On Monday, departing Gov. Roy Barnes will spend his first day as a private citizen by starting his new job as a full-time, pro-bono (unpaid) lawyer at the Atlanta Legal Aid Society. The decision by Barnes, the most improbable casualty of Election Day 2002, to go to work for legal aid was almost as unexpected as his November defeat. As a legal services attorney, Barnes will help women escape domestic violence, Mauricio Vivero is vice president seniors fight predatory lending scams and parents obtain child support for their kids. of Legal In doing so, he will take his place on the front line of the U.S. legal community's Services Corporation, the uphill and underpublicized struggle to achieve equal access to justice for millions of Washington-Americans too poor to afford legal representation. based nonprofit corporation chartered by The inaccessibility of the U.S. civil justice system is hardly a new development, but it Congress in took Barnes' decision to put the national media spotlight on our country's ongoing 1974 to promote equal access to access-to-justice crisis. civil justice. The 2000 U.S. census reports that more than 43 million Americans qualify for free federally funded legal assistance, yet fewer than 20 percent of eligible clients (annual income: $11,075 or less) are able to obtain legal help when they need it, according to the American Bar Association. In Georgia, there is just one legal aid lawyer for every 10,500 eligible poor people. Barnes understood this problem long before he became governor. While in private practice, he handled many pro-bono cases and was a frequent volunteer in the Cobb County office of the federally funded Atlanta Legal Aid Society. Most memorably, he secured a $115 million judgment in 1993 against Fleet Finance for victimizing 18,000 homeowners -- many of them senior citizens -- with its widespread predatory lending mortgage practices. His long-standing commitment to the underserved is certainly admirable, but it should not be viewed as a rare and laudable act of civic virtue. To be admitted to practice law, every attorney must take a professional oath to promote justice -- and every state's ethical rules include language indicating lawyers' responsibility to be guardians of fair play for those living in poverty. In Georgia, many law firms, corporations and private attorneys are working pro bono to serve the neediest clients. Yet only 23 percent of the state's 23,598 active lawyers reported meeting the Georgia State Bar's goal of 50 hours of pro-bono service in 2002. The need for volunteers is most severe outside the five-county Atlanta metropolitan area, where 70 percent of the state's poor people are served by only 24 percent of the state's lawyers. National pro-bono participation is even worse. Only 23 percent of the roughly 1 million attorneys in America volunteer even one hour of pro-bono service annually, according to the ABA.

Question: "National pro-bono participation levels are worse than which state?"

OPTIONS:
- no
- yes

Answer: "Maryland"

Response: no

To protect its seagoing interests and trade routes, Portugal established strategic garrisons in Goa (India), Malacca (East Indies), and Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. Portuguese explorers then embarked upon Macau (now Macao), the Congo, and various other parts of Africa, including the Sudan. The Portuguese policy was to avoid armed strife and to develop a trade empire, rather than to conquer nations. To this end it succeeded with relatively few blood-soaked episodes in its colonial history. Adventures abroad, however, proved disastrous during the second half of the 16th century. In 1557 the 14-year-old boy-king Sebastiao ascended the throne, the beginning of a calamitous reign that was to end at the battle of Alcacer-Quiber (Morocco) in pursuit of a vain crusade. Sebastiao's untimely demise, alongside some 18,000 ill-prepared, badly led followers, set the stage for a crisis of succession. For many years afterwards, legends and rumors bizarrely insisted that the king was still alive, and imposters turned up from time to time claiming the throne; those who were plausible enough to be deemed a threat were summarily executed. In fact, the only rightful claimant to the crown was the elderly Prince Henry. But after two years of alternating between the throne and his sickbed, he died, heirless. Surveying the situation and smelling an opportunity, Spain occupied the power vacuum, and Portugal's neighbor and long-time antagonist became its master. Spanish rule dictated Portugal's inadvertent involvement in Spain's ongoing wars. In 1587 a squadron of British ships commanded by Francis Drake attacked the Algarve (now a "legitimate target" as Spanish territory) and sacked Sagres, thus depriving the world of the relics of Henry the Navigator. Nine years later Faro was torched. The 1386 Treaty of Windsor, by which Britain and Portugal had pledged eternal friendship, seemed a distant memory. Portugal's empire was gradually eroded, and many of its trading posts (with the notable exception of Brazil) were picked off by the British and Dutch. Finally, after 60 years of Spanish rule, Portuguese noblemen (aided by the French, then at war with Spain) organized a palace coup and restored independence. The Great Disaster Portugal's greatest misfortune struck on All Saint's Day, 1 November 1755.

Question: "Who became sick and died heirless?"

Response: "Francis Drake"
OPTIONS:
- no
- yes

A: no

You know that friction also causes heat. Think about when you rub your hands together. It is friction that makes them warm. But why does this happen? Friction causes the molecules on rubbing surfaces to move faster. Faster moving particles have more heat energy. Heat from friction can be useful. Can you think of other places where you might find friction? Friction also lets you light a match. Heat from friction can also cause problems. It can cause a car to overheat. To reduce friction, oil is added to the engine. Oil coats the surfaces of moving parts. This coating of oil makes them slippery. When things are slippery there is less friction. Have you ever seen a sign that says, slippery when wet? This too has to do with friction. Water, like oil, can reduce friction. The wet surface may allow your shoes to slide more easily.

Question: "Why do your hands become warmer when you rub them together?"

OPTIONS:
- no
- yes

Answer: "Because of friction making the molecules move faster"

Response:
yes