QUES: Greta ran to the corner with her older brother Tony. He had money for the ice cream truck in his pocket and she was very happy. The ice cream truck had been parked at the curb waiting for children for a very long time. The ice cream truck driver thought that no more children were coming to get ice cream so he started pulling away from the curb when they got to the corner. They yelled. They screamed, "Stop! Stop!" and jumped up and down on the side walk trying to get him to see them. The driver of the truck saw them, waved at them and smiled, pulled back to the curb and opened his truck up so that they could see everything that he had for sale. They were so excited. They saw some new treats. Tony wanted to try something new. He got an ice cream sundae with chocolate ice cream and nuts. He almost got a snow cone. Greta looked at everything that the ice cream truck had. She saw candy, ice cream cones, snow cones, and everything else. It all looked so good. But after looking at everything, she wanted to get an ice cream sandwich. She got the ice cream sandwich. She bit into it and smiled. It tasted so good. She felt so happy. Her brother, Tony, was happy too. He bit into his ice cream cone sundae and grinned. They walked home with their ice cream and told their mom about how close they came to not getting their ice cream at all. Their mom was happy that the truck had stopped for them. She said that they were very lucky to have gotten to the curb before the ice cream truck left.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: Were Tony and Greta both happy after getting ice cream?

QUES: While this process moved along, diplomacy continued its rounds. Direct pressure on the Taliban had proved unsuccessful. As one NSC staff note put it, "Under the Taliban, Afghanistan is not so much a state sponsor of terrorism as it is a state sponsored by terrorists." In early 2000, the United States began a high-level effort to persuade Pakistan to use its influence over the Taliban. In January 2000, Assistant Secretary of State Karl Inderfurth and the State Department's counterterrorism coordinator, Michael Sheehan, met with General Musharraf in Islamabad, dangling before him the possibility of a presidential visit in March as a reward for Pakistani cooperation. Such a visit was coveted by Musharraf, partly as a sign of his government's legitimacy. He told the two envoys that he would meet with Mullah Omar and press him on Bin Laden. They left, however, reporting to Washington that Pakistan was unlikely in fact to do anything," given what it sees as the benefits of Taliban control of Afghanistan." President Clinton was scheduled to travel to India. The State Department felt that he should not visit India without also visiting Pakistan. The Secret Service and the CIA, however, warned in the strongest terms that visiting Pakistan would risk the President's life. Counterterrorism officials also argued that Pakistan had not done enough to merit a presidential visit. But President Clinton insisted on including Pakistan in the itinerary for his trip to South Asia. His one-day stopover on March 25, 2000, was the first time a U.S. president had been there since 1969. At his meeting with Musharraf and others, President Clinton concentrated on tensions between Pakistan and India and the dangers of nuclear proliferation, but also discussed Bin Laden. President Clinton told us that when he pulled Musharraf aside for a brief, one-on-one meeting, he pleaded with the general for help regarding Bin Laden." I offered him the moon when I went to see him, in terms of better relations with the United States, if he'd help us get Bin Laden and deal with another issue or two." The U.S. effort continued.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: Following his meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State and US State Department's counterterrorism coordinator, who did Musharraf intend to meet to discuss Bin Laden?

QUES: The world can be divided into three climate zones. The first climate zone is the polar zone. As it sounds, the polar zone is near earths poles. The polar zone has very long and cold winters. Brrr!!!! Near the equator is the tropical zone. The tropical zone is known for being hot and wet. Between these two zones is the temperate zone. Temperatures there tend to be mild. Its not too hot and not too cold. You might expect places near the equator to be hot and wet. Thats not always the case. Sometimes there are other factors at work. These factors can affect the local climate type or a region. Oceans and mountain ranges can have a major impact. They can greatly influence the climate of an area. Many factors influence an areas climate.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: How is the world divided?

QUES: Alexander II's death caused a great setback for the reform movement. One of his last ideas was to draft plans for an elected parliament, or Duma, which were completed the day before he died but not yet released to the Russian people. In a matter of 48 hours, Alexander II planned to release his plan for the duma to the Russian people. Had he lived, Russia might have followed a path to constitutional monarchy instead of the long road of oppression that defined his successor's reign. The first action Alexander III took after his father's death was to tear up those plans. A Duma would not come into fruition until 1905, when Alexander II's grandson, Nicholas II, commissioned the Duma following extreme pressure on the monarchy as a result of the Russian Revolution of 1905. The assassination triggered major suppression of civil liberties in Russia, and police brutality burst back in full force after experiencing some restraint under the reign of Alexander II, whose death was witnessed first-hand by his son, Alexander III, and his grandson, Nicholas II, both future emperors who vowed not to have the same fate befall them. Both of them used the Okhrana to arrest protestors and uproot suspected rebel groups, creating further suppression of personal freedom for the Russian people. A series of anti-Jewish pogroms and antisemitic legislation, the May Laws, were yet another result. Finally, the tsar's assassination also inspired anarchists to advocate "'propaganda by deed'--the use of a spectacular act of violence to incite revolution." With construction starting in 1883, the Church of the Savior on Blood was built on the site of Alexander's assassination and dedicated in his memory.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION:
What event prevented Alexander II's plans for a Duma to come to fruition?