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FMD300 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: GoldSwitzerland October 27, 2016
There are a lot of people who are concerned about the performance of gold and the fact that the price after four years of correction is still so far from the high. The mistake that most people make is to measure gold in US dollars. We are seeing currently very temporary dollar strength. But the US$ is a weak currency in a mismanaged economy. Just look at the dollar in Swiss Francs. Since 1970 the dollar has lost 77% against the Swissy. That can hardly be called dollar strength.
The dollar is a very weak currency
If we measure the dollar in real money which is gold, of course, the not so mighty dollar has lost 80% in this century.
So to talk about a strong dollar is totally ridiculous. The dollar is in a long-term downtrend which will continue for many years until it reaches zero. The temporary dollar strength gives the appearance that gold is currently weak. But we must remember that gold should be measured in your home currency and not only in dollars. It is pure laziness that makes non-Americans quote gold in dollars. International media don’t make it easier since they always show the dollar price.
The US population is less than 5% of world population and most of the remaining 6.7 billion people are not linked to the dollar. If we instead use GDP as a measure, the US represents around 25% of global GDP but that still leaves 3/4 of global GDP which is not dollar based. My point is that gold in dollars is only relevant to a minority of the world and the rest of us should measure gold in our home currency.
Gold in pounds up 47% in 2016
Let us look at gold in the UK pounds for example. Any Brit who has kept his money in gold since December 2015 had gained a staggering 47% in the last ten months. Had he instead kept his money in the UK stock market, he would have made just 13% which is 1/4 of the gain he could have made in gold.
The chart of gold in pounds below is an excellent example of the wealth preservation properties of gold. When a currency weakens, most investors don’t realize how much real value this is costing them. As opposed to most governments, gold tells the truth and the truth is that for UK citizens, their currency has lost a huge 1/3 of its purchasing power in the last 10 months measured in gold.
But it is not just gold’s performance in pounds this year which is significant. Since 1999, gold in pounds is up 6.6x. That means that the pound has lost 85% of its purchasing power when measured in gold. During the same period, the FTSE100 index has gone nowhere since it is today at the same level as it was in 1999.
UK stock market investors are deluding themselves when they believe they have preserved capital with a market that has gone sideways for 17 years when in real money – gold – they could have made almost seven times their investment. Also, since most investors around the world only look at the gold price in dollars, they believe that gold is far from the 2011 highs. But looking at the chart above, gold in pounds, for example, is only 8% from the September 2011 peak.
Few UK investors, and that includes institutional investors, realize that if they had just kept their funds in real money – gold – for the last 17 years, they would have outperformed all other asset classes. That trend will continue for many years as all the bubble assets such as stocks, bonds and property will lose another 50-90% against gold. | 0 | [
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FMD301 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Thu, 27 Oct 2016 14:52 UTC From the University of Sheffield and "The Day After Tomorrow" department comes this climate disaster movie plot wherein global warming, er, climate change, cause the polar jet stream to go wacky and freeze us extra good in winter. Really. No mention of what caused similar weather during the " Little Ice Age " between roughly AD 1300 and 1850 , except that they are sure they've ruled out "natural variation" now. The movie plot from IMDB : As Paleoclimatologist named Jack Hall is in Antartica, he discovers that a huge ice sheet has sheared off. But what he does not know is that this event will trigger a massive climate shift that will affect the world population. Meanwhile, his son Sam is with friends in New York to attend an event. There they discover that it has been raining non-stop for the past 3 days, and after a series of weather-related disasters begin to occur over the world, everybody realizes the world is entering a new Ice Age and the world population begins trying to evacuate to the warmer climates of the south. Jack makes a daring attempt to rescue his son and his friends who are stuck in New York and who have managed to survive not only a massive wave but also freezing cold temperatures that could possibly kill them. The paper press release via Eurekalert, they even have a scientist named "Hall": Extreme cold winters fueled by jet stream and climate change: Scientists agree for first time that climate change may be intensifying the effects of the jet stream , causing extreme cold weather in the UK and US Study could improve long-term forecasting of winter weather in most populous parts of the world More accurate forecasting could help communities, businesses and economies prepare for severe weather and make life and cost-saving decisions Scientists have agreed for the first time that recent severe cold winter weather in the UK and US may have been influenced by climate change in the Arctic, according to a new study. The research, carried out by an international team of scientists including the University of Sheffield, has found that warming in the Arctic may be intensifying the effects of the jet stream's position, which in the winter can cause extreme cold weather , such as the winter of 2014/15 which saw record snowfall levels in New York. Scientists previously had two schools of thought. One group believe that natural variability in the jet stream's position has caused the recent severe cold winter weather seen in places such as the Eastern United States and the UK. The other camp includes scientists who are finding possible connections between the warming of the Arctic - such as melting sea ice, warming air temperatures, and rising sea surface temperatures - and the emerging pattern of severe cold winter weather. Now, Professor Edward Hanna and Dr Richard Hall from the University's Department of Geography, together with Professor. James E. Overland from the US Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), have brought together a diverse group of researchers from both sides of the debate. The researchers have found that the recent pattern of cold winters is primarily caused by natural changes to the jet stream's position ; however, the warming of the Arctic appears to be exerting an influence on cold spells, but the location of these can vary from year to year. Previous studies have shown that when the jet stream is wavy there are more episodes of severe cold weather plunging south from the Arctic into the mid-latitudes, which persist for weeks at a time. But when the jet stream is flowing strongly from west to east and not very wavy, we tend to see more normal winter weather in countries within the mid-latitudes. "We've always had years with wavy and not so wavy jet stream winds, but in the last one to two decades the warming Arctic could well have been amplifying the effects of the wavy patterns," Professor Hanna said. He added: "This may have contributed to some recent extreme cold winter spells along the eastern seaboard of the United States, in eastern Asia, and at times over the UK (e.g. 2009/10 and 2010/11). "Improving our ability to predict how climate change is affecting the jet stream will help to improve our long-term prediction of winter weather in some of the most highly populated regions of the world. "This would be hugely beneficial for communities, businesses, and entire economies in the northern hemisphere. The public could better prepare for severe winter weather and have access to extra crucial information that could help make live-saving and cost-saving decisions." The study, Nonlinear response of mid-latitude weather to the changing Arctic, is published today (26 October 2016) in the journal Nature Climate Change on 26 October 2016. The research was partly sponsored by the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) and the Climate and Cryosphere (CliC) project of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). It further cements the University's position at the forefront of climate change research and gives geography students at Sheffield access to the latest innovations in environmental science. Comment: In other words, "natural variations mostly account for the cold weather, but global warming causes cold weather"? Global warming stopped years ago, and is itself a natural variation over the long term. Humanity better face it: the global climate is self-regulating, and ice ages happen regularly. The Gulf Stream would probably be a better phenomenon to analyze in this regard: Fire and Ice: The Day After Tomorrow . | 0 | [
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FMD302 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Battles for Senate Lead to ‘Precipitous Rise’ in Cloaked Money Spending Deirdre Fulton / Common Dreams Hey, big spender: The battle for one of Pennsylvania’s seats in the Senate pits Republican incumbent Pat Toomey (pictured) against Democratic opponent Katie McGinty in a race edging close to the record for total spending on a campaign for Congress. (Gage Skidmore / Flickr / CC-BY-SA)
“We have truly crossed a new Rubicon,” one campaign finance expert says in response to new data showing record levels of outside spending pouring into high-stakes Senate races this election cycle.
According to an analysis released Tuesday by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, outside groups—free from contribution limits and sometimes able to conceal their donors from the public—are outspending both political parties and candidates “in the battle for control of the U.S. Senate.”
In fact, of the $557 million spent so far in 10 key Senate contests, the Brennan Center says such groups are responsible for $282 million, or 51 percent. Further, in each of the four most expensive contests—Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Pennsylvania—candidates account for 37 percent or less of total spending.
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“This may be a new high for non-party outside spending, although direct comparisons to past cycles are hindered by a lack of available data,” the report states .
Brennan Center
The analysis takes into account “shadow party groups—super PACs and nonprofits run by former top staff of party committees or party leaders and able to mimic party spending strategy—as nonparty outside groups,” the Brennan Center explains. “This is because these groups, despite being controlled to some degree by the parties, take unlimited contributions and sometimes hide their donors. That the parties are increasingly outsourcing their finances to unregulated shadow parties severely weakens the campaign finance system’s protections against corruption and undue influence.”
Among the report’s other notable findings:
● GOP winning outside money battle: Nearly 60 percent of the money spent so far in top Senate races supports GOP candidates, a reversal from 2014. Dark money spending, from groups that conceal their donors, favors GOP candidates six to one.
● Dark money spending is highly concentrated: Just three groups, One Nation, with ties to Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell; the Koch network’s Americans for Prosperity; and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, account for 67 percent of all dark money spending.
“The precipitous rise of outside groups is problematic for a few reasons,” said study author Ian Vandewalker, counsel in the Brennan Center’s democracy program.
“Unlike the parties and candidates, they are free to accept donations of unlimited size and can conceal their funders from the public,” he continued. “So the bigger a role they play in an election, the more political power is concentrated in the hands of a few million-dollar funders and professional political operatives, with a consequent loss in power for the millions of Americans who can’t afford jumbo donations. While this problem was created in part by 2010’s Citizens United decision , the 2016 data shows we have truly crossed a new Rubicon.”
To snatch back some of that power, the Brennan Center calls for the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse its damaging decision in Citizens United; for stronger rules against coordination between candidates and outside groups; for improved disclosure and transparency laws; and “most fundamentally” for a public campaign financing system to “provide an alternative to the incentives to chase bigger and bigger checks that currently drive political spending, allowing candidates to fund competitive campaigns without relying on the wealthiest donors.”
Two such public financing systems are on statewide ballots this November. TAGS: | 0 | [
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FMD303 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: It is an illusion that the Latvian government changed its policies and suddenly started caring about the people; put a stop to psychiatric Russophobia; stopping attempts to revise the results of WWII results and to rehabilitate fascism. Latvia’s decision to trade energy on the border with Russia, not through Lithuania as before, could not be adopted without the US's approval. Such geopolitical deals cannot be made by Latvia without Washington, just as the issues of moderate importance have to be agreed in Brussels.
The US's intention seems to increase leverage over Belarus by intensifying its economic dependence on Latvia. At some point in the future, if no concessions are made by the Belarusian authorities over some matters, Washington will be able to blackmail Minsk, saying that Latvia will interrupt imports of Belarusian energy. | 0 | [
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FMD304 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Paul Ryan is just like all the other establishment politicians from both sides of the aisle who have sold the American worker down the river for cheap labor. Foreign workers have been coming in to America by the droves to take over jobs that Americans had. In some cases, the American worker is required to train the foreign worker who s taking their job. Disney has been called out on doing this to its workers who fought back against it. The Chamber of Commerce is in the pocket of the establishment and they are all for more and more immigration that will ultimately hurt the American worker. In a Tuesday morning interview with radio host Bill Bennett,Paul Ryan defended his omnibus bill s controversial expansion in the H-2B visa program, which would allow foreign workers to fill blue-collar American jobs, by arguing that if the provision were not included, American companies would be forced to shut their doors.Bennett pressed Ryan on the details of the H-2B visa expansion, slipped 700-pages into Ryan s 2,009-page omnibus spending bill asking Ryan directly, Do you believe there are not enough Americans to fill these jobs? In response, Ryan described the H-2B visa expansion as a very small, discrete provision. Despite the nation s high levels of unemployment and stagnating wages, Ryan continued on to assert, without offering evidence in support of his claim, that corporations are facing a shortage of labor, which rendered the provision necessary. Ryan said:The reason that this was passed is because there was some seasonal surge jobs that they can t find local workers to fill, like the seafood packaging industry in Chesapeake Bay. You have seafood season, you need people to package those things, to can them. In the North, we have the summer tourism industry. What it is is there s seasonal industries where they can t find local people to do the jobs: kids are already in college or things like that where you have a surge in workers.Ryan explained that the provision was passed specifically to help small business who cannot find labor when there s a surge in demand for their labor like seafood processing, or tourism. Ryan warned, The point is these businesses would have shut down without this and that s what we didn t want to see happen. We didn t want to see businesses, who are seasonal, shut down because they couldn t get the labor. That s why this provision was passed in July. The data, however, demonstrates Ryan s claim to be unsubstantiated. As Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)80% has highlighted, the Economic Policy Institute has documented how, wages were stagnant or declining for workers in all of the top 15 H-2B occupations between 2004 and 2014. Unemployment rates increased in all but one of the top 15 H-2B occupations between 2004 and 2014, and all 15 occupations averaged very high unemployment rates Flat and declining wages coupled with such high unemployment rates over such a long period of time suggest a loose labor market an over-supply of workers rather than an under-supply.Cries of so-called labor shortages are frequently invoked by corporations and immigration expansionist who want to see large increases in low-wage labor. As immigration attorney Ian Smith has explained, Ryan s resurrection and expansion of the controversial provision in Sen. Marco Rubio s Gang of Eight bill to increase guest-worker programs will disproportionately hurt America s most vulnerable workers such as black workers, single women, the elderly, and first-generation immigrants.While Ryan argues that more low-wage immigrant labor is needed to fill labor shortages, National Review s Rich Lowry has previously declared, The next time I hear a Republican strategist or a Republican politician say that there are jobs that Americans won t do, that person should be shot, he should be hanged, he should be wrapped in a carpet and thrown in the Potomac River. Ryan s push to expand immigration comes on top of the nation s existing federal policy of autopilot visa dispensations. Under current policy, every day the U.S. brings in enough new immigrants to fill an overcrowded, metropolitan high school. Every week, the United States brings in enough new immigrants to fill the Staples Center, where the Los Angeles Lakers play. Every year, we add an immigrant population the size of Dallas. And every three years, the U.S. adds another entire city of Los Angeles, made up of foreign-born immigrants.Ryan, however, seems to believe these numbers should be even bigger, even as the U.S. foreign-born population is already at an all-time high of 42.4 million.Perhaps the most unusual aspect of Ryan s using conservative talk radio platforms to make arguments for expanded immigration is that the Republican Party is now in the position of having an electorate that is almost universally opposed (92 percent according to Pew) to immigration increases, but it is led by a House Speaker who has a two-decade long history of pushing for higher rates of immigration. This means that one segment of the electorate, perhaps most in favor of immigration reductions, now has as its leader one of the politicians most associated with pushing for expanded immigration.Read more: Breitbart | 0 | [
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FMD305 | 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: 98 percent of American families make under $250,000 a year.
contextual information: How many Americans make less than $250,000 a year? According to tax statistics, it's a pretty overwhelming number. President Barack Obama has been making the most of that statistic as he promotes what he calls the Buffett Rule. "Florida, I've told you where I stand," Obama said at a campaign stop in Boca Raton on April 10, 2012. "So now it's time for members of Congress to tell you where they stand. In the next few weeks, we're going to vote on something we call the Buffett Rule." Obama's proposal is that people who have an income of $1 million or more per year should be required to pay a minimum tax rate of 30 percent. "And if we do that, then it makes it affordable for us to be able to say for those people who make under $250,000 a year, like 98 percent of American families do, then your taxes don't go up," Obama said. Under current law, many high earners pay significantly less than 30 percent if their income comes from investments instead of earnings. Critics of the Buffett Rule note that it won't bring in enough income to significantly dent the budget deficit. Obama spokesman Jay Carney said the president wanted the rule to support the principle of tax fairness but conceded that getting the rule passed would be an uphill battle in Congress. Here, we wanted to fact-check Obama's statement that 98 percent of American families make less than $250,000 a year. The White House's prepared materials on the Buffett Rule included statistics released annually by the Internal Revenue Service that supported the point. Using statistics from the IRS website, we found that 137,988,219 tax returns out of 140,494,127 — or 98.2 percent — reported adjusted gross income of less than $250,000 a year in 2009, the most recent data available. We rate the claim True. | 1 | [
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FMD306 | 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: Volkswagen Passat Claim summaries: High mileage Volkswagen Passat automobiles cannot be purchased in the United States?
contextual information: Claim: The U.S. government prohibits high mileage Volkswagen Passat automobiles from being purchased by U.S. customers. Examples: [Collected via e-mail, May 2012] VW Passat 78.5 MPG in the UK Below is an email about the VW Passat that is made in the USA which gets over 70MPG but is not allow to be sold in the USA. Just one more Washington Red Flag.I have included a short youtube video and a link to VW UK web site which confirms video is correct. Checked out VW web site and you can order any car they have for sale unless you are a US Citizen. As a US Citizen VW will not deliver the higher mileage cars they manufacture in the US to US Citizens. This is true and can be verified by just trying to buy one of these cars with the blue motion engine for shipment from the US to any destination in the US. I didnt go to the Ford UK web site to check out Ford but Rick has and he says Ford has several models for sale manufactured in the US with mileage of better than 71 miles per gallon on the highway that also are available for sale in Europe but not the US. VW Web Site: https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/#/new/passat-estate-vii/which-model/engines/fuel-consumption/ https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/#/new/passat-estate-vii/which-model/engines/fuel-consumption/ Origins: May 2012 saw the circulation of the message cited above, one which claimed that Volkswagen Passat vehicles with 70+ miles per gallon (MPG) figures manufactured in the U.S. were readily available in the UK, but U.S. government regulations prohibited their being sold to U.S. customers. These claims appear to be misleading, however. First of all, a UK gallon is not the equivalent of a U.S. gallon: 1 UK gallon = 1.2 U.S. gallons, so MPG figures for automobiles in the UK are inflated by 20% relative to U.S. figures. Additionally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) process for determining average mileage ratings is generally more stringent than the process used in other countries, so EPA ratings tend to be on the conservative side. Therefore, taking both factors into consideration, a car rated at 70 MPG in the UK would likely be EPA rated somewhere around the mid- to high-40 MPG range. Second, we found no evidence of U.S. government regulations that would prohibit the sale of automobiles such as the referenced Volkswagen Passat in the United states solely because of their mileage ratings. In general, when an automobile manufacturer offers a particular model of vehicle in other parts of the world but not the U.S., it's because that model has features that don't appeal to U.S. buyers or because the model does not meet U.S. safety or environmental standards. In the case of the Volkswagen Passat models mentioned here, their lack of availability in the U.S. is likely due to a combination of those factors. Others have noted that U.S. consumers tend to focus less on mileage and prefer gasoline-powered cars with automatic transmissions and larger, higher-performance engines, but the UK version of the Passat cited here is a diesel-powered car with a manual transmission and a smaller, lower-performing engine: The UK Passat engine is very small (the 0-60 time is 12.5 seconds with a manual transmission) and most Americans won't accept such poor performance. Diesel fuel doesn't have a tax-preferred status here in the U.S. either, and the engine is probably at a premium cost due to new technology. What's more is that vehicles in the UK (but not the U.S.) are taxed by carbon emission, so vehicles in the UK are sold with a much wider choice of engines, usually including diesels and far smaller engines than are available for these vehicles in the U.S., because there is a high cost of operating the vehicle already (i.e., higher fuel prices) and these engines minimize the carbon tax portion. The dynamics of car ownership and manufacturing cars in the US versus the UK is vastly different: it's not really the regulations that are to blame. Manufacturers don't bother to get U.S. EPA certifications because they know that the demand isn't there, especially right now when the demand is for hybrid (or at the really high end, electric). I doubt that such a car would be viable to sell: people in the U.S. don't put much stock in to gas mileage in comparison to power demands. If you are going to charge a premium, you have to offer something noticeably different, and diesel probably isn't going to pass muster for most folks. Diesel vehicles in the U.S. have a bad reputation. Also, as reported in a Pure Energy Systems News (PESN) article on this topic, a Manager of Product and Technology Communications for Volkswagen of America Inc. stated that: article VW used to sell the same (or similar?) Passat as is sold in Europe here in the US. But it didn't sell very well. It was too expensive and too small in the mid-size sedan segment. So they came up with a larger version with a better price point; and of course the size effects the mileage. Volkswagen's response to our query was non-committal, stating only that they could not say when Bluemotion technology vehicles like the UK version of the Passat would be available in the U.S. We recognize that in this current economic climate, the desires of the driving public have changed. Many consumers have realized that efficiency and economy are the true values of an automobile. Emissions standards have increased, and we are working to be both ecologically responsible and provide fuel efficient vehicles people want. VW continues to research all options for fuel efficiency. We have no further information at this time if, or when the Bluemotion technology will be available in the US. Last updated: 14 May 2012 | 0 | [
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FMD307 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: The White House plan to cut transportation spending, privatize air traffic control and scrap long-distance train service is facing strong resistance in Congress . In May, the Trump administration proposed cutting discretionary U.S. Transportation Department spending by 12.7 percent, or $2.4 billion to $16.2 billion. A House of Representatives Appropriations Committee panel this week approved $17.8 billion in discretionary spending, $1.5 billion above the White House request. On Thursday, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao addressed a U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing. Senator Susan Collins, a Republican who chairs the panel, said she was disappointed in many proposed cuts. The House panel rejected a White House plan to end subsidies for Amtrak to operate long-distance train service, which would have cut $630 million of $1.4 billion in annual government support for passenger rail service. The panel also rejected a plan to eliminate $150 million in annual subsidies for commercial air service to rural airports. Many lawmakers also opposed the administration’s proposal to privatize the air traffic control system. In June, the Senate Commerce Committee approved proposed changes in Federal Aviation Administration policies. But unlike a House panel, it did not back spinning off air traffic control. The House will vote on the privatization plan as soon as next week. President Donald Trump says the move would modernize air traffic control and lower flying costs. The proposal has drawn fire from private plane owners and rural airports. Critics say it would hand control of an important service to special interests and big airlines. Chao said the administration is working to address general aviation concerns. American Airlines Group Inc (AAL.O), United Airlines (UAL.N) and Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) back the proposal. The Trump budget plan would cut $206 billion in infrastructure spending over 10 years, including $96 billion in planned highway trust fund spending. At the same time, the White House is proposing $200 billion in government funding over 10 years as part of a goal of getting $1 trillion in public and private infrastructure spending and plans to unveil details this fall. Chao acknowledged Thursday the highway trust funds must be made up and said the administration is studying other options including a mileage tax. Asked if Trump is considering a gasoline tax hike, Chao said: “Nothing is off the table.†A House panel also rejected this week the Trump administration plan to raise airline passenger security fees by $1 to $6.60 per one-way trip, which would generate $530 million for the Transportation Safety Administration. | 1 | [
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FMD308 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: comments circulating about the Republican presidential candidate Interesting: Not what I thought it was going to be. This is an eye-opener my friends. Please Read all the way to the bottom and pass it on! "He's been divorced and remarried. He can't commit to anything.""He's dangerously ignorant about international affairs. The Russianleaders will walk all over him.""He has no filter- doesn't think before he speaks.""Until recently, he was a Democrat. He's not a real Republican. Hehasn't paid his GOP dues.""He used to be Pro Choice. Now, suddenly he's Pro Life?""That can't be his real hair!""He's a loose cannon. No one wants HIS finger on the nuclearbutton.""His opponent has the experience and political savvy to bepresident. He does not.""His temperament disqualifies him from ever beingCommander-In-Chief.""He's proven himself to be mentally unstable.""The military will never accept him as Commander-In-Chief. He's notsmart enough.""The GOP doesn't want him to be the head of the party. He could never reach across the aisle to get anything done.""Most Republican voters will just stay home rather than go out andvote for him.""Evangelicals will never support him.""He says '(Lets) Make America Great Again'. How dare he say wearen't still great?""His intellect is thinner than spit on a slate rock."After all his gaffs, he doubles down on them instead of admittinghe made a mistake.""He's threatening to upend our treaties and relationships with ourallies by demanding that they pay for their own defense!""Because of his gross factual errors he might take rash action andneedlessly lead this country into open warfare!""He's racist, xenophobic, and fuels the fires of hatred!""The rising turnout of his voters are not loyal Republicans orDemocrats and are alienated from both parties because neither takes asympathetic view toward their issues. "The fact that he could be deemed a serious candidate for presidentis a shame and embarrassment for the country."Is he Safe? ...he shoots from the hip ... he's over his head ...What are his solutions?"Voters want to follow some authority figure, a leader who can takecharge with authority; return a sense of discipline to our government; and,manifest the willpower needed to get this country back on track -- Or atleast a leader from outside Washington." | 0 | [
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FMD309 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Republicans have had seven years to come up with a viable replacement for Obamacare but they failed miserably. After taking a victory lap for gifting the wealthy with a tax break on Wednesday, Donald Trump looked at the cameras and said, We have essentially repealed Obamacare and we will come up with something that will be much better. Obamacare has been repealed in this bill, he added. Well, like most things Trump says, that s just not true. But, if the former reality show star could have done that in order to eradicate former President Obama s signature legislation, he would have and without offering an alternative.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told NPR that This has not been a very bipartisan year. I hope in the new year, we re going to pivot here and become more cooperative. An Obamacare repeal in 2018 is DOA. Well, we obviously were unable to completely repeal and replace with a 52-48 Senate, the Kentucky Republican said. We ll have to take a look at what that looks like with a 51-49 Senate. But I think we ll probably move on to other issues. NPR reports:McConnell hopes to focus instead on stabilizing the insurance marketplaces to keep premiums from skyrocketing in the early months of 2018, a promise he made to moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine to get her support for the tax bill.On top of that McConnell broke with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., on the approach to paring back spending on programs like Medicaid and food stamps. McConnell told NPR he is not interested in using Senate budget rules to allow Republicans to cut entitlements without consultation with Democrats. I think entitlement changes, to be sustained, almost always have to be bipartisan, McConnell said. The House may have a different agenda. If our Democratic friends in the Senate want to join us to tackle any kind of entitlement reform. I d be happy to take a look at it. This is coming from Mitch McConnell. He knows Donald Trump is destroying the GOP. It doesn t matter, Sen. McConnell. We still recall him saying that his number one priority is making sure president Obama s a one-term president. Well, we re hoping that Trump doesn t last a full term. Funny how that works.Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | 0 | [
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FMD310 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday intensified efforts to rally Middle Eastern countries against U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel s capital, setting up talks with Arab leaders beginning in Cairo. Abbas met with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt, which has been a key broker in past peace talks with Israel and between fighting Palestinian factions. Abbas and Sisi agreed to continue high-level coordination and to use the widespread rejection of the U.S. move to maintain the rights of the Palestinians, a statement from the Egyptian presidency said. Palestinian Presidency Spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah said there would be an Arab move to preserve the rights of the Palestinian people soon. Abbas will later head to Istanbul to give a speech at a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Arab states condemned U.S. President Donald Trump s Jerusalem decision last week, and vowed to press international bodies to take action against it. The Arab Parliament held an emergency meeting on the issue in Cairo on Monday, state news agency MENA reported. Sisi, after a separate meeting with visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the U.S. moving its Israel embassy to Jerusalem would have dangerous effects on peace and security in the region . Abbas met the head of the Arab League in Cairo on Monday, local media reported. Arab foreign ministers held an hours-long emergency meeting at the weekend and vowed to seek a U.N. Security Council resolution rejecting the U.S. move, but gave few details on other measures they would take. The Palestinians hope for concrete action. Daring Palestinian and Arab decisions are required in the coming stage, which is very important, Abbas s spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah told Palestinian official news agency WAFA. World powers have said the U.S. move will impede peace efforts in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict as anger spreads across the region. The Trump administration says it is still committed to the peace process. Abbas will not meet Mike Pence during the U.S. Vice President s visit to the region later this month, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said on Saturday. Egypt s top Muslim and Christian religious leaders also said they would not meet Pence. Egypt has also brokered reconciliation deals between Abbas s Fatah party and Gaza-based Islamist group Hamas, which called for a new uprising against Israel last week. The planned handover of control of Gaza to the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority under the latest deal hit another delay on Sunday, with a Fatah official blaming obstacles without elaborating. Israel launched fresh air strikes in Gaza on Saturday in response to rocket fire from the enclave, where it fought a war in 2014 which killed more than 2,000 people, most of them civilians. | 1 | [
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FMD311 | 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 These Real Pics of Elderly Women With Giant, Crocheted Cats? Claim summaries: Viral images allegedly depicted, among other things, "a 80-year-old grandmother and her crochet finished product."
contextual information: In July 2023, a series of imageswent viral depicting elderly women with what appeared to begiant crocheted cats. went viral The images were reposted on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, and 9GAG, gaining millions of views. We also found them on Chinese and Russian-speaking websites. Facebook Twitter Instagram Reddit 9GAG Chinese Russian The pictures in question were originally posted on July 3, 2023, by Instagram account @ai.artandcat. In the bio section of that profile, we found a link to aFacebook pagetitled, "Lydia's AI Art and Cats," with a user namedLydia Masterova marked as the page's owner. Masterova had a history online of sharing AI-generated pictures. posted @ai.artandcat page Wywietl ten post na Instagramie Post udostpniony przez Cats and art (@ai.artandcat) Post udostpniony przez Cats and art (@ai.artandcat) Masterova's images of crocheted cats had telltale signs of being generated by artificial intelligence (AI) software. For instance, the women in the photographs had abnormally large hands or an incorrect number of toes. Each picture depicted an elderly lady with white hair; however, the women did not appear to be the same person as various characteristics, such as their hairstyles and eyeglasses, varied significantly. (Instagram account @ai.artandcat) (Instagram account @ai.artandcat) AI-detection tools, such as AI or Not and IIlluminarty, confirmed the images were created using artificial intelligence software. Therefore, we have rated this claim as "Fake." AI or Not IIlluminarty In July 2023, Masterova shared a message via herInstagramaccount and Facebook page thatintroduced herself and explained that she started creating AI-generated content to distract herself from the war in Ukraine, which is where she is from: Instagram Facebook Here's a bit about me (and giant crochet cats). My name is Lydia, and I'm from Ukraine ??. A couple of months ago, to distract myself from the horrors of war, I immersed myself in the imaginative world of AI. Before that, I was a cat photographer and had always loved cats and animals in general, so it was only natural to start with them. At first, I incorporated cats into paintings by famous artists, hence the word "art" in my page name. However, I soon realized that almost everyone had already drawn the Mona Lisa with a cat or as a cat. Then, I attempted to draw hybrids of cats and other animals, but AI struggled to achieve that.When my parents, family, and friends in Ukraine were under bombing, I thought posting random stuff on my Facebook account was inappropriate, so I created a new page and Instagram account.And now, let's talk about these giant crocheted cats! She said her passion for various crafts inspired her to create the images of crocheted items. Since posting the images, she acknowledged they have circulated online without proper attribution, or disclaimers to note that they're not real. In the Instagram and Facebook post, she said she did not write captions for her original posts sharing the AI-generated images because"it's considered a bad form to use watermarks" in online groups dedicated to such content, and she did not have access to a computer to do so.The message continued: I used to do lots of various crafts, from crocheting and knitting to sewing soft toys. Now, I draw whatever comes to my mind first. During my vacation in early July, these crocheted cats were born. In AI groups, it's considered a bad form to use watermarks. It was very late at night, and I couldn't access a computer, so I posted them on my page and in the Midjourney Cat group without a caption. By morning, I found that the images had spread across various pages and groups. People from Europe, Asia, Australia, and even South Africa write to me saying they find these cats in crochet groups. I never posted them as actual crochet, and unfortunately, I can't do anything about it. Every day, I come across posts with titles like "My 80-year-old grandma finally finished her cat," and so on. Someone even posted it on National Geographic. When I tried to message them, 90% didn't reply, and a couple of times, I received rude responses, claiming that since it's AI, I have no rights to these images. But a few pages did credit me in their posts, though still with headlines not of my creation. Lesson learned. Now, I'll always add captions. The cat photographs aside,most of Masterova's images on Facebook and Instagram appeared tohavea watermark, including a series of elderly women riding what appeared to be crocheted motorcycles. That series was captioned, "Badass grandmas on their crochet bikes." most have (Facebook page Lydia's AI Art and Cats) Masterova said the viral crochet images have brought her new attention online, including from people who do not like her work: Before the crochet cats, I had around 100 followers, and now the haters have come. Some send me to hell, others wish for my hard drive to burn, and some think using AI is stealing from real artists. It's just a hobby. I don't sell anything. I don't make money. I simply come up with nonexistent things, using my imagination. If someone doesn't like it, they can always scroll past it. AsAI-generated content becomes more prevalent on social media, it's worth knowing how to spot such images. We encourage you to read our tips. AI-generated read our tips | 0 | [
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FMD312 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Bernie Sanders’ upstart U.S. presidential campaign may be headed to defeat, but his goals of reining in Wall Street, ending big money in politics and eradicating income inequality were the big winners in the bruising Democratic race. Sanders, who started as a little-known long-shot, pushed the party and established front-runner Hillary Clinton sharply to the left during a long primary battle. Along the way, the 74-year-old U.S. senator from Vermont energized young and progressive voters and prepared the ground for what his allies predict will be a lasting influence on the party. Clinton, one of the best-known political figures in the United States, clinched the Democratic Party’s nomination in a last round of state nominating contests on Tuesday. But even before her victory, Sanders began taking steps to turn his newfound political influence into an enduring progressive movement. In the last few weeks, he has lent his influence and fundraising power to progressive congressional and state legislative candidates who share his agenda, urging his supporters around the country to donate to their campaigns. Sanders also appointed prominent activists to the panel writing the issues platform for the party’s convention in July, ensuring a strong voice in the process. His convention delegates will push for changes to party primary rules, including letting independents vote in primaries and reducing the influence of superdelegates, the hundreds of party elites who can support any candidate regardless of voting in their constituencies, and who in this primary season have largely backed Clinton. “I do think we are going to see real changes in the Democratic Party going forward because of Bernie. The future of the party is with the people supporting Sanders,†said Charles Chamberlain, executive director of Democracy for America, a liberal Vermont-based group that rose from Howard Dean’s failed 2004 presidential bid and endorsed Sanders this time. “He has proven the power of this message,†Chamberlain said. During the campaign, Sanders forced Clinton to tack left repeatedly on issues ranging from her support for a higher minimum wage to her opposition to the Asian trade pact and Keystone XL oil pipeline. Sanders’ progressive allies said those shifts by Clinton will be helpful in the Nov. 8 election against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, who has touted an anti-trade and pro-jobs economic agenda, and for Democrats in their efforts to recapture a majority in the U.S. Senate. “When the story of the 2016 election is told, a major part of it will be that Bernie Sanders helped the Democratic Party turn up the volume on economic populism issues,†said Adam Green, co-founder of the liberal Progressive Change Campaign Committee. If Democrats win back the Senate in the November election, Sanders will be in line for either the chairmanship of the Budget Committee or the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, both powerful platforms to advance his ideas. Chamberlain said Sanders would create a formidable one-two punch in the Senate with Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts senator who has been the leader of the party’s progressive wing. “Bernie Sanders is going to fight all the good fights,†he said. “With Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren we’re going to see a Senate team that will be very powerful.†Sanders’ investment in the next generation of progressive politicians, meanwhile, is aimed at spawning a new generation of liberals who back his agenda. He has sent emails to his grassroots fundraising list urging his donors to back six insurgent congressional candidates and eight statehouse candidates who echo his economic message, sparking a flood of donations to their campaigns. More endorsements are expected. “Our movement is so powerful that we can change congressional elections overnight. Let’s keep going,†Sanders said on Tuesday in an email to supporters asking them to support two more candidates for Congress | 1 | [
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FMD313 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Turkey cannot accept the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia being invited to Syria talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana, a spokesman for President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday. A senior Kurdish official said on Tuesday Russia had invited the Kurdish-led authorities in northern Syria to a proposed congress of Syria s rival parties in November, as Moscow seeks to launch a new initiative to end the Syrian conflict. Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Turkish and Russian officials had discussed the issue and that he had held meetings of his own to solve the problem on the spot. | 1 | [
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FMD314 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Duterte Still Spiking US on Asian Political Tour October 26, 2016 Duterte Still Spiking US on Asian Political Tour
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte sought to assure Japan on Wednesday that his high-profile visit to China last week was about economics, not security, and vowed to stand on Tokyo's side over the disputed South China Sea when the time came, even though Duterte reiterated his harsh words for long-time ally Washington, saying he might end defense treaties. The volatile Philippine leader's visit to Japan comes amid jitters about his foreign policy goals This follows weeks of verbal attacks on ally the United States and overtures toward China. Duterte last week announced in China his "separation" from the United States He later insisted ties were not being severed and that he was merely pursuing an independent foreign policy. His perplexing comments pose a headache for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has tightened ties with Washington while building closer security relations with Manila and other Southeast Asian countries as a counter-weight to a rising China.
"You know I went to China for a visit. And I would like to assure you that all there was, was economics. We did not talk about arms. We avoided talking about alliances," he told an audience of Japanese businessmen.
(TOKYO) - Duterte, speaking through a Japanese interpreter at the start of his talks with Abe, later said he would stand on Japan's side in the contentious matter of the South China Sea.
Describing Japan as a "special friend who is closer than a brother", Duterte said after the meeting that Manila would work closely with Japan on regional issues of common concern and uphold the values of democracy, the rule of law and peaceful settlement of disputes including the South China Sea.
Reading from a statement, he added: "Today we have taken steps to ensure that our ties remain vibrant and will gain greater strength in the years to come."
INDEPENDENT FOREIGN POLICY
Both Tokyo and Washington have grown worried that the commitment under Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino, to stand up to China in the South China Sea is under threat, although Japan has no direct territorial row with Beijing there.
Japan has a separate dispute with China over tiny, uninhabited isles in the East China Sea, and has been keen to stress the importance of the rule of law.
Abe, for his part, said he welcomed Duterte's efforts to improve Manila's ties with Beijing and - noting the South China Sea issue was one of international interest - said the two leaders had agreed on the importance of settling maritime disputes peacefully.
Aquino angered China by lodging a case with an arbitration court in the Hague challenging the legitimacy of Beijing's maritime claims in the resource-rich sea. The court's ruling in July emphatically favored Manila but was rejected by China, which has warned Washington and Tokyo to stay out of the feud.
Duterte earlier told an audience of Japanese business executives he did not pick quarrels with his neighbors, but had tough words for Washington.
"I have declared that I will pursue an independent foreign policy. I want, maybe in the next two years, my country free of the presence of foreign military troops. I want them out," he said.
"And if I have to revise or abrogate agreements, executive agreements, this shall be the last maneuver, war games between the United States and the Philippines military."
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion worth of trade passes every year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims on the sea, believed to have rich oil and gas deposits.
Duterte has threatened to abrogate defense agreements with the United States several times but has yet to take any concrete action beyond cancelling some minor navy patrol exercises.
In a pattern already becoming familiar, Duterte's foreign minister, Perfecto Yasay, tried to soothe concerns raised by the president's remarks. He told a news conference that Manila would respect treaty obligations as long as mutual interests converged.
Japan and the Philippines also signed notes on two yen loan projects worth up to 21.4 billion yen ($205 million), including one to build two patrol boats for the Philippine Coast Guard to boost its capacity for search and rescue and law enforcement.
Reuters contribution by Kiyoshi Takenaka and Linda Sieg ; Additional reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz and Manolo Serapio Jr in MANILA and Elaine Lies and Minami Funakoshi in Tokyo; Writing by Martin Petty and Linda Sieg; Editing by Michael Perry and Nick Macfie) Article by Doc Burkhart , Vice-President, General Manager and co-host of TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles Got a news tip? Email us at Help support the ministry of TRUNEWS with your one-time or monthly gift of financial support. DONATE NOW ! DOWNLOAD THE TRUNEWS MOBILE APP! CLICK HERE! | 0 | [
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FMD315 | 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 El Paso considered one of the 'Most Dangerous Cities' in the United States prior to the construction of a border fence? Claim summaries: What did make a difference was a flood of Border Patrol agents, who began Operation Hold the Line in 1993.
contextual information: On 5 February 2019, President Donald Trump delivered the annual State of the Union address and made an appeal in his ongoing effort to deliver on a campaign promise to build a border wall. In his speech, President Trump stated that the city of El Paso, Texas, "used to have extremely high rates of violent crime one of the highest in the country, and [was] considered one of our nations most dangerous cities. Now, with a powerful barrier in place, El Paso is one of our safest cities." stated Following that remark, El Paso Mayor Dee Margo took to Twitter to dispute its accuracy: El Paso was NEVER one of the MOST dangerous cities in the US. Weve had a fence for 10 years and it has impacted illegal immigration and curbed criminal activity. It is NOT the sole deterrent. Law enforcement in our community continues to keep us safe #SOTU #SOTU Mayor Dee Margo (@mayor_margo) February 6, 2019 February 6, 2019 We looked at crime data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Report (UCR) to weigh which public official's statements were accurate. The FBI's UCR project compiles and analyzes data from "more than 18,000 city, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies voluntarily participating in the program." UCR project Crime data do not support the president's claim either that El Paso was one of the country's "most dangerous cities" or that the barrier built between El Paso and Juarez, Mexico, had the effect of dramatically reducing crime on the U.S. side of the border. Instead, UCR data show that violent crime in El Paso generally followed a national trend. It spiked to its highest level in 30 years in the early 1990s and has steadily declined since. The following graph compares crime data from the El Paso Police Department with nationwide figures from 1985 to 2015. Source: Uniform Crime Report. online In 2018, US News & World Report ranked El Paso number 11 in "best places to retire," citing in part the community's relative safety and thriving economy. This ranking was not new, as El Paso had regularly been ranked one of the country's safest cities for its population size going as far back as 2005 -- three years before the border fence there was built. ranked far back Construction on the barrier between El Paso and Juarez began in 2008 under President George W. Bush and was completed in 2009 as part of a larger border security plan known as "Operation Hold the Line" which was launched in 1993. UCR data drawn from the El Paso Police Department shows that violent crime, already trending downward, continued to drop fairly consistently in the five years leading up to fence construction, from a high of 6,109 incidents in 1993 to an all-time low in 2006 of 2,422: Source: Uniform Crime Report. Source: Uniform Crime Report. KDBC El Paso's violent crime was at its peak in 1992. What did make a difference was a flood of Border Patrol agents, who began Operation Hold the Line in 1993. Hundreds of agents were stationed every few feet along the border. Violent crime in El Paso drastically reduced in the years following. We've played a big part of that, said Border Patrol Sector Chief Aaron Hull. We can't determine whether crime in El Paso fell as a result of increased Border Patrol presence, the dynamic that caused crime to drop nationwide, or some combination of both. But what can be determined from crime data is that over the previous three decades, border wall construction hadn't shown a positive impact on reducing violent crime in that community, and El Paso was far and away not one of the most dangerous cities in America. The 2019 State of the Union wasn't the first instance during which the Trump administration made this false claim, and it wasn't the first time that claim had been debunked. In their own fact check, the El Paso Times reported that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had also promoted the claim, along with White House press secretary Sarah Sanders: been debunked reported promoted In January 2018, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted Ask El Paso, Texas (now one of Americas safest cities) across the border from Juarez, Mexico (one of the worlds most dangerous) if a wall works." She linked to an opinion piece published in the New York Post that was titled This town is proof that Trumps wall can work. The piece, written by a conservative political commentator based in Washington, D.C., argued that El Pasos border fence is the reason for the city's low crime rate and decreased illegal border crossings. At the time, local leaders rejected the article's findings and argued that it did not mention the police-community relations and cooperation between law enforcement agencies that contributed to the city's safety before border fencing was put in place. On the 2016 campaign trail, Donald Trump promised supporters that if elected, he would build a border wall that Mexico would pay for. As time went by and it became clear Mexico would not finance the construction of such a wall, Trump waffled on how it would be funded, resulting in the longest partial shutdown of the federal government in U.S. history when he and Congressional Democrats reached an impasse over the issue. waffled Mekelburg, Madlin. "Fact Check State of the Union: Trump Says El Paso Among Most Dangerous Cities Until Fence."
El Paso Times. 5 February 2019. Mekelburg, Madlin. "Did Construction of a Border Fence Cut Down on Crime Rates in El Paso?"
El Paso Times. 10 January 2019. Curtis, Genevieve. "Border Fence Didn't Make El Paso Safer From Violent Crimes."
KDBC-TV. 6 February 2019. Timmons, Patrick. "Low Crime in El Paso Predates 'Wall'; Smugglers Are U.S. Citizens."
UPI. 17 January 2019. | 0 | [
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FMD316 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Every year President Obama declares June LGBT pride month. Last year s pride month was a little more special considering the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage across all 50 states.This year, however, showcases another important issue: transgender rights. As states in the south mimic their bigotry from the era of Jim Crow by intentionally discriminating against trans individuals, President Obama and his administration continue to fight for everyone, no matter who they are or who they love.The proclamation begins:Since our founding, America has advanced on an unending path toward becoming a more perfect Union. This journey, led by forward-thinking individuals who have set their sights on reaching for a brighter tomorrow, has never been easy or smooth. The fight for dignity and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people is reflected in the tireless dedication of advocates and allies who strive to forge a more inclusive society. They have spurred sweeping progress by changing hearts and minds and by demanding equal treatment under our laws, from our courts, and in our politics.Taking a page out of the Martin Luther King Jr. handbook (literally), President Obama also echoes the timeless phrase that we recognize all they have done to bring us to this point, and we recommit to bending the arc of our Nation towards justice. President Obama reaffirmed his administration s opposition to conversion therapy, and support of a national law protecting LGBT members of society from housing and employment discrimination, both in the public and private sector. The president also singled out those suffering from HIV/AIDS, especially men and women of color, and pledged support for more funding.Concluding with, In line with America s commitment to the notion that all people should be treated fairly and with respect, champions of this cause at home and abroad are upholding the simple truth that LGBT rights are human rights, and that Americans have a responsibility to end hatred and discrimination wherever they may see it, President Obama for his eighth and last time writes these timeless words of tolerance:By virtue of authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2016 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.The love, tenderness, support and hope shown by President Obama is unparalleled to anything this country has seen before. Can anyone imagine a President Trump doing such a thing?Featured image via Mark Wilson/Getty Images | 0 | [
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FMD317 | 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 'Convicted Terrorist' who served on the board of a funding body for the Black Lives Matter movement? Claim summaries: The past crimes of Susan Rosenberg reemerged in the summer of 2020, amid a new wave of protests over racial injustice and police brutality.
contextual information: In the summer of 2020, amid a new wave of nationwide protests over racial injustice and police brutality, readers inquired about the accuracy of online articles and social media posts that claimed a convicted terrorist sat on the board of directors of a left-leaning organization that provides fundraising and administration services for the Black Lives Matter movement. On July 8, 2020, Twitter user @asdomke posted a widely-shared tweet that read: "This is convicted terrorist Susan Rosenberg, she sits on the Board of Directors for the fundraising arm of Black Lives Matter. She was convicted for the 1983 bombing of the United States Capitol Building, the U.S. Naval War College and the New York Patrolmen's Benevolent Assoc." In June, the website of right-leaning talk radio host Wayne Dupree posted an article with the headline "Report: Leader of Group Handling 'BLM Fundraising' is a Convicted Terrorist Who Carried Out Bombings in NYC and DC." Similar articles were published by the Daily Caller (an article that was republished by the Western Journal) and on the website of former Fox News pundit Bill O'Reilly. article Daily Caller Western Journal Bill O'Reilly On July 9, 2020, Tucker Carlson ran a segment about Rosenberg's past and her connection to Thousand Currents and the Black Lives Matter movement on his Fox News show. segment Those posts and articles were largely based on a June 24, 2020, report published by the right-leaning Capital Research Center, which carried the headline "A Terrorist's Ties to a Leading Black Lives Matter Group." The report went on to state that: report Some conservatives have begun speculating the unrest in American cities -- even as late as Monday night in Washington, DC as protestors unsuccessfully worked to tear down a statue of Andrew Jackson and set up an autonomous zone across the street from the White House -- may in part be an attempt to affect the upcoming presidential election, with the chaos and violence intended to make it as difficult as possible for Donald Trump to win a second term. Lending credence to this idea is the fact that at least one board member of the group fiscally sponsoring the most organized part of the Black Lives Matter movement, who have been involved in most of the activity surrounding the current unrest -- tried the same thing almost 40 years ago during Ronald Reagans reelection campaign. And it landed her in federal prison for 16 years. If there were any question whether Black Lives Matter has ideological ties to the Communist terrorists of the 1960s, the story of Susan Rosenberg should put that issue to bed... Rosenberg, who started out as a member of the 1960s revolutionary group Weather Underground, graduated into even more violent, and arguably successful, forms of terrorism in the 1970s and 1980s -- including bombings at an FBI field office in Staten Island, the Navy Yard Officers Club in Washington, DC, and even the U.S. Capitol building, where she damaged a representation of the greatest of the Democrat defenders of slavery, John C. Calhoun. She currently serves as human and prisoner rights advocate and a vice chair of the board of directors of Thousand Currents. Thousand Currents is undoubtedly very closely linked to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, a Delaware-registered entity that is one of the leading formal embodiments of the broader Black Lives Matter movement. The Thousand Currents website outlines the relationship between the two entities: outlines "In 2016, BLM Global Network approached Thousand Currents to create a fiscal sponsorship agreement. Thousand Currents, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization, provides the legal and administrative framework to enable BLM to fulfill its mission. Fiscal sponsorship is a common structure utilized by nonprofit organizations. Oftentimes, nonprofit initiatives seek fiscal sponsorship to be able to have the fiscal sponsor handle administrative operations while the organization focuses on its programs and builds up its own organizational infrastructure. In this capacity, we provide administrative and back office support, including finance, accounting, grants management, insurance, human resources, legal and compliance." Descriptions of Thousand Currents as an organization which "handles fundraising" for Black Lives Matter were therefore accurate. As recently as June 24, the date on which the Capital Research Center published their report, the Thousand Currents website listed Susan Rosenberg as vice chair of the organization's board of directors, describing her as a "human and prison rights advocate and writer." The entire "board of directors" page has since been removed from the site. describing According to tax documents obtained by Snopes, Rosenberg sat on the board of directors during the 2015 and 2016 financial years, and was elevated to the position of vice chair in 2017. We asked Thousand Currents for the dates of Rosenberg's tenure on the board, and as its vice chair, and invited the organization to comment on the ongoing controversy, and will update this story if we receive a response. 2015 2016 2017 Rosenberg's prominent position within Thousand Currents is clear, as are that organization's close links to the Black Lives Matter Global Network (and thereby the broader Black Lives Matter movement). However, the question of whether she should be described as a "terrorist" or "convicted terrorist" is much more complicated. Originally from New York City, Rosenberg was an active member of several revolutionary left-wing groups and movements during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In November 1984, she was arrested in Cherry Hill, New Jersey after police said she and an associate, Timothy Blunk, were found transferring 740 pounds of explosives, an Uzi submachine gun, an M-14 rifle, a rifle with a telescopic sight, a sawed-off shotgun, three 9-millimeter handguns and boxes of ammunition from a car into a storage locker. said Rosenberg was tried and convicted on the following charges: "Conspiracy to possess unregistered firearms, receive firearms and explosives shipped in interstate commerce while a fugitive, and unlawfully use false identification documents ...; possession of unregistered destructive devices, possession of unregistered firearm (two counts) ...; carrying explosives during commission of a felony ... ; possession with intent to unlawfully use false identification documents...; false representation of Social Security number, possession of counterfeit Social Security cards." charges In May 1985, New Jersey U.S. District Court Judge Frederick Bernard Lacey gave Rosenberg and Blunk the maximum available sentence of 58 years each in prison. On Jan. 20, 2001, his last day in office, President Bill Clinton commuted Rosenberg's sentence, and she was released from prison. sentence commuted According to several contemporaneous news reports, Rosenberg had previously been charged with multiple offenses as part of a major 1982 conspiracy case against several prominent left-wing revolutionaries. Along with the others, Rosenberg was charged with conspiracy and racketeering offenses in connection with the following incidents: incidents The most high-profile incident was the October 1981 Brink's robbery in Nyack, New York. Several members of the Weather Underground and Black Liberation Army groups were accused of having orchestrated and carried out the violent robbery of a Brink's armored vehicle at the Nanuet Mall, stealing total of $1.6 million. In the course of a police chase and shootout, two police officers and a Brink's guard were killed. The money was recovered. Specifically, Rosenberg was accused of having driven one of the getaway cars. killed accused After Rosenberg's arrest in New Jersey in 1984, and her subsequent conviction and imprisonment on the weapons and explosives possession charges, prosecutors dropped the conspiracy and racketeering charges against her, and she was never tried or convicted in relation to the 1981 Brink's robbery, the 1979 Shakur prison escape, or other armed robberies. The prosecutor who oversaw the decision not to proceed with that case, in the 1980s, was Rudolph Giuliani, then U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. After Rosenberg's release in 2001, Giuliani, by then Mayor of New York City, told the New York Times the charges were dropped because her existing 58-year prison sentence made a further prosecution unnecessary. told In 1988, Rosenberg was charged with aiding and abetting a series of bombings which took place between 1983 and 1985, at the Capitol building, Fort McNair, the Washington Navy Yard Computer Center and the Washington Navy Yard Officers' Club, all in Washington, D.C. Bombs were also planted, but did not detonate, at several sites in New York: the FBI's office in Staten Island, the Israeli Aircraft Industries building, the South African consulate and the New York Patrolmen's Benevolent Association. However, prosecutors dropped those charges in 1990 as part of a plea deal involving other suspects in the bombings. As a result, Rosenberg was never tried or convicted on any charges relating to the 1983-1985 bombing campaign. The claim, made in @asdomke's tweet, that Rosenberg was "convicted of" several 1983 bombings, was therefore false. The claim in the headline of an article on Wayne Dupree's website that Rosenberg "carried out" the bombings stands in contrast to the fact that she was never tried or convicted in relation to those incidents. dropped During her 16-year incarceration, Rosenberg renounced the use of political violence, though her political beliefs appear not to have changed significantly. In a radio interview shortly after her release in January 2001, she said she "rejects" the "potential for violence in my past actions," saying her view of violence as a strategic tool had undergone an "enormous change," but that she retained "a political view that is certainly progressive and radical in a certain sense." interview In her 2011 memoir, she recounted what she said during an unsuccessful 1997 parole application: recounted "I outlined my criminal acts and what I felt about them then and now. I talked about the political ethos of the 1960s and how it had led me and my associates into thinking our activities were acceptable. I detailed how sorry I felt now, how I accepted responsibility for my past actions, and how I would never commit any crimes again. I tried to put my life within the context of the historical period when many Americans thought they could change the world and end war and racism and poverty. I tried to distinguish between my core values and my embrace of the use of political violence. I stated that I now rejected the use of violence. I meant all that I said." There is no single, universally-accepted definition of terrorism, so any use of that label requires a degree of explanation or justification. One basis upon which one might reasonably describe a person as a terrorist is if they have been convicted of terrorist offenses. That is not true of Rosenberg, who was convicted only of weapons and explosives possession and fraudulent document possession, after her arrest in New Jersey 1984. She pleaded not guilty to charges relating to the 1980s bombing campaign, and those charges against her were dropped, and she has denied any involvement in the 1979 Shakur prison break and 1981 Brink's robbery, with those charges also having been dropped. not guilty denied The United States Code defines "domestic terrorism" (as distinct from "international terrorism") as follows: defines "... Activities that (A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State; (B) appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and (C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States ..." However, that definition was only added in 1992, years after Rosenberg was convicted of weapons and explosives possession and charged for her alleged role in the 1983-1985 bombing campaign, and her alleged role in a series of armed robberies by left-wing revolutionaries. added In any event, despite the existence of a definition of domestic terrorism in federal law, a discrete criminal offense of domestic terrorism does not exist, and did not exist in the 1980s. As a result, even if Rosenberg's activities perfectly met the definition of domestic terrorism currently set out in federal law, and even if that definition existed in the 1980s, she could not have been charged with, tried for and convicted of domestic terrorism as such does not exist In the 1988 indictment relating to the 1983-1985 bombing campaign, prosecutors accused Rosenberg and others of trying "to influence, change and protest policies and practices of the United States Government concerning various international and domestic matters through the use of violent and illegal means." That language is remarkably similar to that found in the present U.S. Code definition of domestic terrorism as seeking to "influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping ..." accused Examining the 1980s bombings retrospectively, one might very well be justified as describing them as a campaign of domestic terrorism, even if prosecutors were not in a position to hang that label on them at the time. However, the charges against Rosenberg were dropped anyway, and she was never convicted in relation to the bombing campaign. In her memoir, Rosenberg wrote of her 1984 arrest in New Jersey that "there was no immediate, specific plan to use the explosives" with which she and Blunk were caught. However, it's clear they were transporting and transferring them for a purpose that was at the very least broadly associated with the group's wider mission of opposing various U.S. government policies and carrying out a socialist uprising. "We were stockpiling arms for the distant revolution that we all had convinced ourselves would come soon," she added. wrote Earlier in her book, Rosenberg indicated that she was comfortable, at least at one point in time, with bombing government buildings: "We thought that by taking armed actions against government property (including bombing unoccupied government buildings), we would show that despite the power of the state, it was possible to oppose it." indicated One could reasonably argue that Rosenberg's actions in the explosives possession case served her and her comrades' overarching mission of militant opposition to U.S. government policy and broader power structures and were in keeping with the group's (if not Rosenberg's) proven record of using bomb attacks to influence the wider American public and advance their cause. As such, a supportable (though not definitive) case exists for claiming that the crimes of which Rosenberg was convicted in 1985 were indeed acts of domestic terrorism. Crane, Missy. "Report: Leader of Group Handling 'BLM Fundraising' is a Convicted Terrorist Who Carried Out Bombings in NYC and DC."
WayneDupree.com. 28 June 2020. Kerr, Andrew. "A Convicted Terrorist Sits on Board of Charity Handling Black Lives Matter Fundraising."
The Daily Caller. 27 June 2020. O'Reilly, Bill. "Does Karl Marx Matter?"
BillOReilly.com. 5 July 2020. Walter, Scott. "A Terrorist's Ties to a Leading Black Lives Matter Group."
Capital Research Center. 24 June 2020. Raab, Selwyn. "Radical Fugitive in Brink's Robbery Arrested."
The New York Times. 1 December 1984. The Associated Press/The Philadelphia Daily News. "2 Revolutionaries Get 58 Years Each in N.J."
20 May 1985. Barbanel, Josh. "4 Indicted by U.S. in Escape of Joanne Chesimard in '79."
The New York Times. 19 November 1982. Barbanel, Josh. "3 Killed in Armored Car Holdup."
The New York Times. 21 October 1981. Gross, Jane. "Brink's Suspect Held Without Bail After She Refuses to Enter a Plea."
The New York Times. 14 May 1985. Lipton, Eric. "Officials Criticize Clinton's Pardon of an Ex-Terrorist."
The New York Times. 22 January 2001. The Associated Press/The New York Times. "3 Radicals Agree to Please Guilty in Bombing Case."
6 September 1990. Rosenberg, Susan. "An American Radical..."
Citadel Press. 2011. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. "United States Code, Title 18, Part I, Chapter 113B, Section 2331 -- Definitions."
Accessed 14 July 2020. McCord, Mary B. "It's Time for Congress to Make Domestic Terrorism a Federal Crime."
Lawfare. 5 December 2018. Shenon, Philip. "U.S. Charges 7 in the Bombing at U.S. Capitol."
The New York Times. 12 May 1988. | 2 | [
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FMD318 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: HONG KONG — Donald J. Trump’s golden quiff, bushy eyebrows and preening gestures were immortalized this week in China — though perhaps not in a way that he would like. They appeared on a giant rooster statue, just above some feet and a wattle that hangs below a gilded nose and mouth. The statue, which was installed outside a shopping mall in the northern Chinese city of Taiyuan, was built to celebrate the coming Year of the Rooster in the Chinese lunar calendar and comes less than a month before Mr. Trump’s inauguration. It is 23 feet tall. Relations between Washington and Beijing have been especially jittery in recent weeks. The tension is due in large part to Mr. Trump, who belittled China during his presidential campaign and caused a diplomatic stir this month by making clear that he views the central basis for diplomatic relations between Washington and Beijing — known as the One China policy — as up for negotiation. But reaction to the rooster on Chinese social media was light and full of positive emoji. Global Times, a tabloid, said on Tuesday that onlookers in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province, had praised the statue as a “perfect blend of Chinese and Western cultures. †“It’s not bad looking,†Zhang Guoqiang, an employee at the Yihui Japanese Restaurant at the North America N1 Art Shopping Center, where the statue is, said by telephone on Thursday. Inflatable “Trump chicken†replicas were on sale at Taobao, an online shopping bazaar, with a version advertised for $1, 725. Casey Latiolais, an illustrator and animator in Seattle, said in a telephone interview that he completed the design in early November for Beijing Reliance Commercial Land, a real estate company that had contacted him through Behance, a website where artists post their portfolios. Mr. Latiolais said the company had asked only for a statue to commemorate the Year of the Rooster and did not mention Mr. Trump. Mr. Latiolais, 30, declined to comment on why he had given the rooster features. But he said he had been surprised by the size of the final product, which is made of fiberglass. “This was way more yuge than I expected,†he wrote on Twitter. Mr. Latiolais said that he was also surprised when the statue was “sort of bipartisanly looked at as funny†by his friends and family — including his parents, who voted for Mr. Trump. It was not the first time since the American presidential election that people in China had likened Mr. Trump to a bird with notable hair. In November, photos by a Chinese journalist of a golden pheasant with a blond pompadour and a red body circulated widely on social media and were published online by People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s main newspaper. The bird, which lives in a safari park in the eastern city of Hangzhou, became a star attraction there and a muse for Hsiaohan Chen, a political cartoonist in Taipei. Mr. Trump has a penchant for lashing out at his critics, however minor, on Twitter. But as of Thursday afternoon, he had not commented on either bird. | 1 | [
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FMD319 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Ireland wants re-assurance from Britain there will be no regulatory divergence between it and Northern Ireland after Brexit, Foreign Minister Simon Coveney told BBC radio on Friday. He said Ireland wanted to achieve before a Dec. 14 EU summit an agreed wording whereby we can agree the parameters within which we can find a solution that prevents the re-emergence of a border on the island of Ireland . Avoiding a so-called hard border on the island of Ireland is the last major hurdle before Brexit talks can move to negotiations on Britain s future trade relationship with the EU and a possible two-year Brexit transition deal. Coveney said Ireland cannot be asked to leap into the dark by the UK. | 1 | [
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FMD320 | 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: Were Gun-Toting Children Photographed on the United States Border? Claim summaries: The Drudge Report used a years-old photograph of children in Syria holding toy guns without credit, a description, or attribution to illustrate a story about immigration to the United States.
contextual information: On 18 June 2018, the front page of the Drudge Report news aggregator blog featured a link to a story accompanied by a photograph of a group of children, two of whom appeared to be holding guns, along with the headline "Border Battle: USA Taking in 250 Kids Per Day." Although the Drudge Report linked to a 2018 article from the Washington Examiner about how the Trump administration "could be holding 30,000 border kids by August," the featured photograph was neither taken in 2018 nor anywhere near Mexico or the United States, and it had nothing to do with immigration. The Drudge Report apparently chose to feature the misleading photograph (and the phrase "border battle") amidst growing outrage over a Trump administration policy to separate children from families at the Mexico-United States border, while failing to provide a description, note that the children in the image were holding toys rather than actual weapons, or credit the photographer, Christiaan Triebert, who took the picture in Azaz, Syria, in 2012. Triebert stated, "Four young Syrian boys with toy guns are posing in front of my camera during my visit to Azaz, Syria. Most people I met were giving the peace sign. This little city was taken by the Free Syrian Army in the summer of 2012 during the Battle of Azaz." The website eventually removed the image of the Syrian children and replaced it with a slightly more relevant photograph, but this second attempt was still misleading and failed to provide proper context or attribution. This photograph was not taken on the border of Mexico and the United States, nor was it taken in 2018. The image, captured by Associated Press photographer Eduardo Verdugo, was taken in 2013 in the southern Mexican city of Juchitán. It shows immigrants atop the infamous "Tren de la Muerte" ("Train of Death"), also known as La Bestia or The Beast, trying to make their way north to safety. Migrants ride on top of a northbound train toward the US-Mexico border in Juchitán, southern Mexico, on Monday, April 29, 2013. Migrants crossing Mexico to reach the U.S. have increasingly become targets of criminal gangs who kidnap them for ransom. La Bestia has that name because it is an exceptionally dangerous method of travel used only by the most desperate, and few survive the ride unscathed. The cargo trains, which run along multiple lines, carry products north for export. As there are no passenger railcars, migrants must ride atop the moving trains, facing physical dangers that range from amputation to death if they fall or are pushed. Beyond the dangers of the trains themselves, Central American migrants are subject to extortion and violence at the hands of the gangs and organized-crime groups that control the routes north. | 0 | [
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FMD321 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Russian property developer Sergei Polonsky, who has been convicted of defrauding investors, plans to run in next year s presidential election, his campaign manager said on Wednesday. Polonsky is one of Russia s most flamboyant tycoons, known for once eating his tie after losing a wager and for pouring scorn on anyone worth less than a billion dollars. He is a divisive figure, with many Russians viewing him as a symbol of capitalist excess. Russian President Vladimir Putin is the strong favorite to win the election, opinion polls show, though he has yet to announce his intention to run. Maxim Shingarkin, a former member of the Russian parliament, said he had signed up to be Polonsky s campaign manager. Sergei Polonsky has confirmed that he is running for president of Russia, Shingarkin said in a Twitter post. I can promise a bone-rattling election campaign. Russian news media quoted Polonsky as saying he was planning a presidential bid. In July a Moscow court found him guilty of fraud but allowed him to walk free, saying that too much time had elapsed since the crime for the sentence to have legal force. He had spent two years in detention in Moscow awaiting trial. It was not immediately clear if Polonsky s conviction would disqualify him from running for the presidency. Other people planning to run in the presidential election in March next year are television personality Ksenia Sobchak, whose late father was Putin s boss in the early 1990s, and journalist Ekaterina Gordon. | 1 | [
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FMD322 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: ISTANBUL — The Turkish prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will soon leave office, a government official said. His departure is occurring amid a disagreement between the two men over Mr. Erdogan’s drive for more power. The two leaders met on Wednesday night, according to the Turkish official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a decision that had not been announced publicly. “It’s unlikely that Davutoglu will run for leadership again,†he said. The prime minister is expected to hold a news conference on Thursday after a meeting with officials of the governing Justice and Development Party, or A. K. P. according to Turkish news reports, which also said that Mr. Davutoglu was likely to step aside after a coming special party congress. The leadership change atop the Islamist party comes as the country is facing multiple challenges, including a war with Kurdish militants, terrorist attacks by Islamic State fighters, and the arrival of millions of Syrian refugees. The shuffle clears the way for Mr. Erdogan, who critics say has become increasingly authoritarian, to consolidate even more authority. Under Turkey’s Constitution, the prime minister is the most powerful official, and the president, although he has some genuine powers, is a largely ceremonial figure. But Mr. Erdogan has not been like previous Turkish presidents, and there has been little doubt that he is the country’s political figure. Mr. Davutoglu, who became prime minister in 2014, after Mr. Erdogan was elected president, had long been seen as subservient to Mr. Erdogan. But simmering tensions between them boiled over this week, leading to speculation in the Turkish news media about a rift. The tensions apparently reached a breaking point last week, after party officials stripped Mr. Davutoglu of his power to choose provincial party leaders. “Even with a person as compliant as Davutoglu, the relationship didn’t work,†said Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat and the chairman of the Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies, a research organization here. In public, Mr. Davutoglu has sought mostly to play the role of party loyalist and devotee to Mr. Erdogan, but analysts say the two men have privately differed on several issues. Mr. Davutoglu was said to be resistant to Mr. Erdogan’s ambition to rewrite Turkey’s Constitution and establish an executive presidency. Recently, Mr. Davutoglu had suggested he was willing to return to peace negotiations to end a long war — which resumed in earnest last year — with the Kurdistan Worker’s Party, or P. K. K. while Mr. Erdogan has appeared more hawkish. The two leaders also seemed to differ on monetary policy, with Mr. Davutoglu supporting the independence of the central bank, and Mr. Erdogan seeking to intervene for lower interest rates. In choosing to step down as the leader of the A. K. P. Mr. Davutoglu will clear the way for Mr. Erdogan to pick a new party boss who will then become prime minister. “The new elected prime minister’s main mission will be to drive forward the presidential agenda,†Mr. Ulgen said. But even with a new prime minister, it will not be so easy for Mr. Erdogan to alter the Constitution as he wants. The A. K. P. which has been in power for more than a decade, with Mr. Erdogan the prime minister for much of that time, does not have enough seats in Parliament to approve the changes on its own or call a national referendum on a new constitution. Most opinion polls show the Turkish public opposes Mr. Erdogan’s proposed presidential system. Mr. Erdogan rose to power in 2003, and the A. K. P. won several national elections. But last June, the party lost its parliamentary majority and the Kurdish political party won seats in Parliament for the first time. That is when war resumed between the Turkish state and the Kurdish P. K. K. which seemed eager to return to arms. Critics of Mr. Erdogan said he sought to use the conflict as a political strategy to regain nationalist votes. Indeed, after failed coalition talks with opposition parties last summer, Mr. Erdogan called for new elections, and the party regained its majority in November. With Mr. Erdogan’s not having enough support to amend the Constitution, analysts have predicted that with a new prime minister, he could move to hold early elections in a bid to amass more seats in Parliament. | 1 | [
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FMD323 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: During Thursday’s “The Bernie and Sid Show†on New York’s WABC Radio, legendary NFL coach and player Mike Ditka slammed former President Barack Obama, saying he lacked leadership. “If [Trump] can possibly screw it up half as much as Obama, I’ll be surprised,†Ditka said. He added, “No leadership at all. None. Zero. Ditka went on to weigh in on San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protest, calling him “unintelligent†for disrespecting the game that made him a public figure. “He doesn’t play for me ever again. Period,†Ditka said if one of his players knees for the national anthem. Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent | 1 | [
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FMD324 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Sen. Tom Cotton ( ) a leading GOP senator, is warning his friend House Speaker Paul Ryan to “take a pause†and slow down when it comes to healthcare reform. [Cotton told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview when asked what he would say to Ryan were he speaking directly to the embattled Speaker: Take a pause, lower the stakes, we don’t need to meet arbitrary legislative deadlines. We need to keep our promise to make healthcare more affordable, more accessible and for all Americans. The legislation they’ve introduced can be a starting point but it needs major changes. Those changes can be perused and analyzed and tested at hearings. Then we can move forward with a more deliberative fashion in committee to propose amendments and cast votes so we’re not rushing through in the dark of night 36 hours after the bill is introduced. Then the Senate can take the same process and we can work out what differences we might have. That, ultimately, would yield the right result even if it takes a little bit longer. Our healthcare system has had many problems for many years, well before Obamacare — and Obamacare has made them worse — what we need to do is not focus on arbitrary deadlines but focus on finally solving these problems. Ryan is rushing a bill — the American Health Care Act, or Obamacare 2. 0, or Obamacare Lite, or Ryancare as it has become known — through the House of Representatives right now. But Cotton, a U. S. Senator, tells Breitbart News in this exclusive phone interview on Thursday afternoon that Ryan should back off. Cotton told Breitbart News that this plan by Ryan does not follow through on President Trump’s and other Republicans’ plans to repeal Obamacare, then replace it with a healthcare system that works better for all Americans. Cotton told Breitbart News: We need to get healthcare reform right. We don’t need to get it fast. The House bill as drafted will not deliver on the main promises of President Trump and congressional Republicans, which is making healthcare affordable, keeping it accessible and reducing the level of stress and hassle in the lives of Americans. The process by which the House is considering this legislation and the breakneck pace at which they’re operating is not going to fix this. You can’t introduce major legislation on a Monday night and vote on it Wednesday morning without even having time to process it. We’re not having any hearings to lay a foundation of knowledge to understand the very thorny questions that healthcare reform poses. It’s much better that we take a pause and do so to get healthcare reform right than to get it right. The bill as introduced does not repeal Obamacare as proponents falsely claim — it only amends it — and it keeps Obamacare’s Cadillac Tax and individual mandate. With the individual mandate, for people who choose not to buy insurance, the bill merely shifts the penalty from Obamacare’s tax to a fee collected by insurance companies. There are many more issues with the bill, but the individual mandate question is one that Cotton is particularly concerned about. He went on to say: This is one small instance of a provision I don’t think we understand in this bill. It creates a kind of tax credit to helps low income Americans afford their healthcare and it pays it to the insurance companies not to taxpayers — not to the Americans who need it to buy health insurance. I simply don’t understand why we would take that approach. That’s one of the problems with Obamacare — including too many giveaways to insurance companies. Sen. Rand Paul ( ) in his own exclusive interview with Breitbart News a day earlier, is calling for Trump to support the 2015 bill in which both chambers of Congress voted successfully to repeal Obamacare — and then do a separate replacement bill the same day. Cotton said he is open to Paul’s ideas, and other ideas on this front, but wants everyone to think about this and slow down and move off the Ryan bill. Cotton said when asked if he backs Sen. Paul’s idea for Obamacare repeal and replacement: I’m open to lots of legislative approaches except for ramming through major legislation in 36 hours in the dark of night. Paul’s idea for Obamacare repeal and replacement. “written spending bill in late December. Introduce it on Monday, vote on it on Wednesday morning and everyone goes home for Christmas — and hey, who cares because it’s all going to expire in nine months anyway. We ought not do that on spending bills, but we surely ought not do it on healthcare reforms. As we all said on Obamacare, we are remaking one sixth of the nation’s economy and something that affects every single American in a personal and intimate fashion. Cotton said he has spoken with President Trump in “broad contours†about healthcare and looks forward to future conversations with him about it. “We’ve only spoken in broad contours about healthcare, and I’ve expressed to him it’s a complicated topic and we have to take our time and get it right — not fast,†Cotton said. With Cotton, Paul, and Sen. Mike Lee ( ) out publicly against the Ryan bill as is — and Sens. Ted Cruz ( ) and Susan Collins ( ) saying it is dead on arrival in the Senate — it has no chance to pass the U. S. Senate. There is also significant opposition to the bill inside the GOP conference in the House, with the House Freedom Caucus and many more members outside the Freedom Caucus opposed to it in the House. Cotton said the bill will likely not, despite what Ryan says over and over, pass the House of Representatives. Cotton said: I would encourage my old friends in the House to slow down and fix the many problems in this bill before they vote on it. If they do that, it can pass and it can pass with a big majority. And I think that’d be good for the American people. But if they move forward with the legislation that was introduced Monday, I have real doubts about whether it can pass the House of Representatives and there’s no need for that to happen because we are relatively close to the right kind of reform that’s better for the American people. It’s better to spend a few weeks getting that right than moving it fast. If somehow politicians in Washington were able to navigate the significant GOP opposition to this bill and force it through to passage, Cotton added, there is likely to be significant political backlash against anyone who supports it and anyone who supports this rushed process. “I’m more concerned about the implications for the Arkansans I represent,†Cotton said. “Arkansans are either losing their health insurance or continuing to have to pay higher and higher premiums. But you can be sure, if that’s the result, that it will be politically hazardous to the health of people who supported this process and those who supported a bill that produces this result. I’m not trying to stop the repeal of Obamacare and healthcare reform. I’m trying to fix it. I’m trying to help President Trump achieve the goals on which he and all of us campaigned. Right now, the House bill — as drafted — I don’t think does that. †| 1 | [
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FMD325 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: President Trump isn t sitting around waiting for multiple terror attacks before taking steps to help make America safer. During his brief press conference, Trump confirmed that he is already working to eliminate the State Department s Diversity Visa program that brought the NYC terrorist to America and ironically, was the brainchild of Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY). He s also not shy about saying he d be willing to send the NYC terrorist to GITMO. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would consider sending Sayfullo Saipov, the Uzbek national who plowed a rented truck through a bike lane full of cyclists and pedestrians on Tuesday, to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. I would certainly consider that, yes. I would certainly consider that. Send him to Gitmo, Trump said.Separately, Senate Armed Services Committee chairman John McCain, a Republican who has tangled with the president on taxes and Obamacare, said Saipov should be considered an enemy combatant and denied Miranda rights by police.The president also declared that he is already moving to terminate the State Department s diversity-oriented visa lottery program, which granted Saipov entry into the United States in 2010. I am today starting the process of terminating the diversity lottery program. I m going to ask Congress to immediately initiate or get rid of this program, he said.Watch:Trump called Saipov an animal during remarks before a cabinet meeting at the White House. He came in through the diversity program as you know, and we re going to stop it, the president vowed.On Capitol Hill, McCain said in a statement that Americans should recognize terror attacks as acts of war. As such, the New York terror suspect should be held and interrogated thoroughly, responsibly, and humanely as an enemy combatant consistent with the Law of Armed Conflict, McCain added. He should not be read Miranda Rights, as enemy combatants are not entitled to them. As soon as possible, the administration should notify Congress how it plans to proceed with the interrogation and trial of this suspect. Daily Mail | 0 | [
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FMD326 | 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: California has robust job growth that outpaces the rest of the nation.
contextual information: Top California Democrats like State Senate leader Kevin de Len often claim that the states economy is humming right along and not weighed down by theirambitiousnew clean energy requirements. Critics, particularly the oil industry, consider the states clean energy push detrimental to Californias economy and job outlook. So, its not a surprise that De Len, author of the states most recentclean energy law, touted Californias strong job growth during a recent speech abroad about climate change. De Len, D-Los Angeles, spoke about Californias role as a leader in the fight against climate change to members of Parliament in the United Kingdom. He told them California has robust job growth that outpaces the rest of the nation,all while reducing carbon emissions and cleaning up the air we breathe, according to a Novemberpress releasefrom the senators office. Californias employment picture has certainly improved from the Great Recession, when it lostmore than a million jobsfrom 2007 to 2009. Economists credit a rebound in housing and construction jobs plus strong tech sector growth for the states healthier employment figures. But, we wondered, is the state seeing job growth that truly outpaces the rest of the nation, as the senator claimed? Or did his statement exaggerate the states good job news? We set out on a fact check limited to this question. We did not evaluate the additional question of how the states clean energy rules have affected Californias job growth. Photo by Andrew Nixon/Capital Public Radio Our research Economists we spoke with said De Lens statement, on its face, is correct. They said they took his statement to mean Californias job growth rate was higher than the countrys overall job growth rate. And it is. In 2014, California added jobs at a 3 percent clip compared with the previous year. That was more than a percentage point higher than the countrys overall rate of 1.9 percent during the same period, according to data from Chapman UniversitysCenter for Economic Research. Overall, the statement is accurate, said Professor Esmael Adibi, the centers director. We are outperforming the U.S. And thats not a new trend, said Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Point Loma Nazarene University. The state has actually outperformed the country as a whole for 44 consecutive months, which amounts to almost four years, Reaser said. Still, theres more to the nations job picture. Fourteen other states in 2014 had a higher job growth rate than the country overall, according to data provided by the economists. Californias accomplishment was hardly unique. Another interpretation of De Lens claim is that Californias job growth rate outpaced all other individual states in the rest of the nation. Asked to clarify the senators statement, De Lens office pointed to recentnews articlesthat describe California adding more total jobs than any other state, and adding jobs at a faster pace than the nation overall. Still, the phrase rest of the nation is open to different readings, Abibi said. Is he talking about the U.S. as a whole or is he talking about Texas or North Dakota or Michigan? the professor asked. Thats significant because five other states had a faster job growth rate than Californias 3 percent last year. They were North Dakota at 3.8 percent; Nevada at 3.5 percent; Colorado at 3.3 percent; Florida at 3.2 percent and Texas with 3.1 percent, according to state and federal data. Senator Kevin De Len addresses members of the U.K. Parliament in London. Photo courtesy De Len's office. Our ruling State Senator Kevin de Len said earlier this month that California has robust job growth that outpaces the rest of the nation, all while reducing carbon emissions and cleaning up the air we breathe. We limited our fact check to whether California has grown jobs faster than the rest of the nation. We did not evaluate the impact the states clean energy policies have had on job growth, a question raised by the second part of De Lens statement. Economists we spoke with agree that Californias job growth rate has been higher than the nations overall average for several years. Last year, the states job growth rate was more than a percentage point higher than the countrys. But a clarification is needed: California is far from the only state thats added jobs at a faster pace than the national average. Fourteen others accomplished the same feat. And there is another way to read the senators statement. One could assume the senator meant Californias job growth rate outpaced all other individual states. Yet, five other states had higher job growth rates in 2014. Those states are part of the rest of the nation, and would likely balk at the idea of California outpacing their job growth success. In the end, we rate the claim Mostly True. MOSTLY TRUEThe statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. Click here formoreon the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check. | 1 | [
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FMD327 | 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: Over the last six months, President Barack Obama has golfed 10 times and held 106 fundraisers, but his jobs council has never met.
contextual information: In a video and an infographic, the Republican National Committee amplified a charge first raised by Mitt Romney on the stump the day before -- that President Barack Obama has held more than 100 fundraisers in the past six months, yet his jobs council didnt meet once.In the last six months, he has held 100 fundraisers, and guess how many meetings he has had with his jobs council? Romneysaid in a July 18, 2012, campaign event in Bowling Green, Ohio. None. Zero. Zero in the last six months. So it makes it very clear where his priorities are.The following day, the RNC released agraphicthat provided some additional specifics. Over the last six months, the graphic said, Obama has golfed 10 times and held 106 fundraisers, but his jobs council has never met. The RNC supplemented this with avideothat added a goofy soundtrack as well as audio and video of an exchange on this topic between reporters and White House press secretary Jay Carney.Several readers asked us to check this statistic. We wont pass judgment on how Obama should spend his time, but we will check the accuracy of the numbers.The jobs councilLets start by explaining what the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness actually is. Itswebsite explainsthat the panel was established to provide nonpartisan advice to the President on strengthening the economy and creating jobs.The council ischairedby the chairman and CEO of General Electric, Jeffrey Immelt, and is populated by a variety of other business figures, such as former AOL chairman Steve Case, venture capitalist John Doerr, former Citigroup and Time Warner chairman Richard D. Parsons, as well as economist Laura DAndrea Tyson and AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka.Checking the lack of recent meetings was straightforward. The councils ownweb pagecites four meetings of the council so far -- Feb. 24, 2011, at the White House, June 13, 2011, in Durham, N.C., October 11, 2011, in Pittsburgh, and Jan. 17, 2012, at the White House.The Web page does add that the council has also conducted 18 listening and action sessions in communities around the country with businesses and local leaders and that it plans to hold more in the coming months. However, the Web page doesnt appear to consider these to be meetings, and since the most recent was just slightly over six months ago, the RNCs claim is correct.Asked about thelack of meetingsin a July 18, 2012, press briefing, Carney said the president solicits and receives input and advice from members of his jobs council and others about economic initiatives all the time. Theres no specific reason (why they havent met) except the president has obviously got a lot on his plate.Golf and fundraisingFor statistics on Obamas golf and fundraising activities, we turned to the RNC, which provided us with an Excel spreadsheet they had compiled internally. We then double-checked the RNCs work.There is no official tally of the presidents daily activities. There is one tally thats unofficial but widely respected -- one compiled by longtime CBS News correspondent Mark Knoller.Knollertweetedon June 12, 2012, that today's six events will bring to 160 the number of fundraisers Pres Obama has done since filing for re-election with the FEC last year. He also wrote in astoryon June 17, 2012, that Obama had just played his 100th round of golf since taking office.However, because Knoller did not return an inquiry for this story, we could not match these numbers to the RNCs claim.The RNC offered links to news accounts to back up Obamas 10 golf outings in the past six months, and they confirmed golf outings on the dates cited by the RNC count.As for fundraising events, the RNC only provided dates and locations. However, we were able to check this list using two sources.The White Housesarchiveof presidential speeches and remarks offers chronological links to transcripts of the presidents comments at every public appearance he makes. Many, though not all, fundraising events are included in this archive.Meanwhile, to track events that were closed to the press -- and thus wouldnt be included in the archive of speeches and remarks -- we relied on our personal archive of White House pool reports, which are the dispatches written by journalists covering the White House several times a day and distributed to all members of the White House press corps. These pool reports will typically mention that the president is attending a fundraiser even if the event is closed to the press.Using these two sources, we were able to confirm virtually all of the fundraisers cited by the RNC. In only three cases were we unable to verify fundraisers cited by the RNC using these sources. This doesnt mean that these three events didnt happen; we just couldnt find pool reports that specifically backed them up. However, even if the actual number of fundraisers in the last six months turned out to be 103 rather than 106, we wont quibble -- the number would be close enough for us to consider it accurate.Our rulingThe RNC said that over the last six months, Obama has golfed 10 times and held 106 fundraisers even as his jobs council didnt meet once. The RNCs tally is on target. We rate the statement True. | 1 | [
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FMD328 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: The General Prosecutor's Office of the self proclaimed "Luhansk People's Republic" reported 11 January that the Italian journalist Roberto Travan, at the moment filming in Mariupol in Eastern Ukraine, was missing. Mr Travan had been accompanied by Ukrainian security officials, and had allegedly complained about not being able to work without limitations. According to the sources, Mr Travan had not been heard from since 23 December.
| 0 | [
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FMD329 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Donald Trump has been tweeting all day and his latest is triggering a needless fight with one of America s largest trade partners. Naturally, it s based on complete lies.For reasons known only to Trump and his staff, the president has avoided doing any actual work today and has instead opted to rant about various things that come into his head. On Twitter, Trump has bashed Democrats, admitted he never had tapes of his conversations with James Comey, and finally turned to Mexico. The country has been suffering horrific violence due to a on-going drug war. Like his behavior towards London, Trump decided to exploit the tragedy to cynically push for his bigoted policies in America. And like London, he did so by lying.With no source, Trump announced that Mexico s homicide rate was second only to Syria. His information appears to come from a shoddy study released in May and promoted by CNN (which Trump claims not to watch) that claimed Mexico was second-deadliest country in 2016. Mexico s violent drug war had indeed been horrific, and the number of dead is staggering. But is it truly the second most violent place in the world? Almost immediately, the details of the study started to unravel.In May, the Washington Post took a hard look at the information and concluded it didn t hold up to scrutiny. For one thing, in terms of both population and raw numbers, many countries are more deadly than Mexico.The study appears to arrive at its findings by labeling Mexico a conflict area and counts the number of killed in that conflict as compared to other nations. Obviously, most nations aren t currently facing civil wars or strife so they aren t counted, even when they actually have more homicides. But Mexico isn t undergoing a civil war and in fact large sections of the country have very little contact with the drug war happening in specific hot spots. It is only when Mexico is placed in this ill-fitted category that it emerges as a particularly deadly place. Trump, who seems incapable of reading or understanding detailed information, failed to comprehend this nuance when he decided to impulsively smear the country on Twitter.It s boring at this point, but must be repeated again and again: What Trump is saying and doing towards America s allies, seemingly on a whim, is unprecedented. Mexico, for all its troubles, is one of America s closest allies and trading partners. The economies of both countries are dependent on one another and cooperation between the neighbors has been a longstanding tradition. Trump, in order to build his fantasy wall, is threatening to destroy that relationship.Mexico has already been furious with Trump for his attacks on its country and citizens. They, naturally, told Trump to shove it when he came up with his insane premise to get them to pay for his wall. His popularity in Mexico is lower than dirt. The leadership openly mocks him. But still he smears the country. It has pretty clearly reached a breaking point and Trump only has himself to blame.Featured image via Spencer Platt/Getty Images | 0 | [
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FMD330 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Peru s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski on Wednesday signaled both his vice presidents would resign if Congress forced him from office, calling an opposition bid to remove him a coup attempt that had to be resisted. The rightwing populist party that controls Congress, Popular Force, aims to oust Kuczynski in a vote on Thursday on grounds he is morally unfit to govern, after finding he once had business connections with a company at the center of Latin America s biggest graft scandal. Kuczynski, who denies anything improper or illegal, said Popular Force was misusing its majority to attempt a power grab. The constitution and democracy are under attack. We re facing a coup dressed in supposedly legitimate legal interpretations, he said in a late night speech on national television. This is a conviction that my two vice presidents share, because neither wants to be part of a government born of an unjust and anti-democratic maneuver, Kuczynski said. He was flanked by First Vice President Martin Vizcarra and Second Vice President Mercedes Araoz. If Kuczynski loses Thursday s congressional vote to remove him and his two vice presidents depart as well, new presidential and legislative elections would be called. A 79-year-old former Wall Street banker, Kuczynski has struggled to govern since winning last year s presidential election but only a small share of congressional seats for his center-right party. Popular Force says its efforts to remove him are well within the bounds of the constitution and key to its fight against corruption. He simply doesn t care about the country, Popular Force lawmaker Luz Salgado said after Kuczynski s address. Earlier this week, Salgado called for Vizcarra to govern the country through 2021, when Kucyznski s term ends. Vizcarra and Araoz both pledged their loyalty to the center-right president on Wednesday but declined to comment on whether that meant they would resign if he was removed from office. Araoz told Reuters on Sunday that she and Vizcarra would not quit. In recent days, Kuczynski s supporters have increasingly called for his vice presidents to refuse to replace him. They believe new elections would cost Popular Force its majority amid widespread contempt for elected officials as a graft scandal taints much of the country s political class. But investors worry a new ballot could sweep anti-establishment candidates to power in one of Latin America s most stable economies. Kuczynski s government does not think it will come to that, said a government source. It expects about a dozen opposition lawmakers to oppose the motion or abstain from voting, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Eighty-seven votes are needed to oust Kuczynski. Congress passed the motion to start presidential vacancy proceedings last week with 93 votes. On Wednesday, thousands of Peruvians marched in front of Congress to denounce what they saw as Popular Force s bid to exploit the crisis to sabotage country s democratic institutions, pointing to its recent efforts to also oust the attorney general and a justice in the Constitutional Court. Popular Force emerged from the rightwing populist movement started in the 1990s by former President Alberto Fujimori, who is serving a 25-year-sentence for graft and human rights crimes during his autocratic 1990-2000 government. The United States, where Kuczynski once held citizenship, said Peru was a strong democracy. We are confident that the Peruvian people and institutions will address this situation according to Peru s constitutional norms, the U.S. State Department s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said. The political crisis stems from a disclosure by Brazilian builder Odebrecht [ODBES.UL], which has landed elites in jail from Colombia to the Dominican Republic since acknowledging bribing officials across the region for much of the century. Responding to a request by Congress, Odebrecht said it paid more than $4 million to consulting companies owned by Kuczynski or a close business associate for about a decade starting in 2004. Some deposits were made to a company Kuczynski owned while he was minister in a government that awarded Odebrecht lucrative contracts. Odebrecht said Saturday that there was no indication the transactions were part of its past corrupt dealings with politicians, which it can only discuss with prosecutors. Kuczynski once strenuously denied ever having any ties with Odebrecht. He has since apologized to Peru for not disclosing his connections with the company, blaming forgetfulness and poor organization of his personal records after decades of work in finance and public administration. But he said there was nothing improper about the payments. Being careless and sloppy is a defect but it is not...a tool for dishonesty and much, much less, for crime, Kuczynski said. Kuczynski had once raised hopes that his decades of finance and public administration experience would usher in a new period of investments to spur faster economic growth in the world s No.2 copper producer. But in a sign of how the crisis has engulfed his government, Peru postponed an auction of a $2 billion copper project, scheduled for Wednesday, until February. | 1 | [
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FMD331 | 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: Biden Posted Image Depicting Him with Laser Eyes After Super Bowl? Claim summaries: "Just like we drew it up," the in-question post read, supposedly referencing the Kansas City Chiefs' win over the San Francisco 49ers.
contextual information: On the evening of Feb. 11, 2024, shortly afterthe Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII,an image of U.S. President Joe Biden with glowing red laser eyes circulated online, along with the caption, "Just like we drew it up."Screenshots of the post indicated that Biden's official account on X (formerly Twitter) made the post. image Screenshots The post referenced the "Dark Brandon" meme that is, imagerydepicting Biden as a nonhuman villain with laser eyes and is a satirical response to critics. Prior to the championship game, many right-wingconspiracy theorists made posts about Democrats secretly scheming with Chiefs tight Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift to help Biden's 2024 presidential campaign. They believed high-profile Democrats worked with the NFL to rig the season so that Kelce and Swift would end up at the highly watched event and endorse Biden there, CNN reported. Dark Brandon depicting response conspiracy CNN reported (Screenshot via Reddit) Biden's official X account did indeed share the image, a reference to the Dark Brandon meme, along with the words, "Just like we drew it up," after the Chiefs' Super Bowl victory. We thus rated the claim The original tweet is viewable on Biden's X account and archived here. (The account is distinct from the one he uses for presidential matters, which is @POTUS.) here POTUS Just like we drew it up. pic.twitter.com/9NBvc5nVZE pic.twitter.com/9NBvc5nVZE Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) February 12, 2024 February 12, 2024 The notion that Biden or Democrats had any role in the outcome of Super Bowl LVIII was nothing but an unfounded conspiracy theory. We reached out to the White House asking what it meant by, or why it authored, the post which appeared to be trolling people who believed the conspiracy theory to be true. We'll update this report if, or when, we receive a response. unfounded conspiracy theory As wereported before, critics of the president started referring to him as "Brandon" around 2021, and memes depicting him as a cartoonish villain with laser eyessurfacedaround that time, too. As a response, supporters of the president including White House DeputyPressSecretary Andrew Bates (tweet below) attempted toreclaim the "Dark Brandon" imagery tomock people who genuinely posted it. reported surfaced White House DeputyPressSecretary Andrew Bates reclaim According to The Associated Press, the "Brandon" name stemmed from an incident in which a reporter mistook a crowd'schant of "F*** Joe Biden" for "Let's go, Brandon" in support of a NASCAR driver. Since then, anti-Biden people have used "Let's go, Brandon" as a rallying cry, putting it on T-shirts, merchandise and more. The Associated Press "Dark Brandon" memes i.e. images of alaser-eyed Biden are an apparent attempt by the president's supporters to comment on the conspiratorial nature of some of his critics. Bidenreferencedthe internet trend at the 2023 White House Correspondents Association dinner. referenced Kaczynski, Andrew and Oliver Darcy. "Right-Wing Media Figures Target Taylor Swift with Absurd Conspiracy Theory Ahead of the Super Bowl | CNN Business." CNN, 30 Jan. 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/30/media/taylor-swift-super-bowl-right-wing-conspiracy/index.html. Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. "'Let's Go Brandon': A Collection of Stories." Snopes, 2 Nov. 2021, https://www.snopes.com//collections/lets-go-brandon/.Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. Navlakha, Meera. "Joe Biden's Laser-Eyed Alter Ego Returns for Super Bowl Meme." Mashable, 12 Feb. 2024, https://mashable.com/article/joe-biden-dark-brandon-meme-taylor-swift-donald-trump.Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. Romano, Aja. "The 'Dark Brandon' Meme and Why the Biden Campaign Has Embraced It Explained." Vox, 11 Aug. 2022, https://www.vox.com/culture/23300286/biden-dark-brandon-meme-maga-why-confusing-explained.Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. Sforza, Lauren. "Biden Trolls MAGA Republicans with Super Bowl Tweet." The Hill, 12 Feb. 2024, https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4462750-biden-trolls-maga-republicans-super-bowl-tweet/.Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. Thompson, Alex, and Allie Bice. "Dark Brandon Begins: How WH Aides Appropriated the Meme of Their Boss as an Underworld Kin." POLITICO, 8 Aug. 2022, https://www.politico.com/newsletters/west-wing-playbook/2022/08/08/how-a-meme-of-biden-as-an-underworld-king-became-appropriated-by-his-aides-00050405.Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. | 1 | [
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FMD332 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: For the first time since 1988, Latinos will be totally shut out from having any role in an administration.Despite the fact that Latinos make up 17 percent of the population in the United States, Trump apparently does not want them anywhere near him or his presidency, which makes it clear that he intends to treat them like second-class citizens over the next four years. We re extremely worried. This is anti-democratic, National Hispanic Leadership Agenda chairman Hector Sanchez told the Dallas Morning News after Trump chose a middle-aged white guy to be Secretary of Agriculture, the last cabinet position to be filled. Trump has not only been the most anti-Latino, anti-immigrant president in the history of the nation; by not including Latinos in the Cabinet he is just showing how he is planning to govern, Sanchez continued.Indeed, the alarming absence of Latinos in Trump s cabinet caught the notice of the media, who promptly asked Trump s official mouthpiece, Sean Spicer, about it.His response is flat-out offensive. I think that when you look at the totality at his administration the people that he s talked to, the people that he s met with, the people that he s appointing you see a president who s committed to uniting this country, who s bringing the best and brightest together. Look at the cabinet Elaine Chao, Dr. Ben Carson, Nikki Haley, the first Indian-American. Not only is Spicer suggesting that Latinos are not the best and brightest, he s suggesting that Ben Carson is actually one of the best and brightest. Let s not forget that Carson thinks the ancient pyramids were built to be grain silos, something that is totally wrong and has been mocked by archaeologists.Spicer then doubled down, claiming that Americans should focus on whether Trump is hiring the best people for the jobs, and claimed that Trump s cabinet is diverse. Here s the video via YouTube.Again, Latinos are the fastest growing demographic in this country. There should be at least one in an administration that is supposed to represent all of America. Trump and his team can t honestly say that they couldn t find a person of Hispanic descent who is qualified to work in any cabinet position. But 17 percent of our nation s population will be alienated by Trump.Trump s claim that his cabinet is ideologically diverse and filled with the best and brightest is also bullshit. Not only did Trump only pick conservatives to fill his cabinet, all but two are men and all but two are white. That s not even close to being diverse. Furthermore, as The Atlantic points out, the only nominee who has experience running a federal agency is Elaine Chao. Plus, most of his cabinet picks want to destroy the departments they have been selected to lead.In no way are these the best and brightest. And you can be damn sure that Latinos will punish Trump and Republicans for it in 2018 and 2020 when the next midterm and presidential elections give the American people a chance to fix the mistake made in 2016.Featured Image via Twitter | 0 | [
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FMD333 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Germany s departing finance minister expressed optimism that his country s democratic institutions were strong enough to withstand the arrival of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as the third-largest party in parliament. Wolfgang Schaueble, who is due to step down as finance minister to become president of the Bundestag parliament, told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag that AfD s 90-odd elected lawmakers would be constrained by Germany s constitution. I d like to see more self-confidence, he told the newspaper in an interview published on Tuesday. Our free, democratic system based on the rule of law is so strong that nobody can wreck it, neither from within nor from without. Anybody who tries will fail. The 75-year-old conservative took his new job at the urging of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Her conservatives are trying to patch together a three-way coalition with the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats, who are expected to demand the position of finance minister. Also, many in Germany s mainstream felt a senior politician was needed to rein in the first far-right party to enter parliament in 50 years. Schaueble is Germany s longest-serving parliamentarian, and his stature is second only to Merkel s in German politics. But Schaueble said he was ready to move on: I decided before the elections after eight years as finance minister and many years government responsibility to take on a new task. He added he was confident that a three-party coalition would be agreed, dismissing arguments about a formal cap on immigration as a false argument . He defended Merkel s 2015 decision to open Germany s borders to over a million migrants fleeing war in Africa and the Middle East. Even our children will remember with pride the willingness to help that the Germans showed during the refugee crisis, he told the paper. | 1 | [
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FMD334 | 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 Multnomah County libraries are open 44 hours per week the lowest of any library in the four-county region.
contextual information: Supporters of a new Multnomah County Library District say a new tax structure is necessary for keeping one of the nations busiest libraries working for all of us. In a mailer, the Libraries Yes! Committee paints an already dim picture of the system.The mailer notes reduced hours and compares them to other metro-area counties: Right now, our libraries are open 44 hours per week, down from 57 hours just a few years ago. Thats the lowest of any library in the four-county region.PolitiFact Oregon was well aware that the system has cut back in certain areas, but it surprised us that the cuts had gone so far as to put operating hours behind Clackamas, Washington and Clark counties. We thought a quick check was warranted -- and quick it was.We checked the website for each of the counties libraries and calculated the weekly operating hours for the main branches. Heres what we found.In Multnomah County, the Central Library is open44 hours each week.In Washington County, the Hillsboro Main Library is open64 hours eachweekand the Beaverton City Library is open63 hours.In Clackamas County, the library system is open52 hours a week.And up in Washingtons Clark County, the main Vancouver Community Library is open60 hours a week.We also called the group responsible for the mailer and asked them about the statement. They sent us a slightly different group of numbers -- the average number of hours a library was open in each county. Their findings supported the same conclusion: Multnomah County library hours are the lowest in the four-county region.We find this statement True. | 1 | [
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"2"
] | 1 |
FMD335 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: No, Walmart is not providing a complimentary $50 'Anniversary' voucher on Facebook. Claim summaries: Yet another "free coupon" scam attempted to lure social media users with bogus promises.
contextual information: In March 2020, Facebook posts offering free coupons supposedly worth $50 in merchandise from Walmart began circulating with the claim that the company was celebrating its anniversary: Users who clicked on the offer were taken to an external website where they were instructed to answer survey questions in order to receive their coupon: After completing the questionnaire, however, users are then required to click a button to share the "offer" with all their Facebook friends before they can retrieve their coupon. Those who comply by spamming their friends are then allowed to click a "Receive the Coupon" button. However, there is no actual coupon to receive. Like innumerable other "free merchandise" offers on Facebook (including previous examples targeting Walmart customers), this one is a scam. We've had many occasions to alert readers to this kind of fraud: other free merchandise offers targeting These types of viral coupon scams often involve websites and social media pages set up to mimic those of legitimate companies. Users who respond to those fake offers are required to share a website link or social media post in order to spread the scam more widely and lure in additional victims. Then those users are presented with a survey that extracts personal information such as email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and even sometimes credit card numbers. Finally, those who want to claim their free gift cards or coupons eventually learn they must first sign up to purchase a number of costly goods, services, or subscriptions. The Better Business Bureau offers consumers several general tips to avoid getting scammed: offers consumers Better Business Bureau. Scam Alert: Giveaway Scam Poses as Facebook.
14 April 2017. | 0 | [
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"2"
] | 0 |
FMD336 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Washington s top aid official, Mark Green, visiting Sudan s North Darfur state, stressed on Monday the importance of unfettered humanitarian access as a key demand for easing U.S. sanctions against the government of President Omar al-Bashir. Just two weeks into the job as U.S. President Donald Trump s new aid administrator, Green is on a fact-finding mission to Sudan before an Oct. 12 deadline for when the administration will decide whether to permanently lift 20-year-old sanctions. The United Nations has reported progress in the opening of aid corridors by Sudan s military to get food and medicine into once tightly-controlled areas of Darfur. Last month for the first time in seven years, aid workers were allowed into Jebel Marra, a mountainous region in central, north and south Darfur where fighting persists. There they found acute malnutrition and high levels of child mortality, according to a USAID report. Before sanctions can be lifted the Sudanese government needs to comply with five U.S. demands, including improved humanitarian access, more cooperation between the U.S. and Sudan on fighting extremism and an end to internal conflicts. While Green acknowledged there had been progress on all fronts, the question was whether it was enough for Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to permanently lift the sanctions, he said. Certainly there has been progress particularly in recent weeks, Green told Reuters and the Washington Post in a joint interview. This is not a matter of whether things look perfect on the date that a decision made, it s whether or not long-lasting changes have been made. It s not meant to be one-off, it s not meant to be a single moment, a snap shot, but instead the product of real change, Green added. He said dialogue with Khartoum was an opportunity for a new and closer relationship and could mean a significant change in the lives of a population hard hit by the sanctions. Then-U.S. President Barack Obama temporarily lifted sanctions for six months in January, suspending a trade embargo, unfreezing assets and removing financial sanctions. But any sanctions relief would not remove Sudan from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, a designation it shares with Iran and Syria. The sanctions about which we re talking are but one set of sanctions, said Green. At this point in time we re engaging in conversations with Sudan to see what is possible, and that is really all that these conversations are really about. We will all know more about what is possible come October, so no one is pretending, or suggesting there is a magic wand and that everything changes on October 12, he said. Senior U.S. officials, who spoke before Green s trip on condition of anonymity, have expressed concern that once sanctions are lifted progress by the Bashir government could backslide. Others worry that if sanctions are not lifted in October the government will halt cooperation with Washington. Darfur s conflict began more than a decade ago when rebels took up arms against the government in Khartoum. The government responded with force, using militias known as the janjaweed, which were drawn from nomadic Arab tribes and blamed for much of the killing. Less than 10 miles (16 km) outside the North Darfur city of El Fashir, the Zam Zam camp was once a village that has become a sprawling home for 230,000 people who have fled Darfur s conflict. As he toured the camp Green saw for himself US-funded programs that help mothers and malnourished children. I want to go home but it isn t safe, said Hawad Abdullah Mohamad, 33, a mother of seven who has lived in Zam Zam for 13 years. Nearby, under a large tree, Green spoke with about a dozen men, who complained about access to food and camp life. Where do you see yourself in five years from now? Green asked Ahmed Nour Mohamed from Tawila village. When he did not get a straight answer, Green persisted with the line of questioning. In my village or in the grave, Mohamed replied. Green said later he was trying to understand what was keeping people at Zam Zam from returning home. These are important questions for us to ask because for an agency like USAID ... we should be thinking about what it would take to tackle conditions so people can leave the camps, he said. | 1 | [
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"1",
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FMD337 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: JERUSALEM — In a pointed act of defiance against international pressure, Israel on Tuesday approved a huge new wave of settlement construction in the occupied West Bank. The announcement made clear that just a few days into the Trump presidency, the Israeli government feels emboldened to shake off the constraints imposed by the Obama administration and more willing to disregard international condemnation. Leaders from 70 countries met in Paris more than a week ago and issued a warning that the peace solution was imperiled by Israel’s expanding of settlements in territory in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as violence against Israelis. But even though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has endorsed the principle of states, in the past few days Israel’s campaign of settlement building has only accelerated. The first step came on Sunday, when the Jerusalem City Council approved 566 new housing units in East Jerusalem that had been delayed over President Barack Obama’s objections. Then on Tuesday, the Israeli government announced that 2, 500 new housing units would be built in the West Bank. Officials said most would be built in “settlement blocs,†referring to areas of the West Bank that Israel has long intended to keep under any future agreement with the Palestinians, possibly in return for land swaps along the boundary that separated Israel from the West Bank before the 1967 war. But in years of failed negotiations, the Israelis and Palestinians have never agreed on the size or location of such blocs. The Israeli Ministry of Defense said 900 of the newly announced homes were being planned for Ariel, an urban settlement of about 20, 000 residents that Israel considers a “bloc,†but is strategically — and problematically — located in the heart of the West Bank. It also said it would bring to the cabinet a plan to build a large industrial zone to create work for Palestinians in the southern West Bank. “We are going back to normal life in Judea and Samaria,†Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s defense minister, said in a statement announcing the new settlement building, referring to the West Bank by its biblical names. Asked about the Israeli move, the White House spokesman, Sean Spicer, said that Mr. Trump was still getting his team together and that there would be discussions with Mr. Netanyahu. “Israel continues to be a huge ally of the United States,†Mr. Spicer said. “He wants to grow closer with Israel to make sure that it gets the full respect that it deserves in the Middle East, and that’s what he’s going to do. Palestinian officials immediately denounced the new plans. “Once again, the Israeli government has proved that it is more committed to land theft and colonialism than to the solution and the requirements for peace and stability,†Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee, said in a statement. “It is evident that Israel is exploiting the inauguration of the new American administration to escalate its violations and the prevention of any existence of a Palestinian state,†she added, calling on the United States and other international players to take concrete measures against Israeli settlement activities. Israel’s campaign of settlement construction has brought widespread criticism. A month ago, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution condemning Israel’s settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as having no legal validity and constituting a “flagrant violation under international law†after the Obama administration decided not to veto the measure. Days later, the departing secretary of state, John Kerry, rebuked Israel’s settlement activities in an impassioned speech, saying, “The status quo is leading toward one state and perpetual occupation. †But with Israel’s occupation of the West Bank in its 50th year, the Israeli government, dominated by and religious parties, is clearly expecting a friendlier approach from the White House after years of tension with the Obama administration. David M. Friedman, the bankruptcy lawyer President Trump has nominated as his ambassador to Israel, has led a arm of the settlement movement and has dismissed the idea of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. He has declared that he intends to work in Jerusalem, not Tel Aviv, where the American Embassy has been for decades, under the State Department’s insistence that the holy city’s status be determined as part of a broader deal between Israel and the Palestinians. It was not immediately clear whether the Israeli announcement had been coordinated in advance with Mr. Trump’s team. But beyond Mr. Netanyahu’s apparent attempt to chart a new course with Mr. Trump, he is also under intense pressure from the right flank of his governing coalition to demonstrate where his domestic loyalties lie. Naftali Bennett, the education minister and leader of the staunchly Jewish Home party, has been goading the prime minister to seize the moment and take the extreme step of beginning a process of annexing the West Bank settlements to Israel. “Netanyahu is facing a historic decision: sovereignty or Palestine,†Mr. Bennett said on Monday. “We urge Netanyahu, don’t miss an opportunity that comes along once every 50 years. †Mr. Netanyahu appeared to postpone any discussion of annexation: “This is no time for decisions or political dictations, and this is no time for surprises. †This, he added, “is the time for considered, responsible diplomacy among friends. †The prime minister’s office said that in a phone conversation with Mr. Trump on Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu discussed the peace process and hoped to forge a “common vision†with Mr. Trump “to advance peace and security in the region, with no daylight between the United States and Israel. †No more details were given. The peace process has been at an impasse since the last round of talks collapsed in the spring of 2014. During the nine months of talks, Mr. Netanyahu attempted to appease Israel’s right wing by advancing plans for about 13, 000 new housing units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, infuriating the Palestinian side. The weakened Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, who appeared reluctant to take risks of his own, never responded to the ideas that Mr. Kerry’s team had formulated for a framework to guide further negotiations. Now, with the change of American administrations, some Israeli analysts have recommended that Mr. Netanyahu take the opportunity to try to reinstate understandings that Israel had with President George W. Bush, who wrote in a 2004 letter that “already existing major Israeli population centers†should be taken into consideration in redrawing the borders between Israel and the West Bank — a reference to settlement blocs. But that came in the context of Israel’s plans to unilaterally withdraw from Gaza and from a section of the northern West Bank. And the case of Ariel serves to illustrate the contentiousness of unilaterally defining the blocs. Israelis have long labeled Ariel part of their national “consensus,†meaning that it would be included in Israel’s borders under any peace deal, and it often appears as one of the regular dots on Israeli weather maps. But Palestinian negotiators have always rejected that idea, arguing that Israeli control over Ariel would preclude the territorial contiguity of a Palestinian state. They also note that Ariel sits on a major aquifer. According to Tuesday’s announcement, 20 of the new units are to be built in Beit El, a settlement deep in the West Bank that has particularly benefited from Mr. Friedman’s activities. The government promised in 2012 to build 300 units in Beit El, a settlement of about 7, 000 residents, to compensate for the evacuation of part of a neighborhood there that was illegally built on private Palestinian land. So far, the promise has remained unfulfilled. According to Israel’s Ministry of Defense, bids will now be solicited for the construction of about 900 of the 2, 500 new units around the West Bank. But the rest, including most of those planned for Ariel, still have to go through additional planning phases, a bureaucratic process that can take months, if not years, and requires additional government approval at each stage. Oded Revivi, the chief foreign envoy of the Yesha Council, an umbrella organization representing the more than 400, 000 settlers in the West Bank, said in a statement, “We hope that this is just the beginning of a wave of new building across our ancestral homeland after eight very difficult years. †But some in the settler camp played down the construction plans and expressed suspicions about Mr. Netanyahu’s intentions. “We are not stupid,†Bezalel Smotrich, a legislator from the Jewish Home party, wrote in a post on his Facebook page. Objecting to the government announcement mostly describing the advancement of existing plans in settlement blocs, Mr. Smotrich accused Mr. Netanyahu of “throwing a candy†to the settlers and playing “public relations tricks. †| 1 | [
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"2"
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FMD338 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: In a Tuesday editorial, the paper’s opinion editors cast significant doubt on the Texas Republican’s ability to assemble a winning coalition, arguing that Cruz’s assumption that he can win by turning out more white conservative voters is fundamentally flawed and warning that the Tea Party firebrand’s hardline stance on immigration makes him “a dream come true for Hillary Clinton,†the likely Democratic nominee in 2016.
Blaming Cruz for “plunging†the GOP’s favorability by leading the 2013 government shutdown — part of a botched attempt to derail health care reform — the Journal depicts Cruz as a polarizing figure all too willing to reflexively oppose anything the Obama administration proposes. The editors castigate Cruz as an “opportunist†for seeking to pare back government surveillance and for opposing the administration’s abortive effort to authorize air strikes in Syria in 2013 — stances that Cruz took despite a generally hawkish worldview.
As for Cruz’s claim that Republicans like 2012 nominee Mitt Romney have lost because they failed to galvanize the right-wing base, the Journal allows that “Romney in particular failed to motivate enough conservatives.†However, the editors posit, Cruz “is probably wrong to think that conservatives alone, especially white conservatives, can elect the next President,†adding that the party’s 2016 nominee “must broaden the GOP’s electoral appeal.†Part of that, the editorial suggests, entails a softer line on immigration; continued opposition to reform will only prove a boon to Democratic efforts to keep Latino voters solidly in the blue column.
This being the Wall Street Journal editorial board, the piece is not without pot-shots at Democrats. Indeed, the editorial is framed around the notion that Cruz is the Republican version of Barack Obama. There are areas of overlap: Both began their presidential bids as 40-something first-term senators, both graduated from Harvard Law School, both are perceived as dynamic speakers, and both boast appeal among key segments of their parties’ respective constituencies. Although the similarities largely end there, the Journal insists otherwise. Much as Cruz is notorious for his scorched-earth Tea Party tactics, the Journal would have us believe that Obama harbors “contempt†for Republicans and for the very idea of “work[ing] across the aisle.â€
In the latter half of his second term, Obama may have come to the belated realization that Republicans had no interest in cooperating with him, but the president reached this conclusion only after the failure of his assiduous efforts to woo GOP support. His 2008 campaign rested on the notion that he, not Hillary Clinton, would bridge Washington’s partisan divide, and he spent much of his first term negotiating against himself in the vain hope that his proposals would garner Republican backing. There was the largely fruitless effort to secure GOP support for the 2009 stimulus package, for instance, and the months-long, ill-fated bid to get then-Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) to vote for health care reform. Obama’s Kumbayaism was doomed literally from the start; just as Obama took office, top congressional Republicans decided in a closed-door meeting that the next four years would be ones of knee-jerk opposition to the president’s policies. Six years later, Cruz is telling Republicans that the obstructionists who run his party aren’t intransigent enough. That view may be held by a large segment of the Tea Party, but even some of the nation’s most conservative voices find it laughable — and politically perilous. | 1 | [
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"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD339 | 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: War Between the States Claim summaries: Maps show similarity between 2004 U.S. presidential election and pattern of free vs. slave states in pre-Civil War America.
contextual information: Claim: Maps show similarity between 2004 U.S. presidential election results and pattern of free vs. slave states in pre-Civil War America. Multiple see below. Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2004] 2004 U.S. Presidential Election Results Pre-Civil War Free vs. Slave States Origins: This is another example for which it is difficult to assign a value of "" or "" there is a basic (and somewhat superficial) underlying fact which is true, but interpretations of that fact's significance are subjective and can be widely varied. It is true that a map showing the locations of free and slave states (and territories) in the pre-Civil War U.S. bears a rough resemblance to a map showing the electoral vote results for the 2004 U.S. presidential election. Senator John Kerry won most of the states in the northeast, the Great Lakes, and the Pacific coast regions, while President George W. Bush captured all of the south plus most of the midwestern, western, and plains states. However, the similarities between these maps mask some very significant differences. On the eve of the Civil War (which began in April 1861), the United States was very sharply divided along regional lines. Going into the 1860 campaign, the two major parties both essentially split in two, each creating a northern and a southern wing. In the subsequent presidential election the northern Whig/Republican party (represented by Abraham Lincoln of Illinois) didn't even appear on the ballot in most southern states, and while the Southern Democratic party (represented by John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky) did make the ballot throughout most of the north, they rarely drew more than a relative handful of votes in those states. All four candidates captured at least one state's electoral votes, a rarity in U.S. election history. election captured The electorate in 2004 was not nearly so sharply divided along regional lines, however an electoral map just makes it appear that way because of the "winner take all" nature of the U.S. electoral system. Both the popular and electoral vote totals in 2004 were quite close (President Bush won the popular vote by a 51%-48% margin, and a single strongly-contested state such as Ohio could have tipped the electoral vote balance in the other direction), and although the states won by each candidate were largely clumped into regional clusters, both candidates generally ran very strongly even in the states they did not win. An election map with finer gradation (i.e., displaying results on a county-by-county basis rather than a state-by-state one, and providing color shading to reflect the closeness of the vote in each area) produces a better picture of how strongly both candidates in the 2004 election ran even in states which they lost: 2004 (Click here for a larger version of this map.) here According to exit polls and analysis of county-by-county election returns, the sharpest geographic distinction between the two candidates did not primarily correspond to region but to size of community: Senator John Kerry had a substantial 60%-39% edge in large cities (representing roughly 13% of the total U.S. population), while the reverse was true in rural areas (representing roughly 16% of the total U.S. population), where President Bush garnered a 59%-40% majority. What we saw in the 2004 election was more of an urban vs. rural division, regardless of state. exit polls Last updated: 11 November 2004 Sources: Alexander, Kate. "Election Officials Urge Voters to Check Ballots for Errors." Austin American-Statesman. 23 October 2004 (p. B1). | 2 | [
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"2"
] | 2 |
FMD340 | 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 have the highest (corporate tax rates) in the world right now.
contextual information: On the Jan. 2, 2011, edition of NBC's Meet the Press, Sen.-elect Pat Toomey, R-Pa., cited a striking statistic in urging the United States to lower its corporate tax rates. When asked by host David Gregory about possible areas where President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans could work together, Toomey suggested several areas, including taxes. "I think tax policy is a possible area, one with plenty of landmines but plenty of opportunities," Toomey said. "Simplify the code, lower rates. We should be lowering corporate tax rates because we have the highest in the world right now." (Later in the roundtable discussion, Yale Law School professor Stephen Carter repeated the statistic, but we'll check Toomey's quote here.) We wondered whether the U.S. really has the highest corporate tax rates in the world. Using the most straightforward definition of corporate tax rates, Toomey is right. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a group of 32 large, industrialized democracies, ranks the combined corporate income tax rate in its member nations. That means the highest tax bracket for general corporate income, excluding taxes levied on specific products or services. For 2010, the U.S. ranks second to Japan by a fraction of a percentage point—39.54 percent for Japan to 39.21 percent for the U.S. But that figure is already outdated: Japan has recently moved to cut its rate for 2011 by 5 percentage points, leaving the U.S. with the highest corporate tax rate among OECD nations. But before we declare Toomey's statement true, let's dig a little deeper. The OECD rate is the statutory rate—that is, the top corporate tax rate on the books. However, many companies pay considerably less than that due to deductions and other exclusions. Adjusting for these factors produces a statistic called the effective tax rate. The World Bank has assembled data from 183 nations and made a series of statistical adjustments to produce a full international comparison of effective tax rates. By this measurement, the U.S. rate is considerably lower than the published rate—27.6 percent. But in a comparative sense, that's still pretty high: Among larger international economies, only Japan, New Zealand, and Thailand produced a higher effective rate in the World Bank study. And Japan's number should fall by the time next year's study comes out. The World Bank also produces another—and broader—statistic. This measure factors in not only the corporate profit tax but also a range of other taxes paid by businesses, including the cost of employee taxes borne by the employer. When the World Bank ranked countries from the lowest level of taxes to the highest, the U.S. ranked 124th out of 183—meaning corporate taxes were relatively high. A number of other large and/or democratic countries were higher, including Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, France, Hungary, India, Italy, Spain, and Sweden. This last measure provides a wider snapshot of U.S. tax policy toward businesses, but it also introduces some complications. Factoring in the employer-paid portion of labor taxes makes the corporate tax rate seem higher in countries that provide higher benefits such as pensions or health care through business taxes, while making the rate seem lower for countries that provide less generous benefits through the tax code. So making apples-to-apples comparisons can be tricky. There's also broader context that Toomey doesn't address. In a previous item, we noted that when all taxes, including those such as personal income taxes and property taxes—not just corporate taxes—are taken into account and compared to gross domestic product, the U.S. doesn't rank near the top of the OECD table in total tax burden. Still, if you rate Toomey on his specific wording by looking at corporate tax rates, he's right that the U.S. does now have the highest corporate tax rates on the books, at least among the biggest industrialized democracies, which is most economists' typical yardstick. So we rate his statement Mostly True. | 1 | [
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"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD341 | 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: Were getting into the pool of the 100 million people that are not working. That pool is now coming back.
contextual information: President Donald Trump took a victory lap on the job market during one of his periodic Cabinet meetings. "Unemployment is at a 17-year low," he said on Dec. 6, 2017. "Very shortly it's going to be at a 19-year low. We think the numbers are going to continue to go down. And we're also getting into the pool of the 100 million people that are not working. That pool is now coming back. As you know, that's not considered in the low employment numbers, which means we have a lot of people that want to get to work, and that will be working." The unemployment rate is indeed at its lowest point since December 2000. But we were curious about Trump's other assertion—that would-be workers from a pool of 100 million are coming back into the workforce. First off, Trump is in the ballpark when he says that there are 100 million people not working. There are currently 95.4 million people above the age of 16 who are out of the labor force—meaning neither working nor actively looking for work—and another 6.5 million people who are unemployed. If you look at the raw number of Americans who are not in the labor force—people who are not working or looking actively for work—that figure has risen by 1.02 million since January 2017, an increase of about 1 percent. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate—or the percentage of people age 16 and up who are either working or actively looking for work—has been bouncing around in a narrow band since Trump took office—between 62.7 percent and 63.1 percent—with no clear trend. While neither of these measures supports Trump's assertion, each presents an imperfect view of the labor pool by including everyone 16 and up. Those totals are shaped by demographic changes. Demographic trends, such as the aging of the baby boomer cohort, have been the primary drivers for the decline in labor force participation, said Chris Lafakis, a director at Moody's Analytics. "We simply have more retirees now because our population is older." If you drill down using statistics that are more targeted to working-age Americans, Trump's assertion looks more credible. Consider the employment-to-population ratio for Americans age 25 to 54. During Obama's last 12 months, this measurement rose by half a percentage point. (Rising, for this statistic, is good—it means a larger percentage of Americans are employed.) But in the first 10 months of Trump's tenure, the statistic rose by six-tenths of a percentage point. That's not a radical improvement, but it's better than his predecessor managed in his final year. If you look at the raw numbers, the number of non-workers in the 25 to 54 age range has declined by about 691,000 since January 2017. Another statistic also puts the improvement in 2017 in a favorable light. That would be the unemployment rate known as U-6. This statistic uses a more generous definition of unemployment than the most commonly used measure. The U-6 rate includes not just workers who are officially unemployed but also those who are employed part-time when they would prefer a full-time job, and those who want to work but who haven't looked for work in the preceding four weeks. In Obama's final year, this measure dropped by half a percentage point. (A drop is a good sign.) But under Trump, it has dropped by 1.5 percentage points—three times faster in a shorter period of time. This statistic is an important one for judging Trump's assertion because the people who would be driving the declines would specifically be those who find jobs after being unemployed by conventional definitions, plus those who had been forced to work only part-time and those who had not looked for work for several months. President Trump is correct that the pool of non-workers continues to shrink, said Brookings Institution economist Gary Burtless, though he added that it has done so fairly steadily since the last quarter of 2011. Jed Kolko, the chief economist for the job site Indeed.com, puts significant stock in the two statistics that support Trump's statement. "Our view is that the labor market is entering 2018 with strength and momentum, with some room to grow," Kolko said. Finally, it's worth noting that no president can take full credit for the economy's achievements (or take full fault for its shortcomings). Many other factors, including the health of the rest of the world economy and changes in demographics and technology, play a role as well. Our ruling: Trump said that we're getting into the pool of the 100 million people that are not working. The statistics that shine the most direct light on working-age Americans support Trump's point. Both the working-age employment-to-population ratio and the U-6 expanded unemployment rate have improved on Trump's watch. It's worth noting that they also improved during Obama's final year, so Trump was fortunate to take office at a time when the economy was already going in the right direction. But the scale of the increase has been bigger under Trump. We rate this statement Mostly True. | 1 | [
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"1",
"2"
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FMD342 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: FBI Closes In On Hillary! Posted on Home » Headlines » World News » FBI Closes In On Hillary!
We now have 5 separate FBI cases probing the Hillary-Bill Clinton inner circle. Here is the background on those 5 cases and all of the major players that we are going to cover:
FIVE INVESTIGATIONS UNDERGOING BY THE FBI ON CLINTON, THE CLINTON FOUNDATION AND INNER CIRCLE/TRUMP SURPASSES CLINTON IN THE POLLS/DEUTSCHE BANK STOCK PLUMMETS AGAIN/DB’S CHIEF ECONOMIST BLASTS THE ECB AGAIN: THEY MUST BE HURTING!/569,000 OZ ADDED TO THE SLV/2.67 TONNES ADDED TO THE GLD
Gold closed at $1306.40 up $20.40
silver closed at $18.66 or up 47 cents.
Access market prices: THE DAILY GOLD FIX REPORT FROM SHANGHAI AND LONDON
.
The Shanghai fix is at 10:15 pm est and 2:15 am est
The fix for London is at 5:30 am est (first fix) and 10 am est (second fix)
Thus Shanghai’s second fix corresponds to 195 minutes before London’s first fix.
And now the fix recordings:
Shanghai morning fix Nov 2 ( 10:15 pm est last night): $ 1294.53
NY ACCESS PRICE: $1289.70 (AT THE EXACT SAME TIME)
Shanghai afternoon fix: 2: 15 am est (second fix/early morning):$ 1296.08
NY ACCESS PRICE: 1291.70 (AT THE EXACT SAME TIME/2:15 am)
HUGE SPREAD TODAY!! 4 dollars
London Fix: Nov 2: 5:30 am est : $1295.85 (NY: same time: $1296.10: 5:30AM )
London Second fix Nov 2: 10 am est : $1303.75 (NY same time: $1301.75 , 10 AM )
Shanghai premium in silver over NY: 59 cents.
It seems that Shanghai pricing is higher than the other two , (NY and London). The spread has been occurring on a regular basis and thus I expect to see arbitrage happening as investors buy the lower priced NY gold and sell to China at the higher price. This should drain the comex.
Also why would mining companies hand in their gold to the comex and receive constantly lower prices. They would be open to lawsuits if they knowingly continue to supply the comex despite the fact that they could be receiving higher prices in Shanghai.
end
NOTICES FILINGS FOR NOVEMBER CONTRACT MONTH: 381 NOTICES FOR 38,100 OZ TONES
NOTICES FOR NOVEMBER CONTRACT MONTH FOR SILVER: 12 NOTICES OR 60,000 OZ
Let us have a look at the data for today
.
In silver, the total open interest ROSE by 4181 contracts UP to 196,912. The open interest FELL AS the silver price was UP 63 cents in yesterday’s trading .In ounces, the OI is still represented by just less THAN 1 BILLION oz i.e. .985 BILLION TO BE EXACT or 141% of annual global silver production (ex Russia &ex China).
In November, in silver, 12 notice filings: FOR 60,000 OZ
I
In gold, the total comex gold ROSE by 12,920 contracts WITH THE RISE in price of gold ($14.90 YESTERDAY) . The total gold OI stands at 521,506 contracts. The bankers supplied the necessary non backed paper trying to quell gold’s advance.
In gold for November: we had 381 notices filed for 38,100 oz
With respect to our two criminal funds, the GLD and the SLV :
GLD
TODAY WE HAD A BIG CHANGE AT THE GLD OUT OF THE GLD/A DEPOSIT OF 2.67 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD
Total gold inventory rests tonight at: 945.26 tonnes of gold
SLV
we had ANOTHER BIG CHANGE at the SLV/
A DEPOSIT OF 569,000 OZ
THE SLV Inventory rests at: 361.242 million oz
.
First, here is an outline of what will be discussed tonight:
1. Today, we had the open interest in silver ROSE by 4181 contracts UP to 196,912 as the price of silver rose by 63 cents with yesterday’s trading.The gold open interest ROSE by 12,920 contracts UP to 521,506 as the price of gold ROSE $14.90 IN YESTERDAY’S TRADING.
(report Harvey).
2.a) The Shanghai and London gold fix report
(Harvey)
2 b) Gold/silver trading overnight Europe, Goldcore
(Mark O’Byrne/zerohedge
3c FRBNY gold movement report
(Harvey) 3. ASIAN AFFAIRS
i) Late TUESDAY night/WEDNESDAY morning: Shanghai closed DOWN 19.7 POINTS OR 0.63%/ /Hang Sang closed DOWN 336.57 OR 1.45%. The Nikkei closed DOWN 307.72 POINTS OR 1.76% Australia’s all ordinaires CLOSED DOWN 1.19% /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed UP at 6.7611/Oil FELL to 45.96 dollars per barrel for WTI and 47.45 for Brent. Stocks in Europe: ALL IN THE RED Offshore yuan trades 6.7652 yuan to the dollar vs 6.7611 for onshore yuan.
THE SPREAD BETWEEN ONSHORE AND OFFSHORE NARROWS QUITE A BIT AS MORE USA DOLLARS ATTEMPT TO LEAVE CHINA’S SHORES / CHINA SENDS A MESSAGE TO THE USA TO NOT RAISE RATES IN DECEMBER. REPORT ON JAPAN SOUTH KOREA NORTH KOREA AND CHINA 3a)THAILAND/SOUTH KOREA
i)Deutsche bank stock is falling along with with rising credit default swaps
( zero hedge)
ii)Strange one!! Deutsche bank’s chief economist Landau accuses the ECB of creating asset bubbles and most importantly expropriating savers plus other goodies as they come clean.
They must be hurting real bad…
( zero hedge/Deutsche bank/Landau) 5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
none today 6.GLOBAL ISSUES
i)As a proxy for the upcoming election, the fall in the Peso is a good sign that Hillary is in trouble at the polls
( zero hedge)
ii) Another humourous story from the Philippines. After Duterte used much vulgar language against the USA, the Americans decided to stop shipments to them. He again called the Americans: “Monkeys”
( zero hedge) 7.OIL ISSUES
Last night we got a huge inventory build from API. Today from DOE also confirms a huge buildup. Oil retreats:
(courtesy zero hedge)
Venezuela’s currency disintegrates by 20% in just one week. Hyperinflation rages on
( zero hedge) 9.PHYSICAL STORIES
i)The CME is to start London gold contracts in total competition with ICE and LME .. Too many folks are abandoning the manipulated USA gold forum
( Bloomberg/GATA)
ii)The story behind the huge Grasberg mine
( The Guardian from London)
iii) Silver’s rise is showing that there is a real flight to safety going on
(courtesy Dave Kranzler/IRD) 10.USA STORIES WHICH MAY INFLUENCE THE PRICE OF GOLD/SILVER
i) We now have 5 separate FBI cases probing the Hillary-Bill Clinton inner circle:
Here is the background on those 5 cases and all of the major players that we are going to cover.
(the Daily Mail)
ii)Trump and Hillary are basically tied in latest ABC poll
( zero hedge)
iii)Citibank states what even if Hillary wins the election, it will be marked by continuous investigations and an impeachment risk.
( Citibank/zerohedge)
iv) a. The Dept of Justice guy, Peter Kadzik who is leading the investigation into the Clinton scandals has now been exposed with colluding with the Clinton campaign. What a mess!! Yesterday, in my commentary I wrote that this was this biggest conflict of interest possible and it has now become reality.
( zero hedge)
iv b. The DOJ responds: finds nothing wrong..so move on…Kadzik is nothing but a huge conflict of interest here!
( zerohedge)
v)Trump now surpasses Clinton as the rats abandon ship ( Nathan McDonald/Sprott Money)
vi)Unusual for these guys to report such a negative repot: the ADP employment sinks to its weakest level for over 2 years:
( ADP/zero hedge)
vii)The New York, ISM mfg index contracts for the 3rd consecutive month:
viii)The Fed holds again but states that the rate hike in December “strengthens”
( zero hedge) Let us head over to the comex:
The total gold comex open interest ROSE BY 12,920 CONTRACTS to an OI level of 521,506 as the price of gold ROSE $14.90 with YESTERDAY’S trading.The bankers were on full alert supplying the necessary non backed gold paper keeping the gold price contained.In the front month of November we had 494 notices standing for a GAIN of 19 contracts. We had 13 notices served upon yesterday so we GAINED 32 contracts or 3200 ADDITIONAL oz will stand for delivery in November. The next contract month and the biggest of the year is December and here this month showed a increase of 8,987 contracts up to 369,645. Today, we had 381 notice(s) filed for 38,100 oz of gold. | 0 | [
"0",
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"2"
] | 0 |
FMD343 | 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 Marlboro distributing cartons of cigarettes for free on Facebook? Claim summaries: The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 prohibits tobacco companies from giving away free samples of cigarettes.
contextual information: In October 2015, links began circulating on Facebook promising users a free carton of Marlboro cigarettes to celebrate the brand's 100th anniversary. The embedded links involved a variety of URLs, some of which included entirely unrelated scam-bait terms like "iTunes" and "Apple." Users who clicked through to claim their purported free carton of Marlboros were routed to a page reading, "Marlboro is Giving FREE Carton of Cigarettes to Celebrate 100th Anniversary (150 Cartons Remaining)," which cloned the style of Facebook-based content but was hosted on a non-Facebook URL. As noted, the URLs visible in the posts didn't point to any credible domains or any sites linked to Altria, the brand's parent company. Marlboro didn't appear to maintain any social media accounts, and the brand's official website was locked to registered users only. While no official refutations were issued, it seemed safe to assume that cigarette brands largely refrained from participating on Facebook or creating promotions that could land them afoul of strict tobacco advertising laws. By now, most social media users are familiar with survey scams; Kohl's, Costco, Home Depot, Lowe's, Kroger, Best Buy, Macy's, Olive Garden, Publix, Target, and Walmart are among the retailers used as bait by scammers seeking personal information and valuable page likes from Facebook users. A July 2014 article from the Better Business Bureau illustrated how individuals might spot and avoid bad actors utilizing the reputations of brands on social media: Don't believe what you see. It's easy to steal the colors, logos, and headers of an established organization. Scammers can also make links look like they lead to legitimate websites and emails appear to come from a different sender. Legitimate businesses do not ask for credit card numbers or banking information on customer surveys. If they do ask for personal information, like an address or email, be sure there's a link to their privacy policy. When in doubt, do a quick web search. If the survey is a scam, you may find alerts or complaints from other consumers. The organization's real website may have further information. Watch out for a reward that's too good to be true. If the survey is real, you may be entered in a drawing to win a gift card or receive a small discount off your next purchase. Few businesses can afford to give away $50 gift cards for completing a few questions. While Marlboro occasionally sends coupons to registered customers, tobacco advertising and promotion are heavily restricted, including a prohibition on free samples, and are highly unlikely to ever occur on social media in the manner posited above. | 0 | [
"0",
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"2"
] | 0 |
FMD344 | 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: Fifteen years ago, the assets of the six largest banks in this country totaled 17 percent of GDP ... The assets of the six largest banks in the United States today total 63 percent of GDP.
contextual information: Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio is pushing a proposal to cap the sizes of large banks. He appeared on ABC News'This Weekwith Jake Tapper to talk about that, as well as Democratic efforts to pass financial reform.Let me give you one statistic, if I could, Jake, Brown said. Fifteen years ago, the assets of the six largest banks in this country totaled 17 percent of GDP, 17 percent of GDP. The assets of the six largest banks in the United States today total 63 percent of GDP... We've got to deal with risk to be sure, but we've got to deal with the size of these banks, because if one of these banks is in serious trouble, it will have such a ripple effect on the whole economy. So we simply can't let them get this big and have this kind of economic power over Main Street, over a small business in Canton, Ohio, or a worker -- a manufacturing plant in Dayton. I mean, we just can't let this happen.Some very smart people disagree on Brown's point that big banks resist regulation by reason of their sheer mass.People likeSimon Johnson, the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, urge measures that would limit the size of the biggest banks. Meanwhile, people likePaul Krugman, the Nobel Prize-winningNew York Timescolumnist, say that breaking up the banks isn't necessary to avert the next meltdown if the proper regulations are put in place.We were interested in Brown's statistic though: That 15 years ago the top six banks' assets totaled 17 percent of GDP, while today that's 63 percent.Brown's staff said he got the numbers from13 Bankers:The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown, a book by Johnson and James Kwak, that describes the financial crisis and advocates steps for reform, including limits on the size of banks. Johnson also cited the number in an article in theNew Republic, co-written with Peter Boone, thatcriticizedPresident Barack Obama for not pushing rules that are tougher on big banks.The numbers are a fairly straightforward calculation. You take the bank's total assets, such as loans, cash and securities. (Remember that to banks, a loan is an asset, since they make money off loans.) Then you divide by GDP, which is gross domestic product, and is the total economic output for a country during a given year. Last year, the U.S. gross domestic product was $14.3 trillion.Johnson's book lists the six biggest banks of 2009 as Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.The numbers in the book looked right to us, but we wanted to find an outside expert to confirm it. Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia agreed to run the numbers to see if they got the same thing.Sure enough, they found the same thing. The figures were off by a few percentage points because the researchers were able to use numbers from the fourth quarter of 2009 and compared them with the same quarter in 1994. Johnson's book cites numbers from the third quarter.Here's the information the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia sent us:Assets (in billions), Dec. 31, 2009Bank of America Corp. - 2,224.5JP Morgan Chase - 2,032.0Citigroup - 1,856.6Wells Fargo - 1,243.6Goldman Sachs - 849.3Morgan Stanley - 771.5Total 8,977.5Nominal GDP 14.453.8Percentage 62.1%Assets (in billions), Dec. 31, 1994Citicorp - 250.5BankAmerica Corp. - 215.5Chemical Banking Corp. - 171.4Nationsbank Corp. - 169.6JP Morgan - 154.9Chase Manhattan - 114.0Total 1,075.9Nominal GDP 7,248.2Percentage 14.8%A couple of experts we asked about these numbers noted that Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were for years categorized as investment banks, and would not have been counted in the 1994 numbers. That changed in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis, when the two firms becamebank holding companiesso they could borrow from the Federal Reserve. The underlying point, though -- that there has been significant consolidation in the banking industry -- remains true, they said.Brown said, Fifteen years ago, the assets of the six largest banks in this country totaled 17 percent of GDP ... The assets of the six largest banks in the United States today total 63 percent of GDP. Independent sources and experts confirm that, so we rate his statement True. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD345 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: With no presidential election or congressional seats on the line, Tuesday’s election watchers were focused on some high-profile ballot initiatives, a governor’s race in Kentucky and a handful of other races. Here are some of the highlights, compiled from the Journal’s reports across the country. | 1 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD346 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Contrary to what the media would like us to believe, Obama has not remained silent when it comes to policy that President Trump put in place by executive order. Neither he nor his Democratic henchmen remained silent when President Trump desperately tried to convince Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare, or when he had the opportunity to attack him over his handling of the Charlottesville controversy. The media celebrated Obama s post-Charlotseville tweet designed to make our former President look like he was in favor of uniting the nation (which we all know is a bald-faced lie), while falsely giving the impression that President Trump was choosing sides.Before the media gets into a full-blown tizzy about Obama using social media to bash our current president over DACA, they might consider that most of America aren t stupid enough to believe that Valerie Jarrett didn t move into Barack Obama s DC home because he needed a friend to play checkers with. He may not be making public statements to voice his opposition against our current president, but one thing we do know is that he and Valerie Jarrett aren t sitting on their hands, while President Trump unwinds everything they worked so hard to make happen, including DACA.Hotair You know it s killing this guy not to be on camera every day scolding Trump in his usual that s not who we are terms but that would be a strategic disaster so obvious that silence is really the only option. A Trump vs. Obama fight over almost any issue would unify most of the right behind the president and O knows it; the most brutal thing he can do to Trump is to deny him that our-guy-versus-their-guy dynamic. I don t think it s crazy to believe that Trump s job approval would be five to 10 points higher if Obama had spent the last seven months sniping at him regularly. By withholding his criticism, he s made it possible for soft Republicans and right-leaning independents to criticize POTUS without fear of being accused that they re carrying O s water.Two days before President Trump s inauguration, Obama warned him that he would come out against him if Trump rescinded his unconstitutional DACA.Why attack Trump now? I think there s more to it than DACA just being near and dear to Obama s heart. He knows that congressional Republicans are going to be jammed up here to an unusual degree. Immigration is a fraught issue for the GOP under the best of circumstances but DREAMers are an especially hard case due to their having come here as children. They re the one class of illegals about whom even Trump speaks warmly. In fact, the president s going to end DACA not because he wants to but because Republican AGs are squeezing him to do so, replete with the threat of a court battle; even then, Trump is still so reluctant to pull the plug that he s willing to hold off for another six months. The entire GOP (apart from Steve King) will spend those six months telling every voter who listens that they re open to legalizing DREAMers. All they ask in return is some face-saving security measures so that they can semi-plausibly argue to their base that they didn t roll over completely on amnesty.Having Obama wade in publicly on the side of DREAMers will complicate all of that. With O banging the drum for amnesty, Republican voters who are lukewarm on the idea in the first place will start to turn frosty. Populists will have a field day attacking Ryan and McConnell (and Trump?) for essentially doing Obama s bidding by negotiating for a DREAM bill. Some congressional Republicans might start to get cold feet. The more hostile Trump and the congressional GOP become towards a DREAM deal as part of a backlash towards Obama, the more ammo Schumer will have to say that Republicans are being cruel to poor illegal children whose only mistake was trusting the federal government. The whole GOP we like DREAMers too! messaging effort will be scrambled. Either negotiations will end up collapsing in Congress, with Dems using the DREAM failure against Republicans next fall, or Trump, Ryan, and McConnell will have to swallow hard and approve an amnesty cheered on by Barack farking Obama, which is about the RINO-iest move a modern Republican is capable of making. Either the GOP base ends up angry at the White House or everyone else does. Obama speaking out is tinder for the match Trump is about to strike.Let s hope President Trump will be able to locate and tweet this pesky little video of candidate Obama telling his constituents how he disagrees with law breaking illegal aliens living and working in America: | 0 | [
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"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD347 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: We have not observed the principles and ideals upon which this country was founded. Obama makes sure to let everyone know Americans never makes a claim about being perfect, we do make a claim about being open to change.' We re pretty sure every communist and socialist in the room would approve of Obama s version of change. h/t red flag news | 0 | [
"0",
"1",
"2"
] | 0 |
FMD348 | 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: Barack Obama and the National Anthem Claim summaries: A decade-old brouhaha over a photograph that shows Barack Obama not placing his hand over his heart while the U.S. national anthem is being played.
contextual information: Although the custom is sometimes more honored in the breach than in the observance, the U.S. Flag Code states that "During a rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart." Given how finely attuned candidates for high office usually are to the importance of symbolism, Illinois Senator (and Democratic presidential hopeful) Barack Obama caused something of a stir in September 2007 when he was seemingly spotted not observing the hand-over-heart protocol during a playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at an Indianola, Iowa, steak fry attended by the six top Democratic presidential candidates. The photograph itself is real, one of several images of the Iowa steak fry event published by Time, and shows then-Senator Barack Obama standing with his hands clasped just below his waist, while New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, New York Senator Hillary Clinton, and Ruth Harkin (wife of Iowa Senator Tom Harkin) stand with their hands held over their hearts. It's difficult to establish context from a single still image, but other accounts (including ABC News video of the event) documented that the picture was as described. The Flag Code advises that they should be "standing at attention facing the flag," but none of them is facing the flag displayed behind the platform on which they're standing. Presumably, another flag was in place off to the right of the platform, since most of the candidates were facing that direction. As we noted earlier, although the U.S. Flag Code still specifies that those present should stand "with the right hand over the heart" during the playing of the U.S. national anthem, that particular form is one that has generally come to be observed less and less consistently among the general public over the decades. Experts on the national anthem say the law seems a bit out of date, given its reference to a man's "headdress." Yet it's still cited in several military manuals found on the Web. Modern custom does not require a hand over the heart, said Anne Garside, director of communication for the Maryland Historical Society, home of the original manuscript of The Star-Spangled Banner. "I think the bottom line is that you show respect with your demeanor," she said. "Whether you put your hand over your heart, hold your hat at shoulder level or waist level, is really in this day and age irrelevant." An Obama campaign spokesperson responded: "Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't. In no way was he making any sort of statement, and any suggestion to the contrary is ridiculous." The senator himself said, "My grandfather taught me when I was two. During the Pledge of Allegiance, you put your hand over your heart. During the national anthem, you sing." When television's Inside Edition ran a segment on this issue, they included some images (supplied by the Obama campaign) of the senator standing with his hand over his heart during other playings of the national anthem. The activity taking place during the scene in the photograph involved the playing of the U.S. national anthem, not a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. During the Democratic candidates' debate on 15 January 2008, Senator Obama directly refuted the three primary rumors about him that were then circulating via e-mail: that he is a Muslim, that he was sworn in to Congress on the Quran, and that he refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance. This item saw renewed interest in April 2017, when First Lady Melania Trump seemingly had to nudge her husband, President Donald Trump, to place his hand over his heart during the playing of the national anthem while celebrating the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. A spoof article about Barack Obama's stance on the U.S. national anthem was later circulated via e-mail as a genuine statement by the then-senator. | 1 | [
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"1",
"2"
] | 1 |
FMD349 | 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 Hillary Clinton Suppress Haiti's Minimum Wage? Claim summaries: Rumors that Hillary Clinton (and the Clinton Foundation) used Haiti exclusively for personal gain are a mixed bag at best.
contextual information: Haiti's relationship with the United States and Europe can most charitably be described as complicated. Haiti's earliest days were characterized by oppression and opposition: the country (once the French colony of St. Domingue) was born from a successful slave insurgency and declared its independence in 1804. This beginning characterized an often-antagonistic relationship between countries that profited handsomely from African slavery (such as the United States) and Haiti. Foremost among fears about Haiti was that slaves would learn successful uprisings were possible. insurgency profited After Haiti formally declared its independence, the United States suspended all diplomatic and trade relationships with the country. While the U.S. eventually re-opened trading routes, America didn't recognize Haiti diplomatically for nearly sixty years after that. Other countries followed the United States' example (and France demanded millions of francs in reparations for its rebellion in exchange for recognizing Haiti as a sovereign nation) plunging Haiti into debt and an economic depression that lasted for years, from which the country never fully recovered. eventually Multiple invasions and economic and political tinkering followed, leaving Haiti in a turmoil of political instability and corruption, economic crisis, and a ravaged infrastructure, historically one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, despite its fertile land and ability to grow cash crops such as sugar. tinkering poorest Today, child labor and trafficking are endemic in Haiti, particularly in the country's manufacturing sector, which is outsourced to foreign companies (many of them contractors for American companies, such as Hanes, Dockers, and Fruit of the Loom). Even when they are not trafficked, laborers in Haiti's garment industry earn a pittance by the standards of other countries: the minimum wage was $0.24 (USD) an hour for many years. trafficking In June 2009, the Haitian Parliament unanimously passed a law requiring that the minimum wage be raised to $0.61 an hour, or $5 a day. (The average cost of living is estimated to be the equivalent of about $23 a day.) This pay raise was staunchly opposed by foreign manufacturers who had set up shop in the country, and the United States Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development backed those manufacturers. After Haiti's government mandated the raise, the United States aggressively (and successfully) pushed Haiti's president to lower the minimum wage for garment workers to what factory owners were willing to pay: the equivalent of about $0.31 an hour (or $2.50 per eight-hour day). estimated lower In 2011, WikiLeaks released a set of previously-secret diplomatic cables. The American publication The Nation partnered with Haitian news organization Hati Libert to cover them, finding (among other things) how strongly the United States had opposed the minimum wage hike: WikiLeaks partnered Hati Libert cover among other things To resolve the impasse between the factory owners and Parliament, the State Department urged quick intervention by then Haitian President Ren Prval. A more visible and active engagement by Prval may be critical to resolving the issue of the minimum wage and its protest spin-offor risk the political environment spiraling out of control, argued US Ambassador Janet Sanderson in a June 10, 2009, cable back to Washington. Two months later Prval negotiated a deal with Parliament to create a two-tiered minimum wage increaseone for the textile industry at about $3 per day and one for all other industrial and commercial sectors at about $5 per day. Still the US Embassy wasn't pleased. A deputy chief of mission, David E. Lindwall, said the $5 per day minimum did not take economic reality into account but was a populist measure aimed at appealing to the unemployed and underpaid masses. The Obama administration (and the Bush administration before it) had been closely monitoring the situation in the garment manufacturing sector for a long time. In 2006, Congress passed the HOPE bill (which stood for the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement) and provided duty-free entry to garments manufactured in Haiti for U.S. companies. That body also passed an updated version of the bill (HOPE II) in 2008, which mandated a framework for labor reform in factories. According to cables released by WikiLeaks, it was exactly these efforts that the United States claimed would be jeopardized by a higher minimum wage. HOPE HOPE II higher So it's true that the State Department (then led by Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State) strongly opposed a minimum wage increase in Haiti in 2009. However, the State Department's efforts did not occur in a political or economic vacuum, and Clinton wasn't the sole architect of efforts to quash a minimum wage hike (as the meme suggests). It was a concerted effort on the part of Haitian elites, factory owners, free trade proponents, U.S. politicians, economists, and American companies that kept the minimum wage so low, and to lay the blame squarely at the feet of any sitting Secretary of State would be an incomplete assessment, and thus inaccurate. A law establishing a new minimum wage of $5.11 per workday ($0.64 an hour) was finally approved in 2014, which still fell far short of both the demanded raise by workers (to the equivalent of $11.36 per workday, or $1.42 per hour) and the recommended daily wage of 1,006 Haitian gourdes, or USD$22.86. approved recommended gourdes Related rumors of the Clintons' relationship to Haiti appeared in October 2016, this time alleging that after the Haiti's infrastructure was devastated by a major earthquake in 2010, the State Department steered relief contracts to personal friends of the Clintons. However, while Hillary Clinton did recommend specific companies to help with the rebuilding process and e-mails have surfaced indicating that special attention was given to "FoBs" ("Friends of Bill"), there's no evidence that the United States government awarded contracts to any of those contenders. earthquake recommend e-mails evidence Alexander, Leslie. "A Pact with the Devil? The United States and the Fate of Modern Haiti."
Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, Vol. 4, Issue 5. February 2011. Coughlin, Dan and Kim Ives. "Let Them Live on $3 a Day."
The Nation. 1 June 2011. Dubois, Laurent. "Haiti: The Aftershocks of History."
Metropolitan Books: Henry Holt and Company, 2012. U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian. "Milestones: 1784-1800: The United States and the Haitian Revolution."
Accessed 5 April 2016. Federal Procurement Data System. "Haiti Earthquake Report."
Accessed 5 April 2016. Apr. 6, 2016: Statements were added to the What's True and What's False fields of this article to better explicate its rating. Oct. 7, 2016: This article was modified to incorporate a related rumor, to adjust the wording of the subhead and claim, and to add supplementary sources. Jan. 12, 2018: The rating for this article was adjusted from true to to better reflect post-publication revisions. | 2 | [
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] | 2 |
FMD350 | 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 propaganda video made in Ukraine by crisis actors? Claim summaries: This claim definitely involves propaganda, but not in the direction a propagandist would have you believe.
contextual information: In February 2022, Russian propagandists went into overdrive in an attempt to justify their unprovoked attack on Ukraine. They claimed that Ukraine was run by Nazis (false), that Ukraine was committing genocide on its own people (false), and that Russia was attacking biolabs to prevent "COVID-2" (false). false false false Another line of disinformation attempted to downplay violence in Ukraine. This was largely done when people posted photographs and videos that supposedly showed "crisis actors," or people pretending to be in crisis there. A video of a camera crew filming people running through the street, for example, was posted to Bitchute (a video platform known for hosting far-right, conspiratorial, and hate content) along with the title "How to Make a Propaganda Video?" and the hashtags #UKRAINE #RUSSIA and #PROPAGANDA. posted photographs and videos that supposedly showed "crisis actors a video platform known for hosting far-right, conspiratorial, and hate content Rumble, another video platform known for hosting far-right content, posted this video under the caption "completely choreographed Fake News In Ukraine - Still Believe Mockingbird Media?" On "TheGreatAwakening," a conspiratorial website dedicated to the debunked QAnon conspiracy theory, this video was shared with the caption "Lights, Camera, Action!" and on Twitter it was shared as if it showed "crisis actors" filmed "in the middle of the 'massive and scary' Russian invasion." This video was not filmed in the Ukraine, and it was not filmed in 2022. This video was originally posted in 2013 and shows a behind-the-scenes look at the making of "Invasion Planet Earth" (originally titled "Kaleidoscope Man"), a sci-fi adventure movie about an alien invasion. The above-displayed scene was filmed in Birmingham, England, not Ukraine. Invasion Planet Earth Kaleidoscope Man Another version of this rumor hinged on the claim that the news media was sharing an abbreviated version of this video that only showed people running (with no hints of a camera crew) in order to exaggerate the state of affairs in Ukraine. By claiming that a miscaptioned version of this footage was being shared by the news media, social media users could claim that this was an example of "globalist propaganda." But we have not found a single post from a genuine news outlet that presented this footage as if it were real. The "news outlet" included the above-displayed screenshot is a weeks-old Twitter account, @mightyfarooz200, that has no apparent connections to any credible news outlet. This video was not filmed in Ukraine during Russia's invasion of the country. It does not show crisis actors and it was not shared as if it were genuine footage of Russia's invasion as reported by credible media news outlets. However, this is still a good example of propaganda, just not in the way that it's being presented online. This footage was widely circulated on social media with one of two claims: First, that it showed Ukrainian "crisis actors" filming a propaganda video, and second that the news media was using miscaptioned footage to misrepresent the situation in Ukraine. Neither of these claims were true. Our search for postings of this video turned up dozens of far-right accounts sharing this video as if it showed crisis actors, and practically zero postings of people sharing this video as if it showed a genuine attack. In other words, this video was widely shared by those attempting to downplay the violence by Russians in Ukraine, not by those attempting to exaggerate it. British Council Film: Kaleidoscope Man. https://film-directory.britishcouncil.org/kaleidoscope-man. Accessed 28 Feb. 2022. Hinton, Alexander. Putins Claims That Ukraine Is Committing Genocide Are Baseless, but Not Unprecedented. The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/putins-claims-that-ukraine-is-committing-genocide-are-baseless-but-not-unprecedented-177511. Accessed 28 Feb. 2022. Putin Using False Nazi Narrative to Justify Russias Attack on Ukraine, Experts Say. NBC News, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/putin-claims-denazification-justify-russias-attack-ukraine-experts-say-rcna17537. Accessed 28 Feb. 2022. Ukraine Invasion: Misleading Claims Continue to Go Viral. BBC News, 28 Feb. 2022. www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/60554910. | 0 | [
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FMD351 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: It s too late for these countries who ve been invaded by mostly young Muslim male refugees to turn back the clock. Bavaria is now being forced to do whatever they can to fight back against terrorism in their own backyards. You can t allow millions of unchecked Muslim men to invade your sovereignty without paying an enormous price. Asking refugees to police refugees is like asking prisoners in a jail to police themselves. When mostly Muslim men have invaded a majority Catholic state, and are now being asked to police its citizens, what could possible go wrong?Migrants will be increasingly recruited as police officers those with and without German passports. Interior Minister Herrmann hopes this will produce a greater clear-up rate and a de-escalation of violence. The failures in the investigations of the NSU terror group have increased these efforts.Bavaria will increasingly employ police officers with foreign roots. Experience has shown that they have a more direct line to people of immigrant origin, as they speak their language and know their mentality better, said Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) on Monday in Nuremberg. I hope this will help police achieve better clear-up rates and conflict resolution. Via: Merkur.deThis is insane. I can see many Europeans rightly refusing to acknowledge the authority of police officers who are foreigners and don t even have citizenship.RT In October, 2015, Bavarian Interior Minister threatened to file a constitutional complaint against the federal government unless it would implement efficient measures to curb the influx of refugees.The Bavarian government stepped up pressure on Angela Merkel s cabinet, demanding that the German government drop its policy of welcoming an unlimited number of refugees.If effective measures are not taken to deal with the crisis, Bavaria will take the matter to the Constitutional Court and charge the German government with endangering the legal capacity of the German states to act independently, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann announced after an emergency meeting of the Bavarian government on Friday. One [the German government] does not comply with the law and the other [Bavaria] wants the law to be complied with, Bavarian Prime Minister Horst Seehofer said, commenting on the decision at the press conference following the meeting.Listen here: | 0 | [
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FMD352 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: WASHINGTON -- Facing an increasingly narrow path to the nomination and failing to thwart Donald Trump's dominance, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) withdrew from the 2016 presidential race on Tuesday. "Tonight, I'm sorry to say that path has been foreclosed," Cruz said in a speech Tuesday night in Indianapolis, "but the voters chose another path." "We are suspending our campaign," he added. As Trump barreled toward the 1,237 delegates required to win, Cruz's campaign in recent weeks resorted to increasingly desperate measures, mounting a last-ditch effort to win the Indiana primary, one of the only remaining primary states that gave Cruz a chance of winning. But Indiana turned out to be the final nail in the coffin -- Trump won handily in the Hoosier State, including among social conservatives, a demographic that in theory favored Cruz. To reinvigorate his campaign, Cruz last week named former presidential candidate and Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina as his running mate, even though candidates typically do not name their running mate until they have amassed enough delegates for the nomination.
His campaign also announced a plan to coordinate with the campaign of Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the other remaining candidate. Kasich's team agreed to pull resources out of Indiana and cede the race there to Cruz. However, this effort quickly backfired, when each candidate caused confusion by diminishing its importance. Kasich said voters in Indiana should still vote for him. Like many of the GOP candidates and party leaders, Cruz underestimated the strength of Trump's appeal. Initially, he often defended Trump instead of attacking him, strategizing that he could pick up Trump’s supporters if the businessman exited the race. But when it became apparent that Trump's populist and nationalist rhetoric was resonating with Republican voters, with the reality television star dominating the majority of the primaries, Cruz began to target Trump on the debate stage and on the campaign trail -- to little avail. Once positioned as a strong threat to become the Republican presidential nominee, the Texas senator was the first candidate in either party to officially declare his intent to run for the presidency in 2016. Bypassing the typical first step in a presidential campaign -- the exploratory committee -- he kicked off his campaign in March of 2015 with a rousing speech at Liberty University, the Christian university founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell. "What is the promise of America? The idea that -- the revolutionary idea that this country was founded upon, which is that our rights don’t come from man. They come from God Almighty,†he said in his announcement speech.
A star of the tea party movement, Cruz made social conservatism and religious liberty a fundamental part of his pitch to voters. He highlighted his staunch opposition to gay marriage on the basis of religious freedom, particularly after the Supreme Court decision in June 2015 that legalized gay marriage nationwide. In response, Cruz said he would introduce a constitutional amendment to hold elections for Supreme Court justices. Over the summer, he held a religious freedom rally in the key state of Iowa, during which he proclaimed that “there is a war on faith in America today, in our lifetime†and bemoaned the “persecution†of Christians. But despite touting his conservative credentials and fashioning himself as an anti-establishment candidate, Cruz never quite managed to rally conservatives around him. The Texas senator was hugely unpopular among his colleagues, with most GOP lawmakers reluctant to endorse him until it became clear he was the only viable option to potentially halt Trump's momentum. Only then did Republicans begin backing him, though many gave tepid reasons for doing so and perceived him merely as the lesser of two evils when compared to Trump. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) announced his support of Cruz just weeks after joking that he wanted to murder him. Former House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told students at Stanford University that Cruz was "Lucifer in the flesh" and "a miserable son of a bitch." Cruz's campaign never had the enthusiasm and fervor of Trump's insurgency. For example, when Cruz introduced himself at the second GOP debate in September, the audience responded with silence.
And while Cruz portrayed himself as an outsider, most voters viewed him as an establishment candidate, compared to the brash, take-no-prisoners Trump. As the reality of Cruz's downfall and Trump's presumptive nomination begins to sink in, the Republican party faces a serious dilemma: whether to support Trump as the party's nominee and potentially hand Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton the presidency, or risk further damage to the party with Trump at the helm. Soon after Cruz's announcement Tuesday, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus urged his party to unite around Trump. | 1 | [
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FMD353 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Trump s choice of pro-oil, pro-fracking, anti-big government, outspoken conservative and former Texas Governor Rick Perry for secretary of energy is sure to ruffle the feathers of leftists environmentalists not just in America, but around the world Rick Perry, President-elect Donald Trump s choice for Energy secretary, has close ties to the Texas oil industry and has corporate roles in two petroleum companies pushing to get government approval for the proposed 1,200-mile crude oil pipeline that has stoked mass protests in North Dakota.Perry s current roles as board director at Energy Transfer Partners LP and also at Sunoco Logistics Partners LP, which jointly developed the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline project, is a strong indicator of the pro-oil industry sentiment that will likely take root at the Energy Department under his oversight. Perry is close to Texas energy industry executives, and his political campaigns, including two aborted presidential campaigns, benefited substantially from their donations.Trump announced his choice of Perry in an early morning release Wednesday from Trump Tower in New York.He called Perry one of the most successful governors in modern history, having led Texas through a sustained period of economic growth and prosperity by developing the state s energy resources and infrastructure, and making low-cost energy available to companies and families. It is a tremendous honor to be selected to serve as Secretary of Energy by President-elect Trump, Perry said. I am deeply humbled by his trust in me. Perry s close relations with energy executives and his long-time dependence on them for political contributions signal an abrupt change of course at the Energy Department. Perry is expected to welcome the four-state pipeline and similar projects, set an open-door policy for oil industry interests and possibly tear down the department altogether. FOX 5As he said farewell to the Texas Legislature in January 2015, Rick Perry couldn t help but reflect on how energy technology and policy had transformed the state s landscape and fueled its economy during his record 14 years as governor. Today, horizontal slant drilling is tapping oil and gas fields unreachable just a few years ago, he said, going on to scold New York for banning hydraulic fracturing. In Texas, we have chosen jobs. We have chosen energy security, and we will one day end America s dependence on hostile sources of foreign energy. Although Texas longest-serving governor was, perhaps unsurprisingly, pro-oil and gas during his tenure, he didn t simply nod to those iconic, staple fuels: You can be proud that Texas produces more energy from wind turbines than all but five countries, he said.Indeed, Perry, left a nuanced energy legacy including overseeing booms in fossil fuels and renewables during his time in Austin. (Texas is now the No. 1 U.S. producer of both natural gas and wind energy.) Now, he is poised to take his experience to Washington, where President-elect Donald Trump has chosen him as U.S. secretary of energy. The appointment would mark a full repair in Perry s relationship with Trump, whom he called a cancer on conservatism last year while the two men were in a crowded field for the Republican presidential nomination.If confirmed, Perry would become the third Texan to land that job, which involves overseeing energy research and policy with ramifications on the economy, environment and national security. And he would certainly bring different perspective and background to the role than his two predecessors nuclear physicist Ernest Moniz and Physics Nobel laureate Steven Chu.Environmentalists and others question Perry s qualifications to lead the massive federal agency, particularly because he called for its elimination during his first unsuccessful presidential bid five years ago. While they concede that he championed renewables during his tenure, they also describe a more fervent support for traditional fossil fuels. TX Tribune | 0 | [
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FMD354 | 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: Sotomayor Speech From 2001 Recirculates After Trump Comments on Judge's Mexican Heritage Claim summaries: Several outlets attempted to defend Donald Trump's comments about a "Mexican" judge by invoking a 2001 speech given by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
contextual information: In June 2016, several pundits misquoted, paraphrased, or presented incomplete or inaccurate versions of a 2001 speech delivered by Sonia Sotomayor at the University of California in an attempt to defend Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent comments about U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel. In an interview with CNN, Trump stated that Curiel should recuse himself from a case he was overseeing against the now-defunct Trump University, claiming that Curiel may not be able to give him a fair trial due to his Mexican heritage. The presumptive GOP nominee asserted that his plan to build a massive wall along the U.S. border with Mexico had resulted in a conflict of interest for Curiel in the case involving Trump's for-profit university. "He's proud of his heritage, OK? I'm building a wall," Trump told Tapper. "He's a Mexican. We're building a wall between here and Mexico," he added. Tapper, however, pointed out that Curiel was born in Indiana. "We live in a society that's very pro-Mexico, and that's fine. That's all fine," Trump said at another point in the interview. "But I think he should recuse himself." "Because he's a Latino?" Tapper asked. "I'm building a wall," Trump maintained. While several Republicans have denounced Trump's statements (House Speaker Paul Ryan called it "textbook racism"), others have used Sotomayor's speech to come to his defense. For instance, television personality Eric Bolling equated Sotomayor's comments with those made by Trump: "textbook racism." Justice Sotomayor said, "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would often make, often more than not, reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life. Better conclusion, not a different conclusion, a better conclusion." She went on to say that our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging. "She's basically saying her heritage will determine how she will find cases, not the merits of the case, but what her experiences are." Pundit Ann Coulter criticized Paul Ryan on Twitter, questioning why the House Speaker did not call Sotomayor a "textbook racist." In 2001, Sonia Sotomayor delivered the annual "Olmos Memorial Lecture" at the UC Berkeley School of Law. Sotomayor, who was at that point an appeals court judge, took issue with a quote attributed to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor: "Whether born from experience or inherent physiological or cultural differences, a possibility I abhor less or discount less than my colleague Judge Cedarbaum, our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging." Justice O'Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and a wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases. "I am not so sure Justice O'Connor is the author of that line since Professor Resnik attributes that line to Supreme Court Justice Coyle. I am also not so sure that I agree with the statement. First, as Professor Martha Minnow has noted, there can never be a universal definition of wise. Second, I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." While Sotomayor's speech centered on the idea that her experiences as a Latina woman influenced her thought process, she never said, as insinuated by Bolling, that her heritage—rather than the merits of the case—would determine her decisions. Instead, Sotomayor stated that her heritage does not limit her ability to understand the values or needs of people from different backgrounds: "I, like Professor Carter, believe that we should not be so myopic as to believe that others of different experiences or backgrounds are incapable of understanding the values and needs of people from a different group. Many are so capable." As Judge Cedarbaum pointed out to me, nine white men on the Supreme Court in the past have done so on many occasions and on many issues, including Brown. However, to understand takes time and effort, something that not all people are willing to give. For others, their experiences limit their ability to understand the experiences of others. Others simply do not care. Hence, one must accept the proposition that a difference will exist due to the presence of women and people of color on the bench. Personal experiences affect the facts that judges choose to see. "My hope is that I will take the good from my experiences and extrapolate them further into areas with which I am unfamiliar. I simply do not know exactly what that difference will be in my judging. But I accept there will be some based on my gender and my Latina heritage." This is not the first time that Sotomayor's 2001 speech has been scrutinized. In 2009, during Sotomayor's confirmation hearings to the Supreme Court, the soon-to-be justice clarified her comments: "I was trying to inspire (students) to believe their experiences would enrich the legal system," Sotomayor said. "I was also trying to inspire them to believe they could become anything they wanted to become, just as I have." She stated that the context of her words created a misunderstanding. "I want to state upfront, unequivocally and without doubt: I do not believe that any ethnic, racial, or gender group has an advantage in sound judging," she said. "I do believe every person has an equal opportunity to be a good and wise judge, regardless of their background or life experience." Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor did deliver a speech in 2001 in which she talked about how her experience as a Latina woman could influence her thought process, as everyone has different life experiences to draw from. However, unlike the sentiment expressed by Donald Trump in his comments about Judge Gonzalo Curiel, Sotomayor argued that diversity was essential to the progress of law. | 2 | [
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FMD355 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Print
The bombshells about this criminal are now breaking daily. It’s not a question of Trump, it is an imperative that Hillary be defeated. If the people choose Hillary, then they must and will be punished.
“Wikileaks: Bill Clinton Boasts of Hillary’s ‘Working Relationship’ with Muslim Brotherhood,” By John Hayward , Breitbart, October 26, 2016:
In a speech Bill Clinton gave at the home of Mehul and Hema Sanghani in October 2015, revealed to the public for the first time by WikiLeaks, former President Bill Clinton touted Hillary Clinton’s “working relationship” with the Muslim Brotherhood ’s Mohamed Morsi in Egypt as an example of her diplomatic skills.President Clinton also gave his wife a lot of credit for negotiating the Iran nuclear deal, in a passage that began with the standard Democrat “stuff happens” shrugging defense for foreign policy failures:
Finally, we live in a world, as I said, that’s full of good news and bad news. The United States cannot control it all, but we need a president who’s most likely to make as many good things happen as possible, and most likely to prevent big, bad things from happening. You can’t keep every bad thing from happening; who’s most likely to be able to get people involved in a positive way. Even the people who don’t like the Iran nuclear agreement concede it never would have happened if it hadn’t been for the sanctions. Hillary negotiated those sanctions and got China and Russia to sign off – something I thought she’d never be able to do. I confess. I’m never surprised by anything she does, but that surprised me. I didn’t think she could do it. The Chinese and the Russians to see past their short-term self-interest to their long-term interest and not sparking another nuclear arms race.
And when the Muslim Brotherhood took over in Egypt, in spite of the fact that we were (inaudible), she developed a working relationship with the then-president and went there and brokered a ceasefire to stop a full-scale shooting war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which on top of what was going on in Syria and the (inaudible) Jordan would have been a calamity for the world.
And when we were trying to reset our relations with Russia under President Medvedev, she and her team negotiated a New START Treaty, which limits warheads and missiles. And she lobbied it through the Senate. She had to get 67 votes, which means a lot of these Republicans who say that they don’t like her now are just kidding for election season. They trusted her, and she got it passed. You can’t get 67 votes in the Senate without a lot of Republican support. And I don’t know about you, but with all this tension and Mr. Putin trying to affect the outcome of the conflict in Syria, I think it’s a very good thing that we’re in a lower risk of any kind of accidental nuclear conflict with the Russians. She did that.
You’ll rarely find a more tortured political framing of the Iran debacle than Bill Clinton boasting that the sanctions Barack Obama lifted were super-awesome, as even those who don’t think those sanctions should have been lifted agree.
Mr. Clinton’s version of the Iran sanctions leaves out a few details , such as Russia’s keen financial interest in keeping Iranian energy out of the European market, and China’s desire to use Iran sanctions as a geopolitical bargaining chip.
But the part about the Muslim Brotherhood is most interesting. If anything, he is selling Hillary Clinton’s “working relationship” with Egyptian Islamists short, because she used American diplomatic leverage for Morsi’s benefit even before he got elected, warning Egyptians about “backtracking” to a military regime at a key moment of the post-Mubarak campaign, when Morsi was running against a former member of Hosni Mubarak’s military. There have long been rumors that more subtle forms of U.S. “ pressure ” were used to secure Morsi’s office, as well.
Then again, in public pronouncements, Clinton called Hosni Mubarak’s tottering regime “stable” and cautioned her Obama Administration colleagues against “pushing a longtime partner out the door.”
A few days ago, declassified State Department documents revealed Clinton’s talking points for a 2012 meeting with Morsi hailed his election as a “milestone in Egypt’s transition to democracy,” and stated that she was to offer the Muslim Brotherhood leader “technical expertise and assistance from both the U.S. government and private sector to support his economic and social programs.”
Clinton was also supposed to privately offer Morsi assistance with his police and security forces, which would be conducted “quite discreetly.”
After Morsi was gone, she declared herself exasperated with Egyptian political culture and declared herself a cynical “realist.” That is pretty much the opposite of what everyone in the Obama Administration was saying while the “Arab Spring” was in the midst of springing its little surprises on autocratic but America-aligned (or at least America-fearing) regimes, which we were all supposed to feel guilty about selfishly supporting for so long.
As for Clinton’s superb working relationship with Morsi, that eventually ended with Morsi’s wife railing against Clinton for supposedly dismissing him as “a simpleton who was unfit for the presidency,” and threatening to publish letters from Clinton to Morsi that would damage the former U.S. Secretary of State. Meanwhile, Mohammed Morsi is developing a solid working relationship with the Egyptian penitentiary system .
Egypt has one of those icky military governments again, and while it won’t have fond memories of Hillary Clinton’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood regime, it will most likely work with whoever wins the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Therefore, a prospective President Hillary Clinton probably won’t suffer too much from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s appalling lapses in judgment.
Article reposted with permission from PamelaGeller.com | 0 | [
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FMD356 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: The private investigator, Robert Mueller, had investigated allegations of a conspiracy between Trump and Russia, and the so-called Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election. He could not prove any of the accusations against the American president. Despite this, the American intelligence services believe that Russia was also broadcasting misleading news on social media, to help elect Donald Trump. | 0 | [
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] | 0 |
FMD357 | Task: Please determine whether the claim is 0. False, 1. True, or 2. Not Enough Information (NEI) based on contextual information, and provide an appropriate explanation.
The answer need to use the following format:
Prediction: [0. False, 1. True, or 2. NEI]
Explanation: [Explain why the above prediction was made]
Claim: Did a Billboard in Missouri Show President Trump Alongside a Gospel Quote? Claim summaries: Some Christians expressed concern that a billboard near St. Louis seemingly equated the 45th president with Jesus Christ himself.
contextual information: In the final days before the November 2018 elections, social media users in Missouri began posting descriptions and photographs of a billboard that appeared to show President Donald Trump's face, accompanied by an excerpt from a well-known Bible verse and a reworking of his 2016 presidential campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again." From a friend -- a billboard spotted outside of St. Louis. I don't like using the word "heresy," but I think I'll make an exception in this case. The images prompted expressions of concern from some Christians that the billboard was associating or likening President Trump to Jesus Christ himself, the "Word made flesh" referenced in the Gospel quotation. In its proper context, Chapter 1, Verse 14 of the Gospel of John reads: "He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." The billboard is real, and the photographs of it shared on social media in early November are authentic. The existence of the billboard was verified by St. Louis television station KMOV, which published its own photograph of it, describing the location as being "on Interstate 170 near St. Charles Rock Road," which is around 15 miles northwest of downtown St. Louis, Missouri. This corroborates the description in Martha Baker's 3 November Facebook post, which stated that the billboard was located "on I-170 (the Innerbelt in St. Louis) between the Rock Road and Page Blvd." Three days before Baker's post, another social media user posted their description of the billboard, expressing their dismay at what they called its "idolatry": "This is not a drill. In #STL I just saw a billboard with Trump on it that says, 'The word made flesh.' And 'Make the gospel great again.' I cannot begin to express how livid I am at this level of idolatry." The billboard is undoubtedly real, though it is not yet clear who paid for it and when it was erected. A spokesperson for DDI Media, the St. Louis company that owns the billboard itself, told us they could not share such information. On 5 November, a Facebook page called "Make the Gospel Great Again" (which is no longer available on the social networking website) claimed responsibility for the billboard: "We met as a team last night to discuss how much hatred we've received for our efforts to encourage fellow believers in holding fast to the faith. We prayed that the Facebook page would be a community for fellow Christians to be encouraged at what God is doing in the world and to find out how they could, like our president, be a part of being God's presence in making America great. But the hateful comments and mean-spiritedness from liberals and atheists drowned out the voices of Christians in this country. These reflect the level of unfair, deranged media attacks on the President in general and his supporters. Our billboard IS NOT equating Jesus with President Donald Trump. Salvation comes only from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, not any man. But God does send his messengers to us, and just as King David liberated the faithful in his day, President Trump is doing this today through his protection of the unborn, defense of our land against foreign invaders, and standing up for Israel." The page described its mission statement as follows: "We believe God has given American Christians His earthly messenger - Donald J. Trump. We follow his words in faith each day!" As far back as 10 October, "Make the Gospel Great Again" posted an image that was almost identical to that ultimately displayed on the St. Louis billboard, and its profile photograph was the same logo that appeared on the billboard (a crucifix with an American flag). We sent a list of questions to an email address associated with the "Make the Gospel Great Again" Facebook page in order to clarify who was behind it and verify whether there was a link between it and the St. Louis billboard, but we did not receive any response. Zotos, Alexis. "'Make the Gospel Great Again': Large Billboard of Trump Has St. Louis Co. Residents Talking." KMOV. 5 November 2018. Updated [7 November 2018]: Added information about the Facebook page "Make the Gospel Great Again." | 1 | [
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FMD358 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Photo by Jamelle Bouie | CC BY 2.0
According to the mainstream media, in a recent speech in West Palm Beach, Donald Trump finally completely lost it. Sawing the air with his tiny hands in a unmistakeably Hitlerian manner, he spat out a series of undeniably hateful anti-Semitic code words … like “political establishment,” “global elites” and, yes, “international banks.” He even went so far as to claim that “corporations” and their (ahem) “lobbyists” have millions of dollars at stake in this election, and are trying to pass the TTP, not to benefit the American people, but simply to enrich themselves. He then went on to accuse the media of collaborating with “the Clinton machine,” presumably to benefit these “global elites” and “international banks” and “lobbyists.”
Now, a lot of folks didn’t immediately recognize the secret meanings of these fascistic code words, and so mistakenly assumed that “global elites” referred to the transnational capitalist ruling classes, and that “lobbyists” referred to actual lobbyists, and that “banks” meant … well … you know, banks. As it turned out, this was completely wrong. None of these words actually meant what they meant, not in anti-Semitic CodeSpeak. So the mainstream media translated for us. “Political establishment” meant “the Jews.” “Global elites” also meant “the Jews.” “Banks” meant “Jews.” “Lobbyists” meant “Jews.” Even “corporate… | 0 | [
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FMD359 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that taxes on rich Americans might rise, as he pursues a tax code overhaul and reaches out to both Democrats and Republicans in a push to win support for a plan still far from complete. Trump met with the two top congressional Democrats over dinner at the White House in a search for common ground that could make it easier to get a tax-cut package through Congress. Both sides said the meeting, which covered an array of legislative issues, was productive. Earlier, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said tax reductions would be paid for by faster economic growth. The White House and the Republican-led Congress have yet to put forth a detailed tax plan, despite months of high-level talks that had until recent days excluded Democrats. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said an outline of a plan would be unveiled during the work week beginning Sept. 25, with congressional tax-writing committees crafting detailed legislation in the subsequent weeks. Mnuchin told Fox News Channel the Trump administration would use its own economic assumptions to gauge the impact of its tax cuts on the federal budget deficit and the $20 trillion national debt, a key issue in Washington’s intensifying tax debate. “It will be revenue neutral under our growth assumptions,†Mnuchin said. “So, we can pay for these tax cuts with economic growth.†The administration believes tax cuts will lead to much faster growth than do congressional analysts or most private forecasters, a likely fault line in the debate ahead. As for taxing the rich, Trump said during a meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers | 1 | [
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FMD360 | 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: Chuck Green: Obama Is a Victim of Bush's Failed Promises Claim summaries: Chuck Green penned a column about Barack Obama's being a 'victim of Bush's failed promises'?
contextual information: Claim: Chuck Green penned a column about Barack Obama's being a "victim of Bush's failed promises." CORRECTLY ATTRIBUTED Example: [Green, February 2010] Barack Obama is setting a record-setting number of records during his first year in office. Largest budget ever. Largest deficit ever. Largest number of broken promises ever. Most self-serving speeches ever. Largest number of agenda-setting failures ever. Fastest dive in popularity ever. Wow. Talk about change. Just one year ago, fresh from his inauguration celebrations, President Obama was flying high. After one of the nations most inspiring political campaigns, the election of Americas first black president had captured the hopes and dreams of millions. To his devout followers, it was inconceivable that a year later his administration would be gripped in self-imposed crisis. Of course, they dont see it as self imposed. Its all George Bushs fault. George Bush, who doesnt have a vote in Congress and who no longer occupies the White House, is to blame for it all. [Rest of article here] here Origins: Chuck Green is a veteran Colorado journalist who served as editor-in-chief of the Denver Post and now writes a column which is syndicated in newspapers throughout Colorado. The column referenced above, entitled "Obama is a victim of Bush's failed promises," was penned by Green and published in the Aurora Sentinel on 7 February 2010. Last updated: 12 May 2010 | 0 | [
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FMD361 | 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: Paul Ryan Refuses to Tip Elderly Black Waiter Claim summaries: Did Rep. Paul Ryan refuse to tip an elderly waiter at a Washington-area restaurant?
contextual information: Claim: Rep. Paul Ryan refused to tip an elderly waiter at a Washington-area restaurant. Example: [Collected via e-mail, April 2013] This is being circulated on Face Book and I am curious to know if it's true. Rep. Paul Ryan refused to tip an elderly waiter today at a Washington-area soul food restaurant. According to witnesses at Auntie Ruth's Bistro in Northeast D.C., Ryan stiffed his server on the grounds of "personal austerity" and proceeded to tell the 72-year-old man to "get a real job." Origins: On 8 April 2013, the Daily Currant published an article stating that Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin congressman who serves as House Budget Committee Chairman, had refused to leave a tip for an elderly black waiter after dining at a Washington-area restaurant: article According to witnesses at Auntie Ruth's Bistro in Northeast D.C., Ryan stiffed his server on the grounds of "personal austerity" and proceeded to tell the 72-year-old man to "get a real job." When Ryan attempted to leave the premises without paying any tip at all, [waiter James] Anderson politely asked Ryan if he was satisfied with the service. "Listen, I was satisfied with the service," Ryan explained, "but I'm not paying you a cent. You know why? Because you're a taker. I've already paid for my meal. I've spent the money I'm legally obligated to spend and here you are begging for more. "Why don't you go out and get yourself a real job? Get an education and then go be an engineer or something. Don't sit around doing shitty jobs your whole life and then expect me to pay for your bad decisions. "You don't like the fact that you work a minimum wage job? Tough. You should have used your parents' inheritance money to get a college education instead of wasting it on booze and women."' By the end of the day links and excerpts referencing this article were being circulated via social media, with many of those who encountered it mistaking it for a genuine news article. However, the article was just a bit of political humor which satirized Ryan's political stances on economic issues (such as his proposed "austerity budget"). austerity budget As noted in the Daily Currant's "About" page, that web site deals strictly in satire: About The Daily Currant is an English language online satirical newspaper that covers global politics, business, technology, entertainment, science, health and media. Q. Are your news stories real? A. No. Our stories are purely fictional. However they are meant to address real-world issues through satire and often refer and link to real events happening in the world. Last updated: 8 April 2013 | 0 | [
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FMD362 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meets on Friday with U.S. President Donald Trump, Japan’s bulging automotive trade surplus will be a sore spot, but the path to balancing auto exports and imports will be no easier than it was in the 1980s. Trump may press Abe to do more to level the trade imbalance with Japan during a White House visit or a round of golf, but the two leaders are unlikely to change the fact that the big cars and trucks that America makes do not sell in Japan. Many Japanese consumers, faced with congested cities, favor tiny domestically-made vehicles, called kei cars, which make up more than a third of the market. Priced from around 1.1 million yen, or about $9,800, these cars have engines most Americans would consider inadequate for a motorcycle. Even Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co cannot convince Japanese consumers to buy models that are popular in the United States. Small sport utility vehicles such as the Toyota RAV4 and Honda’s CR-V are seen by Japanese consumers as too big. Only about 13,000 vehicles from U.S. automakers sold in Japan in both 2016 and 2015, and of that about three-fourths were Jeep SUVs made by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Ford Motor Co announced last month that it is pulling out of the Japanese market entirely, after selling just 2,400 vehicles there in 2016. The Japanese auto market has shrunk not only in terms of vehicle size, but in sales volume. As a result, global automakers, including Japan’s, are focused on boosting sales in China, the United States and growing emerging markets. “It would take a painstaking fine-tuning of vehicle specs to suit American cars to those driving and other conditions and develop a strong distribution network to be able to gain traction in Japan. It is nothing short of a 20-year effort,†said a Toyota executive who spoke on condition he not be named. Jaguar Land Rover Japan Ltd Chief Executive Magnus Hansson said the low sales of U.S. cars in Japan did not mean it was a closed market, but rather reflected “a total and absolute lack of effort over 50 years†by Detroit. Still, Japan remains an export hub for the big Japanese automakers. The U.S. Commerce Department this week reported that the U.S. trade deficit with Japan in 2016 was $68.9 billion, and of that total surplus, some $52.6 billion was in vehicles and automotive parts. Japan’s automakers have more than 90 percent of the Japanese market. Last year U.S. automakers controlled only 45 percent of their home market, the world’s second-biggest after China. A bigger factor than imports in the Detroit automakers’ loss of U.S. market share since 1980 is the surge in investment by Japan’s automakers in U.S. factories. Last year, 56 percent of the vehicles Toyota sold in the United States were made in America, the company said. Toyota said it employs more than 34,000 in the United States. For years the growth of Japanese-owned auto factories in the U.S. heartland has helped cool trade tensions. But Trump, a Republican, has turned up the heat by complaining about the trade surplus and accusing Japan of manipulating the value of the yen to disadvantage American-made goods. On Thursday, a bipartisan group of senators from auto manufacturing states called on the new president “to address currency manipulation and auto-related non-tariff barriers.†They are not alone in urging changes to help bolster U.S. business. “(Trump) must bring Abe up short on any cheery notion that business will continue as usual,†said Kevin L. Kearns, head of the U.S. Business and Industry Council. The group represents smaller U.S. manufacturers, many of which feed the U.S. auto industry. | 1 | [
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FMD363 | 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: Were Pearl Harbor Photographs Recently Found in an Old Camera? Claim summaries: Photographs of the Pearl Harbor attack that were supposedly recently found in an old camera stored in a foot locker actually come from a variety of sources.
contextual information: PHOTOS STORED IN AN OLD BROWNIE CAMERA Thought you might find these photos very interesting, considering their quality from 1941. Pearl Harbor photos were found in an old Brownie stored in a foot locker. THESE PHOTOS ARE FROM A SAILOR WHO WAS ON THE USS QUAPAW ATF-110. INTERESTING, I THINK THEY'RE SPECTACULAR. On Sunday, December 7th, 1941, the Japanese Empire launched a surprise attack against the U.S. forces stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. By planning his attack on a Sunday, the Japanese commander Admiral Nagumo hoped to catch the entire fleet in port. As luck would have it, the aircraft carriers and one of the battleships were not in port. (The USS Enterprise was returning from Wake Island, where it had just delivered some aircraft. The USS Lexington was ferrying aircraft to Midway, and the USS Saratoga and USS Colorado were undergoing repairs in the United States.) In spite of the latest intelligence reports about the missing aircraft carriers (his most important targets), Admiral Nagumo decided to continue the attack with his force of six carriers and 423 aircraft. At a range of 230 miles north of Oahu, he launched the first wave of a two-wave attack. Beginning at 0600 hours, his first wave consisted of 183 fighters and torpedo bombers, which struck at the fleet in Pearl Harbor and the airfields in Hickam, Kaneohe, and Ewa. The second strike, launched at 0715 hours, consisted of 167 aircraft, which again struck at the same targets. At 0753 hours, the first wave, consisting of 40 Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" torpedo bombers, 51 Aichi D3A1 "Val" dive bombers, 50 high-altitude bombers, and 43 Zeros, struck the airfields and Pearl Harbor. Within the next hour, the second wave arrived and continued the attack. When it was over, the U.S. losses were: Casualties USA: 218 KIA, 364 WIA. USN: 2,008 KIA, 710 WIA. USMC: 109 KIA, 69 WIA. Civilians: 68 KIA, 35 WIA. TOTAL: 2,403 KIA, 1,178 WIA. ------------------------------------------------- Battleships USS Arizona (BB-39) - total loss when a bomb hit her magazine. USS Oklahoma (BB-37) - total loss when she capsized and sank in the harbor. USS California (BB-44) - sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired. USS West Virginia (BB-48) - sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired. USS Nevada (BB-36) - beached to prevent sinking. Later repaired. USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) - light damage. USS Maryland (BB-46) - light damage. USS Tennessee (BB-43) - light damage. USS Utah (AG-16) - (former battleship used as a target) - sunk. ------------------------------------------------- Cruisers USS New Orleans (CA-32) - light damage. USS San Francisco (CA-38) - light damage. USS Detroit (CL-8) - light damage. USS Raleigh (CL-7) - heavily damaged but repaired. USS Helena (CL-50) - light damage. USS Honolulu (CL-48) - light damage. ------------------------------------------------- Destroyers USS Downes (DD-375) - destroyed. Parts salvaged. USS Cassin (DD-372) - destroyed. Parts salvaged. USS Shaw (DD-373) - very heavy damage. USS Helm (DD-388) - light damage. ------------------------------------------------- Minelayer USS Ogala (CM-4) - sunk but later raised and repaired. ------------------------------------------------- Seaplane Tender USS Curtiss (AV-4) - severely damaged but later repaired. ------------------------------------------------- Repair Ship USS Vestal (AR-4) - severely damaged but later repaired. ------------------------------------------------- Harbor Tug USS Sotoyomo (YT-9) - sunk but later raised and repaired. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Aircraft 188 aircraft destroyed (92 USN and 92 U.S. Army Air Corps). The images seen above are genuine photographs of the Japanese attack on American military forces at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, but not as claimed in the accompanying text; not all of them were taken by a sailor with a Brownie camera that remained undiscovered in a footlocker for many decades. For a "sailor" to have snapped pictures from all the perspectives shown above, he would have had to be in the harbor aboard his ship, on the ground, and aloft in an airplane, all while the attack was in progress. Moreover, the ship on which this wide-ranging sailor supposedly served, the first USS Quapaw, wasn't even built until well after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Most (if not all) of these images are readily identifiable as archival U.S. Navy photos that have been available since the early 1940s and have appeared in countless articles and books about the Pearl Harbor attack. | 0 | [
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FMD364 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Time will tell how serious the House Republicans are about keeping our nation safe. Goodness knows it s the furthest thing from our Climate Change Promoter In Chief s mind Following the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris, House Republicans are proposing to block federal funding for resettling Syrian refugees until a series of new conditions are met, Foreign Policy has learned.The growing momentum behind new legislation, still being drafted, sets up a future clash between the White House and Congress as the Obama administration seeks to offer residency to 10,000 Syrian refugees who currently live outside the conflict zone. Currently, 60 million people worldwide have been forced from their homes or are otherwise considered refugees higher than at any other time in recorded history. An estimated six million to eight million displaced people are still in Syria, and more than four million Syrian refugees are in Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon.The draft legislation, a copy of which was obtained by FP, is backed by Reps. Brian Babin, Lou Barletta, Diane Black, Mo Brooks, Jeff Duncan, John Duncan, Blake Farenthold, Louie Gohmert, Frank Guinta, Gregg Harper, Walter Jones, Steve King, Mike Pompeo, Mark Meadows, and Bill Posey. It would prevent funding for the resettlement of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa until authorities adopt processes to ensure that refugee and related programs are not able to be co-opted by would-be terrorists. Once those processes are in place, details of the security checks must be given to Congress in both classified and public forums, and the administration must establish a longer-term monitoring process to track refugees in the U.S.The 15 Republican lawmakers pushing the legislation aren t the only politicians looking to slam the brakes on Obama s resettlement program. The governors of 15 U.S. states have already said they would not allow Syrian refugees to live in their states. Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions (R) has proposed legislation to restrict U.S. funding for refugee resettlement and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul (R) has said he will introduce legislation to prevent Syrian refugees from obtaining U.S. visas.Additionally, House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul plans to raise the issue of blocking Syrian refugee resettlement at a Tuesday meeting with fellow Republicans, according to two congressional sources.In a Monday letter to President Barack Obama, McCaul called on the White House to immediately suspend the admission of all additional Syrian refugees. The high-threat environment demands that we move forward with greater caution in order to protect the American people and to prevent terrorists from reaching our shores, McCaul wrote.The rising opposition to assisting Syrian refugees is already alarming humanitarian organizations, which say that doing so defies America s long tradition of helping individuals fleeing persecution. A senior Obama administration official, speaking to FP on condition of anonymity, said security concerns about incoming refugees were unfounded in large part because they undergo the highest level of scrutiny by intelligence and security government agencies. All refugees, including Syrians, are admitted only after successful completion of this stringent security screening regime, the official said.Fears about taking in refugees spiked after a Syrian passport was found near the body of one of the assailants in the deadly Paris attacks that killed at least 129 people. Questions remain, however, over the identity of the attacker: French officials on Monday said he used a fake Syrian passport to travel to Europe through Greece and the Balkans. While his actual identity is unknown, the attacker is believed to have posed as a Syrian refugee to enter Europe through the Aegean Sea. Via:Foreign Policy | 0 | [
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FMD365 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Liberals on Twitter accused President Donald Trump s son Eric of sporting a Nazi haircut when he debuted a new hairdo Sunday.Eric Trump sported a new hairstyle with the side of his head shaved in an interview with Fox News. Trump s trendy new style is far from unusual: celebrities like Macklemore, David Beckham, Brad Pitt, and Adam Levine have all sported the same look.But in recent years, members of the alt-right, including white supremacist Richard Spencer, have also started wearing their hair the same way. Some have even begun to call the style fashy, short for fascist.When a screenshot of Trump s hairstyle first hit the Internet, reporters and liberals assumed the worst. WFBEric Trump has a fascist haircut.This cannot possibly be unintentional. pic.twitter.com/9mqUbwENqQ Ali Gharib (@Ali_Gharib) June 25, 2017Political reporter for The Guardian asks if Eric Trump is wearing a fashy or in other words, if he s sporting a fascist haircut.Wait, does he have a fashy? Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) June 25, 2017This Twitter user is suggesting Eric Trump looks like white supremacist Richard Spencer.Looks like the Richard Spencer alt right special Chris (@bigtrix36) June 25, 2017This Twitter users profile says he s a mental health counselor ! It looks like someone could use a little mental health counseling themselves:It's not so new. pic.twitter.com/qdq8RpKyW5 David Slack (@slack2thefuture) June 25, 2017This dingbat Twitter user attempts to suggest that Trump s new haircut is some sort of dog whistle The officially call this haircut the Dog Whistle. pic.twitter.com/TeSkCQLRYh Maris Kreizman (@mariskreizman) June 26, 2017Meanwhile, Malia Obama s twerking and public weed smoking antics were virtually ignored by leftist social media users and most especially by the rabid leftist media who considered them off limits , like this picture of Malia hanging out with friends in a room with a huge bong in front of her.Or this video showing Malia standing on a stage and twerking in front of thousands of Lalapalooza fans in Chicago: | 0 | [
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FMD366 | 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: Among states, Missouri ranks 3rd (in) average yearly growth of high-tech industries.
contextual information: In efforts to lure Amazon to the Midwest, Missouri officials sent three proposals to the tech-giant by Oct. 19 to be considered for the location of its second headquarters. Kansas City and St. Louis officials threw their hats into the ring, and state officials proposed an innovation corridor along I-70, which would link the two metro areas. Missouris brochurereleased on theMakeMOHQ2Home websiteclaims the state ranked third in average yearly growth of high-tech industries. When you think of a high-tech state, California and New York may be the first states to come to mind, but not Missouri. We wanted to find out how high-tech Missouri really is, and how it ranks in the country. We spoke with the researchers behind the data and economic experts who all agreed that rate of growth can be misleading. The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that defining high-tech is a moving target. Generally, though, it considers jobs with lots of workers in science, technology, engineering and math fields to be part of the high-tech industry. Missouri officials used a2016 Milken Institute studyin their claim.The Milken Instituteis a nonprofit and nonpartisan think tank. The Milken Institute has a free-market slant, said Michael Leeds, chair of the economics department at Temple University, but (is) a credible group of scholars. Minoli Ratnatunga, director of regional economics research at the institutes Center for Regional Economics, was a researcher in the study. Ratnatunga said the group considered 19 industries it thought were high-tech. A few of these industries include: pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing, commercial and service industry machinery manufacturing, medical equipment and supplies manufacturing, telecommunications and computer systems design. The Milken Institutes2016 State Technology and Science Indexshows that Missouri ranked third in average yearly growth of high-tech industries from 2010 to 2015. However, this is just one component that makes up Missouris overall placement. In 2016, Missouri ranked 28 out of 50. Two years prior, Missouri ranked 34 out of 50. In 2012, Missouri ranked 29 out of 50. These scores are based on several factors: human capital investment, research and development, risk capital, technology and science workforce, and technology concentration. Massachusetts, Colorado and Maryland were ranked the top three states overall in 2016. Kansas, Tennessee and Oklahoma ranked behind Missouri, with West Virginia rated last. That tells us where Missouri ranks relative to its peers, Ratnatunga said. Its improving, and things like (high-tech) growth is one aspect thats impacted its overall ranking, but its not in the top tier. Ratnatunga said its easy for Missouris high-tech industry to look as if its grown exponentially. If you have a relatively small sector, its easier to get a higher growth rate, Ratnatunga said. The same 500 jobs added in California would be a smaller growth rate. Leeds also said the rate of growth can be deceiving. If you have a very small base, twice a very small number is 100 percent growth, but it can be a very small number, he said. Ratnatunga said companies like Amazon need to look at the index overall when considering a states economy. This means recognizing qualities like overall growth in the economy, the quality of the workforce, universities, capital investments and research and development inputs. If it doesnt meet Amazons requirements, it might be a great choice for other companies that are looking to grow in high-tech, Ratnatunga said. Missouri officials claimed Missouri ranked 3rd (in) average yearly growth of high-tech industries. While Missouri high-tech industries may have seen growth, the size of base matters. Missouri has seen a growth in high-tech jobs, but the claim can be misleading when you dont consider the size of the base. Overall, Missouri is about average in the rankings. We rate this Mostly True. | 1 | [
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FMD367 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Catalan secessionist parties on Tuesday failed to agree on a united ticket to contest a December snap regional election, making it more difficult to rule the region after the vote and press ahead with their collective bid to split from Spain. Catalonia s secessionist push has plunged Spain into its worst political crisis in four decades, triggered a business exodus, forced Madrid to cut its economic forecast and reopened old wounds from Spain s civil war in the 1930s. Pro-independence groups have called for a general strike in the restive region on Wednesday. Catalan political parties had until midnight on Tuesday to register coalitions ahead of the Dec. 21 vote, but the two main forces which formed an alliance to rule the region for the last two years did not manage to agree on a new pact in time. While they could still find an agreement after the vote, political analysts say the lack of a deal on a joint campaign may also trigger a leadership fight at the top of the movement. This is because center-right PdeCat (Catalan Democratic Party) of sacked Catalan president Carles Puigdemont is expected to be overtaken by leftist Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) of former regional vice president Oriol Junqueras. Puigdemont and Junqueras are the two main leaders behind the current secession bid that last month led to a unilateral declaration of independence which Spain thwarted by imposing direct rule on the region. Junqueras is currently in custody pending a potential trial on charges of sedition, rebellion and misuse of public funds. Puigdemont, who faces the same charges, is currently in self-imposed exile in Belgium and has said he would oppose extradition. An opinion poll released on Sunday by Barcelona-based newspaper La Vanguardia showed Junqueras ERC could garner between 45 and 46 seats in the 135-strong regional assembly while Puigdemont s PdeCat would win between 14 and 15 seats. In order to reach the 68-seat threshold for a majority, they would then have to form a parliamentary alliance with anti-capitalist CUP, which is expected to get seven or eight seats. Such an alliance previously existed between 2015 and 2017. By standing together, ERC and PdeCat could have held more seats, separate polls and projections based on the results of the 2015 regional election showed. According to a comprehensive official survey released last week, a coalition between ERC and PdeCat would have won between 60 and 63 seats, while CUP would have won eight or nine seats under such a scenario, virtually guaranteeing a secessionist majority. It has been impossible to form a joint list and we will therefore have to create a joint front from various candidacies, said ERC lawmaker Sergi Sabria in a statement. Sabria said on Monday that each party could stand under its own brand though parts of their manifestos relating to independence would likely be jointly agreed upon. | 1 | [
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FMD368 | 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 All Democrats Vote Against a 2.8 Percent Social Security COLA Increase? Claim summaries: Social Security cost of living allowances are established by formula and don't require Congressional approval.
contextual information: In mid-October 2018, Facebook users shared an inaccurate meme asking, "Were any of you aware that ALL the Democrats voted AGAINST the 2.8% Social Security cost of living increase?" No Democrats, or any other legislators for that matter, voted for or against the 2.8 percent cost of living allowance (COLA) increase that Social Security recipients will see beginning in 2019. Since 1975, COLA increases have kicked in automatically and are based on changes in the consumer price index, a figure calculated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Here's how the Social Security Administration has summarized the history of COLA increases: Most people are aware that there are annual increases in Social Security benefits to offset the corrosive effects of inflation on fixed incomes. These increases, now known as Cost of Living Allowances (COLAs), are such an accepted feature of the program that it is difficult to imagine a time when there were no COLAs. But in fact, when Ida May Fuller received her first $22.54 benefit payment in January of 1940, this would be the same amount she would receive each month for the next 10 years. For Ida May Fuller and the millions of other Social Security beneficiaries like her, the amount of that first benefit check was the amount they could expect to receive for life. It was not until the 1950 Amendments that Congress first legislated an increase in benefits. Current beneficiaries had their payments recomputed, and Ida May Fuller, for example, saw her monthly check increase from $22.54 to $41.30. These recomputations were effective for September 1950 and appeared for the first time in the October 1950 checks. A second increase was legislated for September 1952. Together, these two increases almost doubled the value of Social Security benefits for existing beneficiaries. From that point on, benefits were increased only when Congress enacted special legislation for that purpose. In 1972, the law was changed to provide, beginning in 1975, for automatic annual cost-of-living allowances (i.e., COLAs) based on the annual increase in consumer prices. No longer do beneficiaries have to await a special act of Congress to receive a benefit increase, and no longer does inflation drain value from Social Security benefits. The latest increase will affect 62 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients starting in January 2019. It's the largest increase since 2012, when beneficiaries saw a 3.6 percent boost. | 0 | [
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FMD369 | 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: White House Raises Claim summaries: Chart shows raises given to White House staffers in 2010?
contextual information: Claim: Chart shows top 20 raises given to White House staffers in 2010. Example: [Collected via e-mail, August 2011] Well here you go folks - outrageous salary increases at the WH. Go Google and set your search parm to white house top 20 raises and you'll get everything you want to know about this article. What the heck does a Director of African-American Media do to get an 86% increase? Hang out over at Black Entertainment TV or maybe sit around and read Ebony? Remember in November Remember: no Cost of Living Adjustment for seniors for two years. HMMM...17% to 86% RAISES IN SALARY FOR HIS WHITE HOUSE STAFF MEMBERS!!. NO WONDER WE CAN'T HAVE A COST OF LIVING INCREASE & HE WANTS TO NOW RAISE OUR TAXES ALSO. SOUNDS LIKE THE ADMINISTRATION IS REALLY LOOKING OUT FOR THE VOTERS, DOESN'T IT ???? Origins: This graphic detailing the "White House's Top 20 Raises" (which actually includes 21 entries) originated as an accompaniment to a 6 July 2011 Gawker article entitled "White House Staffers Got a Raise Last Year, And You Did Not." graphic article The chart is accurate as far as it goes, but by itself it does not include the context that 19 of the 21 staffers listed also received new job titles, so the pay increases were not straight raises but came in tandem with promotions and/or increased job responsibilities. The Gawker article also noted that, because the number of paid staffers decreased from 466 in 2010 to 451 in 2011, the White House's salary budget actually dropped from $38.8 million to $37.1 million, and the average salary for staffers also dropped from $82,721 to $81,765 (about 65% above the median household income). Last updated: 11 August 2011 Fader, Carole. "White House Staff Got Pay Raises, But There's More to the Story." Jacksonville.com. 7 August 2011. | 0 | [
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FMD370 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: 21st Century Wire says Yesterday a US F/A-18E Super Hornet is reported to have shot down a Syrian Army SU-22 jet near the village of Rasafah, south of Raqqa. Washington claims it was an act of collective self-defense because the Syrian jet had dropped bombs near US-backed forces. Syrian officials in Damascus deny the US claims, stating that their plane was downed while conducting a strike on an ISIS position. According to a statement released by Damascus, the US act of aggression in Syria airspace was a flagrant attack was an attempt to undermine the efforts of the army as the only effective force capable with its allies in fighting terrorism across its territory. Officials added that, this comes at a time when the Syrian army and its allies were making clear advances in fighting the (ISIS) terrorist group. US officials are claiming that pro-Syrian regime forces on the ground attacked the US-backed Kurdish militias under the SDF brand (Syrian Democratic Forces) near Tabqa outside Raqqa, after which time the US-led Coalition planes engaged Syrian military. US officials then claim that a Syrian planes dropped bombs near the US-backed forces. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov issue this statement: We call on the United State and all others who have their forces or advisors on the ground [in Syria] to ensure the coordination in our work. Zones of de-escalation are one of the possible options to jointly move forward. We call on everyone to avoid unilateral moves, respect Syrian sovereignty and join our common work which is agreed with the Syrian Arab Republic s government. 21WIRE reported earlier this week how the presence of US and UK troops on the ground inside of Syrian sovereign territory may be provoking an escalation of an already tense situation in both Raqqa and in the region around al-Tanf. US-led coalition forces are supposedly there to train and assist anti-ISIS militias, but also anti-Assad rebel militias too. The US also also trying to impose self-styled deconfliction zones around al-Tanf.In recent months, the Syrian Army have been making huge advances against ISIS positions. This latest US attack on Syria indicates that the US do not want the Syrian Army involved in the liberation of Raqqa presumable to be able to stage-manage and control the operation and media coverage for its global audience, as the US did previously with Mosul in Iraq.A clear pattern has emerged with almost every US strike against Syrian forces inside of Syria in each and every instance, the main beneficiary appears to be ISIS.Based on past incidents where US forces have attack Syrian military assets, in each instance the US attacks have benefited ISIS on the ground leading many to conclude that the US Coalition forces are helping ISIS to gain strategic advantage against the Syria Army on the ground.Back in September 2016, US had attacked and massacred over 80 Syrian military soldiers after a Coalition airstrike on Dier Azor a US attack which allowed ISIS to strategically advance past Syrian Army defensive positions. In addition to aiding ISIS on the ground, this act by the US also ruined any chance of a viable ceasefire agreement with Russia and Syria at the time.A similar events took place on June 5, 2017 when US-led coalition forces attacked what they called pro-Syrian regime forces near the town of al Tanf in southeast Syria, claiming the Syrian forces including some 60 troops, had somehow entered what the US claim was a well-established de-confliction zone. The US strike helped to take pressure off of a retreating ISIS in the region.In addition to this, the US cruise missile strike Syria s Sharat airbase near Homs killed some 80 people, supposedly in response to an alleged ;chemical weapons attack at Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib Province.According to Aleppo MP Fares Shehabi, the US missile attack should be viewed as an act against an airport that is solely dedicated to fighting ISIS in Syria. And this attack is illegal, it s stupid. As it stands the US presence in Syria is in violation of both US and International Law. STAY TUNE FOR MORE UPDATESREAD MORE SYRIA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire SYRIA FilesSUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 0 | [
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FMD371 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Ammon Bundy and his wayward crew of temper tantrum-throwing white guys with guns are now claiming that God talked to them and told them to seize the federal wildlife refuge.On Friday, Bundy told a meeting of fellow right-wing domestic terrorists that he refuses to end the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge because the Lord told him to go there in the first place. I was asked to do this by the Lord. I did it how he told me to do it. It sounds like Bundy and his band are suffering from a form of mental illness. Because the Mormon church that Bundy is a member of sure doesn t agree with him.In a statement earlier this month, officials from the Church of Latter-day Saints rejected Bundy s claim that his seizure of federal property had anything to do with religion. Church leaders strongly condemn the armed seizure of the facility and are deeply troubled by the reports that those who have seized the facility suggest that they are doing so based on scriptural principles. This armed occupation can in no way be justified on a scriptural basis. Exactly, and that is why we can no longer tolerate this armed occupation. Bundy and his pals are committing treason and domestic terrorism. They have illegally carried guns on federal property, along with breaking and entering and threatening violence against federal officials. They have forced the town of Burns to live in fear as schools and businesses are closed to avoid putting innocent children and adults in harm s way.If Bundy and his group were a bunch of armed black people or Muslims, federal and local law enforcement would have already riddled the building with bullets on the first day and Ammon Bundy would look like Swiss cheese.But because these guys are white rednecks with guns, law enforcement is giving them free reign to do as they please. Bundy thinks him and his buddies should be able to walk free when this is all over and they assume the government will give in to their demands. If that were to happen, nothing will stop these terrorists from becoming more emboldened in the future. Perhaps they ll set their sights on the Capitol building or the White House next.This armed takeover has been totally unjustified from the very beginning. Not only have Dwight and Steven Hammond, the arsonist ranchers whom Bundy says he is fighting for, rejected his cause, history and the law are firmly against him as well.Bundy claims the federal government stole the land from ranchers, but that is far from the case.According to Oregon Live, the federal government has legally held the title to all public lands in Oregon since it was a territory. After exhaustive research, the Supreme Court also ruled in 1902 and 1935 that this is the case. Furthermore, ranchers have willingly sold and been paid fair value for their land by the federal government to expand the wildlife reserve over the years.In short, the Bundys do not have religion, history, nor the law on their side. They are terrorists, pure and simple, and they need to be arrested and thrown in prison, or treated just like we have treated terrorists in the Middle East, who ironically enough also claim religion justifies their cause.Featured Image: WMUR | 0 | [
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FMD372 | 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 Anibe Alexandra Odoma Kidnapped In Houston? Claim summaries: Social media posts falsely stated that the 5-year-old Nigerian abduction victim -- who has since been rescued -- lived in the U.S.
contextual information: A child's kidnapping in Nigeria in late 2016 was erroneously said to have occurred in Houston, Texas, in posts that began circulating online in May 2017. online The post featured a picture of a child identified as five-year-old Anibe Alexandra Odoma and stated: She was kidnapped last night by unknown persons.She's from Houston TexasPls [sic] help me forward to / share with as many people as you can. Forwarded as received This happened last night.Pls help anyway you canAt least spread the picturePls let's be carefulShe went to open the door bell inher home yesterday and she wastakenHer family hasn't slept, they arewaiting for a phone callNone has come in yetHer mother has to be sedated this morning, she still isn't sleepingKindly spread Neither the Houston Police Department nor the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children have a record matching Anibe's description. However, the same picture also circulated in December 2016 attached to a story about an abduction in the Nigerian city of Abuja on 11 December 2016, which also included two phone numbers for people to call if they had information: Two days later the news web site CKN Nigeria reported that the girl had been rescued. We called one of the phone numbers seen in the original post concerning her disappearance and a man identifying himself as her father told us that she was safe. reported CKN Nigeria. "Kidnapped Girl Rescued In Abuja."
13 December 2016. | 0 | [
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FMD373 | 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 support (raising) the minimum wage.
contextual information: Call it the Democrats' midterm disease. The voters who come out in presidential elections and help them win the White House tend to stay home in the off-years. Last week's loss in Florida showed clear symptoms of the party's affliction, and whether Democrats can do much about it was debated by pundits on the Sunday talk shows. Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of the liberal magazine The Nation, argued that Democrats should take advantage of what she called a populist moment. "The majority support raising the minimum wage," vanden Heuvel said on ABC's This Week. "More fairness, taking on a rigged system that's working against working people." We wanted to review the polls to see where the electorate stands. As a matter of simple support, plenty of opinion surveys back up vanden Heuvel's claim. The latest results from a Bloomberg poll show that 69 percent of the public supports raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour over the next three years. ABC News and the Washington Post asked if a candidate's support for raising the minimum wage would make voters more likely to vote for him or her. Half of all voters said they would be more likely to vote for that candidate. Only about a fifth said they would be less likely; most of the remainder said it would make no difference in their decision. A CBS/New York Times poll in February found that 65 percent of the public favored raising the minimum wage to $10.10. So, people largely support increasing the minimum wage, polls show. But polls also suggest that it is not necessarily a high priority. A February Gallup poll found that just 2 percent of respondents said wages were the most important issue facing the country. The gap between rich and poor, another Democratic theme, also came in at 2 percent. What voters cared most about in that survey, 23 percent of them, were jobs and cutting unemployment. That's obviously connected to whether Americans have enough money to get by, but it isn't the same as supporting a raise in the minimum wage. A Quinnipiac University poll in January had very similar results. In an open-ended question about the nation's top priority for 2014, 1 percent of respondents mentioned the minimum wage, while 16 percent said jobs and unemployment, 15 percent said the economy in general, and 18 percent said health care. With jobs and the economy ranked so high, the latest findings from ABC News/Washington Post polling show the public equally divided on which party they trust to handle the economy. About 40 percent give the nod to the Democrats and 40 percent to the Republicans. Our ruling: Vanden Heuvel said most Americans support raising the minimum wage. The polls confirm it. About two-thirds of the public consistently say boosting the minimum wage to $10.10 is a good idea, and as many as half of all voters say they are more likely to vote for a candidate who backs that increase. But how much a candidate's position on the minimum wage matters in the polling booth is much less clear. The minimum wage is not top of mind except for a small fraction of voters. Still, vanden Heuvel's specific claim is accurate. We rate the statement True. | 1 | [
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FMD374 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: A group of New York’s wealthiest residents is asking the state to raise their taxes. [Eighty people, including George Soros, Steven Rockefeller, and Abigail Disney, wrote to New York state lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo saying they and other millionaires should be taxed more to support infrastructure, schools, and programs to help the poor and homeless, the New York Daily News reported. “Now is the time to invest in the economic viability of New York,†the letter reads. “We need to invest in pathways out of poverty and up the economic ladder for all of our fellow citizens, including strong public education from to college. And, we need to invest in the fragile bridges, tunnels, waterlines, public buildings, and roads that we all depend on. †The letter endorses a plan called the “1 Percent Tax Plan for Tax Fairness,†which would create new, higher income tax brackets for the state’s wealthiest individuals to raise a projected $2 billion. The Fiscal Policy Institute, a think tank focused on economic policy, and the Responsible Wealth project, a group of America’s wealthiest individuals who support “fair taxes and corporate accountability,†helped formulate the proposal, Ron Deutsch, executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, called it “refreshing†that the state’s wealthiest were willing to pay more. The state legislature, however, is not as supportive of the proposal. While the Democratic majority in the Assembly has its own plan to raise taxes on the wealthy, the Senate does not support the idea. “Whether it’s income taxes, property taxes, business taxes, user fees or tolls, we don’t support raising taxes or asking New Yorkers to dig deeper into their pockets to pay more,†Senate leader John Flanagan ( ) said, according to the Guardian. Lawmakers are currently working out the details of the state’s budget and hope to have a deal in place by April 1. Lawmakers largely ignored a similar letter sent to them last year. | 1 | [
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] | 1 |
FMD375 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Robert Mugabe s face glowed with relief when he agreed to step down as Zimbabwe s president last week under pressure from the military and his party after 37 years in power, the priest who mediated his resignation said on Sunday. Father Fidelis Mukonori, a Jesuit priest who is a close Mugabe friend, laughed off a report by the privately owned Standard newspaper that Mugabe cried and lamented the betrayal by close lieutenants when he agreed to resign. When he finished his signature his face just glowed, no weeping unless there were angels weeping somewhere, Mukonori told Reuters after mass at the Chishawasha Catholic mission just outside the capital Harare. For me it was a sign that he was accepting that ah this is done , he is relieved, not that he is aggrieved but relieved. He said Mugabe realized it was the end of the road two days before he resigned, when he saw 60,000 Zimbabweans protesting and demanding he quit at the Harare grounds where he was inaugurated as prime minister in 1980. His signed resignation letter was read out on Tuesday, as parliament heard a motion to impeach him. Sources have told Reuters Mugabe was defiant when he met army top brass on Nov. 16 | 1 | [
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FMD376 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Dr. Eowyn | 2 Comments WARNING:
This post may be the most important post you’ll read on not just the 2016 election, but the entire electoral system that legitimates the U.S. republic of representative democracy. The post is long, with multiple sections, so pace yourself accordingly. I suggest you bookmark this webpage so that you can return to read or re-read. †
Jim Stone first posted about this two days ago on Nov. 1, 2016.
Unsure about Stone, who calls himself an “independent journalist” (based in Japan) and who writes in a less-than-clear or reader-friendly manner, I refrained from writing about his post.
Then InfoWars picked this issue up a day later on November 2.
What is claimed is that a hidden web site of NBC affiliate WRCBtv in Chattanooga, Tenn., shows pre-determined final vote counts for an election that hasn’t yet occurred — the 2016 presidential election scheduled for November 8.
Below is a screenshot Jim Stone took of the election results on WRCBtv’s hidden webpage, showing Hillary Clinton winning with 343 electoral votes and 42% of the popular vote . As Stone puts it: “SCAM ELECTION ALREADY CONFIRMED. TRUMP LOSES.”
Stone and InfoWars say the predetermined election results are provided by Worldnow.com.
So what is WorldNow?
This is what Wikipedia says, with a lot of jargon:
“WorldNow is a New York-based software company . . . [that] offers the only integrated media platform enabling broadcasters, operators and media companies to easily create, acquire, manage, analyze, monetize and distribute media assets (text, images and videos) across all digital platforms and on-air systems in a unified, end-to-end workflow . . . . Worldnow’s customers include CBS, COX, Dispatch, Fox Television, Meredith Corporation, Media General and Raycom Media . . . . On July 29, 2015, WorldNow announced its sale to Frankly, a San Francisco-based provider of white label social media services and mobile messaging apps . . . . In 2012, Fox Television Stations migrated its websites to WorldNow’s platform . . . becoming WorldNow’s second largest client (as of 2015, they have since switched to Lakana). In 2011, Meredith Corporation . . . began a four-year contract with WorldNow to operate its station websites. In January 2013, Media General reached a deal to move its eighteen stations to WorldNow, beginning with WFLA-TV.”
A “media platform” is a “platform,” medium or means of communicating news, such as a newspaper, TV station, Facebook , Twitter , or even a blog like FOTM .
I typed “worldnow.com” in the URL bar of my laptop, but was brought to the webpage of Frankly Inc. with this URL: http://franklyinc.com/ .
Frankly’s “About” page says:
WorldNow , the original broadcast arm of Frankly, was founded in 1999. We now serve over 200 stations across the United States as a true partner, offering customization services and strategic trainings on industry best practices for user engagement and monetization.
Frankly’s “Investors” page says:
“ Our customers include NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX affiliates , as well as top fashion brands, professional sports franchises and global organizations.”
In other words, WorldNow is a media software company that provides real-time data – such as election results – to local TV news stations like WRCBtv .
You can verify this for yourself by going on WRCBtv’s website: http://www.wrcbtv.com/ . Scroll down to the bottom of WRCBtv’s webpage, and you’ll see this in the bottom left of the webpage:
WRCBtv.com is “powered by frankly” and Frankly is the owner of WorldNow. In other words, WorldNow provides the content or the news for WRCBtv.com.
Stone claims that for now, WRCBtv.com’s (predetermined) election results page is hidden, awaiting WorldNow to publicly post the (fake) election results sometime in the evening of November 8, Election Day.
I can verify that the webpage is currently hidden. Here’s what I did: I typed “ftpcontent2.worldnow.com/wrcb/elections/elections.html”in the URL bar, but was brought to a McAfee Web Advisor page warning of “Trouble ahead” and asking me”Are you sure you want to go there?” I then did a Yahoo search for “WRCBtv.com decision 2016”. My search’s results page has this at the top:
Note that it says “Decision 2016: Complete Election Results Posted”. I clicked the blue-colored “ DECISION 2016: Complete Election Results ” and was brought to this page of WRCBtv.com with the message: Our Apologies
The page you requested is currently unavailable. Pages on this site are constantly being revised, updated, and occasionally removed. You may have followed an outdated link or have outdated pages in your browser cache. Here’s a screenshot I took:
So how did WorldNow come up with its predetermined final vote counts for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump ?
Answer : A method called “ fractional vote “.
To begin, a fractional vote feature is embedded in the GEMS election management system of electronic voting machines , which counts approximately 25% of all votes in the United States.
As explained by Gun&Game , the fractional vote feature can be used to invisibly, yet radically, alter election outcomes by pre-setting desired vote percentages for the candidates. The tampering can be applied across large jurisdictions in less than 60 seconds; is not visible to election observers, even if they are standing in the room and watching the computer; and is unlikely to be detected by auditing or canvass procedures.
GEMS vote-counting systems operate under five trade names: Global Election Systems, Diebold Election Systems, Premier Election Systems, Dominion Voting Systems, and Election Systems & Software, in addition to a number of private regional subcontractors. GEMS is used statewide in Alaska, Connecticut, Georgia, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Utah and Vermont, and for counties in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. It is also used in Canada.
Vote-rigging by electronic voting machines is real.
A 2006 Emmy-nominated HBO documentary, Hacking Democracy , investigates the flawed integrity of electronic voting machines, particularly those made by Diebold Election Systems (now Global Election Systems), and exposes previously unknown backdoors in the Diebold trade secret computer software. Hacking Democracy documents American citizens investigating anomalies and irregularities with electronic voting systems during the 2000 and 2004 elections, especially in Volusia County, Florida. The film culminates in the on-camera hacking of the Diebold election system in Leon County, Florida — the same computer voting system which has been used in elections across 39 states, and which still counts tens of millions of America’s votes today.
So what is fractional or fractionalized vote?
Fractional vote is a method to distort the results of an election by “weighting” the votes. Instead of the principle of “one person-one vote,” some votes are counted not as 1, but as a fraction of or less than 1 (e.g., ½ or ¼), or as more than 1 (e.g., 1½ or 1¾). The distortion of “one person-one vote” is in order to achieve a pre-assigned percentage of votes for each candidate. For example, Candidate A is pre-assigned 51% of the votes, Candidate B 44%, and Candidate C gets the rest — 5%.
An algorithm is used to arrive at the pre-assigned percentages by changing the numbers automatically as the voting progresses. Although Candidate A in actuality received fewer number of votes than Candidate B, by “weighting” Candidate A’s votes, those votes are distorted in value, with one vote being counted, say, 25 times, so that Candidate A is the winner. And although Candidate B actually received more votes than Candidate A, Candidate B’s votes are “weighted” such that their values are less, with some votes converted to zero. The end result is that Candidate B loses.
According to Jim Stone, below are the numerical votes and percentages that are the pre-assigned presidential election results for the various states , which are already on the “Election Results” webpage of WMCtv.com, a local TV station in Memphis, TN. (But if you go onto that webpage — http://ftpcontent4.worldnow.com/wmctv/elections/wmc-electionresults.html — now, all the values are 0):
Line 119: US President Alabama Line 121: Donald Trump (R) 715,592 44% Line 122: Hillary Clinton (D) 634,275 39% Line 125: US President Alaska Line 127: Donald Trump (R) 115,252 44% Line 128: Hillary Clinton (D) 104,973 40% Line 133: US President Arizona Line 135: Donald Trump (R) 906,638 46% Line 136: Hillary Clinton (D) 867,218 44% Line 139: US President Arkansas Line 141: Hillary Clinton (D) 320,102 38% Line 142: Donald Trump (R) 289,862 34% Line 149: US President California Line 151: Hillary Clinton (D) 4,076,539 45% Line 152: Donald Trump (R) 3,643,970 40% Line 156: US President Colorado Line 158: Hillary Clinton (D) 452,857 23% Line 159: Donald Trump (R) 367,446 19% Line 180: US President Connecticut Line 182: Hillary Clinton (D) 508,013 45% Line 183: Donald Trump (R) 451,669 40% Line 186: US President Delaware Line 188: Donald Trump (R) 148,943 44% Line 189: Hillary Clinton (D) 132,602 40% Line 192: US President District of Columbia Line 194: Donald Trump (R) 111,157 45% Line 195: Hillary Clinton (D) 99,648 40% Line 198: US President Florida Line 200: Hillary Clinton (D) 2,758,845 44% Line 201: Donald Trump (R) 2,543,706 40% Line 206: US President Georgia Line 208: Donald Trump (R) 1,490,410 45% Line 209: Hillary Clinton (D) 1,324,808 40% Line 211: US President Hawaii Line 213: Hillary Clinton (D) 158,720 42% Line 214: Donald Trump (R) 152,232 41% Line 218: US President Idaho Line 220: Donald Trump (R) 198,675 44% Line 221: Hillary Clinton (D) 176,677 39% Line 228: US President Illinois Line 230: Hillary Clinton (D) 2,006,362 44% Line 231: Donald Trump (R) 1,807,369 40% Line 234: US President Indiana Line 236: Donald Trump (R) 1,077,142 45% Line 237: Hillary Clinton (D) 957,461 40% Line 239: US President Iowa Line 241: Donald Trump (R) 490,319 44% Line 242: Hillary Clinton (D) 436,740 39% Line 251: US President Kansas Line 253: Donald Trump (R) 392,701 44% Line 254: Hillary Clinton (D) 349,617 40% Line 257: US President Kentucky Line 259: Donald Trump (R) 721,167 44% Line 260: Hillary Clinton (D) 647,285 40% Line 265: US President Louisiana Line 267: Hillary Clinton (D) 565,941 38% Line 268: Donald Trump (R) 536,155 36% Line 280: US President Maine Line 282: Hillary Clinton (D) 223,591 43% Line 283: Donald Trump (R) 207,990 40% Line 286: US President Maryland Line 288: Hillary Clinton (D) 934,981 45% Line 289: Donald Trump (R) 831,655 40% Line 292: US President Massachusetts Line 294: Donald Trump (R) 960,930 44% Line 295: Hillary Clinton (D) 864,838 40% Line 298: US President Michigan Line 300: Hillary Clinton (D) 1,495,253 40% Line 301: Donald Trump (R) 1,420,490 38% Line 306: US President Minnesota Line 308: Hillary Clinton (D) 835,772 45% Line 309: Donald Trump (R) 643,190 34% Line 317: US President Mississippi Line 319: Donald Trump (R) 455,836 44% Line 320: Hillary Clinton (D) 404,169 39% Line 326: US President Missouri Line 328: Hillary Clinton (D) 919,407 44% Line 329: Donald Trump (R) 826,715 40% Line 333: US President Montana Line 335: Donald Trump (R) 124,285 35% Line 336: Hillary Clinton (D) 106,531 30% Line 340: US President Nebraska Line 342: Donald Trump (R) 266,304 44% Line 343: Hillary Clinton (D) 238,319 40% Line 346: US President Nevada Line 348: Hillary Clinton (D) 392,071 47% Line 349: Donald Trump (R) 349,756 42% Line 354: US President New Hampshire Line 356: Donald Trump (R) 233,389 44% Line 357: Hillary Clinton (D) 211,541 40% Line 361: US President New Jersey Line 363: Hillary Clinton (D) 1,225,655 43% Line 364: Donald Trump (R) 1,104,143 39% Line 372: US President New Mexico Line 374: Donald Trump (R) 257,643 41% Line 375: Hillary Clinton (D) 243,336 39% Line 382: US President New York Line 384: Hillary Clinton (D) 2,874,820 49% Line 385: Donald Trump (R) 2,464,969 42% Line 388: US President North Carolina Line 390: Hillary Clinton (D) 1,834,827 54% Line 391: Donald Trump (R) 1,427,089 42% Line 393: US President North Dakota Line 395: Hillary Clinton (D) 106,150 39% Line 396: Donald Trump (R) 81,170 30% Line 401: US President Ohio Line 403: Hillary Clinton (D) 1,768,330 45% Line 404: Donald Trump (R) 1,571,848 40% Line 408: US President Oklahoma Line 410: Donald Trump (R) 532,869 50% Line 411: Hillary Clinton (D) 479,581 45% Line 413: US President Oregon Line 415: Donald Trump (R) 437,729 35% Line 416: Hillary Clinton (D) 375,196 30% Line 419: US President Pennsylvania Line 421: Hillary Clinton (D) 1,892,527 44% Line 422: Donald Trump (R) 1,714,575 40% Line 426: US President Rhode Island Line 428: Hillary Clinton (D) 176,102 44% Line 429: Donald Trump (R) 158,149 39% Line 433: US President South Carolina Line 435: Hillary Clinton (D) 686,264 44% Line 436: Donald Trump (R) 610,431 39% Line 442: US President South Dakota Line 444: Donald Trump (R) 118,104 40% Line 445: Hillary Clinton (D) 88,577 30% Line 448: US President Tennessee Line 450: Donald Trump (R) 707,501 36% Line 451: Hillary Clinton (D) 699,358 35% Line 457: US President Texas Line 459: Hillary Clinton (D) 3,171,201 42% Line 460: Donald Trump (R) 3,020,193 40% Line 463: US President Utah Line 465: Donald Trump (R) 229,420 30% Line 466: Hillary Clinton (D) 191,184 25% Line 475: US President Vermont Line 477: Hillary Clinton (D) 102,409 44% Line 478: Donald Trump (R) 91,938 40% Line 483: US President Virginia Line 485: Hillary Clinton (D) 1,207,579 44% Line 486: Donald Trump (R) 1,087,068 40% Line 490: US President Washington Line 492: Hillary Clinton (D) 830,496 39% Line 493: Donald Trump (R) 679,285 32% Line 499: US President West Virginia Line 501: Hillary Clinton (D) 276,617 44% Line 502: Donald Trump (R) 248,391 40% Line 506: US President Wisconsin Line 508: Donald Trump (R) 795,047 40% Line 509: Hillary Clinton (D) 587,532 30% Line 515: US President Wyoming Line 517: Hillary Clinton (D) 41,824 30% Line 518: Donald Trump (R) 34,853 25%
Anticipating that skeptics or the vote-riggers would say that WRCBtv.com’s “hidden page” of election results is merely a “code test” for the TV station’s actual posting of election results on November 8, Jim Stone says that he’d “ripped the code out worldnow.com/kfvs12/elections.html” and can confirm “there is no active in it to need testing," i.e., "the page has no code that will tabulate votes." The data on the hidden page are not codes, but are "all just typed in."
There is another way to demonstrate vote rigging of the 2016 election -- a webpage on election results of KFVS12 , a local TV station in Cape Girardeau, MO: http://82.221.129.208/ftpcontent4worldnowcomkfvs12elections.html .
The webpage at present is a fakery in progress , with the final (fake) vote counts for some races already filled in, but blank for some other races. This afternoon, November 3, 2016, I took screenshots of every race with (fake) tabulations already filled in, but did not take screenshots of some blank races because I got tired of taking screenshots. The races with no (fake) vote counts are all minor races, such as those for city councils and local initiatives.
Ask yourself this question:
Why would the website of KFVS12, a local TV station in Missouri, have the final vote counts for some races in the upcoming November 8 elections already filled in?
If KFVS12's election results webpage as it is now is merely a "test-run" to ensure that the webpage will be operative on November 8, why are the vote counts of some races -- all relatively unimportant local races -- blank? If the page is a "test," there should be "test" vote counts for every race.
Can anyone offer another explanation for what's been presented in this post? I'm open to alternative, non-election-fraud explanations.
Is our entire democratic polity an illusion?
H/t FOTM 's bongiornoc | 0 | [
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FMD377 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Fewer French voters are dissatisfied with Emmanuel Macron s performance, a poll showed on Sunday, halting a recent slide in the popularity ratings of the French president in recent months. The poll, conducted by Ifop for newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD), showed Macron s dissatisfaction rating declining to 53 percent in September, from 57 percent in August. Some 45 percent expressed satisfaction with the centrist leader | 1 | [
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FMD378 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: A banner reading “Build bridges not walls†was draped across London’s Tower Bridge as part of several protests in Europe and Asia on Friday against the inauguration of Donald Trump as U.S. president. Soon after sunrise, activists on the bridge, with its two Gothic-style towers, held up pink letters reading “Act now!†while others beside parliament unfurled banners saying “Migrants welcome hereâ€. There were also demonstrations in Japan, the Philippines and Belgium, where hundreds of people held a minute’s silence, lighting candles in Friday evening’s bitter cold and holding signs defending women’s rights. In the Scottish capital, banners on Edinburgh’s North Bridge read “Women rise up†and “There is no Planet B†| 1 | [
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FMD379 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: American officials said this week they plan to train up to 25,000 Iraqi troops in a major mission to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, from Islamic State militants sometime this spring.
The mission is welcome, but frankly it is unlikely to succeed unless there is, at the same time, a deeper understanding on the part of our government of the real threat that the Islamic State and its adherents pose to us as a nation—and what our role in this broader fight must be. Unless the United States takes dramatically more action than we have done so far in Iraq, the fractious, largely Shiite-composed units that make up the Iraqi army are not likely to be able, by themselves, to overwhelm a Sunni stronghold like Mosul, even though they outnumber the enemy by ten to one. The United States must be prepared to provide far more combat capabilities and enablers such as command and control, intelligence, logistics, and fire support, to name just a few things.
Yet to defeat an enemy, you first must admit they exist, and this we have not done. I believe there continues to be confusion at the highest level of our government about what it is we’re facing, and the American public want clarity as well as moral and intellectual courage, which they are not now getting.
There are some who argue that violent Islamists are not an existential threat and therefore can simply be managed as criminals, or as a local issue in Iraq and Syria. I respectfully and strongly disagree.
We, as a nation, must accept and face the reality that we and other contributing nations of the world are at war, and not just in Iraq. We are in a global war with a radical and violent form of the Islamic religion, and it is irresponsible and dangerous to deny it. This enemy is far broader than the 40,000 or so fighters in the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. There also exists a large segment of this radical version of Islam in over 90 nations abroad as well as here at home. Just ask those countries from which foreign fighters are flowing into the Levant to support this “jihad.â€
Nor is this enemy going away any time soon. As abhorrent as this form of radical Islam is, we must recognize and understand that it is a political ideology with the foundation of its laws emanating from the Qur’an and the Prophet’s life as its guide—and nothing else is needed. This form of radical Islam is in direct conflict with a large segment of the Islamic community; a community that must stand taller and be counted right now or they will be counted among the dead—killed at the hands of these radical militants (this includes both Sunni and Shia).
Having served in the theaters of war of Iraq and Afghanistan for many years, and faced this enemy up close and personal, I have seen first hand the unrestrained cruelty of our enemy. While they may be animated by a medieval ideology, they are thoroughly modern in their capacity to kill and maim as well as precisely and very intelligently transmit their ideas, intentions and actions via the Internet.
In fact, they are increasingly capable of threatening our nation’s interests and those of our allies, and it would be foolish for us to wait until they pose an existential threat before taking decisive action. Doing so would only increase the cost in blood and treasure later for what we know must be done now.
Not surprisingly, the recent draft authorization for the use of military force, or AUMF (a minor component of a still required comprehensive strategy), signals that we are willing to wait for them to become existential. Again, this is irresponsible and dangerous thinking. This authorization requires far more and far stronger objectives and authorities for our military commanders and not be simply another limiting timetable that sets unreal expectations.
Instead, this authorization should be broad and agile, and unconstrained by unnecessary restrictions. These restrictions cause not only frustration in our military and intelligence communities but they also significantly slow down the decision-making process for numerous fleeting opportunities. If this is due to a lack of confidence in our military and intelligence leadership, get rid of them and find new ones.
And if there is not a clear, coherent, and comprehensive strategy inclusive of all elements of national power forthcoming from the administration, there should be no authorization at all, simply leave the existing one in place.
There are solutions to this problem. However, solving tough, complex problems such as eliminating this radical form of Islam from the face of the planet will require extraordinary intellect, courage, and leadership. Leadership that isn’t consensus building, but thoughtful, insightful, yet, when it matters, decisive.
We have seen this type of leadership throughout world history and we have examples in our own history—Washington, Lincoln, FDR to Ronald Reagan. When faced with threats to our way of life and the lives of our friends and allies around the world—they stepped up to lead. Whether that leadership meant forcing our will on the enemy or outmatching them with our wits and imagination, they faced the difficult reality head on.
To that end, I offer the following three strategic objectives:
• First, we have to energize every element of national power in a cohesive synchronized manner—similar to the effort during World War II or the Cold War—to effectively resource what will likely be a multi-generational struggle. There is no cheap way to win this fight.
• Second, we must engage the violent Islamists wherever they are, drive them from their safe havens and kill them. There can be no quarter and no accommodation. Any nation-state that offers safe haven to our enemies must be given one choice—to eliminate them or be prepared for those contributing nations involved in this endeavor to do so. We do need to recognize there are nations who lack the capability to defeat this threat and will likely require help to do so inside of their own internationally recognized boundaries. We must be prepared to assist those nations.
• Third, we must decisively confront the state and non-state supporters and enablers of the violent Islamist ideology and compel them to end their support to our enemies or be prepared to remove their capacity to do so. Many of these are currently considered “partners†of the United States. This must change. If our so-called partners do not act in accordance with internationally accepted norms and behaviors or international law, the United States must be prepared to cut off or severely curtail economic, military and diplomatic ties.
Winning doesn’t come without cost and solving difficult messy problems is never easy, but that’s what leaders do. Let’s lead! | 1 | [
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FMD380 | 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 cut our deficits by more than half.
contextual information: In 2012, PolitiFact twiceratedTrueclaims that President Barack Obama failed to keep a promise to cut federal deficits in half by the end of his first term. At that point, the budget gap topped a trillion bucks and Republican congressmencalled out Obamabecause the deficit had been reduced by just 15 percent. But there was the president atLaborfest 2014in Milwaukee proclaiming we cut our deficits by more than half. In his Sept. 1, 2014speech, the president ticked off for union supporters a list of major policy decisions he contends helped boost the economy and improve the governments bottom line. We cant cover all of those here, but the deficit claim grabbed our attention. Has it really been cut in half? The White House Office of Management and Budget pointed us to achart prepared by that officein 2013 as proof of Obama's claim. It compares the yearly deficits under Obama, expressed -- as they often are -- as a share of the nations entire economy, which is measured by the Gross Domestic Product. At the start of Obamas term, the chart showed, the figure was 9.2 percent. The latest figure was 4.1 percent. That appears to back Obama's statement. But let's examine this in detail. To do that, we reviewed figures published by the Congressional Budget Office as well as theWhite Houses Office of Management and Budget. We also consulted with independent fiscal experts. The baseline year for comparison is fiscal year 2009, which ended Sept. 30 of that year. This was the last budget from President George W. Bush, as Obama took office in January of that year. The most recent complete fiscal year is 2013. Those are the same years Obama's chart showed. Our analysis showed the drop easily topped 50 percent, and was actually somewhat higher than Obama's chart would indicate. As a share of the economy, we found -- and our experts confirmed -- the drop was from 9.8 percent in 2009 to 4.1 percent in 2013. Obamas chart actually reflects a lower deficit figure for 2009, and therefore a lower share of GDP, 9.2%. Thats because instead of using the actual 2009 deficit of $1.4 trillion, Obama lowers it by the $200 billion in increased deficit spending that he -- not Bush -- pushed through in the stimulus plan to address the crisis that became the Great Recession. That resulting figure is what Obama calls the deficit he inherited from Bush. But no matter which figure is used, the deficit as a share of the economy still fell by more than half. Show me the money There's another way to look at this. That is, in raw dollars -- the way attendees at the union event probably would. Indeed, deficits are often expressed that way as well. The White House and CBO figures each show that in 2009 the deficit reached $1.4 trillion. As a share of GDP, it easily topped any year since World War II, said Steve Ellis, vice president of the nonpartisan Taxpayers for Common Sense. By the end of fiscal year 2013, the deficit figure had fallen to $679.5 billion in dollars unadjusted for inflation. Thats a 52 percent drop. Heres the year-by-year trend in 2009 dollars: Fiscal year Deficit Deficit as share of GDP 2009 1,412,688,000,000 9.8 percent 2010 1,294,373,000,000 8.8 percent 2011 1,299,593,000,000 8.4 percent 2012 1,086,963,000,000 6.8 percent 2013 679,502,000,000 4.1 percent There is one wrinkle. When you use Obama's methodology to compare the deficit Obama inherited -- the 2009 result minus the stimulus package to that in 2013 -- the drop in the deficit is slightly under half, at 48%. Ellis and Marc Goldwein, senior policy director at the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, both included an additional year, the 2014 fiscal year, which is just a month from completion. The Aug. 27, 2014CBO estimate for this years budget,fiscal year 2014, is a continued shrinking of the deficit to $506 billion, or 2.9 percent of GDP. Those figures would put Obama's claim over the top no matter the number-crunching method. Looking ahead Ellis cautioned that talking about deficit amounts in raw dollars doesnt really give a good sense of the scale: A $400 billion deficit in a $10 trillion economy is a lot bigger than a $400 billion deficit in $17 trillion economy. And he and Goldwein emphasized that while the deficit has been halved, its been halved from a skyscraping peak. In the decade before deficits exploded in 2008 and 2009, they averaged just over 1 percent of GDP, including three years of surpluses, we calculated. As of 2013, that figure was at 4.1 percent. The growth in the deficit from 2007 to 2009 was due mainly to factors related to the Great Recession, said Goldwein. Tax collections fell as people lost jobs and corporate profits dropped; spending on food stamps and other aid programs rose with increased need; stimulus and tax break legislation passed, as did bailouts of financial firms. The economic recovery, wind-down of stimulus, reversal of TARP/Fannie transactions, and lower interest rates are really what has caused our deficit to fall so much, Goldwein told us. He mentioned cuts in discretionary spending as well. Looking ahead, the CBO warns that later in the next decade deficits as a share of the economy will grow and federal debt will climb without changes in current policies. But Obama, its fair to say, was speaking of the change during his presidency. And his claim dovetails with one PolitiFact National checked in July 2013, ratingTrueObamas claim that the deficit is falling at the fastest rate in 60 years. Our rating At a union rally on Labor Day, Obama declared We cut our deficits by more than half. The numbers back up Obamas claim: Thanks to income tax revenues rising and spending on emergency assistance dropping, Americas deficit has fallen by more than 50 percent from its highest point since World War II to a level $733 billion lower. We rate the claim True. | 1 | [
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FMD381 | 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 the deficit by two-thirds.
contextual information: Making an economicspeechat the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse on July 2, 2015, Barack Obama ticked off a list of his accomplishments as president -- and made a bolder version of a claim we have heard before about slashing the federal budget deficit. So, weve got a record streak of private-sector job growth, Obama said in his remarks, which includedveiled criticismsof Gov. Scott Walker on the day Walker filed federal papers as a precursor to announcing his run for president. Weve cut the deficit by two-thirds. Our stock market has more than doubled, restoring 401(k)s for millions of families. This is progress. Step by step, America is moving forward. Middle-class economics works. It works. Yes!Here's why the deficit claim caught our attention: In September 2014 in Milwaukee, Obama said he had cut the deficit in half. Werated that statement True, and it has become one of our most-clicked fact checks. Could it be that, less than a year later, the deficit is down by two-thirds? Deficit vs debt Lets be clear at the top that Obama is talking about the deficit, which has been getting smaller -- not the debt, which is getting bigger. The deficit is an annual number. Its the difference between what the government collects in revenues and spends in one year. The United States hasnt seen budgetsurplusessince the days of President Bill Clinton. The debt, meanwhile, is a running tally -- its the total of annual deficits minus any annual surpluses. The nation's debt currently exceeds$18 trillion, and it has risen by more than$7 trillionunder Obama. (Heres agood primerfrom PolitiFact National on the difference between the two.) Tracking the deficit numbers In reviewing the cut-the-deficit-in-half claim, our baseline was fiscal 2009. That period started on Oct. 1, 2008, when George W. Bush was still president, and ended on Sept. 30, 2009, eight months after Obama took office. We found the deficit was $1.41 trillion in 2009 and $679.5 billion in 2013 -- a drop of more than half. Measured another way, the deficit made up 9.8 percent of the economy (gross domestic product) in 2009 and dropped to less than half of that -- 4.1 percent -- by the end of fiscal 2013. But now we have figures for fiscal 2014. PolitiFact National examined those figures in January 2015, after Obama said in his State of the Union speech that we've seen our deficits cut by two-thirds. Our colleagues rated his statementMostly True. The 2014 deficit was $486 billion -- a drop of two-thirds from the $1.41 trillion in 2009. And it was 2.8 percent of GDP, a reduction of more than two-thirds from the 9.8 percent in 2009. (In June 2015, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected that 2015 will end with a deficit that, as a percentage of GDP, will be the lowest since 2007.) So, math wise, Obamas two-thirds claim is solid. But there are a few caveats. Yes, we reduced the deficit two-thirds from its peak in 2009, but that was after deficits had just increased by nearly 800 percent to theirhighest leveloutside of World War II, Marc Goldwein of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget told us. Indeed, Obamahelped growthe 2009 deficit with his stimulus spending, although he can take some credit for the economy, which has improved since the Great Recessionendedin June 2009 and helped bring down the deficits. And although the Congressional Budget Office projects that deficits relative to GDP will decline slightly over the next few years, they will then rise and add more to the debt. Largely as a result of the aging population and rising health care costs, CBOprojectsthe deficit to grow from less than 3 percent of GDP in 2015 to more than 6 percent in 2040. Our rating Obama said: We've cut the deficit by two-thirds. In raw dollars and as a percentage of the overall economy, the annual federal deficit in 2014 was two-thirds smaller than in 2009, the year Obama took office. But there are several caveats, including the fact that his stimulus spending helped raise the 2009 deficit and the economy, for which he can take some credit, has improved since the end of the Great Recession the same year. For a statement that is accurate but needs additional information, our rating is Mostly True. | 1 | [
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FMD382 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Share This
Don’t be deceived by Hillary Clinton’s lie that she’ll fix Obamacare. She already tried to fix healthcare in 1994 when President Bill Clinton put her in charge of transforming our healthcare and insurance plans. She called it Hillarycare, and like Obamacare, it failed miserably. Now, her plans for Obamacare have been exposed — along with how millions of Americans will end up dead thanks to her “fix.”
Hillary Clinton is a very dangerous woman. The one thing that scares healthcare professionals is her plans to fix Obamacare, which is falling apart with premiums going through the roof. It was always going to fail.
As a Registered Nurse for over 20 years, working in the inner city in Los Angeles, I saw firsthand how health care works. When Barack Obama and his Democratic minions passed Obamacare in 2010, I freaked out, knowing this would bring untimely deaths to many of my fellow Americans, and now that Hillary says she’ll fix Obamacare, I can be silent no more. Hillary promises to fix Obamacare with full blown socialized medicine
The first thing you need to realize is that Obamacare was never the ultimate plan. It was meant to be a step toward total socialized medicine. Hillary will put Obamacare on steroids, and the goal is for a complete government controlled system that every American is enrolled in, where that is the only choice you have.
This is the same system that plagues Canada and Great Britain, and it means Americans will die. Instead of your doctor deciding what type of care you get, there are strict guidelines which all doctors must follow. If you are a woman diagnosed with ovarian cancer, you will only be given one path to take. You will not be allowed to find out about cutting edge drugs or treatments. You will be sent home to die. Kathleen Sebelius said, under Obamacare, “someone lives and someone dies.”
Under socialized medicine, it’s all about cost effectiveness, and ovarian cancer has a high death rate. So, you’re not worth the expensive treatment that may cure you or help you live longer. You won’t even know those treatments exist. They’ll pat you on the head, say how sorry they are, and tell you that they will do everything they can to keep you “comfortable.”
This won’t affect the ultra-rich. This will affect the lower and middle class, who can’t afford to seek treatment on their own.
Socialized medicine will affect even happy events like having a baby. In keeping with the culture of death that surrounds socialized medicine, here’s what happened to one mother in Great Britain whose baby was born at 22 weeks — an age at which some infants have survived when life-saving measures were used. Tracy Goodwin watched in horror as they let her baby die.
Forty-six minutes later [after he was born], and despite her desperate pleas to midwives for assistance, Miss Godwin’s son died as she held him.
She has since been told that the hospital has a policy not to resuscitate babies born earlier than 24 weeks into pregnancy. [via Daily Mail ] Tracy Goodwin (left) holds her baby boy, born at 22 weeks (right).
If you need to see a doctor, good luck. In Canada, they have to wait 3-4 months just to see their “primary care physician.” Canadians wait on average 35 weeks, or 6 months, to see a specialist after getting a referral, according to the Fraser Institue . If you have cancer, you could be dead by the time you can see an oncologist.
This is why most doctors and nurses are fleeing healthcare. We can no longer help our patients the right way, with clear consciences, and those doctors and nurses who support this kind of system are lying to themselves into believing that this system is healthcare. It’s managed deathcare, and that is what Big Brother does best.
What’s the answer? Donald Trump . He will repeal Obamacare, and even if he does nothing else, it’s a win. He is putting healthcare back into the free market where it belongs. What drives insurance prices down? Competition — and that is what he will do when he opens up buying healthcare across state lines.
Lastly, a brain surgeon should be paid more than a truck driver, no offense to truck drivers. Yet, under socialized medicine, doctors are made to take a salary which is capped. This, in itself, does not give our smartest kids any incentive to become a brain surgeon. Making a lot of money drives those interested in medicine to become doctors. It’s just a fact, and it made our healthcare system the best in the world before Obama came along.
Back in 1994, Hillary tried to pass socialized medicine called Hillarycare, and it failed. Now, she is back, promising to fix Obamacare with Hillarycare, but if you value your loved ones’ lives, there is only one thing to do. Make sure people realize what is at stake in this election. Literally, their lives are on the line if Donald Trump doesn’t win. | 0 | [
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FMD383 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Cambodia s exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy has committed treason by inciting soldiers to defy orders, Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Wednesday, and he will face new legal action over the comments. The threat of more legal action against Sam Rainsy, who has lived in France since 2015 to avoid a series of convictions, comes weeks after a court dissolved his opposition party, removing any significant challenge to Hun Sen extending his decades-long rule in a general election next year. The dissolution of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) has been condemned by the opposition, rights groups and some Western countries as the most serious blow to democracy since an international peace deal and U.N.-run elections in the early 1990s ended decades of war and genocide. The United States has withdrawn an offer to help fund the election and the European Union has raised the possibility of withdrawing trade preferences. Sam Rainsy, who stepped down as leader of the CNRP this year in what turned out to be a futile bid to forestall a ban on his party suggested in a video posted on his Facebook page on Tuesday that soldiers would not obey orders to shoot civilians. Around the world, at any time, armed forces don t obey orders given by dictators to kill people and we say that Hun Sen is not immortal, we must not protect Hun Sen, Sam Rainsy told supporters in Paris. Hun Sen, who has held power for more than 32 years, a said the military would file a lawsuit in response. This is a treasonous crime, an incitement of soldiers to disobey orders, Hun Sen told garment workers in Phnom Penh. The Supreme Court banned the CNRP after its leader, Kem Sokha, who took over after Sam Rainsy stepped down, was arrested for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government with American help. Kem Sokha, who rejected the accusation, is in prison. In an interview with Reuters last month, Sam Rainsy said Cambodia was at a tipping point and that Hun Sen would be driven from power like Zimbabwe s Robert Mugabe. He urged Western states to impose targeted sanctions. A government crackdown on dissent has included the prosecution of several rights activists, reporters and the closure of several media outlets. Sam Rainsy served as finance minister in an ill-fated coalition set up when Hun Sen refused to give up power after losing a U.N.-organised election in 1993. Hun Sen purged his coalition partners in a 1997 putsch. Hun Sen has built close ties to China and dismisses Western pressure to improve rights. He has warned of a return to civil war if he were to lose the election. (This version of the story amends headline to show Hun Sen said the opposition leader would be sued) | 1 | [
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FMD384 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: This is a story you will never find in the mainstream media What seldom gets talked about and when it is, often with irreverent humor and contempt is the poverty of rural America, particularly rural white America: Appalachia, the Ozarks, the Mississippi Delta, the Dakotas, the Rio Grande Valley, the Cotton Belt.If you spend time among coastal liberals, it s not unusual to hear denigrating remarks made about poor middle Americans slip out of mouths that are otherwise forthcoming about the injustices of poverty and inequality.Yet, since the 1950s, Americans living in non-metropolitan counties have had a higher rate of poverty than those living in metropolitan areas. According to the 2013 American Community Survey, the poverty rate among rural-dwelling Americans is three percent higher than it is among urban-dwellers. In the South, the poorest region of the country, the rural-urban discrepancy is greatest around eight percent higher in non-metro areas than metro areas.Watch here, as Levi Holstein, 22 explains what Obama s shut down of the coal industry has done to his community: Holstein s youth was spent hunting deer,turkey and bears,fishing for catfish with his father and riding four wheelers through the hills of Boone County. Now,the mountains he grew to love have been leveled in pursuit of coal,and their debris scraped into the hollow above his childhood home,destroying old haunts. I would be the first to tell you I hate strip mines. I hate it,I don t like it one bit, Holstein said. But at the same time it gives a man a job. Unfortunately, for 8 years we had a President who was committed to shutting down the coal industry in rural America, where primarily low income white families live.For Holstein,and many others throughout the region,the changes to the landscape and negative environmental impacts are weighed against paychecks to support their families. However,in the past few years career miners have seen their jobs vanish or move to other parts of the state.Once the most formidable industry in West Virginia,coal is progressively losing its economic dominance throughout Central Appalachia as production slows due to tightening pollution controls,greater availability of cheap natural gas and growing competition from other coal basins.From 2007 to 2012 West Virginia s annual coal production dropped by 31.7 million tons annually,falling over 20 percent,from 165.7 million to 129.5 million. Over half of that decline,17.9 million tons,came from Boone County,which until 2012 had long been the state s top producer.So why is the poverty of rural America largely unexamined, even avoided? There are a number of explanations.Rural and urban poverty are similar to the degree that both occur when people do not have access to jobs specifically ones that pay a living wage (i.e. enough to provide themselves and their dependents with basic necessities like food and shelter). Many of the causal factors for poverty, however, are exacerbated in remote areas where the job and labor markets are smaller and less diverse, and communities lack the human capital of city economies. Often a single industry (in some cases single employer) will dominate a vast region.The geographic distance between some rural communities and higher education institutions, as well as technical and vocational schools, is also a factor. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, 20 percent of non-metro residents complete their college degrees compared to 30 percent in metropolitan areas.Similarly, when it comes to providing social services in rural America, spatial challenges arise in making those services accessible and visible to a remote public. The repertoire of services available to [rural people] is smaller, Lobao says. Her research indicates that 50 percent of metropolitan counties provide subsidies for emergency medical services, while only 30 percent of non-metro counties do. Similarly, 30 percent of metro counties make elder care available, but only 20 percent of non-metro counties do. And 25 percent of metro counties provide childcare care, but only 16 percent of non-metro countries do. Each of these deficits contributes to the higher rate of poverty that we see among the rural poor.Lisa Pruitt, a law professor at the University of California at Davis, studies the intersection of law and rural livelihoods. She also runs a site called the Legal Ruralism Blog, where she writes about the problem of rural American poverty. Pruitt grew up in a working-class rural Newton County in the Ozarks of northwest Arkansas. She tells Rural America In These Times that one important misconception about rural poverty is that it is an exclusively white problem. While the majority of rural Americans struggling with poverty are white, Pruitt says, the racial makeup of the rural poor is far more diverse than the image most Americans realize. We tend to associate rural poverty with whiteness, Pruitt says. When we think about rural poverty, most associations with rural poverty are with white populations and in fact, that is true to some extent but it s actually far from being monochromatic. The demographics of poverty in rural and urban America are quite similar. Though whites make up the majority of both metropolitan and non-metropolitan populations in the United States resulting in a higher numbers of whites living in poverty poverty rates throughout rural America are much higher among the rural minority population. According to the 2013 American Community Survey, 40 percent of blacks living in non-metro counties fall below the poverty line, compared to 15 percent of whites. Poverty rates among non-metro Hispanics and American Indians are also considerably higher than they are among whites.This popular association between rural American poverty and whiteness is key to understanding why the media, and liberal America as a whole, doesn t talk about rural American poverty. While black poverty in the United States is attributed to the legacies of slavery, Jim Crow, housing discrimination, incarceration, and other forms of institutionalized racism, we have no national narrative that explains white poverty. As a result, there is an implicit belief that whites who have benefited from all of the advantages that come with being white don t have a good reason to be poor. In other words, that when whites live in poverty, it is their fault, or even their choice.Since the 1960s, the current U.S. economic system has had as a constant feature 15 percent of the population living below the poverty line. For better or worse, says Pruitt, when we talk about poverty, we focus on black poverty, and we focus on Hispanic poverty. We ve collapsed our nation s poverty problem into our nation s racism problem and it leads us to turn a blind eye to rural poverty. One of Pruitt s overarching arguments is that this political polarization between the liberal mainstream and the rural poor is self-perpetuating, and will only worsen with time as the rural poor are excluded from the pipeline to power. There is such a disconnect between the people in power in this country and the rural poor. It s a negative feedback loop, says Pruitt. If you re deciding who you are going to admit to Harvard and you see they grew up socio-economically disadvantaged from rural America, the knee-jerk reaction is, We don t want those people among us. They re racist. They re uncouth. They re unsavory. Though the left has all but cornered the subject of poverty and its myriad dimensions, the fact that rural Americans tend to espouse conservative positions on social issues like abortion and gay rights does not make the liberal media or Democratic candidates any more sympathetic to rural American poverty. And if the 2008 Presidential Election is any indicator, poor rural Americans, especially whites, feel increasingly at odds with liberal politics and liberal candidates. I think the assumption is that rural white voters are racist and illiberal and intolerant, says Pruitt. And so there are all sorts of incentives to distance ourselves for the Democratic presidential candidates to distances themselves from rural whites. I think that most rural white voters are pretty alienated from politics generally, and the Democratic Party in particular. Yet the left and working class rural Americans have many reasons to forge a stronger relationship specifically in challenging the authority of corporate America and growing the bargaining power of workers. Lobao, clearly frustrated, says rural sociologists have spent a lot of time thinking about how the left could appeal to rural Americans and often find themselves mired in platitudes. The one thing that we could stress in terms of social values is the value of building community, she said. Do you like your community? Do you want to build it? Well why can t we? We can try to emphasize building the community, you know, because people identify with their community whether they re Republican or Democrat. Via: In These Times | 0 | [
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FMD385 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Is the European gravy train finally coming to an end?The Danish parliament is considering a bill to seize migrants valuables to pay for their benefits.The leftists are very upset about this commonsense legislation. Daily Sabah reported:A controversial Danish bill to seize migrants valuables to pay for their stay in asylum centers looks set to pass in parliament after the government on Tuesday secured a parliamentary majority.Parliament was set to begin a series of debates on the bill yesterday, ahead of a vote on Jan. 26. Faced with a storm of criticism, Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, whose right-wing Venstre party is behind the plan, called it the most misunderstood bill in Denmark s history. His minority government and its right-wing allies, the far-right Danish People s Party (DPP), the Liberal Alliance and the Conservative People s Party, reached an agreement on the bill on Tuesday with the opposition Social Democrats, meaning it is now supported by a majority of parties in parliament.The amended bill would allow Danish authorities to seize migrants cash exceeding 10,000 kroner ($1,450), as well as any individual items valued at more than 10,000 kroner.Via: Gateway Pundit | 0 | [
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FMD386 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: 21st Century Wire says The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is dropping all charges against an arms dealer whose weapons made it into the hands of radical Libya militants.Early this week a motion was filed by the DOJ to drop charges against an American arms dealer named Marc Turi, according to federal court records obtained by Politico.Also according to Politico: The deal averts a trial that threatened to cast additional scrutiny on Hillary Clinton s private emails as Secretary of State, and to expose reported Central Intelligence Agency attempts to arm rebels fighting Libyan leader Moammar Qadhafi. LIBYA FALLOUT (Photo Illustration 21WIRE s Shawn Helton)In the book entitled Definitive Report by both Jack Murphy (Army Green Beret) and Brandon Webb (Navy SEAL), a close friend of Glen Doherty (one of the Americans killed during the Benghazi siege) it was revealed that Obama s former deputy NSA advisor and current CIA director, John Brennan had been directing covert black-ops in Libya as well as other parts in North Africa, prior to the siege that left four Americans dead at a compound in Benghazi.Brennan s covert operations were said to have prompted retaliation inside the compound in Libya as former CIA director David Petraeus had been blackmailed into resignation by senior CIA officials.All of this information was preceded by a massive cover-up involving mainstream media, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Susan Rice and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, both of whom initially blamed the siege on a heavily propagandized YouTube film entitled, The Innocence of Muslims. This meme was spread on many major talk shows even though evidence failed to connect the film to the attack.In addition, the White House and President Barack Obama had many inconsistencies in their talking points about Benghazi, first labeling it a terror attack, then quickly shifting gears, denying that there were Al Qaeda operatives anywhere near the compound.US Ambassador Christopher Stevens was said to have helped manage a large gun-running operation from the Special Mission Compound in Benghazi, as he was also said to have helped ship guns to al-Qaeda-linked opposition to assist in the takedown of former dictator Moammar Gadhafi.In a Business Insider report from October of 2012, the Benghazi story dovetailed the growing proxy war in Syria: In March 2011 Stevens became the official U.S. liaison to the al-Qaeda-linked Libyan opposition, working directly with Abdelhakim Belhadj of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group a group that has now disbanded, with some fighters reportedly participating in the attack that took Stevens life.In November 2011 The Telegraph reported that Belhadj, acting as head of the Tripoli Military Council, met with Free Syrian Army [FSA] leaders in Istanbul and on the border with Turkey in an effort by the new Libyan government to provide money and weapons to the growing insurgency in Syria. As 21WIRE has previously reported in 2014, It s worth noting here: like Libya s new militant governor of Tripoli, Abdel Hakim Belhadj, the Chechen terrorist group Kata ib Mohadzherin s leader Airat Vakhitov was also under US supervision for years imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba circa 2002, after being captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Both were Belhadj and Vakhitov were released by the Pentagon only to be repatriated in the field again back into fighting regions to organise al Qaeda-type Islamist groups both active in countries which the US and NATO have been actively vying for regime change in Libya and Syria, respectively. You can draw your own conclusions here about what Guantanamo is in reality, a fact which was confirmed by thePenny Lane leaks regarding the recruitment of double agents out of Gitmo. Interestingly, in a NY Times article from December of 2012 entitled, U.S.-Approved Arms for Libya Rebels Fell Into Jihadis Hands, we see an acknowledgement of an arms shipment at the behest of the Obama administration under the watchful eye of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton but the mainstream media appears to have provided cover for the White House and State Department by blaming Qatar for the weapons transfer to militants: The Obama administration secretly gave its blessing to arms shipments to Libyan rebels from Qatar last year, but American officials later grew alarmed as evidence grew that Qatar was turning some of the weapons over to Islamic militants, according to United States officials and foreign diplomats.No evidence has emerged linking the weapons provided by the Qataris during the uprising against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi to the attack that killed four Americans at the United States diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, in September.But in the months before, the Obama administration clearly was worried about the consequences of its hidden hand in helping arm Libyan militants, concerns that have not previously been reported. The weapons and money from Qatar strengthened militant groups in Libya, allowing them to become a destabilizing force since the fall of the Qaddafi government. The spectre of Benghazi looms large when connecting the Middle Eastern dots over the past five years.More from Zero Hedge below TRAIL OF BLOOD Many questions about 2012 s Benghazi terror siege remain unanswered. (Image Source: foxnews)DOJ Drops Charges Against Arms Dealer Who Threatened To Expose Hillary Arming Islamic ExtremistsZero HedgeIn what would under other circumstances likely be a major media spectacle, Politico reported that the Obama administration is moving to dismiss charges against an arms dealer whom it had accused of selling weapons destined for Libyan rebels and who had threatened to expose Hillary Clinton s talks about arming anti-Qaddafi rebels.According to a motion filed in federal court in Phoenix, the DOJ on Monday filed a motion to drop the case against the arms dealer, an American named Marc Turi. One potential reason for the surprising move is that as Politico writes, the deal averts a trial that threatened to cast additional scrutiny on Hillary Clinton s private emails as Secretary of State, and to expose reported Central Intelligence Agency attempts to arm rebels fighting Libyan leader Moammar Qadhafi.Turi was indicted in 2014 on four felony counts: two of arms dealing in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and two of lying to the State Department in official applications. The charges accused Turi of claiming that the weapons involved were destined for Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, when the arms were actually intended to reach Libya. Turi s lawyers argued that the shipments were part of a U.S. government-authorized effort to arm Libyan rebels. It s unclear if any of the weapons made it to Libya, and there s no evidence linking weapons provided by the U.S. government to the Benghazi attacks.According to Politico government lawyers were facing a Wednesday deadline to produce documents to Turi s legal team, and the trial was officially set to begin on Election Day, although it likely would have been delayed by protracted disputes about classified information in the case. A Turi associate asserted that the government dropped the case because the proceedings could have embarrassed Clinton and President Barack Obama by calling attention to the reported role of their administration in supplying weapons that fell into the hands of Islamic extremist militants.Making matters worse, Turi s case had delved into emails sent to and from the controversial private account that Clinton used as Secretary of State, which the defense planned to harness at any trial. They don t want this stuff to come out because it will look really bad for Obama and Clinton just before the election, said the associate.Leery of admitting the actual truth, in the dismissal motion, prosecutors were vague saying that discovery rulings from U.S. District Court Judge David Campbell contributed to the decision to drop the case. The joint motion asks the judge to accept a confidential agreement to resolve the case through a civil settlement between the State Department and the arms broker.This story continues at Zero Hedge READ MORE ISIS NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire ISIS Files READ MORE LIBYA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Libya FilesSUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 0 | [
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FMD387 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Cameroon s government has ordered thousands of villagers to leave their homes in the Anglophone Southwest region as it deploys troops to root out armed separatists who have vowed to loosen President Paul Biya s long grip on power. The deployment marks an escalation of Biya s year-long crackdown on peaceful protests in the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions that has killed dozens of civilians and forced thousands to flee their homes in fear of reprisals. Now, the government is using force to confront an insurgency that has sprung up alongside the civil unrest. The separatists have killed at least eight soldiers and policemen over the past month as part of their campaign to break from the capital Yaounde in Francophone Cameroon and form a separate state called Ambazonia. Authorities of the Manyu Division in the Southwest on Dec. 1 gave the order to evacuate 16 villages across the region. They warned that anyone deciding to stay will be treated as accomplices or perpetrators of ongoing criminal occurrences. Motorbikes, a preferred mode of transport for separatist attackers, were ordered off the roads between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. People ran helter skelter when they saw the statement, said Agbor Valery, a lawyer in Mamfe, which is near some of the evacuated villages. He said people were afraid of being rounded up and put in jail, as has happened since September in other areas of the English-speaking part of the country. If you go to the villages, everyone has fled. Only the old people stayed. The streets are quiet. It is highly militarized. At night, you hear gunfire. Valery said he saw hundreds of troops and truck loads of military equipment arrive in Mamfe on Sunday that were then deployed to the surrounding villages. Reuters was unable to independently verify his account but two military sources in the city of Bamenda in Northwest region confirmed that additional security forces have been deployed in the English-speaking regions. The separatist movement compounds problems for 84-year-old Biya, who has ruled Cameroon since 1982 and plans to stand for another term next year. The economy has slowed sharply since 2014, while attacks in the Far North region by Islamist militant group Boko Haram have strained the military. The fall last month of Zimbabwe s leader Robert Mugabe after decades in power highlights the potential vulnerability of Africa s long serving rulers amid a growing grassroots push for strict term limits for presidents. Last week Biya vowed to flush out secessionists, whom he called criminals . Defense minister Joseph Beti Assomo said on Monday the new deployment would prevent terrorists from harming others . Violence has spiraled since last year when government forces crushed peaceful protests by Anglophone teachers and lawyers protesting their perceived marginalization by the French-speaking majority. The heavy-handed government response fuelled support for the separatist movement, which has existed on the fringes of Cameroonian politics for decades. The response has also forced thousands out of their homes. More than 5,000 have fled Anglophone Cameroon across the border to Nigeria since Oct. 1, the United Nations said. Nigeria is also English speaking. The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said it is making preparations for up to 40,000 refugees. Refugees stories have been slow to emerge because of government-imposed internet outages that have blocked messaging and social media sites like Facebook and Whatsapp. But they are beginning to shed light on what new refugees will likely face. Abia David told Reuters that he left Bamenda in Northwest Cameroon on Oct. 27 amid widespread arrests in the town. He heard from friends that the police were coming to arrest him because he is a member of an opposition political group. To escape Bamenda, and avoid its increasingly crowded jail, he cycled 16 kilometers into the countryside to the head of a bush road. From there he walked some 100 km (62 miles) alone north through a series of remote villages towards Nigeria. There was no time to carry food. I had one change of clothes but I lost that. He slept on strangers floors and arrived in Nigeria a week later, where he fell ill with malaria. He said NGOs on the border had estimated an extra 1,000-odd people had arrived since the weekend. The UNHCR is offering provisions like mosquito nets and is helping refugees find housing. So far there is no central camp for refugees and they rely on the hospitality of Nigerians for room and board. For David, it beats going home. Asked if he planned to return, he said: Go home to where? Go home to be killed? To go to jail without trial? I can only go back once this is resolved. | 1 | [
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FMD388 | 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: Check 21 Claim summaries: Will the 'Check 21' Act prevent consumers from 'floating' checks?
contextual information: Claim: After the implementation of "Check 21" on 28 October 2004, consumers will no longer be able to "float" checks Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2004] "Check 21" starting in late October You've probably bought something in a store with a check even though you don't have the money in your account at the time. You figure you have a few days for the check to clear, and by then the money will be there. It's called the "float." Well, the float is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Because of a new law going into effect in October, money will be drafted from your account immediately when you write a check. It's called "Check 21," and it allows retailers to scan your check through a machine that deducts the cash within minutes. It's essentially the end of the paper check system, as well, because the check will eventually be destroyed. There will be an image of the check online and that will serve as proof if you need it. But everything is becoming electronic, and a bank will know if a check is good right away. So, be prepared to move to an electronic bill pay system. It's the smart way to go. What about checks that you deposit? Well, the float is no longer available to you, the customer. But the bank still will hold a deposit for a few days to make sure it clears. It's not fair, but it's the way it's happening. What are the main effects of "Check 21" on consumers? You won't be able to get your original paper checks back, because your bank will no longer have them. Checks you write will clear sooner, increasing the risk that a check will bounce if funds are not in the account when you write the check. Don't write a check unless the funds are already in the account to cover it. You may not get access to the funds from checks you deposit any sooner, because the new law does not shorten check hold times. After 30 months, there must be a study on whether banks are making funds available to consumers earlier than the allowable hold periods. Banks will save money on processing checks, but banks are not required to share these savings with consumers. Different kinds of copies of a check will have different rights attached. Check 21 creates a new kind of paper copy of an electronic image of a check. This special kind of copy is called a "substitute check." Only a substitute check can be the legal equivalent of the original check, and only a substitute check triggers your right to recredit of disputed funds. A regular copy of a check does not carry these same protections. If you ask for a copy of a check, your bank may send you an ordinary copy insteadof this special kind of copy which triggers legal rights and protections unless you ask for a substitute check. A bank other than your bank will have your original check, and will decide whether to destroy it. Neither Check 21 nor other law requires a bank to keep your original check for any period of time. Before Check 21, your own bank decided how long to keep your original checks, if you didn't get them returned with your statement. Under Check 21, the bank of the person you wrote the check to may decide when to destroy your check. Consumers will get new rights for some electronically processed checks, but not for others. When a so-called "substitute check" is provided to a consumer, Check 21 gives the consumer a right to have funds of up to $2,500 recredited to the consumer's account in 10 business days if the check is paid twice, paid for the wrong amount, or otherwise paid in error. The statute is ambiguous about whether this new right applies when a paper substitute check is used in the processing of the check but is not returned to the consumer. The regulations restrict the right of recredit only to checks where the consumer was provided with a substitute check. If a check is processed electronically by all the banks it is routed through without the use of a substitute check and the consumer is not providedwith a substitute check, then the check remains under state check law. In that case, the consumer does not receive a 10 day right of recredit even if the electronic image of the check is paid twice, paid for the wrong amount, or if both the electronic image and the paper check are paid. Consumers who want to maximize their consumer rights should ask for return of "substitute checks" with their checking account statements. Watch out for fees associated with a substitute check-returning account. Look for another bank if your bank charges a high fee to get copies of all your checks as substitute checks. Only the special "substitute check" can be legally equivalent to the original check to prove payment. The copies that a bank sends to consumers under a so-called "voluntary truncation" agreement, where the consumer agrees not to get the checks back, do not prove that a payment has beenmade, and do not trigger your Check 21 recredit right. When do these changes go into effect? Check 21 becomes effective October 28, 2004. Origins: On 28 October 2004, the provisions of the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (commonly known as "Check 21") will go into effect. The intent of the act is to eliminate check-clearing delays, primarily by removing the requirement that checks must be physically transported to the banks that issued them in order to be cleared for payment. After 28 October 2004, banks will be allowed to transmit and clear checks by electronic facsimile, a practice that should avoid any clearing delays caused by circumstances that make the physical transportation of checks difficult or impossible (e.g., severe weather, power failures, terrorism). Check 21 Of course, one result of faster check processing will be a much shorter gap between the time consumers issue checks for payment and the time the covering funds are withdrawn from their accounts (usually referred to as the "float" time). After Check 21 goes into effect checks may be processed in a matter of hours or even minutes, so consumers can no longer safely assume they have a grace period after writing checks before the funds are actually tapped from their accounts. Check 21 does not, however, change the rules affecting how long banks can hold for clearance checks deposited by their customers. Generally, banks can hold local checks for up to two days, out-of-town checks for up to five days, and other types of checks (e.g., checks over $5,000, checks drawn on new accounts, checks written against consistently overdrawn accounts) for up to thirty days. The bottom line is that consumers will have to be more careful than ever to ensure that adequate funds are always available to cover the checks they write. Also, under Check 21 banks will no longer be required to return canceled checks to their customers; they may return photographic images of the checks instead. Banks will be able to issue certified photocopies of checks known as "substitute checks," and these copies will have the same evidentiary standing in courts of law as the originals. (Although banks may allow customers to view and print out images of their checks over the Internet, those self-printed copies will not technically be considered substitute checks even though most courts will likely still accept them as evidence of payment.) Check 21 will not explicitly require banks to provide substitute checks, so consumers may want to check with their banks to ensure they receive substitute checks with their statements. Another provision of Check 21 will speed up resolution of customer claims regarding fraud and error. Currently banks do not need to credit the accounts of customers who complain of error or fraud until their investigations are complete. After Check 21 banks must prove within ten days that disputed transactions were not their fault; if they do not provide such proof, they must credit their customers' accounts for the disputed amounts even if they have not completed their investigations. Although the Check 21 act goes into effect on 28 October 2004, banks do not have to begin electronically clearing checks on that date Check 21 merely authorizes banks to begin use of electronic check clearing. Most major banks already have imaging technology in place, but not all banks do, and some banks may therefore continue to process checks the "old" way until they upgrade their processing systems. Additonal information: Frequently Asked Questions About "Check 21" (Federal Reserve Board) Questions and Answers About "Check 21" (Consumers Union) Last updated: 28 October 2004 Sources: Kristof, Kathy M. "Checks About to Be Put on Fast Track." Los Angeles Times. 5 September 2004. Associated Press. "Banks Implement Check 21 Starting Thursday." 28 October 2004. | 2 | [
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FMD389 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Local Charlotte, NC news station WSOCTV is reporting that sources tell them dash cameras captured Keith Scott getting out of car and coming towards officers with a gun in his hand:#BREAKING: Sources tell Channel 9 dash camera video shows #KeithScott getting out car, coming toward officers with gun in his hand pic.twitter.com/GGuM2Ow3wk WSOCTV (@wsoctv) September 21, 2016For a second night, protests over a deadly officer-involved shooting in Charlotte, North Carolina, turned violent, with police firing tear gas and demonstrators throwing objects and trying to damage vehicles.Keith Lamont Scott, a father of seven, was killed by police in an apartment complex parking lot Tuesday as officers looked for another man named in a warrant they were trying to serve. The shooting set off a long night of violent protests and Wednesday the demonstrations continued for a second night, starting off as a peaceful march through downtown Charlotte. But when the demonstrators neared an Omni Hotel, some people climbed the roof of an outdoor mall and started throwing objects at the crowd.Other people were banging on the doors of the hotel, and police in riot gear emerged in the entrance.His family said Scott, an African-American, was unarmed and sitting in his car reading a book, waiting for his son to come home from school.But Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said Scott exited his car with a gun, not a book. He said officers couldn t find a book at the scene. It s time for the voiceless majority to stand up and be heard, said the police chief, who is black. It s time to change the narrative because I can tell you from the facts that the story s a little bit different as to how it s been portrayed so far, especially through social media. CNNBut b b but what about the book?Neighbor who says she saw police shoot #KeithScott disputes CMDP's claim that he was armed with a gun. She says he had a book. @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/X1PWw5QJ7O Mark Barber (@MBarberWSOC9) September 21, 2016And of course, there s Hillary s irresponsible tweet confirming that the cops were in the wrong, without even having any facts to back up her ignorant statement:Keith Lamont Scott. Terence Crutcher. Too many others. This has got to end. -H Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 21, 2016 | 0 | [
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FMD390 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Citizen journalists in the rural communities of Chihuahua recorded scenes of despair caused by a fierce clash between members of the Juarez Cartel. The fighting left at least eight people dead and four police officers injured. [One of the videos shot by citizen journalists shows the magnitude of the gun battle as one crying resident huddles next to a window while thousands of rounds can be heard being fired near him. Initially, the man appeared to show some surprise as the gunfire could be heard in the distance, but that excitement soon turned into horror and despair as the battle ensued. “Oh dear God please help us,†the man cries out sobbing as the gun battle continues. Armored SUVs and some with modifications to mount large machine guns were left along the various streets of Cuauhtemoc, Chihuahua. Videos taken by local residents show the various vehicles that had been heavily damaged by gunfire are believed to have started on Sunday afternoon and continued until Monday. The fighting appears to have taken place between two rival faction of the Juarez Cartel also known as “La Lineaâ€. One group of gunmen were led by Cesar Raul “El Cabo†Gamboa Sosa and the other were by top plaza boss Carlos Arturo “El 80†Quintana. The internal conflict appears to have started last month when Gamboa’s men allegedly murdered and beheaded one of Quintana’s closest associates. Quintana is currently a fugitive from the U. S. Department of Justice after having been charged in a criminal indictment out of New Mexico for his role as a key leader in the Juarez Cartel. The effort by citizen journalists to record the aftermath of the fighting and share it on various social media platforms allowed for the information to spread in Mexico about the fighting and not be largely ignored as has happened in other areas like Tamaulipas, Coahuila, or Veracruz. According to information released by the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office, the fighting led to the death of Gamboa Sosa and seven others. Authorities were able to recover 15 SUVs that had been left behind with multiple weapons inside. Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “J. M. Martinez†from Piedras Negras, Coahuila and “M. A. Navarro†from Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas. | 1 | [
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FMD391 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Has the Left and the leftist media managed to make Americans forget why this whole kneeling in protest against the American flag in the NFL started? Have Americans forgotten the statement made by Colin Kaepernick when asked why he kneeled during our national anthem while every other player stood in respect for our flag?When the San Francisco 49 ers QB Colin Kaepernick was asked why he kneeled during our national anthem, his response was about police brutality, and about his belief that cops were essentially getting away with murdering blacks with no consequences.Here is Kaepernick s official statement:One day before 5 police officers were murdered in Dallas, TX by a Black Lives Matter supporter, Cleveland Browns player Isiah Crowell posted an image on his Instagram account of a man wearing an ISIS-like image of a man wearing an all-black outfit and black mask standing behind a police officer and stabbing him in the neck with a knife.The Cleveland Browns made the following statement on behalf of Crowell for his disgusting actions: We have spoken to Isaiah regarding his extremely disturbing and unacceptable social media decision. It was completely inappropriate and we have made him aware of our high level of disappointment. Isaiah has apologized but also knows that just an apology is insufficient and that he must take steps to make a positive difference after a very negative and impactful post. The NFL made no apology for Crowell s terrorist-like post aimed to incite violence against our law-enforcement officers. Should law enforcement officers be forced to remain silent in the face of a movement created to disparage and discredit the amazing work they do every day because of a Black Lives Matter, anti-cop movement that has permeated the NFL?Stephen Loomis, President of Cleveland Police Patrolmen s Association spoke out against Cleveland Brown s player Isiah Crowell. Lommis said he thinks the store-bought apology isn t enough. He needs to go to Dallas, help the families who lost their loved ones last week, write them a check, look them in the eyes and give a heartfelt apology. Loomis says Crowell s post was as offensive as putting a picture of historical African-American men being hung from a tree in the 60s. He adds that if Crowell doesn t go to Dallas and make a donation, I will pull Cleveland officers, sheriffs, state troopers out of First Energy Stadium this season if he doesn t make it right. As for Crowell admitting he was wrong and acted out of rage Loomis says, You re a grown ass man, and you claim you were too emotional to know it was wrong? Think we ll accept your apology? Kiss my ass. TMZOn Sunday, the Patriots were booed wildly by fans when the team took a knee during our national anthem. Today, the leftist Detroit Free Press attempted to smear Michigan State Police Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue for sharing a message on social media criticizing the NFL players protests.Here is the post that Etue did NOT create, but shared privately with her friends on Facebook. The message in this post is pretty clear. It s a message to the NFL letting them know that Americans will not sit back silently and allow millionaires who are obviously not grateful to be living in the United States disrespect our flag, our law enforcement officers, and our veterans.The Detroit Free Press used a statement from ONE SOURCE, Leonard Mungo, a Detroit attorney who, in 2015, filed a class action lawsuit against the Michigan State Police, who Mungo claimed were not hiring enough black and Hispanic troopers. The Detroit Free Press quote from Mungo said the posting demonstrates kind of a dangerous mindset for someone in her powerful position. It s scary that they don t understand that America is defined by its freedoms, and one of these freedoms is freedom of speech, Mungo said. It also has implications for why the state police don t have representative numbers of African Americans in their ranks, he said.Shanon Banner, a spokeswoman for Etue, said the colonel s Facebook post was not about race and was posted not publicly, but so that only Etue s friends would see it. As a public servant, Col. Etue has great respect for the armed forces and those who fight to protect our freedoms, Banner said in an e-mail to the Free Press.Etue did not create the post, Banner said. It s a meme that is posted in other places around the Internet, she said.Etue, who heads the statewide police department, shared the meme entitled Dear NFL on her Facebook page Sunday. It was a post widely shared on social media by those critical of hundreds of NFL players this past weekend who locked arms and/or kneeled during the pre-game playing of the national anthem. Some forms of the meme are calling for a boycott of the NFL until these silent gridiron protests end.The Michigan State Police issued an apology from Etue on their Facebook page. Americans should be asking why Etue has to apologize for standing up for law enforcement officers and veterans she defended in her post? While the left is screaming about the rights of the NFL players to disrespect our flag, perhaps someone should ask them when Col. Etue s First Amendment Right become null and void? As a side note, The Detroit Free Press is home to Stephen Henderson, the race-obsessed, angry editorial editor who attempted to label Kid Rock (the single father of a black son and NAACP award winner) as a racist , stirring up hate and negativity towards the beloved Detroit rocker who does so much for the residents of the city of Detroit. | 0 | [
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FMD392 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: The U.S. Senate Budget Committee voted along party lines on Tuesday to send a Republican tax bill to the full Senate for a vote. The 12-to-11 vote “moves us one step closer to a simpler, fairer, and more transparent tax system,†Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi said in a statement. The full Senate is expected to begin debating the tax bill and vote on it sometime this week. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has already passed its version of a package of tax cuts. | 1 | [
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FMD393 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: After another challenging day in Washington, President Donald Trump flew to West Virginia to a field full of 40,000 chanting and cheering Boy Scouts, telling them he was happy to leave Washington behind. “Who the hell wants to speak about politics?†Trump boomed, telling the boys he wanted to talk about how to achieve their dreams. But politics proved too hard for Trump to resist on a day he spent pleading for Republican senators to vote to advance his long-promised health care overhaul and watching his son-in-law Jared Kushner being grilled on Capitol Hill about contacts with Russia. It did not take long for Trump to veer from inspiration to denigration. The teenaged boys loved it, cheering wildly at each sick burn, hooting and hollering like they were at a wrestling match. “Tonight we put aside all of the policy fights in Washington, D.C. you’ve been hearing about with the fake news and all of that,†he told the teenaged boys, sitting state by state in brightly colored t-shirts. “You know, I go to Washington and I see all these politicians and I see the swamp and it’s not a good place,†said Trump. “In fact, today I said we ought to change it from the word ‘swamp’ to the word ‘cesspool’ or perhaps to the word ‘sewer.’ It’s not good. I see what’s going on and believe me, I’d much rather be with you, that I can tell you,†Trump said. He told the boys that the media were dishonest and would not show the size of their jamboree on television. “Fake media, fake media,†Trump said, eliciting a chorus of boos and cheers. Trump recounted his election night victories, state by state, the boys from Wisconsin cheering when they heard their state mentioned, the boys from Michigan doing the same. But the most sustained round of cheers and jeers came when Trump mentioned his predecessor President Barack Obama, who had declined invitations to speak to the scout gathering while he was in office. “By the way, just a question: did President Obama ever come to a jamboree?†Trump said. Trump said he has 10 former Boy Scouts serving in his cabinet and White House, and brought a few on stage as examples of Boy Scout leadership in action, including Tom Price, his health secretary. “Hopefully he’s going to get the votes tomorrow to start our path toward killing this horrible thing known as Obamacare,†Trump said, referring to Obama’s signature health care legislation, as the boys booed. “He better get them, otherwise I’ll say, ‘Tom, you’re fired!’†he said, borrowing the catch phrase from his reality television show, “The Apprentice.†| 1 | [
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FMD394 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Yemen s steely former president of 33 years, Ali Abdullah Saleh, made his last political gamble and lost on Monday, meeting his death at the hands of the Houthi movement, his erstwhile allies in the country s multi-sided civil war. Officials in his General People s Congress party (GPC) confirmed to Reuters that the 75-year-old Saleh had been killed outside the capital Sanaa in what Houthi sources said was an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) and gun attack. A master of weaving alliances and advancing his personal and family interests in Yemen s heavily armed and deeply fractious tribal society, Saleh unified his country by force, but he also helped guide it toward collapse in its latest war. The Middle East s arch-survivor once compared running Yemen to dancing on the heads of snakes , ruling with expertly balanced doses of largesse and force. He outlived other Arab leaders who were left dead or deposed by uprisings and civil wars since 2011. Cornered by pro-democracy Arab Spring protests, Saleh wore a cryptic smile when signing his resignation in a televised ceremony in 2012. Saleh waged six wars against the Houthis from 2002 to 2009 before he made an impromptu alliance with the group that seized the capital Sanaa in 2014 and eventually turned on him. The two sides feuded for years for supremacy over territory they ran together. The Houthis probably never forgave his forces for killing their founder and father of the current leader. Fearing the Houthis are a proxy for their arch-foe Iran, the mostly Gulf Arab alliance sought to help the internationally recognized Yemeni government win the conflict. Saleh s army loyalists and Houthi fighters together weathered thousands of air strikes by a Saudi-led military coalition in almost three years of war. As the conflict wrought a humanitarian crisis, mutual sniping about responsibility for economic woes in northern Yemeni lands that they together rule peaked on Wednesday when the capital erupted in gunbattles between their partisans. ARCH-SURVIVOR Saleh had seemed unshakeable in one of the world s poorest and unstable countries. He managed to play his enemies off against each other as tribal warfare, separatist movements and Islamist militants destabilized Yemen. He survived a bomb attack in his palace mosque in 2011 which killed senior aides and disfigured him. As other leaders were toppled by the Arab Spring uprisings, he found a way to retire peacefully to his villa in the capital and plot a comeback. Despite being forced to step down in 2012 under a Gulf-brokered transition plan following protests against his rule, Saleh won immunity in the deal and remained a powerful political player. The ever-nimble Saleh was a pivotal figure in the war, which has killed at least 10,000 people, displaced 2 million from their homes, led to widespread hunger and a cholera epidemic. Saleh became the ruler of North Yemen in 1978 at a time when the south was a separate, communist state, and led the unified country after the two states merged in 1990. Opponents often complained that Yemen under Saleh failed to meet the basic needs of the country s people, where two of every three live on less than $2 per day. Saleh managed to keep Western and Arab powers on his side, styling himself as a key ally of the United States in its war on terrorism. He received tens of millions of dollars in U.S. military aid for units commanded by his relatives. After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks against U.S. cities, Yemen came onto Washington s radar as a source of foot soldiers for Osama bin Laden s al Qaeda network. Bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia though his family came from Yemen s Hadramaut region. Saleh cooperated with U.S. authorities as the CIA stepped up a campaign of drone strikes against key al Qaeda figures, which also led to scores of civilian deaths. Born in 1942 near Sanaa, he received only limited education before joining the military as a non-commissioned officer. His first break came when President Ahmed al-Ghashmi, who came from the same Hashed tribe as Saleh, appointed him military governor of Taiz, North Yemen s second city. When Ghashmi was killed by a bomb in 1978, Saleh replaced him. In 1990, the collapse of the Soviet Union helped propel North Yemen under Saleh and the socialist South Yemen state into a unification. Saleh angered Gulf Arab allies by staying close to Saddam Hussein during the 1990-91 Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, leading to the expulsion of up to 1 million Yemenis from Saudi Arabia. But he then won plaudits from Western powers for carrying out economic reforms drawn up by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, and made efforts to attract foreign investors. He swept to victory when southerners tried to secede from united Yemen in 1994 and drew closer to Saudi Arabia, which he allowed to spread its radical Wahhabi form of Sunni Islam. Saleh s son, Ahmed Ali, lives under house arrest in the United Arab Emirates, where he once served as ambassador before it joined ally Saudi Arabia to make war on the Houthi-Saleh alliance. Ahmed Ali, a powerful former military commander whom his father appeared to be grooming to succeed him, may the family s last chance to win back influence. | 1 | [
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FMD395 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Janet Reno, First Female US Attorney General, Dies At 78 11/07/2016
NPR
Janet Reno, the first woman to serve as attorney general of the United States, died early Monday from complications of Parkinson’s disease. Reno’s goddaughter Gabrielle D’Alemberte and sister Margaret Hurchalla confirmed her passing to NPR.
Reno spent her final days at home in Miami surrounded by family and friends, D’Alemberte told The Associated Press. She was 78.
Reno served longer in the job than anyone had in 150 years. And her tenure was marked by tragedy and controversy. But she left office widely respected for her independence and accomplishments.
She was not President Bill Clinton’s first choice to head the Justice Department, nor his second. But after his No. 1 pick went down in confirmation flames, and his second choice also proved controversial, Clinton finally turned to Reno.
She was an unexpected pick. She had no connections to Clinton or Washington. But Clinton wanted a woman, and Reno was a big-time prosecutor, holding the top prosecutor’s job in Miami-Dade County, a position she had been elected to four times over 15 years.
Jamie Gorelick, who would later become deputy attorney general, was assigned to prep Reno for her confirmation hearing. “She was the least air-brushed candidate we have ever had for a Cabinet-level position,” says Gorelick. “She was herself, and she didn’t change herself for Washington.”
Reno arrived at the Justice Department knowing no one, and was immediately plunged into the siege at the Branch Davidian compound outside Waco, Texas. Four federal agents had been killed and 16 wounded while serving a warrant to search for illegal guns. Seven weeks into the siege, pressed by the FBI, Reno authorized a raid on the compound, resulting in 76 deaths, including as many as 25 children and the Davidian leader David Koresh, who ordered his followers to set fire to the compound.
In two sets of Waco congressional hearings over the next two years, Reno would successfully quell critics on the right and left.
“What haunted me,” Reno explained at one hearing, “was that if I did not go in, I might be sitting there 10 days [later] … when [Koresh] came out with explosives, blew himself, some agents and the entire place up.”
Years later, however, in an interview with NPR shortly before leaving office, her regret was palpable. “We’ll never know whether it was a mistake or not, in one sense,” Reno admitted. “But knowing what I do, I would not do it again. I would try to figure another way.”
“Waco didn’t make her hesitant: It made her insistent about getting her own information,” observes Walter Dellinger, who served in two top Justice Department jobs under Reno.
Dellinger believes, for instance, that it may have been the Waco experience that led Reno to go personally to Miami in April 2000 to see if there was a way to avoid a forcible removal of 6-year-old Cuban refugee Elián González from the home of a great-uncle so the boy could be returned to his only living parent, in Cuba.
Elián had been rescued at sea after his mother and eight others drowned trying to get to the United States. Rescued by fishermen and brought to the U.S., he was soon turned over to his great-uncle. The Cuban community in Miami was in an uproar over the idea of returning the boy to his father, who lived in Cuba, and the furor soon bled over to Congress.
But when negotiations with the great-uncle failed, armed federal agents, acting on Reno’s orders, raided the home, removed Elián, and turned him over to his father, who had come to the U.S. to receive his son. When the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene, the two returned to their home in Cuba.
Janet Reno takes the oath as attorney general during a ceremony at the White House on March 12, 1993, while President Bill Clinton watches.
Barry Thumma/AP
Over the course of time, Reno would become embroiled in many controversies. She sought the appointment of a series of independent counsels to investigate four fellow Cabinet members and President Clinton himself. But she refused to authorize an independent counsel investigation of contributions to the Clinton-Gore campaign after Justice Department lawyers concluded no crime had been committed by either the president or vice president.
The decision so infuriated Republicans that some called for her impeachment. “This is the most politicized Justice Department in the history of the United States,” railed Dan Burton, the Republican chairman of a key House oversight committee.
At 6 feet 2 inches, however, Reno stood tall in the political crosswinds. Gorelick observes that when members of Congress, like Burton, were unhappy with a government official, they threatened to call that official to testify. But Reno, who had served as a staffer in the Florida state Legislature, always said, “Fine, I’ll be there.” As a result, says Gorelick, “eventually all those who were threatening her with a hearing stopped doing that, because she prevailed in every outing that I can recall — she just went in there and laid out her views and bested those who would challenge her.”
The controversies that the Justice Department faced during Reno’s reign often eclipsed the many things that went well: the quick apprehension and successful prosecution of the Oklahoma City bombers, for example; the pursuit of bombers of women’s health clinics that provide abortions; and the solving of the so-called Unabomber case.
After nearly two decades of fruitless pursuit, the FBI still had no idea as to the identity of the man dubbed the Unabomber, who had killed three people and injured 23. Then, in 1995, the bomber sent a letter to The New York Times offering to cease his terror campaign if the Times or the Washington Post would publish his 35,000-word manifesto against modern industry and technology. Neither newspaper was inclined to do that initially, but Reno, the daughter of two newspaper journalists, persuaded the newspaper owners to jointly publish the essay in the interests of public safety.
It paid off. The Unabomber’s brother recognized the style and ideas in the essay and tipped off the FBI, ending the bomber’s long reign of terror. Theodore Kaczynski, aka the Unabomber, is now serving a life term in a maximum security federal prison.
In 1995 Reno was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. She did not slow down, but her hands sometimes shook so hard you could hear them knocking against the table at a congressional hearing. She even joked about the disease, claiming that “shaking sometimes helps,” as in playing a steel drum or balancing her kayak.
That combination of toughness and self-deprecating humor, plus her determination to protect the Justice Department from improper influence, made her a hero to many who worked for her.
“Janet Reno led with her values,” says former Deputy Attorney General Gorelick, the department’s No. 2 official. “And that meant that if she decided that a certain path was the right thing to do, the people around her believed her and would charge up any hill behind her. … I’d never seen that before in quite the same way.”
Florida gubernatorial candidate and former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno speaks at the Florida Democratic Party State Conference on April 13, 2002, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. She lost the Democratic primary.
Reno won enormous respect inside the department as well, because of her work ethic and dedication to understanding issues in the many parts of the Justice Department — from national security, to environmental questions, to the generally obscure field of Indian law.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch called her “one of the most effective, decisive and well-respected-leaders in [the department’s] proud history” who “never shied from criticism or shirked responsibility.” And former Attorney General Eric Holder said that “in a city where too many compromise their values for short term political gain, Janet Reno stood out as a person of integrity and of enduring values.”
Former Solicitor General Dellinger believes that Reno was prepared for the attorney general’s job early in life by her intellect and ungainly height. “This is a woman that went to Cornell and Harvard Law School at a time when very few women went to Harvard Law School, went through junior high and high school being twice as tall as anybody else and probably twice as smart … and that’s really, really tough.”
There were, of course, ups and downs in the eight years of Reno’s reign. But she said she always took the long view of her job.
“If the end brings me out right, what people said about me won’t make any difference, and if the end brings me out wrong, 10 angels saying I was right won’t make any difference,” she said in an interview with NPR in 1997.
President Clinton made little secret of his frequent displeasure with Reno and the wall of separation she erected between the Justice Department and the White House. Still, he never asked her to resign. Reno was the last Cabinet member he reappointed after his re-election in 1996.
“It was actually quite wonderful,” said Dellinger. “She just decided to stay, and it turns out that nobody could fire her.”
The tension between Clinton and his attorney general was apparent even as Clinton’s time in office drew to a close. In an interview with CBS News’ 60 Minutes , Clinton went out of his way to praise friends and foes alike, but when it came to his evaluation of Reno, he was tepid, to say the least.
“Good woman,” he said. “Tried really hard to do a good job. She’s a good person.”
“At least he didn’t say I was a bad person,” replied Reno, with a laugh. “I’ll take what I can get!”
Indeed, by the end of her tenure, Janet Reno had outlasted her critics and earned such a reputation for integrity and independence that comedian Will Ferrell’s parody of her became one of the iconic skits on NBC’s Saturday Night Live . The recurring skit was inspired by reports that Reno had cut quite a figure dancing at a Justice Department party.
On the last episode of the “Janet Reno’s Dance Party” parody, Ferrell, wearing a blue dress and pearls, reminisces about past glories and laments that the end of the party is near. Then, suddenly, the real Janet Reno comes crashing through the wall of the set, wearing the same blue dress and pearls as Ferrell, to deliver one of Ferrell’s signature lines: “It’s Reno Time!”
“Oh, Janet,” he says to the real Reno, as he mourns the end of the skit’s run, “what do you do when you get sad?”
“I just dance,” Reno replies, commanding the orchestra, “Now, hit it!” as she breaks out her best moves to “Twist and Shout.” It was her last day in office. | 0 | [
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FMD396 | 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 This Photograph Show Che Guevara Executing Two Women? Claim summaries: Claims that a photograph shows Che Guevara executing two women appear to be based solely on the fact that the pictured man is wearing a military beret.
contextual information: A photograph supposedly showing two women moments before they were executed by an unidentified man is often shared with the claim that the gunman seen in the picture is the Argentine-born Cuban revolutionary figure Che Guevara, despite the fact that the executioner's face is not visible in the photograph. This image is nearly always shared with anti-socialist sentiments and is often posted alongside barbs directed at politicians such as Bernie Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Most commonly, it is shared as a meme with the caption, "This is the image of Che Guevara that should be seen on t-shirts." Che Guevara is a controversial historical figure, regarded as anything from a cultural hero to little more than a wanton murderer. A number of articles, books, movies, and documentaries can assist those curious about the Marxist revolutionary in forming an educated opinion about his legacy, but this photograph should not be included in a hypothetical course on the subject, as it doesn't show Che Guevara. Our investigation into the origins of this photograph took us from baseless claims on social media to archival photographs documenting wars in places such as El Salvador and Yugoslavia. Ultimately, however, our search ended in an unlikely location: Atlanta, Georgia. Before this image was first associated with Che Guevara in late 2017, it was circulated with a different claim. In 2011, this picture was included in a gallery about the Farabundo Mart National Liberation Front (FMLN) during the Salvadoran Civil War, a bloody conflict that started in 1980, thirteen years after Guevara's death. However, we could not confirm that this photograph truly shows a member of the FMLN during the Salvadoran Civil War. When we reached out to Martín Álvarez Alberto, an El Salvadorian historian with a special interest in the FMLN, to ask if he was familiar with this photograph, he told us that he had never seen it and that he doubted the picture was taken in El Salvador. Alberto noted that the men looked Caucasian, not Salvadorian, and that the building in the background was more typical of locations in Europe or the United States. Susan Meiselas, a documentary photographer who worked in El Salvador during the Civil War, came to a similar conclusion: the buildings in this image did not resemble those in El Salvador. Meiselas also hypothesized that the photograph was taken in Eastern Europe. The relatively modern wardrobe of the two women and the suggestion that this photograph was taken in Eastern Europe led us to examine photographs of the Yugoslav Wars in the early 1990s. An image of Dragan Vasiljković, the commander of a Serb paramilitary unit called the Knindža, who was found guilty of war crimes by the Republic of Croatia, appears to show similar fatigues. This, of course, is not hard evidence that the photograph was taken during the Yugoslav Wars. In fact, when we talked to photojournalist Ron Haviv, who documented the Yugoslav Wars, he told us that he did not recognize the uniform of the man in the viral picture. So where was this photograph taken and whom does it show? Although our focus so far has been on war crimes, we had our doubts that this photograph even documented such a historical event. The nonchalant posture of the second man watching this alleged execution, the various people in the background who seem to be wearing backpacks, and the smoking bucket (which we hypothesize could be a makeshift fog machine) lead us to believe that this might be a photograph taken on the set of an obscure film production. As it turns out, that's pretty much what this photograph shows. We uncovered another copy of this image on the website for CISPES, the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, where it is presented as a photograph taken in 1989 of a "Guerrilla Theatre" performance at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. We reached out to CISPES for more evidence that this was a theatrical production, and they provided us with images showing a physical copy of this photograph featuring the words "Emory College Atlanta Mar 89" scrawled on the back. This photograph does not document Che Guevara executing two women. It was taken in the late 1980s at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and depicts a performance by a local "guerrilla theater" group. | 0 | [
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FMD397 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: — Marianne Lyles (@MarianneLyles) November 2, 2016
Police are still developing information on a suspect and have warned that the scene remains dangerous.
“There’s definitely danger out there, someone is out there shooting police officers,” officer Parizek said.
2 officers killed: “There’s literally a clear and present danger if you’re a police officer” https://t.co/MjAzXn8pUr
— Des Moines Register (@DMRegister) November 2, 2016
Des Moines PD have paired up their officers as a precaution following the shootings.
“We are always vigilant about our safety, but we still got to get out there and do it,” Parizek told the media.
Des Moines police briefing press re: officers shot: “I can’t even begin to talk about how bad this is” @news4buffalo
— Katie Alexander (@KatieNews4) 2 November 2016
Police will not be releasing names of either officer during initial presser, family getting notified. At least two more expected during day pic.twitter.com/9qIshG9jPP
— Jacob J. Peklo (@JacobPekloTV) 2 November 2016
The Urbandale Schools District said that all schools will be closed Wednesday as a result of the fatal shootings and ongoing investigation.
All @UrbandaleSchool Schools & Adventuretime cancelled today Wed Nov 2. All buildings closed. Staff do not report to buildings #UCSDAlert
— Urbandale Schools (@UrbandaleSchool) November 2, 2016
1st look at scene where 2 officers were shot & killed in an apparent ambush in Des Moines. Following this #BREAKING news in the #AlertCenter pic.twitter.com/c3kYpNRrrU
— Julian Glover (@JulianGloverTV) November 2, 2016
In a statement the governor’s office said that “an attack on public safety officers is an attack on the public safety of all Iowans.”
“We call on Iowans to support our law enforcement officials in bringing this suspect to justice,” it added. Share Google + phyllis.goldner
I gain around 6.000-8.000 bucks monthly for freelancing i do from my home. Everyone prepared to do basic freelance jobs for 2h-5h a day from comfort of your home and get reasonable paycheck for doing it… This is a work for you… http://chilp.it/8d93f4b Phil Freeman
Fuck off! Phil Freeman
This is the result of the vicinage no longer tolerating roaming, uniformed, armed, militarized, abusive, banker revenue agents preying upon the working poor. No cop is safe, and this, however unfortunate, can and will continue. I suggest the police nation wide reconsider their role in OUR society. A come to geezuz moment of clarity is in order, that is unless you wish to continue digging holes. We are tired of your shit. ACAB! AlPennG
AT THE PRESS BRIEFING THE OFFICER CALLED THE PERSON THAT SHOT THE OFFICERS A COWARD WHICH THEY ARE BUT WHAT DO YOU CALL CRIMINAL COPS THAT SHOT UNARMED AMERICANS IN THE STREETS AND IN THE HOMES!?!?!? I WOULD LIKE HIM TO TELL US THAT Social Trending BREAKING: Two Cops Shot, Killed in ‘Ambush Style’ Attacks While Sitting in Their Vehicles, Shooter At Large November 2, 2016 Breaking: Podesta Told Mills ‘Dump All Those Emails’ on Day News of Clinton’s Private Email Server Broke November 1, 2016 | 0 | [
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FMD398 | Task: Please determine whether the text is 0. Fake or 1. True. Answer directly without explanations. Text: Deep in the folds of the hill, up steep stone stairs flanked with frangipani trees, stood the inner sanctum of the ancient Khmer temple of Vat Phou. We faced the mountain ridge, our backs to the waters of the Mekong River, looking for the chamber. From this angle, it was hidden. But other parts of the temple had begun revealing themselves to us. Down here, along the rutted stone path leading to the stairs, we watched as a construction crane lifted a block onto the wall of one of the outer chambers. To our right, a few carvers chipped away at other blocks with small tools. Through their hands flowed the tales of Hindu mythology, the narratives of gods in love and war that had originated on the Indian subcontinent and traveled to distant Java and to Khmer temples across Cambodia and Laos. Now that transmission of stories and beliefs and ideas was continuing here, like the flow of the Mekong, in the shadow of one of the most beautiful of those temples. Built more than 1, 000 years ago at the high point of an axis stretching from a range of mountains down to the Mekong, Vat Phou is one of the most sacred temples of the vanished Khmer kingdoms. The Khmer ruled a wide swath of Southeast Asia from the ninth to the 15th centuries, and their dedication to art and architecture is best embodied in the famous temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Lesser known and distinct from Angkor in its intimacy is Vat Phou, sometimes written in English as Wat Phu, which has been designated a World Heritage site by a United Nations agency. To see the temple and this stretch of the Mekong, my wife, daughter and I based ourselves for three nights at a new riverside hotel outside the town of Champasak. This was the middle leg of a whirlwind trip through Southeast Asia that we regarded as our farewell to the region. I had been reporting in China for The New York Times for eight years, and we had plans to leave in the coming year. We had a special attachment to Southeast Asia — my wife, Tini, is Vietnamese American and worked for seven years for The Associated Press in Vietnam before moving to China. And while in China, as a couple and then a family, we had spent much of our vacation time exploring the region. For many foreigners and Chinese ground down by living in China’s polluted, crowded and clogged megacities, the beaches, rivers and hills of tropical Southeast Asia provided a escape hatch. Neither Tini nor I had been to southern Laos before, so it made sense to choose it as the centerpiece of our final Southeast Asia vacation on this tour. Even if Laos was an authoritarian state, it was still the land of the Mekong, with palm trees lining the riverbanks, freshwater dolphins swimming between islets and fishermen casting nets over the side of skiffs. The pace of life was slower, much slower, than that of Beijing. But it would have been wrong to think of the region as timeless. The restoration of Vat Phou that we witnessed belied notions of ancient ruins lost in eternal mists. And it was there, near the entrance to the temple complex, that we discovered we were not the only escapees from the rush of development in China. As we set foot that morning on the eastern end of the pathway leading up to the inner sanctum, we met a Chinese couple from Shanghai who were in the middle of a monthlong trip through Laos with their daughter. Our daughter, Aria, instantly began following the older girl around. We told the family we were fleeing the notorious Beijing pollution. “The situation is very bad in Shanghai, too,†the father said. It was rare to see a Chinese family traveling alone in this corner of Southeast Asia, and I wondered whether they were a harbinger for a new wave of tourists. French travelers were ubiquitous here and had been so for more than a century, given France’s colonial history in Indochina, but Chinese travelers were rare, even though China bordered Laos. We had begun our trip with a flight from Beijing to Chiang Mai in Thailand to visit friends there, then entered southern Laos with a plan to spend one week before meeting other friends on a beach in Vietnam. We crossed the border near the Laotian town of Pakse. There, on a sleepy street (towns in Laos only have sleepy streets) we had lunch at Dok Mai, a restaurant run by an Italian, Corrado. He told us he had tried living and working in India, but that had been tough. “Pakse chose me,†he said. A young man sent from the River Resort then drove us the from Pakse to the hotel, built along the Mekong. We found ourselves in the middle of nowhere, but that was the point. The River Resort consisted of luxury buildings along the west bank of the Mekong, with a large room on each floor. There were two riverside swimming pools on the grounds. We had a balcony room overlooking the river. The entire wall and door facing the river was made of glass. We could wake up in bed gazing across the waters to the sunrise. At sunset, a golden light bathed the river and trees and stones. It was one of the most stunning hotels in which we had stayed in Southeast Asia. We would have enjoyed spending an entire day just on the riverbank, but Khmer civilization beckoned us. In the mountains looming to our west, hidden by jungle, lay Vat Phou. The next morning, we hired a taxi to drive us the 15 minutes to the temple. Along the range of hills, we could make out one peak that stood above the others. The builders of Vat Phou had noticed this and proclaimed it a natural lingam of Shiva. A hotel employee, Taiy, told me of the importance of rituals at the temple. “I’ve been to Vat Phou four times,†he said. “My family goes once a year. Because I have to work, I usually don’t go. I don’t have much time, so I would only be able to go at night. †“There’s a big festival once a year,†he said. “I remember there were many people. This year, there will be a big one, and maybe I’ll have to go. †After we met the family from Shanghai, we walked between rows of trees and up the stone steps to the inner sanctum. Along the main walkway, we passed a naga statue draped with yellow garlands. A bell rang somewhere. Inside the inner temple, a Thai family made offerings to a statue of the Buddha. They had bought incense sticks from a woman outside the temple. They prayed with the lit sticks. Sweet smoke drifted through the temple. On our walk, Aria had picked up a white frangipani flower, and now she placed it on a wooden table, atop dried candle wax. It was her offering. Around the sanctum were lintels carved with ornate scenes from Hindu mythology. One showed the god Indra atop a elephant. Another depicted deities taking part in the churning of the Ocean of Milk, an image that I had also seen a decade earlier at Angkor. Then there was the scene of Krishna tearing his uncle Kamsa in half. Outside, more worshipers were arriving. We walked along the slope of the mountain behind the temple. On the site were the ruins of a small library, a sacred spring and a cave shrine. At a cistern, Laotians anointed themselves with water that flowed from mountain springs. The Shanghainese girl told us to follow her, and she showed us a rock that our guidebook said might have been used for human sacrifices before the age of Angkor. It was the wider natural surroundings that cast a spell on us. Atop the hill, staring down the axis and toward the Mekong to the east, I could see the many frangipani flowers below, bursts of white on the brown landscape. The temple commanded the scene, as its cousins at Angkor did in the Cambodian jungles. After we walked down the stairs, four women holding umbrellas approached us. They went straight up to Aria and said “sabaidee,†or hello. She said it back, pronouncing the syllables carefully even if she did not know what the word meant. The next morning, we arranged with our hotel to take a boat over to the island of Don Daeng, in the middle of the Mekong. We had brought bicycles with us, and I strapped Aria to my back with a baby sling. A herd of water buffalo wandered languidly down the sandy beach to drink at the river. We biked along dirt paths to villages. There were five main ones on the island, with a total population of 3, 000. Locals walked from one to another or sat on the rear of trundling tractors. Outside their homes, women fried up rice cakes in pans. At lunchtime, we stopped at La Folie, a lodge. While our hotel was all modernist glass and concrete, La Folie had polished wooden panels on the floors and walls. It overlooked the river and faced the spine of mountains to the west. We could see Vat Phou in the hills. Top, a smiling man from Pakse, was working in the dining room. He had just started there one month earlier. When he found out I was from the United States, he asked about the Ultra Music Festival in Miami — Had I heard of it? Had I been there? I shook my head. “I really want to go,†he said. “My favorite D. J. s from around the world go there. †He said that was his goal, to be a D. J. and that there were two bars in Pakse where D. J. s played. Timeless Asia, indeed. That evening, we took a sunset boat ride on the Mekong with a Dutch couple. Over canapés and bottles of Beerlao, we spoke with Kanh, a hotel worker accompanying us. He had begun working at River Resort three months earlier. He was from Pakse, he said, the son of a Vietnamese mother and a father who was Laotian and Chinese. While his mother had been born here, her parents were from Hue, the old imperial capital in central Vietnam. They had fled the fall of South Vietnam to Communist forces in 1975, only to eventually settle in another Communist country. “He’s the original mixed Southeast Asian,†Tini said with a laugh. Her ancestors, too, were from Hue, and she and her family had also fled Vietnam in 1975. They ended up deep in the American South. So went the vagaries of history. The next morning, we took a ferry across the river, followed by a bus to a river port to the south, where we hopped on a wooden boat crammed with backpackers for a ride to what is known as the Four Thousand Islands area, or Si Phan Don, on the border with Cambodia. This stretch of the Mekong was filled with small islets and rocks. Waterfalls abounded. It was here that French colonists were unable to navigate ships up the Mekong to southwest China without building a small railroad across Don Khon and Don Det. We stayed for a couple of nights on the northern side of Don Khon. We got a riverside room at Sengahloune Villa, a more rustic place than the River Resort. The narrow waterways, wooden skiffs and palm trees swaying among the islands reminded me of the backwaters of Kerala in southern India and the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, where the Mekong emptied into the South China Sea. We spent our days biking around the island and watching the sunset from the old French railroad bridge next to our hotel. One afternoon, we hired a small boat off the southern tip of Don Khon, near the old railway tracks, to see the area’s famous freshwater dolphins. As we strained from our boat to catch a glimpse of the dolphins, we saw a group of monks in saffron robes sitting in a skiff. They had come over from Cambodia. Their boat flew the Cambodian flag, with an image of the main temple at Angkor Wat. They sat there with umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun and pointed whenever the head or back of a dolphin poked above the water for a few seconds. The river flowed onward, passing around their boat and continuing for hundreds of miles to the ocean far away. | 1 | [
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FMD399 | 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 for the financial burden placed on Black individuals due to systemic inequalities. Claim summaries: Are African-Americans entitled to a $5,000 slavery reparation tax credit?
contextual information: Claim: African-Americans are entitled to a $5,000 slavery reparation tax credit. Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2002] This goes out to all my friends, family, and everyone in the African American community. Once you receive this message please write down the number and then pass it along to every AfricanAmerican you know. As you my know, all African Americans living here in the United States are descendants of slavery,therefore our government has finally passed a bill to pay all descendants back. The way they are paying us back is through a refund called the, "Black Inheritance Tax Refund/40 Acres and a Mule". When you call this number you'll give them your name, address, and phone number and they'll send you out a packet, which includes further details and information on how to receive the refund. I was informed that it will take only two weeks to receive the packet and then two weeks to receive themoney. Now, if you know our government I bet they are not expecting a lot of people to call for this refund, and they may be right, because many of us will not be informed of this. Therefore, this is why I am taking it upon myself to pass on this information, so our community will soon be informed through word-of-mouth about what has been owed to our ancestors all these years. Black Inheritance Tax Refund 1-800-441-5629 press #3 to direct you to the appropriate line open betweenEast Coast: 8am and 12amWest Coast: 5am and 9pm Expect to wait anywhere from 5mins-25mins (There will not be any music to entertain you while you wait!) Ps: You must be 18 years or older and I'm assuming a legal residence of the United States. So, request an application for yourself, husband, wife, sister, brother, father, mother, etc, or just pass the number along. God Bless You All and please check this out!!!!!!!! Origins: In 2000, bogus letters claiming certain senior citizens were eligible for slavery reparations or higher Social Security payments were circulating in black churches in the South and elsewhere. The letters claimed blacks born before 1928 were eligible for a $5,000 "Negro Inheritance Tax Refund" due to a "Slave Reparation Act," and folks born between 1911 and 1926 might be entitled to higher monthly Social Security payments. This was but one of the many forms the "slavery reparation tax credit" misinformation has taken over the years. An April 1993 Lena Sherrod commentary entitled "Forty Acres and a Mule" which appeared in Essence magazine dealt with the concept that reparations were owed to the descendants of African-Americans who were forced to work unpaid for 246 years, and that African-Americans were owed a tax rebate for years of legalized racial discrimination. Sherrod wrote: The government also owes African-Americans a tax rebate for the 60 years of segregation and Jim Crow that followed slavery. Although we were consigned by law to second-class citizenship, we were still forced to pay first-class taxes . the delinquent tax rebate [is] now estimated . to be at $43,209 per household." Since de facto racial discrimination continues to function as a hidden Black tax, it ought to be deductible. So when income-tax time rolls around, on line 59 of form 1040 which asks you to list 'other payments' simply enter $43,209 in 'Black taxes' and compute accordingly. This commentary undoubtedly helped to foster the belief that a real income tax deduction was available as a form of reparation to the descendants of slaves. In 2002, people were being urged in e-mail to call an 800 number. Yet it's all the same hoax. No matter whether you got the letter from your church or read about the give-back in a magazine, the "reparations credit" does not and never has existed. Those who claim the deduction because they are black can be subject to fines and penalties, so really, really think twice before trying to wring it out of Uncle Sam. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can fine a taxpayer $500 for filing a frivolous claim. Moreover, if the tax department fails to catch the erroneous deduction at the time of filing, it has an additional six years to right its error. Upon catching the error, the taxmen would not only strike off the deduction, but would calculate interest owed on the new balance of tax due, dating it to the year of the original return. (For example, if you claimed the credit in 1994, and the IRS caught it in 1998, your 1994 return would be re-computed to remove the effect of the bogus deduction. You'd now get a bill from the IRS for the re-computed difference between tax paid and tax due, plus all the interest that had piled up on it across those four years, and maybe even a $500 penalty for trying to pull the wool over the tax department's eyes. Eeesh.) IRS offices across the nation have received thousands of requests daily for Form 2439, which some people have been mistakenly led to believe reimburses the descendants of slaves. Form 2439 is actually for shareholders trying to claim undistributed capital gains. Form 2439 Though word of the phony benefits is most often spread by well-meaning individuals whose only motivation is ensuring those who are supposedly in line for the break hear about it, at times unscrupulous tax preparers have stepped in to turn what is already a heart-wrenching disappointment into an out-and-out fraud perpetrated on the unwary by charging fees of hundreds (sometimes thousands) of dollars to "help" people apply for these nonexistent benefits. In a common version of this take-down, a con man promises his unwary clients that he can obtain up to $40,000 in "slave reparation" credits for them from the government and offers to file the necessary tax forms on their behalf in exchange for a percentage of their refunds. He then loads up his clients' tax returns with all manner of deductions and credits they're not entitled to take and thereby scams the government into sending them refund checks. When the IRS later goes over the returns more thoroughly and starts clamoring for their money back, the victims are left holding the bag. The $43,209 "Black tax refund" figure one sometimes hears bandied about is said to be based on the estimated value of "40 acres and a mule," a reparation supposedly laid out in an 1866 bill which lore claims was passed by Congress but was vetoed by President Andrew Johnson. The truth is a bit more complicated than that. The origins of the belief that the U.S. government promised 40 acres of land and a mule to freed slaves after the Civil War are indefinite. One possible source of this claim is Special Field Order No. 15, Special Field Order No. 15 Sherman was neither a humanitarian reformer nor a man with any particular concern for blacks. Instead of seeing Field Order 15 as a blueprint for the transformation of Southern society, he viewed it mainly as a way of relieving the immediate pressure caused by a large number of impoverished blacks following his army. The land grants, he later claimed, were intended only to make "temporary provisions for the freedmen and their families during the rest of the war," not to convey permanent possession. Understandably, however, the freedmen assumed that the land was to be theirs, especially after Gen. Rufus Saxton, assigned by Sherman to oversee the implementation of his order, informed a large gathering of blacks "that they were to be put in possession of lands, upon which they might locate their families and work out for themselves a living and respectability." Debate continues over whether Sherman acted solely on his own authority in issuing Special Field Order No. 15 or whether he had the approval of the War Department (or even President Lincoln himself), but the end result was that a new policy (known as Howard's Circular 15) issued by the White House in September 1865 ordered the restoration of land to pardoned owners and thereby took away from freedmen the land appropriated for them by Sherman under Special Field Order No. 15 (The order made no provisions for giving mules to freedmen, but Foner notes that after issuing it, "Sherman later provided that the army could assist [freedmen] with the loan of mules.") Another possible source of the "40 acres and a mule" belief is the creation of the Freedmen's Bureau (originally the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands), a federal agency established as a subsidiary of the War Department in March 1865 (a month before the end of the Civil War) to deal with issues concerning refugees and freedmen within states under reconstruction, including the management of abandoned and confiscated property. One of the provisions of the Freedmen's Bureau Act directed that the bureau's commissioner should "have authority to set apart, for the use of loyal refugees and freedmen, such tracts of land within the insurrectionary states as shall have been abandoned, or to which the United States shall have acquired title by confiscation or sale, or otherwise, and to every male citizen, whether refugee or freedman, as aforesaid, there shall be assigned not more than forty acres of such land." However, this act did not propose giving property to freed slaves (the land was to be leased to freedmen for three years, then made available for purchase by them), nor did it make any mention of mules. Freedmen's Bureau Freedmen's Bureau Act President Johnson did not veto the Freedmen's Bureau Act, which was passed by Congress in March 1865 and signed by President Lincoln. (Johnson did not assume the presidency until Lincoln's assassination the following month.) Two events occurred in February 1866, both of which have been misstated as overturning the "forty acres" provision of the Freedmen's Bureau Act: An amendment to the Freedmen's Bureau Bill (also known as the "Second Freedmen's Bureau Act") proposed by Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, to add "forfeited estates of the enemy" to the land available to blacks, was overwhelmingly defeated in the House of Representatives. (At that time, the only group of slaveholders who were compelled to provide their former slaves with land were Indians who sided with the Confederacy.) President Johnson vetoed the Freedman's Bureau Bill, which sought to extend the life of the bureau indefinitely (it had originally been chartered only for one year after the end of the Civil War) and to greatly increase its powers. Congress passed the bill again (in modified form) over Johnson's veto in July 1866. The Southern Homestead Act of 1866 did in fact make land in five southern states available to freed blacks, but only public land, not plantations or other property confiscated from former slaveholders. Unfortunately, most of the land still available in the South for homesteading was too swampy and too far away from transportation links to be of much good to freedmen, and even then the largest portion of this inferior land was claimed by whites (often for quick resale to lumber companies). Although the notion of a "Black Inheritance Tax Refund" has long since been debunked and disclaimed, it nonetheless lives on and continues to cause headaches to the IRS and taxpayers alike. In April 2002, the Washington Post reported that the IRS had received more than 100,000 tax returns seeking nonexistent slavery-tax credits and had mistakenly paid out more than $30 million in erroneous refunds in 2000 and 2001. And in April 2005, the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office obtained a temporary restraining order enjoining a New York man from preparing income tax returns for others because he had "been including bogus tax credits such as reparations for African-American slavery and segregation." Barbara "taxing the imagination" Mikkelson Last updated: 27 May 2011 Brown, Timothy. "Black Churches in the South Targeted in Mail Hoax." The Associated Press. 31 August 2000. Deibel, Mary. "IRS Warns Black Taxpayers About Reparation-Claim Scam." The Washington Times. 7 October 2000 (p. A2). Fennell, Edward. "Slavery Reparations Program Labeled Lie." The [Charleston] Post and Courier. 24 September 2000 (p. B1). Foner, Eric. Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution. New York: Harper & Row, 1988. ISBN 0-060-91453-X (pp. 70-71, 245-246). Foner, Eric and John Garraty. The Reader's Companion to American History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991. ISBN 0-395-51372-3 (pp. 987-988). Josar, David. "IRS Warns Against Trying to Get Refund for Reparations." The Detroit News. 28 August 1996 (p. D1). Kessler, Glenn. "IRS Paid $30 Million in Credits for Slavery." The Washington Post. 13 April 2002 (p. A1). La Hay, Patricia. "Slavery Reparations Tax Break Is Illegal." The Arizona Republic. 9 August 1997 (p. A1). McLeod, Ramon. "Even Street Gangs Are Among Those Involved in Fraud." The San Francisco Chronicle. 13 April 1996 (p. A17). Moore, Linda. "League Explains Nonrole in Slavery Reparations Hoax." The [Memphis] Commercial Appeal. 15 September 2000 (p. C2). Oubre, Claude F. Forty Acres and a Mule: The Freedmen's Bureau and Black Land Ownership. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1978. ISBN 0-807-10298-9. Sherrod, L.G. "Forty Acres and a Mule." Essence. April 1993 (p. 124). Stiehm, Jamie. "IRS Official Warns of Tax Hoax Using Slave Reparations." The Baltimore Sun. 12 February 2002. The Associated Press. "Blacks Targeted in Slavery Reparation Scam." 6 October 2000. Chicago Sun-Times. "Reparations Scam Preys on Ignorance." 17 July 1996 (p. 47). Chicago Tribune. "Tax Myths Don't Add Up at IRS." 23 February 1997 (p. C7). Reuters. "Man Barred from Making Slavery Tax Claims." 15 April 2005. | 1 | [
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