9 Feb - Blogs I'm Following II

Darlene and Louise on sacred Western Shoshone land 2006 Censored News is celebrating passing the 3 million mark! Here's one of the first photos from that first grand year of 2006 when Censored News was born. That's when Indian Country Today censored and fired me. It has been a good journey, wouldn't have missed it for anything. Thanks to each of you! Censored News is now in its 8th year with

One of the great political feats of the late 20th Century was the manufacture by billionaires of a right-wing cabal of crackpots-under-contract so unabashedly fascist that anyone sane and still voting would be left with a single alternative, which, of course, is the now-familiar brand of corporate, anti-democratic dramaturgy known as the Democratic Party. It's time for something else, and in the short 18 minute film below, a case is made for it. Watch and learn to think, organize, and act. You might say--the Party's over:

From the massive amount of media coverage lately I am sure you have heard the NYS legislature is debating placing a “moratorium” on consequences from Common Core testing. The discussion revolves around teachers, principals, and schools not being punished for low scores while New York slows down the implementation of the Common Core. Many questions […]

*who is neither cognitive or scientific - or apparently even sane.* Are we surprised he's at UC Berkley?

Would you like some awesome sauce with your Sunday dinner?

*“Crybabies of the 1 Percent: * *The Rich Complain While Getting Away With Everything”* By Paul Campos "More than half a century ago, “West Side Story” satirized the idea that what was then known as juvenile delinquency was a product of poverty and the psychological maladjustments it produced, and that therefore “this boy don’t need a judge, he needs an analyst’s care.” Since then, America has been busy transforming itself into an unabashed plutocracy: while median household income has barely budged since the mid-1960s, the annual income of the top 1 percent has increased by an aver... more »

*Guest post by Stephen Berry* As Affordable Auckland Leader and organiser of the Len Brown Stand Down March, I have now begun a full-time two-week campaign to promote the Len Brown Stand Down March – about which I am heartily encouraged by the feedback of residents and ratepayers around Auckland. Will Ryan and I have been hitting the pavements of Auckland and I attended Sunday’s Big Gay Out. The feedback we have received has been overwhelmingly in favour of Len Brown standing down. Yesterday I pressed the flesh with attendees of the Big Gay out, experiencing first-hand the groun... more »

Just another bite-sized post about Paddy O'Connell's apparent propensity to panic when someone picks on the Labour Party... This morning's *Broadcasting House* saw our Paddy egging on one Conservative MP, Richard Benyon, to attack another Conservative MP Ian Liddell-Grainger (for attacking the Environment Agency's Lord Chris Smith). Paddy let Mr Benyon absolutely slate Mr Liddell-Grainger without demur or interruption, but the second Mr Benyon began criticising the actions of the last Labour government in came that firm yet nervous 'OK' from Paddy that always arrives the instant La... more »

Two years ago I wrote a review of a novel called "Mornings in Jenin" by Palestinian Susan Abulhawa. This past week I had the opportunity to read another novel, "The Almond Tree," by Jewish-American Michelle Cohen Corasanti. Remarkably, although the plots of the two novels are completely different, and of course the authors come from very different backgrounds, the review I wrote for "Mornings in Jenin" (reproduced below) is almost word-for-word applicable to "The Almond Tree." The time period covered by the two novels is slightly different ("The Almond Tree" starts in 1955 and conti... more »

”Never explain. Never apologize. Have it done and let them howl.” - Winston Churchill

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http://www.debka.com/article/23664/Russian-anti-terror-drive-around-Sochi-leaves-10-dead-Female-suicide-suspects-detained-in-W-Europe- Russian special forces are engaged in a relentless offensive to pin down known Islamist terrorists on their home ground or hideouts in Dagestan, Chechnya, Kirgizstan and Kabardino Balkaria, casting a wide safety net around the Winter Olympic Games which opened in Sochi Friday, Feb. 7. DEBKA file’s counter-terror sources report this safety net has been spread across three European countries. In the last few days, seven armed jihadis were killed in Rus... more »

The civil war in Syria is an ongoing tragedy which the world needs to pay attention to. The killing and brutality continues, there are more Syrian refugees in Jordan than the entire population of Jordan. *An aid convoy has come under attack in the besieged Syrian city of Homs, threatening a UN-led operation to bring food and medicine to 2,500 people and evacuate civilians trapped by fighting between rebels and government forces.Saturday's violence threatens to unravel a humanitarian deal for Homs which was the first concrete result of talks launched two weeks ago in the Swiss ci... more »

This can happen anywhere. Very scary with all the fossil fuels being transported by rail, trucks and pipes.

Sunday.... The week after the great American diversion away from all the troubles that ail them called the Super Bowl, and time again for my usual rant... It is remarkable even here in Canada that everyone ignores all the troubles and real crisis facing the world, and all I heard all last week was..."So what do you think about the Super Bowl"? Honestly, for the longest time I have always seen professional sports as a terrible past time for our society, considering that most if not all of the professional teams are owned or the majority of the shares in the team are controlled by J... more »

I’ve attempted some very minimal coding. Some people are really geeking out over it, thinking that teaching young persons to code is going to heal the world, or something. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an interesting idea. The practical realities of these initiatives, however, seem to elude many advocates. Nevertheless, the Year of Code overseas […]

*State Democrats back levee board suits ~Mark Ballard, Advocate* *Social media helping Comic Con to grow ~Meg Gatto, WVUE * *King Cake Festival!!!* *Acadiana Mardi Gras means money spent and money earned ~Jessica Goff, Daily Advertiser* *Celebrating 'Uncle Lionel' Batiste's Birthday ~Big Red Cotton, Gambit*

It was a small, spur of the moment thing. The gutless coward stephen harper doesn't let people know his itinerary until the last minute, but CUPW keeps track and organizes protests wherever he is, just as a point of principle. You know what? We should do to the corporations what the harpercons do to the unions. Especially those greedy, selfish assholes smashing their freight trains all across the country. And the meat packers too cheap to worry about basic hygiene. And the banks stiffing us all and then forcing their own employees to train their overseas replacements. And the Bay St... more »

During the coming negotiation rounds between DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson and the Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) President, Elizabeth “Liz” Davis, the following issues need further elaboration: How has IMPACT 2.0 faired in the 40 lowest performing schools? What is the teacher turnover rate within these schools, especially for Group 1 teachers? Is the current classroom observations’ […]

Saturday, February 8, 2014 *Activist Post* Yesterday, the New Hampshire house approved a bill which deems federal indefinite detention powers unconstitutional, and bans “any activity that aids” the federal government in carrying out such powers. The approval was by a unanimous voice vote. The bill will now move on to the state senate for further consideration. Introduced by Rep. Tim O’Flaherty (D- Hillsborough), the bill quickly garnered co-sponsorship from two republicans and two democrats. Tenth Amendment Center communications director Mike Maharrey praised the bipartisan action... more »

I waited until December of 2013 to raise this question: Worst Education Op-Ed of 2013? So I don’t rush into this claim casually: Jonathan Chait’s Public Education’s Weird Ideological Divide is already the worst Op-Ed of 2014, and likely will not be surpassed (but may be tied often, I regret to say). Chait’s piece isn’t long (thankfully) but […]

*After the little blue pill for men... a pink one for women: Herbal supplement dubbed 'female Viagra' goes on sale on High Street* *Unlikely to help. No controlled trials against a placebo, apparently* Women can boost their sex lives with an over-the-counter herbal pill, scientists claim. They say Lady Prelox has been found to significantly raise a woman’s sexual pleasure. Dubbed the ‘female Viagra’ after the little blue pills that treat erectile dysfunction in men, Lady Prelox is on sale at high-street chain Holland & Barrett. But at £37.95 for a pack of 60 little pink tablets... more »

How do we grieve the loss of our beautiful, precious world, and us, *all*of us, with it? I don't know if there are words for that... I don't know them, anyway... “My heart broke on its shame and sorrow. I suddenly knew how much crying there was in me, and how little love. I knew, at last, how lonely I was. But I couldn’t respond. My culture had taught me all the wrong things well. So I lay completely still, and gave no reaction at all. But the soul has no culture. The soul has no nations. The soul has no color or accent or way of life. The soul is forever. The soul is one. And when ... more »

Verry clever...

The BBC's Republican sympathies are on display with the lead in to this article... ' Prince on hunt before wildlife plea Prince William has gone hunting deer and wild boar in Spain - only a day before he was due to make a public plea to end the illegal wildlife trade.' The article is here http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26105706 That lead in suggests to the casual reader that Prince William might have done something illegal by going hunting when he hadn't. The BBC do state this in the actual article but the seed has been planted. Hunting is not illegal, however much the BBC might wi... more »

Unification, led by Paul Helleyer in 1968 and permitted by Lester Pearson, was a wound most veterans still bear. Initially intended as a modernization to bring three separate services under one joint operational roof, it steam-rolled well beyond the original plan to create a single service which was purportecly able to share resources and personnel across the the three combat elements. It was

Every once in a while, a teacher is the one thing standing between kids and their world. Teachers stand up and are always ready to help in any way needed. Read this account from an elementary teacher in New Mexico, which took place during a relatively rare winter storm: This morning, I got to school […]

This post is the last in a series of three on the state of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) across the nation. Now that states have hastily Raced to the US Department of Education in chasing US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s dangled (albeit insufficient) millions, many have entered the phase I call Move to the Sidelines […]

*“Fukushima Equals 6,000 Hiroshima Bombs Today, More Tomorrow;* *There is No Place On Earth to Escape the Rad” * by Bob Nichols, “Veterans Today” “My opinion only, as requested by Alfred Webre, Dec 28, 2013, 1,024 Days from Mar 11, 2011. *First thing, grasp the difficult concept that this is an ELE or Extinction Level Event. There is no escaping our fate, there are no solutions. * We can extend our lives somewhat, though. These steps are personal. People can do them or not. You will die quicker, or later, your choice. 1. Take off your shoes and outer ware (coats) when you enter your ... more »

Reports from Portland, Oregon: Portland is gearing up for a teacher strike. Susan Neilson, *The Oregonian.* Sam Wheeler of the *Mail Tribune*]Medford Oregon: *Long said the school district has hired about 50 security guards through Action Security Inc. of Medford and San Diego-based Off Duty Officers Inc. of San Diego — costing the district about $35,000 per day.* *"We have 24-hour security, because we want to make sure we protect our property and mischief doesn't happen," Long said.*

Don't have to be cool to rule my world... AFRAID TO LOOK & be blinded by the awesome RT @pourmecoffee: Every Prince hairstyle since 1978, drawn by @gary_card pic.twitter.com/M04sic9HB2 — Liza Sabater (@blogdiva) February 9, 2014

A screenshot of an error message that appears when attempting to access the Coursera website from Iran, Syria, Cuba or Sudan. (Nina Curley / Wamda) “Since its inception, Coursera, the education company that offers massive open online courses (MOOCs) to 6.3 million users in 190 different countries, has committed publicly — and repeatedly — to delivering free education to all,” Forbes reporter