*Question*
China's Defense Ministry said Thursday that a U.S. decision to disinvite China from a major international maritime exercise is "unconstructive." A ministry statement said despite the decision, China will continue playing a role in "maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region." The United States announced its move Wednesday, saying Beijing's "destabilizing behavior" in the South China Sea is inconsistent with the principles of the U.S.-led drill. "China's continued militarization of disputed features in the South China Sea only serve to raise tensions and destabilize the region," read a statement from Lt. Col. Christopher Logan, a Pentagon spokesman. The statement said that disinviting China from the 2018 RIMPAC is an "initial" response to Beijing's South China Sea activities. It did not specify what other steps may be taken. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China's activity in the South China Sea was for self-defense and that it was a "much smaller scale" than what the United States had done in Hawaii and Guam. "We hope that the U.S. will change such a negative mindset," he said at a joint news conference with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Since 2014, China has taken part in RIMPAC, the world's largest international maritime drill, which is held every two years in Hawaii. It's a reflection of expanding U.S.-China military ties, despite tensions over Beijing's construction of man-made islands in the South China Sea, some of which have been militarized. "We have strong evidence that China has deployed anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems, and electronic jammers to contested features in the Spratly Islands region of the South China Sea. China's landing bomber aircraft at Woody Island has also raised tensions," the Pentagon statement said. "We have called on China to remove the military systems immediately and to reverse course on the militarization of disputed South China Sea features," the statement added. "We believe these recent deployments and the continued... How long did it probably take the US to discover that China was militarizing the Spratly islands? Pick the correct answer from the following options: - a few hours - not enough information - a few years - a few days
**Answer**
a few years

*Question*
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA North Korea human rights advocates are considering more practical ways to reform the repressive practices of the Kim Jong Un government, as denuclearization talks continue to end the country's economic and diplomatic isolation. Rights activists hold out hope that U.S. President Donald Trump will confront Kim at their expected Singapore meeting in June about ongoing atrocities in North Korea, including a network of political prison camps and widespread government sanctioned abuses in the country. Benedict Rogers, with Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a religious freedom oriented organization, urges President Trump to emulate former President Ronald Reagan who once publicly called on the leader of the Soviet Union to tear down the Berlin Wall that separated democratic West Germany and the Communist East. "Mr. Trump's message should be, Mr. Kim if you seek peace, come to the gates of the prison camps, open the prison camps, tear down the walls of the prison camps," said Rogers at a North Korea human rights conference in Seoul on Thursday. It is unclear if human rights will be part of the agenda at the U.S.-North Korea nuclear summit, if it happens. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and high-ranking North Korean official Kim Yong Chol have been meeting this week in New York to overcome the main obstacle to the summit; the gap between the U.S. demand for rapid and complete denuclearization and North Korea's more phased in approach that would provide early sanctions relief. Brad Adams, the Asia director at the advocacy group Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Thursday, "Whatever the outcome of nuclear talks, human rights-related sanctions should remain in effect until North Korea changes the way it treats its people." The United Nations has passed 13 resolutions addressing human rights abuses in North Korea, most recently in March of this year at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. Benedict Rogers believes tearing down prison walls is similar to what? Pick the correct answer from the following options: - not enough information - human rights - tearing down the Berlin Wall - a UN resolution
**Answer**
tearing down the Berlin Wall

*Question*
As a new year is just around the corner, I, like many of you, am taking stock in my life. What I've done and what I'd like to do. How I've spent my time and how I want to use it going forward. I have goals for blogging, my Jamberry business, my health, homeschooling, and for my family. As I have pondered where I want things to go and how I can successfully make that happen, I have learned that I need to manage my time and energy differently in order to be successful in each area. The main obstacles standing in my way are, ironically, working from home and having my children with me 24/7. But, that was my choice and I'm sticking to it. My goal is to embrace these obstacles by approaching them in different ways. Work at Home Tips for Success Work at home tips can be implemented or not, depending on my needs. I am sure the same will be true for you. You may not need to get healthier or may not want to homeschool your children. So, your daily routine will be different from mine. However, I think these work at home tips can help any individual out there looking for more guidance. Work at Home Tip #1 Be productive. Well, duh! Of course that's what we would like to do, but have you ever worked all day and by the end of it, you have no idea what you really did? This likely means you are spending your time on things, but not on the most important things. For example, if your goal is to generate income, you want to be carving out time for income generating activities, not reorganizing a shelf or checking a facebook group for information. If your goal is to write a book, you want to be get ideas on paper or develop the plot, not have coffee to discuss your latest and greatest read with your bestie. how long did it take the author to come up with their goals? Pick the correct answer from the following options: - several months - not enough information - several weeks - 1 week
**Answer**
several months