Question: My summer hols wr CWOT. B4, we usd 2 go 2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 : -@ kids FTF. ILNY; its gr8. Can you understand this sentence? If you can't, don't feel too bad. The middle school teacher in England who received this as homework couldn't either. This is Netspeak: the language of computerized communication found on Internet or mobile phones. To newcomers, it can look like a completely foreign language. So, what is the "translation" of the sentence above? My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend, and their three screaming kids face to face. I love New York; it's great. Schoolteachers and parents say this new form of writing is harming the English language. Increasing spelling and grammatical mistakes can be seen in students' writing. They fear the language could become corrupted . Everyone should just relax, say linguists . They believe Netspeak is in fact more of a good thing. David Crystal, from the University of Wales, argues that Netspeak and Internet create a new language use and the almost lost art of diary writing has been picked up again. Geoffrey Nunberg, from Stanford University, agrees. "People get better at writing by writing," he says, "Kids who are now doing text messaging and e-mail will write at least as well as, and possibly better than, their parents." Linguist James Milroy says, for centuries, it is believed without exception that young people are harming the language. And you can that when today's teenagers become tomorrow's parents, they too will think this way. Milroy argues that languages do not and cannot become "corrupted", and that they simply change to meet the new needs. However, Netspeakers do agree that it is important to teach young people how to speak and write Standard English. Cynthia Mcvey says, "I can understand Netspeak worries teachers and it's important that they get across to their pupils that text messaging is for fun, but that learning to write proper English is a must for their future." Perhaps we should give teenagers a little more trust anyway. Erin, age 12, says, "I wouldn't use text language in my homework. Texting is just for fun." 1. Who received text as homework?
2. Where did that person teach?
3. Did the teacher understand?
4. What is texting language called?
5. Does it seem foreign?
6. Who thinks it's harmful?
7. What are they scared of?
8. Do kids write in diaries now?
9. Does Erin use Netspeak in homework?
10. How old is Erin? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers: 1. A middle school teacher
2. England
3. no
4. Netspeak
5. Yes
6. Schoolteachers and parents
7. language being corrupted
8. Yes
9. no
10. 12

Question: Columbus is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is the 14th-largest city in the United States, with a population of 860,090 as of 2016 estimates. This makes Columbus the third-most populous state capital in the United States, and the second-largest city in the Midwestern United States, after Chicago. It is the core city of the Columbus, Ohio, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses ten counties. With a population of 2,021,632, it is Ohio's third-largest metropolitan area.

Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County. The city proper has also expanded and annexed portions of adjoining Delaware County and Fairfield County. Named for explorer Christopher Columbus, the city was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and assumed the functions of state capital in 1816.

The city has a diverse economy based on education, government, insurance, banking, defense, aviation, food, clothes, logistics, steel, energy, medical research, health care, hospitality, retail, and technology. Columbus is home to the Battelle Memorial Institute, the world's largest private research and development foundation; Chemical Abstracts Service, the world's largest clearinghouse of chemical information; NetJets, the world's largest fractional ownership jet aircraft fleet; and The Ohio State University, one of the largest universities in the United States. , the city has the headquarters of five corporations in the U.S. Fortune 500: Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, American Electric Power, L Brands, Big Lots, and Cardinal Health. The food service corporations Wendy's, Donatos Pizza, Bob Evans, Max & Erma's and White Castle and the nationally known companies Red Roof Inn, Rogue Fitness, and Safelite are also based in the metropolitan area. 1. Is Columbus' economy dependent upon one thing?
2. If I was working in steel could I find a job in Columbus?
3. What if I was a major league baseball player?
4. What big university is in Columbus?
5. How many Fortune 500 companies have their main offices there?
6. Is Apple one of them?
7. What is one?
8. Is Cincinnati the capital of Ohio?
9. What is?
10. How many U.S. cities are larger than Columbus?
11. Does it have over a million people?
12. Is it the largest state capital in the country?
13. How many are bigger?
14. What Midwestern city is larger than Columbus?
15. What metropolitan area is Columbus a part of?
16. How many counties does that include?
17. Is that the largest metropolitan area in Ohio?
18. True or False: Columbus is named after the famous explorer
19. When was the founding of the city?
20. Was it the state capital right away? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers: 1. No
2. Yes
3. No
4. The Ohio State University
5. Five
6. No
7. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
8. No
9. Columbus
10. Thirteen
11. No
12. No
13. Two
14. Chicago
15. Columbus, Ohio
16. Ten
17. No
18. True
19. 1812
20. No

Question: Two prominent newspapers this week used their editorial pages to call for mercy for intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, with one arguing "he deserves better than a life of permanent exile, fear and flight."

The New York Times and The Guardian make the case for some sort of plea deal or clemency that would allow Snowden to return to the United States from Russia, where he was granted asylum.

Mercy or dropped charges have occurred in past cases of other high-profile whistle-blowers, such as Daniel Ellsberg, the military analyst behind the leak of the Pentagon Papers. But in recent years, the United States has aggressively pursued those who leak government secrets.

Here's a look at how the cases of five prominent leakers -- including Snowden -- have played out:

Daniel Ellsberg

Ellsberg was the military analyst who leaked the 7,000-page Pentagon Papers in 1971.

The top-secret documents revealed that senior U.S. leaders, including three Presidents, knew the Vietnam War was an unwinnable, tragic quagmire. Further, they showed the government had lied to Congress and the public about the progress of the war.

Ellsberg surrendered to authorities and was charged as a spy.

During his trial, the court learned that President Richard Nixon's administration had embarked on a campaign to discredit Ellsberg, illegally wiretapping him and breaking into his psychiatrist's office. All charges against him were dropped. Since then, he has lived a relatively quiet life as a respected author and lecturer.

Chelsea Manning

U.S. Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning, who formerly went by the name Bradley, was convicted of stealing and disseminating 750,000 pages of classified documents and videos to WikiLeaks, the online anti-secrecy group. 1. who is Ellsberg?
2. what did the papers reveal?
3. when were the papers released?
4. what did Nixon do to him?
5. what did Nixon do to Ellsberg to discredit him?
6. did Ellsberg go to jail?
7. why not?
8. what happened to the charges?
9. where is Edward Snowden living now?
10. why?
11. who is calling for mercy for him? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers:
1. military analyst behind the leak of the Pentagon Papers
2. presidents knew that the Vietnam War was an unwinnable, tragic quagmire
3. 1971
4. unknown
5. wiretapped him and broke into his psychiatrist's office
6. no
7. Because the tactics used against him were illegal
8. they were dropped.
9. Russia
10. He was granted asylum there.
11. The New York Times and The Guardian