Question: What can you tell me about the Fate/Apocrypha Saber of Red figure?

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 What can you tell me about the Fate/Apocrypha Saber of Red figure?

From the light novel with an anime adaption on the way, ‘Fate/Apocrypha’, comes a 1/8th scale figure of Saber of “Red” [Mordred] wearing her iconic armor. The sharp-looking design of her armor as well as the disassembled and rebuilt form of her helm “Secret of Pedigree” attached to the back of the armor have been faithfully represented on the figure.
She is posed standing on the remains of a fallen golem with the Noble Phantasm “Clarent” in hand – the blade glowing with a brilliant light. The rebellious knight has been carefully crafted to capture all of her charm in figure form! Be sure to add her to your collection!
The figure’s planner was none other than Phat! Company’s Uchitaro (@uchitaro) and he has joined me on the blog today to speak his thoughts on the figure! You can really feel his love for the character as well as the Fate universe with the amount of detail that has gone into this figure!!
So let’s get right to it! I think anyone will agree that the first thing anyone will notice on the figure is the texture and detail of the armor she is wearing!
The dynamic pose together with her facial expression all create an epic scene from the battlefield!
One thing to note is that the armor is not all simply colored the same, but instead carefully considers where there are shadows and different textures and alters the use of paint for a more realistic rendition of the iron armor!
Uchitaro: Take a look from the back as well! If you look close you will notice that the area from her shoulders down her back actually has the Noble Phantasm that was used to hide her identity: Secret of Pedigree! This was originally a helmet, but was disassembled and rebuilt to form the back part of her armor that you can see here. Those who know the story will know that her sword and helmet here are in the form that appeared after she revealed her true name, bringing out a bit of the story for fans to enjoy as well!
Suwabe: I, I see! In other words you not only get to enjoy the revealed form of Saber of “Red”, but also get a feel for the events that led up to her revealing herself!
Her expression is also very suited for combat!
Such a gallant look in her eyes, and that open mouth with each of her teeth carefully sculpted also capture the vigorous atmosphere of battle!
Let’s take a closer look at her Noble Phantasm, Clarent!
Just look at that stunning gradient!
Uchitaro: The purple-blue-purple gradient is based on the original description, “The color of a titanium bike muffler exposed to high temperatures”.
Suwabe: Such a beautiful selection of colors! When you look at the figure as a whole her Noble Phantasm really stands out thanks to the coloring!
▲ The reverse side is also faithfully sculpted and painted!
The hand grasping onto her sword and the sculpt of the spiky gauntlet and armor are simply amazing!
Due to the position of her arm when you look at her from the front you can’t normally see her chest, but when you take a look from a different angle you can see that the mark on her chest and the layers of her chest armor are all faithfully included on the figure’s design!!
▲ The armor on her feet also have some rather painful looking spikes! It’s these little details that all come together to create an amazing figure!
▲ A closer look at her hip area where you can better see the details!
I really wish you could see them in person!!
Preorders close on the 11th May 2017 at 12:00JST!


Question: What's the latest on the debates between the Texas Republican officeholders and their opponents? Respond in 872 words.

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 What's the latest on the debates between the Texas Republican officeholders and their opponents? Respond in 872 words.

Ted Cruz has offered to debate Beto O'Rourke five times. What about other Texas Republicans?
Updated 10:00 a.m. July 30 with information about Attorney General Ken Paxton's debate plans, at 10:00 a.m. July 27 with information about Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke's debate plans, and at 1 p.m. July 25 to include a new ad released by the Justin Nelson campaign.
AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz have agreed to debate their opponents before the November election, but the state's other top Republicans have said they have no plans to do the same.
Democrats in Texas haven't won a statewide election in two dozen years. In fact, Dems here have been shut out of the top offices longer than their progressive partners in any other state. Something else that hasn't been all that common as of late? A debate between a Republican state officeholder and his Democratic opponent.
This year, Abbott has agreed to debate his challenger, former Dallas County sheriff Lupe Valdez. And just this week, Cruz said he'd be happy to go head-to-head five times with Democratic opponent Beto O'Rourke. But what about the Texas' other GOP officeholders?
In 2014, when Dan Patrick ran for lieutenant governor, he agreed to a face-to-face with his opponent, then-fellow state Sen. Leticia Van De Putte. But now, after four years of producing policy and piloting the direction of conservative Texas politics, Patrick says there's no reason from him to go head-to-head with opponent Mike Collier.
"It's no secret Lt. Governor Patrick relishes debates, but since his opponent shows no sign of grasping even the most basic rudiments of state government, our campaign has no plans to debate him," Patrick campaign spokesman Allen Blakemore said in a statement last week. "There isn't anyone in the Lone Star State who isn't absolutely clear about where Dan Patrick stands on the issues. He told us what he was going to do, then he did it."
Patrick's compadres in the General Land Office and Department of Agriculture agree.
"At this point, we're not planning to do a debate, but we always assess things as we go forward," Bush campaign spokesman Lee Spieckerman told The Dallas Morning News. And why not? "Voters are very aware of Commissioner Bush's record, which is the main thing. ... His performance speaks for itself."
But perhaps it's the spokesman for Sid Miller, the perpetually be-Stetson-ed commissioner of agriculture, who said it best. Miller's got 719,000 followers on Facebook, after all, where he's shared his thoughts on refugee "rattlers," drag queens and Whoopi Goldberg. Why give his challenger a slice of that "free publicity?"
"It'll be a cold day in Texas before we give our opponent the opportunity to have free name recognition by having a debate," Todd M. Smith told The News on Tuesday. "As the lieutenant governor said, there's not anybody in Texas who doesn't know where Sid Miller stands on the issues."
This, of course, leaves their Democratic opponents in the lurch. Most have a disadvantage when it comes to dollars — Patrick outraised Collier 17-to-1 and only Miller's campaign has less in the bank than his opponent — and, just by virtue of being the new guys, the Dems are already operating at a deficit in name recognition.
"Candidates should earn their votes, and the only way to do that is to present yourself," Olson, a retired Air Force colonel, told The News. "It is suspect when an incumbent will not defend his record or present a vision of the future.
"Sounds like he is as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockers."
Collier accused Patrick of ensconcing himself away "in his bunker, sending out audio snippets to the few supporters that remain, that are chock full of spin and nonsense," to which Blakemore shot back with a long list of Patrick's campaign events over the last two days, including a meeting with the Dallas Police Association, folks from UT Southwestern and a group of conservative women in Tomball.
And Suazo, the energy lawyer who wants to run the Alamo and manage the state's mineral rights as land commissioner, said Bush should live up to his name: "Every other candidate named George Bush has debated, except this one. That's because his record is indefensible and he knows that I'll beat him."
In a November television appearance, Attorney General Ken Paxton (who was indicted in July 2015 and is awaiting trial on fraud charges) said he would "be happy to debate anybody on the issues and look forward to it."
It was unclear if he meant an election opponent.
Attorney General Ken Paxton's spokesman did not return calls and emails requesting comment. Then, on July 26, he released a statement to other media outlets that Paxton "will communicate directly with the voters." His spokesman did not specify whether this was a wholesale rejection of his opponent's calls for a debate.
Paxton refused to meet his challenger in 2014. His opponent this time around is Justin Nelson, a Houston attorney. On Wednesday, the Nelson campaign released a video featuring a clip of Paxton's November appearance where he says he'd be "happy to debate anybody."
"Sounds good, Ken," the ad says. "Ready when you are."


Question: What was the period between WWI and WWII known as?

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 What was the period between WWI and WWII known as?

Sometimes dubbed the Golden Age of Aviation, the period in the history of aviation between the end of World War I (1918) and the beginning of World War II (1939) was characterised by a progressive change from the slow wood-and-fabric biplanes of World War I to fast, streamlined metal monoplanes, creating a revolution in both commercial and military aviation. By the outbreak of World War II in 1939 the biplane was all but obsolete. This revolution was made possible by the continuing development of lightweight aero engines of increasing power. The jet engine also began development during the 1930s but would not see operational use until later.


Question: What can you tell me about the Pottlitzer House?

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 What can you tell me about the Pottlitzer House?

The Pottlitzer House at 801 Brown St. is in the historic Centennial Neighborhood in Lafayette, Indiana. This Pottlitzer house was constructed in 1893 by Leo and Minnie Pottlitzer. It is a mixture of Colonial Revival, Chateau and Queen Anne styles. When constructed it cost $9000, about $260,000 in today's value. The finials and oversized gables with low relief sculptures are indicative of the eclectic style popular in the late 19th century. The most notable feature, the tall spires on the roof, are the only known extant residential example of this style in Lafayette. The Pottlitzer House caught on fire in early 2015, severely damaging the rear of the structure.


Question: "Will Obama campaign for Pureval?"

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 "Will Obama campaign for Pureval?"

Cincinnati's Aftab Pureval continues to raise money like no other Democrat ever has in a race for Ohio's 1st Congressional District seat.
Cincinnati's Aftab Pureval continues to raise money like no other Democrat ever has in a campaign for Ohio's 1st Congressional District seat.
Pureval raised $885,000 in the second quarter, and now has more than $1 million in the bank, his campaign manager Sarah Topy told Politics Extra on Tuesday.
That topped Pureval's first-quarter total of $660,000, a figure his campaign said at the time was an eight-week record for anyone running against long-time incumbent Steve Chabot.
The Westwood Republican plans to release his second quarter fundraising totals next week, Chabot campaign spokesman Cody Rizzuto said.
Pureval's campaign did not release details about specific donations in the second quarter, information the Federal Election Commission will make public on July 31. But Pureval's team continues to tout that most of his donations have come from the region.
"We've had thousands of grassroots donations from right here in Southwest Ohio because people are ready to change Washington, and they know that Aftab will deliver that change," Topy said in a statement. "He's made promises and kept those promises. Our campaign is powered by Ohio families, and we're excited for the momentum to continue."
Pureval, elected Hamilton County clerk of courts in 2016, has been able to build up his war chest while outside Democratic organizations pour money into the region. Two organizations, neither of which are affiliated with Pureval's campaign, have been targeting Chabot on health care. It's an issue Pureval also has aggressively pushed in his campaign.
Chabot, who seeks a 12th term, has been aligned with President Trump's agenda to repeal so-called Obamacare. Democrats hope to use that against Chabot, particularly with suburban women across a district that spans western and northern Hamilton County and all of Warren County.
Ohioans for Economic Opportunity has been hammering Chabot on his opposition to the Affordable Care Act, focusing on the fact people with pre-existing conditions could lose their health care if the law is repealed. The dark money group is scheduled to launch a $252,200 television ad on Thursday, said CEO Cliff Schecter, a national political strategist who lives in Hyde Park.
The group has spent $500,000 on TV and radio ads attacking Chabot since launching in May.
Separately, a Washington-based super PAC designed to help Democrats flip the House launched a $3 million ad campaign attacking Republicans in 12 districts on health care. Chabot's was among those targeted by the House Majority PAC, according to Politico.
First, it is important to note that this entire deceptive attack is about protecting Obamacare, which has been a disaster for this country. Consumers are paying far more for health care and getting far less for their money. Congressman Chabot believes that the American people deserve better than Obamacare, and he has voted to replace it with reforms that actually help working families by making health care more affordable.
But, there are a lot of special interests in Washington who benefit financially from Obamacare, while American families suffer its consequences. These shadowy special interests desperately want to protect their golden goose, and so they are spending millions of dollars around the country to elect politicians like Aftab Pureval, who will do their bidding.
These groups know the truth that Obamacare isn't the reform we were promised, and so they rely on lies, deceptive tactics and outrageous claims. It's nothing new really, as Obamacare proponents have been using these tactics since before the law was even passed. Remember: "If you like your health care plan, you can keep it," or how about: "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what's in it." The lies spewed in this latest ad are just more of the same.
• Will Obama campaign for Pureval?


Question: Do you know anything about the crime rate in Phoenix?

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 Do you know anything about the crime rate in Phoenix?

Crime in Phoenix has been declining since the 1990s.


Question: Explain the story of Susan and her cancelled wedding.

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 Explain the story of Susan and her cancelled wedding.

Susan is a woman who grew up on a farm and met the guy of her dreams when she was just 14 years old. At 18, they got engaged and shortly after had a child together.
To celebrate their love, she wanted a blowout fairy tale wedding on the tropical island of Aruba, north of the coast of Venezuela. But the lavish affair came up to $60,000 (£47,000).
Naturally, she asked all the guests to donate $1,500 (£1,150) each.
Understandably, majority of the guests refused and her relationship with all of them, as well as the one she had with her fiancé, quickly deteriorated.
The wedding was called off.
Anyway, Susan is now planning to go backpacking around South America and doesn’t give two hoots about the ‘c*nts’ and ‘snakes’ who ruined her wedding.
In an epic Facebook post which has now gone viral, the jilted bride explained how everything fell apart.
‘So our request for $1,500 from all other guests was not out of the f*cking ordinary,’ she said.
‘Like we made it clear. If you couldn’t contribute, you couldn’t make it to our exclusive wedding. It’s a once and [sic] a lifetime party.
As convincing as her pleas were, people didn’t quite warm to the idea of giving away a load of dosh. So she set up a Go Fund Me page to secure fundraising, but that also fell through.
Though she initially had some backing from her future husband’s family and her best friend, they eventually dropped out.
‘Suddenly more people backed out. Including the c*nt made of honour [sic]. My best friend since childhood. My family.
Susan’s partner still wanted to get married despite not being able to afford the grand wedding they had envisioned, so he suggested eloping to Las Vegas.
‘I laughed in his face but he was dead serious,’ she said.
‘My ex left the room and didn’t apologise for his horrid suggestion. I then called my maid of honour and cried my eyes out.
‘Instead of sympathy, I was told I was asking for way too much and I should stick to my budget.
Susan’s bridesmaids and maid of honour then asked for their money back but she refused to hand over the cash until she was compensated for her emotional distress.
We’re not sure where Susan is now, but she’s probably not missing her ex, her family, friends, or best friend.


Question: Describe the charges against Maria Butina.

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 Describe the charges against Maria Butina.

A Russian national accused of secretly conspiring against the U.S. by infiltrating political organizations, including the National Rifle Association, was indicted Tuesday by a grand jury.
WASHINGTON – A 29-year-old Russian national accused of secretly conspiring against the U.S. by infiltrating political organizations, including the National Rifle Association, was indicted Tuesday by a grand jury.
The grand jury indictment expands on the charges unsealed Monday against Maria Butina, also spelt Mariia, who federal prosecutors say was working on behalf of Russia since at least 2015. She faces charges of conspiracy and acting as an agent of a foreign government and is expected to appear in court Wednesday.
The charges are separate from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
The indictment released Tuesday by a federal grand jury details Butina entering the U.S. in 2016 on a student visa, on which she declared she'd formerly worked for a Russian official, who isn't named in the document.
Alexander Torshin, a Russian politician and a top official of Russia's central bank, has been the subject of several media reports about his attempts to cultivate political influence in the U.S. He isn't named in the indictment but the "Russian official" described as Butina's co-conspirator matches Torshin's public profile as a former member of the Russian legislature who later became a top official at the Russian bank.
Butina told U.S. officials when entering the country that she ended her employment for the official – but instead, they say, she used back channels, including talking over Twitter and email, to continue her work for the official and plan how to infiltrate American politics.
Prosecutors allege Butina would send reports, seek direction and receive orders from the Russian official during the plot, including sending a report where she guided the official on ways to start a dialogue with U.S. politicians.
Butina's attorney, Robert Driscoll, denied the government's claim of her work as an agent of the Russian government. Since her home was searched by the FBI in April, Driscoll said Butina has "repeatedly" offered to cooperate with federal investigators.
"The substance of the charge ... is overblown," Driscoll said.


Question: What happened at Bay Pines VA Healthcare System?

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 What happened at Bay Pines VA Healthcare System?

The deceased was left in a shower room for hours, a mistake staff later tried to hide.
SEMINOLE — Staff members at the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System left the body of a veteran in a shower room for more than nine hours then tried to cover up the mistake, a hospital investigation shows.
A report of the investigation's findings provides no information about the veteran, who died in February at the hospice unit of the Bay Pines center, 10000 Bay Pines Blvd.
Some hospice staff violated hospital and Veterans Affairs policies by "failing to provide appropriate post-mortem care," including proper transportation of a body to the morgue, according to the report by the hospital's Administrative Investigation Board.
Bay Pines ordered retraining and a change in procedures as a result of the incident, and "appropriate personnel action was taken," said hospital spokesman Jason Dangel.
"We view this finding as unacceptable," Dangel said.
He declined to elaborate on whether workers were fired or disciplined, citing employee confidentiality rules.
Leaving the body unattended for so long subjected it to an "increased risk of decomposition," according to the hospital report.
Once the veteran died, hospice staff members made direct verbal requests to an individual described as the transporter for the body to be moved to the morgue. The transporter told them to follow proper procedures instead by contacting dispatchers. That request was never made, so those responsible for taking away the body never showed up.
At first, the body was moved to a hallway in the hospice, then to a shower room, where it stayed, unattended, for more than nine hours.
Some hospice staff "demonstrated a lack of concern, attention and respect" for the veteran, the report says.
Once the problem was discovered, efforts to understand how it happened were stalled by failures in oversight and by reports that "falsely documented" the incident, the report says. Staff misrepresented why the problem occurred, attributing it to a communications breakdown that never happened, according to the report.
• Hospice staff failed to check a 24-hour nursing report that would signal whether the death was properly reported and failed to ask personnel involved about the handoff.
• Questioned later by investigators, some responsible for oversight at the hospice blamed a shortage of clerical staff — a claim they later recanted.
• Staff failed to update a nursing service organizational chart, hampering efforts to determine who was in charge.
• The hospice unit lacks a structured plan for educating personnel on best practices.
The 24-page hospital report, issued in April and heavily redacted, was obtained through a request made under the federal Freedom of Information Act. Investigators interviewed more than 30 witnesses.
Dangel, the hospital's spokesman, said changes have been made to address problems uncovered during the investigation.
All hospice staff have "recommitted" to the VA's core values, education and training, as well as proper review of policy and procedures. Hospice nursing professionals were required to sign a form saying they understand and will follow post-mortem care policy and practice. And nursing safety rounds were initiated to ensure ongoing education and oversight in the unit.
"We feel that we have taken strong, appropriate and expeditious steps to strengthen and improve our existing systems and processes within the unit," Dangel said. "It is our expectation that each veteran is transported to their final resting place in the timely, respectful and honorable manner. America's heroes deserve nothing less."


Question: What can artificial intelligence do for medicine?

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 What can artificial intelligence do for medicine?

Sure, artificial intelligence might end up being the downfall of humanity as we know it — that is, if Elon Musk’s fears come to fruition — but for the time being it’s actually quite useful. A new research effort by an international team of scientists reveals that machine-learning algorithms can be a powerful tool for medicine. The group, which published its work in the journal Nature, managed to create and train an AI to successfully identify different types of brain tumors with impressive accuracy.
In order to identify between different types of brain cancer, the team needed some criteria the computer could use to differentiate between them. With over 100 types of brain tumors already in the medical record, the process of identification can be tricky even for human doctors. The researchers used a DNA process called methylation as a sort of biological fingerprint and taught the AI to tell the difference between which of those fingerprints match specific cancer types.
Like all machine-learning algorithms, the AI needed a base of knowledge from which to draw comparisons. The team fed the computer the data of 2,800 cancer patients as a starting point, allowing it to identify an impress 91 different types of tumors. Then, they asked the computer to identify the type of tumor in over 1,000 known samples and found that the AI’s judgement didn’t match up with the human diagnosis in a number of cases.
As it turns out, the computer wasn’t incorrect in its identification; human doctors had misdiagnosed roughly 12 percent of the previously studied samples and the AI was correct. The impressive accuracy of the system makes it a powerful tool for the medical community and, believe it or not, the researchers are actually interested more in helping people than cashing in on their creation. To that end, they’ve put the entire system online for free, and it’s already been used nearly 5,000 times for cancer identification.


Question: Have you heard about the effort to save the red squirrels in the UK?

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 Have you heard about the effort to save the red squirrels in the UK?

An army of 5,000 volunteers is being sought to save the red squirrel from extinction in the UK by monitoring populations, educating children – and killing grey squirrels.
The Wildlife Trusts’ biggest-ever recruitment drive is focused on areas of northern England, north Wales and Northern Ireland where invasive grey squirrels first introduced by the Victorians are driving the retreating red squirrel population to extinction.
More than 2.5 million grey squirrels are continuing to spread north through England and into Scotland, out-competing the 140,000 remaining red squirrels and spreading the squirrelpox virus, which does not affect greys but rapidly kills reds.
Volunteers for Red Squirrel United will be asked to monitor red squirrel strongholds in Northumberland, Merseyside, Wales and Northern Ireland, and report any grey squirrels entering these areas. Volunteers will set up camera traps to film squirrel behaviour and teach the public and school children about the way in which greys have rapidly driven the reds to extinction across southern Britain since 1945.
Supported by Heritage Lottery and EU Life funding, volunteers can also undertake training to trap and kill grey squirrels, which are caught in a cage-trap, put in a bag and knocked over the head.
Culling is controversial but scientific monitoring shows that reds swiftly recolonise areas cleared of greys. There were fewer than 40 red squirrels left on Anglesey in 1997 but a successful drive to eradicate all grey squirrels on the island by 2015 has seen the red squirrel population bounce back to 700 today.
Julie Bailey, who lives in Cumbria’s Eden Valley, used to watch dozens of red squirrels at her garden feeders. A grey squirrel arrived in Christmas 2009 and within a month all her reds had died of squirrelpox virus. “It was absolutely devastating,” she said.
She began volunteering for local red squirrel groups – there are 14 such community groups in Cumbria alone – recording red squirrels, and trapping and shooting greys.
“Pulling the trigger on grey squirrels was difficult if I’m honest because I’d never actually killed anything like that before,” said Bailey. “But because we’ve been culling the greys we’ve managed to get the reds back and they are still hanging on.” Despite three outbreaks of squirrelpox, Bailey now has six to eight red squirrels in her neighbourhood.
“It is a winnable war but not without boots on the ground,” she added. “We have some fantastic conservation projects but if we haven’t got someone sitting under that tree or checking that trap we’re at a loss.
• This article was amended on 8 March 2017 to clarify that the extinction threat to red squirrels is only to populations within the UK. An earlier version also referred to “bludgeoning grey squirrels to death”, which perhaps overstated the recommended method for dispatching them, in accordance with animal welfare guidelines: to hit them once on the head.


Question: Describe the 2018-2019 Mount Pleasant Football Academy season. Respond briefly.

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 Describe the 2018-2019 Mount Pleasant Football Academy season. Respond briefly.

The 2018–2019 Mount Pleasant Football Academy season is the 3rd season in the club's history and 1st season in the top flight football in Jamaica, the Red Stripe Premier League, having been promoted from the Eastern Confederation Super League in the previous season. The season covers a period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.


Question: Could you explain the effect of marginal tax rates on low-income workers? Respond in 28 sentences.

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 Could you explain the effect of marginal tax rates on low-income workers? Respond in 28 sentences.

First, a quick primer on marginal rates for non-tax readers. Last week, I pointed out that one could institute a UBI and keep “effective” tax rates the same for middle-income taxpayers. The effective (or “average”) tax rate is just the percentage of income you pay in tax. If you earn $100,000 and pay $6,000 in tax, your effective tax rate is 6%. Easy. The “marginal” tax rate, on the other hand, is the amount of tax you pay on the last dollar you earn. We sometimes call it your tax “bracket.” As I pointed out last week, a person in the fourth quintile of income, on average, has an effective income tax rate of about 6%. But, most people in that quintile are likely to be in the 25% tax bracket, and so (with a bunch of caveats described below) have a marginal tax rate of 25%. Standard economic theory tells us that the incentive to earn money or not depends not on one’s effective tax rate, but on one’s marginal tax rate. So, people who have a marginal tax rate of 25%, at least theoretically, have their incentive to work reduced a little (obviously, the fact that they get to keep 75% of their marginal dollar continues to provide a substantial incentive to work). Again, at least theoretically, there is no way to tax income without reducing, at least somewhat, the incentives to work. There is tremendous empirical uncertainty about how much disincentive is created by various levels of taxation at various levels of income (and I am resisting a thousand parenthetical caveats), but the fundamental tenet of standard economic theory – that higher marginal rates create a greater disincentive to work than lower rates – is pretty well accepted. And that idea has pretty strong intuitive appeal, at least when rates get high.
state and receiving a federal housing subsidy.
It starts out pretty well, with a negative marginal rate, meaning that for every dollar the parent earns, the government gives them almost seven cents. That negative marginal rate is because of the earned-income tax credit, which provides a wage subsidy for low-income workers. But as soon as the parent earns more than $1,550 for the year, they’re hit with a pretty high marginal rate. It peaks for income between $12,850 and $14,350, in which range the parent is subject to an effective marginal tax rate of 109 percent. 109 percent. That means for every dollar that the parent earns, they lose a dollar and nine cents from the government. Economists can debate whether small increases in marginal rates may or may not have an adverse effect on labor participation, but it is hard to imagine that one would have much incentive to get up in the morning and slog to a low-paying job if the result is that for every dollar you earn, your family loses that whole dollar plus nine additional cents.
But, of course, as I discussed last week, to pay for a UBI, you have to tax income, and if you want to match the effective tax rates of middle income taxpayers, you need to increase marginal tax rates to tax back the UBI grant. Last week I suggested that you could do it with two tax rates, 15% and 40%. If the 15% rate applied on the first dollar earned, then some taxpayers who currently pay at a zero rate (because of the personal exemption and standard deduction) or a 10% rate (because that’s the lowest bracket) would have a nominally higher marginal rate under this UBI, even if they pay less taxes overall (or even end up with extra money in their pockets). But, to the extent that some taxpayers are paying very high marginal tax rates under current law because of the phase-out of means-tested benefits, these new marginal tax rates, even if nominally higher than under the current tax code, would still be much lower than current effective marginal rates. And, most importantly, to the degree that the UBI replaces means-tested government benefits, the marginal rates are lower for low and middle-income workers, standardized, transparent, and steadily progressive. Those all sound like good things, right?
 There are some caveats about this chart: first it assumes that the family receives a housing subsidy, which almost no one does; second, the article is almost twenty years old, and so the specifics have changed; third, I can’t even begin to talk about “notch losses,” which are even crazier than a 109% marginal rate.


Question: Respond in 3 sentences. Describe the work of W.O. Mitchell.

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 Respond in 3 sentences. Describe the work of W.O. Mitchell.

William Ormond Mitchell, better known as W. O. Mitchell (March 13, 1914 – February 25, 1998) was a Canadian writer and broadcaster. His "best-loved" novel is "Who Has Seen the Wind" (1947), which portrays life on the Canadian Prairies and sold almost a million copies in Canada. As a broadcaster, he is known for his radio series Jake and the Kid, which aired on CBC Radio between 1950 and 1956 and was also about life on the Prairies.


Question: What can citizens do to restore broadband privacy rights in California?

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 What can citizens do to restore broadband privacy rights in California?

What do they do when they can’t win the vote? Try to Stop a Vote.
Right now, politicians in Sacramento are holding up a bill that would restore your broadband privacy rights and directly reject Congress and the Trump Administration’s decision to side with Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon.
It is in fact the first bill ready to be enacted into California law that would be a direct response the latest string of efforts in Washington DC to curb consumer protections in broadband access. A.B. 375 (Chau) would ensure your broadband provider must secure your permission first before selling your personal information to third parties.
However, it has been stalled in the Senate Rules Committee – likely due to opposition from major cable and telephone companies. If they are successful at keeping the bill stalled until July 18th, then the bill is dead for the rest of this year.
They can’t win at the vote given the overwhelming public opposition to repealing our privacy rights in the first place, which is why this is their strategy.
In California, bills must make it past certain policy committees by specific deadlines, or they are dead for the year. But before a bill can be heard in any policy committee, it must be referred out by the Rules Committee in a fairly routine matter of deciding which committees should review and vote on the bill before presentation to the full Assembly and Senate.
Two weeks ago, AB375 became eligible to be referred out of the Senate Rules Committee. Assuming normal procedures, advocates expected to testify in support of the bill at a July 3rd hearing. However, the legislation has been mysteriously absent from consideration on the Rules Committee agenda. Two weeks have passed, the Senate Rules Committee has met twice, yet A.B. 375 has not been placed on the agenda, debated, or referred out to any policy committee.
Unless Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de Leon, who leads the Senate - and chairs the Rule Committee - decides to ignore the pleas of Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon and, instead, follows normal procedural rules and moves the bill forward so it can receive a vote, the telecom lobby will win in arguably the worst way possible - by simply denying your elected representatives from even voting at all.
California is the 20th state to engage in restoring our broadband privacy rights, but it could be the first state to officially make it law by this year. A vast majority of conservative, liberal, and independent voters opposed Congress repealing our broadband privacy rights and naturally they demanded action. Several print publications in California have written positive reviews about AB 375. And the legislation itself has been thoroughly vetted and is ready for enactment.
We have until July 18th to push AB 375 to the finish line. Pick up the phone ASAP and make your voice heard!


Question: Describe how national leaders should respond during a time of crisis.

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 Describe how national leaders should respond during a time of crisis.

Now we have seen enough horror and atrocity to recognise what comes after: the bewilderment, the shock and anguish – and then, in the cold light of day, the attempt to make sense of the senseless by way of context and community leadership.
By this morning, Manchester’s leaders and community figures were seeking to react, grasping for the right pitch and tone. Andy Burnham, the newly elected mayor of Greater Manchester, spoke well – as did local commentator Mohammed Shafiq, mindful of the need for a Muslim voice to be heard in condemnation.
But on these occasions, location is usually incidental. They meet the very definition of terrorism: acts of brutality leveraged to achieve a much larger degree of national hurt and international anxiety. They call upon national leaders to display the requisite degree of national leadership. But we have yet to see that.
We have seen what we always see. The home secretary, Amber Rudd, rightly praised “the great city of Manchester”, and condemned the atrocity. “Its intention was to sow fear – its intention is to divide. But it will not succeed,” she said. The prime minister also spoke outside Downing Street of the “appalling, sickening cowardice” of the attackers, the spirit of Manchester, and the spirit of Britain, which had never been broken despite “years of conflict and terrorism”.
Both sought to be robust, and yet both fell short. Because we know that after the shock and the anger – in the face of pleas for unity – comes the search for scapegoats, which makes that unity so much harder to achieve.
Before the cries had died down, or any facts come to light, with the injured still being treated and with desperate families still looking for their loved ones, the ghoulish process was begun, by the columnist and broadcaster Katie Hopkins: a figure who masquerades as a journalist but whose commercial USP is the public peddling of indecency to her own pecuniary advantage.
Facing immediate condemnation, she modified the intervention, exchanging “final solution”, with its associations to the Holocaust, to “true solution”. But by then the object had been achieved; Hopkins had, by pushing the envelope as far as she could, without care for the consequences, inserted herself into the debate.
Ignore Hopkins, many say. Sometimes that seems the wisest course – for free speech, even recklessly divisive free speech, is a prerequisite in a free society. But some speech is so inflammatory and societally divisive that we enact laws to prevent it.
Public exhortations for an apparent “final solution” and urging “western men” to protect their families seem to fall into that category. Critics have reported Hopkins to the police, calling on them to investigate her for a possible criminal offence. Officers should do so.
For, again, we know what happens next. It starts with the likes of Hopkins saying what should be legally and decently unsayable, and further down the same rutted path we encounter the Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson with her own tweeted observation that “we need internment of thousands of terror suspects now to protect our children”.
And we know what happens after that, when those who hold the megaphone use it to drive anger to higher heights and to inflame tensions. We saw it after the highly toxic referendum campaign, when the number of hate crimes leapt by 41%, according to the Home Office. It begins with those who abuse their licence in a free society to make deliberately incendiary comments; it ends in fractured, fearful communities and cracked heads.
It is the job of the home secretary, the prime minister and the police to protect those societies. If our communities are largely harmonious, that is in part because people of goodwill, of many colours, of many origins, strive to make them so. But it is also because the rule of law provides a framework. It is absolutely the job of the prime minister and the home secretary to speak of the kindness and public spiritedness that manifests itself in terrible times such as this – and both did so well – but it is also their job to make it clear that the unity we hold dear stems from the rule of law.
There is a leadership that says we will all pull together, because we always do. But just once I’d like to see that allied to leadership that also says: we understand this is a time of great tension; we know that there are opportunities for those of malign intent to exacerbate those tensions – for political gain, for notoriety, or financial enrichment; and we need them to be aware that the wider society we represent will not tolerate it.
Such leadership says this is not open season. There will be no intellectual equivalent of looting amid the devastation. Society will protect the vulnerable. The rule of law will apply. Those who breach it in word or deed render themselves liable to prosecution.
There is all-pervasive incivility in this angry age of illiberalism and social media – that, as democrats, we have to stomach. There are those who would attack us with bombs and knives. We expect nothing from them but nihilism and brutality. But a society undermined from within at a time of crisis needs champions unequivocally prepared to protect it. We elect and employ such people. It is their job, and they should leave no doubt that they will do it.
After Kelvin MacKenzie’s new outrage, has the right abandoned all decency?


Question: Describe the content in Rocket League's second birthday update.

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 Describe the content in Rocket League's second birthday update.

Celebrate Rocket League's second birthday in style with our latest update! Bask in the electrified glow of Rocket League competition with the new stadium, ‘Champions Field.’ This standard, modern-looking arena evokes a true sense of celebration. Look for ‘Champions Field’ in Competitive, Casual, and Private matches.
We teamed up with the EDM label Monstercat for our Rocket League Radio initiative! Check out 18 new songs written just for the game!
Try to collect all six new rewards on your platform of choice!
Equip a Very Rare Item and complete a game in an Arena with turbulent weather.
We’ve revamped all existing engine sounds in-game and dropped in new engines for Battle-Cars that previously didn’t have unique sounds.


Question: Explain why the UK is exporting waste and discussing the potential risks and benefits of these actions. Respond in 48 sentences.

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 Explain why the UK is exporting waste and discussing the potential risks and benefits of these actions. Respond in 48 sentences.

If waste is such a valuable resource, why is UK exporting so much of it?
British exporters are facing some worrying headwinds. The value of the pound is riding high and the engines of economic recovery in the Eurozone (the UK's main export market) are yet to start firing.
But there's a bright spark on the horizon and it's rubbish – literally. An estimated 887,465 tonnes of waste-derived fuel – is now sold overseas (pdf), up from zero tonnes six years ago. Likewise, the export of recovered plastics experienced a nine-fold increase in the decade up to 2011. Millions of tonnes of paper, metals and other UK recyclate (pdf) are finding their way to international markets as well, with China taking the lion's share.
Speaking at a conference organised earlier this month by the all-party Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group (APSRG), Dan Rogerson MP stressed how waste now enjoys the status of a resource. "And, as with any resource, trade with other countries is important and makes a meaningful contribution to the UK economy."
Take scrap metal. According to the British Metals and Recycling Association (BMRA), UK recyclers exported around 13m tonnes of reprocessed metal in 2011/2012, contributing £3.7bn to the UK's balance of trade (pdf).
"Our members are exporting to over one hundred countries around the world. It's an astonishing feat really given that in the 1970s and 1980s we were a net importer", said Ian Hetherington, BMRA's director general.
Rogerson, who serves as UK parliamentary under secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, also highlighted the strong environmental benefits of the UK's burgeoning waste exports. "They divert waste from landfill here and they reduce greenhouse gas emissions", he noted, referencing in particular the renewable energy benefits of waste-derived fuel, which is increasingly used as an alternative feedstock to coal in power generation.
A report released by the APSRG late last year, entitled Exporting Opportunity? (pdf), makes a range of recommendations for boosting UK waste exports. The list centres primarily on improvements in quality – a move partly inspired by a crackdown in China on contaminated waste imports into the country. Stricter penalties for illegal operators and improved inspection of waste shipments also feature.
A range of factors explains the sudden surge in UK waste exports. Demand is obviously central. Recycled metals, which retain their essential properties when reprocessed and are often cheaper than virgin metals. Heavy investment in recycling facilities in Asia over recent years has spawned demand for UK recycled materials such as paper, glass and plastic. Similarly, the proliferation of so-called "energy from waste" plants – power-generating incinerators – in northern Europe has led to a spike in demand for waste to burn as fuel.
There are other reasons too. Over-supply is one. UK waste exports are, to an extent, evidence of the success of domestic recycling. Over two-fifths (43.2%) of all waste was recycled in England in 2012/2013, up from 12% in 2001.
Reprocessing capacity has failed to keep pace, however, leading to a growing waste surplus. Regulation has played its part too. The Landfill Tax, introduced in 1996, often makes it cheaper to export waste than dump it in landfill. Exports help the waste management sector meet ambitious new recovery and recycling targets as well.
Churlish though it may sound, the UK's successful waste export story isn't without its cause for concern.
One of the clouds hanging over it is energy security. With increasing domestic energy prices and growing concerns over future energy supply, does it make sense that the UK is sending a source of renewable energy overseas? Rogerson has his doubts: "When such materials are exported, the energy recovered from the waste does not contribute to UK renewable energy targets and is therefore effectively a lost resource."
A related worry centres on resource security more generally. Global population growth and ever increasing consumption is already leading to huge price volatility for metals, food and non-food agricultural output, as a recent report by the Ellen Macarthur Foundation spells out. Rather than exporting our waste, shouldn't we be looking to reuse it ourselves?
Potential fluctuations in the waste export market make such questions all the more pertinent. Asia generates considerable waste of its own. The time will come when its domestic recycling and processing capacity means that demand for waste imports from abroad diminishes.
Likewise, much of the demand for waste-derived fuels stems from lower-than-expected waste supply in countries such as The Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, where energy-for-waste capacity is high. Again, an upturn in economic activity (which generates more waste) or an increase in European recycling rates (especially among eastern European member states subject to the EU Landfill Directive) could flip that scenario.
"Ultimately we believe the refuse derived fuel export market is short to medium-term … we believe that it will increase over the next couple of years and then begin to step away", said Kristian Dales, director of sales at FCC Environment, a UK waste management firm.
Even if demand for waste exports continues unchecked, compelling environmental and resource scarcity reasons exist for the UK to bulk up its own waste industry. That will require coordinated public policies, major capital investment and a general increase in awareness as to the intrinsic value of waste. But if the UK's main export markets can find a productive use for its waste, then surely the UK can too.


Question: What is a booster dose? Respond in 4 sentences.

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 What is a booster dose? Respond in 4 sentences.

In medical terms, a booster dose is an extra administration of a vaccine after an earlier (prime) dose. After initial immunization, a booster injection or booster dose is a re-exposure to the immunizing antigen. It is intended to increase immunity against that antigen back to protective levels, after memory against that antigen has declined through time. For example, tetanus shot boosters are often recommended every 10 years, after which memory cells specific against tetanus have lost their function or undergone apoptosis.


Question: Provide information on the geographical location and description of Sribati. Respond in 2 sentences.

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 Provide information on the geographical location and description of Sribati. Respond in 2 sentences.

Sribati or Sreebati is a village and gram panchayat in Katwa II CD block in the Katwa subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district of West Bengal.
Sribati is located on a slightly raised plateau between the Brahmani River to the north and the Khari River to the south, at an elevation of 18 meters.


Question: "Can you provide more information about Dave Arneson's passing and the arrangements being made to honor him?"

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 "Can you provide more information about Dave Arneson's passing and the arrangements being made to honor him?"

Shortly after 11pm on Tuesday, April 7th, Dave Arneson passed away. He was comfortable and with family at the time and his passing was peaceful.
The Arneson family would like to thank everyone for their support over the last few days, and for the support the entire community has shown Dave over the years.
We are in the process of making final arrangements and will provide additional details as we work them out. We will continue to receive cards and letters in Dave's honor. We are planning to hold a public visitation so that anyone wishing to say their goodbye in person has the opportunity to do so.
Farewell, Mr Arneson; you will be missed. I hope that, at the very least, yesterday's outpouring of affection for you and your contributions to our hobby cheered you in your final hours. You were one of a kind.
D&D had two Walt Disneys, and now they are both gone. He lives on in our games, though.
Did you receive it personally, or did you read it off OD&D Discussion boards? Just want to make sure I get it straight, in case I want to contact the Arneson family.
I received an email directly from Dave's son-in-law, who asked me to pass on the news via my blog.
Thanks for your gift to the world, Dave.
This makes me terribly sad. I'm a huge Arneson fan. I even based one of the characters in my D&D webseries on him. As I wrote in my own blog post, having both EGG and Dave gone makes me feel old and sad.
M. A. R. Barker's irascible "Captain Harchar" was Dave Arneson's Tekumel character.
Thank you for passing this along James.
Rest in peace, Dave. Whatever difference you and Gary may have had in the past, I'm sure he's saved you a great place in the big gaming table in the sky.
Cheers to Dave Arenson! What a tremendous legacy to have left behind to the world.
My only regret is that he and Gygax never got together to make a memoir on the genesis of D&D and stories about truly Old School adventuring. (However unlikely that collaboration would have been in reality.) What a great read that would have been.
James, it is good that you and your blog are here for thoughtful reflection on days like this.
I'll tip a pint to the man. He was indeed an influence in all our lives and as such, shall live on in each roll of the dice.
Thank you James for being the bearer of this difficult news. But to be truthful, I can't think of a more suitable spokesman.
We lose yet another of the creators of the hobby. I wish his family the best in this time.
My thoughts are with his family at this time. He was an amazing man who created something wonderful.
So sad to hear it - have, like I'm sure all here - enjoyed many, many years of a thoroughly great hobby thanks in part to this man.
We'll be having a minute of silence to commemorate his work before our weekly game this Friday.
My D&D group played a session that same evening that culminated in an entire floating city plummeting to its demise. I can only hope that's a big enough send-off for Dave.
I had Dave for an instructor at Full Sail in 2003. I learned more from him in three weeks than I can even begin to describe. He once hit me with a 10-pound d20 when I nodded off in his 8am class. I've still not forgiven myself for it.
Last August, I met him again and told him what I've done with myself. True to his word, he came to visit our booth, with a GenCon employee pushing his wheelchair, and took approximately 15 minutes out of the final GenCon he would ever witness to let me demonstrate to him the video game one of his students created.
Alas, he'll never write the review he promised, as I somehow knew that day he wouldn't, but I will continue to brag, likely for the rest of my life, that the grand master of all games bestowed upon my work this simple compliment: "It looks cool."
Godspeed, Dave. Wherever you are now, may all your rolls be 20s. There's a lot of us right now who would gladly use a Wish to have you back.
I have the 3 booklets that bear the name Gygax & Arneson that changed my life.
Thanks, Dave.. you enriched my life.
Sad news :( Thanks for all you created Dave. Thanks for sharing your beautiful and inspiring imagination with the rest of us.
Thank you Dave Arnson, so much, for all the joy you and Gary Gygax brought to us.
Theres a tomb in my public modul to honor you both.
You'll be unforgotten forever in my heart.
I grew up playing the Game, and actually played Chainmail in the beginning, so I would really loved the chance to meet Dave.
He took a good thing, and helped make it better.
His influence will be felt for many years to come, through gaming.
My condolences to his family, and my regrets at the passing of a titanic soul.
Will this be updated with the proper time for the visitation as soon it has been decided? Thank you for posting, may the man rest in peace.
There's a post from yesterday (April 13) that lists the location and time of the visitation.
Thanks for this nice info, it's so useful for me.
topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful and beneficial to your readers.


Question: Describe the record label Hefty Records. Respond in 2 sentences.

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 Describe the record label Hefty Records. Respond in 2 sentences.

Hefty Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois (United States). Founded in 1995 by John Hughes III, the label releases records in a range of genres that include post-rock, IDM, down-tempo, nu jazz, experimental music, and hip-hop.


Question: Respond in detail. Describe Talisman Energy's decision to leave Block 64 in the Peruvian Amazon and the implications of that decision.

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 Respond in detail. Describe Talisman Energy's decision to leave Block 64 in the Peruvian Amazon and the implications of that decision.

Calgary, Canada – Today Talisman Energy (TLM) announced its decision to cease oil exploration activities in the Peruvian Amazon and to exit the country upon completion of ongoing commercial transactions.
"We have fought long and hard against Talisman's drilling in our territory because of the negative environmental and social impacts we have seen from oil drilling around the world," said Peas Peas Ayui, President of the National Achuar Federation of Peru (FENAP). "Now that Talisman is leaving we can focus on achieving our own vision for development and leave a healthy territory for future generations."
Talisman is the fifth oil company to withdraw from controversial Block 64, located in the heart of indigenous Achuar territory in a remote and bio diverse region of the Amazon rainforest. Talisman has been exploring in Peru since 2004 and has come under increased pressure by human rights groups and shareholders for operating without Achuar consent.
"Talisman has had to face up to what the Achuar told them when they first invested in Block 64: The company cannot drill without the consent of the Achuar people," said Gregor MacLennan, Peru Program Coordinator at Amazon Watch. "Talisman's exit sends a clear message to the oil industry: Trampling indigenous rights in the rush to exploit marginal oil reserves in the Amazon rainforest is not an option."
Despite Talisman's claim of attaining local support from communities and signing good neighbor agreements with 66 communities downriver from their operations, the company never had the consent of the majority of communities living within Block 64. Talisman first invested in Peru one year after leaving Sudan and became sole operator in 2007, shortly after John Manzoni's appointment as CEO. Manzoni was replaced by ex-TransCanada CEO Hans Kvisle on Monday this week.
"We are the owners and the original people of this land," said Peas Ayui. "No outside person or company may enter our territory by force, without consultation and without asking us. We have been fighting against oil development on our land for 17 years and we maintain the same vision to protect our territory and resources for future generations. Let this be a clear message to all oil, mining and logging companies: we will never offer up our natural wealth so that they can extract our resources and contaminate our land."
Block 64 is just one of several new efforts to extract oil from the headwaters of the Amazon in Northern Peru and Southern Ecuador, among the most bio diverse places on earth. Anglo-French company Perenco was recently awarded a production license to operate in Block 67 in Peru despite a legal case against them for drilling in isolated peoples' territory. ConocoPhilliips has faced mass protests in Iquitos, Peru over plans to drill wells in a protected area in the Nanay river basin east of Block 64. In Ecuador, the government plans to auction new oil blocks on the Peruvian border despite strong indigenous opposition. The Kichwa community of Sarayaku recently won a case in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights against the Ecuadorian government for signing an oil contract without their consent or consultation.


Question: Describe the implications for the Australian education system that arise from the recent announcement of a funding boost for private schools.

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 Describe the implications for the Australian education system that arise from the recent announcement of a funding boost for private schools.

Emma Rowe is a member of a Deakin University team that receives funding from the Victorian Department of Education to design and facilitate the Victorian Graduate Teacher Conferences 2018-2020.
Last week Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a significant funding boost for private schools. The federal government will provide an extra A$4.6 billion over the next ten years for Catholic and Independent schools exclusively.
The package includes a A$1.2 billion “Choice and Affordability Fund”, with poorly defined priority objectives relating to diversity and access.
This is an historically significant announcement for the state of Australian schools. Since the Howard government, there have been no significant boosts of income, particularly of this size, for private schools exclusively. It comes in the wake of the previous education minister, Simon Birmingham, conceding private schools are “over-funded”.
Morrison began the announcement with a repeated phrase: “our government believes in choice in education” and again, “our government believes parents should have choice in education”.
In his announcement, the Prime Minister claimed that increased funding will better support parents to choose private schools.
When considering the data on private school enrolment since the 1980s, it’s not true increased government subsidies for private schools better supports parents of all socio-economic status backgrounds to choose private schools. So the claim that this funding boost will improve diversity is ill-informed.
Not surprisingly, the National Catholic Education Commission and Independent School Council of Australia have come out in support of the special deal. The Labor Party and the Australian Education Union have criticised the announcement.
This means we will likely see a continued policy focus on private schools if Morrison remains in office, and a renewed focus on the public sector should Labor be elected. Either way, this issue is set to be an election-year political football.
While many advocates of choice policies argue lower-income students also attend private schools, lower income students are the minority in these schools. The public sector educates 36% of students who represent the lowest socio-economic status bracket in Australia. This is contrasted to the Independent sector, which educates 13% of the lowest socio-economic status bracket. The proportion is higher in the Catholic sector, at 21%.
The Independent school sector receives a total of 42% of its net recurrent income from both federal and state government. This equals approximately A$8.2 billion to educate 14% of the population.
In terms of the private sector overall (incorporating both the Independent and Catholic sector) the amount of funding private schools receive annually is approximately A$12.8 billion, according to the 2017 Productivity Commission Report. The extra injection of funding by the Morrison government (A$4.6 billion for both Independent and Catholic), is a sizeable sum on top of this.
Research also tells us this funding boost for private schools will not necessarily result in lower school fees. Even though federal government funding of private schools has consistently increased since the 1990s, parent tuition fees for the majority of private schools have increased.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data indicate education costs are outstripping inflation. From December 2014 to December 2015, the cost of education for consumers increased by 5.5%, compared to general inflation of 1.5%, as measured by the Consumer Price Index.
The federal government has historically been the principle funder of private schools. Historically, state governments are responsible for state (public) schools. But this clear delineation of responsibility has been consistently shifting since the Gillard/Labor government.
The federal government needs to take a more proactive role in protecting and supporting public schools, and the majority of the population who attend them. Though the states are typically responsible for schools funding, the federal government offers greater protection and security of funding for schools, primarily due to vertical fiscal imbalance and the greater resources it can draw upon. State governments are frequently held at ransom by the federal government.
This special funding deal will only further stimulate the private school sector and exacerbate segregation by socio-economic status across school sectors.
The Review to Achieve Education Excellence in Schools calls for a “sector-blind” approach to education reform, an approach that will “enable all students to achieve educational excellence”, regardless of their school sector. This latest announcement contradicts the prior policy papers from this government.
The public school sector caters for our society’s most disadvantaged. This is the school sector we should be actively celebrating and supporting through bold federal government initiatives.


Question: Describe the investigation into the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal.

The user asks a question, and the Assistant answers it. The assistant provides the user with the answer that strictly follows the following guidelines. The answer should be enclosed within <answer> </answer> tags, respectively, i.e., <answer> ANSWER HERE </answer>.
Your answer should follow these rubric criterias:
Factual Accuracy: The answer must be factually correct and does not contradict the reference answer.
Relevance and Completeness: The answer should directly address the specific question, covering all essential aspects.
Clarity and Organization: The answer should be well-structured, coherent, and easy to follow.
Depth and Insight: The answer should provide thoughtful analysis or context, going beyond superficial details.
Conciseness: The answer should avoid unnecessary repetition and be as clear and succinct as possible.

Response Format rules:
- Always start your response with <answer> tag and end with </answer>.
- Do not include any text or commentary before the opening <answer> tag and after the closing </answer> tag.
For example, your response follow this format:
<answer>
[Your final detailed answer goes here]
</answer>
 Describe the investigation into the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal.

A military convoy arrived at Salisbury district hospital and investigators in hazmat suits were seen at the cemetery where Sergei Skripal’s wife was buried as the investigation into the nerve agent attack on the Russian former spy gathered pace.
More than a dozen vehicles were at the hospital as part of an operation to remove a police car from the site in the aftermath of last Sunday’s attack.
Two military lorries arrived at A&E with police escorts, incident response units and an ambulance. Earlier on Friday it was reported that about 180 military personnel had been called in to assist the investigation into the attempted murder of the Russian former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia.
The additional personnel were deployed to remove potentially contaminated evidence. Meanwhile, police were seen at the cemetery where the grave of Skripal’s wife, Liudmila, and a memorial to his son, Alexander, who both died in the last few years, lie in adjacent plots that had been cordoned off earlier in the week.
Police placed a blue forensic tent over the memorial to Alexander at Salisbury’s London Road cemetery. Fire officers in hazmat suits were seen pinning down the tent, while other officers in white suits and gas masks were seen packing items from the cemetery into a yellow barrel.
It had previously been reported that Liudmila died of cancer in 2012 aged 59, while Alexander Skripal died in March last year in St Petersburg, aged 43, in unknown circumstances.
The Metropolitan police said reports that a body had been exhumed on Friday were untrue. It is believed that Yulia Skripal may have visited her brother’s memorial stone on his birthday, 1 March – three days before she and her father were taken ill.
As the investigation entered a new phase, the authorities were still seeking to establish exactly where and when a British police officer was poisoned.
DS Nick Bailey is seriously ill in hospital having visited the home of Skripal after the defector and his daughter were found slumped on a bench in Salisbury, Wiltshire, on Sunday afternoon.
Investigators want to know whether Bailey visited the scene where the two Russians were found and was poisoned there or by items there, or whether the officer was contaminated on his visit to Skripal’s home.
Sources say that, while it is not certain, it is believed more likely that Bailey became contaminated on his visit to the home.
Uncertainty about how and where Sergei and Yulia Skripal were poisoned led to police requesting military assistance on Friday to secure contaminated evidence. It is understood that personnel from the Royal Marines, the RAF and chemical teams were involved in the operation.
The Met police said the units were called in because they had “the necessary capability and expertise” and urged the public not to be alarmed.
Sergei, 66, and Yulia, 33, are comatose in hospital after being found unconscious on a bench in the Maltings shopping centre.
The investigation widened on Thursday as police sealed off the memorials to Liudmila and Alexander, and said 21 people had been treated as a result of the incident.
Bailey was described by Kier Pritchard, Wiltshire’s temporary chief constable, as “a massively dedicated officer”. Pritchard said the detective sergeant was “very anxious, very concerned” but sitting up in bed and talking. Amber Rudd, the home secretary, met Bailey during her visit to Salisbury district hospital on Friday.
The NHS confirmed that the Skripals were in a critical but stable condition, while Bailey was conscious in a serious but stable condition.
Rudd said: “It is still very serious for the two people subject to this outrageous attack. For the police officer, it is still serious but we understand he is conversing and engaging.
Rudd did not reveal further details about the substance, how it was deployed or who used it.
Ian Blair, who was Metropolitan police commissioner when the former spy Alexander Litvinenko was murdered in London, has suggested one line of inquiry is that Skripal may have been exposed to the nerve agent in his own home.
“Clearly what they’re trying to find out at the moment is how was this delivered personally. There obviously are some indications. The officer – I’m very sorry he’s been injured – has actually been to the house, whereas there’s a doctor who looked after the patients in the open who hasn’t been affected at all. There may be some clues floating around in here,” Lord Blair said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Blair said that if the nerve agent was rare, as Rudd has said, then it should be possible to identify where it came from. “If this is rarer than sarin and VX it’s basically possible to identify the laboratory in which it was made. They would be able to establish where it came from – the level of authority is another matter,” he said.
The use of a nerve toxin is seen as a key indicator of possible Kremlin involvement, with such substances usually held only in state military stockpiles.
Moscow has repeatedly denied it had anything to do with the attack, the same line used when Litvinenko was poisoned with radioactive polonium-210 in his cup of tea. A public inquiry a decade later concluded that the Kremlin had ordered the assassination.