally sound, but then again, it's also rather obvious advice that applies to just about every aspect of life. Last updated: 22 July 2011 | 2 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 2 |
FMD2605 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Vladimir Putin: The United States continues to sleep with al-Nusra ‹ › South Front Analysis & Intelligence is a public analytical project maintained by an independent team of experts from the four corners of the Earth focusing on international relations issues and crises. They focus on analysis and intelligence of the ongoing crises and the biggest stories from around the world: Ukraine, the war in Middle East, Central Asia issues, protest movements in the Balkans, migration crises, and others. In addition, they provide military operations analysis, the military posture of major world powers, and other important data influencing the growth of tensions between countries and nations. We try to dig out the truth on issues which are barely covered by governments and mainstream media. The Geopolitics of Russia-Egypt Relations By South Front on October 27, 2016 …from SouthFront
The rapidly developing relations between Russia and Egypt have been overshadowed by the more prominent relationships between Russia and Syria, as well as Russia and Iran. Nevertheless, the Russia-Egypt relationship deserves closer scrutiny because, unlike the country’s relations with the other two Middle Eastern powers, it concerns a country that until recently appeared to be firmly in Western orbit. The abrupt shift of its geopolitical vector toward Eurasia therefore represents a far bigger change for the region than Russia’s successful support of the legitimate Syrian government, or the close relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran, both of which have been on the Western “enemies list” for decades. The reasons for this shift are twofold, and have to do with the way Western powers interact with Middle Eastern powers in the context of a systemic economic crisis, as well as with Russia’s demonstrated attractiveness as an ally.
The West’s systemic crisis clearly transformed how Western powers view non-Western ones. Whereas the “end of history” globalist rhetoric suggested a post-sovereignty utopia in which weak and strong powers interact on equal terms in a world without borders, in practice that rhetoric was a ruse to persuade non-Western powers to drop their guard and allow themselves to be penetrated by Western corporations and financial institutions and lose any possibility of charting their own, independent course. Alas, from Western perspective, assimilating “emerging markets” is still the cornerstone of economic policy, the only program of economic growth. Whereas during the 1990s this assimilation took relatively benign form, 9/11 had the effect of allowing initially the US to adopt a far more aggressive stance, to the point of overt military invasion. While EU initially did not follow suit, the severity of EU’s own problems prompted it to jump on the bandwagon of “regime change” in the case of Libya, Syria, and Ukraine.
Egypt, a long-time Western ally since the late 1970s, unexpectedly found itself on the receiving end of predatory Western policies which took the form of the Tahrir Square “color revolution” which ultimately led to the electoral victory of the Muslim Brotherhood, which in turn fell to a military overthrow once the danger of the country’s slide into a civil war became apparent. The fact that Muslim Brotherhood was financed by US-allied Persian Gulf states made Egypt aware it too was the target of state-sponsored jihadism, and that the US was incapable or unwilling to force its allies in region to refrain from targeting Egypt. While Syria is only a peripheral concern for Egypt, the civil war in Libya, where Islamist formations including ISIS enjoy Gulf Arab support, represents an immediate threat to Egypt for several reasons. The country can be used as a staging ground for launching attacks into Egypt and a sanctuary against retaliation and, in the longer term, should its government be a puppet controlled by hostile Gulf powers whose long term goal is the control of Egypt and of Suez Canal, which means that Cairo is keenly interested in influencing the outcome of that war.
Russia thus became an attractive partner because of its history of non-involvement in the internal politics of its allied states (almost to a fault, because unilateral restraint led to the Maidan revolution in Ukraine), because it can fill the security void left by the Western weakness, and, last but not least, because it can physically defend Egypt’s political and territorial integrity against every conceivable threat, an ability it is currently demonstrating in Syria. Egypt appears to be taking advantage of these capabilities. Cooperation now includes the possibility of establishing a Russian airbase in Egypt, visits by Russian paratroopers to Egypt, and special operations troops providing training to their Egyptian counterparts. Egypt is also shifting its military procurement plans toward Russia. The two Mistral-class ships that have been acquired by Egypt will receive the originally planned Russian electronics suite and will carry Russian helicopters; there are discussions of MiG fighter sales to Egypt, and the country received a Molniya-class missile boat.
From the Russian perspective, Egypt represents yet another bulwark of security against Western encroachment, a symmetric response to NATO expansion, “Eastern Partnership”, and color revolutions. Combined with the military presence in Syria, Cyprus’ general pro-Russian orientation, and the neutralization of Turkey which was also facilitated by an abortive West-promoted coup attempt, Egyptian bases would transform Eastern Mediterranean into a “Russian lake.” Last but not least, these bases and alliances could serve a launchpad for power projection into other unstable areas of the Middle East and, if Egypt’s control of the Suez Canal is guaranteed by Russian arms, this guarantee endows both countries with a very effective means of pressuring Western and Gulf Arab powers. Related Posts: | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2606 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: The Islamist group Hamas urged Palestinians on Thursday to abandon peace efforts and launch a new uprising against Israel in response to U.S. President Donald Trump s recognition of Jerusalem as its capital. Palestinian factions called for a Day of Rage on Friday, and a wave of protest in the West Bank and Gaza on Thursday brought clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops. At least 31 people were wounded by Israeli gunfire and rubber bullets, medics said. The Israeli military said an aircraft and a tank had targeted two posts belonging to militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip after three rockets were launched at Israel. A jihadist Salafi group in Gaza called the Al-Tawheed Brigades | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2607 | 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 a Texting Driver Found Still Clutching a Phone After a Fatal Car Crash? Claim summaries: A photograph of a car crash scene is real, but the accompanying story was evidently manufactured to dissuade people from texting while driving.
contextual information: An alarming photograph of a car after it was impaled by a guard rail is frequently presented as if it shows an accident that was the result of distracted driving. The most popular iterations of this rumor, such as this May 2018 Facebook post, also include a gory story about how the driver's torso was found in the car's trunk with a phone still in her hand: Facebook This is a genuine photograph of a crash scene. However, the accompanying backstory is unsubstantiated. It appears that this photograph was first posted to Flickr by EMS Flight Crew, an international community of air medical professionals, in October 2010. That posting did not include any information about where or when this accident occurred, nor any information about what caused the crash (such as texting and driving.) We assume that the driver was alive when emergency crews first arrived on the scene, as the photograph was accompanied by a number of tags such as "air evac," "air rescue," and "life flight." Flickr Although it was originally posted and shared simply because it is an image of a shocking car accident, by 2012 it was being used to dissuade drivers from texting and driving. In fact, EMS Flight Crew may have been the first to share this photograph attached to a warning about distracted driving: However, it doesn't appear that EMS Flight Crew is describing the cause of this specific crash. Rather, this appears to be a general warning against distracted driving. A few months prior, the same Facebook page asked users to suggest a headline for the photograph. "Don't text and drive" was one of the suggestions: prior As there is no credible source confirming that the driver of this vehicle was texting at the time of the crash, we are highly suspect of the gory story claiming that the bisected driver was still clutching her phone when her body was recovered from the trunk of the car. The photograph itself seems to disprove this story, as the driver's side chair is still intact. Texting while driving is certainly a dangerous (and illegal) activity that could result in a similar car crash to the one depicted above. However, there's no evidence that this specific car accident was actually caused by a distracted driver. The story about the bisected driver clutching her phone was likely manufactured in an attempt to scare drivers from using their phones while driving. Although this story may have created with good intentions after all, more than a quarter of car accidents in 2014 involved some form of cellphone use this rumor is little more than unsubstantiated scarebait. 2014 We've reached out to EMS Flight Crew for more information about this crash, and will update this article if more information becomes available. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2608 | 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: Have July 4th Events at Military Installations Been Called Off? Claim summaries: Rumor: President Obama has canceled July 4 celebrations at U.S. military bases to save money.
contextual information: Claim: President Obama has canceled July 4 celebrations at U.S. military bases to save money. OUTDATED Example: [Collected via e-mail, July 2013] Supposedly, the president has canceled 4th of July celebrations for the troops on military bases to save money. Origins: This item about President Obama's cancellation of Independence Day celebrations at U.S. military bases scheduled for July 4, 2013, began circulating a few days before that holiday. It is true that some U.S. military bases, which typically stage larger July 4 shows, cut back or canceled their celebrations that year, but those bases individually chose to do so due to budgetary constraints, not because President Obama directed all U.S. bases to skip celebrating Independence Day that year to "save money." The mandatory $85 billion budget cut imposed by sequestration as of March 2013—an outcome for which Congress and the President shared some measure of blame due to their inability to resolve deficit reduction issues—affected many federal departments, including the military. Therefore, some U.S. military bases had to make the choice to scrap annual fireworks shows (which can cost upwards of $100,000) or other Independence Day events in order to allocate funds to more vital areas. The Fourth of July won't have a patriotic boom in the sky over some military bases because budget cuts and furloughed workers also mean furloughed fireworks. Independence Day celebrations have been canceled at the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base and at the Army's Fort Bragg, both in North Carolina. The annual July Fourth celebration has also been scrapped at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Ga. The reason is money—namely, the lack of it. The failure in Washington to follow up a 2011 budget pact with additional spending cuts meant $85 billion in across-the-board cuts that began in March. Budgets tightened, the military took a major hit, and many federal workers absorbed pay cuts through forced furloughs. When the decision was made to forgo fireworks at Camp Lejeune, the commanding general, Brig. Gen. Thomas Gorry, said the cancellation would "ensure that we can mitigate the fiscal challenges we are currently facing." Last year's Independence Day at the base cost about $100,000, including $25,000 for the fireworks. The big issue is paying the overtime to personnel for security, transportation, logistics, and safety. Base officials said they couldn't justify paying overtime when federal workers are losing pay while furloughed. Marines and their families at Lejeune will instead be able to participate in some free activities—golf, bowling, skeet shooting, archery, and movies. Other bases that are canceling ceremonies to mark the nation's birthday include Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, where the annual Jammin' July 4th event put on by the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw and local city and county officials has been scrapped. The base plans a smaller "freedom bash" on July 3 with pool games, face painting, and bouncy castles. The Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii is scaling back by canceling the fireworks and instead hosting a daytime celebration featuring the Pacific Fleet Band and the Air Force Band of the Pacific. New Jersey's Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. Last updated: June 8, 2015. Kerr, Jennifer C. "A Fourth of July with No Fireworks for Some Military Bases." The Washington Post. July 1, 2013. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2609 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Earlier this week, prominent members of the GOP like Mitt Romney, John McCain and Marco Rubio attacked President Trump for condemning both sides for the violence in Charlottesville, VA last weekend. Today, two police officers were killed in an apparent ambush today in Kissimmee, Florida. Both men woke up, put their uniforms on and committed to protecting total strangers. Instead of protecting them, these two brave men, Officer Matthew Baxter and Sergeant Sam Howard were ambushed and murdered by the cowards police believe dialed 911 for help.On the other side of the nation, at almost the same time that two innocent police officers were being murdered, brave Boston police officers and Massachusetts State Police were defending 50 pro-free speech Americans, who were surrounded by 30,000 hateful and violent protesters who were threatening American citizens for daring to take a stand for the First Amendment. The pro free-speech Americans had to be carted away in by police in wagons, as violent leftists waited for them to exit the Boston Commons area where they gathered with American flags and peacefully spoke to one another about the importance of free speech in America.Here s a picture of some of the White Supremacists defending free-speech in Boston today:https://twitter.com/TruthinGov2016/status/898987969373011969Watch CNN totally lie to their viewers, as they twist the narrative of the FREE SPEECH rally, calling it an Alt-Right rally:#BlackLivesMatter organized march started in Boston against racism & Alt-light rally at #BostonCommon & in solidarity w #Charlottesville. pic.twitter.com/hEljI0lyxG Sara Sidner (@sarasidnerCNN) August 19, 2017Brave Boston police officers were deployed to keep the peace. Keeping 30,000 angry leftists away from 50 peaceful Americans is no easy task when you have people on the left who are itching for a fight. Their fight is not just with Americans who want to protect our First Amendment Right to free speech, it s also with the cops. Former GOP presidential candidates like Mitt Romney, John McCain and Marco Rubio took to social media to trash President Trump for not embracing the violent left (the same groups of leftist agitators who were in Charlottesville that are now in Boston). What these sore losers have clearly forgotten is how Barack Obama and his administrations embraced the war on our law enforcement. What these clowns don t see is that cops being murdered or innocent Americans being beaten bloody because they don t hold the same leftist views is never going to end, unless we have a leader who is willing to call them out.Watch this large group surround and threaten one young man who was all by himself because he was wearing a Trump hat. Can anyone imagine this happening to anyone wearing an Obama hat while he was president? How about you Mitt Romney? Are you okay with this?Guy wearing @realDonaldTrump red cap quickly surrounded, people yelling "shame." Forced to remove.#BostonFreeSpeechRally #BostonCommon pic.twitter.com/2lU2MN11at Jonathan Choe (@choenbcboston) August 19, 2017Here s an example of the peaceful left that so many Americans were enraged about President Trump not defending in Charlottesville last weekend. This is what our law enforcement are dealing with every day in America, courtesy of Barack Obama, Eric Holder, Loretta Lynch, Al Sharpton and Black Lives Matter.Joe Biggs of Infowars was at the FREE SPEECH event and documented how the police officers had to rescue them from being attacked by massive group of violent leftists (language warning).Just before we loaded up and rolled out of the common. pic.twitter.com/ZHgl3yVuoo Joe Biggs (@Rambobiggs) August 19, 2017Watch, as the Massachusetts State Police attempt to move violent protesters back so they can help the small group of free speech Americans escape without being harmed or worse by violent leftist agitators. Anybody wanna be a cop? Too much love in Boston, not sure I can handle it #freespeechrally pic.twitter.com/VMp6whV3RB Kyle (@K_y_l_e___) August 19, 2017Here s a photo of the FREE SPEECH Americans being carted away in police wagons for their own safety from the large mob of violent leftists:That was fun ride pic.twitter.com/dJbaRN9uyf Joe Biggs (@Rambobiggs) August 19, 2017Watch this female senior citizen being attacked and dragged on the ground by an Antifa thug for the crime of holding an American flag.:Here s a look at the person who attacked her. Please share this with everyone to help us identify this person: Found Pic Of Antifa Thug At #Boston Common Free Speech Rally That Assaulted Woman. Let's FIND HIM, Report To @bostonpolice#freespeechrally pic.twitter.com/RW1tJ2yLHg Deplorable R z rbak (@MediaJuggernaut) August 19, 2017 | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2610 | 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 ABC Cancel 'The View,' Removing the Show as of 2024? Claim summaries: An online article was virally shared in June 2023 that said the long-running morning talk show's cancellation was "bound to happen."
contextual information: On May 28, 2023, thedunning-kruger-times.com website reported, "Canceled: ABC Removes 'The View' From Its 2024 Roster: 'Nobody Watches Anymore.'" However, this was not a true story. Dunning-kruger-times.com is associated with America's Last Line of Defense, a network of websites that publishes satirical articles. Historically, the apparent goal of this network was to attempt to get conservative-minded Americans to believe and share the made-up stories. The beginning of the satirical article claimed that ABC had canceled "The View." The featured picture included with the story showed left-leaning hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar making facial expressions as if they had just found out their show was ending. article On June 6, the story appeared to be taking off on Twitter with more shares than on any day since it had been published. Near the end of the story, it mentioned the word "taters." This term is what fans of America's Last Line of Defense use to refer to the website's conservative readers. The "About Us" pagefor dunning-kruger-times.com describes "taters" as follows: page "Taters" are the conservative fans of America's Last Line of Defense. They are fragile, frightened, mostly older caucasian Americans. They believe nearly anything. While we go out of our way to educate them that not everything they agree with is true, they are still old, typically ignorant, and again very afraid of everything. Our mission is to do our best to show them the light, through shame if necessary, and to have a good time doing it, becauseold and afraid or not, these people are responsible for the patriarchy we're railing so hard against. They don't understand logic and they couldn't care less about reason. Facts are irrelevant. BUTthey do understand shame. In the past, the Washington Post, The Boston Globe,BBC, Politico, and others have all published articles about America's Last Line of Defense. Washington Post The Boston Globe BBC Politico We previously reported on a number of other rumors also about "The View," all of which can be read here. all of which can be read here Baker, Billy. "One of the Country's Biggest Publishers of Fake News Says He Did It for Our Own Good - The Boston Globe." BostonGlobe.Com, 7 Apr. 2018, https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/04/07/one-country-biggest-publishers-fake-news-says-did-for-our-own-good/fzIDkkKZf7IbYA9oyGuzhI/story.html. Saslow, Eli. "'Nothing on This Page Is Real': How Lies Become Truth in Online America." Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/nothing-on-this-page-is-real-how-lies-become-truth-in-online-america/2018/11/17/edd44cc8-e85a-11e8-bbdb-72fdbf9d4fed_story.html. Schwartz, Jason, and Shawn Musgrave. "The Supreme Court and Sharia Law: How a Fake-News Story Spreads." POLITICO, 14 May 2018, https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/14/fake-news-story-spreads-576752. Subedar, Anisa. "The Godfather of Fake News." BBC, 27 Nov. 2018, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/the_godfather_of_fake_news. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2611 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Imagine your child was playing outside, runs into the house for a drink, turns on the tap and nothing comes out. Your baby is standing there sweating and thirsty all because the city you live in has decided that your family deserved to be punished for being poor and shut your water off. When you realize what has happened, you send your child to your neighbor s house to get a glass of water there, but their water has been shut off too, and thousands of other people in the city are facing the same dilemma. Elderly people, families with children, young couples, students, all without water that s what s happening in Detroit, Michigan.Roughly 20,000 people are in danger of having their water turned off today, according to Detroit s ABC 7 News:The water is still on for Detroit residents behind on their bills, but not for long. Detroit Water and Sewerage announced they re shutting off service to those who owe them payments. About 20,000 people could see their water shut off, starting May 3rd at 8 a.m.Since 2014, the people of one of the poorest cities in the country have been fighting to keep their water on. The Detroit Water Crisis is so bad that experts from the United Nations have accused the city of violating human rights. In June 2014, the group put out a press release saying: Disconnection of water services because of failure to pay due to lack of means constitutes a violation of the human right to water and other international human rights Disconnections due to non-payment are only permissible if it can be shown that the resident is able to pay but is not paying. In other words, when there is genuine inability to pay, human rights simply forbids disconnections. Nearly two years later the fight over water is still going on and city officials are claiming that they don t want to turn the services off, but they have to if residents do not ask to be put on payment plans. Detroit Water and Sewerage Director Gary Brown said, We don t want to shut anyone s water off. Come in, ask for assistance, get on a payment plan. Residents who have bills of up to $700 will have the balance frozen and be allowed to pay $25 a month.While it may seem like a sweet payment plan, clearly it is not working. In the two years since the city started to aggressively target residents who could not pay, they still have thousands of residents in the same situation. These are not people who are refusing to pay their water bills because they want to go out and party; these are people who live in extreme poverty the likes of which should not exist in this country.It is incredibly inhumane for the city to do this. Water is a right, not a luxury and it should NEVER be shut off because someone cannot afford to pay. But capitalism isn t it great?For more on Detroit s water wars, watch this video:Featured image via Bill Pugliano/Getty Images | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2612 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Police in the Sicilian capital of Palermo scooped up 25 suspected mobsters on an array of charges on Tuesday, including a woman accused of filling in as boss for her imprisoned husband. More than 200 police, two helicopters and five canine units took part in the early morning roundup of the suspects. They are accused of extortion, handling stolen goods, vandalism and being mafia members, according to the arrest warrant seen by Reuters. With extensive use of wiretaps and ambient recordings, police reconstructed territorial divisions in the city and the internal power struggle that made Maria Angela Di Trapani, 49, a powerful figure inside one of the city s historic clans. Her husband, Salvatore Salvino eyes of ice Madonia, who is in jail for murder. Police said she carried messages from her husband to clan members and organized monthly payments to the families of imprisoned mobsters. She also designated who should be running the mob family s business, or who should be acting boss , on behalf of her husband. In one wiretap, an accused clan member refers to her as the mistress of the house , and the police statement on the arrests said she was the real boss of the Resuttana neighborhood. For all intents and purposes, she acts like a real man, a turncoat told investigators, according to the court documents. The Sicilian mafia, or Cosa Nostra, has been hurt by a series of arrests in recent years, weakening the crime network, especially compared to the Calabrian Ndrangheta. With many bosses in jail, their wives have begun to play larger roles. While Cosa Nostra has been much weakened by the result of judicial investigations, this case shows the continuing ability to use violence, intimidation, and the mafia code to force business and shop owners to pay extortion, the warrant reads. During the two-year investigation, police documented 33 separate crimes and 22 attempts, many successful, to extort shops and businesses, police said. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2613 | 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: We've cut taxes 50 times and look what has happened to our revenues. They've grown.
contextual information: Gov. Rick Scotts $1 billion tax-cut request is giving the Florida Legislature plenty to chew on, especially after state economists warned that revenues wont be as high as once thought. Scott wantsa range of cuts, including a reduction in the sales tax on commercial rents and a $770 million break for manufacturers and retailers by getting rid of their corporate income tax. Despite concerns over how the size of his request will affect the budget, Scott was confident the math makes it an easy decision for lawmakers. We have plenty of money to be able to do tax cuts, Scott saidJan. 20, 2016, after state economists warned tax revenues would be less than previously estimated. Let's look at history. We've cut taxes 50 times and look what has happened to our revenues. They've grown. Scott hasused this linerepeatedly inrecent weeks. We wondered whether revenues have continued to grow even as Tallahassee has passed tax changes over recent years. Revenue roundup Scotts line about 50 tax cuts is a talking point that just keeps on growing. We have rated claims about him cutting24 tax cuts,40 tax cuts, andmore than 40 tax cuts,Half True, because Scott counted many small tax changes for specific industries as overall tax cuts. Whats new this time around, in a nutshell, are 16 provisions passed in 2015, most of which were part of a$429 million tax-cut package. The full list is largely comprised of esoteric tax credits (mostly for businesses), changes in unemployment compensation and sales tax holidays. There also was a rate reduction on the Communications Services Tax on cellphone and cable servicethat amounts to about $21 per $100 on a billand a $60,000 cap on taxes for boat repairs. Several of those may help businesses, but really dont often do much for everyday Floridians, especially if they needed to collect unemployment. Many times, local governments may raise taxes to make up for their own lost revenue. In short, its arguable whether all of those qualify as tax cuts, but they did have an impact on how many tax dollars the state brought in. Economists told us, however, that while you can project how much year-over-year revenues may be changed from cuts, its tough to attribute any concrete economic growth to those changes. Because of overall economic growth, tax revenues have been rising since Scott became governor as the state was climbing out of the Great Recession. We surveyed several years of general revenue, which is funded by taxes and fees and can be used by the Legislature for any purpose, alongside the state's rate of economic growth. Fiscal year General revenue Growth rate 2008-09 $21 billion -12.8 percent 2009-10 $21.5 billion 2.4 percent 2010-11 $22.55 billion 4.8 percent 2011-12* $23.6 billion 4.7 percent 2012-13 $25.3 billion 7.2 percent 2013-14 $26.2 billion 3.5 percent 2014-15 $27.7 billion 5.7 percent 2015-16 $28.4 billion 2.1 percent State economist Amy Baker noted that even with Floridas economy growing, that growth rate is currently below the states historical average, and the cumulative effects of prior tax changes are eating into revenues more than expected. State budget forecasters have announced that tax revenues will come in at$400 million less than previously expected. Scotts office has rejected those figures in pursuit of his biggest round of tax cuts, saying the Legislature has plenty of money to play with. But while its apparent that revenues have gone up even as Scotts tax changes have been implemented, experts said its tough to directly link them. They said there are three main reasons Floridas revenues have grown during the nationwide recovery: Population growth, rising property values and overall inflation. More than 1 million people have moved to Florida since 2010, property values are recovering from the housing bust, and inflation makes tax collections go up as costs go up. Basically, more people are paying more taxes on things that cost more. Norton Francis, senior research associate with the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, said that despite being thethird-largest state, the growth rate for Floridas tax revenues has started tolag behind the national average. What you need to look at is, are (tax revenues) growing more than they used to? Norton asked. It could be that its come back as a whole, but its hard to pin that to a tax cut. Our ruling Scott said, We've cut taxes 50 times and look what has happened to our revenues. They've grown. Scott has a debatable definition of tax cuts, but the states tax revenues have increased since he took office. Economists told us it would be difficult to attribute growth specifically to tax changes. The national economic recovery, population growth, higher property values and inflation are the major factors for the states growth. The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. We rate it Mostly True. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2614 | 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: Inheritance of a Family Name Claim summaries: Are you in line for a windfall inheritance because you share your surname with a dead person?
contextual information: We all dream of rich relatives kicking the bucket and leaving us their fortunes, which is why this "unexpected inheritance" scam works as well as it does. My name is Becky J. Harding, I am a senior partner in the firm of Midland Consulting Limited: Private Investigators and Security Consultants. We are conducting a standard process investigation on behalf of HSBC, the International Banking Conglomerate. This investigation involves a client who shares the same surname with you and also the circumstances surrounding investments made by this client at HSBC Republic, the Private Banking arm of HSBC. The HSBC Private Banking client died in testate and nominated no successor in title over the investments made with the bank. The essence of this communication with you is to request you provide us information/comments on any or all of the four issues: 1-Are you aware of any relative/relation who shares your same name whose last known contact address was Brussels Belgium?2-Are you aware of any investment of considerable value made by such a person at the Private Banking Division of HSBC Bank PLC?3-Born on the 1st of october 19414-Can you establish beyond reasonable doubt your eligibility to assume status of successor in title to the deceased? It is pertinent that you inform us ASAP whether or not you are familiar with this personality that we may put an end to this communication with you and our inquiries surrounding this personality. You must appreciate that we are constrained from providing you with more detailed information at this point. Please respond to this mail as soon as possible to afford us the opportunity to close this investigation. Thank you for accommodating our enquiry. Becky J. Harding.For: Midland Consulting Limited.09/02/2004 Imagine being transformed overnight from office drudge to a member of the jet set it's the stuff of daydreams! (or at least the impetus to buy lottery tickets). Because this urge for the big "something for nothing" runs so deep in us, it makes us vulnerable to the machinations of con men, which is what these e-mailed come-ons areabout.This scam has been part of the grifters' bag of tricks for many a year. It was only a matter of time before it began showing up on the Internet, where those who make their livings by defrauding others have an even easier time vending their cons to the unwary. Though the text quoted above as our example is one of the more common forms this sort of come-on takes in the wilds of cyberspace, the scam can be dressed out any number of ways. How it is worded is far less important than its thrust its "hook" that you might be entitled to an inheritance you had no reason to expect was coming your way. Although the names change from e-mail to e-mail, the scam itself is immutable: potential victims receive notification they share the surname of a recently deceased person who failed to leave a will. This notification purportedly comes from a representative of a firm of "Private Investigators and Security Consultants," with said representative stating he or she is "conducting a standard process investigation on behalf of[name of large financial entity, such as Barclays or HSBC]." Recipients of those e-mails are then asked three or four questions along the lines of the following: How the about-to-be-scammed answer the questions is unimportant the queries are there merely to lend a patina of legitimacy to the inquiry. Regardless of whether potential victims respond with the news that none of their relatives have been to Brussels or whether they claim great-uncles whom the family subsequently lost track of after they settled there, the game is now afoot. In either case, they will be assured there is a very real chance significant inheritances are about to come their way, provided one small insignificant detail is first taken care of: payment of a fee to advance the matter. Similar to the Nigerian Scam and the foreign lottery fraud, the promise of untold wealth is used to distract the overly trusting away from the sorry fact that they are being asked to send money. In all three cases, the con works the same way: after being mesmerized by the vision of riches to come, those being taken advantage of are required to open their wallets and whip out their checkbooks to bring about the happy event. Nigerian Scam lottery There is no dead Uncle Fred, no rich deceased Reese. It's all a lie told to part you from your cash. So far we've seen versions of this scam emanating from supposed private investigating firms named Cappa Consultants, Midland Consulting Limited, and De Rosenberg Consulting, but the names the fraud artists choose to adopt for the purpose of parting the unwary from their money are unimportant; it's all a con. The names of genuine banking concerns (such as HSBC and Barclays) are dragged into the fray willy-nilly by the ill-intentioned to make the matter look more credible, but these real entities have nothing to do with the con. Indeed, as one official at HSBC responded to a query about these supposed windfall inheritances: It has come to our attention that a variation on an email is being circulated that has no connection to HSBC Republic. The email claims that HSBC Republic has employed investigators to contact the family of a deceased client who died intestate. To our knowledge such claims have no validity and we strongly recommend that recipients of such emails do not respond to the sender. Regards Web AdministrationHSBC Republic In another form of the scam, folks are contacted through regular mail by "estate locators" who say those receiving their notices are named beneficiaries of unclaimed family inheritances. Recipients are lured into mailing fees for estate reports, which will supposedly explain where their inheritances are located and how they can be claimed. These "estate locators" may also offer to process claims against these estates for a fee. It does occasionally happen someone so contacted does eventually find he or she has a right to claim against the estate of a distant relative who died without leaving a will. But in those cases, the amount garnered generally proves not to have been worth going after (indeed, often less than what was paid to the "locator" for the information). Estates do hire actual "heir locators" to find missing beneficiaries, but those so engaged are paid by the estate, not by the folks they find. There are also heir locators who freelance on a contingency basis, entering into agreements with those they connect with their rightful inheritances for percentages of sums so recovered. While this might sound like the scam being described above it's not these legitimate heir locators receive payment only after estates are settled and heirs so found have received their bequests. Ergo, if a "locator" is asking you to pay up front, it's a scam. Those still clinging to the hope that there might still be something to their pie-in-the-sky e-mail, that hints at a life of luxury are just in the offing, should pause to consider that professionals in the process of contacting legitimate heirs do so through recognizable law firms, with the contact coming in the form of an actual letter (as opposed to an e-mail) on that firm's letterhead. We find it somewhat amusing that "intestate" (meaning to die without leaving a will) is so often mis-rendered in the e-mails distributed by the defrauders: it either comes out as "in testate" or as "interstate" (which we presume means to die between two highways). What You Can Do: Additional information: Phony Inheritance Scam (United States Postal Service) Phony Inheritance Scam (United States Postal Service) Last updated: 27 November 2011 Choney, Suzanne. "Key Flaws Reveal Truth Behind New E-Mail Hoax."Copley News Service. 7 July 2003. Bangor Daily News. "Be Wary of Inheritance Notifications."2 February 2004 (p. A5). | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2615 | 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: Public education has been permanently cutby $1.6 billion through changes in the Standards of Quality funding formula.
contextual information: The Virginia Education Association says the state has been saving money by lowering public school standards.Since the 2008 General Assembly, we have permanently cut biennial funding for public education by $1.6 billion through changes in the Standards of Quality funding formula, VEA President Kitty Boitnottsaidin a Jan. 23 news conference.The $1.6 billion cited by Boitnott is an eye-popping number. We wanted to know if her figure is correct and if the loss of the funding is, as she said permanent.The Standards of Quality are minimum mandates Virginia sets forth for public education on teacher-pupil ratios, benefits for educators and basic curricula. The General Assembly sets the benchmarks every two years after considering recommendations by the state Board of Education.Virginia is required by law to pay 55 percent of the overall cost of the SOQs and local school districts must pay the rest. For this two-year budget cycle, which began July 1, 2010, the state will pay about $9.6 billion toward meeting the SOQs, and localities will pay about $7.8 billion.Boitnott is essentially saying the state obligation would have been $1.6 billion higher if the General Assembly had not taken steps since 2008 to lower Virginias education standards.Robley Jones, the VEAs director of government relations, said Boitnotts figures came from areporton education funding released last month by the Senate Finance Committee. The study contained a table detailing the 10 substantive reductions to public education programs approved by the General Assembly since 2008. The cuts came to a biennial total of $1.57 billion, and Boitnott rounded up.The biggest savings came from reducing the number of support positions -- such as clerks, teacher aides and bus drivers -- required by the state. That action removed $754 million in SOQ obligations.Lawmakers in 2010 found another $513 million in savings by eliminating certain types of equipment and travel from SOQ calculations and changing the formula for estimating health care costs for school employees.Boitnott, however, is slightly off in her analysis of the the Senate Finance Committees data. The table makes no claim that the 10 cut education programs it lists were part of the SOQs, as Boitnott suggests.In fact, four of the items were not part of the states minimum requirements, according to Charles Pyle, a spokesman for the Department of Education. They account for $174 million in biennial costs.So the real reduction in SOQ mandates comes to about $1.4 billion per biennium. Jones, who provided the information for Boitnotts statement, said he made an inadvertent mistake in computing the SOQ reductions.That brings us down to one last question: Are the cuts to the SOQ formula permanent, as Boitnott says?Technically, they are not. The General Assembly is free to restore the funding, but that is not likely to happen. Julie Grimes, a spokeswoman at the Department of Education, said officials there cannot recall an instance where legislators cut funding for an SOQ program and later replenished it.When the state reduces funding for SOQ programs, localities often absorb the costs. Most school districts in Virginia are not satisfied with just attaining minimum SOQ standards and fund their schools at far greater levels than the state demands.The SOQs allow legislators to claim they fund 55 percent of the states educational mandates. But a different picture emerges when total expenditures on Virginia public education are computed. The localities pay about 50 percent, the state, the state pays 40 percent and roughly 10 percent comes from the federal government.Our ruling:Boitnott said that since 2008, the legislature has permanently cut $1.6 billion in programs from the states formula for funding public schools. Shes a bit off; the actual figure is $1.4 billion.Boitnott said these losses are permanent. The General Assembly could restore funding, but a spokesman at the state Department of Education said officials cannot recall an instance where lawmakers cut an SOQ program and later reversed themselves.We rate Boitnotts claim Mostly True. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2616 | 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 This a Photo of the Nashville RV Explosion Suspect? Claim summaries: Social media posts attempted to tie the Christmas morning explosion in Nashville to a Trump supporter.
contextual information: On Christmas morning of 2020, a recreational vehicle exploded on the streets of Nashville near a building owned by AT&T. exploded A few days later, the FBI identified a person of interest in connection with the explosion, Anthony Quinn Warner, who was believed to have been "paranoid about 5G technology" Anthony Quinn Warner 5G technology While the FBI was pursuing its investigation, social media users circulated a photograph said to depict Warner, a picture purportedly showing him wearing a "Trump 2020" cap: However, this photograph was a hoax, one which bore no resemblance to a picture of Warner published by CBS News that was reported as confirmed by "law enforcement sources": CBS News | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2617 | 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 Texas unemployment rate is now the lowest its been in 40 years & Texas led the nation last month in new job creation.
contextual information: It's commonplace for a governor to tout a state's economy. Still, Greg Abbott of Texas made us wonder when he tweeted in mid-November 2017: "The Texas unemployment rate is now the lowest it's been in 40 years & Texas led the nation last month in new job creation." Abbott, a Republican seeking re-election in 2018, accompanied his tweet with a campaign video of him smiling at business groundbreakings. The ad flashes headlines about companies opening facilities and adding jobs in Texas. Tagline: "And we're just getting started." We began fact-checking Abbott's tweet by asking his office for backup; we didn't receive a response. In July 2017, Abbott made a mostly true claim about more Texans having jobs than ever. Yet we noticed that when Abbott tweeted about the state's jobless rate last month, the October 2017 unemployment rates had yet to be revealed. To get our fix on the latest available data, we fetched Bureau of Labor Statistics figures showing that the state's impressive 4 percent jobless rate for September 2017 tied the previous record low since 1976. According to the bureau, the state similarly had a 4 percent unemployment rate in November and December 2000, 17 years ago. The state jobless rate in fall 1977, 40 years ago, hovered at 5.2 percent. In response to our inquiry, a Dallas-based bureau economist, Cheryl Abbott, confirmed our understanding of monthly seasonally adjusted Texas jobless rates since 1976. Mark J. Perry, who teaches at the University of Michigan-Flint, agreed, though Perry, by email, called Abbott's overstatement on this point minor. Texas Unemployment Rate (Seasonally Adjusted), 1976-September 2017. SOURCE: Website, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Nov. 16, 2017 (downloaded Nov. 16, 2017). Job gains? By email, the bureau's Abbott showed that Texas didn't lead the country in job gains for September (again, the latest month of available data). In fact, an October 2017 bureau press release indicates Texas wasn't even among the five states that experienced job gains from August to September 2017. From the release: "The largest increase in employment occurred in California (+52,200), followed by Washington (+13,800) and Indiana (+11,400)." The states were also described as enjoying statistically significant month-to-month gains. In percentage terms, the bureau said, the largest increase occurred in Nebraska (+0.5 percent), followed by Arizona, Indiana, and Washington (+0.4 percent each). California had a 0.4 percent gain, the release said. According to a more detailed bureau chart we checked in mid-November 2017, Texas saw a 0.1 percent decrease in jobs from August to September 2017, going from 12,328,400 jobs to 12,321,100 jobs. The chart indicates 30 states fared better month to month, though that includes five states showing no percentage gains (or losses). There's a more encouraging longer view. The bureau's release lists Texas among 28 states with over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll employment from September 2016 to September 2017. The release stated: "The largest job gains occurred in California (+280,300), Texas (+256,100), and New York (+93,100)—with the largest percentage gains occurring in Nevada and Utah (+2.5 percent each), followed by Maryland (+2.4 percent)." According to an accompanying chart, Texas and Idaho each saw a 2.1 percent increase in jobs over the year, tying for fourth nationally behind Washington state, which saw a 2.2 percent increase in jobs. Abbott wrote: "As you can see, the largest monthly increase in jobs in September 2017 occurred in California (+52,200). In percentage terms, Nebraska led among the states with a 0.5 percent gain. California also recorded the largest over-the-year increase during this period (280,300), followed by Texas (256,100)." Our ruling: Abbott tweeted, "The Texas unemployment rate is now the lowest it's been in 40 years & Texas led the nation last month in new job creation." The latest unemployment data posted when Abbott spoke showed Texas with a 4 percent unemployment rate in September 2017, though that didn't set a 40-year record. Rather, it tied the previous 40-year low set in two months of 2000. Abbott didn't provide, nor did we find, data showing jobs created in each state in October 2017. Federal data otherwise indicate that Texas experienced a slight decrease in jobs from August to September 2017, though the state also was home to more jobs than a year earlier. We rate this claim false. The statement is not accurate. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check. UPDATE, Nov. 17, 2017: Two days after Abbott tweeted his claim about the Texas jobless rate, the federal government reported that the state had a 41-year record low 3.9 percent jobless rate in October 2017. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2618 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: The Department of Veterans' Affairs vast health network — beset by a scandal last year over delayed care — has been listed as a high-risk federal program by congressional auditors for the first time.
The report by the watchdog Government Accountability Office, which is issued every two years, includes a broad indictment of the $55.5 billion VA program, one of the nation's largest health care systems. USA TODAY obtained the VA section of the report, scheduled for release Wednesday.
The number of aging or disabled veterans treated by the VA has grown to 8.9 million from 6.8 million in 2002, and Congress has increased funding by 85% during that time.
Yet problems with poor health care, delayed doctor appointments and leadership accountability and oversight persist, according to the report. The GAO said it keeps issuing audits identifying problems — eight just last year — but more than 100 areas of mismanagement remain unresolved, according to the report.
VA spokesman James Hutton, in a response, said the department is committed to becoming a "model agency" and example for other government programs to emulate.
"In many ways, (the VA health care system) is on the cutting edge of the industry. In other areas, we realize we need to make significant improvements," Hutton said.
Federal agencies or programs are chosen for the high-risk list by the GAO based on such factors as health or safety, delivery of services and incidents of injury or loss of life.
"These risks to the timeliness, cost-effectiveness, quality and safety of veterans' health care, along with persistent weaknesses we have identified in recent years, raises serious concerns about VA's management and oversight of its health care system," the report said. "VA health care is a high-risk area."
The VA became enveloped in scandal last year over allegations that veterans had died waiting for care at a hospital in Phoenix.
The agency's Inspector General office, which launched a probe into the allegations, found that delays contributed to the deaths of VA patients. However, inspectors concluded that delays may have contributed to the deaths of some veterans and that the falsifying of appointment records by VA staffers to hide delays is a systemic problem within the VA health care system.
Eric Shinseki, a retired general appointed by President Obama to lead the agency in 2009, resigned after claiming he had been misled about the extent of the VA problems.
His replacement, Bob McDonald, has vowed to move aggressively to revamp the VA. He launched the MyVA initiative in September devoted to improving customer service for veterans. Yet McDonald has come under criticism for not firing those responsible for the scandal despite new rules passed by Congress making it easier to dismiss employees.
The GAO report cites the falsified appointment records, and complains about a shoddy evaluation process for doctors who make mistakes, the reliance on data submitted by hospitals under review, handing out undeserved bonuses, chronically inadequate computer systems and poor training of staff.
The report said major improvements for the VA could flow from new legislation signed by Obama last summer that improves access to care and pays for more staff.But the agency has to follow through on recommendations expected from an independent review group and a bipartisan commission created by the legislation. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2619 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Patrick Henningsen 21st Century WireAs Baron Rothschild famously said back in the late 18th century, When there s blood in the streets, it s time to buy property. Too bad then that Donald Trump has to divest all of his holdings and put them in the hands of a blind trust. On the scale of ugly, last night s debate was a moon shot even by this election s sinking standards.Both Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz began their two hour-long sustained attack on the man in the middle, Donald Trump relentlessly hitting the front-runner with every conceivable gotcha factoid and political angle. Trump hit back at Cruz calling him a liar and at Rubio calling the Florida Senator choke artist in reference to his meltdown at the hands of Chris Christie during the last televised debate. WAR: GOP rival Marco Rubio tearing into Donald Trump on an endless range of issues and supposed scandals.Clearly, CNN was also part of this coordinated attack, as they echoed Wall Street luminary and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, going after Trump about publicly releasing his tax returns. Trump then hit back saying that he s being audited by the IRS and can t release his returns in the middle of an audit (which is actually true), and CNN, along with Cruz, kept hammering the issue straight into the post-debate media opportunity where CNN ing nue Chris Cuomo tried (and failed) to channel his inner Tim Russert as he continued the Trump tax probe.It didn t end there. Subsequent gang stalking by Rubio and Cruz were powered by the New York Times (who s adopted a overwhelmingly anti-Trump editorial stance early on), including accusations of fraud over the Trump University civil court case, Trump using Polish building labor in 1980 (the same year that Rubio and Cruz were beginning second grade), and accusations of hypocrisy over Trump s use of used H-2B Visa applications to import seasonal labor to build in south Florida (that one turned out to be nothing burger though. Trump, a seasoned litigator, didn t seemed too worried about the Trump University case, intimating that the lawyers are taking care of that , and the Polish builder scandal (come on guys, who doesn t like Polish builders?) happened 36 years ago.Forget about airs and graces. This was a vicious battle a historic new low for American politics. The fact Trump survived the beating was something in itself. If he does make it through this storm, then both Cruz and Rubio will have done The Donald a huge favor having vetted and exorcised all of his scandals early on during the primary stage, and leaving Hillary and the media with little besides bone to chew on come August.When today s morning press came out, exactly as they have throughout this election, all of the mainstream media channels, newspapers and magazine loudly declared Trump s debate defeat , and trumpeted Rubio aggressiveness . Liberal establishment stalwart The Atlantic declared, Trump s Terrible night , while NBC News ran with the headline that Rubio and Cruz Hammer Trump , followed by the Washington Post trumpeting, Rubio Won Debate, Put Trump on the Defensive. Other wishful pundits weighed in, like media mogul Glenn Beck (who is openly backing Ted Cruz and warning his audiences of an end times Armageddon if America doesn t elect a true Christian Conservative in November). Beck was ecstatic after Rubio s debate performance, especially after this week when Trump gatecrashed a Nevada event where Beck was stumping for Cruz.Rubio is killing it.#gopdebate Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) February 26, 2016This morning, Rubio drew additional fire from the Trump CENTCOM after Rubio claimed that Donald Trump had received $200 million from his father, and said if not for his father s inheritance , Trump would be selling watches in Manhattan. This morning Rubio appeared at an outdoor media event where he tore into Trump, calling him a con artist and went on the pick apart Trump s spelling mistakes on Twitter. At this point, you just got the feeling that Rubio has ventured into a new area of media warfare outside of his own sanitized political wheelhouse. As the old saying goes: never wrestle with a pig.In the end, it was Trump who stole the wind from Rubio s sails, when early the following morning he appeared on national TV next to firebrand GOP candidate, Chris Christie, garnering a power midstream endorsement from the popular New Jersey governor. RENT-A-CROWD? Critics have pointed out that Rubio s crowds appear as props for the camera, as seen at this morning s Rubio rally in Texas.Crowds For Hire?With so many people disengaged from mainstream politics and from major broadcast media, politicians are said to be turning to PR agencies and rent-a-crowd services in order to fill out their camera frames and look more appealing to audiences. More than any other previous presidential election cycle, this 2016 race has seen more accusations of this leveled mainly at GOP candidates like Jeb Bush but also towards Marco Rubio. At this morning s media event, Rubio s team had hand-picked dozens of youths and immaculately dressed made up crowds carefully assembled in rows behind and directly below Rubio. Interestingly, the teen models and the gangsters do not cheer with the core crowd positioned between the cameras and Rubio they simply smile, and many of these people are wearing sunglasses on an overcast morning in Texas. Even hip hop gangster-looking students wearing color-coordinated red hoodies many of whom are even too young to vote, appear disinterested, as if they are being paid $40 to stand in a row in the camera frame.If this is any indication of Rubio s New American Century , then it s certainly cause for worry. The fact that Rubio stole his campaign slogan from Donald Rumsfeld and John Bolton s neoconservative pro-war think tank, Project for A New American Century (PNAC) is interesting, and the fact the media have not commented yet on this is highly suspect.Ironically, it was the brash hawk Donald Trump who took the high ground on the issue of the Middle East. When asked about his commitment to Israel, Trump pointed out that he would not take sides beforehand when brokering any peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and even stated that if he could negotiate a peace deal between the perennial warring neighbors that, It would be my greatest achievement as US president. Who can really argue with that? Well, hermanos Cubanos did. Cruz and Rubio were furious at this point, and the reason for this has to be that both of them have received mucho dinero from the Israeli Lobby to maintain a categorically anti-Palestinian stance. Cruz and Rubio adopted a very ugly tone during this exchange, both telegraphing their commitment to the decrepit status quo meaning that there would be no peace in the Middle East on their watch. Once again, Cruz and Rubio are completely out of touch with what voters really want.Almost one year ago I said on the SUNDAY WIRE SHOW that the Republican establishment would be looking to hedge its approach to returning to the White House more than they have in past elections this time going for the mathematical and demographically pragmatic option which would be Marco Rubio, with Wisconsin s Scott Walker throwing early innings in the bull pen. Orthodox RNC thinking last spring believed that with Rubio, with less than one term in Senate and no leadership experience, could somehow repeat the Obama effect of 2008 and finally usher their party into the 21st century. Things looked very different for Hillary last spring too, where she seemed invincible on the Democrat side as well as in national polling. On paper at least, it seems that Rubio would tick all the right boxes for the GOP elite who are presiding over a party in decline and disarray he s young (44 years old, although you d punt him at a decade his junior), and even more importantly he s Latino, which gives the GOP a shot a pulling in a crucial trilateral voter compliment: Hispanic-American, independents and moderate Democrats. On paper this all makes perfect sense, but running for President in the United States of America isn t simply a case of what looks logical on paper. Case and point: Bernie Sanders, Ben Carson and, of course, Donald Trump.CurtainsIf Cruz loses his home state Texas GOP primary on March 1st, then it s lights out for the Cruz campaign. Right now Cruz and Trump are in a dead heat, nearly tied in the pre-polling, with Cruz a few points ahead. Ditto for Rubio in his home state Florida s GOP primary on March 15th. Currently, Trump is burying Rubio by an average of 15+ points in every poll for Florida. Birther issues aside, this has always been the knock against both Rafael Edward Ted Cruz (photo, left) and Marco Rubio: just like Barack Obama, they are too young and with no real experience governing, and like Obama, destined to become party functionaries.Trump supporters will often point out that while their man was building skyscrapers in Manhattan, both Cruz and Rubio were still scraping their knees playing dodge ball in junior high. Putting this into perspective, it s hard to take a junior politician seriously when they talk about restoring America . Like him or hate him, Trump has a long list of achievements and powerful relationships, and has actually created jobs. As much as politicians tell us that their successive administrations have conjured job creation , the truth is that Americans no longer believe this lie, and millions now see Donald J. Trump as the antidote to that institutional fib. If you polled Americans today and asked them: would you rather live on government assistance or build your own company and be independently wealthy (?), it s fairly certain that the overwhelming majority of Americans would choose the latter even if it meant risking everything. Trump understands this dynamic better than any other candidate because for him, it s not a theoretical proposition. In essence this is the American Dream, and therein lies the disconnect for both career politicians Rubio and Cruz, and perhaps for Hillary Clinton too, should she face-off against Trump later on.Despite the mainstream media insistence that Marco Rubio won Thursday night s debate, and Ted Cruz looked strong , it s fairly clear that both candidates are now relying on negative attacks and cruel swipes, in effect, trying to out-Trump The Donald. If that s their main strategic directive and mind you we haven t even reached super Tuesday yet then it s fair to say we are looking at the final desperate lunges of two highly over-inflated political marketing exercises. Their double team might have impressed a few media gatekeepers, but in the end it didn t make the Cuban pair look presidential. At this stage of the race, looking presidential is important, but when you re desperately playing catch-up you simply can t afford to look presidential, according to Rubio and Cruz anyway. Just another example of how short-term logic rules this race.Meanwhile, the media continue to scratch their heads and quietly panic (think of all the retractions and back pedaling if Trump wins) as Trump continues to win primaries and scoop-up delegates on his way towards a Republican nomination.Watch Rubio s somewhat vain attempt at gutter politics this morning in Texas: It was amusing to watch CNN interrogators, along with Rubio and Cruz, lay into Trump about his lack of specifics on his healthcare plan. Trump stuck to his canned lines, and generalities, and lost no ground with his supporters either. It should also be said voters don t really care about hearing policy details either, as the population has finally copped on to the fact that candidates will say anything to get elected and that no president will ever make good on his or her campaign promises. Eight years of Obama taught America that lesson once and for all.Throughout the CNN event, Trump would point out individual corporate lobbyists in the audience from various industries including the pharmaceutical industry. The fact of the matter here is, despite painting themselves as rebels and DC outsiders , both Rubio and Cruz made it on the stage by taking millions of dollars from various Washington DC lobbies. The same special interests have poured fortunes into Super PACs which are presently funding Cruz and Rubio s presidential campaigns and paying for all of their million dollar TV ad slots. Trump, on the other hand, is funding his own campaign and is not bought and paid for.Collectively, between Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Rick Perry, John Kasich, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, hundreds of millions of dollars have been donated, invested and spent in order to try and inflate a bloated GOP field and give lift-off to each one of these political balloons. As it stands now, all of this money will have been spent in vain. The only winners will be the media consultants and PR companies who produced mountains campaign ads and printed material, and also the TV networks, like CNN, FOX and the others, who ran all of those costly political ads.Towards the end of CNN s gladiatorial event last night, Trump got the last word, and again, it reflected the public mood and thus will further galvanize his support base. He exclaimed: Politicians are all talk, no action just like these two here (Cruz and Rubio) Look what s happening to our country. Trade, vets, common core, Obamacare: I ll get it done, they won t, and we will Make America Great Again. Once again, it s not a question of whether voters believe everything he says, or like everything he does. Just as Jimmy Carter was to cure for Nixon s epic corruption, and the Simple Jack approach of George W. Bush was the beneficiary of Bill Clinton s shameful antics in the Oval office, and just as Barack Obama was the natural reaction to the nation s WMD shame and intellectual inadequacy of two terms of George W. Bush so too is Donald Trump the natural progression following eight years of divisive partisan lead from behind community organizer-in-chief politics by Barack Obama.If Trump does win the nomination in July, then this general election will be one of the most rancorous contests in American history. The real fun has only just begun.READ MORE ELECTION NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire 2016 Files | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2620 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Shame on Teen Vogue! Maxine Waters was a guest of Teen Vogue and was interviewed about why she s calling on young teens to resist our president. This sick behavior by a grown woman smells like sedition. Just read the answer to the question below:Teen Vote asked: What advice would you give to burgeoning young activists who want to help the #resist movement and create effective political change? What can citizens do you help you as a congresswoman achieve change?MW: There are several things that can be done. I love that they dominate social media, and the way that they can communicate with people [by sharing] what I m doing and retweet what I m doing. Every time they bring another person in to listen and to read about what is going on, we gain another supporter, who not only can continue to speak up and convince other people that we have to bring down this president, but now I know they will become voters and that they re going to vote because they have investments in this political process. WE HAVE TO BRING DOWN THIS PRESIDENT Congresswoman Maxine Waters is desperate to Impeach 45, and she s pleading with teenagers to follow her example and push her political agenda in church, and everywhere else.Waters led a chant of Impeach 45 her rally cry to unseat President Trump at The Teen Vogue Summit in Los Angeles last weekend, before urging the mostly teenage female crowd to take on her cause and repeat her mantra everywhere they go. Impeach 45! That s right, Waters said. Let s sing that song all over this country wherever we are. Let s talk about it in the workplace, let s talk about it in our churches, let s talk about it with organized labor, let s get people coming to the forefront. Waters, 79, apparently believes that a mob of young girls, many not old enough to vote, chanting Impeach 45! will convince Republican lawmakers to reverse course on a plan to lower taxes for Americans, and to remove a president from their own party.So far, Waters calls for her colleagues in Congress to impeach Trump have fallen on deaf ears. Lawmakers voted 364-58 against a resolution to consider the move this week, Fox News reports.Read more: American Mirror | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2621 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Days after testifying in front of Congress and after requesting more resources for the Russian investigation, FBI Director James Comey was fired on Tuesday night, effective immediately.The Trump administration is blaming Comey s handling of the Hillary Clinton emails, which makes no sense whatsoever because Trump loved Comey s handling of the emails in October. Trump tried to make the case that he fired Comey for being mean to Hillary Clinton, but even the most rabid Trump supporters have to acknowledge that his Lock Her Up, slogan is completely incompatible with Trump s given rationale.It doesn t take a tin foil conspiracy theorist to imagine that the real reason for the Comey firing is that he was getting too close to the truth in investigating Trump s Russia connections. NPR imagines even more scenarios, like the fact that Comey was becoming too big and was stepping on poor little Donnie s ego. It s becoming more and more likely though, that there were just two reasons Comey was fired and both of them should scare the hell out of you.According to two sources that CNN is calling close to Comey, the two reasons Comey was fired were:#2 confirms everything we ve been assuming since the news broke Tuesday night. #1, though, while not at all surprising, is almost more frightening. Trump had to have approached Comey at some point, demanding his loyalty. That s third-rate Banana Republic dictator crap. It makes one wonder just how many people have had to make an oath of loyalty, not to the Constitution, but to Trump. Maybe it s just the people who might have damaging goods on the administration or maybe it s every single person in his administration, which could explain why hundreds of jobs still remain unfilled within the Executive Branch.Loyalty oaths or no loyalty oaths, the Trump administration s charade when it comes to the handling is quickly coming unraveled. It likely won t be long before Comey, and not just sources close to him, are speaking out and perhaps speaking to Congress.Featured image via Zach Gibson/Getty Images | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2622 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: The vast majority of Republicans want Donald Trump to be president. They've repeatedly told the pollsters, they've turned out in huge numbers for the GOP nominee's rallies, they've given him a record-breaking number of small donations and they are trying to help him win. Some of them were for Rubio, some of them were for Kasich and a lot of them were for Cruz, but they have come together in an effort to save the country from Hillary Clinton.
A small minority of Republicans do not want Donald Trump to be president. They prefer Hillary Clinton. Unfortunately for most of the Republican Party, this small group of angry dissenters includes many of the people at the top of the party -- officeholders, major donors, "strategists," and "conservative" pundits. These people have been able to leverage their connections with the mainstream press to repeatedly attack Trump -- even though they refuse to say anything nice about Hillary.
The Republican Party is led by people who have more in common with the Clintons than with the GOP base.
Their fundamental problem is that they are closer to Hillary on most issues than they are to Republican voters. The honorable thing for them to do would be to leave the GOP altogether and work with the Democrats -- as some like Andrew Sullivan have.
But they're unwilling to do that. Instead, they take Hillary's side on every issue while claiming to be pushing the "conservative" line. Furthermore, it gives them an incentive to talk about everything in personal terms -- as if they would have supported someone like, say, Huckabee, if the former Arkansas governor had been nominated, even though that's not true. So instead of having an honest discussion as to whether the GOP should be a globalist party or a nationalist party, everything dissolves into personal attacks.
When this election is over, the vast majority of Republicans are going to remember that their supposed leaders -- the same officeholders, millionaires, and pundits who told them that they had to "come together" and support John McCain and Mitt Romney -- refused to do the same for Donald Trump. They will know that what they have long suspected is true -- the Republican Party is led by people who have more in common with the Clintons than with the GOP base. And that knowledge will affect the future of the GOP for years to come.
Laura Ingraham joined FOX News Channel in 2007 and currently serves as a contributor, providing political analysis and commentary to FNC's daytime and primetime programming. She is the Editor-in-Chief of LifeZette.com. In addition to her role as a contributor, Ingraham is a frequent substitute host on FNC's "The O'Reilly Factor." As the host of the radio program "The Laura Ingraham Show," she is also the most listened-to woman in political talk radio in the United States, heard by hundreds of radio stations nationwide. Ingraham previously served as a litigator and Supreme Court law clerk. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2623 | 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 U.S. Gun Deaths Since 1968 Outnumber Deaths in All American Wars? Claim summaries: A popular claim about gun-related fatalities revitalized after the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting is fundamentally accurate, with some allowance for imprecision.
contextual information: In the aftermath of the October 1, 2017, mass shooting in Las Vegas, the American public attempted to come to grips with the scale of gun violence in the United States. One oft-cited statistic posted on social media by "The Other 98%" maintained that 1.3 million Americans had been killed in all the wars in U.S. history, while 1.5 million Americans had been killed by firearms (in non-military use) since 1968 alone. NBC News reported similar figures, stating that more Americans have died from gunshots in the last 50 years than in all the wars in American history. Since 1968, more than 1.5 million Americans have died in gun-related incidents, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By comparison, approximately 1.2 million service members have been killed in every war in U.S. history, according to estimates from the Department of Veterans Affairs and iCasualties.org, a website that maintains an ongoing database of casualties from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Different versions of this claim have been prominently offered in recent years by sources such as New York Times columnist Nicolas Kristof in 2015 and PBS Newshour contributor and commentator Mark Shields in 2012. All these claims contain casual uses of the qualifier "Americans" in reference to gun deaths, which is somewhat confusing because not everyone who has been killed by firearms in the United States was an American citizen, and official sources for gun death statistics do not offer breakdowns by nationality. Therefore, we assume that "Americans" is used here for rhetorical effect rather than as a functional statistical category, and we will deal with the total number of gun deaths occurring in the United States since 1968. Similarly, according to historian Don H. Doyle, the U.S. Civil War saw around 543,000 foreign-born (i.e., immigrant) soldiers fighting on the Union side alone, so a significant number of Civil War deaths might have involved non-American citizen combatants, but we will count them all as "Americans." (Indeed, non-U.S. citizens have likely served and died fighting for the U.S. side in every American military conflict since the Revolutionary War, but probably in much greater numbers during the Civil War than in any other.) Support for this claim often uses sources that relate only to combatant deaths in wars and do not include civilian or other non-combatant deaths (the latter being figures that might also include non-U.S. citizens). One could argue that civilian deaths in wars should be included (although estimates of these deaths are much less reliable than for fatalities among military personnel), but we are limiting our analysis to include only combatant deaths in military conflicts. We will break this analysis into two parts: the total number of deaths in the United States involving firearms since 1968 and the number of deaths in the U.S. and among American combatants across all wars in American history. The estimated total number of firearms-related deaths from 1968 to 2016 is 1.58 million. The official number for 1968 to 2015 is 1.55 million, and we have assumed the number of deaths in 2016 as being the midpoint between the two previous years (2014 and 2015). In most cases, the source of these figures is the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). For figures from 1968 to 1991, we consulted the CDC directly. For combatant fatalities, our main source is an April 2017 summary published by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which lists the following figures: The Civil War Trust, a non-profit organization primarily dedicated to preserving American battlefields, estimates that around 6,800 people died in battle during the Revolutionary War, with an additional 17,000 deaths caused by disease, and between 8,000 and 12,000 more deaths occurring among those held as prisoners of war. The upper end of this estimate range would put the total number of deaths associated with the American Revolutionary War at 26,800. Similarly, the Civil War Trust estimates that around 15,000 Americans died during the War of 1812, a significantly higher number than the 2,260 battle deaths estimated by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Civil War is an interesting case. Based on the work of two late 19th and early 20th-century historians, the widely accepted figure for deaths in this conflict was reckoned as 618,222 for about a century. In 2011, however, J. David Hacker (then of Binghamton University) published a significant upward revision of that total, estimating that the likely death toll was between 650,000 and 851,000. Taking the midpoint in this estimate range assumes about 750,000 combatant deaths for the Civil War. Because of the enhanced statistical sophistication involved in Hacker's research and what appears to be acceptance and support of his estimate among historians, we are going to use 750,000 as the estimated death toll among combatants in the Civil War. Figures for the Global War on Terror are taken from the Department of Defense's Defense Casualty Analysis System and are valid as of October 2017. If we rely on the Department of Veterans Affairs summary while accepting J. David Hacker's 750,000 estimate for the Civil War, the total number of deaths among American combatants in all U.S. military conflicts, using high estimates for each, is thus 1,481,862—about 100,000 less than the total number of firearms-related fatalities in the U.S. between 1968 and 2016. So even using the higher end of available estimates for war deaths throughout American history, the grand total of those deaths is still lower than the total of firearms-related fatalities since 1968, a period of just 49 years. Although this disparity between war deaths and gun deaths is smaller than the gap claimed by The Other 98% (200,000) or NBC News (300,000), the imprecision of casualty estimates (especially for the Civil War era) allows for a considerable margin of error. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2624 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: This week we learned that billionaire Peter Thiel, who made his fortune as a co-founder of PayPal and an early investor in Facebook, has been bankrolling a lawsuit that could drive Gawker Media out of business. The story was first reported by Forbes and confirmed by Thiel himself in a Wednesday interview with the New York Times.
"It’s not like it is some sort of speaking truth to power or something going on here," Thiel argued. "The way I’ve thought about this is that Gawker has been a singularly terrible bully. I refuse to believe that journalism means massive privacy violations."
Thiel, in other words, sees his lawsuit as a public-spirited attempt to enforce norms of decency and respect for personal privacy.
But whatever you think of the merits of the particular lawsuit against Gawker, critics warn that this kind of arrangement — where a wealthy person funds third-party lawsuits against a common foe — is ripe for abuse.
"The law used to disapprove of this kind of arrangement," says Walter Olson, a legal expert at the Cato Institute. For centuries, he argues, courts in the United Kingdom, United States, and elsewhere recognized that wealthy people could use third-party lawsuits as a weapon against those they disliked — and had rules in place to prevent this power from being abused.
But laws limiting this kind of third-party involvement have fallen out of favor in recent decades, opening the door for billionaires like Thiel to use their vast resources to wage war on people they don't like.
In 2012, Gawker published a video of former professional wrestler Terry "Hulk Hogan" Bollea having sex. Hogan said the video was taken without his knowledge or consent, and he sued Gawker for invasion of privacy.
In March 2016, a jury awarded Hogan $140 million in damages. The ruling is still being appealed, but if it's upheld it could put Gawker Media — which publishes sites like Jezebel and Gizmodo in addition to Gawker itself — out of business.
The First Amendment gives American media organizations greater latitude than they enjoy in most other developed countries. But US media organizations don't have unlimited freedom. One of the key constraints is personal privacy. Revealing certain kinds of information — especially about people who are not public figures — can get a media organization trouble.
And Gawker exercises this freedom more aggressively than most other media organizations. In one of its most infamous stories, Gawker reported on a New York media executive soliciting the services of a male escort. The piece was later removed after founder Nick Denton decided that the story had gone over the ethical line.
Outing gay people is something of a specialty for the digital gossip rag. Gawker was one of the first to report that CNN anchor Anderson Cooper was gay in 2009. In 2013, Gawker reported that Fox News anchor Shepard Smith was romantically involved with a male staffer.
And one of the early targets of Gawker's outing campaign was Peter Thiel. A 2007 post called "Peter Thiel is totally gay, people" apparently marked the start of Thiel's vendetta against the site. "It’s less about revenge and more about specific deterrence," Thiel told the Times on Wednesday, indicating he viewed his funding of lawsuits as bigger than just its previous posts about him.
Still, the Hogan video represented a new low for Gawker. The video of Hogan having consensual sex with the wife of a radio shock jock (who arranged the encounter and made the videotape) had no obvious news value, but Gawker decided to publish it anyway.
In court, Hulk Hogan's lawyers sought to portray Gawker as an organization without a moral compass. It wasn't a hard argument to make. At one point, one of Hogan's lawyers asked a former Gawker editor if there were any situation in which a celebrity sex tape would not be newsworthy.
"If they were a child," replied the editor, Albert Daulerio. "Under what age?" the lawyer asked.
As a result, arguments about media freedom fell on deaf ears in the jury box. Jurors didn't buy arguments that the First Amendment protected Gawker's right to humiliate random celebrities by publishing video of their most intimate moments.
Even if you think Gawker stepped over the line in publishing the Hogan sex tape — and personally I do — there's still a lot of reason to worry about the prospect of wealthy people using lawsuits as a weapon against people they don't like.
Gawker isn't the only publication to be targeted by a disgruntled billionaire. Last year, the liberal magazine Mother Jones defeated a defamation lawsuit filed by Republican donor Frank VanderSloot. Winning the lawsuit cost Mother Jones, a relatively small nonprofit organization, and its insurance company $2.5 million in legal fees.
If VanderSloot's goal was to punish Mother Jones for writing an accurate but unflattering story about him, a loss was almost as good as a victory. His lawsuit sought $74,999 (staying just under the $75,000 threshold that would have allowed Mother Jones to move the case to federal court and away from an Idaho jury that might have favored the hometown plaintiff). So "winning" the lawsuit cost Mother Jones 30 times as much as the amount it would have had to pay if it had lost.
What was really ominous was what happened after VanderSloot's loss. He "announced that he was setting up a $1 million fund to pay the legal expenses of people wanting to sue Mother Jones or other members of the 'liberal press.'"
As far as I know, no one has taken him up on the offer. But the threat to freedom of the press is obvious. Any news organization doing its job is going to make some enemies. If a wealthy third party is willing to bankroll lawsuits by anyone with a grudge, and defending each case costs millions of dollars, the organization could get driven out of business even if it wins every single lawsuit.
That appears to be the situation Gawker is in. The Hogan lawsuit is not the only lawsuit Gawker is facing. Hogan's attorney, Charles Harder, is also leading two other lawsuits against Gawker. We don't know for sure which lawsuits Thiel is funding, but ultimately it may not matter. If Thiel keeps paying for people to sue Gawker, sooner or later the legal costs will drive Gawker out of business.
"Some people following the Thiel story appear to be surprised that these weapons can be used by rich and powerful people in order to get their way," Olson tells me. But he argues that they shouldn't be.
Olson argues that if you went back a century or two and talked to British or American legal scholars, "they'd say of course these things would be used by the rich and powerful if you allowed them." Under doctrines called champerty and maintenance, the law used to bar unrelated third parties from paying someone else to engage in litigation and financing a lawsuit in exchange for a share of the damages.
But states have loosened these laws over the past 50 years, in part because lawyers began to see easy access to the courts as being in the public interest. This was driven in part by the rise of public interest litigation — think, for example, of an environmental group finding a third-party plaintiff to sue a company to stop an environmentally sensitive development project.
"Awards are constantly being given to projects in which some wealthy person decides that someone needs to be sued, finds someone who has standing as a plaintiff, and generously funds their litigation," Olson says.
But whether you view this kind of litigation as public-spirited or vexatious will often depend on your politics. After all, Thiel portrays his campaign against Gawker as a kind of public interest litigation.
"I can defend myself," Thiel told the Times on Wednesday. "Most of the people they attack are not people in my category. They usually attack less prominent, far less wealthy people that simply can’t defend themselves." Thiel added that "even someone like Terry Bollea who is a millionaire and famous and a successful person didn’t quite have the resources to do this alone."
"I don’t expect to make any money from this," Thiel added. "This is not a business venture."
Whether or not you find Thiel's specific complaints about Gawker persuasive, the larger problem is that this kind of tactic systematically shifts power from the media to wealthy people. Wealthy people can use this kind of third-party lawsuit to inflict harm on publications that anger them whether or not their lawsuits ultimate prove meritorious. And that, in turn, will put pressure on publications to tread lightly when reporting on wealthy people.
Update: I changed the section on Mother Jones to make clear that the $2.5 million cost of the lawsuit was born by Mother Jones's insurance company as well as Mother Jones itself. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2625 | 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 the Revolving Door Invented by a Man Who Disliked Holding Open Doors for Women? Claim summaries: The claim that Theophilus Van Kannel was motivated by a hatred for chivalry stems from no more than a humorous blog post published almost a century after his death.
contextual information: Since the middle of the last century, revolving doors have been a quietly ubiquitous feature of modern cities around the world. But do they have their origins in one man's neurotic attitude toward holding doors open for women? The most often-cited example of this legend is a 2013 article in Slate by Roman Mars, of the design podcast 99% Invisible. Slate The story goes like this: Theophilus Van Kannel hated chivalry. There was nothing he despised more than trying to walk in or out of a building, and locking horns with other men in a game of oh you first, I insist. But most of all, Theophilus Van Kannel hated opening doors for women. He set about inventing his way out of social phobia. In the accompanying podcast episode, Mars warned: "Keep in mind that with all these origin stories, when they sound a little too much like stories, they're probably not completely true." David McCall, writing in the Australian Design Review four years later, also traced the invention to Van Kannel's purported misogyny: writing The story goes that he invented the revolving door because he simply hated holding doors open for people, especially women. It has also been reported that Kannel [sic] was a man without a family. These two facts may not be unrelated. The earliest version of the story that we could find was a 2008 post by Jaime Morrison on the art and design blog The Nonist, which went into considerable detail about the origins of Van Kannel's aversion to chivalry, tracing it back to a public spanking from his mother and attributing his invention to his wife's insistence that he hold open doors for her at all times. post It seems that when Van Kennel [sic] was a boy, still in the care of his mother but just on the cusp of cultural manhood, he found the lingering rules of chivalry rather bothersome. In particular he refused to accept that he was expected to open the door for women and allow them to cross the threshold before him. A silly sort of quirk to our minds, certainly, but it was taken seriously enough by his mother that after numerous warnings and threats she eventually felt compelled to take action. Van Kennel [sic] family histories have it that at some point in his twelfth year she administered a savage bare-bottomed spanking, during a salon in the familys drawing room, in full and explicit view of 37 local mothers and daughters...Had this been the only episode the world may have never had a revolving door to shuffle through. As it so happens, however, Theophilus Van Kennel [sic] married a woman who, though beautiful and slyly clever, had an odd and stubborn quirk of her own. Young Abigail Van Kennel, it seems, refused to pass from one room of their apartments to another without the assistance of Theophilus. That blog post contains the tongue-in-cheek disclaimer that "...All untruths are, I assure you, my own. Ill leave it to you to sort out which is which"; and cites just one source, an essay by the MIT professor James Buzard -- which makes no mention of Van Kannel's now-legendary misogyny. essay Indeed, despite extensive archival research, we did not find any evidence to back up the persistent rumor that Theophilus Van Kannel invented and refined the revolving door because of a neurotic aversion to holding doors open for women and others. In fact, we found several pieces of evidence which severely undermine the credibility of this claim. In July 1882, an H. Bockhacker received a patent in Berlin for a "Thr ohne Luftzug" ("draftless door") whose design is essentially that of a revolving door. patent European Patent Office Six years later, on 7 August 1888, Theophilus Van Kannel of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania received Patent #387,571 for his "Storm Door Structure." Patent #387,571 U.S. Patents Office/Google In his patent application, Van Kannel wrote: It will be evident that a storm door structure of the character described possesses numerous advantages over a hinged-door structure of the usual character, for, as the door fits snugly in the casing, it is perfectly noiseless in its operation and effectually prevents the entrance of wind, snow, rain, or dust either when it is closed or when persons are passing through it. Moreover, the door cannot be blown open by the wind, as the pressure is equal on both sides of the center of motion. Van Kannel subsequently patented several refinements and improvements to the revolving door, founded the Van Kannel Revolving Door Company, and died in New York City on Christmas Eve, 1919, at the age of 78. refinements died Undated photograph of Theophilus Van Kannel. He was born in a log cabin in Coshocton County, Ohio, on 21 October 1841, to Swiss immigrant parents. Throughout his life, he was a prolific inventor. A 1988 publication of his autobiography and journal, housed in the Library of Congress, lists 49 patents, but the book's editor writes that Van Kannel might have actually put his name to "about 75" of them. autobiography and journal Over the years, Theophilus invented a cherry stoner, cider mill, water hydrant, shipping tag, gas machine check-valve, a sewing machine, an "apparatus for scalding vegetable or fruit," and many more. He was also the inventor and owner of the Witching Waves ride at a Coney Island amusement park. He married Amanda Clayton, of Chester, Illinois and in November 1867 the couple had a daughter named Lulu. This refutes David McCall's suggestion that Van Kannel's alleged misogyny was due to the fact that he did not have a family. He did. The fact that Van Kannel's wife was named Amanda also severely undermines The Nonist's colorful stories about his wife "Abigail," who "refused to pass from one room of their apartments to another." In fact, Theophilus Van Kannel's two-volume, almost 500-page autobiography and journal does not contain any evidence of any neurosis relating to women, nor any social phobias of any kind. What it does reveal is a multi-talented young man, somewhat sober and straight-laced, who struggled for many years with debt and an artificial leg, but enjoyed a fairly healthy social life, combined with a consistent dedication to his work. He wrote frequently to his mother, regularly visited his sister and her family, and spoke lovingly about his female relatives. (His journal entry on 30 January 1864 reads: "Letter from my sister requesting me to write an obituary for her husband. Sent $5 to mother.") Another entry suggests Van Kannel understood and honored the Victorian norms of chivalry, without any reservations. 28 September 1861 (aged 19): ...I received permission to buy some window blinds for the schoolhouse. While in the post office a very old lady came in to send off a letter, but she had no money to pay for the stamp. She asked the postmaster, Mr Bowman, to credit her, but he refused. I then bought ten cents' worth of stamps and sent her letter. She was a stranger to me... As he grew into his 20s, Van Kannel's journal shows him courting young women in Cincinnati, Ohio, all the while following the rules of chivalry and decorum. 26 February 1863 (aged 21): We all went to the church again this evening to practice our parts for the exhibition, and all showed great improvement. For the first time I mustered up enough courage to ask a young lady for her company home, and she very readily accepted. 1875 photograph of Theophilus Van Kannel with his wife Amanda and daughter Lulu. Nothing in his journal suggests the kind of "social phobia" or misogyny involved in the many stories told about him 150 years later. He attended church every Sunday, taught children, attended school with men and women, was an active member of debating societies, met friends for dinner and drinks (although he disliked drunkenness), and occasionally escorted young women home or to the theater. His interests and inventions were eclectic. By 1867 he was already developing a type of door spring, and so it's not at all surprising that he would turn his mind to the innovation that eventually became the revolving door. Swinging doors let in drafts, making it difficult to control the temperature of a building, especially one with heavy footfall like a bank or train station. It is in keeping with the pattern of Van Kannel's professional life that he would have identified this problem, and attempted to solve it using his gift for engineering. His invention of the revolving door does not require a psychological motivation. Nor were we able to find one, despite reading hundreds of pages of archival material and the journal of Theophilus Van Kannel himself. We looked at several news and feature articles about Van Kannel, some dating to the early 20th century. Not one mentioned Van Kannel's now-mythical misogyny or aversion to chivalry -- until The Nonist post, the veracity of which is extremely questionable. We contacted the 99% Invisible podcast, but we did not receive a reply by publication time. In October 2018, we received an email from Jaime Morrison, creator of the Nonist blog and author of the 2008 article about Theophilus Van Kannel and the invention of the revolving door. Morrison told us that he had written about Van Kannel's now-legendary misogyny as no more than a joke which he was disappointed to find had been taken seriously by others: I just wanted to confirm that yes, the piece was in fact a humor piece, and that yes the chivalry aspect of the story was a total fabrication...When I wrote the piece I assumed that the absurdity of the idea would be self-evident, and even hedged by including the disclaimer which [you quoted]. Alas, that old chestnut about assumptions proved its inherent wisdom yet again. Van Kannel, Harvey E.; Fox Marshall, Joanne. "T. Van Kannel, The Inventor: His Autobiography and Journal, Vol. 1-2."
Library of Congress. 1988. Bisset, Colin. "Design File with Colin Bisset - the Revolving Door."
Radio National/ABC (Australia.) 15 March 2014. Hrala, Josh. "The Revolving Door Was Invented to Put an End to Chivalry."
Modern Notion. 15 May 2015. McCall, David. "In a Spin: the History of Revolving Doors."
Australian Design Review. 24 July 2017. Morrison, Jaime. "The Secret History of the Revolving Door."
The Nonist. Unknown publication date. Buzard, James. "Perpetual Revolution."
Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Archive.org. 29 July 2005. Mars, Roman. "Why Don't People Use Revolving Doors?"
99% Invisible/Slate. 7 November 2013. Bockhacker, H. "Patentschrift No. 18349. Thr Ohne Luftzug."
Kaiserliches Patentamt (Germany)/European Patent Office. 8 July 1882. Van Kannel, Theophilus. "Patent No. 387,571 - Storm Door Structure."
U.S. Patents Office/Google. 7 August 1888. New York Tribune. "Death Notice - Theophilus Van Kannel."
New York Tribune. 26 December 1919. Updated [23 October 2018]: The verdict on this fact check has been changed from "Legend" to "False" after the author of a 2008 blog post -- the earliest source of the claim -- came forward to confirm that he had fabricated it as a joke. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2626 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: RUDE, RUDE, RUDE! Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly was repeatedly cut off by Senator Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) during questioning about the administration s sanctuary city policy. Harris cut Kelly off to say the administration was forcing cities into choosing between complying with federal law or forfeiting DHS counterterrorism funds. Had you not cut me off, I would have said the same thing you just said. Probably not as eloquently, but I would have said the same thing you just said, Kelly said.Later, Kelly said he told city officials that whatever they do within the law, we re willing to work with them. So So are you aware that there s local law enforcement Harris started. Could you at least let me finish once, before you interrupt me? Kelly said. Sir, with all due respect, Harris responded. With all due respect, senator, Kelly said.Harris asked Kelly if the administration was advising local enforcement leaders that they could overlook government requests on detainment to avoid liability. We talk to them about whatever they re comfortable with, whatever they think they can do within interpretation of their local attorneys general, as an example, or local lawyers Kelly said.Harris interrupted again, and Kelly became irritated. So when they re instructed Harris started. Could you let me finish once, senator? Kelly asked angrily. Excuse me. I m asking the questions, Harris said. But I m trying to answer the question, Kelly said.Things got touchy enough that the next time Kelly got a question, he asked Harris to assure him he would be allowed to finish his response. If it s responsive to the question, of course, Harris said.Read more: WFB | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2627 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: We have very few favorites when it comes to reporting for obvious reasons: They lie all the time! Who hasn t read or heard something totally false about Trump and Russia? This past week was a banner week of lies from the main stream media so it s our pleasure to straighten things out for everyone We ve discovered a star news reporting organization that stands above most others in their reporting on the Trump/Russia investigation. CIRCA NEWS with Sara Carter and John Solomon are setting the record straight!Here s the skinny on the latest media lies and the truth via Circa:Aggressive news reporting can be a public service, like when courageous journalists exposed Richard Nixon s Watergate, the Catholic church s cover up of the sexual abuse and the U.S. intelligence failures that preceded 9-11.But breathless, half-baked reporting in times of tumult can also misserve the public, like when The Wall Street Journal retracted a false story that Bill Clinton had been seen in a compromising position with an intern in the White House or when NBC wrongly identified Richard Jewell as the Olympic Park bombing suspect.This past week, professional journalism offered us several new examples of breathless reporting during the brouhaha over Donald Trump, James Comey and Russia intelligence. At their least, some stories misled the public, and at their worst they outright misinformed.Here are some examples this week that should cause the media to search whether its current standards are doing enough to ensure the public gets the whole truth. You can review the facts and decide for yourself whether the media shamed itself.The Rosenstein Quitting Episode The Washington Post reported Wednesday night that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had threatened to resign after the narrative emerging from the White House on Tuesday evening cast him as a prime mover of the decision to fire Comey. The story cited an unnamed source close to the White House. But it did not have any comment or confirmation from the man who was alleged to have made the threat.When Sinclair Broadcast Group s Michelle Macaluso finally caught up to Rosenstein, a funny thing happened. He debunked the story. No, I m not quitting, he said.The reporter pressed on: Did you threaten to quit? No, Rosenstein said.The Post did not return a call for comment Friday on whether it stood by its story.The Comey resources requestThe New York Times and several other outlets reported Wednesday that Comey, just before he was fired, had asked the Justice Department s Rosenstein for more funding and personnel for the Russia intelligence probe. But when Comey s deputy got to Capitol Hill the next day, he denied there was any need for more resources. I believe we have the adequate resources to do it and I know that we have resourced that investigation adequately, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe told lawmakers.McCabe said the FBI, if it needed more resources, wouldn t even go to the Justice Department but instead to Congress. We don t typically request resources for an individual case, he explained.CNN s claim that Trump is under investigation During the breaking story on Comey Tuesday night, respected CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin declared the FBI director s firing was a grotesque abuse of power and that it was a political act when the President is under investigation. Toobin is entitled to his opinion but he should have the right facts. Numerous sources confirm to Circa that Comey told Congress just last week that Trump is NOT a target of the Russia probe.CNN s connection of grand jury subpoenas to Comey s firingCNN went live with an exclusive the night Comey was fired, reporting that grand jury subpoenas were issued to associates of former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn seeking business records in the Russia case.But with one slight turn of hand, CNN s legitimate scoop was crafted to suggest there had been some correlation to Comey s firing. CNN learned of the subpoenas hours before President Donald Trump fired FBI director James Comey, the network reported.The multitude of media comparisons to WatergateCountless media outlets from Politico and The New York Times to Mother Jones have suggested the whole Russia scandal is akin to Watergate, right down to Comey s firing mirroring Nixon s efforts to axe the special Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox.There s just one problem with that. Nixon was the target of the Watergate probe and he was accused of specific crimes.Via: Circa New/John Solomon | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2628 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Mexico s President on Wednesday said that funds would need to be reassigned from other areas of the government towards reconstruction efforts next year after a series of earthquakes that damaged at least 150,000 homes. Today, the reconstruction needs more resources, and this should be reflected in the presidential budget debate next year, President Enrique Pena Nieto said in a news conference with ministers who gave a preliminary damage estimate of $2 billion. The government presented its draft 2018 budget earlier this month, but that proposal will now probably have to be modified, he added. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2629 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Shawn Helton 21st Century WireOrlando s Pulse nightclub shooting is said to be the largest mass shooting in American history and in less than 24 hours, investigators already determined the incident to be an ISIS-related attack prior to a full forensic analysis.In this report we will attempt to answer a number of questions about a number of anomalies and unlikely coincidences surrounding this global media event.We re told that this tragic attack was carried out by an international security firm employee turned radicalized gunman but is there more to the story? SELFIE OBSESSED SHOOTER Omar Mateen is the alleged Orlando nightclub shooter (Image Source: nbcnews)QUESTION: Is this is another, in a long line of Daily Shooter events designed to evoke an emotive, polarized and highly politicized response, rather than a rational and reasoned one?The Orlando ShootingIn the early hours of Sunday, June 12th, Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, also listed as Omar Mateen by media outlets, was said to have killed 49 people, wounding some 53 others at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in what is being described as the deadliest mass shooting in America.According reports, Mateen is also said to have pledged allegiance to ISIS via a 911 call while carrying out the apparent large scale mass shooting and hostage situation, having been utterly cool and calm as suggested by some larger media outlets upon finishing his rampage.RELATED: (VIDEO) Active Shooter and Terror Drills: The Truth WILL Shock YouAdditionally, Mateen, was first stated to have used an AR-15 rifle, along with a small handgun (legally obtained through two security licenses). However, reports later changed and updated the alleged shooter s weapons of choice to the Sig Sauer MCX .223 caliber rifle and a Glock 17 9mm semi-auto pistol.The following is an extensive Rand Corporation evaluation of the NYPD and it reveals the following statistics as they relate to firearm accuracy: According to a 2008 Rand Corporation study evaluating the New York Police Department s firearm training, between 1998 and 2006, the average hit rate during gunfights was just 18 percent . When suspects did not return fire, police officers hit their targets 30 percent of the time.21WIRE, was able to track down an individual trained in all types of firearm training, who also questioned the alleged shooter s ability to to be so accurate, confirming the study above.Continuing the Orlando shooting timeline We were then told Mateen, took club goers hostage while carrying out the alleged terror related shooting around 2am.The shooting occurred at Pulse nightclub a popular LGTB venue, was thought to have had some 300 people inside of the club during the time of the shooting. We ve also been told that authorities were unable to stop the gunman for until 3 hours after the initial attack.The Washington Post reported: Three hours after Mateen first began shooting, they breached the building detonating an explosion on an exterior wall and ramming it with an armored vehicle. Traumatized club-goers escaped into the night, and then the gunman appeared in the opening, heavily armed and seemingly ready for what is known in law enforcement as suicide by cop. While some 30 lives have said to have been saved, how many were injured due to the explosive charge set of by police during the breach?According to a timeline of events, police were able to notify 24 of the victims families just two hours after the shooting at 7:30 am. This appears to be a significant detail when you consider the meticulous nature of crime scene investigation, as detectives are tasked with the time consuming and often difficult process of properly identifying individuals.In the Orlando shooting case, there would have (particularly in this scenario) been great bodily harm and perhaps unrecognizable victims who may or may not have had proper ID (fake ID s) on their person during the shooting.There appears to be a lack of footage surrounding the shooting itself, rescue operations performed or bodies at the stated crime scene extremely strange in the age of social media. SHOW OF FORCE A full-scale militarized response to the Pulse crime scene shooting. Did club goers become victims of friendly fire or was something else at play? (Image Source: radaronline)The Times Union stated the following after the Pulse nightclub shooting: Orlando police Chief John Mina says an extra officer was working at the Pulse nightclub in full uniform. The officer engaged with the shooter near an entrance. Additional officers entered, and engaged the suspect in another gunbattle. The shooter retreated to the bathroom.Mina says, At that time we were able to save and rescue dozens and dozens of people and get them out of the club. Officers then secured everything, and the SWAT team was brought in. Mina says officers then set up for an explosive breach on the bathroom wall. Mina says he made the decision to breach the wall, which created a hole through which dozens of clubgoers were rescued. Then the suspect exited through the same hole, and engaged in another gunbattle with officers. Shooter Omar Mateen was then killed. Why do early reports state that police engaged with the suspect, prior to the gunman shooting anyone or reportedly calling 911 this appears to directly contradict the main media narrative?Additionally, by police Chief John Mina s admission, a fully uniformed officer was working at Pulse nightclub. While it is not that unusual for police be at or sometimes moonlight at clubs as security, the details of how and exactly when the shooting occurred remain partially obscured in mainstream media reports.While ISIS media arms and social media accounts reportedly praised the attack, there has been wide scale condemnation of the shooting the world over including the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation who discussed this horrible act, but warned of political campaigning and self-serving agendas, following the tragic events.Continuing the article stated the following:Saudi Arabia s Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki told The Associated Press in a text message Monday that Mateen first visited Saudi Arabia for 10 days in March 2011 and again a year later in March 2012 for eight days. Not since the San Bernardino shooting last December, has the public s perception been so arrested by a media-driven wave of hyperreality following what appears to be another confusing heavily coordinated incident, with an uncanny police and emergency response.Crime Scene Questions, Multiple Shooters WitnessedThough the Orlando shooting attack was officially stated to have been carried out around 2am, The Daily Mail published Facebook posts from people apparently inside the club that contradict the main timeline, suggesting the shooting happened much earlier.Here are the Facebook comments featured in the Daily Mail for review If these time stamps are correct and the posts have not been doctored in any way, then these posts present a pretty major crack in the official timeline of events at Pulse nightclub.Here s the animated YouTube personality Peekay Truth outlining the Daily Mail time discrepancy associated with the Orlando shooting . The UK s Independent published an article displaying an eyewitness account that directly contradicts the lone gunman theory pushed by all major media outlets in the aftermath of the shooting: Police did not immediately name the gunman or provide a possible motive for the attack but officials have classified the rampage as a domestic terrorism incident , Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said. Javer Antonetti, 53, told the Orlando Sentinel newspaper he was near the back of the dance club when he heard gunfire. There were so many (shots), at least 40, he said. I saw two guys and it was constant, like pow, pow, pow, . From a logistical stand point Mateen s ability to carry out the shooting by himself seems to be another questionable aspect to an increasingly troubled case.Another club eyewitness Jon Alamo, heard 20, 40, 50 shots, and then The music stopped. While the stress of the incident could account for some differences, forensically it s hard to believe Mateen would have been able to have the ability to shoot over hundred people with only 50 some shots.According to multiple eyewitness accounts people inside the club mentioned that there was possibly as many as four shooters in around the area. The witness seen in the image below described the following: Then he[Mateen] called someone he knew and he mentioned that he was the fourth shooter, and there were three others. The witness also stated that the alleged shooter may have called police or a news agency stating that America should stop their bombing campaign on ISIS. Security Background & Alleged AbuseThe 29-year old Mateen, an Afghani-American was located in Port St. Lucie, Florida, about 120 miles outside of Orlando. In 2013, Mateen was placed under a terror watch list for 10 months (interviewed two to three times by the FBI 2013-14) and had worked for one of the largest security firms in the US since 2007, G4S Secure Solutions, headquartered in Jupiter, Florida and formerly part of a CIA-linked government contractor and security firm, Wackenhut Corporation.G4S, as it turns out, was the very first designated and certified Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contractor and recently secured a $234 million dollar contract with the federal cabinet department. In addition to apparently providing security solutions for 90 percent of U.S. nuclear facilities, G4S, according to border patrol sources has also been tasked with the transportation and release of illegal immigrants inside the interior of the United States.At least one of Mateen s roles with G4S, was to transport and provide security for prisoner youths in Florida. In 2012, G4S congratulated Mateen for five years of service according to a company newsletter.Zero Hedge reported the following concerning G4S: And this is where the Mateen-G4S link emerges: as JW reported previously, a security company contracted by the U.S. government is driving the OTMs from the Border Patrol s Tucson Sector where they were in custody to Phoenix, sources said. The firm is the abovementioned G4S, the world s leading security solutions group with operations in more than 100 countries and 610,000 employees. G4S has more than 50,000 employees in the U.S. and its domestic headquarters is in Jupiter, Florida. Mateen remained on staff to guard prisoners despite media reports that he harassed a co-worker and expressed hateful views in the workplace and was the subject of a federal investigation for terrorism between 2013-14 for some 10 months. According to reports, the FBI dropped the investigation after Mateen admitted to the work place harassment, adding that he was responding to harassment from others over his beliefs.Mateen is also stated to have previously worked at Martin Correctional Institution from 2006-07, prior to being featured in a short interview (as an actor?) in a major Hollywood designer documentary called The Big Fix in 2012, discussing the BP oil spill at Deep Water Horizon.Here you can see Mateen at the 36 minute mark, taking what appears to be a quasi-albeit scripted activist-type stance, even though he works for the world s largest security contractor. Clearly, Mateen was acting in this real documentary.. What is the public to make of Mateen s own acting and film background as it relates to America s largest mass shooting are we again seeing a clear link between Hollywood and military/security services?Indeed, Mateen has been featured in another documentary from 2013, called Love City Jalalabad, a feature supposedly depicting progressive Afghani youth and a quest for social change.Also According to Times Union: The security company that employed the Orlando nightclub gunman says it has no record of a co-worker s complaints that the shooter was angry, profane and threatened violence.The company, G4S, says in a statement Monday that it has no record of any complaint by Daniel Gilroy against Omar Mateen. Mateen died in a gun battle with police after a mass shooting that left 49 people. However, Gilroy has maintained that Mateen began harassing him, sending as many as 20 or 30 text messages a day and more than a dozen phone messages. Gilroy said his employer, G4S, did not intervene. After Gilroy left G4S, according to the security firm: Gilroy told company officials in June 2015, shortly after he left the firm, that his co-workers were good men and women that put in an honest day s work and genuinely like to work as a team and contribute. Further adding to confusion surrounding Mateen s character, Mateen s ex-wife Sitora Yusufiy, has publicly stated that she was abused during their brief marriage. (Photo Illustration by Shawn Helton @21WIRE)Return of the Daily ShooterDuring most of 2015 if you remember, there was a barrage of active shooter crimes seen domestically within the US as well as parts of Europe, with many of the apparent shooters already known to authorities.21WIRE dubbed 2015 The Year of the Daily Shooter, as string of unreal shooting events rippled across America, many of which took place over the summertime, bleeding over into the chill of fall.While the public was still trying to comprehend the shocking and questionable Charlie Hebdo Attacks in early January of 2015, things began heating up in early May, when it was reported that two Islamic gunmen allegedly opened fire outside of a cartoon art exhibition and alleged free speech contest featuring provocative images of the Prophet Muhammad in Garland, Texas.While the incident was quickly labeled a terror attack, along with the vague and forensically undefined ISIS inspired tag for dramatic effect, reports stated that a pair of shooters, Elton Simpson (shadowed by a paid FBI informant) and Nadir Hamid Soofi, targeted a bizarre Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest that was organized by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, led by anti-Islamic Israeli lobbyist, Pamela Geller.It was a staged event that clearly echoed the Charlie Hebdo story line, with the usual trial by social media tweets suggesting guilt before all evidence was in.Within a short period of time following the suspicious events in Garland, it was revealed that Simpson, one of the alleged suspects in the Garland shooting, had been under the watchful eye of the FBI for nearly a decade and was in close contact with an undercover informant during that time, similarly outlining the intelligence-linked Kouachi Brothers who were implicated in the Charlie Hebdo incident.And just as the dust was settling after high profile shootings in the spring, we learned there was even more Trouble in the Homeland with yet another alleged terror inspired individual named Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez. As bizarre and conflicting reports emerged regarding a shooting on July 16th at a US Marine Corps strip mall recruitment center and a secure Navy Operational Support Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the focus of media coverage gave the false perception that people were shot within the mall area out in the open. However, only 48 hours later, it was revealed that victims of the shooting event were actually shot and killed inside of a secure Navy Reserve Training facility. By then the national media narrative had already been disseminated and set into the minds of the public.As we ve said before, whether it s the grafting of an overseas terror based story line or the concept of a rogue patriot-like lone wolf persona, we see a psychic assault on the masses, one that could potentially convince the public into giving up their civil liberties. CANDID CAMERA Omar Mateen s father s(Seddique Mateen) media presence and Congressional/CIA company has caused quite a stir concerning the background of the Orlando shooter. Seddique posted Facebook pictures from last year featuring political connections and Reps. Charles Rangel, Dana Rohrabacher, and Ed Royce. (Image Source: buzzfeed) Similarly, during the aftermath of 2014 s Canadian Parliament shooting, here at 21WIRE, we outlined many of the primary markers used in certain terror related events and mass shootings.The incident like other events such as the Boston Bombing, Sandy Hook and other bizarre attacks in recent years, have often distorted public opinion, pushing the populace towards new security measures in the wake of heavily coordinated and stylized events.(Left Image: therightscoop) The suspected Parliament Hill and National War Memorial shooter Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, had the perfect modus operandi and r sum to be an informant for either a law enforcement or intelligence agency.Historically, government operators have often made use of low-life criminals, and mentally disturbed individuals as part of a larger agenda domestically and abroad: According to the Globe and Mail, Zehaf-Bibeau was already designated as a high risk traveller by the Canadian government s security services who had also seized his passport. Could this be the reason why the shooter had snapped? Was he being targeted or being pressured into becoming an informant? Much was made of Zehaf-Bibeau s recent conversion to Islam, especially from the reactionary neoconservative tribe on Fox News, while those on the left called for tighter gun restrictions.We should make note of the formulaic scripting often seen following these kinds of events: Alleged connections to terror or terror networks, as with security links Suspect recently radicalized views on religion. Sensational media projections bring in additional storylines for dramatic effect. An unknown motive for the crime said to be committed followed quickly by a presumed motive without evidence. Politicians, law enforcement and media call the incident a terror attack before all evidence is reviewed.Time and time again, we ve seen this same choreographed narrative pushed by mass media and authorities only to be exposed at a later date.Readers should refer to the informant game we outlined in 2014 here at 21WIRE, which provided historical context about the FBI s confidential informant past, as it relates to the Orlando shooting: Human Rights Watch explains, The 214-page report, Illusion of Justice: Human Rights Abuses in US Terrorism Prosecutions, examines 27 federal terrorism cases from initiation of the investigations to sentencing and post-conviction conditions of confinement. It documents the significant human cost of certain counter-terrorism practices, such as overly aggressive sting operations and unnecessarily restrictive conditions of confinement. The list of terror informants and puppets is as long as it is colorful, starting with the infamous Underwear Bomber , who was allowed to travel to the US without a passport and was accompanied by an intelligence agent on his flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.Who can forget the FBI s ill-fated 1993 World Trade Center bombing attempt, where FBI handlers trained the driver and gave them explosives and worst of all stood by and watched as their sting subjects went ahead and detonated their concoction underneath the world s tallest building in New York City. Incidentally, after the 1993 attack, the FBI was said to have tried to lure Emad A. Salem, (played role in 1993 WTC bombing) a former Egyptian army officer who was a prized undercover operative back into a role as a confidential informant, with agents suggesting he should go into the Witness Protection Program. (Graphic: UK Column)Other recent FBI terror stooge/informant nightmares include:Tamerlan Tsarnaev (see his informant story here) Buford Rogers (see his informant story here) Jerad Miller (see his informant story here) Naji Mansour (see his informant story here) Quazi Mohammad Nafis (see his informant story here) Mohamed Osman Mohamud (see his informant story here) Timothy McVeigh (see his informant story here) Elton Simpson (see his informant story here)But how does this relate to the Orlando club shooting?Drills & Informants Shortly after the Pulse shooting attack it was revealed that Mateen had been attending services at a Mosque, meeting with a known FBI informant named Marcus Dwayne Robertson (image, left who also played role in 1993 WTC bombing), a former US Marine turned bank robber turned radical imam. Here s this passage from Fox News describing Robertson s role: It is no coincidence that this happened in Orlando, said a law enforcement source familiar with Robertson s history of recruiting terrorists and inciting violence. Mateen was enrolled in [Robertson s online] Fundamental Islamic Knowledge Seminary.Robertson and several associates were rounded up for questioning early Sunday, according to law enforcement sources, a development his attorney refused to confirm or deny. Another intriguing part of the Orlando shooter case was the fact that Orlando s Orange County had been running a number of mass casualty drills in recent years.For those unfamiliar, these Emergency response drills often take place prior to a real-life active-shooter scenario. The Orlando Sentinel reported in October 2nd, 2015, one day after the Oregon shooting, which also saw drills prior to the campus shooting at Umpqua Community College: During the Emergency Nurses Association s annual meeting on Friday, a mock shooter blew himself up, killing and injuring 100 local volunteer actors.There was blood, screams and moans, wounds and dead people all fake to create a realistic training environment for more than 40 nurses who had signed up for the exercise.They quickly began tending to patients, assessing the extent of their injuries.The nurses association had worked with several Orlando-based companies for nearly a year to set up the drill on at the Orange County Convention Center, which by coincidence took place a day after the shooting at a community college in Roseburg, Oregon, where 10 people died and seven were wounded. Branding Crisis(Left side) HASHTAG FRENZY Another huge hashtag campaign in less than 24 hours after a major attack. (Image Scource: heavy)While the apparent Orlando shooting attack on the surface appears to be another tragedy in America, one should take note at the breakneck speed at which media marketing campaigns have been rolled out globally since the violent incident, including ready-made hashtag slogans as reported by CBS news: Immediately after reports of the incident surfaced online, alarmed social media users began posting concerns and condolences under the hashtags #PrayForOrlando, #PrayersForOrlando, and #PulseShooting. Within hours of the Orlando shooting, many celebrities took to twitter to politicize and polarize the event before all the evidence had been properly reviewed.Media Hoaxing, Crisis Actors & Other AnomaliesThere have been many methods used to shutdown critical thinking in the aftermath of a crisis, as media organizations, politicians and celebrities are often used to misdirect the public s attention to detail.In an article entitled, Where Have All the Crisis Actors Gone? , written by Dr. James Tracy, we see a clear connection between forms of social media and law enforcement when a coordinated an active-shooter event is about to go live. Here s an excerpt below: Yet there may be much more to the Visionbox Crisis Actors project reverberating through the flurry of alleged shooting incidents taking place since the early 2010s. For example, Visionbox is proficient in using social media such as Facebook and Twitter to broadcast a catastrophic event to both participant actors and the public at large. In addition, the theatric entourage/ is also knowledgeable at crowdsourcing, or monitoring how an event is relayed and interpreted through the body politic via Facebook, Twitter, and so on. In December 2012 Visionbox Crisis Actors produced a detailed 73-page syllabus, Social Media in Emergency Management, an instructional class foregrounding the central role of social media to coordinate and convey a catastrophic event. The YouTube channel Stranger than Fiction News displays media interview with an eyewitness Janiel Gonzales, who stated that there was another person preventing people from leaving Pulse nighclub.Additionally, the YouTube video montages another interview with a professional actor and model named Luis Burbano admitting he was blocking an exit at the time of the shooting . Here s another YouTube video from End Times Headline News, which raises important questions concerning the crime scene The Politics of Mass Shootings Like other mass shooting events, there appears to be deliberate attempt to radically manipulate public opinion following each major incident, the Orlando shooting is no exception. We ve already seen the Orlando shooting attack send political rivals Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton into campaign overdrive.This type of subliminal propaganda has become a doorway for all hot button socio-political issues including gun control/reform and for those concerned over mental illness background checks and security.Once again, the media plays a crucial role not in informing and educating the public, or even investigating a crime, or questioning the state s methods and motives in any high-profile event.In 2015, The Washington Post published an article listing the apparent number of mass shootings in America. According to the Mass Shooting Tracker the definition of a mass-shooting event has been changed to include a larger number of shootings.However, perhaps the most glaring and obvious grandstanding seemed to occur in Obama s 2015 legacy interview, as he expressed his inability to change gun laws during the course of his presidency. Here is an excerpt from the BBC interview: You mentioned the issue of guns, that is an area where if you ask me where has been the one area where I feel that I ve been most frustrated and most stymied it is the fact that the United States of America is the one advanced nation on earth in which we do not have sufficient common-sense, gun-safety laws. Even in the face of repeated mass killings. FRAMING REALITY Mateen s wife, Noor Salman and their young child. Reports suggest that Disneyland may have also been a target. (Image Scource: foxnews)Family DesignsUntil recently in media, there was almost no discussion of Mateen s current wife Noor Salman In 2013 Omar Mateen married Noor Zahi Salman and they reportedly have a 3-year-old son together.According to public records, Noor Zahi Salman, age 30, has scrubbed her social media history: Omar Mateen lived in St. Lucie County, Florida, with his second wife, Noor Zahi Salman, but it is not clear if they were together or separated at the time of the shooting. Mateen sold his sister, Mariam Seddique, the house in April 16 for $10 (Quit Claim Deed). The Telegraph stated that, Salman lived in a suburb of Chicago before moving to Fort Pierce with Mateen in November 2012. In December 2015 she is believed to have left Florida and moved in with relatives in Rodeo, California. She has not spoken publicly and has scrubbed her social media accounts since the attack. Early indications suggest the Orlando shooter s back story could shape up like the San Bernardino shooting, involving multiple arrests, with international backgrounds that could shine a light on other clandestine activities linking both terror and security.San Bernardino, along with staged-managed events like the sensational Garland Shooting in April 2015, and the highly engineered Paris Attacks (January & November of 2015) and many other shootings in year s past have conveniently opened the door for sweeping national security changes, while at the same time reigniting the old War on Terror meme, rebranded as the War on Radical Islam , for new audiences to be politically seduced by from western media and politicians alike. IDENTITY CRISIS Mateen frequented gay night clubs according to those who knew him. (Image Source: abcnews)The UK s Telegraph reported the following: The man who murdered 49 people at a gay club in Orlando was a closet homosexual who used gay dating apps and frequented gay bars, according to friends and locals in the city.On Tuesday police were considering pressing charges against Omar Mateen s second wife, Nour Salman, 30, who told the FBI she went with him to scope out possible targets, and that she had tried to stop him from carrying out the attack. Wouldn t this drastically alter the main narrative of the alleged shooter s hate crime motive?Big Questions RemainAll too often we see the persona of any alleged killer being touted as hard evidence, despite the fact that even strong circumstantial evidence of any apparent crime would likely result in many hours of analysis, debate and procedural, potentially without a definitive conclusion, even if the evidence eventually reached a court room setting.Here s a recent report at 21WIRE, discussing Mateen s father s government ties and the rapidly failing Orlando shooting narrative: For the media, and every other political leader in the US, this was now classified as a hate crime , and so case closed. In other words, a simple story line with real traction was now baked firmly into this event about a homophobic, ISIS-inspired, crazed lone gunman who went postal in a Orlando gay nightclub, and coincidentally, on the eve of an international Gay Pride celebration day. Just 24 hours later, we learn from a report in the Orlando Sentinel that the alleged shooter Omar Mateen was in fact a frequent visitor for years at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando. It was definitely him. He d come in for years, and people knew him, one customer said. Another Pulse customer, Kevin West, even stated on record that he had been talking with Mateen for up to one year on a gay-chat mobile app. So, based on this updated information, this could not have been a hate crime because Omar Mateen was most likely gay himself, albeit in the closet.Likewise, this change in the story would also nullify much of the identity politics rhetoric currently being spun around this incident like this statement released by Hillary Clinton within hours of the main event :REDUX: Media Spoils the Crime SceneIncredibly, we re told on Wednesday that, once again, the media has ransacked another alleged shooter s home on live TV (also recall the Virginia live TV shooting). Just like the scripted aftermath of San Bernardino this past December, any chance to recover any new forensic information is now lost, as the media taints another crime scene in a large-scale terror related investigation.During the San Bernardino media ransacking exercise, a scrum of reporters tore through the alleged shooters apartment. In Orlando, the affair was paired down to only one media crew at a time. Here is MSNBC-UNIVSION reporter pretending to discover the ID of the shooter and family:MEDIA ALLOWED INSIDE TERRORIST HOUSEAttempts to dilute this obvious media operation were aired by networks like CBS, who ran the headline: Possible Burglary at Orlando Shooter s Home : The Orlando shooting attack appears like many other phantom shooting events, with a hybrid of real implications and unreal aspects, uncanny twists and turns linking Hollywood and security services, the FBI, near a backdrop of resorts, golf professionals, retirees and of course, Disneyland.Surreal is an understatement.Here s 21WIRE s Patrick Henningsen with Brian Gerrish and Alex Thompson discussing the nature of these security linked and terror events on the UK Column END OF PART ONEStay tuned for more Orlando shooting updates READ MORE ORLANDO SHOOTING NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Orlando FilesHelp support us by becoming a 21WIRE Member at: 21WIRE.TV | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2630 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Tanzania offered a reward of 10 million shillings ($4,500) on Tuesday for the arrest of a former chief accountant of its anti-graft watchdog, part of a new drive to root out corruption. President John Magufuli, in office since November 2015, has launched a crackdown on high-level corruption that has already seen thousands of public officials losing their jobs. John Mbungo, deputy director general of the state-run Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB), told reporters that the agency s former chief accountant, Godfrey Gugai, is on the run after his assets were frozen in May as part of a graft investigation. The frozen assets include six vehicles and 40 apartments, houses and prime plots in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam and other urban centers. Public officials convicted of possession of unexplained wealth face a sentence of up to seven years in jail, a fine or both. Foreign investors have long complained that corruption is a big obstacle to doing business in the country. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2631 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Richard Schickel, who was so captivated by Walt Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs†when he was 5 years old that he grew up to be a noted film critic, Hollywood historian and prolific author and documentarian — and estimated that he had watched 22, 590 movies — died on Saturday in Los Angeles. He was 84. His daughter Erika Schickel said the cause was complications of dementia. Fortified by boxes of Good Plenty licorice rather than popcorn, Mr. Schickel reviewed films for Life magazine from 1965 until it closed in 1972, then wrote for Time until 2010 and later for the blog Truthdig. com. In a career that spanned the studio era and the rise of independent directors, he also wrote 37 books on movies and filmmakers and wrote or directed more than 30 documentaries, mostly for television. He shared or received three Emmy nominations, for “Life Goes to the Movies†in 1976 and “Minnelli on Minnelli: Liza Remembers Vincente†in 1987. Richard Zoglin, a fellow critic and now a contributing editor at Time, said that what distinguished Mr. Schickel among his peers was his comprehensive knowledge of the movie industry’s players and processes coupled with “an astute critical sensibility†that resisted the trendy. “He wrote from the perspective of a film insider,†Mr. Zoglin said in a phone interview, “but responded to films from a gut level and never lost the sense of being an average filmgoer reacting to what was on the screen. †Mr. Schickel pulled no punches. Reviewing Stanley Kramer’s “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner†in 1967, the interracial love story starring Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, Mr. Schickel groused, “Kramer is earnestly preaching away on matters that have long ceased to be true issues. †He even dismissed “The Maltese Falcon,†John Huston’s 1941 film noir classic starring Humphrey Bogart, as “cramped and static†and was damning in a retrospective look at “Gone With the Wind†in The Atlantic in 1973. Mr. Schickel wrote that two measures of a movie’s quality should be how much a viewer retains and how much one wants to see it again. By both measures, he loved “Citizen Kane,†“Double Indemnity,†“The Godfather,†“The Searchers,†“Chinatown,†“Fargo,†“Meet Me in St. Louis,†“Yankee Doodle Dandy,†“Pinocchio†and the original “King Kong,†as well as outliers like Audie Murphy’s western “No Name on the Bullet†and François Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows. †Mr. Schickel did not view filmgoing as an experience frozen in memory. “You loved ‘My Friend Flicka’ when you saw it at age 10,†he wrote. “If you see it at age 65, you may respect it, but you won’t think it’s a masterpiece (which does not mean you should deprive your grandchildren of the pleasure of seeing this picture when they are the perfect age for it). †He also understood that the public’s perception of his role had evolved. A critic, he told The Hedgehog Review in 2005, is “a very endangered species in a nation that wants indulgence more than a criticism that questions its fatuity. †But responding to an article in The New York Times, which suggested that blogging might be making book reviewing more democratic, he wrote in The Los Angeles Times in 2007: “Criticism — and its humble cousin, reviewing — is not a democratic activity. It is, or should be, an elite enterprise, ideally undertaken by individuals who bring something to the party beyond their hasty, instinctive opinions of a book (or any other cultural object). It is work that requires disciplined taste, historical and theoretical knowledge and a fairly deep sense of the author’s (or filmmaker’s or painter’s) entire body of work, among other qualities. †Richard Warren Schickel was born on Feb. 10, 1933, in Milwaukee, the son of Edward Schickel, who worked in advertising, and the former Helen Hendricks, a docent. He was named for an ancestor, Richard Warren, who arrived on the Mayflower. He was raised in suburban Wauwatosa, Wis. and escaped to the movies on weekends with friends, he wrote in a memoir, “Good Morning, Mr. Zip Zip Zip: Movies, Memory, and World War II†(2003) “because the serene and placid little world I inhabited as a kid was so lacking in romantic and heroic adventure. †He saw Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator†when he was 8. “I mimed enchantment for my parents’ benefit,†he wrote in American Heritage magazine in 2006. “I did a lot of that in those days. They were so sweetly earnest, as I now appreciatively recall, about introducing me to ‘the finer things.’ Their problem back then was finding, in Milwaukee, finer things for me to appreciate. †Mr. Schickel graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1955 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and moved to New York, where he freelanced for magazines and reviewed his first film, “A Boy Ten Feet Tall,†starring Edward G. Robinson, in 1965. He described it as “quite a good little movie. †His marriage to Julia Carroll Whedon, a writer, ended in divorce. In addition to their daughter Erika, who is also a writer, he is survived by another daughter from that marriage, Jessica Vild a stepdaughter, Ali Rubinstein, from his second marriage, to the former Carol Rubinstein, a TV producer who died in 1991 and four grandchildren. His books included biographies of Woody Allen, Marlon Brando, James Cagney, Charlie Chaplin, Gary Cooper, Clint Eastwood, Lena Horne and Elia Kazan. His documentaries include a PBS series, “The Men Who Made the Movies. †“The truth, very simply, is that most movies are lousy or, at best, routine,†Mr. Schickel wrote in “Keepers: The Greatest Films — and Personal Favorites — of a Moviegoing Lifetime†(2015). “We go to see them, much of the time, in search of something else — the comforting darkness of the theater, the play of light and shadow on the screen, the consolations they offer for some temporary trouble,†he wrote. “A lot of the time we don’t give a hoot what’s playing. We are at a public event for private reasons which we don’t always recognize until later, if at all. It is the occasion, the atmosphere, that we crave. †| 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2632 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Good morning. (Want to get California Today by email? Sign up.) Let’s turn it over to Jennifer Medina, a national correspondent based in Los Angeles, for today’s introduction. The automated voice mail went out to every public school parent in San Francisco. “We are committed to providing a safe space for learning for each and every one of our students, including recent immigrants regardless of immigration status. We will continue to uphold San Francisco’s sanctuary city for all immigrants. †Like major cities around the country, San Francisco city leaders have vowed to maintain their status as a “sanctuary city†for undocumented immigrants, limiting local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities. But students and parents continued to express anxiety over the election of Donald J. Trump. “A lot of students are coming to school with a lot of distress, there are students who genuinely fear for their future stability in the community based on the things they heard during the campaign,†said Gentle Blythe, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco Unified School District. “I don’t think any of those students or those families are in any way reassured about any potential risk that would come in the new administration. †The message, along with a lengthy letter, was sent in English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese and Tagalog. Roughly of the district’s students are immigrants, but there is no way to know how many are undocumented. San Francisco is not alone in its efforts to reassure students. The Los Angeles Unified School District is opening additional centers to direct parents to social services and legal help in light of the election. The University of California also reaffirmed its commitment to help undocumented students last week, saying it would not hand over any information about undocumented students without court orders. And the university’s president, Janet Napolitano, urged Mr. Trump to keep the program that grants temporary reprieve to young undocumented immigrants brought here as children. And on Monday, Kevin de León, the Senate president pro tem, introduced a package of bills intended to help undocumented immigrants by helping to provide legal representation, further limit local law enforcement cooperation and train public defenders on immigration law. It seems clear this is just the beginning of the state’s battle with a Trump administration over undocumented immigrants. • Oakland’s warehouse fire shows how rising rents can push desperate people toward unsafe housing. [The New York Times] • Derick Ion Almena, the manager of the Ghost Ship warehouse, gave an anguished interview: “I’m so sorry. I’m incredibly sorry. †[Today] • Santa Ana declared itself a sanctuary city, making it the first in Orange County to do so. [Orange County Register] • A California Ku Klux Klan leader was arrested in a North Carolina stabbing hours before a Klan parade celebrating Donald Trump’s election. [Los Angeles Times] • Formerly incarcerated undergraduates at U. C. Berkeley started a group to offer support to other former inmates. [The New Yorker] • Last year, Google used as much energy as San Francisco. In 2017, Google says, it will run on renewable energy alone. [The New York Times] • Donald Trump is summoning tech leaders to a meeting. [The New York Times] • Wells Fargo, based in San Francisco, is trying to kill customer lawsuits over fake accounts by moving them to arbitration. [The New York Times] • After four painful years, San Bernardino will soon emerge from bankruptcy. [Los Angeles Times] • Rashaan Salaam, a Heisman Trophy winner from San Diego, was found dead in Colorado. He was 42. [The New York Times] • With nine nods for “Lemonade,†Beyoncé has more Grammy nominations than any other artist. [The New York Times] • Alia Shawkat, the actress, grew up working in Hollywood but never fell prey to its homogeneous beauty standards. [The New York Times] • TV Review: Hulu’s “Shut Eye†follows a scheming, psychic in Los Angeles. [The New York Times] In running, the lighter your gear the better. So two runners who embarked last week on a relay to Sacramento from Los Angeles were in a world of hurt given their unorthodox clothing — full police uniforms. Pain, however, was part of the idea. Known as Project Endure, the run by Officers Joe Cirrito and Kristina Tudor of the Los Angeles Police Department was devised to honor slain officers and raise money for their families. Late Monday, in Sacramento cheered the officers along as they reached their final destination at a police memorial near the State Capitol. There, after eight consecutive days of running, they both wept, Officer Cirrito, 47, said on Tuesday. “I’ve never felt that kind of emotion before. †The officers each averaged 20 or so miles a day, sleeping in shifts of roughly four hours in a recreational vehicle and the occasional hotel room or firehouse. By about Day 4, Officer Cirrito was in dire straits, he said. His feet were bleeding inside his tactical boots. At one point he stopped to say hello to a man who turned up along the route with his daughter. “He said: ‘This is my daughter and she’s fighting cancer. She’s my warrior. And it was important for me to come out here so she could meet another warrior,’†Officer Cirrito said. “My heart broke. I didn’t know what to say. And I just pushed. I pushed more and more that night. †According to records kept by the Officer Down Memorial Page, which tracks killings of police officers, 11 law enforcement officers have died in the line of duty this year in California. The most recent case was on Nov. 13 in the city of Hughson, near Modesto, where Deputy Dennis Wallace of the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department was fatally shot. When Officers Cirrito and Tudor ran through the county over the weekend they were given an escort of police and fire vehicles with flashing lights. California Today goes live at 6 a. m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes. com. The California Today columnist, Mike McPhate, is a Californian — born outside Sacramento and raised in San Juan Capistrano. He lives in Davis. Follow him on Twitter. California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and attended U. C. Berkeley. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2633 | 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 Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz Not Join Standing Ovation for Zelenskyy's Speech to Congress? Claim summaries: The legislators oppose sending more aid to Ukraine.
contextual information: Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy addressed the U.S. Congress on Dec. 21, 2022, to thank them for their support and to request more aid amidst the ongoing invasion of Russia in Ukraine. Though Zelenskyy received multiple standing ovations and thunderous applause from both parties during his speech, Republicans Rep. Matt Gaetz and Rep. Lauren Boebert did not appear to share in the enthusiasm. addressed One clip from C-SPANeven went viral, in which they appeared to remain seated as others around them stood and clapped: C-SPAN While this clip is indeed accurate, Gaetz and Boebert did stand at different points in the speech, particularly toward the end, and stood for Zelenskyy's departure. They were seen standing at the very beginning as they waited for Zelenskyy's arrival. Gaetz is in a grey suit, and Boebert is in a white dress. They can be seen standing on the upper half, toward the center of this shot. (Screenshot/C-SPAN) At around 14 minutes, Gaetz and Boebert were seen standing and chatting with other members of the House. As Zelenskyy entered and stood at the podium, the audience stood and clapped to welcome him. Gaetz and Boebert stood along with everyone else, though it was difficult to determine if they were applauding, as well. Gaetz's arms appeared to be by his side as he leaned down to speak to Boebert. 14 minutes stood (Screenshot/C-SPAN) As Zelenskyy began speaking, he received a number of standing ovations in which it was unclear whether Gaetz and Boebert were sitting. At the 32-minute mark they can be seen sitting alongside everyone else, listening to Zelenskyy. At 34 minutes, when almost everyone could be seen giving Zelenskyy a standing ovation, the camera cut to Gaetz and Boebert who were already seated as the people around them took their seats. They both appeared to be looking down at their laps. It is highly likely they never stood for the standing ovation. (Screenshot/C-SPAN) The moment took place right after the 34-minute mark in the video below: 34-minute Zelenskyy said, "Your money is not charity. It's an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way." At 35:27 another standing ovation occurred after this statement, and as people sat down, through this wide-camera shot Gaetz and Boebert can be seen seated (marked with the red arrow), having not stood up at all in that moment. (Screenshot/C-SPAN) That moment can be seen in the video, from the 35:25 mark: The crowd got up again as Zelenskyy said, "Russia" and paused, and Boebert and Gaetz remained seated along with some other legislators. They did however join the standing ovation later on in his speech. At around 42:35, Gaetz can be seen standing up, though Boebert is not visible from this angle. At the 46:43 mark, as Zelenskyy leaves while holding the American flag, they can be seen standing along with everyone else: 46:43 mark In this Getty Image, they can also be seen standing alongside everyone else (the top right of the frame): Getty Image But in this one, they are seated as everyone around them gives a standing ovation: this one They are both vocal opponents of sending Ukraine aid. Gaetz posted on Twitter soon after the speech: vocal opponents Boebert also expressed sympathy for the people of Ukraine but demanded a "full audit" of where U.S. money for Ukraine had already gone before she would support sending more money, and called on Biden to do more "at home" to secure the "southern border." Given that the pair did sit for significant standing ovations, but joined other standing ovations later in the speech, we rate this claim a "Mixture." Finally, we should add the pair made news for security related to Zelenskyy's visit, as well. security related to Zelenskyy's visit Baker, Sinad. "Lauren Boebert and Matt Gaetz Stayed Sitting and Looked at Their Phones While Congress Gave Zelenskyy a Standing Ovation." Business Insider, https://www.businessinsider.com/video-boebert-gaetz-ignore-zelenskyy-ovation-in-congress-check-phones-2022-12. Accessed 22 Dec. 2022. "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Addresses Joint Meeting of Congress." C-SPAN. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPfFYvAFlU8. Accessed 22 Dec. 2022. "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Speaks to a Joint Session Of..." Getty Images, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelensky-speaks-to-a-joint-news-photo/1245778448. Accessed 22 Dec. 2022. "US Republican Reperesentative from Colorado Lauren Boebert And..." Getty Images, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/republican-reperesentative-from-colorado-lauren-boebert-and-news-photo/1245775412. Accessed 22 Dec. 2022. "Zelenskyy Thanks 'every American,' Sees 'Turning Point.'" AP NEWS, 21 Dec. 2022, https://apnews.com/article/zelenskyy-biden-68c65b3274e552f36f16853f24fedbb9.Accessed 22 Dec. 2022. | 2 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 2 |
FMD2634 | 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 Mexico Sign a Major Trade Deal With Argentina to Retaliate Against Trump's Border Wall Plans? Claim summaries: Mexico is in trade talks with Argentina, but no deal has been finalized; the cost to American farmers would likely be lower than claimed.
contextual information: Two of Donald Trump's most prominent 2016 campaign pledges were to build a border wall along the Mexican border (or rather, to reinforce and extend it; a wall already exists along hundreds of miles of the international border), and to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, a 1994 arrangement between the United States, Canada and Mexico which he called "the single worst trade deal ever approved in this country." exists arrangement called In October 2017, left-wing Facebook page "The Other 98%" posted a widely-shared meme which claimed that Mexico had in retaliation for Trump's border wall plans signed a major agricultural trade agreement with Argentina, which would have very harmful effects on American farmers: meme They're trying to distract us from the fact that Mexico retaliated against the border wall by establishing an agricultural agreement with Argentina. Starting next year Mexico will be buying 100% of their corn, rice, wheat and soy from Argentina duty free. In exchange Mexico will ship cars to Argentina duty free. This will take away at least $13 billion annually from American farmers. As of 1 November 2017, Mexico and Argentina have not signed an agreement like the one described by "The Other 98%", but the two countries have held talks about a more limited (though still significant) trade deal involving grains and cars. Furthermore, the main catalyst for the negotiations has been the uncertainty caused by Donald Trump's vow to renegotiate NAFTA rather than his plans to build a border wall. The source cited by "The Other 98%" is a September 2017 article by Daily Kos, which reported: Daily Kos Mexico already retaliated against Trump and his insults earlier this year by establishing an agricultural agreement with Argentina. Starting next year Mexico will be buying 100% of her corn, rice, wheat and soy from Argentina duty free. In exchange Mexico will ship cars to Argentina, duty free. This will taken [sic] away $13 billion annually from American farmers. It's not clear what the source of these claims is, but a similar meme appeared online earlier in 2017, which read: meme Mexico has retaliated against Trump's racial profiling and insistence that Mexico will pay for his border wall. Beginning in 2018, Mexico will be buying its corn, rice, wheat and soy from Argentina. Not America. American farmers stand to lose $13 billion. The ripple effect will be even more devastating. The fact that this announcement was made during Trump's Made in America week, is just karmic icing. "Made in America Week" took place from 17-24 July 2017; we found no evidence of any deal between Mexico and Argentina being announced during that time period. However, talks have been ongoing between the two countries. place In the spring of 2017, Mexico's Deputy Economy Minister Juan Carlos Baker made several comments in interviews about his country's negotiations with Argentina and Brazil. On 26 March 2017, the Financial Times reported: Financial Times Mexico, the worlds biggest buyer of US corn, is considering offering duty-free access to Brazilian and Argentine maize as an alternative to American imports in a move that could have big consequences for US farmers worried about Donald Trumps trade and tax agenda. [...] "I am pretty optimistic about the possibility of having a deal with these countries soon," Juan Carlos Baker, Mexicos deputy economy minister, told the Financial Times in an interview. "Were pretty far advanced with Brazil...Argentina is a few steps behind," he said.... The following month, Baker told Reuters that a deal with Argentina could be finalized by the end of 2017: Reuters Mexico, seeking closer ties with the rest of Latin America, expects to finish negotiations on a trade deal with Argentina involving cars and agricultural products around the end of the year, Mexicos deputy minister for foreign trade said in an interview on Tuesday. [...] Under the deal, Argentina could gain part of the lucrative grains market in Mexico, Latin Americas No. 2 economy, Baker told Reuters. In 2015 Mexico imported $2.3 billion worth of U.S. corn and $1.4 billion of U.S. soy. But Baker said those numbers will likely decrease under a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement called for by Trump. "The potential is there," Baker said. "The Argentine exporters could find attractive conditions in Mexico." Mexico, in turn, could export cars to Argentina, he said. "We have a very strong manufacturing industry and Argentina is an important market for us," Baker said. A trade deal between Mexico and Argentina may be in the works, but it has not yet been announced as of 1 November 2017. However, assuming a deal goes ahead to shift Mexico's importation of certain products from the United States to Argentina, the numbers are significant but not as dramatic as they are in the meme. According to United States Grain Council statistics, the United States exported $2.5 billion worth of corn to Mexico in 2015 and 2016. In 2015, the United States exported $2.9 billion worth of soy products to Mexico, according to the U.S. Soybean Export Council (page 19.) According to Global Agricultural Trade System statistics for 2016, exports of wheat and rice were worth $612 million and $274 million, respectively. Grain Council page 19 Global Agricultural Trade System This yields a total of $6.3 billion in U.S. exports to Mexico of corn, rice, wheat and soy the four products specified in the above meme. So even if Mexico did decide to stop importing all these products from the U.S., the likely annual financial cost to the American agriculture industry would be extremely significant, but still only around half the $13 billion claimed. It's not entirely clear where the figure of $13 billion came from, but it might have originated in an October 2017 letter sent to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and signed by dozens of food and agriculture companies and industry associations, warning Ross about the dangers, as they see them, of withdrawing from NAFTA. letter According to a study by ImpactECON, if Canada, Mexico, and the United States return to most favored nation (MFN) tariff rates upon any withdrawal from NAFTA, the negative impact on the United States will far outweigh any benefits from higher U.S. tariffs, including a net loss of 256,000 U.S. jobs, a net loss of at least 50,000 jobs in the U.S. food and agriculture industry, and a drop in GDP of $13 billion from the farm sector alone. The study mentioned here was an August 2017 working paper produced by the economic consulting firm ImpactECON. It did not actually mention any figure of $13 billion. Rather, it projected that over the course of two to three years after a U.S. withdrawal from NAFTA, real GDP in the United States would fall by as much as 0.09 percent. working paper Gross domestic product, or GDP, is the combined market value of all goods and services produced in a particular geographic area (in this case, the United States.) It is a calculation commonly used to measure the total size of an economy. Real GDP is gross domestic product adjusted for inflation - meaning, roughly speaking, the size of the economy in relation to the cost of living. As of the third quarter of 2017 (when the ImpactECON report was published), the real GDP of the United States was $17.01 trillion, according to figures from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. A 0.09 percent decline in that would amount to a $15.3 billion loss not far off the $13 billion posited by the food and agriculture industry, in their letter. figures There are a couple of things to note here: firstly, the 0.09 percent decline estimated in the ImpactECON report relates to the entire U.S. economy, and not "the farm sector alone," as mentioned in the letter. In fact, the working paper projects a very small increase in production for the crops and forestry sector (0.04 percent, page 20), accompanied by a significant boost to production in the sugar sector (5.11 percent), but it also projects production declines of between one and two percent in the meat, food and livestock and fishing sectors. page 20 Secondly, this real GDP declined is projected to happen "in the next 2-3 years", so if the meme is using the letter to Wilbur Ross as the source of its $13 billion figure, it is misrepresenting the decline as happening "annually." projected Politico. "Full Transcript: First 2016 Presidential Debate."
Politico. 27 September 2016. Webber, Jude. "Mexico Eyes Duty-Free Corn Deals to Counter Trump."
Financial Times. 26 March 2017. Misculin, Nicolas. "Mexico, Looking South, Sees Trade Deal With Argentina Around Year's End."
Reuters. 18 April 2017. U.S. Soybean Export Council. "2015 Annual Report."
U.S. Soybean Export Council. 27 October 2015. NAFTA Food and Ag Trade Working Group. "Letter to Wilbur Ross."
NAFTA Food and Ag Trade Working Group. 25 October 2017. Bureau of Economic Analysis. "Gross Domestic Product: Second Quarter 2017 (Advance Estimate.)"
U.S. Department of Commerce. 28 July 2017. Walmsley, Terry; Minor, Peter. "Reversing NAFTA: A Supply Chain Perspective."
ImpactECON. August 2017. Update [2 November 2017]: Added possible source of the $13 billion figure in the meme. | 2 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 2 |
FMD2635 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Donald J. Trump lashed out on Tuesday in the aftermath of a disappointing first debate with Hillary Clinton, scolding the moderator, criticizing a beauty pageant winner for her physique and raising the prospect of an attack on Bill Clinton’s marital infidelities in the final stretch of the campaign. Having worked assiduously in recent weeks to cultivate a more disciplined demeanor on the campaign trail, Mr. Trump cast aside that approach on Tuesday morning. As Mrs. Clinton embarked on an ebullient campaign swing through North Carolina, aiming to press her newfound advantage, Mr. Trump vented his grievances in full public view. Sounding weary and impatient as he called into a Fox News program, Mr. Trump criticized Lester Holt, the NBC News anchor, for asking “unfair questions†during the debate Monday evening, and speculated that someone might have tampered with his microphone. Mr. Trump repeated his charge that Mrs. Clinton lacked the “stamina†to be president, a claim critics have described as sexist, and suggested that in the future he might raise Mr. Clinton’s past indiscretions. Defying conventions of political civility, Mr. Trump leveled cutting criticism at a beauty pageant winner, Alicia Machado, whom Mrs. Clinton held up in Monday night’s debate as an example of Mr. Trump’s disrespect for women. Mr. Trump said on Fox he was right to disparage the former Miss Universe because of her weight. “She was the winner and she gained a massive amount of weight, and it was a real problem,†said Mr. Trump, who was the pageant’s executive producer at the time. Mrs. Clinton has already been broadcasting an ad highlighting crude remarks from Mr. Trump about women she answered his taunts about her marriage with a rhetorical shrug, telling reporters Mr. Trump was free to run whatever kind of campaign he preferred. On board her campaign plane, she plainly relished her moment of apparent triumph, and poked fun at Mr. Trump’s morning lamentations. “Anybody who complains about the microphone,†she said, “is not having a good night. †Mr. Trump’s setback in the debate represents a critical test in the final six weeks of the race. Having drawn closer to Mrs. Clinton in the polls, Mr. Trump now faces an intensified clash over his personal temperament and his attitudes toward women and minorities — areas of grave concern for many voters that were at the center of the candidates’ confrontation on Monday. Against Mr. Trump’s brooding, Mrs. Clinton cut a strikingly different profile on the campaign trail on Tuesday, emerging emboldened from her encounter with the Republican nominee. At a rally in Raleigh, N. C. Mrs. Clinton, brandishing her opponent’s debate stumbles, assailed Mr. Trump’s comments suggesting he avoided paying taxes and welcomed the 2008 financial crisis as a buying opportunity. “What kind of person would want to root for nine million families losing their homes?†Mrs. Clinton asked the crowd. “One who should never be president, is the answer to that question. †Having shaken at least temporarily the malaise of the past month, Mrs. Clinton must seek to gain a durable upper hand over Mr. Trump, who before the debate had been delivering a more focused message on trade, immigration and national security. Mr. Trump’s comportment on Tuesday threatened to undermine his gains of the past month, and recalled his practice during the Republican primaries and much of the general election of belittling political bystanders in language that alienated voters, like attacking the Muslim parents of an Army captain killed in Iraq and a Hispanic federal judge. It remains to be seen if Mr. Trump will approach the remainder of the race with the unfiltered abandon of his comments Tuesday morning. By the day’s end, Mr. Trump had returned to a caustic but somewhat more conventional script, attacking Mrs. Clinton in bitter language at a rally in Melbourne, Fla. Blasting Mrs. Clinton as a “vessel for her friends, the donors,†Mr. Trump exhorted the crowd, “We’re going to get rid of that crooked woman. †And Mr. Trump again complained at the event about how he had been treated by Mr. Holt, whom he referred to as “the M. C. †The fear among Republicans is that Mr. Trump will confront adversity by continuing to swing impulsively at politically inopportune targets, dragging the party again into needless and damaging feuds, as he did for most of the summer. The notion of raising Mr. Clinton’s infidelity is particularly controversial among Mr. Trump’s advisers, who have sent conflicting signals about that line of attack. Kellyanne Conway, Mr. Trump’s campaign manager, said in a CNN interview that he deserved credit for holding back from that particular subject, saying Mr. Trump had been “polite and a gentleman. †But Rudolph W. Giuliani, a former New York City mayor and a close confidant of Mr. Trump’s, called for a far harsher approach. Mr. Trump, he told a reporter for the website Elite Daily, had been “too reserved†in his confrontation with Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Giuliani recommended attacking Mrs. Clinton for having questioned Monica Lewinsky’s credibility in claiming an affair with Mr. Clinton. He also called Mrs. Clinton “too stupid to be president. †Mr. Giuliani has his own complex marital history: He is on his third marriage as mayor, he surprised his second wife by announcing his plans to separate from her at a news conference. Should Mr. Trump follow the path prescribed by Mr. Giuliani, it could transform the final six weeks of his candidacy into an onslaught of unrestricted personal vituperation — a risky course that would probably please Mr. Trump’s political base at the cost of his broader appeal. But Democrats signaled on Tuesday that they would welcome an extended battle with Mr. Trump over matters of temperament and personal character. Priorities USA Action, a “super PAC†supporting Mrs. Clinton, released a television ad highlighting a debate exchange in which Mr. Trump said his temperament was his “strongest asset,†along with clips of Mr. Trump using obscene and violent language. And Mrs. Clinton’s running mate, Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, said in a television interview that Mr. Trump had appeared “flustered†and “ran out of gas. †During a campaign stop in Orlando, Fla. Mr. Kaine suggested that Mr. Trump was too unsteady for the White House. “If you’re that rattled in a debate,†he said, “try being president. †Still, among Mr. Trump’s core voters, there is clearly an appetite for blunter and more personal attacks on Mrs. Clinton, and at his rally in Florida, several said they hoped Mr. Trump would be harsher in the next debate. “I’m glad he was a gentleman,†said Fran Hadjilogiou, 75, of Indian Harbour Beach. “He should just go get her next time. †Jim Clapper, 66, of Palm Bay, said he hoped Mr. Trump would bring up Mr. Clinton’s infidelity “every chance he gets. †“He ought to bring it up every day so that the young people in this country know what went on with that family,†Mr. Clapper said. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2636 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: If sane Americans have done one stupid thing over the last year, it s not take Donald Trump seriously. Unfortunately, there s a lot of discontent among the right toward the changing face of the United States and on the left, there s discontent over the fact that the United States isn t changing fast enough, and that discontentment could easily land Donald Trump in the White House, according to FiveThirtyEight s statistical guru, Nate Silver.While the polls are in a virtual tie, a breakdown of electoral college votes paints a much bleaker picture. According to Silver, Trump is ahead of Clinton by a whopping 15 points.Silver s now-cast, updated with fresh surveys on Monday, shows Trump s current likelihood of winning at 57.5 percent, compared with Clinton s 42.5 percent. In the 11 battleground states, Colorado, Virginia and Michigan would go to Clinton, while Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Iowa would go to Trump.The breakdown shifts a bit between the Electoral College and the popular vote. Silver s model currently predicts the popular vote going 45.4 percent to Trump vs. 45.1 percent to Clinton, but the Electoral College giving Trump a wider margin of victory, 285 votes and Clinton 252.6.Source: PoliticoThis warning alone should be enough to wake up some who are on the fence and some Bernie Sanders supporters, but not all is lost. Silver notes that polling during conventions is notoriously inaccurate.On the one hand, the conventions are not a particularly good time to sweat every tick in the polls. Instead, they tend to be one of the less accurate times for polling. Historically, it s unusual for candidates not to at least pull into a rough tie after their party convention John McCain and Sarah Palin did so in 2008, for example, and even Walter Mondale led a couple of polls in 1984. But those bounces do not always turn out to be predictive.Silver has another hand, though, and he s saying that Clinton has had a very bad July. She could get a convention bump this week, but with Wikileaks email dump and Sanders supporters protesting every single speaker, it s doubtful. In other words, be afraid, but vote and drive people to the polls if necessary.Featured image via Slaven Vlasic at Getty Images. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2637 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Watch the video and you be the judge. Was Piers Morgan correct or was he out of line?Piers Morgan poked the hornets nest Sunday when he highlighted a double standard among Muhammad Ali s fans that the late boxer espoused more radical views on race than Donald Trump.Muhammad Ali said far more inflammatory/racist things about white people than Donald Trump ever has about Muslims. #fact Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 5, 2016The tweet quickly brought a swarm of social justice outrage, but Morgan did not back down. He argued that Ali was an important voice in the civil rights movement, but that is no reason to whitewash statements far more radical than Trump s on race and immigration. Via: Breitbart NewsTrump was in New York on 9/11 & knew people who died. Does that count? https://t.co/eF7Lg76Ye7 Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 5, 2016Here are just a few tweets from liberals right before their collective heads blew off their necks:https://twitter.com/DentonJez/status/739780815807188992Morgan s response:I didn't say that. I just said Ali made far more inflammatory/racist comments. Which he did. https://t.co/5ABetSkFPi Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 6, 2016 Why would stating that Muhammad Ali made a lot of inflammatory, race-charged statements in his life be remotely controversial? He did. Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 5, 2016Piers Morgan shared this clearly racist interview with Muhammad Ali on Twitter to back up his claim:Along the way, Piers picked up a few Twitter users who were willing to tell the truth about boxing legend Ali:https://twitter.com/NordicImports/status/739845621289517056Honesty is the new "being racist" FYI Michael (@socalmike_SD) June 6, 2016In the end, Piers Morgan knew he could never walk into another room filled with liberal crybabies if he didn t do the obligatory Leftist, even though I m correct here is my apology:I'm sorry for 'saying inflammatory things for attention'.That's the last thing Muhammad Ali would have condoned. Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 5, 2016 | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2638 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: LOS ANGELES — To understand how Andrew Garfield successfully made the leap from to holy man, it’s helpful to know that when he was 8, his hero was Mahatma Gandhi. And that one of his life goals at the time was to seek out the schoolyard bully and envelop him in a warm embrace. “He was a brilliant terror, kind of like a †Mr. Garfield recalled during an interview one warm night in the fall. “My first impulse was to give him a hug and a kiss and tell him he was all right, and that he didn’t have to behave that way. †He paused, a few moments later adding, “Of course, I became his main target, because I saw him so deeply. †After a few hours of conversation with Mr. Garfield about, among other things, celebrity toxicity, spiritual steadfastness, authentic living and God, it was evident that Mr. Garfield sees many things deeply. This attribute was integral to his landing starring roles in two meaty movies that are receiving awards attention this season. The first is Mel Gibson’s “Hacksaw Ridge,†about Desmond T. Doss, a World War II hero, a Adventist and conscientious objector who refused to carry weaponry the part has landed Mr. Garfield his second Golden Globe nomination. The other is Martin Scorsese’s “Silence,†in which Mr. Garfield plays a Jesuit priest, Sebastien Rodrigues, on a mission in hostile Japan. Both directors said Mr. Garfield possessed a moral conviction necessary for playing their protagonists, each of whom happen to be devout and forced to face down Japanese antagonists. Mr. Garfield, who is 33, said he could not have done “Hacksaw†were it not for the intensive preparation he underwent for “Silence. †For the Scorsese film, which was produced first but released second, he spent a year under the tutelage of the Jesuit priest and author Father James Martin, praying, fasting, using a small rented West Village apartment as a retreat and undergoing rigorous spiritual exercises. “I got not only a theological education, but a deep spiritually transformative experience,†Mr. Garfield said, his brown eyes blazing with the intensity of a tractor beam. Lithe and nimble — not for nothing was he — and as finely tuned as a whippet, Mr. Garfield came across as a friendly, engaged presence, with a crackling intelligence that Mr. Gibson described as “through the roof. †“There’s something about fasting, about being empty enough to allow the spirit in, to hear and to listen and to be guided,†Mr. Garfield said. “To be with that silent void, that chaos in ourselves, that’s what the character goes through. He gets the most profound bliss and joy because he hangs in there with the void, with the seeming darkness. †Mr. Garfield met to chat at the Sunset Marquis in West Hollywood, a spot arranged by his publicist even though Mr. Garfield was staying on the city’s east side he was in production for the coming noir thriller “Under the Silver Lake. †The Marquis is deluxe — “through the breezeway and over the koi bridge†were a clerk’s directions to the restaurant — and couldn’t have been farther from the spartan surroundings Mr. Garfield put himself in to prepare for “Silence. †That spiritual work, in turn, seems to have left Mr. Garfield ever more at odds with the Hollywood culture he has resisted even as his star has steadily risen. The night before, he’d attended the Governors Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ annual gala. While Mr. Garfield said he marveled at the screened montages of the night’s honorary award winners, he was painfully aware of the constant inflation and deflation of egos, including his own. “It’s a really sick old Hollywood kind of patriarchal value system, based on commerce and money and who’s the hottest and who’s going to bring in the big bucks,†he said. “I’m not saying that an organization like the academy doesn’t acknowledge and honor talent it’s evident they do. But it coexists with the commerce aspect. Sometimes I feel the tail is wagging the dog. And I struggle with that. †Of course, the reason Mr. Garfield is getting such plum parts is because he is ascending that hierarchy, despite himself. Born in Los Angeles to an English mum and an American father, Mr. Garfield was raised from toddlerhood in Surrey, England. His family was a loving one, he said, and his father was Jewish and resisted the notion that any one people were chosen. Mr. Garfield began acting as a child, working his way up from the theater to British television and then feature films. He came to international attention in 2010 for his lauded performances in “Never Let Me Go†and “The Social Network. †But it was his casting as for “The Amazing †(2012) and subsequent romance with his Emma Stone, that catapulted him to a wider fame, which he knew was coming and dreaded when he took the Peter Parker role. had always been Mr. Garfield’s favorite superhero, and he said he adored the character and couldn’t say no, even though being in such a spotlight made him cringe. “If I could have kept the mask on the whole time, it would have been better, because I don’t have interest in being known for a character,†Mr. Garfield said of his time as Spidey (he also starred in the 2014 sequel). “I have no interest in being known as a celebrity celebrity is a pretty disgusting word. It’s part of the brainwashing of the culture, part of the false idolatry of those that are only human, and I don’t want to participate in that. †The paparazzi had other ideas, which Mr. Garfield pushed back against. When photographers caught him strolling New York’s streets with Ms. Stone, the pair hid their faces behind handwritten signs directing readers to charity websites. In 2015, when it was announced that another actor would be playing Mr. Garfield found himself relieved: He wanted to continue working on himself as an actor, which isn’t easy in a franchise. “It’s a moneymaking exercise, and I don’t know if I’m criticizing that,†he said. “I’m trying not to judge that, all I knew is that I found it very painful to be a part of in that regard. †But he had already been spreading his wings. In 2012, Mr. Garfield earned a Tony nomination for his performance as Biff in Broadway’s “Death of a Salesman,†starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and directed by Mike Nichols. Mr. Nichols became one of Mr. Garfield’s dearest mentors, and his death, along with Mr. Hoffman’s in 2014 — “I’m so lucky I got to brush my soul against him every night,†Mr. Garfield said — left him lastingly bereft. The performance was recommended to Mr. Scorsese, who was finally getting a passion project three decades in the making off the ground. In 2013, while Mr. Garfield was in the middle of “The Amazing 2,†he found himself in Mr. Scorsese’s Upper West Side offices for an audition that would last three hours, and leave the director thrilled. “I felt the film come alive at that point,†Mr. Scorsese wrote in an email. “Andrew let me know right away that he had to go deep into the role and that it had to take time — he had to live it. †This would involve intensive work with Father Martin, who, despite his initial wariness, ended up guiding Mr. Garfield through St. Ignatius Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises, which often mark the summit of a spiritual journey. “God drew him into the exercises immediately,†Father Martin said. “At one point, Marty said: ‘I’m sorry you won’t be with me in Taiwan. We won’t have an expert in Jesuit spirituality with us.’ And I said, ‘Yes, you will, you’ll have Andrew. ’†The production was in 2015, and shortly after Mr. Garfield returned, he read the script for “Hacksaw Ridge. †It was positioned as a comeback for Mr. Gibson, who had been disgraced a decade earlier for drunkenly spewing epithets. Mr. Garfield said he read the script, wept — Mr. Doss had rescued 75 men from a brutal battleground in Japan — and that any hesitation he might have had vanished after he asked Mr. Gibson about the controversy . “We talked about everything, all about that period in his life, and the years since, and his sobriety, and the work he’s done and the healing he’s done within himself, and those others that he consulted and hurt,†Mr. Garfield said. “He’s a very loving man, a crazy loyal man, sensitive and caretaking, and he’s not drinking, and it’s a really beautiful, beautiful thing. †As for Mr. Gibson, he said Mr. Garfield filled every hope he had. “The pump was primed,†Mr. Gibson said over the phone. “This character needed to be profound down to the bootstraps of his soul. †After a few months’ breather once filming wrapped, Mr. Garfield quickly went back to work and he’s also starring this year in a revival of “Angels in America†in the West End. But his very immediate future is being dictated by awards — his work in “Hacksaw†also landed a Screen Actors Guild award, and the Golden Globes are Sunday, Jan. 8 — meaning he’ll be back on red carpets, schmoozing again, a reluctant cog in the Hollywood machine. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2639 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: HONG KONG — A billionaire who has forged financial ties with some of the country’s most powerful families was taken by the Chinese police from his apartment at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong late last week and spirited across the border, a person close to the businessman said on Tuesday. The billionaire, Xiao Jianhua, who has been missing since Friday, is in police custody in China, where he apparently is safe, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of arrest. Mr. Xiao is a Canadian citizen with an Antiguan diplomatic passport, though he was born in China. His removal from Hong Kong appears to contravene the “one country, two systems†rule that allows the former British colony to run its own affairs and bars the Chinese police from operating here. When asked on Tuesday about Mr. Xiao, the Hong Kong police issued a statement saying that “the subject†had entered mainland China through a border crossing on Friday. His disappearance was reported the following day, but on Sunday one of Mr. Xiao’s family members reported that Mr. Xiao was safe and that the family had asked to withdraw the missing person’s filing. Mr. Xiao, 45, had spent years outside China, most recently staying at the Four Seasons in Hong Kong. The situation is eerily reminiscent of the case of another holder, the bookseller Lee Bo, who disappeared off the streets of Hong Kong in late 2015, only to turn up days later in Chinese custody. His case, as well as the disappearance of four of his business associates, made headlines around the world and shook many people in Hong Kong, who saw his abduction as a violation of the city state’s ability to run its own affairs, guaranteed by international treaty until 2047. Mr. Xiao, a prodigy who passed the examination to enter the elite Peking University at age 14, controls a sprawling empire with shares in banks, insurance companies, coal, cement and property through his Tomorrow Group. The Hurun Report, which tracks Chinese billionaires, estimated his fortune last year at 40 billion renminbi, or $5. 8 billion. But that vastly understates his wealth, said the person close to Mr. Xiao. Mr. Xiao’s fortunes rose after his graduation from the university in 1990, where he had been head of the official student organization and stayed loyal to the government during the demonstrations in 1989. In recent years, Mr. Xiao has acted as a kind of banker to the ruling class, paying $2. 4 million in 2013 to buy shares in an investment firm held by the sister and of China’s president, Xi Jinping. A company he helped to control financed a deal that benefited the of a top former leader, Jia Qinglin, The New York Times reported in 2014. Mr. Xiao bought the shares from Mr. Xi’s relatives to help them divest financial holdings following a 2012 report by Bloomberg News that detailed his relatives’ wealth. He did it “for the family,†Mr. Xiao’s spokeswoman said in 2014. His fate in recent days has been the focus of media attention and confusion in Hong Kong and in the overseas press after reports emerged that he had been arrested. On Tuesday, Mr. Xiao posted two notices on his company’s WeChat account saying he had not been taken from Hong Kong to the mainland and instead was “recuperating abroad†and soon would meet with media organizations. In Chinese, there is no ambiguity: “Abroad†means outside the mainland. Those posts have since been removed. Those statements were untrue, according to the person close to Mr. Xiao, and were meant to tamp down interest in the story, because China’s government did not want it publicized. The person did not know why Mr. Xiao had been taken to the mainland, adding that his relatives, including his wife and son, were not in China. The Tomorrow Group has extensive holdings in China. Previous disappearances of Chinese billionaires have generated turmoil in Chinese stock markets, which are closed this week for the Lunar New Year. On Tuesday evening, the Hong Kong police press office would not comment on whether the local police had helped arrest Mr. Xiao and transport him across the border, and it would not say whether the Chinese police had illegally apprehended Mr. Xiao, saying only that it had asked the mainland police for help in the case. The Chinese Ministry of Public Security did not respond to a faxed request seeking comment on Mr. Xiao. A spokesperson for the Four Seasons Hotel, where Mr. Xiao lived for years, was not available to comment. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2640 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: On Friday, St. Louis police arrested two 30-year-old white men in connection with a racially motivated attack on a Black woman.According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jesse Reed and David Ragain, both of Jefferson County, Missouri, maliciously attacked the woman as she was waiting at a public bus stop.The men threw eggs and shouted racial slurs at the victim, according to police.The men were taken into custody after police identified one of the suspects vehicles, using video from surveillance cameras.Both Reed and Ragain are charged with assault motivated by discrimination, a third-degree felony. They are currently being held on a $20,000 bond.St. Louis police believe that the pair has carried out similar attacks against people of color in the past. They are asking any person who believes they were targeted by the two men to come forward. These weren t two white teenagers on a joy ride, St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said during an interview with the Post-Dispatch.Indeed, this was a deliberate, planned and unprovoked act of hate, carried out by two adult men.As reported here, hate crimes like this can have a lingering psychological impact both on the targeted victim and on the Black community as a whole.Racially motivated attacks cause generalized terror in the group to which the victim belongs, inspiring feelings of vulnerability over the other members, who could be the next victims. People of color have been terrorized by racist whites since the United States was founded.Over the past year racially motivated attacks have become more and more common across the U.S., a fact which can be directly attributed to the rise of Donald Trump.Trump s racist hate speech has been cited as the motivation for everything from targeted racist mailings, directed at members of the Latino community, to the brutal assault and beating of a homeless man by two Boston-area brothers.As Addicting Info reported here:Since last September, America s Voice has been tracking instances where Trump, his staff and his supporters have assaulted or harassed immigrants and Latinos. As you can imagine, his special brand of xenophobia and racism has caused a lot of white nationalists to feel comfortable with their hate for others. Using reports of Trump inspired racist attacks, the group created an interactive map which shows just how dangerous the candidate s hate speech really is.While we hear Trump and his supporters talk a lot about the dangers of Muslim terrorists in the U.S., racist white terrorists remain the most common, and the most dangerous threat to American citizens.Residents of the United States are seven times more likely to be killed by a right-wing terrorist than a Muslim terrorist. Nearly 60 percent of hate crimes committed in the United States are motivated by racial and ethnic bias. Another 20 percent are motivated by gender identity and sexual orientation. Religiously motivated hate crimes, attacks on Muslims, Jews, atheists and other non-Christian groups, also account for nearly 20 percent of hate crimes.Contrary to Trump s propaganda, we don t need a watch-list to identify who the real terrorists are. We have more than enough evidence to identify the hateful, violent and dangerous groups that are terrorizing the American people.Featured image via limecools on Flickr | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2641 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Public pension funds in at least seven U.S. states have invested millions of dollars in an investment fund that owns a New York hotel and pays one of President Donald Trump’s companies to run it, according to a Reuters review of public records. That arrangement could put Trump at risk of violating an obscure constitutional clause, some legal experts say. The Trump SoHo Hotel and Condominium in Manhattan is an upscale 46-story property owned by a Los Angeles investment group, the CIM Group, through one of its real estate funds. (Read the most recent amendment to the Trump SoHo’s offering plan: tmsnrt.rs/2q3HJH8) The possible problem for Trump lies in the fact that state- and city-run pension funds have invested in the CIM fund and pay it a few million dollars in quarterly fees to manage their investments in its portfolio, which includes the Trump SoHo, according to state investment records. In return for marketing and managing the hotel-condo, CIM pays Trump International Hotels Management LLC 5.75 percent of the SoHo’s operating revenues annually. That payment chain merits closer scrutiny because it could put Trump at risk of falling foul of a little-known constitutional rule prohibiting the flow of money from states to the pockets of a sitting president, five ethics and constitutional law experts interviewed by Reuters said. (Graphic on Trump SoHo payment chain: tmsnrt.rs/2pfkZ40) No other public pension fund investments in Trump-affiliated businesses have been reported. The White House referred comment to the Trump Organization, the parent conglomerate for Trump’s businesses, which did not respond to repeated calls and emails for comment. While Trump turned over management of the Trump Organization in January to a trust controlled by his two elder sons, he still earns revenue from the SoHo. That’s because he still owns the businesses in the Trump Organization, including Trump International Hotels Management LLC. Article II of the U.S. Constitution bars the president from receiving additional payments beyond his salary from state governments. This so-called “domestic emoluments clause†prohibits “any other emolument from the United States, or any of them.†This clause and a “foreign emoluments clause†prohibiting similar payments from foreign governments have been thrust to the fore because of Trump’s vast, complicated network of businesses, which ethics experts say has created unprecedented conflicts of interest. A group of constitutional and ethics experts have filed a lawsuit alleging Trump was violating both clauses by letting his hotels and other businesses accept payments from public officials. Trump said the suit was without merit. The lawsuit does not refer to the CIM fund. The group’s April complaint cited dozens of violations, including foreign government leases and purchases at Trump’s properties in the United States, which have resulted in unknown amounts being paid to Trump since he was inaugurated. The SoHo hotel-condo management contract is a significant revenue generator for Trump through his hotel management company. In 2015 and the first five months of 2016, Trump International Hotels Management LLC drew at least $3.1 million from the SoHo, and Trump received $3.3 million in income from the hotel management company, hotel records and campaign filings show. (Read the 2014 and 2015 financial statements for the Trump SoHo: tmsnrt.rs/2q3VNjP) CIM said its policy is not to comment on its private funds, agreements, or the operations of its funds’ investments. The state- or city-run pension funds are in California, New York, Texas, Arizona, Montana, Michigan and Missouri. They have more than 5 million members | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2642 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: 21st Century Wire says When the news broke in 2013 that Amazon.com founder and Bilderberg member Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post, we started asking the same question many others were asking at the time: what does it mean for the paper and what will happen next? As the media whips up a public frenzy over which city will go to what extreme lengths to prove their worthiness of hosting the online retailer s next company headquarters replete with an odd reality TV like competition backdrop we now see further signs of exactly what the plan was all along.SEE ALSO: Washington Post Sloppy Journalism Blames Russia for Fake News Crisis and Trump s Win, While Pushing Neo-McCarthyismAccording to Adam Johnson, contributing analyst for FAIR.org, the Washington Post has been caught reposting Amazon press releases in their coverage of the HQ2 story. This amounts to essentially copy and paste PR by the Bezos-owned newspaper on behalf of Bezos-owned Amazon with no regard for citation or explanation of the projected economic benefits a host city could expect to receive. If only quality control of shipping their news at the Amazon Washington Post was as tight as shipping their retail.Continue reading about this story at FAIR.org READ MORE MEDIA CRITIQUE AT: 21st Century Wire Media Cog FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE NOW & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2643 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: RIO DE JANEIRO — The Brazilian authorities arrested 10 members of an Islamist militant group that was organizing terrorist attacks, officials announced Thursday, raising tension around the country just two weeks before the start of the Olympic Games. The Federal Police said in a statement that the suspects belonged to a group called the Defenders of Sharia. Agents from an antiterrorism unit are investigating the group’s activities in several states, including Rio de Janeiro, where the Games will take place. The arrests were announced at a time when the Brazilian authorities are coming under scrutiny over security preparations for the Olympics. Responding to the truck massacre last week in Nice, France, Brazil’s sports minister, Leonardo Picciani, told reporters on Wednesday that “the government is absolutely convinced that the Games will be safe. †Brazil’s justice minister, Alexandre de Moraes, said Thursday that Brazil’s main intelligence agency, known as ABIN, was working with foreign intelligence services and the Federal Police, an investigative force in Brazil that is similar to the F. B. I. Officials said that the people arrested had communicated with one another via WhatsApp and Telegram, two mobile messaging services. Mr. Moraes said the suspects had been taken into custody “when they went from basic commentaries about the Islamic State to preparatory acts. †Still, Mr. Moraes emphasized the group’s embryonic nature, calling it “an amateur cell without any preparation. †He said that its members had been seeking to buy weapons in Paraguay, including an rifle, but that no such arms acquisitions were confirmed. “This is a disorganized cell,†Mr. Moraes said, who described all those arrested as Brazilian citizens. He said that intercepted messages showed members of the group celebrating the recent attacks in Orlando, Fla. and Nice. Mr. Moraes did not provide more details about what kind of attack the group was planning, but he said officials had to act “because of the proximity of the Olympics. †Marcos Josegrei da Silva, the federal judge overseeing the case, said on Thursday that the suspects ranged in age from 20 to 40, and that they communicated with each other using code names in Arabic even though none appeared to have Arab ancestry. “It’s hard to call them terrorists,†Judge da Silva said. “But even though they don’t have a very solid organization, the arrests are warranted from a legal point of view. †One suspect, identified in Brazilian media reports as Vitor Barbosa Magalhães, 23, converted to Islam several years ago and lived in the city of Guarulhos in São Paulo State’s metropolitan area, where he works in his father’s car repair shop. Mr. Magalhães’s wife told reporters he had traveled to Egypt in 2012 to study Arabic and Islam. After returning to Brazil, he gave classes in Arabic over YouTube and maintained a WhatsApp group to discuss Islam, she said. Concern has been increasing here over the potential for terrorist attacks around the Olympics, with police squads responding to various reports of bags left in public areas (no explosive devices have been found). These fears are relatively new in Brazil, a country that has largely been spared the kind of attacks that have horrified Europe, the Middle East, the United States and many other parts of the world. Brazilian officials have also said they were enhancing security measures following a report by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist websites, saying that a group calling itself Ansar Brazil had proclaimed allegiance to Abu Bakr the leader of the Islamic State. The arrests on Thursday marked a turning point in the way Brazil’s government generally discusses terrorism threats. For more than a decade, and especially after the Sept. 11 attacks, Brazilian intelligence officials have been monitoring individuals suspected of links to terrorism. During that time, however, “Brazilian government officials kept saying publicly that no credible evidence exists that people who live inside Brazil have links to terrorism,†said Marcos Ferreira, a scholar focusing on terrorism in South America at the Federal University of ParaÃba. At the same time, other experts voiced caution as to whether the suspects would have put a plot into motion. “Initially, these arrests seem very fragile,†said Rodrigo Monteiro, a security specialist at the Federal Fluminense University in Rio. “We need to wait a bit for the government to define the threat in a better way. †On Thursday, the justice minister, Mr. Moraes, said that violent crime remained the priority ahead of the Olympics. Despite gun control measures, Rio is still awash in weapons, with drug gangs wielding control over parts of the city. The authorities have begun deploying tens of thousands of troops to bolster security in Rio. “The biggest concern is still crime,†Mr. Moraes said. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2644 | 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: Of all the money we spend on education, less than 32 percent goes to teachers.
contextual information: Dan Patrick framed his case for ordering Texas schools to shift money toward higher teacher salaries by suggesting that less than a third of school spending currently reaches teachers' pocketbooks. The Republican lieutenant governor, addressing reporters before the July 2017 start of a special legislative session called by Gov. Greg Abbott, said, "Of all the money we spend on education, less than 32 percent goes to teachers." By email, Patrick's spokesman Alejandro Garcia offered as the basis of Patrick's claim a state publication presenting statistics such as student enrollment. We did not find information in the document that supported what Patrick said. When we reached out to the Texas Education Agency, spokeswoman Lauren Callahan responded by pointing out state-posted figures for the 2015-16 school year, the latest year of audited spending totals. That year, according to the agency, the state government recorded receipts of $58,796,907,294 related to public schools from state, local, federal, and other revenue sources. The same year, according to another agency web page, 347,328 teachers were paid combined base salaries of $18,023,516,741, averaging $51,892. That $18 billion breaks out to 31 percent of the nearly $59 billion in total receipts. Some additional money went to teachers, including nearly $1 million in stipends for those who oversee extracurricular activities, Callahan told us. The resulting total teacher compensation of $19,005,561,634 divides out to 32 percent of the total education receipts. Additional money goes into other salaries. According to the agency, Texas schools in 2015-16 paid more than $24 billion to 68,699 teacher support staff, broken out by TEA into more than 20 job categories, including counselors, school nurses, and athletic trainers, plus 237,460 administrative, professional, paraprofessional, and auxiliary staff, with spending on all employee salaries accounting for more than 70 percent of school-related receipts. Keep in mind, though, Patrick singled out the share of all spending solely devoted to teacher pay. When we asked finance experts who advocate for school districts if the equation based on TEA data holds up, we heard back that the math works, but the total-spending figure includes spending that deserves an asterisk. In emails, Joe Wisnoski, a former TEA finance administrator who advises and lobbies for school districts, and Tom Canby of the Texas Association of School Business Officials each suggested it is unfair to compare the $18 billion spent on teacher salaries to total receipts, which count money that does not contribute to school employee salaries. Each expert wrote that it is more appropriate to compare spending on teacher salaries to operating expenditures, meaning not judging the teacher salaries against any money districts raise in bond proceeds or what is spent on capital projects such as buildings or to pay off debt. Wisnoski noted that none of those funding streams could be diverted to salaries anyway. According to the TEA's posted figures for 2015-16, all funds operating expenditures for schools totaled nearly $49.5 billion, of which spending on teacher salaries accounted for 36.4 percent, Wisnoski said, and we confirmed. "There are lots of ways to include or exclude things in the world of school district finances," Wisnoski said, "and what is most appropriate somewhat depends on the person making the point and the specific point being made." Canby called the equation that led us to 32 percent of all spending going to teacher salaries a misleading apples-to-oranges calculation. He said he would gauge the share of spending on teacher salaries starting from 2016 actual expenditure totals he said he obtained from the state's Public Education Information Management System. Those figures suggest that teacher salaries cost $19,131,375,774, with benefits adding $3,429,356,293. The resulting $22,560,732,067 accounted for 47.7 percent of $47,303,105,584 in operating expenditures statewide, Canby noted. Canby also emailed us a web link to a July 2017 commentary by TASBO's executive director, Tracy Ginsburg, stating that the group had been unable to verify numbers aired by Patrick indicating that of $163,000 spent per classroom, $52,000 is paid to classroom teachers. Ginsburg encouraged readers to consider a June 2017 report by Moak, Casey & Associates, the lobbying and consulting firm whose associates include Wisnoski. That report states that in 2015-16, Texas school employee salaries and benefits absorbed 79 percent of $46.4 billion spent on basic educational costs. The share of that spending on teacher salaries alone does not appear in the report, which states that instruction accounted for 61 percent of basic costs, taking into account some 333,000 teachers plus 63,700 education aides. The instruction entry in the report states: "Also included here are the salaries and benefits costs of 4,500 librarians, as well as the books and other materials that can be found in Texas school libraries." The cost of instructional materials and staff development is also included in this category as instructional costs. Our ruling: Patrick said, "Of all the money we spend on education, less than 32 percent goes to teachers." This percentage, we found, aligns with the simple comparison of total teacher salaries to all funds spent on public schools. However, it is worth clarifying that not all funds can be diverted to teacher salaries. You could also say that close to half of available school spending in 2015-16 went to teacher salaries. We rate the statement Mostly True. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2645 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was encouraged by progress in the Colombian peace process after meeting on Monday in Havana with representatives of Colombia’s Marxist FARC guerrilla group and the Bogota government, a State Department spokesman said. Kerry, in Cuba as part of U.S. President Barack Obama’s historic visit to the Communist-run island, met the two sides separately and called for them to redouble their efforts to resolve the remaining issues in the talks, spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement. Kerry told both sides he was “encouraged that the ‘end of conflict’ issues are now front and center in the negotiations, including a formal bilateral ceasefire monitored by the U.N. Security Council, a timetable for disarmament, and security guarantees post-conflict for all lawful political actors,†according to the statement. His involvement at the request of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos marked the first time a U.S. secretary of state had met with negotiators from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia since peace talks started in Havana more than three years ago. The meeting between the Colombian government delegation and Kerry was “very productive,†lead government negotiator Humberto de la Calle told journalists. “There were extraordinarily concrete elements,†de la Calle said. “For example, the announcement of help from the United States relating to the security of people who lay down arms, which is a critical subject at the talks.†The FARC thanked the U.S. for its support of the peace talks and said they hope to reach a final peace agreement in the coming months. “On a not-distant date we will give good news to the country and the world | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2646 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Donald Trump wasn t the only presidential candidate whose campaign was boosted by officials of a former Soviet bloc country.Ukrainian government officials tried to help Hillary Clinton and undermine Trump by publicly questioning his fitness for office. They also disseminated documents implicating a top Trump aide in corruption and suggested they were investigating the matter, only to back away after the election. And they helped Clinton s allies research damaging information on Trump and his advisers, a Politico investigation found.A Ukrainian-American operative who was consulting for the Democratic National Committee met with top officials in the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington in an effort to expose ties between Trump, top campaign aide Paul Manafort and Russia, according to people with direct knowledge of the situation.The Ukrainian efforts had an impact in the race, helping to force Manafort s resignation and advancing the narrative that Trump s campaign was deeply connected to Ukraine s foe to the east, Russia. But they were far less concerted or centrally directed than Russia s alleged hacking and dissemination of Democratic emails.The Ukrainian antipathy for Trump s team and alignment with Clinton s can be traced back to late 2013. That s when the country s president, Viktor Yanukovych, whom Manafort had been advising, abruptly backed out of a European Union pact linked to anti-corruption reforms. Instead, Yanukovych entered into a multibillion-dollar bailout agreement with Russia, sparking protests across Ukraine and prompting Yanukovych to flee the country to Russia under Putin s protection.In the ensuing crisis, Russian troops moved into the Ukrainian territory of Crimea, and Manafort dropped off the radar.Manafort s work for Yanukovych caught the attention of a veteran Democratic operative named Alexandra Chalupa, who had worked in the White House Office of Public Liaison during the Clinton administration. Chalupa went on to work as a staffer, then as a consultant, for Democratic National Committee. The DNC paid her $412,000 from 2004 to June 2016, according to Federal Election Commission records, though she also was paid by other clients during that time, including Democratic campaigns and the DNC s arm for engaging expatriate Democrats around the world.A daughter of Ukrainian immigrants who maintains strong ties to the Ukrainian-American diaspora and the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, Chalupa, a lawyer by training, in 2014 was doing pro bono work for another client interested in the Ukrainian crisis and began researching Manafort s role in Yanukovych s rise, as well as his ties to the pro-Russian oligarchs who funded Yanukovych s political party.In an interview this month, Chalupa told Politico she had developed a network of sources in Kiev and Washington, including investigative journalists, government officials and private intelligence operatives. While her consulting work at the DNC this past election cycle centered on mobilizing ethnic communities including Ukrainian-Americans she said that, when Trump s unlikely presidential campaign began surging in late 2015, she began focusing more on the research, and expanded it to include Trump s ties to Russia, as well.She occasionally shared her findings with officials from the DNC and Clinton s campaign, Chalupa said. In January 2016 months before Manafort had taken any role in Trump s campaign Chalupa told a senior DNC official that, when it came to Trump s campaign, I felt there was a Russia connection, Chalupa recalled. And that, if there was, that we can expect Paul Manafort to be involved in this election, said Chalupa, who at the time also was warning leaders in the Ukrainian-American community that Manafort was Putin s political brain for manipulating U.S. foreign policy and elections. POLITICONow Ukraine President Poroshenko is scrambling to repair the damage:Russia s meddling has sparked outrage from the American body politic. The U.S. intelligence community undertook the rare move of publicizing its findings on the matter, and President Barack Obama took several steps to officially retaliate, while members of Congress continue pushing for more investigations into the hacking and a harder line against Russia, which was already viewed in Washington as America s leading foreign adversary.Ukraine, on the other hand, has traditionally enjoyed strong relations with U.S. administrations. Its officials worry that could change under Trump, whose team has privately expressed sentiments ranging from ambivalence to deep skepticism about Poroshenko s regime, while sounding unusually friendly notes about Putin s regime.Poroshenko is scrambling to alter that dynamic, recently signing a $50,000-a-month contract with a well-connected GOP-linked Washington lobbying firm to set up meetings with U.S. government officials to strengthen U.S.-Ukrainian relations. Revelations about Ukraine s anti-Trump efforts could further set back those efforts. Things seem to be going from bad to worse for Ukraine, said David A. Merkel, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council who helped oversee U.S. relations with Russia and Ukraine while working in George W. Bush s State Department and National Security Council.Merkel, who has served as an election observer in Ukrainian presidential elections dating back to 1993, noted there s some irony in Ukraine and Russia taking opposite sides in the 2016 presidential race, given that past Ukrainian elections were widely viewed in Washington s foreign policy community as proxy wars between the U.S. and Russia. Now, it seems that a U.S. election may have been seen as a surrogate battle by those in Kiev and Moscow, Merkel said. Politico | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2647 | 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: Bernie Sanders Marched with MLK at Selma? Claim summaries: A photograph doesn't show Bernie Sanders marching from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 with Martin Luther King, Jr.
contextual information: On January 20, 2016, the website Democratic Underground posted a photograph purportedly showing Bernie Sanders participating in a 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, with Martin Luther King Jr. The website identified the man standing "behind Coretta King, just right of Old Glory in the glasses, white 't' shirt, open collar, and dark jacket" as the future United States senator and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate. The man in the photograph does bear a resemblance to a young Bernie Sanders, but that similarity alone is not sufficient to confirm that Sanders took part in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march. The image was taken on March 26, 1965, and a caption provided by licenser Corbis Images identifies Martin Luther King Jr. along with several other prominent political leaders but makes no mention of Bernie Sanders. The caption states: "Dr. Martin Luther King (C) leads thousands of civil rights demonstrators out on the last leg of their Selma to Montgomery 50-mile hike. Others identifiable in the front row include John Davis (2nd from L) of SNCC, King's aide Reverend Ralph Abernathy (3rd from L), Dr. Ralph Bunche (5th from L), Mrs. King (next to her husband), and Reverend Hosea Williams (carrying a little girl, R)." This photograph has been widely available for decades, but it wasn't until January 2016 that Bernie Sanders' name became associated with a face in the crowd. Although Sanders has stated that he participated in the landmark "March on Washington" civil rights event of August 1963 (where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech), there is no record of Sanders claiming that he was also present at any other civil rights march involving Martin Luther King Jr. On the national holiday named for the civil rights leader, Senator Bernie Sanders called Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. "one of the great leaders in American history." Sanders, then a college student, was in the crowd on The Mall in Washington when King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. "We must never forget his heroic efforts to end segregation and racial injustice. It is also important, however, to remember that he fought for a society in which all people had good jobs at good wages and that quality education and health care were available to all. At a time when we have an almost record number of Americans living in poverty, obscene levels of income and wealth inequality, and millions working longer hours for lower pay, we still have much to learn from Dr. King's extraordinary life." As Mother Jones noted, Sanders' active participation in the Civil Rights movement was "brief and localized" and effectively ended in 1963. Sanders' involvement was limited to one arrest for protesting and a poor GPA from neglecting his studies. However, Sanders was, in his own right, an active participant in the movement during his three years at the University of Chicago. Although Sanders did attend the 1963 March on Washington, most of his work was in and around Hyde Park, where he became involved with the campus chapter of CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) shortly after transferring from Brooklyn College in 1961. During Sanders' first year in Chicago, a group of apartment-hunting white and black students discovered that off-campus buildings owned by the university were refusing to rent to black students, in violation of the school's policies. CORE organized a 15-day sit-in at the administration building, which Sanders helped lead. The protest ended when George Beadle, the university's president, agreed to form a commission to study the school's housing policies. That spring, with Sanders as its chairman, the university chapter of CORE merged with the university chapter of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee). Sanders announced plans to take the fight to the city of Chicago, and in the fall of 1962, he followed through, organizing picketers at a Howard Johnson in Cicero. Sanders told the Chicago Maroon, the student newspaper, that he wanted to keep the pressure on the restaurant chain after the arrest of 12 CORE demonstrators in North Carolina for trying to eat at a Howard Johnson there. Sanders left his leadership role at the organization not long afterward; his grades suffered so much from his activism that a dean asked him to take some time off from school. However, he continued his activism with CORE and SNCC. In August 1963, shortly after returning to Chicago from the March on Washington, Sanders was charged with resisting arrest after protesting segregation at a school on the city's South Side. He was later fined $25, according to the Chicago Tribune. Some have suggested that the identity of the face circled in the photograph is likely that of Paul Reese, who resembled a young Bernie Sanders, participated in civil rights events of the time, and was present at the march pictured here. In short, that picture is not of Bernie Sanders, who did not march in Selma. His campaign has confirmed this. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2648 | 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: Says Adam Hasners record includes requesting over $92.2 million in earmarks.
contextual information: Adam Hasner, fake conservative? That's the contention being made by George LeMieux, as the two Republicans vie for the GOP nomination to take on incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson. LeMieux, a former U.S. senator, is challenging Hasner, a former Florida House majority leader, on two core issues: taxes and spending. LeMieux campaign e-mails and Web posts on Aug. 1, 2011,show a cartoon Hasnerwearing a joker hat and holding a mask in his hand. He is attending his own masquerade ball one where hes only pretending to be conservative.The Masquerade Ball gown Hasner has chosen on the key issues of taxes and spending is a prime example. Hasners rhetoric simply does not match his record. Hasners record includes: Increasing Spending A 40% increase during his time in the legislature. Requesting over $92.2 million in earmarks. Billions in new taxes and fees. Voting to accept Obama stimulus money.The earmark claim caught our eye. Hasner, elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2002,served as majority leaderfrom 2008-10 before term limits ended his run. That means plenty of time to rack up requests for pet projects. But did he request over $92.2 million in earmarks? And if he did, how did that compare with requests by other lawmakers?A more detailed look at Hasners record atGeorgeForFlorida.comclarifies the LeMieux campaign was talking about Floridas twist on the earmark, the Community Budget Issue Request. As weve written inother earmark fact-checks, its a way state legislators use to request funding for local projects. Lawmakers had to file requests for a local park, say, or a new community wastewater system and attach their names to each one.The Legislaturestopped the practicein 2009 as budgets got tighter. But the Florida House keepsan archive of such requests, funded and unfunded, at FloridaHouse.gov.A PolitiFact Florida analysis oflawmakers requests from 2003-08shows Hasner indeed made use of CBIRs to ask for state funding for everything from acommunity child care center in Delray Beach($25,000) to support for amedical cluster and research institutein the Miami area ($20 million). He requested $1 million for manatee avoidance technology, made regular requests on behalf ofbrain injury prevention effortsamong seniors ($199,450) and asked for taxpayer aid for drainage improvements, boardwalk replacements and reclaimed water systems.Over six years, his requests total just over $92.2 million.Well mention that the archive doesnt make it clear which projects ultimately won funding, and indeed some requests may have been made year after year precisely because they failed to attract lawmaker support. Rep. Adam Hasners Community Budget Issue Requests 2003-08 That means the amount of local funding Hasner requested for his district was in the bottom half of lawmakers in four out of six years, though it jumped to the 60th percentile in 2006, the year before he served as deputy majority leader, and the 86th percentile in 2007, the year before he took the top seat.But even in 2007, the amount Hasner requested was eclipsed by top CBIR filers, such asRep. Marti Coley, R-Marianna,who wanted $202.3 million for projects in her district nearly four times Hasners total.A couple of other notes.First, we feel we should at least mention that LeMieux has a record of voting for earmarks while he was in the U.S. Senate. LeMieux, whohadnt held elected officebefore he was appointed to U.S. Sen. Mel Martinezs seat in 2009 by his former boss, Gov. Charlie Crist, has claimed henever requested a single earmark. But he didnt have to: Earmarks bound for Florida were already packed into appropriations bills before LeMieux took over for Martinez. LeMieux voted forseveral such bills. He also activelylobbied for local stimulus projects. Later, he voted for a moratorium to ban federal earmarks through 2013 but so did Sen. Bill Nelson.Meanwhile, as the Florida economy faltered, Hasner cut his own local funding requests in 2008 to a single item $385,000. That put him last among more than 100 lawmakers who made local funding requests. And he was in the leadership when the decision was made to stop such requests altogether. Hasners campaign, for the record, thinks its unfair to call Community Budget Issue Requests earmarks, which campaign spokesman Douglass Mayer said evokes last-minute congressional handshake deals.The difference here is transparency, Mayer said. CBIRs are submitted with full accountability and voted on in the light of day. Earmarks are snuck in the backdoor of the federal budget process to avoid accountability.But CBIRs are often referred to as Floridas version of the earmark, and documentation from the LeMieux campaign makes the reference clear.Where does this leave us?LeMieuxs campaign says that (Adam) Hasners record includes requesting over $92.2 million in earmarks. On the numbers, LeMieux is right -- from 2003-08 Hasner requested $92.2 million for projects through a process called Community Budget Issue Requests. But we think there are a couple of caveats worth noting. First is the CBIR process itself -- which was open and transparent. Legislators made requests for dollars in writing and were forced to explain what the money would be used for. Second, it's important to note that Hasner wasn't particularly aggressive in requesting money through CBIRs and more than 100 House members asked for more than he did in 2008. Lastly, it strikes us as hypocritical for LeMieux to attack competitors over earmarks when his own record where it exists shows votes and personal lobbying for local spending. We rate this claim Mostly True. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2649 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Journalist Julia Ioffe did a profile of Donald Trump s wife, Melania, for GQ magazine. The story was not an attack, but rather did what so much journalism does in an election year fill in the picture of the contenders and their families.But unlike past years, candidate Donald Trump has cultivated an extremely anti-Semitic group of supporters, who have taken pages right out of the Nazi playbook in order to attack those they see as the enemy. Unluckily for Ioffe, her story got on their radar, and they aimed a torrent of abuse in her direction, with violent anti-Semitic rhetoric and threats.On Thursday, Ioffe answered a phone call from an anonymous caller who played a Hitler speech. She received another call from Overnight Caskets . On Twitter, users posted photos of her face superimposed on a mug shot from Auschwitz. The Daily Stormer, a white supremacist site, attacked Ioffe in a blogpost titled: Empress Melania Attacked by Filthy Russian Kike Julia Ioffe in GQ! It s unsettling, she said on Thursday night. I started the day off having a sense of humor about it but by the end of the day, after a few phone calls like this, with people playing Hitler speeches, and the imagery, and people telling me my face would look good on a lampshade, it s hard to laugh. Many of the messages Ioffe received on Twitter were of the same bigoted variety. Some showed the writer, with images of yellow stars saying Jew sown on to her chest, echoing the method in which concentration camp prisoners were labeled by the Nazi regime before their mass execution.From my inbox. Subject line: "They know about you!" pic.twitter.com/zp3v2GjTeI Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) April 28, 2016.@GideonResnick @OKnox Oh, I thought this one reminding me to swallow my diamonds was from you! pic.twitter.com/Ri6tZsyHXx Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) April 28, 2016While these attacks didn t come from Donald Trump officially, his campaign has not shied away from its affiliation with hate groups. Trump refused to disavow the support of a former KKK Grand Wizard during a CNN interview, and the candidate himself has reposted the tweets of anti-semites and racists dozens of times since becoming the frontrunner of the Republican Party.And of course, Trump himself has called Mexicans rapists, called for a ban on Muslim immigration and a national registry of Muslim residents, attacked Black Lives Matter, and encouraged his supporters to beat up protesters at his rallies.This, and worse, is what happens.Featured image via YouTube | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2650 | 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 a restriction put in place by Sberbank in Russia on withdrawing cash to a maximum of $20? Claim summaries: After Russian forces invaded Ukraine in late February 2022, rumors spread on social media that Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, had imposed a very low cash withdrawal limit.
contextual information: In late February 2022, a rumor went viral on TikTok and Twitter that said Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, had imposed a cash withdrawal limit that would be equivalent to $20 in the U.S. The rumor began to spread just after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. TikTok Twitter Russia Russia invasion Ukraine On Feb. 25, the person behind the @bantg Twitter account tweeted: "Sberbank, Russian largest bank, has limited cash withdrawals to $20." tweeted The tweet cited no sources. Another tweet posted on Feb. 26 claimed: "JUST IN: Sberbank, the largest bank in Russia, has limited cash withdrawals for its customers to $20 ? #PutinWillFeelThePainSoon." The hashtag referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin. tweet Vladimir Putin Replies under the tweet asked for a source for the information, but @nick82gh did not respond to them. While this second tweet didn't receive many engagements, it was shared the same day to TikTok as a screenshot. Within 48 hours of being posted, that TikTok video received 80,000 likes and was viewed more than 1.4 million times. The person speaking in the video said: "The bank run has started. Russia is going bankrupt. This is the end of [the] Russian economy completely." video Here are the facts: It's true that Sberbank is Russia's largest bank by its amount of assets, according to The Wall Street Journal. However, at the time, we found no reporting or evidence of any kind that backed up the claim that the Sberbank had limited cash withdrawals to $20. We also found no data about anything related to Sberbank causing the entire country of Russia to go bankrupt, as mentioned in the TikTok video. The Wall Street Journal By email, a spokesperson for Sberbank told us: "This information contradicts reality. Sberbank continues to fulfill all of its obligations in full, including the withdrawal of funds from accounts. All funds are available to customers at any time." On Feb. 28, ABC News and The Associated Press reported that Sberbank had been hit with "tough U.S. sanctions," leading to some limits on cash withdrawals: ABC News Associated Press Sberbank and VTB banks are Russias two largest state-run banks and own roughly half of the assets in the Russian banking system. They were targeted last week by tough U.S. sanctions aimed at limiting their businesses internationally and over the weekend barred from the international SWIFT payment system. SWIFT In both Slovenia and Croatia, Sberbank temporarily closed its branches or limited cash withdrawals following a rush by its clients last week. In Croatia, the banks clients will be allowed to withdraw a maximum of about 1,000 euros per day over the next two days. In Slovenia, the branches will be closed for the next two days and then the withdrawals will be limited to 400 euros per day. At the time that this news was published, 1000 euros was equivalent to $1,121, while 400 euros converted to $448. Neither of these figures was anywhere close to a $20 limit. We asked Sberbank for information on cash withdrawal limits for other countries but did not receive a response before this story was published. While we found no evidence regarding Sberbank branches having a $20 cash withdrawal limit, the conflict in Ukraine did lead to fears that the bank could fail, according to a report from Reuters, which cited a warning from the European Central Bank. Ukraine report Also, on a similar subject, The National Bank of Ukraine imposed cash withdrawal limits after the invasion began, according to The Wall Street Journal. However, again, those limits were reported to be nowhere near $20. Instead, the reporting said the limit was "100,000 Ukrainian hryvnia a day, equivalent to about $3,339.13." according to The Wall Street Journal This story will be updated if we receive further information. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2651 | 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 Sarah Palin Say People with Lyme Disease Should Stop Eating Limes? Claim summaries: Proposed changes to health care laws revived an old meme attributing a phony quote about Lyme disease to Sarah Palin.
contextual information: In May 2017, the Affordable Care Act (more popularly known as Obamacare) returned to the news due to a Congressional vote attempting to change the health insurance law. These developments resurrected a meme that attributed the following quote to former Alaska governor and one-time vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin: "News Obamacare has already made people less responsible for their own health. Like, if you don't want Lyme disease, then don't eat so many limes. Is that so tough?" Although the precise origin of the meme was not immediately apparent, we found that it was published at least as early as June 2014 by Facebook pages such as Republican BS and FreeDumb Nation. The meme bears a faint watermark, which is difficult to spot (it's located in the mid-to-lower right-hand corner of the image) but is associated with the satire page Christians for Michele Bachmann. The same watermark can be more clearly seen on another image created by the same satirical Facebook page (original background art credited to @the_pizzacat on Instagram). Nothing that comes from this page is intended to be taken seriously, including the quote attributed to Palin. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2652 | 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: They're paying a less rate of tax -- these richest people in America -- than they have in the last 80 years.
contextual information: As U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman recently told workers at a small business in Bergen County, the middle-class must pick up the tab for wealthy Americans paying their lowest income tax rate in 80 years.The congressman pointed to that reduced tax rate during a campaign video posted Feb. 13 on YouTube, where he is seen talking to employees of Lanzo Plumbing in Hackensack.If these guys and gals making over a million dollars a year...wont pay their fair share because the Republicans are protecting them, that means working people and the middle-class and seniors have to pick up the tab for them. Its crazy, Rothman (D-9th Dist.) said. They're paying a less rate of tax -- these richest people in America -- than they have in the last 80 years.As PolitiFact New Jersey found, Rothmans claim is off, but not by much.The federal income tax rate for the top income bracket stood at 35 percent in 2011, marking a lower statutory rate than during most of the last eight decades. But for five tax years -- 1988 to 1992 -- the top rates were lower than they are today, according to data from the Internal Revenue Service.Now, lets trace the evolution of the top income tax rate.In 1931, the top rate was 25 percent on taxable income greater than $100,000. The following year, the top rate increased to 63 percent on income above $1 million, and then grew in 1936 to 79 percent on income greater than $5 million.The top rate remained at 70 percent or greater through 1980 -- and exceeded 90 percent during World War II and from the early 1950s to the early 1960s.By 1988, the top rate fell to 28 percent and stayed there through 1990. For 1991 and 1992, the top rate rose to 31 percent, and then increased to 39.6 percent for tax years 1993 to 2000. In 2003, the top rate reached its current level of 35 percent.So, for most of the last 80 years, the top statutory rate has been higher than it is today, with the exception of tax years 1988 to 1992.Since various tax deductions can reduce an overall tax bill, we also looked at actual taxes paid as a percentage of ones income.According to a June 2010 report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the top 1 percent of households, on average, paid 19 percent of their income in federal income taxes in 2007. That figure was lower than amounts paid in 25 of the 28 years between 1979 and 2006, according to the budget office.Its worth noting that as a group, the top 1 percent were covering a larger share of federal income taxes in 2007 than they did in 1979.Still, based on taxes paid as a percentage of income, Rothmans claim is mostly on target.Paul Swibinski, a consultant to Rothmans campaign, told us the congressmans statement was close enough. But he argued that Rothman was speaking off the cuff and said scoring him as partially truthful would send the wrong message.Steve was being completely genuine and completely honest, Swibinski said in an e-mail. Do we want our politicians to parse every single word they say -- just go around repeating the same words over and over because it's safe ? ?? That would seem to me to contradict the purpose of Politifact.Our rulingIn a YouTube video, Rothman claimed the wealthiest Americans are paying a lower tax rate than they have in the last 80 years.We looked at two measures -- the top statutory income tax rates and taxes paid as a percentage of ones income. In both cases, Rothmans statement is slightly off, but his overall point about current income tax rates is solid.The top statutory rate is lower now than during most of the last eight decades, and the top 1 percent of households were paying a smaller percentage of their income in federal income taxes as of 2007 than in nearly all of the previous 28 years.We rate the statement Mostly True. To comment on this ruling, go toNJ.com. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2653 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Print
Douglas Band, one of former President Bill Clinton’s closest advisors, boasted to outside auditors that his for-profit corporation had a “historical role in carrying the majority of the fundraising burden” for the nonprofit Clinton Foundation.
A Nov. 16, 2011 memo Band authored , which WikiLeaks made public Wednesday, raises disturbing questions about charitable law violations due to mixing for-profit activities with the nonprofit foundation.
Band authored the extraordinary memo for the law firm of Simpson Thacher, in which he bragged that his for-profit Teneo raised “well over $150 million, much of it from people who did not know President Clinton when he was in office.”
Band co-founded Teneo with Declan Kelley who then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had appointed to serve as the U.S. Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland in 2009.
“This is a confession of widespread fraud that must have sent Simpson Thacher into overdrive,” Charles Ortel, a Wall Street analyst who has reviewed multiple documents related to the Clinton Foundation controversy, told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
When he wrote the memo in 2011, Band was under pressure to defend his fundraising work to the law firm, which had been retained by Chelsea Clinton to conduct a “ governance review” of the Clinton Foundation. The law firm is one of the nation’s foremost authorities on ethical nonprofit management and regulation.
Band described Teneo as devoted to “merchant and investment banking services, corporate restructuring, public relations and communication services, and strategic advising services.”
But he said he “leveraged” his business activities to raise millions of dollars for the Clinton Foundation.
“Throughout the past almost 11 years since President Clinton left office, I have sought to leverage my activities, including my partner role at Teneo, to support and to raise funds for the foundation,” Band wrote.
Band admitted in the memo the “unorthodox nature of my roles” at the foundation, but he defiantly defended his work, saying:
[R]ightly or wrongly, I believe – given the foundation’s need to raise funds, the willingness of the partner owners of Teneo to help fundraise, and my historical role in carrying the majority of the fundraising burden – that Teneo should help raise funds for the Foundation, which it has.
Ortel told TheDCNF that neither Band “nor any of the Teneo folks ever bothered to register as professional solicitation agents in NY, or anywhere else.” The revelation could put Band and the foundation in legal jeopardy with the New York state attorney general’s office, which regulate charities.
Band also revealed for the first time the wide-ranging for-profit activities he undertook that helped enrich the Clintons. The conservative government watchdog group Judicial Watch has described Teneo as “Clinton, Inc.”
Band said in his memo that “independent of our fundraising and decision-making activities on behalf of the Foundation, we have dedicated ourselves to helping the President secure and engage in for-profit activities – including speeches, books, and advisory service engagements,” adding:
In that context, we have in effect served as agents, lawyers, managers and implementers to secure speaking, business and advisory service deals. In support of the President’s for-profit activity, we also have solicited and obtained, as appropriate, in-kind services for the President and his family – for personal travel, hospitality, vacation and the like.
Former President Clinton has frequently used free corporate jets for himself and his family, including those owned by people like convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein .
At the time Band authored his memo, Chelsea Clinton was disturbed about the ethics of mixing Band’s for-profit activities with the foundation’s non-profit fundraising. She retained Simpson Thacher — one of the top law firms in nonprofit management – to review all of the foundation’s activities, including those of Band.
Band lashed out against Chelsea Clinton in a number of emails to John Podesta, the former White House chief of staff under former President Clinton who is now Hillary Clinton’s national presidential campaign manager.
This report, by Richard Pollock, was cross-posted by arrangement with the Daily Caller News Foundation. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2654 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: They are Donald J. Trump’s disrupters. Seven men and one woman named by Mr. Trump to run vast government agencies share a common trait: once they are confirmed, their presence is meant to unnerve — and maybe even outright undermine — the bureaucracies they are about to lead. Some of those chosen — 17 picks so far for federal agencies and five for the White House — are among the most radical selections in recent history. Other presidents’ nominees, even when controversial, were often veterans of the Washington bureaucracy and generally believed in it. But a number of Mr. Trump’s most important selections have no experience in federal government and a great drive to undo it. Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma state attorney general who was picked to lead the E. P. A. rejects the established science of climate change and has built his career on fighting environmental regulations. At the Education Department, Betsy DeVos wants to steer government money away from traditional public schools. Rick Perry was picked to head the Energy Department — unless he eliminates it, as he once promised. Representative Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina, the conservative Republican who was chosen as White House budget director, refused to back the 2011 deal to raise the federal debt limit and helped to bring the United States to the brink of default. “Donald Trump ran to make the governing people uncomfortable,†said Andrew H. Card Jr. who served as chief of staff to former President George W. Bush and as transportation secretary for his father. “He clearly picked people to lead some of these departments who will be challenging to the insiders. †As Mr. Trump finishes announcing his choices for cabinet and senior White House aides, a picture is emerging of an administration with little ideological cohesion and no single animating purpose. They are neither all conservatives, nor all mainstream conservatives. They are not all insiders or outsiders. Some have known Mr. Trump for years. Others met him in the weeks since he was elected. Instead, Mr. Trump has recruited people to lead his government who can be roughly grouped into categories that appeal to the different parts of his psyche. In addition to the disrupters, there are the dealmakers, the loyalists, the establishment and the generals. Mr. Trump’s administration so far reflects the people who worked for and advised him during the campaign. It is mostly men, and mostly white. Many of his picks are extraordinarily rich, though not all. Loyalty is at a premium — except when it isn’t. (Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, Mr. Trump’s choice for national security adviser, was an early supporter who was rewarded. Todd Ricketts, who may become deputy commerce secretary, was a leader of the “Never Trump†movement.) There is “no overarching theory,†said Pete Wehner, who was deputy director of speechwriting for Mr. Bush and a fierce critic of Mr. Trump during the campaign. “He’s not being driven by the usual impulses, which would be policy or ideology or political philosophy. †Here is a look at the groups: Few things made Mr. Trump’s campaign supporters roar with approval more than when he hammered the “political class in Washington,†telling people at his rallies that the government had betrayed them, and vowing that change was coming. At many agencies, it may soon arrive. In addition to Ms. DeVos, Mr. Pruitt, Mr. Perry and Mr. Mulvaney, the disrupters include Ben Carson, chosen to lead the Housing Department Andrew Puzder as labor secretary Representative Tom Price of Georgia to oversee the Health and Human Services Department and Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama as attorney general. The disrupters appear to have been picked in part for their singular ability to shake up the normal course of business at their agencies. Mr. Sessions, whose 1986 nomination as a federal judge was rejected by the Senate because of testimony from colleagues that he was a racist, is likely to push for wholesale changes at the Justice Department by imposing conservative positions on immigration, terrorism, crime, drugs and guns. He is almost certain to reverse efforts to confront civil rights violations, sentencing disparities and police abuses. Mr. Carson, a surgeon who has no experience in housing or running a large government agency, has already put housing advocates on notice that he does not think much of current programs for the poor. Mr. Puzder, who owns chains and is opposed to raising the minimum wage, is a longtime critic of his department’s approach. Mr. Price, who waged a crusade against the Affordable Care Act in Congress, could soon be in a position at H. H. S. to lead the drive to repeal and replace it. Mr. Trump demonstrated his desire for a disruptive force when he named Mr. Pruitt to head the nation’s top environmental agency. While saying that his administration “strongly believes in environmental protection,†he previewed the kind of change he is looking for. “For too long, the Environmental Protection Agency has spent taxpayer dollars on an agenda that has destroyed millions of jobs,†he said, adding that Mr. Pruitt “will reverse this trend. †As he creates an administration in his own image, perhaps no category is more natural for the author of “The Art of the Deal†than the dealmakers. Mr. Trump, who puts a premium on the ability to negotiate in business and finance, has chosen Wilbur Ross, a billionaire investor, to lead the Commerce Department Steven Mnuchin of Goldman Sachs to lead the Treasury Department and Rex W. Tillerson, the chairman of Exxon Mobil, who has a longtime relationship with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, to be secretary of state. “To me, a great advantage is he knows many of the players, and he knows them well,†Mr. Trump said last week during an interview about Mr. Tillerson on “Fox News Sunday. †“He does massive deals in Russia. He does massive deals for the company — not for himself — for the company. †Mr. Mnuchin made a fortune through financial deals and now becomes the nation’s top financial official. Mr. Ross, a “vulture†investor on Wall Street, bought nearly dead companies and made huge profits when his turnaround strategies worked. Like most future presidents, Mr. Trump has also positioned loyal, trusted aides to be close to him at the White House. Four of the loyalists — Reince Priebus, who will be White House chief of staff Stephen K. Bannon, chief strategist Donald F. McGahn II, White House counsel and Mr. Flynn, national security adviser — will occupy the most coveted real estate in the West Wing. The president has also tapped Linda McMahon, the former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment, to oversee the Small Business Administration. Ms. McMahon has known Mr. Trump for years, long before he considered running for president. In 2007 on W. W. E. Mr. Trump took down Vince McMahon, Ms. McMahon’s husband and the chairman of the organization, in what was billed as the “Battle of the Billionaires. †All five loyalists stuck by Mr. Trump during the toughest of times in the campaign. Mr. Priebus, the departing chairman of the Republican Party, came late to joining the Trump team, but refused to waver publicly when the Washington establishment was rushing to condemn Mr. Trump during various scandals, particularly a leaked “Access Hollywood†recording that captured Mr. Trump boasting about grabbing women by their genitals. Mr. Bannon, who has been accused of embracing white nationalist views as the head of Breitbart News, was always there, whispering advice to Mr. Trump in the background, if not officially in charge of campaign strategy. Mr. Flynn and Mr. McGahn are veterans of Mr. Trump’s campaign world, having secured their posts in the administration through longevity. Loyalty goes only so far, however. Four of Mr. Trump’s most avid supporters so far have no role in the new administration: Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas and Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City. If there was one group Mr. Trump repeatedly derided on the campaign trail, it was the establishment. It was filled with the “stupid†people who ran the government poorly, Mr. Trump said. It represented the Washington swamp that he pledged to drain. When it looked like he might not win, he blamed them. But Mr. Trump hasn’t shunned the establishment as he sets up his government. He has chosen Nikki Haley, the governor of South Carolina, as his envoy to the United Nations Representative Michael Pompeo of Kansas for C. I. A. director and Elaine Chao as his secretary of transportation. Ms. Haley, a rising star in the Republican establishment, endorsed Senator Marco Rubio of Florida during the primaries. Mr. Pompeo, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, is in the nation’s capital. And there are few people who define the Republican establishment more than Ms. Chao, who, in addition to having served in cabinet posts during both Bush administrations, is married to Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader. Ultimately there may be no more direct expression of Mr. Trump’s psyche in his administration picks than the generals. Despite saying during the campaign that he knew more about the Islamic State than generals did, Mr. Trump is now embracing the retired leaders of America’s military. That explains Gen. James N. Mattis, who was responsible for American military operations in the Middle East as head of United States Central Command, or Centcom, and is now Mr. Trump’s pick for defense secretary. It also explains Gen. John F. Kelly, who oversaw American military operations in Central and South America as head of United States Southern Command and is now Mr. Trump’s choice for homeland security secretary. It also may help frame his choice of Representative Ryan Zinke of Montana, a former Navy SEAL commander, to be interior secretary. While not a general, Mr. Zinke served in Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo and the Pacific. His autobiography, “American Commander,†was published recently. Mr. Trump particularly likes “Mad Dog Mattis,†the former Centcom commander’s nickname. “Mad Dog Mattis!†Mr. Trump said to a roar of applause at a recent rally in Fayetteville, N. C. “Mad Dog plays no games, right?†Mr. Trump called General Mattis, who led a Marine division to Baghdad during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, one of “the most effective generals that we’ve had in many, many decades. †| 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2655 | 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 Billy Graham Warn Against Mixing Religion and Politics? Claim summaries: The evangelical leader said in a 1981 profile that people in his position "can't be closely identified with any particular party or person."
contextual information: While evangelical leader Franklin Graham has been a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, his father Rev. Billy Graham publicly warned against the prospect of religious figures becoming too attached to a political stance. Several readers contacted us in January 2018 seeking to confirm a statement attributed to the elder Graham: I don't want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it. The statement was also circulated online in meme form: In this case, the quote is authentic, and taken from the 1 February 1981 cover story in Parade magazine; it was part of Billy Graham's account of conversations with fellow reverend Jerry Falwell, who helmed the conservative politcal group the Moral Majority. Graham said: I told him to preach the Gospel. That's our calling. I want to preserve the purity of the Gospel and the freedom of religion in America. I don't want to see religious bigotry in any form. Liberals organized in the '60s, and conservatives certainly have a right to organize in the '80s, but it would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it. The statement was featured early on in the story and was also highlighted below a picture of Falwell and then-President Ronald Reagan: In the story, Graham admitted that he no longer thought of Communists as being "disciples of Lucifer," contrary to his own rhetoric from earlier in his career. He also cast himself as having no part of Falwell's organization, which became a key conservative constituency before dissolving in 1989. He said: It would be unfortunate if people got the impression all evangelists belong to that group. The majority do not. I don't wish to be identified with them. I'm for morality. But morality goes beyond sex to human freedom and social justice. We as clergy know so very little to speak out with such authority on the Panama Canal or superiority of armaments. Evangelists can't be closely identified with any particular party or person. We have to stand in the middle to preach to all people, right and left. I haven't been faithful to my own advice in the past. I will be in the future. While the elder Graham has had relationships with several U.S. presidents spanning decades, he told Christianity Today in 2011 that, given the chance to do anything differently in his life, "I also would have steered clear of politics." told His son, on the other hand, has positioned himself as a Trump supporter since 2011, when he contributed to the debunked "birther" conspiracy theory that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States. In October 2016, the younger Graham published a social media post (misattributed to his father) urging evangelical voters to vote for Trump. contributed misattributed More recently, Franklin Graham has refused to criticize the president for reportedly calling African countries "shitholes" or for alleged extramarital affairs -- drawing criticism from Graham's own niece -- and claimed that the U.S. was "in a coup d'etat" perpetrated by political enemies of Trump who were using the media against him. refused criticism claimed Bailey, Sarah Pulliam. "Q & A: Billy Graham on Aging, Regrets, and Evangelicals."
Christianity Today. 21 January 2011. YouTube. "Interview with the Rev. Franklin Graham," uploaded by ABC News.
https://youtu.be/lx2E286GAcE 24 April 2011. Vales, Leinz. "Evangelical Leader Franklin Graham Says Trump is a 'Changed Person.'"
CNN. 24 January 2018. Allen, Bob. "Franklin Graham Asserts That Trump Could be Toppled in a Coup."
Baptist News. 30 January 2018. Delk, Josh. "Billy Graham's Granddaughter: Trump Needs to Ask for Forgiveness."
The Hill. 27 January 2018. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2656 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Posted on November 1, 2016 by Dr. Eowyn | 1 Comment
Two bioethicists — UK professor Julian Savulescu and Canadian professor Udo Schuklenk — are urging that medical schools not admit prospective students who object to abortion and euthanasia.
Julian Savulescu is director of the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, UK, and editor of the Journal of Medical Ethics ; Udo Schuklenk is the Ontario research chair in bioethics at Canada’s Queen’s University, and editor of the journal Bioethics .
In a co-authored article titled, “ Doctors Have no Right to Refuse Medical Assistance in Dying, Abortion or Contraception ,” published by the journal Bioethics on Sept. 22, 2016, Savulescu and Schuklenk maintain that: Patients’ have an absolute right to abortion and to euthanasia or “assisted dying”. The problem is that there are doctors who conscientiously object. These doctors are respected for their “integrity” and given the prerogative not be involved in providing patients with abortion, artificial contraceptives, and euthanasia. Physicians who refuse to abort and euthanize should be punished or even fired. Conscientious objectors should be barred from admission into medical schools.
Savulescu and Schuklenk write in the “Abstract” of their article:
“[T]here should be better protections for patients from doctors’ personal values and there should be more severe restrictions on the right to conscientious objection, particularly in relation to assisted dying. We argue that eligible patients could be guaranteed access to medical services that are subject to conscientious objections by: (1) removing a right to conscientious objection; (2) selecting candidates into relevant medical specialities or general practice who do not have objections; (3) demonopolizing the provision of these services away from the medical profession.
Some points made in their journal article by these two toxic men who actually pretend they are bioethicists:
(1) Anti-Christian:
Without naming it, Savulescu and Schuklenk blame Christianity — which they refer to only as “organized religion”— for the objection to abortion and euthanasia. As they put it:
“The more religious a society is, the more religious values are imposed on people. Many of the conscientious objection protections we are grappling with today were written into constitutional arrangements in times gone by when the influence of churches was significantly more powerful than it is today. In strongly Christian societies, like Ireland, abortion remains illegal…. [Atheists] Richard Dawkins got it right, when he noted, ‘religion is not simply vicars giving tea parties. There are evil consequences.’”
(2) Doctors should be denied the right to be a conscientious objector to abortion, euthanasia, and artificial contraception:
“Enlightened, progressive secular countries like Sweden, have labour laws in line with our arguments. Sweden provides no legal right of employees to conscientious objection. Employees could be sacked for failing to provide legal services under labour law. The same holds true, for instance, for Finland…. These countries have resolutely prioritised patient access to care over the protection of doctors’ idiosyncratic moral convictions with regard to these services. Other countries ought to follow Sweden and Finland…. Conscientious refusal to provide contraception is common and mistakenly supported by medical boards and medical associations…. For religious GPs, obstetricians and pharmacists to refuse to provide the oral contraceptive pill is simply unprofessional. There is no requirement for a healthcare system to accommodate unprofessional behaviour…. If a professional norm [conscientious objection] is no longer fit for purpose, it should be changed.”
(3) Doctors who are conscientious objectors should be punished or perhaps fired:
“Doctors who did behave like this would be acting with a gross lack of professionalism and would therefore be subject to censure and appropriate remedies by their professional, statutory bodies…. [I]f society thinks contraception, abortion and assistance in dying are important, it should select people prepared to do them, not people whose values preclude them from participating. Equally, people not prepared to participate in such expected courses of action should not join professions tasked by society with the provision of such services.”
(4) Medical schools should deny admission to conscientious objectors:
“Therefore, even if we did not change the system for those already practising medicine, given that there is an oversupply of people capable and willing to become medical professionals, we should select those willing to provide the full scope of professional services, and those who are most capable. Medical schools and training programmes should carefully outline the nature of the job and screen for conscientious objection where it is relevant to job performance. Requirements of the job should be written into the contract.
(5) Abolish medical doctors’ monopoly on medical care by licensing non-physicians to perform abortion and euthanasia:
“Finally, if conscientious objection continues to be tolerated in medicine and results in treatment denial, alternative ways of guaranteeing reasonable and fair access to these goods ought to be provided. One way of doing this is to de-monopolize the provision of the relevant service. If the quality of such a service could match that provided by medical professionals, and sufficient supply could be ensured, then this would be a viable alternative. This would require new training, selection, regulatory and oversight procedures, which would be cumbersome and expensive. But there is no reason why only doctors could competently provide, for example, contraception, abortion or assisted dying services.”
(6) Conscientious objector doctors are like the Nazis:
“Part of the force behind respecting conscientious objection is a common commitment to ethical relativism: if that is what someone believes, then they are right to believe it, and that alone makes it a kind of truth…. But ethical relativism is practically ethical nihilism. If one accepted ethical relativism, the holocaust was, from the Nazi’s perspective, right.”
Lastly, I find it curious that Savulescu and Schuklenk, with degrees in medicine, cannot distinguish between “reign” and “rein”.
To “reign” is to be a sovereign or monarch; to “rein” is to curb. In their article, Savulescu and Schuklenk write that secular doctors who are conscientious objectors “ought to reign in their values too”.
Tsk, tsk.
To sign a petition to support the Life at Conception Act, click here .
~Eowyn | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2657 | 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: During the time when a Republican president with conservative views was in office, the job loss rate was at 750,000 per month.
contextual information: Its been nearlyeight years since George W. Bush was president, but Democrats still plan to run against him. Certainly, thats what Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz promised on the eve of the first Democratic presidential debate. There are so many people who are focused on making sure we can look at the fact that, when we had a conservative Republican president, we were losing 750,000 jobs a month, Wasserman Schultz said on CNNsState of the UnionOct. 11, 2015. Weve come through that -- 67 straight months of job growth in the private sector. People are no longer losing their homes. Thats the contrast well talk about. The DNC press office told us that Wasserman Schultz was thinking of President George W. Bush, and that the time period she had in mind were the last few months of his presidency, November through January. President Barack Obama took office on Jan. 20, 2009, so its reasonable to count that month as part of the Bush legacy. We pulled up theBureau of Labor Statisticsnumbers and Wasserman Schultz is on solid ground. Month Jobs (000s) Loss Nov 135,469 -765 Dec 134,773 -696 Jan 133,977 -796 Average -752 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics Benchmark comparison The number is particularly high because Wasserman Schultz chose the three worst months of the Bush presidency. If she had chosen a longer period, say the last full year, the losses would have averaged about 365,000 per month. The losses would shrink even more if you look at longer period of time. Wasserman Schultz didnt mention that the economy continued to shed jobs at or above the 700,000 mark for the first two months of Obamas presidency before the trend began to ease. This chart from theBureau of Labor Statisticsgives a more complete jobs picture. The Great Recession saw employment declines of historic proportions.Government analystscompared the relative losses from 2007 to 2009 to past downturns. The bottom purple line on their chart tracks jobs in the Great Recession which officially began December 2007. Of course, Wasserman Schultzs statement implies that conservative Republican policies alone brought about a massive loss of jobs and the reality is more complicated. Some analysts believe that a portion of the blame goes back to policies that enjoyed Democratic support, including changes in financial regulation passed during the Clinton administration. But Wasserman Schultz did not make that claim specifically. Our ruling Wasserman Schultz said that under a conservative Republican president the country was losing 750,000 jobs a month. Wasserman Schultz was speaking of President George W. Bush and at the end of his term, the monthly job losses averaged about 750,000 jobs. The average would of course be less if she had included Bushs final 12 months -- or a period longer than that. There is an element of cherry-picking here, but the overall point holds up. We rate the claim Mostly True. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2658 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared the southern city of Marawi liberated from pro-Islamic State militants on Tuesday, although the military said 20-30 rebels were holding about 20 hostages and still fighting it out. In a rousing address to soldiers a day after the killing of two commanders of the rebel alliance, Duterte said he would never again allow militants to stockpile so many weapons, but Marawi was now free and it was time to heal wounds and rebuild. I hereby declare Marawi City liberated from terrorist influence, that marks the beginning of rehabilitation, Duterte, wearing a camouflage cap and dark sunglasses, said during his unannounced visit. Isnilon Hapilon, who was wanted by the United States and was Islamic State s Southeast Asian emir , and Omarkhayam Maute, one of two brothers central to the alliance, were killed in a targeted operation on Monday. Their bodies were recovered and identified, authorities said. The 148-day occupation marked the Roman Catholic-majority Philippines biggest security crisis in years and triggered concerns that with its mountains, jungles and porous borders, the island of Mindanao could become a magnet for Islamic State fighters driven out of Iraq and Syria. More than 1,000 people, mostly rebels, were killed in the battle and the heart of the city of 200,000 has been leveled by air strikes. Duterte said the liberation was not a cause for celebration and later apologized to the people of Marawi for the destruction. We had to do it, he said. There was no alternative. Armed forces chief Eduardo Ano said the remaining gunmen were now a law enforcement matter , while military spokesman Restituto Padilla described them as stragglers . There is no way that they can get out anymore, there is no way for anyone to get in, Padilla told news channel ANC. Padilla said the military believed Malaysian operative Mahmud Ahmad was in Marawi, but it could not be certain. He said Mahmud was no threat. Dr. Mahmud is an academic, he s not a fighter, Padilla said. We don t feel he is a problem. But some security experts say otherwise and believe Mahmud, 39, a recruiter and fundraiser who trained at an al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan, could replace Hapilon as Islamic State s point-man in Southeast Asia. Another leader, Abdullah Maute, has yet to be accounted for. Intelligence indicated he died in an August air strike, though no body was found. Defence officials say the core leadership was key to recruiting young fighters and arranging for extremists from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and beyond to join the push to carve out an East Asian Wilaya , or Islamic State province. Hapilon had teamed up with the moneyed Maute clan in their stronghold of Lanao del Sur, one of the Philippines poorest provinces, and brought with him fighters from his radical faction of Abu Sayyaf, a group better known for banditry. Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who estimated Marawi operations to have cost 5 billion pesos ($97.5 million), said reconstruction could start in January. There are still stragglers and the structures are still unsafe because of unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices, he said on radio. The Marawi occupation set alarm bells ringing in the Philippines, with militants surprising security forces with their combat prowess, the volume of arms and ammunition they stockpiled and their ability to withstand intensive air strikes aided by U.S. surveillance drones and technical support. ($1 = 51 pesos) | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2659 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Print
According to Democrats, the only thing in life which isn’t rigged is this election.
As long as Hillary Clinton is said by the pollsters to be in the lead and likely to win, the “system” is just fine – but only the election system.
It can’t be rigged if the democrats win. A democrat being in power is the natural order of things. I think it may actually be a part of Darwin’s evolutionary theory. First the protozoa, then the fish, then the ape, then the Neanderthal Republican, and finally, the enlightened progressive Democrat. That’s how it goes – right?
It is amusing that the same people and party, who claim that everything in America is somehow rigged, think it ridiculous when the Republican nominee claims that of this election – and that Republican voters are the ones this time being “disenfranchised.”
In August of this year, the Washington Post claimed that Exxon Mobil is “rigging the system” against green energy. Of course they are. After all, they are the poster-corporation of evil “big oil.” “As recently as last year, it continued to fund organizations that play down the risks of carbon pollution,” writes the Post.
So “rigged” is the system that the AGs of the communist states of New York and Massachusetts, “are investigating whether ExxonMobil violated state laws by knowingly misleading their residents and shareholders about climate change.”
Big Oil – Climate Change – Rigged – Check.
In 2015, Director of the University of Cambridge Master of Finance program, Simon Taylor wrote that, “Bank executive pay appears rigged against women.” He found that female bank execs’ “pay packages typically have a much lower level of incentive compensation,” netting women much less than male counterparts.
That same year, the NewStatesman.com wrote that, “Women can’t have it all – because the game is rigged.” The author is upset that women have to “choose” between having a high-powered career and spending time raising a family. Yeah – I know. If the system wasn’t so “rigged,” women could have it all – a model family and equal pay – unless, of course, if they work for the Clinton Foundation.
Women – Equal Pay – Rigged – Check
Naturally, the system is “rigged” against the poor and the middle class. The working class warrior, Elizabeth Warren , who is worth almost $15 million, said in an interview with CNN : “Let's just be real clear - the game is rigged and it's rigged in favor of those who have money and who have power,” like Elizabeth Warren.
Middle Class – Poor – Workers of the World Unite - Rigged – Check
There are many more examples of the democrats and liberals in general (redundant) whining of this ethereal system being rigged against every constituent group under their umbrella , that I would be remiss to not mention the seminal complaint of all the left. The system has been and will always be rigged against blacks – particularly the justice system.
Everywhere in America, according to the left, are examples of a rigged justice system, where blacks, minding their own business, are rounded up, arrested, and summarily shot. So rigged is the system , that “George Washington University law professor Paul Butler, who is a former federal prosecutor, has suggested the remedy ought to be widespread jury nullification. ‘It is, in fact, the moral responsibility of black jurors to emancipate some guilty black outlaws.’”
Blacks – Social Justice – Rigged – Check
With all this “rigging” going on, maybe the only fair thing to do is allow Hillary and her minions to do whatever they must to win, thus righting some of the wrongs of the rigged system. It should be our moral responsibility to emancipate some guilty democrat outlaws.
Democrats lying and cheating on camera – Dead People Voting – Illegals Voting – Election not Rigged – Check. shares | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2660 | 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: If you make the average amount of people in Wisconsin, $50,000, you got $1.60 less a week in taxes under the state income-tax cut, but it didnt show up in your paycheck.
contextual information: Despite lower income tax rates enacted by lawmakers, Wisconsin workers didn't see the results in their paychecks in 2013 unless they took special action. Taxpayers will see the benefit when they file their tax returns this year and receive either a larger refund or a smaller bill. Why? The state did not change the tax withholding tables to reflect the new, lower rates, following a long tradition in Madison. The state currently has no plan to update the withholding tables in 2014 either. This is what we learned as we checked out a claim by state Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma, about what the average worker would save from the tax cut approved in 2013 by Republican lawmakers and Gov. Scott Walker. Vinehout, who is considering a run for governor this fall, opposed the tax cut, as did many Democrats. She argues that the savings for individual families weren't worth the $650 million in lost revenue to the state over two years. This is what she told a small audience in Waukesha on Dec. 5, 2013: "Get rid of the tax decrease," Vinehout said. "Did you know—you might not know this—if you make the average amount of people in Wisconsin, $50,000, you got $1.60 less a week in taxes? You might not have known that because they didn't change the withholding tables, so it didn't show up in your paycheck." She added, "But if you file for your refund, and let's say you file it a little late, and you get that refund sometime in June, you'll maybe have a little more money, which might be just about the time the governor is out there on the campaign trail saying, 'Hmm, you got more money in your pocket because of what I gave you.'" Let's examine the elements of Vinehout's claim. Wisconsin Revenue Department spokesperson Laurel Patrick confirmed that withholding tables were not updated after the tax cut and said no decision has been made to do so in 2014 either. The tax cut reduced rates in all five tax brackets, meaning the tax-rate changes are not automatically reflected in people's paychecks. To receive the tax savings on their regular paycheck, employees must file a new WT-4 or WT-4A form with their employer. Todd Berry, president of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, stated that the state, with a few exceptions, has long tried to help its immediate cash flow needs by not automatically making tax cuts show up in people's paychecks. The practice predates Walker. The state is now over-withholding by 20 percent or more because it has typically not adjusted the tables, Berry said. Many taxpayers may prefer receiving a lump sum at refund time, Berry noted, but they should understand that as a group they essentially are giving state government a billion-dollar annual no-interest loan that adds to the state deficit under generally accepted accounting principles. Politicians know it's more politically valuable for people to receive a nice refund in 2014, Berry said. The rest of Vinehout's claim was that if you make the average amount of people in Wisconsin, $50,000, you got $1.60 less a week in taxes under the income tax cut. When we asked for evidence, Vinehout's office pointed to a Legislative Fiscal Bureau analysis of the tax savings from the income tax changes and to separate state figures on tax burdens. The average Wisconsin adjusted gross income, across all types of filers, was $47,310 for tax year 2010, according to a Revenue Department analysis. There is 2011 data, the latest available, that puts the figure at $48,537, according to Dale Knapp, research director at the Taxpayers Alliance. Vinehout looked up that average income in the June 2013 memo by the non-partisan Fiscal Bureau, which presents ranges of income along with tax changes estimated for 2014. The Fiscal Bureau is the independent budget scorekeeper in Madison, and its reports on taxes are used by both parties to gauge the impact of proposals. The Bureau's analysis stated that in the $40,000 to $50,000 range, the average savings is $85 for one year. That works out to $1.63 a week, which Vinehout referred to as $1.60 in her claim. So, Vinehout puts the average income into the slot, and with a bit of rounding, her figure for the average tax change is on target. There's some imprecision built in here, though, because the Fiscal Bureau memo uses income ranges rather than one particular income. So while Vinehout mentions $50,000, she derives the $1.60 average tax change from an income range of $40,000 to $50,000. And because the average state income is above the midpoint of that range, it's likely the average tax change would differ slightly from the $1.60. There are other ways to illustrate the impact of the tax cut. One is to look at the types of filers rather than just the composite income brackets as in the Fiscal Bureau memo. Depending on the example used, one approach yields a smaller tax change figure than Vinehout's approach, while the other yields a larger one. The average single person who filed taxes had $26,556 in income, while married couples had an average of $83,480, said Knapp. Walker, for his part, chooses the married couple example. Such a couple with two children would save about $173 a year, or $3.33 per week over the two years. On the lower end, the average single would see a weekly savings of about 73 cents. The overall state average that Vinehout cites is a middle ground between those two numbers. Our rating: Vinehout said that if you make the average amount of people in Wisconsin, $50,000, you got $1.60 less a week in taxes under the $650 million state income tax cut, but it didn't show up in your paycheck. The average income she cites is slightly high but within a reasonable rounding range. She uses a reliable source for her tax change numbers, and they are on target or very close, with the caveat that the analysis is set up for income ranges rather than a precise income. She's correct that the tax cut did not just show up in workers' paychecks due to inaction by the state. With the clarifications noted, we rate her claim Mostly True. If you wish to comment on this item, please click here to go to JSOnline.com. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2661 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: In case you hadn t heard, Obama signed a new UN development plan to make America a socialist nation by 2030. Yes, it s true and the UN is celebrating by unveiling a statue celebrating our global citizenship . Here are a few of the important points in the plan that spell out the shared responsibility with the globe and then information below about the statue in NYC: Communists say that Socialism is the stepping stone to Communism, and the UN 2030 Sustainable Development agenda won t fail to disappoint them. Socialism hinges on several economic factors which coincide with sustainable development goals. They are universal healthcare, universal education, universal employment, and wealth redistribution. All of these are outlined clearly in the UN agreement.For example on the subject of universal healthcare, on page 6, section 26 of Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the section titled The New Agenda it states:26. To promote physical and mental health and well-being, and to extend life expectancy for all, we must achieve universal health coverage and access to quality health care. No one must be left behind. We commit to accelerating the progress made to date in reducing newborn, child and maternal mortality by ending all such preventable deaths before 2030. We are committed to ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education.This goal is also repeated as Sustainable Development Goal #3, page 14, section 3.8:3.8 Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.As it pertains to wealth redistribution and universal employment the proof is found on page 7, section 27:27. We will seek to build strong economic foundations for all our countries. Sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth is essential for prosperity. This will only be possible if wealth is shared and income inequality is addressed. We will work to build dynamic, sustainable, innovative and people-centred economies, promoting youth employment and women s economic empowerment, in particular, and decent work for all.Universal employment is also mentioned on page 12 as Sustainable Development Goal #8:Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.The last time I read the words shared responsibility it was when I discovered that the Obamacare fine imposed by the IRS for failing to have health insurance was called the Individual Shared Responsibility Payment. While I thought this had to be a veiled reference to some Marxist dictator s quote, it now appears that it has more to do with the Progressive globalization movement.This weekend the United Nations is set to celebrate its 70th anniversary. As apart of those celebrations the U.N. will unveil a new work of art in New York City titled Enlightened Universe. The U.N. claims this new sculpture is all about Global Citizenship and Shared Responsibility: In celebration of the seventieth anniversary of the United Nations, a monumental art installation entitled Enlightened Universe will be unveiled on Saturday, 24 October, at 4:30 p.m. at the Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. The installation created by Spanish artist Crist bal Gabarr n is presented by The Gabarron Foundation in partnership with the United Nations.The commemorative work of art depicts 70 life-size figures joined in hand around a central globe, creating a human chain of global citizenship, respect for nature and shared responsibility. The sphere measures 6,371 millimetres in diameter to correspond to the Earth s average radius of 6,371 kilometres. The 70 figures represent the 70 years of the United Nations. Rumsey Playfield, where the sculpture is to be erected, is an area of the Central Park where concerts and other events are held.Considering that the new United Nations Sustainable Development Plan calls for the United States to become a Socialist nation by 2030, it s not surprising that Obamacare, which was designed to push the U.S. towards government run healthcare, and the United Nations, would share the same collectivist, albeit Marxist, vocabulary.Via: Progressives Today | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2662 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Don t you know Obama would love to just throw those who disagree with him in jail. Well, the Cuban government has only increased their detention of political dissenters since the normalization of relations with the Communist country. Basically, we ve just given Cuba more money to oppress its people it ll all a big fat NOTHING-BURGER The Cuban Human Rights and National Reconciliation Commission, or CCDHRN, said Thursday that Cuba s government detained 610 people for political reasons in March, the highest number in the past seven months. There is a noticeable trend toward increasing repressive activities of this kind, the CCDHRN said in its monthly report. At the same time, we also identify 95 cases of people who suffered other forms of political repression including physical attacks, police harassment and vandalism and hostile demonstrations. The exercise of all civil and political rights is still a crime, the group said, noting that the Cuban penal code still includes an offense called pre-criminal social dangerousness, which is punishable by up to four years in prison.The country is unlikely to see an improvement in respect for fundamental, civil and political rights as a result of the government s inflexible posture and its opposition to any effort or proposal leading to the urgent judicial, economic and political reforms that the Cuban people need and deserve, the commission said. Read more: Latin American Herald | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2663 | 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 Michigan farmers being compelled to dispose of perfectly good cherries in order to support imported products? Claim summaries: A viral Facebook post about surplus U.S. cherry crops destroyed to "make room for imports" appeals to locavores but contains some inaccuracies.
contextual information: On 26 July 2016, Michigan cherry farmer Marc Santucci shared a post on Facebook asserting that he was forced to destroy 14 percent of his tart cherry crop in order to protect the market for cherries imported from overseas: shared These cherries are beautiful! But, we have to dump 14% of our tart cherry crop on the ground to rot. Why? So we can allow the import of 200 million pounds of cherries from overseas! It just doesn't seem right. What do you think? Please share this on your Facebook page???. Just to let everyone know we are not allowed to donate or in any way use diverted cherries. I have people who would buy them if I could sell them. Also these are tart cherries with a very short shelf life Santucci's post slowly circulated on the social network, attracting the attention of blogs and health-conscious social media users through September 2016. As presented, Santucci's tale sounded like an unbelievable level of bureaucratic interference with the farm industry and left readers wondering whether his report about having to destroy 40,000 pounds of edible cherries in order to "make room" for imported cherries (and was "not allowed to donate or in any way use diverted cherries") was accurate. Online articles pinned blame for the cherry-chucking on the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), citing a 29 July 2016 Detroit Free Press article about the social media controversy that referenced the federal Agricultural Agreement Act of 1937. The Detroit Free Press article only briefly mentioned the USDA as a starting point for a very complex cherry charter, noting that cherries were originally not regulated under the Agricultural Agreement Act, but the cherry industry opted into its provisions in 1995. pinned blame article regulated The act in question was introduced in 1937 due to tumultuous agricultural conditions that exacerbated the Great Depression and aimed to facilitate "orderly marketing conditions for agricultural commodities in interstate commerce" for the express purpose of stabilizing farmers' income. Cherry industry experts stressed that the 1995 extension of the regulation to include the tart cherry market was voluntary and had been desired by many cherry farmers: introduced At issue is a marketing order imposed through the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of the federal Agricultural Agreement Act of 1937. But that law only applies to the tart cherry industry because growers and processors opted into the order in 1995. "It was created at the industry's behest. It was voted in by growers and processors. It's not an imposition from outside," said Perry Hedin, executive director of the DeWitt-based Cherry Industry Administrative Board [CIAB], which oversees the marketing order not only in Michigan but in all states across the country that produce commercial crops of red tart cherries, including New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin. Tart cherries are one of the most volatile crops grown in the U.S., with yields that can vary dramatically year to year, Hedin said. "This whole concept of the marketing order has two goals: to inject a better stability into our markets and improve grower returns," he said. "The growers have been paid far better prices under the marketing order over the past 20 years than they were before the order was in place." A 29 July 2016 editorial published in the Michigan Farm News also addressed what it framed as multiple misrepresentations in Santucci's viral post, starting with the reason cherry crops were thusly regulated. A horticulture specialist noted that the cherry farmers themselves (not the USDA) had sought market regulation after experiencing damaging price fluctuations: addressed In a classic example of what happens on social media when people form opinions based on emotion instead of fact, a Northwestern Michigan tart cherry grower's Facebook posting has gone viral, but with faulty information to back up the posting's claims ... The problem, however, said Kevin Robson, horticulture specialist with Michigan Farm Bureau, is that the information posted shows either shallow understanding of the federal marketing order or a deliberate attempt to change the order because of political disagreement. "It's also enforced by the growers themselves," he said. "It is for the betterment of the industry as a whole, and a great number of cherry growers have benefited, even those who voted against it." Administered by the Cherry Industry Administrative Board (CIAB), the order this year required tart cherry processors to keep 29 percent (the farmer's posting said he was ordered to dump only 14 percent) of the crop they handle off traditional markets (pies, sweetened desserts, etc.) in an attempt to stabilize both prices and supply, which in cherries has been notoriously volatile. "For example," Reposing said, "in 1988, when the entity was called the Cherry Administrative Board, growers voted to eliminate the marketing order. Prices began to follow a rollercoaster that led, within 10 years, to tart cherry prices that fell into single figures. Some growers went out of business." In response to prices that were below costs of production, tart cherry growers in seven states petitioned the USDA to put a new order and administrative board in place, and prices began to stabilize. Still, some growers, such as the one who posted the photo of a small pile of cherries, took exception to the order. Generally, the Agricultural Agreement Act ensures relatively stable income for tart cherry farmers in the face of a volatile market, with one of the drawbacks of that stability being that in boom crop years (as 2016 was), farmers may end up with a good deal of product they are precluded from selling on the open market. However, although some outlets claim CIAB heavies visited farms to ensure every cherry lies unchomped, tart cherry farmers have options beyond leaving their surplus crop to "rot in the sun": visited farms Processors' options in times of surplus include holding the restricted cherries in surplus frozen, dried or concentrated for a later slow year. Farmers also can attempt to sell the surplus cherries in overseas markets or sell them domestically in a newly created market, either as a new product or by convincing a supermarket chain or other end user currently supplied by imported cherries to switch to U.S.-grown, he said. Hedin said Santucci could have worked with the [Cherry Industry Administrative] board to find a place to donate the surplus cherries, which typically aren't eaten raw like sweet cherries because of their very short shelf-life, but are instead used in products such as pie filling and jams. Likewise, the Michigan Farm News piece stated that: Another misstatement on the Facebook posting, [horticulture specialist Kevin] Robson said, is that growers are not allowed to donate or use the dumped cherries "in any way." "That's just not true," Robson said. "Farmers can use the cherries for research and development, and they could make thousands of cherry pies and donate them to charity if they want. Remember these are tart cherries. They need to be processed and quickly to make a viable product. They aren't sweets that you just eat by the handful." The Facebook posting wrongly puts the blame for cherry dumping on the marketing order, Robson said, when it is the processor who makes the decision to ask farmers to dump cherries. Santucci himself told Grand Rapids television station WXMI that the dumping of surplus cherries wasn't expressly mandatory, but their short shelf life makes it difficult to find alternative uses for them: told "I was just notified when we started shaking the trees that 14 percent would have to be kept off the market, so it didn't give me time to find any alternative action," he said, adding that tart cherries only have a two-day shelf life. It was true that Santucci's 2016 crop was (as with that of all other cherry growers) subject to a growers' agreement barring surplus cherries from the marketplace, and Santucci asserted he had insufficient time to properly divert his surplus cherries to other uses or markets. But the agreement under which the tart cherry market is regulated doesn't mandate surplus cherries be destroyed, nor does the protocol exist to protect foreign imports. Cherry growers in several states voluntarily opted in to a USDA marketing agreement (rather than being forcibly regulated) following a period of instability in the cherry industry, and agriculture experts widely agree the provision provides more protection than harm to cherry growers. Jackson, Paul W. "Social Media Post Botches Cherry Program Reality."
Michigan Farm News. 29 July 2016. Matheny, Keith. "Traverse City Farmer: Dumping Perfectly Good Cherries Is Rotten."
Detroit Free Press. 29 July 2016. Pagan, Gabriella. "Cherry Dumping Photo Goes Viral, Grower Calls for Change."
WPBN. 27 July 2016. Shesky, Ty. "Farmer Explains Why Cherries Were Left to Waste."
WXMI. 29 July 2016. | 2 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 2 |
FMD2664 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: On Thursday, socialist septuagenarian Bernie Sanders, 75, said he wouldn’t necessarily rule out running for president in 2020, when he will be nearly 80. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2665 | 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: WikiLeaks Exposes Clinton Assassination of Antonin Scalia? Claim summaries: An e-mail published by WikiLeaks referenced not the literal assassination of Antonin Scalia, but what appeared to be a coordinated smear of Bernie Sanders.
contextual information: On 13 October 2016, the website RedStateWatcher reported that an email published by WikiLeaks revealed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had been assassinated by Hillary Clinton operatives. The report stated, "For Trump's sake, please share this to get the word out. The corruption is immense! We need Trump elected to save our country!" According to new WikiLeaks emails, three days before Justice Scalia died, this email was sent, using the term "wetworks," which is exclusively used in a military context to mean "assassination." The item referenced a leaked email sent on 9 February 2016, four days before Justice Scalia was found dead in his room at a Texas ranch. The emails in that chain were presented in reverse chronological order (with the most recent reply first). The sender, John Podesta, initiated the chain at 4:36 PM, and recipient Steve Elmendorf responded at 8:56 PM. The email from Steve Elmendorf read:
From: John Podesta [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 2016 4:36 PM
To: Steve Elmendorf <[email protected]>
Subject: Thanks
"Didn't think wet works meant pool parties at the Vineyard."
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date: 2016-02-09 20:56
Subject: RE: Thanks
"I am all in. Sounds like it will be a bad night; we all need to buckle up and double down."
Based on Wikipedia's definition of the term, RedStateWatcher claimed that the "wet works" phrase used in the otherwise vague email was incontrovertible proof it referenced a literal assassination. Claims that Scalia was assassinated were not novel, as conspiracy theories about the manner of his death swept social media within a day of his passing. The newly leaked document was contemporaneous with Scalia's sudden death, heightening concern about the use of the term "wet work" (or "wetwork"). However, dictionaries present a broader picture of the term and its applications. In fact, the term had recently been used euphemistically to describe Chelsea Clinton's campaign trail attacks on her mother's Democratic primary opponent, Bernie Sanders. Conservative websites gleefully denounced Chelsea as the attack dog. Democrats, meanwhile, wrung their hands over why she, of all people, would be dispatched to do this kind of wet work. As strategist Brad Bannon told The Hill, "This makes Chelsea just another political player in the arena, and if I were Chelsea, that's not where I'd want to be." A media bored to tears with the Democratic primary leapt on the episode like ducks on a June bug. Commentators mused endlessly about why the Clinton camp had taken this route and what it meant. The consensus was that it meant nothing good. Bernie Sanders was repeatedly invited to respond. Bloomberg's Mark Halperin might have sounded a smidge melodramatic when he asserted, "I have covered the Clintons since 1991. It takes a lot to surprise me, and I am stunned watching Chelsea Clinton go on the attack. Stunned. Never seen anything like it."
In media coverage, "wet work" was being used to describe deliberately obtained unflattering coverage of an opponent. On the same day that the emails supposedly describing an assassination plot were sent, Alex Seitz-Wald penned an article for MSNBC that described Bernie Sanders as a regular attendee of luxurious fundraisers, particularly in Martha's Vineyard. The piece also reported both Bill and Hillary Clinton as performing the same sort of "wet work" as Chelsea Clinton. The Sanders campaign is all about smashing the alleged stranglehold corporate power has on politics, and the candidate himself frequently touts that his insurgent run is funded by small donations, not wealthy people or outside groups. It's been an effective message, one pro-Clinton forces have tried to muddy by calling attention to Sanders' ties to the DSCC (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee), which is financed in large part by industry PACs. The DSCC used its financial and political power to bolster Sanders and urged Democrats not to challenge him in his 2006 Senate bid, spending close to $200,000 through various means to aid his election. Bill Clinton said this week that he "practically fell out of my chair" when he read reports that Sanders had attended the DSCC's summer donor retreats on Martha's Vineyard, and Hillary Clinton said Sanders took Wall Street cash not directly, but through the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The Sanders campaign fired back by calling the charge disturbing, dishonest, and beyond preposterous, noting that the DSCC also receives small donations and is hardly exclusively funded by Wall Street.
Although MSNBC published the piece on 9 February 2016, the topic of Sanders' DSCC retreats was the subject of emails dated 6 and 7 February 2016. In that chain, campaign associates appeared to have discovered a photograph of Sanders at such a retreat and brainstormed ways to get a member of the press to cover his attendance at a February 2016 DSCC fundraiser (the email appeared to have an appended image of Sanders titled IMG_0692.JPG). Rearranged in chronological order, the chain demonstrated Hillary Clinton's staffers planning how best to attack her opponent with retreat images and information about the lavish fundraisers:
On Feb 6, 2016, 9:47 PM, "Tina Flournoy" <[email protected]> wrote: "Bernie at the DSCC retreat."
On Saturday, February 6, 2016, Brian Fallon <[email protected]> wrote: "Omg."
On Feb 6, 2016, 9:58 PM, "John Podesta" <[email protected]> wrote: "Can we tweet?"
On Feb 6, 2016, at 7:02 PM, Brian Fallon <[email protected]> wrote: "I think we should give to NY Post."
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date: 2016-02-07 01:09
Subject: Re: IMG_0692.JPG
"DSCC event in Edgartown last July. Getting exact date."
On Sat, Feb 6, 2016, at 10:18 PM, Tina Flournoy <[email protected]> wrote: "Will send briefing for the event with attendees."
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date: 2016-02-07 16:18
Subject: Re: IMG_0692.JPG
"Thank you. We are on this."
Tina Flournoy stated Sanders attended a DSCC event in July 2015, and on the date of the "wet work" email (to which Podesta was also a party), Seitz-Wald wrote: "During his 10 years in the Senate, Bernie Sanders has been a regular presence at luxurious Democratic fundraising retreats, according to more than a half-dozen lobbyists, donors, and former Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee staff members with whom he attended the events. Sanders most recently appeared at one last July, shortly after he announced his presidential run." Sanders' connection to the DSCC has become an issue in his heated primary contest with front-runner Hillary Clinton, who has struggled to explain her close ties to Wall Street and the large speaking fees she's been paid by Goldman Sachs and other banks. Sanders has made Clinton's relationships with the financial industry a key point of contrast on the campaign trail.
On 13 February 2016, Clinton campaign operatives emailed about continuing to use the fundraisers as a smear: "We have gamed out this hit and don't think it works on the debate stage (see Milwaukee debate as an example). But hit him all the time on being at DSCC retreats on Martha's Vineyard with lobbyists every year. Finding that it harder for him." Rearranged into the context of Antonin Scalia's death, the use of the term "wet work" was presumed by many to mean literal assassination. But emails between staffers just prior to the 9 February 2016 document revealed planning for a coordinated effort to plant a negative story about Sanders in the press in the days leading up to the 9 February 2016 email and article. On the date Podesta discussed "wet work" with Elmendorf, MSNBC published the coverage sought by Clinton's staffers on 6 and 7 February 2016. As such, the most likely victim of the "wet work" was not Scalia, but Sanders. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2666 | 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 Negro the Colombian Dog Pay for Cookies with Leaves? Claim summaries: This is the true story of a very good boy.
contextual information: On July 17, 2022, the Facebook page The Sized posted a meme that claimed a dog in Colombia named Negro was known for paying for cookies with leaves. We received emails from our readers asking if this was true. We soon discovered that the story of the dog was real. The post has since been removed, but the meme lives on: it stated, "After watching customers pay money to buy cookies from a store, a dog in Colombia named Negro started bringing a leaf in his mouth and presenting it to the store attendant. The leaf-cookie exchange has become a daily occurrence for extremely good boy Negro, who is a 'paying' customer just like everybody else." This true story appeared to have first been posted on Twitter on April 16, 2018. The tweet garnered hundreds of thousands of engagements. The tweet reads, "NEGRO" y le gustan las galletas. Llega a la tienda del Colegio y como si fuera un estudiante más, pide una galleta. No es fiada ni regalada. Negro ve que los estudiantes llevan billetes y reciben algo a cambio. Él toma una hoja del suelo y se acerca a comprar su antojito. pic.twitter.com/Hkf5kVsCKR pic.twitter.com/Hkf5kVsCKR Gloria? (@AyPlobnrg) April 16, 2018. The tweet translates to, "He is 'NEGRO' and he likes cookies. He arrives at the school store and as if he were just another student, he asks for a cookie. It is not trusted or given away. Negro sees that the students carry bills and receive something in return. He picks up a leaf from the ground and goes to buy his snack." According to The Dodo, the store referenced in the meme was a small shop on the campus of Institución Educativa Técnico Diversificado de Monterrey, located in Monterrey, Colombia. Apparently, this tale of man's best friend was once subjected to a bit of misinformation. The La FM Facebook page previously falsely claimed that the story took place in Mexico. Commenters called out La FM for the mistake. This picture of the school was posted on its Facebook page. The article from The Dodo stated that, as of 2018, Negro the dog was serving as a "guardian of sorts," watching over the children's daily activities. He had been cared for by the school's faculty since around 2013. According to the story, one day Negro decided to try something he witnessed the students doing at the shop: early in his tenure at the school, he became aware of the little store on campus where students gathered to buy things during their breaks; sometimes they would buy him cookies sold there. This, evidently, is where the dog first learned about commerce and decided to try it out himself. "He would go to the store and watch the children give money and receive something in exchange," teacher Angela Garcia Bernal told The Dodo. "Then one day, spontaneously, he appeared with a leaf in his mouth, wagging his tail and letting it be known that he wanted a cookie." The Dodo added that, "Staff have made sure he's only getting treats safe for dogs to eat, and they do limit his purchases to just a couple a day (to stave off inflation in both the leafy currency and his waistline)." We didn't find any other pictures of Negro on the school's Facebook page. His most recent photographs were posted in 2018. Note: We reached out to Angela Garcia Bernal, who was previously interviewed by The Dodo. However, we were unlikely to receive a response any time soon, as our message went to her message requests. Messenger does not issue notifications for message requests from unknown senders. Institución Educativa Técnico Diversificado de Monterrey. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057287746349. Messenger, Stephen. "Dog Always Brings A Leaf To 'Buy' Himself Treats At The Store." The Dodo, 25 Apr. 2018, https://www.thedodo.com/close-to-home/dog-buys-treats-using-leaf. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2667 | 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 'Go Ballistic' on 'Fox and Friends'? Claim summaries: "The Trump quote going around today is a poorly done Photoshop."
contextual information: On 21 May 2019, in the midst of House Judiciary Committee hearings during which chairman Jerrold Nadler threatened to cite former White House counsel Donald F. McGahn for contempt over the latter's defiance of a congressional subpoena -- just a few days after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had rejected a House subpoena demanding President Trumps tax returns -- a graphic related to those events was circulated via social media. defiance rejected That graphic purported to be a screenshot from the Fox News Channel, documenting that the president had phoned in to the Fox & Friends morning program and "gone ballistic," declaring that Democrats could "subpoena me and my administration for the next 10, 15, 20 years and we will never capitulate." "I am in charge, this is my country, and I will do as I please," Trump supposedly threw in for good measure: But President Trump made no such pronouncement on Fox & Friends. And many sharp-eyed viewers noticed that the screenshot allegedly documenting the claim did not match the standard Fox News Channel fonts and rendering used for on-screen text and chyrons: The Trump quote going around today is a poorly done Photoshop. I found the original image that was manipulated. Note that the crawl at the bottom of the screen matches. Also, the "Trump goes ballistic" line is the wrong font on the fake version. pic.twitter.com/GTkpp2LXg1 pic.twitter.com/GTkpp2LXg1 David Finster (@d_finster) May 21, 2019 May 21, 2019 The screen crawl seen at the bottom of the image displaying a statement about something that threatens to suppress unpopular ideas and manipulate the public debate through coercion rather than persuasion references a 25 April 2019 federal court decision which blocked enforcement of a Texas law requiring state contractors to certify they dont boycott Israel. enforcement Reuters. "Our Subpoenas Are Not Optional, Nadler Warns McGahn."
The New York Times. 21 May 2019. Associated Press. "Federal Judge Blocks Enforcement of Anti-Israel Boycott Law."
25 April 2019. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2668 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: There s currently a woman who wants to be selected to serve on the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE). Her name is Mary Lou Bruner, and she s about as far-right in ideology as one could ever seem to imagine. She s an ultra-right-wing Christian conservative who believes heavily in conspiracy theories, and her latest theory is just a bonkers as all her others.According to Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune, Bruner is now putting out the theory that preschool programs are a plot to make children gay. Not only that, but to also turn kids against their parents who do not accept Islam and gay marriage. Smith, who seems to have access to the SBOE hopeful s private account, tweeted out a screen-capture of Bruner s Facebook post declaring this absurd theory. In the post, Bruner said: The GLBTQ agenda is one of the big reasons the liberals want 3-year-old and 4-year-old children to attend public school Pre-K programs. The federal government wants to indoctrinate the little children, teaching them a homosexual marriage is just as good as a marriage with a father and a mother. The federal government wants to push its socialistic and multicultural agenda onto these impressionable litter children who believe anything they are told.Children who get government indoctrination in Pre-K are going to become confused about their sexuality, and they are going to become rebellious because the government curriculum plans to tell the children not to listen to their parents if their parents tell them something different. The government curriculum plans to tell the little children their parents are ignorant, and they don t understand because of the way the parents were taught. Or the little children will be told their parents are bigoted because they do not accept Islam and gay marriage. Likely #SBOE member Mary Lou Bruner: pre-K is feds indoctrinating kids to make them sexually confused #txlege pic.twitter.com/ngMtsOq1S3 Evan Smith (@evanasmith) April 22, 2016The fact that this woman is running for the Texas State Board of Education and could very well have influence over what is taught is absolutely terrifying. Bruner is clearly a few sandwiches short of a picnic.Newsflash to Bruner: you re not taught to be gay, and teaching acceptance and love of others is actually the Christian thing to do. As a person who was raised in a very evangelical Christian home and is also a lesbian, let me tell you, if you re taught to be gay, where the hell did I learn it? The only learned behavior Bruner is promoting is wanting to teach kids to be discriminatory, vindictive, and hateful of anyone who doesn t fit her definition of how to live one s life.Bruner needs to stay as far away from educational decisions as possible. She needs to keep her crazy conspiracy theories within the confines of her own home. She s truly what is actually dangerous, not kids getting early childhood education. For goodness sake.Featured Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2669 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have unveiled a plan to replace Obamacare, known formally as the Affordable Care Act, stripping away much of Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement that insured 20 million Americans. President Donald Trump and his Republicans had vowed for years to dismantle the law. It was a central campaign issue in 2016. Two House committees will next review the bill, so it could still change substantially. Here are its main provisions: The Republicans want to eliminate next year Obamacare’s income-based tax credits that help low-income people purchase individual insurance. These would be replaced with age-based tax credits ranging from $2,000 to $4,000 per year that would be capped at upper income levels. While Obamacare’s credits provided more assistance to those with lower incomes, those in the Republican plan would be largely based on age. The Republican bill would abolish most Obamacare taxes, including taxes on medical devices, health insurance premiums, indoor tanning salons, prescription medications and high-cost employer-provided insurance known as “Cadillac†plans. Those taxes paid for Obamacare. Republicans have not said how they would pay for the parts of the law they want to keep. The bill also repeals the Obamacare financial penalty for the 2016 tax year for not purchasing insurance, as well as a surtax on investment income earned by upper-income Americans. And it repeals the mandate that larger employers must offer insurance to their employees. Under Obamacare, more than 30 states, including several Republican states, expanded the Medicaid government health insurance program for the poor. About half of Obamacare enrollees obtained insurance through the expansion. The bill would allow the Medicaid expansion to continue until January 1, 2020, providing states that chose not to expand under Obamacare a window to enroll more people. After that date, the expansion would end and Medicaid funding would be capped on a per-person basis. States that did not expand Medicaid would receive additional funds through a number of changes, including the reinstatement of disproportionate share hospital payments, money that is provided to hospitals that serve a large number of Medicaid and uninsured people. State Medicaid plans would no longer have to cover the same essential health benefits that health insurers on Obamacare’s exchanges must provide. That fulfills a Republican promise to return more control to the states, as they can decide what their Medicaid plans must cover. The Republican plan would maintain some of Obamacare’s most popular provisions. It would allow young people to stay on their parents’ health plan until age 26, ban insurers from discriminating against those with pre-existing conditions and bans insurers from setting a lifetime dollar limit on coverage. But the bill would allow insurers to mark up premiums by 30 percent for those who have a lapse in insurance coverage of about two months or more. Insurers won another provision they had long sought: The ability to charge older Americans up to five times more than young people. Under Obamacare, they could only charge up to three times more. It would also allow states to set their own ratio. The measure also provides states with $100 billion to create programs for patient populations, including high-risk pools to provide insurance to the sickest patients. The bill would also revoke federal funding for Planned Parenthood for one year. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2670 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: By D. Buxman October 31, 2016
Speculator is, quite simply, the best novel that I have read in the past three years and deserves better than a 5-star rating. It is a nuanced adventure that will offer the reader unique insights into topics as diverse as geology, capitalism, colonialism, junior gold mining investment and anarcho-capitalism. This wonderful book presents a freedom-based political/economic philosophy that is every bit as compelling and profound as that of Ayn Rand, at a much faster pace and without the laborious monologs.
I was lucky enough to purchase an advance copy of this book in July, and I pre-ordered the Kindle version so that I could make it a permanent part of my digital library, accessible to my college-aged kids for whom it is now required reading. Technical elements such as dialogue and character development are superb, and I can’t wait to see how the heroes and villains develop in the planned sequels. Over two months after my first reading, I am still thinking about the themes that resonate throughout this book. I recommend it without reservation. Few novels have the potential to be life-changing vehicles, but this is one of them. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2671 | 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 majority of Austinites rent the places they live.
contextual information: After an Austin mayoral candidate proposed to permanently cut homeowner taxes, City Council Member Mike Martinez said the idea wouldnt benefit most residents. Martinez, also a candidate for mayor, reacted after attorney Steve Adler said the council could have created a city homestead exemption, or tax break for homeowners, years before. We need to act, Adler said Aug. 4, 2014, according to anAustin American-Statesmannews storythat day. Adler called for a 20 percent exemption--as in a 20 percent cut to each homes taxable value--at a city-estimated cost of $36 million a year. Martinez and a third mayoral aspirant, City Council Member Sheryl Cole, said Adlers idea revealed his lack of governing experience. Martinez said: This would be $36 million that would benefit the wealthiest Austinites the most. The majority of Austinites rent and would see no financial benefit at all. We wondered about Martinezs statement that most Austin residents rent, rather than own, the places they live. We did not delve into his contention that renters wouldnt benefit from Adlers proposal. To our inquiry, a Martinez campaign spokesman, Nick Hudson, pointed out a July 31, 2014,city reportincluding an illustration stating that 183,000 of the citys 331,000 households in 2012 (55 percent) were renters--a proportion in keeping with trends in 2000 and 2008, the report says. By contrast, 148,000 households, 45 percent, were owners. Hudson also forwarded a web link toa city-generated chartdrawing on the 2010 U.S. Census indicating 51 percent of Austins residents were renters that year. To get our own fix on this, we queried Lloyd Potter, the Texas state demographer, who said by email Martinezs claim is supported by the best available resource, American Community Survey data annually gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau. According to the surveys taken from 2010 through 2012, Potter said, 418,138, or 52 percent, of an estimated 799,183 Austin residents lived in rental units compared with 381,045 residents, or 48 percent, who were owners. He said the 2012 survey alone suggests 432,400, 53 percent, of the citys 823,340 residents were renters compared with 390,940, nearly 48 percent, who were owners, Potter said. Separately, a bureau spokesman, Robert Bernstein, responded to our inquiry by emailing a chart based on the bureaus 2012 survey suggesting there were more housing units rented in Austin than units that were occupied by owners. According to the survey, 183,080 of 330,838 housing units (55 percent) were renter-occupied with 147,758 (45 percent) being owner-occupied. (We suspect these figures were the basis of the information in the report noted by Martinezs camp.) Occupied housing units 2012 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 American Community Survey (chart received by email from Robert Bernstein of the bureau). Our ruling Martinez said the majority of Austinites rent where they live. Government surveys show slightly more than half the citys residents rent. We rate this statement True. TRUE The statement is accurate and theres nothing significant missing. Click here formoreon the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2672 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: During Friday’s Weekly Address, President Trump said of the revised American Health Care Act, “your premiums will come down, and your deductibles will come down. †Transcript as Follows: “My fellow Americans, Since Day One, my administration has been hard at work, tearing down the barriers to job creation and economic growth. We have removed one regulation after another — they’re not pretty and they’re going. And believe me, we are just getting started on regulations. They’re gone. On Thursday, the House voted to repeal one of the worst laws of all. It’s called ObamaCare, perhaps you’ve heard of it. Everywhere we look, ObamaCare is collapsing. The House Bill is a plan that will save Americans from this disaster, and replace it with more choices, and more freedom for American families. Most importantly, it will be great healthcare, and your premiums will come down, and your deductibles will come down. So you’ll have better healthcare at a lower cost. And now, I’m calling on the Senate to take action. Repealing and replacing ObamaCare will be a big, big win for the American People. Last week, my economic team outlined another step in our economic renewal: a massive tax cut to bring jobs and prosperity back to the USA. We pay the highest taxes anywhere in the world. No country is higher, and we’re bringing them down — and I mean way down. I am proposing — actually the single largest tax cut — in American history. Our tax relief will be focused on the Middle Class, including relief for low and parents raising children. As we provide tax relief to working families, we must also stop crippling American Industry. Right now, America’s businesses are taxed at the single highest rate in the developed world. This is a economic wound that sends jobs to other countries. And believe me, before I got here, they were fleeing fast, but we’ve stopped it. We want to turn our country into a jobs machine — a jobs magnet, something that really works again. We want America to be the best place in the world to hire, grow, invest, and start a beautiful business. And that is why under our plan, we are cutting the business tax rate all the way down to 15 percent, bringing thousands of new companies and millions of new jobs to our shores. Today’s high taxes on American Business are a gift to the foreign countries taking our jobs, factories, and wealth — and we’re not going to allow it any longer. Along with our historic tax cut we are proposing dramatic tax simplification. American taxpayers spend billions of hours each year complying with our archaic tax laws, reducing economic productivity and job creation. The complexity of the tax code also disadvantages small businesses and companies who can’t afford to hire an army of lawyers, and that’s what it is, it’s an army of lawyers, and lobbyists, or accountants. Other people can do it, you can’t, and it’s not fair to ask you to even think about it. That is why we are cleaning up the code, streamlining deductions, and eliminating many special interest tax breaks that largely benefit only the wealthy. Just weeks ago, millions of Americans filed their taxes on Tax Day — they were reminded again how much they give to Washington. We believe every day Americans know better how to spend their own money than the federal bureaucracy, and we want to help them keep as much of that money as we can. Tax reform, along with regulatory relief and fair trade deals — and we’re going to make them fair — but even really good again for our country, and for our workers. All of this will usher in a new era of prosperity in America — and bring wealth, hope, and opportunity to those communities that need it the most. Together, we are going to fight for every last American job. And we are going to fight for great, great trade deals that are so good for our workers, and so good for our families. Thank you, God Bless You, and God Bless America. †Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2673 | 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 26, 2016
1. Abel Danger ( AD ) claims that Hillary Clinton used DOJ Pride 8(a) actors to blackmail mentors of the Federal Bridge Certification Authority – including erstwhile directors of Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman – with child pornography originating from a B.C. pig farm.
2. AD claims that in early 2001, Clinton's 8(a) companies used their pig-farm network (cf. Starnet) to set up a server to the federal bridge in the basement of her Chappaqua home where she allegedly used Serco Zulu timing signals to synchronize and watch 'the first live-broadcast mass snuff film in human history' on 9/11.
3. AD claims that Serco 8(a) companies at the US Patent and Trademark Office have issued phony keys for an electronic voting pad input device (US 7537159 B2) so the George Soros-tied company Smartmatic can switch votes from Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton – a former patent lawyer in Little Rock, Arkansas.
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 and destroy Clinton's pig farm friends at DOJ Pride and the federal bridge with which they can activate weaponized devices through the Serco patent office.
Soros Linked Voting Machines To Be Used In Key Battleground States
Note the ransom equals the bonus paid by Lockheed Martin Sister Lynne Cheney to JonBenet's father
Media Coverage of Starnet Raid - August 20, 1999
Hillary Clinton vs. James Comey: Email Scandal Supercut
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 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."
For sure, defence counsel have made much of Taylor's involvement with the missing and murdered women, all but pointing the finger at her as homicidal maniac, the real killer. What's not in dispute is that Taylor is one scary character ? street-hardened, menacing, a procurer of prostitutes lured to the Pickton farm, contemptuous of both sex-trade workers (especially street walkers) and drug addicts.
"Concern Grows Over Soros-Linked Voting Machines
Sixteen states may be using balloting equipment from a company tied to the leftist billionaire
by Edmund Kozak | Updated 24 Oct 2016 at 5:21 PM
Concern is growing over revelations that voting machines in a significant number of states could be linked to a company tied directly to billionaire leftist George Soros and his personal quest to create a nationless, borderless global state.
The U.K.-based Smartmatic company posted a flow-chart on its website that it had provided voting machines for 16 states, including important battleground states like Florida and Arizona. Smartmatic Chairman Mark Malloch-Brown is a former U.N. official and sits on the board of Soros’ Open Society Foundations. Since the story first broke, the flow-chart has disappeared from Smartmatic’s website, raising further questions about the real status of the Soros-tied voting equipment and whether it is truly being deployed in U.S. elections.
If Malloch-Brown's Soros ties weren't troubling enough, he also has ties to the Clintons through his work at two consulting firms.
According to a spokesperson for the National Association of Secretaries of State, Smartmatic is not on a list of federally certified providers for election systems and officials in several states’ have contested that their equipment came from Smartmatic. Why, then, had Smartmatic bragged about providing over 50,000 voting machines for U.S. elections?"
"Check http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/309533/opinion/why-have-all-the-digital-signatures-from-the-election-returns-been-stripped "
"Electronic voting pad input device, system and method
US 7537159
B2 ABSTRACT
In the preferred embodiment, the invention is a data entry device intended for use by voters during an election to enter selected choices. Its basic functions are to display available options and accept voter input. Its design achieves simplicity in its preparation, deployment, and operation at any given electoral event. It also furnishes accuracy, reliability, durability, and reusability. It connects in a standard protocol to a voting station's host processor. It accepts up to 300 key codes, each one potentially a unique selection. Names, symbols, or pictures identifying candidates are printed on a paper template compliant with the device's geometry, inserted prior to an election, and visible through the device's transparent cover. When the number of candidates or valid options in a contest exceeds its capacity, additional identical units can be chain-connected, until a sufficient number of voting options are available.
Publication number: US7537159 B2
Publication type: Grant
Application number: US 11/160,782
Publication date: May 26, 2009
Filing date: Jul 8, 2005
Priority date: Jul 8, 2005
Fee status: Paid
Also published as: US20070007340
Inventors: Antonio Mugica , 4 More »
Original Assignee: Smartmatic International Corporation
Export Citation: BiBTeX, EndNote, Ref Man Patent Citations (12), Referenced by (4), Classifications (7), Legal Events (7)
External Links: USPTO , USPTO Assignment , Espacenet "
"BREAKING: @HillaryClinton's E-Mail Server Company Got Almost $1 Million In Gov't Loans After Wiping E-Mails
OCTOBER 26, 2016
BY CHARLES C. JOHNSON 6 COMMENTS
Give it up already. It's over. K. J. Gillenwater was the primary researcher behind this story.
Hillary Clinton's e-mail server company got almost $1 million in government loans starting immediately after they were secretly asked to wipe Hillary Clinton's name from her e-mails.
Platte River Networks (PRN) got a $493,000 loan from the Small Business Administration in August 2014 and another $350,000 loan in September 2015:
Public government data available as USAspending.gov
The first half-million dollar loan arrived not one month after PRN employee Paul Combetta was caught accidentally revealing his company was deleting evidence at Hillary's request in July 2014 .
The second $350,000 loan came about one year later.
You won't hear this stuff from the lying mainstream media. Keep the GotNews mission alive: donate at GotNews.com/donate or send tips to [email protected]. If you'd like to join our research team, [email protected].
After getting the first loan, PRN moved to a large office space after previously working out of the owner’s condo. The head of the Small Business Administration is Maria Contreras-Sweet , a Mexican immigrant who was appointed to the office by Barack Obama two months before Hillary's PRN got the first loan.
WikiLeaks leaks have proven Hillary's corrupt pay-to-play scheme. GotNews has shined a light on how Hillary gets favors from Hispanic and Democratic government bureaucrats before .
Did Hillary Clinton pay her e-mail server company Platte River Networks (PRN) with almost $1 million in favorable government loans — given out by a political friendly — in order to alter her illegal e-mails and get her name off them?
It sure looks like it.
A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request has been lodged for more information.
Stay tuned for more.
K. J. Gillenwater was the primary researcher behind this story."
"WHY BILL CLINTON'S 26 TRIPS ON THE LOLITA EXPRESS CHILD RAPE JET MATTER May 15, 2016
Daniel Greenfield
We don't know what Bill Clinton did or didn't do in company with Jeffrey Epstein. But we certainly know what Epstein did and, almost as outrageously, what he got away with doing .
Some of the most shocking allegations against Epstein surfaced only after the conclusion of an FBI probe, in civil suits brought by his victims: for example, the claim that three 12-year-old French girls were delivered to him as a birthday present. But the feds did identify roughly 40 young women, most of them underage at the time, who described being lured to Epstein's Palm Beach home on the pretense of giving a "massage" for money, then pressured into various sex acts, as well as the "Balkan sex slave" Epstein allegedly boasted of purchasing from her family when she was just 14. More recently, a big cash payment from Mail on Sunday coaxed one of Epstein's main accusers out of anonymity to describe what she claims were her years as a teenage sex toy. This victim, Virginia Roberts, produced a photo of herself with Prince Andrew in 2001 and reported that Epstein paid her $15,000 to meet the prince. Then 17 years old, she claims that she was abused by Epstein and "loaned" to his friends from the age of 15.
Sex crimes of the kind Roberts alleges took place typically carry a term of 10 to 20 years in federal prison. Yet when all was said and done, Epstein served his scant year-plus-one-month in a private wing of the Palm Beach jail and was granted a 16-hour-per-day free pass to leave the premises for work.
In short, Epstein was never actually in jail. During his "house arrest," he flew around the country on his jets from his New York City place to his private island. At least one of Epstein's victims claimed to have met Bill Clinton. And it turns out that Bill Clinton was a much more regular passenger on the Lolita Express.
Former President Bill Clinton was a much more frequent flyer on a registered sex offender's infamous jet than previously reported, with flight logs showing the former president taking at least 26 trips aboard the "Lolita Express" -- even apparently ditching his Secret Service detail for at least five of the flights, according to records obtained by FoxNews.com.
Clinton's presence aboard Jeffrey Epstein's Boeing 727 on 11 occasions has been reported, but flight logs show the number is more than double that, and trips between 2001 and 2003 included extended junkets around the world with Epstein and fellow passengers identified on manifests by their initials or first names, including "Tatiana." The tricked-out jet earned its Nabakov-inspired nickname because it was reportedly outfitted with a bed where passengers had group sex with young girls.
It doesn't help that the Democratic establishment seems to have played a role in getting Epstein a pass on child rape, that Bill Clinton already had rape accusations in his past or that the Clintons had become notorious for their willingness to do favors for criminals in exchange for money.
Either way we've come a long way from Gary Hart being bounced for "Monkey Business" to Bill Clinton flying around on a child rapist's plane without anyone in the media seeming to care much about it.
Social conservatives often get a bad rap. But there really is no limit to how low standards can fall when any trace of a moral code vanishes out the window. What did Bill Clinton actually do? Who knows. More importantly these days, who cares
ABOUT DANIEL GREENFIELD
Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is a New York writer focusing on radical Islam."
"For sure, defence counsel have made much of Taylor's involvement with the missing and murdered women, all but pointing the finger at her as homicidal maniac, the real killer. What's not in dispute is that Taylor is one scary character ? street-hardened, menacing, a procurer of prostitutes lured to the Pickton farm, contemptuous of both sex-trade workers (especially street walkers) and drug addicts.
"She's pure evil,'' says one outreach worker, who asked that her name not be used in any story about Taylor.
...
Court has heard that Taylor's DNA was found on 113 items retrieved from the Pickton property ? including handcuffs, condoms, clothing, syringes ? and also on items that belonged to some victims ? Brenda Wolfe's lipstick, Mona Wilson's rosary.
One witness, Pickton pal Pat Casanova, told the court he once received fellatio from a woman he knew as "Angel," who'd been brought to the farm by Taylor. He said he gave the money to Taylor, who shared some of it with "Angel."
Another witness, Gina Houston, put Taylor on the same bed with victim Sereena Abotsway, in Pickton's trailer.
In his lengthy police interview, Pickton repeatedly tells police he wants to speak with Taylor.
On the stand, Houston recounted a conversation she'd had with Pickton about Taylor, shortly before his arrest.
"Willie told me that he believed she (Taylor) would do the right thing when she came back. That she would take responsibility for what she said she would take responsibility for."
Source
Jeff Wells points to other odd things.
A week or so ago a man called Steve Remian committed suicide-by-cop but: The name "Steve Remian" surfaced at the Robert "Willie" Pickton murder trial in New Westminster, B.C., last March, when jurors were told that Remian's name ? with a Burnaby, B.C., address ? was on the label of a suitcase packed into a box found in Pickton's workshop.
In April, jurors heard further evidence that DNA testing on two hairs found on a Hudson's Bay blanket removed from Pickton's motorhome linked one to Pickton, and the other to a "Steve Remian."
A source involved in the Oakville shooting investigation told the Star that the man shot by police had been charged with sexual assault earlier in life while living in Oakville, but had been acquitted, although a co-accused was convicted.
Source
It does seem like a regular hive of activity: Robert Pickton's pig farm was a constant buzz of activity, with people and vehicles coming and going all the time, a woman who lived in Pickton's trailer for a time testified on Wednesday.
Tanya Carr, 35, told the jury in Pickton's murder trial that people were coming and going all day long at the Port Coquitlam, B.C., farm and it wasn't unusual for people to show up late at night looking for Pickton or his brother Dave.
Source
Also there are those Hells Angels and the "Piggy Palace":
"It was a rough crowd" at Piggy's Palace, said Brian, a musician who played there a few years ago with the hard-rock band South City Slam.
The nightclub, he said, was inside an old building on a property Dave Pickton and his brother Robert own at 2552 Burns Rd., near their pig farm on Dominion Road in Port Coquitlam....
"Even the women were tough- looking -- a lot of leather and denim. It wasn't a cocktail-gown kind of place ," he recalled.
Brian, who didn't want his last name used, recalled that there was a coat-check girl and a sign saying, "Check your knives and other weapons at the door." ...
The crowd at Piggy's Palace often included men wearing Hells Angels biker club colours.
"They were there a lot," said Brian. "The people who came all seemed to know one another."
"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."
"July 7, 2016 Developments in PKI occurred in the early 1970s at the British intelligence agency GCHQ , where James Ellis , Clifford Cocks and others made important discoveries related to encryption algorithms and key distribution.[ 19 ] However, as developments at GCHQ are highly classified, the results of this work were kept secret and not publicly acknowledged until the mid-1990s.
The public disclosure of both secure key exchange and asymmetric key algorithms in 1976 by Diffie, Hellman , Rivest, Shamir , and Adleman changed secure communications entirely. With the further development of high-speed digital electronic communications (the Internet and its predecessors), a need became evident for ways in which users could securely communicate with each other, and as a further consequence of that, for ways in which users could be sure with whom they were actually interacting.
Assorted cryptographic protocols were invented and analyzed within which the new cryptographic primitives could be effectively used. With the invention of the World Wide Web and its rapid spread, the need for authentication and secure communication became still more acute. Commercial reasons alone (e.g., e-commerce, online access to proprietary databases from web browsers) were sufficient. Taher Elgamal and others at Netscape developed the SSL protocol ('https' in Web URLs); it included key establishment, server authentication (prior to v3, one-way only), and so on. A PKI structure was thus created for Web users/sites wishing secure communications.
Vendors and entrepreneurs saw the possibility of a large market, started companies (or new projects at existing companies), and began to agitate for legal recognition and protection from liability. An American Bar Association technology project published an extensive analysis of some of the foreseeable legal aspects of PKI operations (see ABA digital signature guidelines), and shortly thereafter, several U.S. states (Utah being the first in 1995) and other jurisdictions throughout the world began to enact laws and adopt regulations. Consumer groups raised questions about privacy, access, and liability considerations, which were more taken into consideration in some jurisdictions than in others.
The enacted laws and regulations differed, there were technical and operational problems in converting PKI schemes into successful commercial operation, and progress has been much slower than pioneers had imagined it would be.
By the first few years of the 21st century, the underlying cryptographic engineering was clearly not easy to deploy correctly. Operating procedures (manual or automatic) were not easy to correctly design (nor even if so designed, to execute perfectly, which the engineering required). The standards that existed were insufficient.
PKI vendors have found a market, but it is not quite the market envisioned in the mid-1990s, and it has grown both more slowly and in somewhat different ways than were anticipated.[20] PKIs have not solved some of the problems they were expected to, and several major vendors have gone out of business or been acquired by others. PKI has had the most success in government implementations; the largest PKI implementation to date is the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) PKI infrastructure for the Common Access Cards program."
Base One Technologies – Corporate Strategy – We are a Government Certified Women-Owned Business
We practice Diversity Recruitment and Staffing for IT positions Base One was founded in 1994 by a women engineer who had made a career in technology research for many years. Base One has been very successful in focusing on diversity recruiting and staffing for IT projects. It has been our experience that the greater the diversity mix, the more creative the solution. As in any field the more diverse the viewpoint the more thorough your analysis. Our engineers can think out of the box.
Because of our affiliations we have access to pools of resources among more diverse groups & individuals. We work with a large pool of minority professionals who specialize in IT skills. We are able to have access to these resources through our status as a D/MWBD firm and our affiliations. These affiliations assist us in working with resources among more diverse groups & individuals. 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.
Our hub zone location keeps us close to the professional organizations of great diversity. We are active in recruiting from and networking with these community organizations of local IT professionals. This has given us access to a large pool of diversity talent.
Base One's staff of engineers are a diverse group of professionals. This diverse network of engineers helps us to branch out to other engineers and creates an even larger network of resources for us to work with.
The greater the diversity the more complete & thorough the analysis. The broader the spectrum of points of view the broader the scope of the analysis. We feel that a diverse team gives us a greater advantage in creating cutting edge solutions. To that end we will continue to nurture these relationships to further extend our talent pool.
The greater the diversity mix, the more creative the solution.
The more diverse the viewpoint, the more thorough the analysis.
The more diverse our team, the more our engineers can think out of the box.
This is why Base One Technologies concentrates on diversity recruitment in the belief that a diverse team gives us a greater advantage in creating cutting edge solutions."
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, MCI.
Base One Technologies
Expertly researches, designs, and develops information security policies that protect your data and manage your firm's information technology risk at levels acceptable to your business.
Performs architectural assessments and conducts both internal and external penetration testing. The results of these efforts culminate in an extensive risk analysis and vulnerabilities report.
Develops, implements and supports Information Security Counter measures such as honey-pots and evidence logging and incident documentation processes and solutions."
"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. "
"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." http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/100515p.pdf
"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 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2674 | 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 Affordable Care Act permits mandated home visits. Claim summaries: Does a provision of Obamacare allow federal agents to conduct forced home inspections?
contextual information: Claim: A provision of Obamacare allows federal agents to conduct forced home inspections and remove children from the custody of their parents. Examples: [Green, September 2013] Grassfire's Liberty News team is reporting on a little-known aspect of ObamaCare FORCED HOME INSPECTIONS. Simply put, provisions of ObamaCare allow federal agents to activate forced home inspections. The inspections are being sold as a simple act to ensure eligibility, but upon digging deeper we find the agents will have broad authority in using the new tool to clamp down on privacy and violate American rights. Homeschool your kids? Smoke a cigar from time to time? Have a member who was at one time active duty military? ObamaCare enables agents to force a home inspection upon you. And no state will be off limits to the ObamaCare inspections. [Collected via e-mail, October 2013] DID YOU KNOW... Even your children belong to the government. Under Obamacare, on October1, 2013, CPS field agents, armed with a manual published by Human Healthand Services and codified under Obamacare will begin operating under thepower granted to them by Obamacare. Subsequently, they will be able toconduct forced home visits without a warrant. Things such as a (yetundefined) bad grade, missing more than 5 days in school in any one month,can get a parent to be declared guilty of educational neglect. Having agun or beer in your house can get your children removed from your custody.Even the traditional act of grounding your child for misbehavior will getyou declared to be guilty of "isolation neglect" and subject your childfor removal from your authority and your home. If you are a parent and youhave not heard of this provision of Obamacare, I would suggest you readthe 110 page manual that was created by the United Nations. This is theHHS/CPS field manual that goes into effect this week! Origins: This alarmist warning about a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [PPACA] (commonly known as "Obamacare") supposedly authorizing federal agents to undertake "forced home inspections" under the guise of ensuring eligibility began in August 2013 as a blog post that was picked up and uncritically spread via other blogs and web sites. The original entry claimed, in part, that: blog post According to an Obamacare provision millions of Americans will be targeted. The Health and Human Services' website states that your family will be targeted if you fall under the "high-risk" categories below: Families where mom is not yet 21. Families where someone is a tobacco user. Families where children have low student achievement, developmental delays, or disabilities. Families with individuals who are serving or formerly served in the armed forces, including such families that have members of the armed forces who have had multiple deployments outside the United States. There is no reference to Medicaid being the determinant for a family to be "eligible." In 2011, the HHS announced $224 million will be given to support evidence-based home visiting programs to "help parents and children." Individuals from the state will implement these leveraging strategies to "enhance program sustainability." Constitutional attorney and author Kent Masterson Brown states, "This is not a 'voluntary' program. The eligible entity receiving the grant for performing the home visits is to identify the individuals to be visited and intervene so as to meet the improvement benchmarks. A homeschooling family, for instance, may be subject to 'intervention' in 'school readiness' and 'social-emotional developmental indicators.' A farm family may be subject to 'intervention' in order to 'prevent child injuries' The sky is the limit." No provision of the PPACA authorizes federal agents to undertake "forced home inspections." What this item (erroneously) references is the PPACA's creation of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV), which "facilitates collaboration and partnership at the federal, state, and community levels to improve health and MIECHV development outcomes for at-risk children through evidence-based home visiting programs" by awarding development grants to states that "currently have modest home visiting programs and want to build on existing efforts." The grant program is intended to assist states (not the federal government) in conducting voluntary in-home visits to high-risk households with children younger than the age of five to help match those families with government services related to issues such as maternal and child health, child development, school readiness, economic self-sufficiency, and child abuse prevention. (These home visiting programs are not something new created by Obamacare; there were extant home visiting programs in nearly every state prior to the passage of the PPACA.) extant As noted in a September 2011 press release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): press release "Home visiting programs play a critical role in the nation's efforts to help children get off to a strong start. Parenting is a tough job, and helping parents succeed pays big dividends in a child's well-being and healthy development," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Both the formula and competitive grants will be used by state agencies to support home visiting programs that bring nurses, social workers, or other health care professionals to meet with at-risk families that agree to meet with them in their homes. They work with families to evaluate their circumstances, help parents gain the skills they need to succeed in promoting healthy development in their children, and connect families to the kinds of help that can make a real difference in a child's health, development, and ability to learn. Research has shown that home visiting programs can improve outcomes for children and families, including improving maternal and child health, reducing child maltreatment, increasing parental employment, and improving the rate at which children reach developmental milestones. HHS undertook an exhaustive review of the research evidence on different home visiting programs to identify the models that have been shown to work. The PPACA defines high-risk households as: Low-income eligible families. Eligible families who are pregnant women who have not attained age 21. Eligible families that have a history of child abuse or neglect or have had interactions with child welfare services. Eligible families that have a history of substance abuse or need substance abuse treatment. Eligible families that have users of tobacco products in the home. Eligible families that are or have children with low student achievement. Eligible families with children with developmental delays or disabilities. Eligible families who, or that include individuals who, are serving or formerly served in the Armed Forces,including such families that have members of the Armed Forces who have had multiple deployments outside of theUnited States. However, nothing in the PPACA authorizes federal or state agents to "target" and conduct forced inspections at such households. The PPACA requires that MIECHV grant recipients give priority to such households (because that's where the return on money spent is highest), but as stated in the press release quoted above, the MIECHV grant program brings "nurses, social workers, or other health care professionals to meet with at-risk families that agree to meet with them in their homes. Likewise, the relevant section (p. 251) of the PPACA specifically states that MIECHV grant recipients must provide "assurances that the entity will establish procedures to ensure that the participation of each eligible family in the program is voluntary." PPACA Last updated: 5 October 2013 | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2675 | 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: Thanks, Kalat Claim summaries: Does a photograph show a statue of a U.S. soldier crafted by an Iraqi sculptor?
contextual information: The sculpture pictured below is real, and it was indeed crafted by an Iraqi sculptor from bronze recovered by melting down statues of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, but the accompanying explanatory text is quite misleading: The Iraqi sculptor was not "forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam," he did not produce the memorial shown because he was "so grateful that the Americans liberated his country," and the monument was not his idea. Members of the U.S. Army paid the sculptor, who had previously worked on a few other Saddam statues, to create the work pictured according to a design of their choosing: Example: [Collected via e-mail, 2004] This picture of the statue was made by an Iraqi artist named Kalat, who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam that dotted Baghdad. This artist was so grateful that the Americans liberated his country, he melted 3 of the fallen Saddam heads and made a memorial statue dedicated to the American soldiers and their fallen comrades. Kalat worked on this night and day for several months. To the left of the kneeling soldier is a small Iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms. It is currently on display outside the palace that is now home to the 4th Infantry division. It will eventually be shipped and shown at the memorial museum in Fort Hood, Texas. As part of the U.S. Army's Task Force Ironhorse, the 4th Infantry Division was deployed in Iraq for most of 2003, participated in the capture of Saddam Hussein in December 2003, and saw many of their comrades killed and wounded in the violence that followed the end of major combat operations. In mid-2003, while the 4th Infantry Division was headquartered in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, Command Sgt. Maj. Charles Fuss, the division's top noncommissioned officer, headed up a project to commemorate the unit's dead and conceived of a memorial featuring the figure of a forlorn soldier kneeling to mourn before empty helmet, boots, and rifle an array of objects that traditionally represents a fallen compatriot: Task Force Ironhorse 4th Infantry Needing a sculptor to carry out his vision, Sgt. Maj. Fuss and other Americans asked around for local talent, and an Iraqi contractor recommended a 27-year-old artist named Khalid Alussy to them. As it turned out, Mr. Alussy was one of several artisans who had worked on a pair of 50-foot bronze statues of Saddam Hussein on horseback that flanked the gateway on the main road into the presidential palace compound in Tikrit, the site of the 4th Infantry Division's temporary headquarters. Commissioned by 4th Infantry Division officers to fashion the memorial conceptualized by Sgt. Maj. Fuss, Khalid Alussy (whose first name is also rendered in English as 'Kalat') took the assignment not out love for Americans, but because he needed the money: The officers didn't question Mr. Alussy further about his political views. Had they pressed him, they might have learned that he's harshly critical of the U.S. and bitter over an American rocket attack during the war that killed his uncle. In an interview, he says he thinks the war was fought for oil and holds the U.S. responsible for the violence and unemployment that have plagued Iraq since."I made the statues of Saddam even though I didn't want to because I needed money for my family and to finish my education," he says, reclining in a room decorated with several of his paintings. "And I decided to make statues for the Americans for the exact same reasons." Mr. Alussy's initial asking price was far higher than the officers had expected. He blamed the steep price of bronze. So the Americans decided to recycle the bronze Hussein-on-horseback twins. "We figured we were going to blow them up anyway, so why not take the bronze and use it for our own statues?" recalls Sgt. Fuss. "That way we could take something that honored Saddam and use it to remember all of those we lost getting rid of him." Without having to supply the metal, Mr. Alussy agreed to do the job for $8,000. By comparison, the former regime paid him the equivalent of several hundred dollars for his work on the Hussein statues. To finance the project, Sgt. Fuss publicized it in the task force's internal newspaper and asked officers to get soldiers to contribute $1 each. Within weeks, he raised $30,000.1 In July 2003, Army engineers blew up the two Saddam statues, cut them into pieces, melted them down, and delivered them to Mr. Alussy's house. (The delivery was done furtively in case Mr. Alussy's neighbors proved to be less than thrilled about his being in the employ of the American military.) Using a photograph of 1st Sgt. Glen Simpson as a model for the depiction of the kneeling soldier, Mr. Alussy began his work on the monument; near the end, another segment was added to his task: As the work neared completion, Sgt. Fuss and the division's commander, Maj. Gen. Ray Odierno, decided it needed a clearer connection to Iraq. The general suggested adding a small child to symbolize Iraq's new future, Sgt. Fuss says. When they told the artist they wanted another statue, Mr. Alussy demanded $10,000 more. "He learned capitalism real fast," Sgt. Fuss says.1 After four months' worth of night and weekend labor, Mr. Alussy completed his assignment, and the statues were installed in an entranceway inside the 4th Infantry Division's headquarters in Tikrit. In February 2004 the statues were flown to the 4th Infantry Division Museum at the unit's home base of Fort Hood, Texas. Museum Fort Hood Somewhere along the line, this coda was added to the original e-mail: Do you know why we don't hear about this in the news? Because it is heart warming and praise worthy. The media avoids it because it does not have the shock effect that a flashed breast or controversy of politics does. But we can do something about it. We can pass this along to as many people as we can in honor of all our brave military who are making a difference. As Steve Blow of the Dallas Morning News pointed out in a later column, the Kalat story and photo ran in that paper on 27 March 2004 and was afterwards picked up and reprinted by newspapers all over the U.S. Additional information: <!-- Original changelog: Last updated: 25 February 200616 January 2004 Updated: 16 February 2004 11 June 2004 - updated 17 October 2005 - added info about media reporting of story 25 February 2006: reformatted 16 December 2009 - updated Add'l Info links --> Blow, Steve. "Sometimes, Facts Get in Way of Media-Bashing."
The Dallas Morning News. 23 January 2005 (p. B1). 1. Dreazen, Yochi J. "In This Monument to Dead, the Medium Really Is the Message."
The Wall Street Journal. 8 March 2004 (p. A1). Kibbey, Spc. Benjamin R. "Changing Faces: Statue Honors Fallen Heroes."
Army News Service. 6 January 2004. Miles, Donna. "Memorial to Honor Fallen Task Force Ironhorse Troops."
American Forces Press Service. 20 February 2004. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2676 | 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 Disney Deny Tim Allen 'Lightyear' Role Due to His Political Beliefs? Claim summaries: While Allen wasn't cast in the 2022 "Lightyear" movie, he was working on a different project with Disney.
contextual information: In June 2022, many people expressed outrage over the claim that Disney had supposedly "canceled" actor Tim Allen, who voiced the character "Buzz Lightyear" in the original "Toy Story" movies. According to the rumor, the entertainment giant refused to cast Allen in the 2022 "Lightyear" movie due to his conservative political views. Disney Here's how the conservative news outlet "Townhall" framed the issue: "Townhall" framed the issue While it was true that actor Chris Evans not Allen was voicing Buzz in "Lightyear," Disney had not cut ties with Allen. In fact, Allen and Disney are currently working together on another project, as of this writing. Furthermore, there were several story reasons (not political ones) for a new actor to voice "Buzz Lightyear" in the 2022 movie. Chief among them: "Lightyear" focused on a fictional human character, while the "Toy Story" movies featured a fictional "Buzz Lightyear" toy. Allen In 1995, Allen debuted as the voice behind "Buzz Lightyear," an action-figure toy that came to life when humans left the room, in the Pixar movie "Toy Story." In the Pixar universe, this action-figure toy was based on a character from an action movie. Pixar's 2022 film "Lightyear" is that in-universe action movie. Sound a little confusing? In the opening moments of "Lightyear," the premise of the movie is explained like this: "In 1995, Andy got a toy. That toy is from his favorite movie. This is that movie." premise of the movie is explained like this In other words, the movie "Lightyear" did not feature the fictional toy that Allen voiced in the original "Toy Story" movies. Evans was voicing a new iteration of the "Buzz Lightyear" character. "Lightyear" producer Galyn Susman explained: explained 'Tim Allen is Buzz Lightyear the toy, and hes the embodiment of Buzz Lightyear the toy. We werent making a Toy Story movie. Were making Buzz Lightyears movie, the Lightyear movie. And so first and foremost, we just needed to have a different person playing that Lightyear, separate from the toy.' In the real world, we can compare this scenario to Batman action figures and Batman movie stars. Actor Robert Pattinson played the caped crusader in the 2022 movie "The Batman," but that doesn't mean he provided the voice for the latest "Batman" toys on store shelves. In fact, while Allen's co-star Tom Hanks voiced the character of "Woody" in the "Toy Story" movies, it was actually Hanks' brother, Jim, who provided the voice of "Woody" for the real-world action figures. Robert Pattinson played the caped crusader in the 2022 movie "The Batman," actually Hanks' brother, Jim, who provided the voice of "Woody" for the real-world action figures Allen provided the voice for some "Buzz Lightyear" toys, but so have a number of other entertainers such as actor Pat Fraley. Allen provided the voice Fraley said in a 2019 interview: said in a 2019 interview So, for nine years it was one of the most lucrative roles I ever did. I did all the toys and there were a lot of them. Thats how that went down the pike. Eventually, they got rid of me and I figured they found someone better than me. I was a close match but not perfect. No, my replacement wasnt better than me but I bet he was cheaper. So, why didnt Tim Allen do the voice of Buzz Lightyear for all of those toys instead? Tim was too busy. He had a show on TV and was doing movies. He had Home Improvement and those Santa Clause movies at the time. Home Improvement Santa Clause We reached out to Disney to see if Allen was voicing new "Buzz Lightyear" toys, and we will update this article accordingly. As this rumor circulated on social media, many people claimed that Allen was the victim of "cancel culture" and that Disney was refusing to work with the actor due to his conservative politics. But that wasn't the case. In fact, as of this writing, Allen and Disney were working together on an upcoming television series based on "The Santa Clause" movies. conservative politics working together Here's a synopsis of the new Disney+ series: synopsis of the new Disney+ series In the Disney+ series, Scott Calvin is on the brink of his 65th birthday and realizing that he cant be Santa forever. Hes starting to lose a step in his Santa duties, and more importantly, hes got a family who could benefit from a life in the normal world, especially his two kids who have grown up at the Pole. With a lot of elves, children, and family to please, Scott sets out to find a suitable replacement Santa while preparing his family for a new adventure in a life south of the pole. While Allen did not voice Buzz Lightyear in the 2022 "Lightyear" movie, there was no evidence that Disney refused him the role, or ended its working relationship with Allen, because of his political beliefs. Rather, the film featured a version of the fictional character that was different from the original "Buzz Lightyear" figure in the "Toy Story" films, and a producer said they "needed to have a different person" playing the 2022 movie's version. Also, Allen was working with Disney on a separate project. Buzz Lightyear Voices (Toy Story). Behind The Voice Actors, https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Toy-Story/Buzz-Lightyear/. Accessed 16 June 2022. Weary Lightyear Director Tries Once Again to Explain How Real Lightyear Is or Isnt. The A.V. Club, 16 June 2022, https://www.avclub.com/lightyear-director-angus-maclane-describes-how-real-the-1849068927. Cavacini, Michael. Legendary Pat Fraley Tells All. Michael Cavacini, 1 Nov. 2019, https://michaelcavacini.com/2019/11/01/legendary-pat-fraley-tells-all/. Johnson, Allen. Why Lightyear Director Recast Iconic Role of Buzz with Chris Evans for New Pixar Film. Datebook SF Chronicle, https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/why-lightyear-director-recast-iconic-role-of-buzz-with-chris-evans-for-new-pixar-film. Accessed 16 June 2022. Lightyear Creator Breaks Down Why Tim Allen Wasnt Asked To Return In New Pixar Movie - The Illuminerdi. 15 June 2022, https://www.theilluminerdi.com/2022/06/15/lightyear-why-tim-allen-recast/. Scott, A. O. Lightyear Review: Infinite Buzz. The New York Times, 14 June 2022. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/14/movies/lightyear-review.html. Tim Allen Returns to the Red Suit for The Santa Clause, a Limited Series for Disney+. D23, 14 Jan. 2022, https://d23.com/just-announced-tim-allen-returns-to-the-red-suit-for-the-santa-clause-a-limited-series-for-disney/. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2677 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: In what can only be seen as a groundbreaking and unprecedented move, Starbucks chairman and CEO Howard Schultz delivered an open letter to all their partners (employees) regarding Donald Trump s Muslim ban.He titled the letter, Living Our Values In Uncertain Times and here it is: Dear partners,I write to you today with deep concern, a heavy heart and a resolute promise. Let me begin with the news that is immediately in front of us: we have all been witness to the confusion, surprise and opposition to the Executive Order that President Trump issued on Friday, effectively banning people from several predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States, including refugees fleeing wars. I can assure you that our Partner Resources team has been in direct contact with the partners who are impacted by this immigration ban, and we are doing everything possible to support and help them to navigate through this confusing period.We are living in an unprecedented time, one in which we are witness to the conscience of our country, and the promise of the American Dream, being called into question. These uncertain times call for different measures and communication tools than we have used in the past. Kevin and I are going to accelerate our commitment to communicating with you more frequently, including leveraging new technology platforms moving forward. I am hearing the alarm you all are sounding that the civility and human rights we have all taken for granted for so long are under attack, and want to use a faster, more immediate form of communication to engage with you on matters that concern us all as partners.I also want to take this opportunity to announce specific actions we are taking to reinforce our belief in our partners around the world and to ensure you are clear that we will neither stand by, nor stand silent, as the uncertainty around the new Administration s actions grows with each passing day:Support for DACA: As I wrote to Senators Graham and Durbin this week, we are enthusiastically behind their work to support Dreamers across our country including those young men and women who are part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. There are nearly three quarters of a million hardworking people contributing to our communities and our economy because of this program. At Starbucks, we are proud to call them partners and to help them realize their own American Dream. We want them to feel welcome and included in our success, which is why we reimburse them for the biennial fee they must pay to stay in the program and why we have offered DACA-related services at our Opportunity Youth hiring fairs.Hiring Refugees: We have a long history of hiring young people looking for opportunities and a pathway to a new life around the world. This is why we are doubling down on this commitment by working with our equity market employees as well as joint venture and licensed market partners in a concerted effort to welcome and seek opportunities for those fleeing war, violence, persecution and discrimination. There are more than 65 million citizens of the world recognized as refugees by the United Nations, and we are developing plans to hire 10,000 of them over five years in the 75 countries around the world where Starbucks does business. And we will start this effort here in the U.S. by making the initial focus of our hiring efforts on those individuals who have served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel in the various countries where our military has asked for such support.Building Bridges, Not Walls, With Mexico: We have been open for business in Mexico since 2002, and have since opened almost 600 stores in 60 cities across the country, which together employ over 7,000 Mexican partners who proudly wear the green apron. We have sourced coffee from Mexico s producers and their families for three decades and last fall, we also announced the creation of a farmer support center in Chiapas to help accelerate our collective ability to grow and export some of the world s finest coffees from this important growing region, while donating more than $2 million to support the livelihood, food security and water quality of coffee producing communities in Oaxaca. With the support of thousands of Starbucks partners and millions of customers, we have also donated over a million coffee trees to support 70,000 families, and we will be expanding the initiative this year to generate another 4 million tree donations. Coffee is what unites our common heritage, and as I told Alberto Torrado, the leader of our partnership with Alsea in Mexico, we stand ready to help and support our Mexican customers, partners and their families as they navigate what impact proposed trade sanctions, immigration restrictions and taxes might have on their business and their trust of Americans. But we will continue to invest in this critically important market all the same.Our Healthcare Commitment to You: Finally, let me restate what we have recently communicated with you about the Affordable Care Act our commitment remains that if you are benefits eligible, you will always have access to health insurance through Starbucks. Many of you have expressed concerns that recent government actions may jeopardize your ability to participate in the Affordable Care Act. If the recent Executive Order related to health care remains in place and the Affordable Care Act is repealed causing you to lose your healthcare coverage, you will always have the ability to return and can do so within 30 days of losing that coverage rather than having to wait for an open enrollment period. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Benefits Center at 877-728-9236.In the face of recent events around the world, let me assure you that we will stay true to our values and do everything we can possibly do to support and invest in every partner s well-being while taking the actions that are squarely within our ability to control. This is our focus: providing a Third Place of respite for those around the world who seek it, daily.Starbucks has and will always stand for opportunity opportunity for our young people who are working to land their first job in the 75 countries where we do business, opportunity for our farmers who care so deeply for the highest of quality coffee we offer to customers all around the globe, and yes, opportunity for those who come to America in search of their own fresh start whether that is with Starbucks directly, or through our suppliers or our partner companies.If there is any lesson to be learned over the last year, it s that your voice and your vote matter more than ever. We are all obligated to ensure our elected officials hear from us individually and collectively. Starbucks is doing its part; we need you to use the collective power of your voices to do the same while respecting the diverse viewpoints of the 90 million customers who visit our stores in more than 25,000 locations around the world.So, while we seek to understand what the new Administration s policies mean for us and our business both domestically and around the world, I can assure you that we will do whatever it takes to support you, our partners, to realize your own dreams and achieve your own opportunities. We are in business to inspire and nurture the human spirit, one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time whether that neighborhood is in a Red State or a Blue State; a Christian country or a Muslim country; a divided nation or a united nation. That will not change. You have my word on that.Onward,Howard Well said, Mr. Schultz, and you are a better American for all that was said. Your dedication to what truly makes America the land of the free and the home of the brave will forever be noticed.Featured Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2678 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: A former Islamic State warlord suspected of masterminding a deadly attack on Istanbul airport in 2016 is believed to have been killed during a special operation in ex-Soviet Georgia last week, three sources familiar with the case told Reuters. Akhmed Chatayev, an ethnic Chechen, is highly likely to have lost his life during a police operation against a group of armed men on the outskirts of the Georgian capital Tbilisi last week, the three sources said. One Georgian special forces serviceman and three members of the armed group, which was suspected of terrorism, were killed in the operation. Four police officers were wounded and one member of the group was arrested during the 20-hour operation at the apartment block where the group was hiding. We suspect that one of the gunmen killed in the special operation in Tbilisi could be Akhmed Chatayev, Nino Giorgobiani, deputy chief of the state security service, told Reuters on Tuesday. She said that the final conclusions would be reached after experts had completed their work and the relevant United States agencies (had) joined the investigation. Two other sources, who did not want to be named, told Reuters it looked very likely Chatayev had been killed. There is every indication that one of them (members of the group) was Chatayev, said one of the sources. According to my information, Chatayev was there ... He blew himself up, said the other source. Chatayev was named by Turkish media and a U.S. congressman as the mastermind of the suicide bombing of Istanbul airport in 2016 which killed 45 people. His involvement in the airport bombing has not been confirmed by Turkish officials. A veteran of Chechnya s conflict with Moscow during which he lost an arm, he lived in Georgia s Pankisi Gorge, a remote area populated largely by people from the Kist community, ethnic Chechens whose ancestors came to mainly Christian Georgia in the 1800s. When, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Chechnya rose up in an armed rebellion against Moscow s rule, the Kist community were drawn to the fight. Thousands of refugees arrived from Chechnya, and some insurgents used the gorge to regroup and prepare new attacks. Chatayev was wounded and arrested in Georgia in August 2012 following a clash between the Georgian police and a group of militants, who were allegedly trying to cross the Georgian-Russian border and move to Dagestan. He was released from jail on bail and Georgian prosecutors dropped the case against him in January 2013, citing a lack of evidence, according to Civil.ge, an online news service. Soon after his release, Chatayev left Georgia, saying he intended to go to Austria to convalesce and by 2015, he had moved to Islamic State-controlled areas in Syria and Iraq, the news service reported. Chatayev was listed as a terrorist in 2015 by the U.S. Treasury which accused him of planning attacks against unspecified U.S. and Turkish facilities and added him to the U.N. Security Council s Al-Qaeda sanctions list, according to Civil.ge. He was also wanted by the Russian authorities. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2679 | 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 the prediction of the downfall of the world by Nostradamus related to the reign of a weak ruler? Claim summaries: Nostradamus has been credited with accurately predicting dozens of historical events.
contextual information: A four-line poem, also known as a quatrain, allegedly written by 16th-century philosopher Michel de Nostradamus, described predictions of a future plague that would fall upon the world. Some assumed that this so-called plague referred to the COVID-19 pandemic, which Snopes has previously debunked. The alleged quatrain went on to describe a feeble man who was set to rule the western world with a Jezebel after the plague. According to Snopes readers, renditions of this poem appeared to suggest that this man and Jezebel either referred to U.S. President Donald Trump or President-elect Joe Biden, depending on the person sharing the poem. In the end, this foolish ruler will cause the great eagle—presumably the United States—to suffer and fall. The meme below circulated in early 2021. It is unclear where this quatrain originated or who the original poster was. Nostradamus, who was also a French physician, first published Les Prophéties in 1555. It is thought that his collection of poems, which are compiled in 10 sets of verses of 100 quatrains each, contains mythological and astrological predictions for the future world. In the centuries that followed his original publication, he has remained prominent in modern popular culture, often among internet users who share fabricated predictions falsely attributed to him. Nostradamus is credited with accurately predicting many historical events, according to Rare Books Digest. Although many of his poems are largely vague and could apply to a number of events, some of his predictions do come eerily close to actual occurrences. However, the meme in question does not appear to make that list. A look through The Compleat Works of Nostradamus did not reveal any mention of a Jezebel or a feeble man. While the word "plague" was mentioned more than 30 times in the Nostradamus text, there is no instance where it occurs alongside the same wording as in the meme. Furthermore, it is also important to note that the quatrains written by Nostradamus do not follow chronological order. So, while they may be broken down into what the author considered to be centuries, these do not directly translate to the century in which any prediction was anticipated to occur. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2680 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: U.S. President Barack Obama and his top foreign policy advisers are expected to meet on Friday to consider their military and other options in Syria as Syrian and Russian aircraft continue to pummel Aleppo and other targets, U.S. officials said. Some top officials argue the United States must act more forcefully in Syria or risk losing what influence it still has over moderate rebels and its Arab, Kurdish and Turkish allies in the fight against Islamic State, the officials told Reuters. One set of options includes direct U.S. military action such as air strikes on Syrian military bases, munitions depots or radar and anti-aircraft bases, said one official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. This official said one danger of such action is that Russian and Syrian forces are often co-mingled, raising the possibility of a direct confrontation with Russia that Obama has been at pains to avoid. U.S. officials said they consider it unlikely that Obama will order U.S. air strikes on Syrian government targets, and they stressed that he may not make any decisions at the planned meeting of his National Security Council.  One alternative, U.S. officials said, is allowing allies to provide U.S.-vetted rebels with more sophisticated weapons, although not shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, which Washington fears could be used against Western airliners. The White House declined to comment. Friday’s planned meeting is the latest in a long series of internal debates about what, if anything, to do to end a 5-1/2 year civil war that has killed at least 300,000 people and displaced half the country’s population. The ultimate aim of any new action could be to bolster the battered moderate rebels so they can weather what is now widely seen as the inevitable fall of rebel-held eastern Aleppo to the forces of Russian- and Iranian-backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. It also might temper a sense of betrayal among moderate rebels who feel Obama encouraged their uprising by calling for Assad to go but then abandoned them, failing even to enforce his own “red line†against Syria’s use of chemical weapons. This, in turn, might deter them from migrating to Islamist groups such as the Nusra Front, which the United States regards as Syria’s al Qaeda branch. The group in July said it had cut ties to al Qaeda and changed its name to Jabhat Fatah al-Sham. ANOTHER TRY AT DIPLOMACY The U.S. and Russian foreign ministers will meet in Lausanne, Switzerland on Saturday to resume their failed effort to find a diplomatic solution, possibly joined by their counterparts from Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iran, but U.S. officials voiced little hope for success. Friday’s planned meeting at the White House and the session in Lausanne occur as Obama, with just 100 days left in office, faces other decisions about whether to deepen U.S. military involvement in the Middle East — notably in Yemen and Iraq — a stance he opposed when he won the White House in 2008. Earlier Thursday the United States launched cruise missiles at three coastal radar sites in areas of Yemen controlled by Iran-aligned Houthi forces, retaliating after failed missile attacks this week on a U.S. Navy destroyer, U.S. officials said. In Iraq, U.S. officials are debating whether government forces will need more U.S. support both during and after their campaign to retake Mosul, Islamic State’s de facto capital in the country. Some officials argue the Iraqis now cannot retake the city without significant help from Kurdish peshmerga forces, as well as Sunni and Shi’ite militias, and that their participation could trigger religious and ethnic conflict in the city. In Syria, Washington has turned to the question of whether to take military action after its latest effort to broker a truce with Russia collapsed last month. The United States has called for Assad to step down, but for years has seemed resigned to his remaining in control of parts of the country as it prosecutes a separate fight against Islamic State militants in Syria and in Iraq. The U.S. policy is to target Islamic State first, a decision that has opened it to charges that it is doing nothing to prevent the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria and particularly in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city. Renewed bombing of rebel-held eastern Aleppo has killed more than 150 people this week, rescue workers said, as Syria intensifies its Russian-backed offensive to take the whole city. Anthony Cordesman of Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank suggested the United States’ failure to act earlier in Syria, and in Aleppo in particular, had narrowed Obama’s options. “There is only so long you can ignore your options before you don’t have any,†Cordesman said. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2681 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Newt Gingrich has been one of Donald Trump s most vocal cheerleaders, but in a new book, he threw his President under the bus by revealing the real reason Trump ran for President, and it s far worse than you think. Trump clearly thinks the presidency is a toy that he could buy because it s more fun than buying a yacht. His response was priceless, Gingrich writes in Understanding Trump, in an excerpt published by ABC News on Sunday. After a moment of thought, he said, $70 [million] to 80 million: that would be a yacht. This would be a lot more fun than a yacht! He also noted how Trump ran his campaign like a corporation ahead of schedule and under budget. Describing a phone conversation he had with Trump after the South Carolina primary in February 2016, Gingrich said the presidential candidate said he was indeed under budget. At the tail end of our conversation, he jokingly said, By the way, I know you said I needed to spend $80 million, but I ve only spent $30 million. I feel kind of bad, Gingrich quoted Trump, who won the South Carolina primary, as having said.Source: MarketWatchThat explains a lot. It explains why Trump is woefully unprepared to be president. It also explains why he seems to think the office is his ticket to getting even richer.Trump doesn t read. He doesn t pay attention to National Security Briefings unless his name is plastered all over the briefings, preferably with pictures.Nearly every meeting he s had with a world leader has been a disaster. He s offended all of our allies and he s helped accomplish the Russian goal of destabilizing the country. He also has the most corrupt presidency in history.While Trump might be having fun after spending less than he might have spent on a yacht, it s clear his presidency comes at the expense of the American people and of our reputation as the world s largest superpower. In other words, he s playing a very scary game and he simply doesn t care.Featured image via Pool/Getty Images | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2682 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Julissa Arce, who is now a Vice President at Goldman Sachs was a guest on Tucker Carlson s show last night. Tucker asked her about her use of an illegal social security number. Arce claimed that she was very fortunate to marry a US citizen and is now a US citizen. Tucker reminds her that using a fake social security number is a felony. Arce quickly explained to Carlson that using a fake social security number is not a felony in every state. She then went on to explain to Tucker how she had to violate our laws because they were unjust. While her story is compelling because she became an American citizen (through marriage) and is a contributing member to our economy and to our tax base, the bottom line is that she was in our country illegally and used a fake social security number that allowed her to deceive employers, educational facilities and likely social services reserved for legal American citizens.Tucker Carlson tried to ask her why she was against the building of a wall to protect our nation, at which point, she started to use an argument that it would cost taxpayers too much money. Tucker called her out, and reminded her that she had called the building of a wall on our US-Mexican border (that most Americans want to see built) a symbol of hate , Tucker then went on to tell her that he found her opinion on the building of wall to be ungrateful to a country that has given her so much. Carlson continued, I don t understand why a country s desire to protect its border is an expression of hate. Arce went back to her argument about the cost of the wall being her real objection to construction of the wall. Tucker pressed on asking, Why is hateful to want to build a wall ? After Arce finally realized Carlson was not about to let her off the hook, she answered the question honestly, It is a hateful symbol. It is a symbol of hate against immigrants. It is a symbol of hate against uh Mexican immigrants, which you know, the precedent, uhh that Mr. Trump ran his campaign on. Tucker pressed on, I just want to get to the bottom of this because you re throwing around language that has an effect on people s attitudes and it s pretty heavy duty, because it presumes motives that you can t know. You don t know that people who support the wall hate Mexicans immigrants. A lot of people come across that border, are not from Mexico as you know, they re Central Americans. Is it legitimate, is it morally legitimate for an American to say, I want to control of who comes into my county and we don t have that, so a wall will reestablish that control. For you to denounce that as hate seems a little much. Watch: | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2683 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Benjamin A. Gilman, a New York congressman for 30 years and a leading Republican critic of the Clinton administration’s foreign policy initiatives, died on Saturday in Wappingers Falls, N. Y. He was 94. His death, at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital, was confirmed by his wife, Georgia Gilman, who said he had been hospitalized for more than three years after hip surgery. First elected to the House of Representatives in 1972, Mr. Gilman was a moderate Republican who focused on foreign affairs throughout most of his years in Washington. From 1995 to 2000, he was chairman of the International Relations Committee, as the House Foreign Affairs Committee was then known. He was named to lead the panel after the Republicans won control of the House in 1994. Mr. Gilman accused President Bill Clinton of favoring Russia over other former Soviet republics, and said the president was indecisive on issues involving Bosnia, Haiti and Somalia. “Instead of a strong, steady signal on foreign policy coming from the nation’s capital, regrettably the world has heard a series of wavering notes sounded by an uncertain trumpet, leaving our allies concerned and our adversaries confused,†he said in one assessment. Believing that Mr. Clinton was not shaping a sufficiently tough policy on North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons, Mr. Gilman introduced legislation to prevent the president from lifting economic sanctions against that country until it made major concessions on freezing its nuclear weapons program and halting missile tests. He also contended that the Clinton administration had a “lethargic approach†toward helping Iraqis who wanted to overthrow President Saddam Hussein. A staunch supporter of Israel, Mr. Gilman accused the administration of bullying Israel into accepting unfavorable terms in talks with the Palestinians. A week after making that accusation, in May 1998, Mr. Gilman spoke to the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, at a luncheon at the Capitol. “We want you to know that you’re not only among friends, but among mishpocheh,†said Mr. Gilman, who was Jewish, using the Yiddish word for family. Although reflecting conservative Republican positions on many foreign policy issues, Mr. Gilman eschewed the firebrand tones of some of his party colleagues. He also departed from most congressional conservatives on issues like abortion rights and the environment, and was seen by many as a moderate in the tradition of Nelson A. Rockefeller. The Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion endorsed both him and his unsuccessful 1996 Democratic challenger, Yash P. Aggarwal, citing their equally strong abortion rights positions. The League of Conservation Voters listed Mr. Gilman among House members who supported measures to protect the environment. Mr. Gilman also focused on legislation to combat illegal drugs. In 1986, he and a colleague introduced a measure to provide $230 million for state and local police departments to set up divisions. Mr. Gilman expressed anger when the Reagan administration released budget plans that sharply cut funding for such efforts. Earlier in his congressional career, Mr. Gilman helped to negotiate the releases of several Americans imprisoned abroad. As a result of one such negotiation, an American who had tried to smuggle some East Germans out of their country was released in 1978 by East Germany, and an Israeli was freed by Mozambique, which was then a Soviet ally, in exchange for the release of a convicted Soviet spy imprisoned in the United States. Mr. Gilman and the Israelis involved in the trade used code names while communicating by cable Mr. Gilman was called “Uncle Ben. †In 1980, Mr. Gilman led an informal House committee that successfully negotiated with a Cuban diplomat for the release of 30 Americans imprisoned in Cuba. He left Congress in 2002 after the redistricting that followed the 2000 census consolidated his district and that of a fellow Republican, Sue W. Kelly. Mr. Gilman was seen as the underdog in a primary race between them, and he decided not to run again. He had won all of his previous elections. His district in the 1970s included Rockland and Orange Counties and some of Ulster County, and his later districts comprised Rockland and parts of Orange, Sullivan and Westchester Counties. Benjamin Arthur Gilman was born in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. on Dec. 6, 1922. He served in the Army Air Corps in World War II, flying 35 missions over Japan and earning a Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war, he graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and from New York Law School. He was an assistant New York State attorney general in the 1950s, then a lawyer in private practice. He was a New York assemblyman from 1966 to 1972. In addition to his wife, he is survived by two sons, Jonathan and Harrison a daughter, Susan a stepdaughter, Nicole Pappas a stepson, Peter Tingus and 11 grandchildren. A son, David, and a daughter, Ellen, died before him. Two previous marriages ended in divorce. After leaving Congress, Mr. Gilman founded the Gilman Group, a lobbying and consulting business in Washington specializing in international matters. In 2003 and 2004, he was the United States representative to the 58th session of the United Nations General Assembly. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2684 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Puerto Rico’s benchmark General Obligation bond fell in price on Friday in choppy trading after the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation aimed at helping the U.S. territory fix its fiscal mess. The GO bond, carrying an 8 percent coupon and maturing in 2035, last traded at 64.74 points in price, pushing the yield to 13.05 percent from 12.73 percent on Thursday, according to data provided by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. According to the MSRB’s Electronic Municipal Market Access database, about $21 million worth of bonds traded versus $14 million the day before. Late on Thursday the House passed the "Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act" (PROMESA), by a vote of 297-127, with the U.S. Senate expected to take up the bill quickly ahead of a $1.9 billion debt payment due July 1. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/1PjZvh5) Puerto Rico has a $70 billion debt load it says it cannot pay and a staggering 45 percent poverty rate. It faces steady migration of its residents to the mainland and a potential humanitarian crisis because it cannot sustain social services. PROMESA, if passed by the Senate and signed into law, would establish a powerful seven-member federal Oversight Board to navigate through the restructurings. Among other things, the board would have the authority to enforce balanced budgets. “It is definitely a step forward, a very good step forward. We think it was necessary. It doesn’t answer all your questions but at least it sets up a framework and does provide fiscal management and oversight which we think was necessary because the credibility of the government is pretty much shot,†said Joe Rosenblum, director of municipal credit research at AllianceBernstein in New York. “We don’t think at these prices we are ready to dip our toes back in and we haven’t seen a lot of trading activity out there, so I think we are in company,†Rosenblum said. PROMESA does not set out specific rules for restructuring, leaving such decisions to the control board to work through with creditors. This is a critical point for municipal bond market investors where long-standing rules set out a hierarchy among creditors, typically with GO bondholders considered senior to all others. “Regardless of how things get restructured today, the fact that the economy continues to shrink and the population continues to shrink is a problem for the credit going forward,†said Craig Brandon, co-director of municipal investments at Eaton Vance in Boston. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2685 | 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 'Illegal' Refugees Receive $3,874 Per Month from the Government? Claim summaries: "This is what 1 illegal refugee gets with the federal assistance program: $3874 per month."
contextual information: As is the case for many Western democracies, the Canadian government's formal efforts to help refugees settle in the country have been the subject of much speculation, criticism, and misinformation in recent years. In the fall of 2017, a viral Facebook post spread even more misinformation about the benefits received by refugees in Canada. On September 1, 2017, Facebook user Mike Marcoux posted what appears to be a photograph of an itemized breakdown of benefits associated with the Resettlement Assistance Program, along with the message: "This is what 1 illegal refugee gets with the federal assistance program: $3,874 per month." We have modified the image to obscure the name of the recipient, which was included in the original photograph. Although this document appears to be authentic, according to the Canadian Council for Refugees, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and advocating for refugees, its representation on Facebook was highly misleading. The document details payments to a family of five (not a single person) who were refugees accepted by Canada (and therefore are not in the country "illegally"), and most of the listed payments are one-time-only resettlement assistance payments and not monthly benefits. A spokesperson for the Council told us the document showed "a start-up breakdown of costs for a newly arrived Government-Assisted Refugee (GAR) family" and that the amounts shown were consistent with benefit rates in the province of British Columbia. Despite the apparent authenticity of the document, Marcoux's post grossly misrepresents its contents. Firstly, contrary to Mike Marcoux's post, there is no such thing as an "illegal" refugee in this context. By definition, beneficiaries of the Canadian government's Resettlement Assistance Program are individuals and families formally recognized by the Canadian government as refugees before they travel to Canada. According to the Canadian Council for Refugees, Government-Assisted Refugees, such as those to whom this document appears to relate, are "referred by the [U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees] to Canada because they have been identified as being in need of resettlement." Secondly, the document does not relate to one refugee, as the Facebook post falsely claims. The document clearly shows that these benefits are for a family of five people. Third, the grand total value of the benefits ($3,874 CAD or $2,748 USD as of January 28, 2016) is not a recurring monthly payment, as the Facebook post falsely claims. The document clearly shows that the majority of benefits listed are one-off "start-up" benefits. The only regular monthly benefits are conveniently labeled "Regular Monthly Benefits," and consist of payments for food, rent, and transportation, which, because of the size of the family, total $1,399 CAD per month ($1,094 USD as of November 15, 2017). These monthly benefits work out to $16,788 CAD ($13,132 USD) a year for a family of five (in addition to "start-up" benefits). Unless there are exceptional circumstances, these Resettlement Assistance Program benefits are only payable to refugees for one year. The amounts of benefits depend on the size of the family that receives them. If this document did relate to a single individual (as the Facebook post claims), the overall monthly payments could be expected to be significantly lower. The one-off start-up benefits, which bring the total in this particular document to $3,874, also include a $375 loan for a security deposit for housing. Being a loan, that amount will have to be repaid to the federal government. Furthermore, depending on when this particular family arrived in Canada, they may be required to pay the Canadian government for the cost of their transportation into the country, which takes the form of loan debt. According to the Canadian Council for Refugees, the average loan debt between 2008 and 2012 was $3,090 CAD. So while the document in the photograph does appear to be authentic, Mike Marcoux's Facebook post constitutes a gross misrepresentation of its actual contents. The same document formed the basis of a similarly outraged post on the right-wing blog "90 Miles from Tyranny" in December 2016. That blog post cited an earlier article by the now-defunct Magafeed website, which is listed in the Fake News Codex as a "clickbait site with misleading, poorly sourced, and outright false stories." It's hardly the first time that Canada's refugee policy has been the subject of false claims. For example, a factual error in a 2004 letter to the editor of the Toronto Star spawned a chain email and online memes falsely claiming that refugees in Canada receive more benefits each month than Canadian pensioners. The rumor persisted for years. Similar false rumors have been spread in the United States, often with the headline "INSANITY IS WHEN ILLEGAL REFUGEES GET $3,874 A MONTH IN FEDERAL ASSISTANCE WHILE SOCIAL SECURITY CHECKS AVERAGE $1,200 A MONTH." | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2686 | 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 Oprah Say, 'When People Treat You Like They Don't Care, Believe Them'? Claim summaries: We looked back several years on social media to find the origins of a quote about a bit of life advice regarding believing people based on their actions.
contextual information: Facebook, Twitter, Google Images, and websites that collect famous quotes are full of posts and memes claiming that TV icon Oprah Winfrey once said, "When people treat you like they don't care, believe them." The question is whether there is evidence that she actually said these words. We looked back several years and found that the quote first appeared to be shared by a handful of Facebook and Twitter users in July and August 2013, at which time Winfrey's name was not attached to it. For example, the oldest posting we could find of the words was a tweet from that period. When we searched Twitter for a timeline of the quote's appearances, it seemed that Winfrey's name first appeared alongside it in August 2014, indicating that the saying may have been misattributed to her. The saying was later tweeted by former professional fighter Gary Goodridge in April 2022, without any mention of Winfrey. To continue our research, we performed a special search on Twitter, looking for tweets that contained the quote and filtering the results to show only messages with more than 250 likes. This search returned 15 results, none of which credited Winfrey with the quote. Several of the tweets attributed the saying to "Anonymous." We also found several Facebook posts on pages that collect inspirational sayings, which credited the quote to "Hina," "Kate," "OmI," "Bella," "ADMIN 2," "Uzi," "ShahID," and several other names we did not recognize. No evidence we found indicated that the quote originally came from any specific noteworthy person. Days after we published this story, we received a tweet from a reader that included a video from 1997. In that video, Winfrey is talking to American author, poet, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou, recounting a valuable lesson she learned from her. Winfrey recalled Angelou saying, "When people show you who they are, believe them," which is similar but slightly different from the quote in the meme. Winfrey recounted the story of Angelou telling her the phrase like this: "When she first told me this story, I was talking about some bad relationship or relationship gone bad because of my own choices. And she was saying to me, 'Why are you blaming the other person? He showed you who he was. He told you who he was.' When you look back on bad relationships, like for myself, sitting in a window waiting for him to show up, not even answering the phone—this was before we had cellphones—not even getting on the phone because I was afraid if it was busy for one second that he would call and I would miss the call. Not taking out the garbage on the weekends because I might be out taking the garbage out the moment he called. Not running the bathwater because he might call while I’m running the bathwater, and I might miss the phone. And waiting and waiting and waiting. When you look at that process of waiting for somebody who has told you they were going to do something and promised to be there for you but did not, they are showing you in that moment exactly who they are. That means that’s somebody who cannot be trusted. So why would you trust that person the next time? So, Maya Angelou said to me, when I was telling her one of these stories about, 'I'm waiting and I couldn't believe it and he didn't call me and I don't know what happened,' she was saying, 'My dear,' in her Maya voice, 'My dear, when people show you who they are, why don't you believe them? Why must you be shown 29 times before you can see who they really are? Why can't you get it the first time?' And so the adjunct of that is, when people show you who they are, believe them the first time. Don't wait for the twenty-ninth time." In sum, Winfrey did once say a phrase somewhat similar to the words in the meme. However, if we were to give credit for the saying to anyone, that credit would go to Angelou. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2687 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Vice President Mike Pence took the rare step of breaking a tie in the U.S. Senate on Thursday, casting the deciding vote to roll back protections for reproductive health funds. Using the Congressional Review Act, which allows lawmakers to repeal recently minted regulations, senators killed a rule intended to keep federal grants flowing to clinics that provide contraception and other services in states that want to block the funding. The rule was enacted in the final weeks of former President Barack Obama’s administration, giving lawmakers the opening to nullify it under the review law. In recent years states such as Texas have kept some healthcare providers from receiving the grants as part of the country’s longstanding fight over abortion. It was the second time on Thursday that Pence used his role as the chamber’s president to end a deadlock. He was called to the capitol earlier to carry the resolution through a procedural vote. Saying the rule usurps states’ rights, Republicans argued local lawmakers should decide how healthcare money is distributed. Their main concern is that federal money is being used to provide abortions, although the grants are specifically barred from funding those procedures. Republicans, including President Donald Trump, generally oppose abortion. “This regulation is an unnecessary restriction on states that know their residents’ own needs best,†said Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Democrats said the resolution was an attack on women’s health, contending the rollback will make it harder for low-income and rural women to obtain screenings for cancer and other diseases, as well as contraception. Most resolutions killing recent Obama-era regulations have sailed through the Republican-controlled Congress. They need to win only simple majorities in both chambers to go to the president for signing. The congressional review law was used only once successfully until this year. The family-planning resolution marked the 13th time it has been deployed effectively since the beginning of February, as well as the first time a resolution has come within a hair’s breadth of failing. “Republicans didn’t listen to us,†said Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the senior Democrat on the health committee. “They didn’t listen to women across the country who made it clear that restricting women’s access to the full range of reproductive care is unacceptable.†The nonprofit Planned Parenthood, which provides abortions and many other health and contraception services, receives some of the federal funding. Noting the recent collapse of the Republican healthcare bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said Thursday’s votes were close because “people are sick and tired of politicians making it even harder for them to access healthcare.†| 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2688 | 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 Joe Biden Own the Largest Mansion in His State? Claim summaries: Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden definitely owns a few expensive pieces of real estate.
contextual information: On Aug. 23, 2019, conservative radio personality Mark Simone posted a message on Twitter asserting that that former U.S. Vice President (and 2020 presidential candidate) Joe Biden owned the largest mansion in his state: posted Since Simone's tweet, near verbatim copies of this message "Joe Biden lives in the biggest mansion in his state and just bought another mansion in DC, Bernie Sanders has 4 hours, Obama just got his 3rd mansion. All of this money was made from lecturing you on income inequality!" have been reposted by a several additional Twitter accounts. This message was also turned into a meme that has been shared hundreds of thousands of times on Facebook: reposted several additional Twitter accounts meme shared While Simone's post mentioned politicians Bernie Sanders and former President Barack Obama, for the purposes of this article we'll be focusing on the real estate rumors concerning Biden. It's unclear which state this meme is referring to by "his state." Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, but he represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate for more than 30 years between 1973 and 2009. As Biden doesn't own any property in Pennsylvania (and therefore couldn't own the largest mansion in that state), we'll assume that this meme references Delaware, where Biden owns two properties. The Washington Post reported in June 2019 that Biden owned two homes in Delaware: his primary residence, a 7,000-square-foot lakeside home in Wilmington, and a 4,800-square-foot vacation house in Rehoboth Beach. While these are both sizable and expensive properties (the beach house was purchased for $2.7 million), neither of them would be considered the "biggest mansion" in the state of Delaware. reported By one measure, the Winterthur Estate could be considered Delaware's largest mansion. The house was originally built in 1839 but has been enlarged considerably over the years. Henry Francis du Pont renovated the building between 1929 and 1931, resulting in a 175-room mansion sitting on 2,500 acres. This estate was turned into a museum in 1951, however, so some may not consider it to be the "largest mansion" in Delaware. Winterthur Estate The Du Pont family built another massive property in Delaware in the early 1900s. While the Nemours Mansion dwarfs the properties owned by Biden at 47,000 sq. ft. (compared to 7,000), this property, too, no longer serves as a single-family residence and therefore may not be an applicable comparison. Nemours Mansion Still, Biden's Delaware homes are not the biggest in the state. We were able to find several articles concerning homes with more square footage than Biden's residence in Wilmington. The image below shows a 17,588-square-foot estate in Wilmington, for instance, according to Homes of the Rich: Homes of the Rich The most expensive home in Delaware, according to Delaware Online, is a $14.9 million, 7,800-square-foot oceanfront home. Redfin.com also lists properties in excess of 7,000-square-feet, including this 9,957-square-foot property in Dewey Beach, and this 12,000-square-foot home in Wilmington. Delaware Online Dewey Beach Wilmington While Biden's Delaware homes are certainly large, they are not the biggest mansions in the state. The Washington Post's June 2019 article about Biden's finances also mentioned that he had started renting a large home in McLean, Virginia, after leaving the White House: The Georgian-style home from the front a brick version of the White House once belonged to Alexander Haig, the former secretary of state. Nestled on a wooded lot in McLean, the nearly 12,000-square-foot residence has five bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, marble fireplaces, a gym and a sauna. While the McLean property is larger than both of Biden's Delaware properties, it is not the biggest mansion in Virginia. For instance, a $62.95 million, 48,900-square-foot residence dubbed The Falls went up for sale in McLean in 2018. for sale Zap, Claudine. "Oceanfront Opulence: $14.9M Shell House Is Delaware's Most Expensive Home."
Realtor.com. 5 February 2019. Gerhardt, Nick. "The Biggest Home in Each State That Will Stun You."
Family Handyman. Retrieved 22 October 2019. Viser, Matt. "Once the Poorest Senator, 'Middle Class Joe Biden Has Reaped Millions in Income Since Leaving the Vice Presidency."
The Washington Post. 25 June 2019. Polus, Sarah. "A New Listing Sets the Record for the Most Expensive Home to Ever Hit the D.C. Area Market."
The Washington Post. 29 May 2018. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2689 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Saudi Arabia s King Salman discussed the most prominent developments in the region in a telephone call from the Turkish president, the Saudi state news agency reported, after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. Embassy in Israel would be moved to Jerusalem. The agency gave no further details on the discussions. Saudi Arabia, home to Islam s holiest sites, and regional Muslim power Turkey have both warned against any attempt to recognize Jerusalem as Israel s capital or move the embassy to city. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2690 | 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: Boeing 797 Claim summaries: Viral image dating from 2006 purports to show a new Boeing "797" blended-wing airliner.
contextual information: Although Boeing may someday introduce a commercial airliner designated with the number 797, and although the company's Phantom Works (advanced research and development) unit may have researched the potential of blended-wing-body (BWB) aircraft design for military applications, Boeing is not currently developing a blended-wing aircraft for commercial use, nor does the image displayed below represent any aircraft (or prototype thereof) designed or produced by that company: Phantom Works researched BWB Boeing to take on Airbus with (1000 seat) giant 797 Blended Wing plane Boeing is preparing a 1000 passenger jet that could reshape the Air travel industry for the next 100 years. The radical Blended Wing design has been developed by Boeing in cooperation with the NASA Langley Research Centre.The mammoth plane will have a wing span of 265 feet compared to the 747s 211 feet,and is designed to fit within the newly created terminals used for the 555 seat Airbus A380, which is 262 feet wide.The new 797 is in direct response to the Airbus A380 which has racked up 159 orders, but has not yet flown any passengers. Boeing decide to kill its 747X stretched super jumbo in 2003 after little interest was shown by airline companies, but has continued to develop the ultimate Airbus crusher 797 for years at its Phantom Works research facility in Long Beach, Calif. The Airbus A380 has been in the works since 1999 and has accumulated $13 billion in development costs, which gives Boeing a huge advantage now that Airbus has committed to the older style tubular aircraft for decades to come. There are several big advantages to the blended wing design, the most important being the lift to drag ratio which is expected to increase by an amazing 50%, with overall weight reduced by 25%, making it an estimated 33% more efficient than the A380, and making Airbuss $13 billion dollar investment look pretty shaky. High body rigidity is another key factor in blended wing aircraft, It reduces turbulence and creates less stress on the air frame which adds to efficiency, giving the 797 a tremendous 8800 nautical mile range with its 1000 passengers flying comfortably at mach .88 or 654 mph (+-1046km/h) cruising speed another advantage over the Airbus tube-and-wing designed A380s 570 mph (912 km/h)The exact date for introduction is unclear, yet the battle lines are clearly drawn in the high-stakes war for civilian air supremacy. This image is a conceptual picture from a Popular Science article about the future of aviation (one which proved so popular that it was made available for purchase in poster form) and has been circulated since at least early 1996 in fictitious articles proclaiming it to be Boeing's response to competition from the Airbus A380 in the commercial airliner business. articles A Boeing company blog produced by Randy Baseler, former vice president of marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, tackled this subject back in November 2006: tackled From Boulder, Colorado, Walter brings up a topic we frequently get questioned about: the "blended wing" concept. Earlier this year an image of a blended wing "797" made the rounds of the Internet, and got speculation swirling that Boeing has this in the works. Is there any truth to the emails showing a blended wing 1,000-passenger concept that is dubbed a Boeing 797? Makes sense that the airline industry would head this direction some day, but it just sounds too good to be true! Yes, too good to be true, indeed, Walter. Someone was having a bit of fun with PhotoShop perhaps. Boeing is not planning to build a 1,000 passenger commercial airplane dubbed the "797," based on the blended wing body (BWB) concept or any other futuristic concept. It's certainly not in our commercial market forecast, which goes out for 20 years. We think the commercial airplane market favors point-to-point routes, and we're developing the 787 as the perfect match to help meet that demand. Glen, from Warrington, Pennsylvania brings up the same subject: Is there a blended wing in the works? Are there floor plans of it? No, not for a commercial airplane. But having said that, I should point out that Boeing Phantom Works, the company's advanced research and development group, tells me it is conducting research on the BWB concept with NASA and the U.S. Air Force. They're working to better understand what they describe as the BWB's "fundamental edge-of-the-envelope flight dynamics" and structural characteristics. The Air Force is interested in the BWB concept for its potential as a flexible, long-range, high-capacity military aircraft. As part of the research, Phantom Works has built a scale model for wind-tunnel testing of the concept's low-speed flying characteristics. There also are plans to flight-test the scale model next year. In 2017, Boeing released a teaser image at the Paris Air Show hyping a medium-range, "middle-market airplane" under development that industry observers unofficially christened "Boeing 797," but that was neither the real name of the aircraft nor did the visualization include a blended-wing design. image Baseler, Randy. "Air Mail."
Randy's Journal. 1 November 2006. Ostrower, Jon. "World Gets First Peek at Boeing '797.'"
CNN Money. 20 June 2017. Boeing. "Boeing to Begin Ground Testing of X-48B Blended Wing Body Concept."
27 October 2006. NewTechSpy. "Boeing to Take on Airbus with (1,000 Seat) Giant 797 Blended Wing Plane."
24 April 2006. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2691 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, in a last-ditch bid to slow front-runner Donald Trump’s momentum, named former business executive Carly Fiorina on Wednesday as his vice presidential running mate should he win the nomination. After crushing losses to Trump in five nominating contests in the Northeast on Tuesday, Cruz praised Fiorina, a former presidential rival, as a principled fighter for conservative values who would be a valuable ally on the campaign trail. “Carly is a vice presidential nominee who I think is superbly skilled, superbly gifted at helping unite this party,†the U.S. senator from Texas told a rally in Indianapolis, the capital of Indiana. The Midwestern state is the next battleground for selecting the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates for the Nov. 8 presidential election and is shaping up to be Cruz’s best | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2692 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: “Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.” — Georgia Guidestones By Nathanial Mauka
This is one of the first of ten commandments blazoned across the Georgia Guidestones, an occult monument for which no person or organization has taken credit. Though the monument was commissioned by someone named R.C. Christian more than two decades ago, the true identity of the person who built this specter is still unidentified, and the message is but one of the many examples of a cabalistic desire to cull the population.
There are many more ‘hidden’ in plain sight.
The Georgie Guidestones state :
1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
2. Guide reproduction wisely – improving fitness and diversity.
3. Unite humanity with a living new language.
4. Rule passion – faith – tradition – and all things with tempered reason.
5. Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.
6. Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.
7. Avoid petty laws and useless officials.
8. Balance personal rights with social duties.
9. Prize truth – beauty – love – seeking harmony with the infinite.
10.Be not a cancer on the earth – Leave room for nature – Leave room for nature.
Though some of these commandments seem harmless enough, the very first describes the supreme sentiment of the mysterious group of masons who erected the stones. If you want further narrative for what they bode, you don’t have to look far. As Stanford University Professor, Paul Ehrlich , the author of The Population Bomb states ,
“The first task is population control at home. How do we go about it? Many of my colleagues feel that some sort of compulsory birth regulation would be necessary to achieve such control. One plan often mentioned involves the addition of temporary sterilants to water supplies or staple food. Doses of the antidote would be carefully rationed by the government to produce the desired population size.”
We can see clearly that the ‘elite’ class, intent on ridding the planet of its burdensome load, has already poisoned the water of 42 out of 50 states with lead . Pesticides and fertilizers poison the remaining states’ water along with the original 42 states. Male infertility is rising due to these contaminants, and premature births along with miscarriage are more common due to others. If the water doesn’t kill you, it will simply lobotomize you, or at least start the process. Harvard medical has pronounced that fluoridated water lowered IQ scores in children who drank it, and aluminum along with fluoride is a known neurotoxin, also contributing to the rising numbers of Alzheimer’s, Parkinsons, and similar neurodegenerative diseases.
Should poisoning the water be insufficient to keep the population down, we can look to the advice of David Brower, once Executive Director of the Sierra Club and founder of the Friends of the Earth. He suggests that,
“Childbearing [should be]a punishable crime against society, unless the parents hold a government license … All potential parents [should be]required to use contraceptive chemicals, the government issuing antidotes to citizens chosen for childbearing.”
Forced and coerced sterilization at the hands of the Eugenics Board and other bodies is nothing new. Some investigators recently found that 148 female inmates in two California prisons were sterilized between 2006 to 2010 — and there may be 100 more incidents dating back to the late 1990s. One reporter wrote ,
“ The women were signed up for the surgery while they were pregnant and housed at either the California Institution for Women in Corona or Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, which is now a men’s prison.
Former inmates and prisoner advocates maintain that prison medical staff coerced the women, targeting those deemed likely to return to prison in the future.
Crystal Nguyen, a former Valley State Prison inmate who worked in the prison’s infirmary during 2007, said she often overheard medical staff asking inmates who had served multiple prison terms to agree to be sterilized.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s not right,’” Nguyen, 28, said. “ Do they think they’re animals, and they don’t want them to breed anymore? ”
Today vaccines are used in a similar manner to help cull the population against their informed consent. Eugenicist, Bill Gates tried to ‘ field test ’ his HPV vaccine in India on indigenous young girls, but the Indian government eventually brought a stop to this. The Rockefeller family also quietly funds vaccines that alter a woman’s hormones to make her less likely to become pregnant or to maintain a pregnancy. A book titled Disciplining Reproduction by Adele E. Clark explains what the elites were planning as early as the 1930s.
“ Other lines of current immunological contraceptive research continue to seek what, during the 1930s, Max Mason of the Rockefeller Foundation called “anti-hormones”: vaccines to block hormones needed for very early pregnancy and a vaccine to block the hormone needed for the surface of the egg to function properly .”
Barack Obama’s top science advisor , John P. Holdren has also said :
“ A program of sterilizing women after their second or third child, despite the relatively greater difficulty of the operation than vasectomy, might be easier to implement than trying to sterilize men .
The development of a long-term sterilizing capsule that could be implanted under the skin and removed when pregnancy is desired opens additional possibilities for coercive fertility control. The capsule could be implanted at puberty and might be removable, with official permission, for a limited number of births.”
A simple look at the peer-reviewed Plos One site offers over 7,500 additional scientific articles that connect vaccines to sterilization.
Should vaccines or forced implants be insufficient to reduce the number of ‘useless eaters’ in the world, as Henry Kissinger has implied, then there is also the revealing text of Dr. John Colemann, who outlines the aims of a Committee of 300, otherwise known as the original hierarchical organization to plan a New World Order . Among their plans are genocide, war, the installation of dictators, the legalization of drug use, and the normalizing of pornography :
“To bring about depopulation of large cities according to the trial run carried out by the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia. It is interesting to note that Pol Pot’s genocidal plans were drawn up in the US by one of the Club of Rome’s research foundations, and overseen by Thomas Enders, a high-ranking State Department official. It is also interesting that the committee is currently seeking to reinstate the Pol Pot butchers in Cambodia.
“….To cause by means of limited wars in the advanced countries, by means of starvation and diseases in the Third World countries, the death of three billion people by the year 2050, people they call ‘useless eaters.’ The Committee of 300 (Illuminati) commissioned Cyrus Vance to write a paper on this subject of how to bring about such genocide. The paper was produced under the title “Global 2000 Report” and was accepted and approved for action by former President James Earl Carter, and Edwin Muskie, then Secretary of State, for and on behalf of the US Government. Under the terms of the Global 2000 Report, the population of the US is to be reduced by 100 million by the year of 2050.
“……To encourage, and eventually legalize the use of drugs and make pornography an ‘art-form,’ which will be widely accepted and, eventually, become quite commonplace.”
Look no further than Syria , Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, and a myriad other examples of false flag terrorism . Look no further than the top twenty pharmaceutical companies (all U.S., Illuminati based ) that control almost 99 percent of the world’s massive, ‘legalized’ drug trade. See clearly, the genocide happening around the globe , and the child sex trafficking and pornography which is silently abided in Hollywood, Washington, and in every government circle run by cabal-funded individuals.
Look at the money usurped for the task of culling the masses, as former U.S. Secretary of State and presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton has stated :
“This year, the United States renewed funding of reproductive healthcare through the United Nations Population Fund, and more funding is on the way. The U.S. Congress recently appropriated more than $648 million in foreign assistance to family planning and reproductive health programs worldwide . That’s the largest allocation in more than a decade – since we last had a Democratic president, I might add.”
Furthermore, weather modification, or geoengineering , also known as chemtrails , additionally help the slow kill , or fast degeneration of the human species. NASA has admitted to using these weather altering programs, so there is no sense denying their presence. Aside from spraying lithium, strontium , barium, nano aluminum-coated fiberglass [known as CHAFF], radioactive thorium, cadmium, chromium, nickel, desiccated blood, mold spores, yellow fungus, and more, these chemical concoctions act as a global pandemic to further population control.
Without mention of contaminated food, DARPA contrived control devices, and further attempts to make slaves of the remaining sheeple who live through these demonic efforts, know this; you are swimming in the depopulation agenda. The effects are all around you, and it is high time to put up some kind of resistance.
Nathaniel Mauka is a researcher of the dark side of government and exopolitics, and a staff writer for Waking Times .
This article ( Hidden in Plain Sight – The Global Depopulation Agenda ) was originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Nathaniel Mauka and WakingTimes.com . It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution and author bio. | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2693 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: It was early morning last Thursday when Pauline Hanson s rented battler bus started hissing so loudly the election campaign was halted at a petrol station on a stretch of desolate highway near a remote edge of Australia. Unable to get to the rural Queensland state voters she is relying on to deliver her anti-immigration One Nation party its best result in two decades, her supporters came to her. Stranded near the gemstone-mine town of Marlborough, with a population of just a few hundred, Hanson was approached by truckers and travelers, most seeking to get a picture taken with her. I was actually stopping to get something to eat, and as I was looking across I went, Oh there s the battler bus, I ll have to go say hello to Pauline, said truck driver Shane Williams, who came over to look at the engine. I think immigration is a big thing for everybody. I think it s going to be a good thing if Pauline gets some say in parliament keep the bastards honest. Hanson is not a candidate in the Queensland state election on Nov. 25, having last year re-entered the federal parliament on a wave of popular support after a near two-decade absence. But her face is on almost every One Nation party billboard and flyer in Queensland s coal-rich and sugar cane-growing heartland, turning the vote into a test of whether Hanson s resurgence continues, or is pushed back to the fringes. To Australia s most prominent right-wing nationalist it s not about joining a global populist push; it s that the rest of the world is finally catching up. I was espousing a lot of this 20 years ago, Hanson told Reuters in the sunny tropical town of Townsville, a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef marine park. U.S. President Donald Trump s election victory a year ago, however, is resonating across the world, she added. This is definitely the start. People are starting to wake up. You see people had no one else really to vote for. With its blown turbo hose fixed, Hanson s bus rolled down the road, three hours behind schedule, stopping at several towns before arriving at a town hall-style event that evening more than 400 kilometers (249 miles) away. Hanson s town halls are a mix of stump speech and off-the-cuff observations, usually involving battler stories she s heard from locals on the campaign trail: Claims that foreigners are buying up agricultural land and immigrants are not paying taxes; complaints about crippling energy prices and government handouts to Aboriginals; support for a ban on Muslim migrants. Hanson s rhetoric can be blunt, and draws almost instant condemnation in the cities, where she s often viewed as extreme. But in her rural heartland, where one town can be in drought while another gets hit by cyclonic floods, she is the mainstream. She s the only one trying to save our country really, said 20-year-old Jack Roach in Proserpine, a sugar-cane town of 3,500 in Queensland. Polls suggest One Nation might take around 20 percent of the popular vote in Queensland, Australia s third-most populous state, and situated in the northeast. That would mark its biggest electoral success since the 1990s. It s unclear, however, whether that will translate into more than a handful of seats among the 93 parliamentary seats at stake in the election. On the hustings, support appears very strong in towns beyond the black stump | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2694 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: 21st Century Wire says This is why nobody takes the mainstream media seriously.Foreign Policy has released a new article hyping up the dangers of mass surveillance, specifically talking about the relatively unknown National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. It talks of the potential for drones to be able to track the movements of every person in a city, and 90% of the article is solely concerned with generating fear.Then, in literally the final two paragraphs the author links the fear and problems, which they have just spent the previous twelve paragraphs hyping up, saying that Trump could use these systems against, innocent American citizens . This is not journalism.Stuart J. Hooper examines the propaganda piece in the following video, and also discusses which candidate Foreign Policy supported during the election. Can you guess who it was? READ MORE TRUMP NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Trump FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2695 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Hollywood rushed to social media Tuesday to bash Betsy DeVos and Republican lawmakers after the U. S. Senate voted to confirm her nomination as education secretary. [Last November, President Donald Trump picked DeVos to head the Department of Education. The businesswoman has survived a concerted effort to stop her nomination, with Vice President Mike Pence casting a historic deciding vote cementing her confirmation. Among the celebrities denouncing DeVos was Avengers director Joss Whedon, who called her successful confirmation a sign that Congressional Republicans have “declared war on our children. †Below is a summary of some of the reaction to DeVos from Hollywood’s leftwing stars. Rejecting DeVos was the GOP’s easiest way to say â€Mr Prez, let’s take this slow, we got 4 yrsâ€. Instead they declared war on our children. — Joss Whedon (@joss) February 7, 2017, Elementary math under Betsy DevosQ: Ned and Sheryl each have 4 apples. Who has more apples? A: Whomever Mike Pence decides has more apples. — Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) February 7, 2017, And after that, Secretary Negan. https: . — Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) February 7, 2017, FOR GODS SAKE keep Betsy DeVos away from public schools https: . via @HuffPostPol, — ROSIE (@Rosie) February 7, 2017, The Senate Republicans have just sent a big FU to the school children of America. Even the worst countries don’t shit on their own kids. — Michael Moore (@MMFlint) February 7, 2017, Betsy DeVos confirmed. What is also confirmed is that there is not one single man of courage in the Republican Congress. — Seth MacFarlane (@SethMacFarlane) February 7, 2017, By the way, DeVos is 100% courtesy of Mike Pence. You think Trump gives a shit about charter schools? — Andy Richter (@AndyRichter) February 7, 2017, For $200, 000, 000 you can have whatever job you want. — Zach Braff (@zachbraff) February 7, 2017, By supporting the magnificently incompetent Devos tthe GOP has earned its place as the most cowardly party in US history. We won’t forget! — Danny Zuker (@DannyZuker) February 7, 2017, The U. S. Senate Republicans who just put through the most unqualified Education Secretary in our history have just betrayed our kids. F#*k U https: . — Josh Gad (@joshgad) February 7, 2017, The swamp is being drained and filled with Chuck E. Cheese sea of plastic balls. — josh groban (@joshgroban) February 7, 2017, Betsy Devos got confirmed. Everyone who voted for her should be ashamed. Party before country. They’re using children’s education as pawns. — Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) February 7, 2017, it’s heinous. the school system was already so broken — this is murdering it. @BetsyDeVos you cheated like @realDonaldTrump https: . — ilana glazer (@ilazer) February 7, 2017, The DeVos pledge: If your senator voted YES, you pledge to vote AGAINST them in the next election and to donate to their opponent. Please RT, — George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) February 7, 2017, I wouldn’t trust Betsy Devos with my dry cleaning. This is a very sad day. The @GOP are such money grubbing cowards. Shameful. — billy eichner (@billyeichner) February 7, 2017, Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2696 | 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: During the tenure of a Republican president with conservative views, the country was experiencing a monthly loss of 750,000 jobs.
contextual information: Its been nearlyeight years since George W. Bush was president, but Democrats still plan to run against him. Certainly, thats what Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz promised on the eve of the first Democratic presidential debate. There are so many people who are focused on making sure we can look at the fact that, when we had a conservative Republican president, we were losing 750,000 jobs a month, Wasserman Schultz said on CNNsState of the UnionOct. 11, 2015. Weve come through that -- 67 straight months of job growth in the private sector. People are no longer losing their homes. Thats the contrast well talk about. The DNC press office told us that Wasserman Schultz was thinking of President George W. Bush, and that the time period she had in mind were the last few months of his presidency, November through January. President Barack Obama took office on Jan. 20, 2009, so its reasonable to count that month as part of the Bush legacy. We pulled up theBureau of Labor Statisticsnumbers and Wasserman Schultz is on solid ground. Month Jobs (000s) Loss Nov 135,469 -765 Dec 134,773 -696 Jan 133,977 -796 Average -752 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics Benchmark comparison The number is particularly high because Wasserman Schultz chose the three worst months of the Bush presidency. If she had chosen a longer period, say the last full year, the losses would have averaged about 365,000 per month. The losses would shrink even more if you look at longer period of time. Wasserman Schultz didnt mention that the economy continued to shed jobs at or above the 700,000 mark for the first two months of Obamas presidency before the trend began to ease. This chart from theBureau of Labor Statisticsgives a more complete jobs picture. The Great Recession saw employment declines of historic proportions.Government analystscompared the relative losses from 2007 to 2009 to past downturns. The bottom purple line on their chart tracks jobs in the Great Recession which officially began December 2007. Of course, Wasserman Schultzs statement implies that conservative Republican policies alone brought about a massive loss of jobs and the reality is more complicated. Some analysts believe that a portion of the blame goes back to policies that enjoyed Democratic support, including changes in financial regulation passed during the Clinton administration. But Wasserman Schultz did not make that claim specifically. Our ruling Wasserman Schultz said that under a conservative Republican president the country was losing 750,000 jobs a month. Wasserman Schultz was speaking of President George W. Bush and at the end of his term, the monthly job losses averaged about 750,000 jobs. The average would of course be less if she had included Bushs final 12 months -- or a period longer than that. There is an element of cherry-picking here, but the overall point holds up. We rate the claim Mostly True. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2697 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Corey Lewandowski is still beating the Trump drum on CNN, including defending Trump s campaign shakeup this late in the game. There s just one tiny problem he s doing so by comparing this shakeup to John Kerry s shakeup in 2004 and we all remember how that election turned out.The comments came just after now-former campaign chair Paul Manafort resigned from the campaign, which just strengthened all the talk that Trump is past the point of no return and cannot win this election no matter what he does. Lewandowski tried to counter that by saying: This campaign is not the first campaign to make staff changes. If you look at John Kerry s campaign, when he was running, he was making changes as late as Labor Day, and don t forget we re still in August No, I understand, but the change in 2004 that John Kerry made helped him actually do significantly better than what he was doing. So? Kerry still lost. There is no getting around that fact. Kerry lost by about 3 million votes and 35 electoral votes. Yes, it was a close election, but really? He still lost and we still got four more years of George W. Bush. It s hard to imagine that anybody of Lewandowski s age and background doesn t see that.This is the kind of ignorance that s pervading Trump s campaign. Things have gotten so pathetically bad that there are people saying the polls don t matter because his social media followings are huge and attendance at his rallies is huge. Tens of millions don t attend his rallies, and it should be patently obvious that his social media following is very heavily biased.Lewandowski is a perfect Trump proxy with his head full of cotton. The main difference between him and those currently on Trump s staff is that the cotton filling their heads is a little more coarse. Watch him completely screw up history below:Featured image via Drew Angerer/Getty Images | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD2698 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Looking to lay the groundwork for her presidency if she wins the White House in November, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton named several veterans of President Barack Obama’s administration for her transition team on Tuesday. Ken Salazar, a former interior secretary and U.S. Senator from Colorado, will lead a team of four co-chairs including one-time national security adviser Tom Donilon and Neera Tanden, a former Obama aide who now leads the progressive Center for American Progress think-tank, the Clinton campaign said. The other co-chairs are former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Maggie Williams, director of Harvard’s Institute of Politics, the campaign said in a statement. The announcement came as Clinton has gained momentum in the opinion polls against Republican rival Donald Trump, whose campaign has struggled after he made a string of controversial remarks since formally winning his party’s nomination last month. Clinton leads Trump in the Nov. 8 presidential election by more than 5 percentage points in a Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll released on Friday. The current RealClearPolitics average of polls shows her 6.7 points ahead. Clinton has been a former secretary of state, U.S. senator and first lady and her transition team includes old names from her long tenure in Washington, some of whom have also served Obama. Tanden, who played a key role in shaping Obama’s health care overhaul, is a longtime friend and adviser to Clinton who worked on her Senate campaign. Williams was the 1992 transition director for Clinton when she became first lady, and then her chief of staff in the White House when Bill Clinton was president. Two policy advisers on the campaign, Ed Meier and Ann O’Leary, will also move full time to the transition team. Heather Boushey, the executive director of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, will be the chief economist, the campaign said in a statement. Boushey has advised the campaign on economic policy. Transition teams oversee personnel appointments and help develop an administrative framework during the period between the November election and the inauguration in January, to make it easier for a new president to begin implementing policy agendas. Trump, a New York businessman who has never held elected office, picked New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to head his own transition team in May. More establishment Republicans, alarmed by Trump’s inability or unwillingness to rein in his provocative remarks, have distanced themselves from the candidate in recent weeks. The Wall Street Journal, a leading conservative voice, said in an editorial on Monday that he should fix his campaign in the next three weeks or hand over to his running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence. Trump drew heavy criticism after engaging in a prolonged spat with the parents of a Muslim U.S. Army captain killed in Iraq. Last week, he suggested gun rights activists could take action against Clinton, a statement critics found alarming but which he later said was aimed at rallying votes against her. Trump also called Obama and Clinton the “co-founders†of Islamic State, a false claim he later said was sarcastic but did not wholly abandon. Despite Clinton’s lead in polls, Obama warned Democrats against over confidence, telling a fundraising gathering on Monday in Massachusetts, “If we are not running scared until the day after the election, we are going to be making a grave mistake.†| 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD2699 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Nicolas J S Davies Consortium NewsSeventy-seven million people in North and South Korea find themselves directly in the line of fire from the threat of a Second Korean War. The rest of the world is recoiling in horror from the scale of civilian casualties such a war would cause and the unthinkable prospect that either side might actually use nuclear weapons.Since the first Korean War killed at least 20 percent of North Korea s population and left the country in ruins, the U.S. has repeatedly failed to follow through on diplomacy to establish a lasting peace in Korea and has instead kept reverting to illegal and terrifying threats of war. Most significantly, the U.S. has waged a relentless propaganda campaign to discount North Korea s legitimate defense concerns as it confronts the threat of a U.S. war machine that has only grown more dangerous since the last time it destroyed North Korea.The North has lived under this threat for 65 years and has watched Iraq and Libya destroyed after they gave up their nuclear weapons programs. When North Korea discovered a U.S. plan for a Second Korean War on South Korea s military computer network in September 2016, its leaders quite rationally concluded that a viable nuclear deterrent is the only way to guarantee their country s safety.What does it say about the role the U.S. is playing in the world that the only way North Korea s leaders believe they can keep their own people safe is to develop weapons that could kill millions of Americans?The Changing Face of WarThe Second World War was the deadliest war ever fought, with at least 75 million people killed, about five times as many as in the First World War. When the slaughter ended in 1945, world leaders signed the United Nations Charter to try to ensure that that scale of mass killing and destruction would never happen again. The U.N. Charter is still in force, and it explicitly prohibits the threat or use of military force by any nation.It was not just the scale of the slaughter that shocked the world s leaders into that brief moment of sanity in 1945. It was also the identities of the dead. Two-thirds of the people killed in the Second World War were civilians, a drastic change from the First World War, only a few decades earlier, when an estimated 86 percent of the people killed were uniformed combatants. The use of nuclear weapons by the United States raised the specter that future wars could kill an exponentially greater numbers of civilians, or even end human civilization altogether.War had become total war, no longer fought only on battlefields between soldiers, but between entire societies with ordinary people, their homes and their lives now on the front line. In the Second World War: Fleets of warplanes deliberately bombed cities to dehouse civilian populations, as British officials described their own bombing of Germany. As I write this, George Orwell wrote from London in 1941, Highly civilized human beings are flying overhead, trying to kill me. Submarines sank hundreds of merchant ships in an effort to starve their enemies into submission. General Carter Clarke, who was in charge of interpreting Japanese intelligence for President Truman, said in a 1959 interview that Japan surrendered because it faced mass starvation due to the sinking of its merchant shipping, not because of the gratuitous U.S. nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was estimated that 7 million more civilians would die of starvation if Japan fought on until 1946. Genocidal mass extermination campaigns killed civilians based only on their political affiliation or ethnicity. Under cross-examination by a young American prosecutor, Benjamin Ferencz, SS Gruppenfuhrer Dr. Otto Ohlendorf explained patiently to a courtroom in Nuremberg why he found it necessary for the preemptive defense of Germany to order the killing of hundreds of thousands of civilians. He explained that even children had to be killed to prevent them too becoming enemies of Germany when they grew up and found out what happened to their parents.Despite the U.N. Charter and international efforts to prevent war, people in countries afflicted by war today still face the kind of total war that horrified world leaders in 1945. The main victims of total war in our modern world have been civilians in countries far removed from the safe havens of power and privilege where their fates are debated and decided: Yugoslavia; Afghanistan; Iraq; Somalia; Pakistan; Yemen; Libya; Syria; Ukraine. There has been no legal or political accountability for the mass destruction of their cities, their homes or their lives. Total war has not been prevented, or even punished, just externalized.But thanks to billions of dollars invested in military propaganda and public relations and the corrupt nature of for-profit media systems, citizens of the countries responsible for the killing of millions of their fellow human beings live in near-total ignorance of the mass killing carried out in their name in these red zones around the world.People in ever-spreading war zones are living under the very conditions of total war that the world recoiled from at the end of the Second World War. Like Orwell in London in 1941, they hear highly civilized human beings flying overhead trying to kill them, human beings who know nothing about them beyond the name of the city where they live and its strategic value in wars that offer them, the victims, nothing but death or destitution.In the case of drones, the human beings trying to kill them from the other side of the world are so highly civilized that they can hop into cars and drive home to have dinner with their families at the end of their shifts, while another team member efficiently takes over the joy-stick and carries on killing.People in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Libya have been subjected to hunger and starvation under sieges and naval blockades that are as brutally effective as German and American submarines were in World War Two. Millions of people in Yemen face an imminent danger of starvation under the U.S.-backed naval blockade and Saudi and Emirati bombing of Yemeni ports.In retaliation for one missile fired at Riyadh, the Saudi capital, last week, the U.S.-backed coalition completely closed all Yemen s ports, tightening the blockade on millions of starving people. The requirements of necessity and proportionality, which have been basic principles of customary international law since the Nineteenth Century, lie buried in the graveyards of Iraq and Afghanistan.Continue this article at Consortium News READ MORE WAR ON TERROR NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire War on Terror FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @ 21WIRE.TV | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.