IBM opened a sprawling and sophisticated semiconductor factory here on Wednesday that cost more than $2.5 billion to build and equip, the largest single capital investment the company has ever made. The factory, which opens as the computer chip business is in a slump, is a costly and risky move for IBM. But it is also an expression of confidence by the company that it can remain a technology leader in the highly competitive global semiconductor industry, and a commitment that the best place to execute that strategy is in upstate New York. IBM is an exception among computer makers in that it still invests heavily in research to advance the design, manufacture and materials used in semiconductor chips. It is spending more than $500 million a year on semiconductor research and development. The factory will produce a wide range of specialized semiconductors used in everything from the largest mainframe computers to cell phones and video-game consoles. The new plant is part of IBM's push to gain a strong lead in chip-making beyond the personal computer business, where Intel and East Asian chip producers hold the advantage. "The core of our strategy is to lead in technology and attack the high-performance segments of the market," said John Kelly, senior vice president in charge of IBM's technology group. An advantage to having the semiconductor fabricating factory here, Kelly explained, was that it was very close to its research laboratories in nearby Westchester County, N.Y. To stay ahead in advanced chip technology, he said, moving innovations out of the labs and into the factory as fast as possible is crucial. "What we call the lab-to-fab time should be as close to zero as possible," Kelly said. "If our strategy were anything but to be on the leading edge, we'd have put the plant in Asia." The new factory, which will begin normal production early next year, will employ about 1,000 people.

Question: "What doe "lab-to-fab" time mean?"

OPTIONS:
- no
- yes

Answer: "Being highly competitive"

Response: no

Catherine V. "Ginny" Kilgore of Oxford, an attorney with North Mississippi Rural Legal Services, has been recognized for her dedication to serving the indigent. Kilgore - who oversees delivering legal services to the disabled and elderly in 39 north Mississippi counties - is recipient of the University of Mississippi School of Law's 2002 Public Service Award. The award was announced recently at a dinne r, held in Kilgore's honor and hosted by law school Dean Samuel M. Davis, who presented her with an engraved plaque. "Ginny Kilgore is a public servant in the truest sense," said Davis. "Her selection continues the tradition of this award in recognizing those who have labored in the trenches, with little or no compensation but with great professional and personal satisfaction in helping to bring justice and equality to those who need it most." "This award means a great deal to me," Kilgore said, pointing to others so honored. "The work of those who received the award before me has been so important; I feel very honored." After earning bachelor's and master's degrees in education and a few years teaching, Kilgore enrolled at the UM law school. Upon graduation in 1975, she entered private law practice in Oxford, joining NMRLS in 1978. Since then, she has earned promotions from managing attorney, senior attorney, then director of the Council on Aging project. Since 1990, she has worked in the Administrative Law Unit and Resource Development, and directed the Elder Law Project, serving the northern half of the state. She also is an adjunct professor in the UM law school's Civil Law Clinic. She held a similar post a few years ago in the school's Elder Law Clinic. Kilgore says she's found her niche. "I've always thought it was important to do work to help people. I really enjoy it. The issues I've dealt with through the years have been on the side of helping people maintain the basics of life - home, healt h care, jobs and family." She says her desire to serve others was sparked early, growing up in a single-parent home, aware that her widowed mother faced certain challenges as she supported her four children through public school and college.

Question: "Ginny Kilgore has worked in which two UM law school clinics?"

OPTIONS:
- no
- yes

Answer: "Criminal Law"

Response: no

When Alexander destroyed Tyre, most of the towns on the route to Egypt quickly capitulated. A later tradition recorded his entry into Jerusalem: according to Josephus, Alexander was shown the Book of Daniel's prophecy, presumably chapter 8, which described a mighty Greek king who would conquer the Persian Empire. He spared Jerusalem and pushed south into Egypt. However, Alexander met with resistance at Gaza. The stronghold was heavily fortified and built on a hill, requiring a siege. When "his engineers pointed out to him that because of the height of the mound it would be impossible... this encouraged Alexander all the more to make the attempt". After three unsuccessful assaults, the stronghold fell, but not before Alexander had received a serious shoulder wound. As in Tyre, men of military age were put to the sword and the women and children were sold into slavery. Alexander advanced on Egypt in later 332 BC, where he was regarded as a liberator. He was pronounced son of the deity Amun at the Oracle of Siwa Oasis in the Libyan desert. Henceforth, Alexander often referred to Zeus-Ammon as his true father, and after his death, currency depicted him adorned with rams horn as a symbol of his divinity. During his stay in Egypt, he founded Alexandria-by-Egypt, which would become the prosperous capital of the Ptolemaic Kingdom after his death.

Question: "What was Alexander regarding as when he invaded Egypt?"

OPTIONS:
- no
- yes

Answer: "Fighter"

Response: no

California lags far behind comparable states in funding legal services for the poor, a situation so dire that only 28 percent of the civil legal needs of the state's poor and lowerincome residents are being addressed. That figures translates into 2 million people without the ability to access the justice system, according to a new study by the California Commission on Access to Justice, which also found that despite increased spending, the gap between need and services remains substantial. "As a practical matter, in most cases there can be no access to justice without access to legal assistance," said Jack Londen, past commission chair and a partner with Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco. "Whether we like it or not, sometimes landlords illegally evict tenants, children with disabilities are denied proper care, veterans don't get services guaranteed to them, and elderly people need legal assistance to escape the abuse of a caregiver." California has the highest number of people in poverty in the nation - 6.4 million, including nearly one in five children. Half the nation's increase in poverty in the 1990s, when the number of poor jumped 30 percent, occurred in California, and nearly 25 percent of the nation's poverty increase occurred in Los Angeles County alone. Even those with jobs are suffering: 26 percent of California workers earn poverty level wages. The commission's report, "The Path to Equal Justice: A Five-Year Status Report on Access to Justice in California," examined how the legal needs of the state's poor have changed in the last five years as well as both the shortcomings of the justice system and the improvements during that period. Despite increases in state funding to meet the legal needs of the poor, low interest rates (which have reduced the IOLTA fund), high unemployment and the present economic downturn have threatened any gains.

Question: "Who made the following remark: "Whether we like it or not, sometimes landlords illegally evict tenants, children with disabilities are denied proper care, veterans don't get services guaranteed to them, and elderly people need legal assistance to escape the abuse of a caregiver.""

OPTIONS:
- no
- yes

Answer: "Jack Londen"

Response:
yes