|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
;-) |
Education News, School News, Academic News, EDU News |
|
|
|
- 
A-Z Art / Museums Books+ BusinessNews Censorship Comics / Links ComputerNews Consumer Dictionaries Directories Education Energy Entertainment Environment FIND Free-Speech Genealogy Government.gov Guides Health Medical History Humor I.P. Intellectual Property Intelligence Labor Language Law / Legal >Law Enforcement Library Links Linux Maps Media Military Music & MP3s NET / WEB NEWS-STAND NoteWorthy Nuclear Opinion Parents People Politics Privacy Radio/ Online Reference Science & Tech Search/Engines >SpecialEngines Seniors Space Sports Terrorism Travel TV /Channels U.S. Vocabulary Weather Webcasting Women World  Special
Reports
9-11
Meta Index September 11 2001
CLONING NEWS STEM CELL NEWS ENRON NEWS MICROSOFT NEWS WORLDCOM NEWS Quad
Cities
Tucson
News
A-Z text Top |
EDUCATION News:
 Barack
Obama -  Don
Young -  Government
-  Money
-  Education
-  Missouri
-  Alaska
"GOP [Republicans] Fighting For Money From Stimulus They Opposed." ... "House Republicans, as a group, may take great pride in the goose egg [zero votes] they offered [Democratic] President Obama's stimulus package. But now the unanimous opposition is struggling to bring that money home." ... "Republicans will be working hard to make sure the money they opposed ends up benefiting their home districts, highlighting the political tightrope they walk in this economic crisis." ... "Back in his home district, [Missouri Republican Representative] Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO [Republican-Missouri]) [who voted against the stimulus plane] found some nice things to say about the plan." ... ""Within the stimulus package there is some Pell Grant money, which is a good thing. It helps students be able to pay for their education and that's kind of a long term stimulus effect there. I mean obviously that's not gonna provide a job in the next 120, 180 days, but the ability of someone to get an education is an economic development tool," Luetkemeyer said at a local college. He was there, in another inside-outside Washington twist, to celebrate an earmark for a college building." ... "[Alaska Republican Representative] Rep. Don Young (R-AK [Republican-Alaska]) [who voted against the stimulus plane] put out a press release saying that he "won a victory for the Alaska Native contracting program and other Alaska small business owners last night in H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act."" -By Ryan Grim -HuffingtonPost.com 
Barack
Obama -  Michael
Steele -  Pete
Hoekstra - Don
Young -  Lindsey
Graham -  Ken
Calvert -  Emergency
- Economics
-  Politics
-  Families
-  Jobs
-  Housing
-  Construction
- Education
- Government
- US_Debt
- Missouri
-  MN
-  SC
-  FL
-  CA
-  MI
-  NJ
- AK
"Kit Bond Touts Effects Of Stimulus Bill He Voted Against." ... "[Missouri Republican Senator Kit Bond voted against the stimulus bill asserting:} “Unfortunately, this bill stimulates the debt, it stimulates the growth of government, but it doesn’t stimulate jobs,” Bond insisted." ... "However, today Bond is touring Missouri to tout the very stimulus plan he railed against. In a press release, Bond boasted about an amendment he included in the bill to provide more funding for affordable housing — and that will create jobs:" "Last week, Bond led a bipartisan group of Senators in introducing an amendment to help provide needy families affordable housing. Bond’s amendment provides $2 billion to fund low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) projects that have been stalled by the financial credit crisis. As part of the Democrats’ spending bill now signed into law, the Senate unanimously accepted Bond’s provision. […]""“This is the type of emergency stimulus spending we should be supporting — programs that will create jobs now and help families,” Bond said." ... "Bond’s “I was against it before I was for it” maneuver at least has local media fooled. Just 24 hours after noting his opposition to the stimulus bill, local news this morning reported that Bond would be touring the state “pushing his plan to create 3,000 jobs in the state and build more than 700 affordable housing units.” Watch the local CBS channel try to keep up with Bond’s flip-flops:" "Bond is not alone in trying to reap the political benefits both from voting against the bill and from bringing much needed funding to his district:" "– [Minnesota Republican Governor] Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), who complained that the “federal government is spending money they don’t have,” told Rachel Maddow he would nevertheless accept funds for Minnesota: “Our view is, if you buy the pizza, it’s OK if you have a slice.”""No wonder RNC [Republican National Committee] Chairman Michael Steele declared recently, “You have absolutely no reason — none — to trust our word or our actions at this point.”" "Update [Missouri Republican Representative] Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) boasted about the educational benefits of the recovery act, while [California Republican Representative] Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) said his office "will do what we can to direct as much money as we can." Neither voted for the bill." "Update [Michgan Republican Representative] Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) joins in, praising the stimulus' "generous" incentives for home buyers on his Twitter feed:" "petehoekstra If you know of someone thinking of buying first home, now may be the time.Stimulus incentive is very generous!Up to 8k!Check it out.""UpdateBlueJersey notes adds [New Jersey Republican Representative] Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) to the growing list. After insisting last Friday that the recovery bill "would have exploded our national debt without providing meaningful job growth," Lance toured construction sites in his district yesterday, touting funds that would come from the stimulus bill. "This is a classic example of a "shovel-ready' project," Lance said after the tour." -By Ali Frick -ThinkProgress.org 
 Science
- Education
-  Book
- Religious
-  People
-  Poll
"On Darwin’s Birthday, Only 4 in 10 Believe in Evolution: Belief drops to 24% among frequent church attenders." ... "On the eve of the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth, a new Gallup Poll shows that only 39% of Americans say they "believe in the theory of evolution," while a quarter say they do not believe in the theory, and another 36% don't have an opinion either way. These attitudes are strongly related to education and, to an even greater degree, religiosity." ... "Darwin's theory has been at the forefront of religious debate since he published On the Origin of Species 150 years ago. Even to this day, highly religious individuals claim that the theory of evolution contradicts the story of creation as outlined in the book of Genesis in the Bible." ... "Implications" ... "As Darwin is being lauded as one of the most important scientists in history on the 200th anniversary of his birth (on Feb. 12, 1809), it is perhaps dismaying to scientists who study and respect his work to see that well less than half of Americans today say they believe in the theory of evolution, and that just 55% can associate the man with his theory." ... "Naturally, some of this is because of educational differences. Americans who have lower levels of formal education are significantly less likely than others to be able to identity Darwin with his theory, and to have an opinion on it either way. Still, the evidence is clear that even to this day, Americans' religious beliefs are a significant predictor of their attitudes toward Darwin's theory. Those who attend church most often are the least likely to believe in evolution, and most likely to say they do not believe in it." -By Frank Newport -Gallup.com
Barack
Obama -  Noteworthy
- Economic
- Crisis
-  History
- People
- Families
- Jobs
- Homes
- Consumer
-  Energy
-  Health
Care - Education
-  Internet
- Science
-  Transportation
- Construction
- Government
-  Legislation
- Politics
"The Action Americans Need." [By Democratic President Barack Obama] ... "By now, it's clear to everyone that we have inherited an economic crisis as deep and dire as any since the days of the Great Depression. Millions of jobs that Americans relied on just a year ago are gone; millions more of the nest eggs families worked so hard to build have vanished. People everywhere are worried about what tomorrow will bring." ... "What Americans expect from Washington is action that matches the urgency they feel in their daily lives -- action that's swift, bold and wise enough for us to climb out of this crisis." ... "Because each day we wait to begin the work of turning our economy around, more people lose their jobs, their savings and their homes. And if nothing is done, this recession might linger for years. Our economy will lose 5 million more jobs. Unemployment will approach double digits. Our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse." ... "That's why I feel such a sense of urgency about the recovery plan before Congress. With it, we will create or save more than 3 million jobs over the next two years, provide immediate tax relief to 95 percent of American workers, ignite spending by businesses and consumers alike, and take steps to strengthen our country for years to come." ... "This plan is more than a prescription for short-term spending -- it's a strategy for America's long-term growth and opportunity in areas such as renewable energy, health care and education. And it's a strategy that will be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability, so Americans know where their tax dollars are going and how they are being spent." ... "In recent days, there have been misguided criticisms of this plan that echo the failed theories that helped lead us into this crisis -- the notion that tax cuts alone will solve all our problems; that we can meet our enormous tests with half-steps and piecemeal measures; that we can ignore fundamental challenges such as energy independence and the high cost of health care and still expect our economy and our country to thrive." ... "I reject these theories, and so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly for change. They know that we have tried it those ways for too long. And because we have, our health-care costs still rise faster than inflation. Our dependence on foreign oil still threatens our economy and our security. Our children still study in schools that put them at a disadvantage. We've seen the tragic consequences when our bridges crumble and our levees fail." ... "Every day, our economy gets sicker -- and the time for a remedy that puts Americans back to work, jump-starts our economy and invests in lasting growth is now." ... "Now is the time to protect health insurance for the more than 8 million Americans at risk of losing their coverage and to computerize the health-care records of every American within five years, saving billions of dollars and countless lives in the process." ... "Now is the time to save billions by making 2 million homes and 75 percent of federal buildings more energy-efficient, and to double our capacity to generate alternative sources of energy within three years." ... "Now is the time to give our children every advantage they need to compete by upgrading 10,000 schools with state-of-the-art classrooms, libraries and labs; by training our teachers in math and science; and by bringing the dream of a college education within reach for millions of Americans." ... "And now is the time to create the jobs that remake America for the 21st century by rebuilding aging roads, bridges and levees; designing a smart electrical grid; and connecting every corner of the country to the information superhighway." ... "These are the actions Americans expect us to take without delay. They're patient enough to know that our economic recovery will be measured in years, not months. But they have no patience for the same old partisan gridlock that stands in the way of action while our economy continues to slide." ... "So we have a choice to make. We can once again let Washington's bad habits stand in the way of progress. Or we can pull together and say that in America, our destiny isn't written for us but by us. We can place good ideas ahead of old ideological battles, and a sense of purpose above the same narrow partisanship. We can act boldly to turn crisis into opportunity and, together, write the next great chapter in our history and meet the test of our time." -By Barack Obama -WashingtonPost
Economic
- Legislation
- Politics
- Government
- Infrastructure
- Energy
- People's
- Health
- Jobs
- Education
-  Food
- Obama
"Republicans Vote Against the American People." ... "The House of Representatives passed an $819-million economic stimulus package this evening. The vote was 244-188. Only Democrats voted for it. 177 Republicans voted against it." ... "The package includes both spending measures and tax cuts. The American people would get some tax relief, money to save or to spend, perhaps to pay the bills and put food on the table, and money would go to infrastructure projects, for energy and education and health care, to support those who need it, those who have lost their jobs at a time when the economy is bleeding jobs, and down to states and municipalities, to levels of government on the front lines of service provision." ... "You know what? It’s not just about stimulating the economy, it’s about helping people. It’s responsive, responsible government action at a time when government action is desperately needed." ... "And, in the House, every single Republican voted against it." ... "Read that again: EVERY SINGLE REPUBLICAN VOTED AGAINST IT." ... "So much for bipartisan outreach. So much for [Democratic President] Obama’s efforts to be inclusive and to seek compromise with the other side. All the Republicans could offer was the same old tired formula of tax cuts, tax cuts, and more tax cuts, and, when it came right down to it, when it came time to pick a side, the Republicans sided, in unison, against the American people and the American economy." -By Michael Stickings -TheModerateVoice.com
Working
- People
- Economics
- Education
-  Safety
-  Enforcement
- Politics
-  Maryland
"Squeezed on All Sides, Parents Forgo Day Care: Education, Safety Sacrificed in Fiscal Crunch." ... "In the [Maryland's] Prince George's County community of Riverdale Park, town officials have noted a distressing sign of the national economic downturn: more children left home alone to fend for themselves by working parents too strapped to afford child care." ... "The problem was discovered by code enforcement officers who inspect apartments in the town of 7,000. They used to come across such cases once every couple of years. Then, six months ago, they found one child left alone, followed by another and another." ... "In one instance, a kindergarten-age girl was found hiding in a closet, apparently because she was scared, code enforcement officers said. In another, children aged 10 or 12 were missing school to watch their younger siblings." ... "Riverdale's experience comes amid an increasing economic strain in child care across the Washington [Washington DC, United States capital] region. In an area known for day-care waiting lists, many operators report a rise in vacancies as parents withdraw their children or cut back on hours because they can no longer afford the cost." ... "The phenomenon is not universal, but it has struck in many middle- and working-class areas as lost jobs, reduced work schedules and foreclosed homes affect families with few reserves." (1, 2, 3) -By Donna St. George -WashingtonPost
Barack
Obama - Gay
- Politics
- Religion
- Book
- People
- Children
-  Girls
- Schools
-  US
-  Pakistan
- Palestine
-  British
-  Soviet
-  Military
- History
"Three Cups of Tea for Rick Warren." ... "Rick Warren is providing the invocation for the [Democratic President Elect Barack Obama's] presidential inauguration. As a pastor whose books have been read by tens of millions of Americans and whose voice is respected by an equal or larger number, he has tremendous influence and power. And as an open homophobe who aggressively works to wound gay people in this country (as well as pretty much anybody else who doesn’t believe with his own particular and peculiar recently-invented version of Christian theology) he should be the guy with the bull’s-eye on his back for the progressive movement." ... "But consider that metaphor for a moment. In Pakistan there are entire regions filled with people who not only hate gays but hate Americans as well, regardless of religion. We've tried bombing them (as the Soviets did, and the British before them). Three consecutive Western empires have tried threatening them, starving them, poisoning them, infiltrating them, and overpowering them - all without success." ... "And then Greg Mortenson came to one of their villages, had three cups of tea with them (a metaphor for hospitality - they nursed him back to health after a mountain climbing injury - and the title of his best-selling book), and now in dozens of these formerly Taliban-controlled villages the people are rejecting the Taliban, embracing modernity, and openly proclaiming themselves as our friends." ... "His "weapon" for this conversion? He built schools for their children, particularly their previously-banned-from-school girls." ... "We pushed the Palestinians on the West Bank to have open and democratic elections, assuming that because they were using the tool of our culture (the secret ballot) they’d vote in people reflecting the values of our culture. Instead, they voted in Hamas, a group that is openly hostile to us and our allies. Hamas’ “weapon” for winning the hearts and minds of the Palestinians? They supported schools, hospitals, and fed and clothed people." ... "You’d think that we’d have learned from these experiences - particularly those of us who call ourselves “progressives” - that you get your desired results faster when you embrace, engage, and nurture your “enemies” than when you physically or rhetorically bomb them." ... "Barack Obama has learned that lesson, and is applying it in inviting Rick Warren to perform the invocation for his inauguration. In doing so, he is reaching out a hand to those who today are - out of fear and ignorance - pushing away gays the same way their intellectual ancestors pushed away African Americans when anti-miscegenation laws were supported by most of these same “fundamentalist” Christian churches in the 1950s and 1960s." -By Thom Hartmann -ThomHartmann.com
Employment
- Market
- Housing
- Rebuilding
- Roads
- Schools
- Energy
- Obama
- Politics
"Employers cut 533K jobs in Nov., most in 34 years." ... "Skittish employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years, catapulting the unemployment rate to 6.7 percent, dramatic proof the country is careening deeper into recession." ... "The new figures, released by the Labor Department Friday, showed the crucial employment market deteriorating at an alarmingly rapid clip, and handed Americans some more grim news right before the holidays. The net loss of more than a half-million jobs was far worse than analysts expected." ... "The U.S. [United States] tipped into recession last December [2007], a panel of experts declared earlier this week, confirming what many Americans already thought." ... "[Republican] President George W. Bush, who used the word "recession" for the first time to describe the economy's state, pledged Friday to explore more efforts to ease housing, credit and financial stresses." ... "[Democratic] President-elect Barack Obama said the dismal job news underscored the need for forceful action, even as he warned that the pain could not be quickly relieved." ... ""There are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis ... and it's likely to get worse before it gets better," Obama said. "At the same time, this ... provides us with an opportunity to transform our economy to improve the lives of ordinary people by rebuilding roads and modernizing schools for our children, investing in clean energy solutions to break our dependence on imported oil, and making an early down payment on the long-term reforms that will grow and strengthen our economy for all Americans for years to come."" -By Jeannine Aversa -AP via -Yahoo
Barack
Obama - Christian
-University
-  Oregon
- Race
- 2008
Election
"Effigy of Obama found hanging from tree at George Fox University." ... "Officials at George Fox University say a life-size effigy of [2008 Election] Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was found hanging from a tree at the Christian school's Newberg [Oregon] campus." -KATU.com
 Sarah
Palin - History
-  Sports
-  Journalism
-  Television
-  Idaho
- Alaska
- 2008
Election
"Republican vice presidential nominee Palin changes colleges 6 times in 6 years." ... "Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin seems to have switched colleges at least six times in six years, including two stints at the University of Idaho before graduating from there in 1987." ... "She majored in journalism with an emphasis in broadcast news." ... "Despite her journalism degree, she does not appear to have worked for the college newspaper or campus television station, school officials said. She worked briefly as a sportscaster for KTUU in Anchorage [Alaska] after she graduated college." -By Nicholas K. Geranios -LAtimes 
 John
McCain - Sarah
Palin - Science
- Education
- Politics
- Law
- History
- 2008
Election - Alaska
-  Tennessee
"McCain's VP Wants Creationism Taught in School." ... "[2008 Election] Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin wants creationism taught in science classes." ... "In a 2006 gubernatorial debate, the soon-to-be governor of Alaska said of evolution and creation education, "Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of education. Healthy debate is so important, and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both."" ... "Asked by the Anchorage Daily News whether she believed in evolution, Palin declined to answer, but said that "I don't think there should be a prohibition against debate if it comes up in class."" ... ""I'm not going to pretend I know how all this came to be," she said." ... "The battle between evolution and creationism -- specifically, Christian creationism -- in U.S. classrooms dates back to the 1925 Scopes trial, when a Tennessee court banned the teaching of evolution. Since then, state and federal courts have repeatedly rejected so-called creation science in public schools, calling it religion rather than science." ... "The latest courtroom defeat came in the 2005 Kitzmiller v. Dover case, when the superficially religion-neutral theory of intelligent design was classified as religious creationism. The Supreme Court ruled in 1987 that teaching creationism violated the separation of church and state." ... "Nevertheless, pro-creationism education initiatives driven by Christian conservatives have flourished, and defenders of evolution -- and, more broadly, scientific integrity -- worry that Palin's pick will give momentum to this church-over-state push." ... ""It's unfortunate McCain would pick someone who shares those particular anti-science views, but it's not a surprise," said Barbara Forrest, a Southeastern Lousiana University philosophy professor and prominent critic of creationist science. "She's a choice that pleases the religious right. And the religious right has been the chief force against teaching evolution."" -By Brandon Keim -Wired 
Special
Report - Noteworthy
- US
- Guantanamo
Bay -  Cuba
- Military
-  Intelligence
- Torture
- War
Crimes - Prison
- Investigation
- Legal
- Rights
-Religious
-  Terrorism
- School
- Politics
"Guantanamo Bay detainees investigation." ... "An eight-month McClatchy investigation of the detention system created after the [September] Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has found that the [United States] U.S. imprisoned innocent men, subjected them to abuse, stripped them of their legal rights and allowed Islamic militants to turn the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into a school for jihad." |
Education News Sources: Education News Via:
CSMonitor>Learning>K-12 +>Higher-Learning +>Policy & Reform +>In the Classroom +>Creative Solutions >>College & Adult Ed. >>Teacher-Student
LISNews Hermit ;-) 
Search Education News: News Search <education> in: <Education News> in: <Academic News> in: <School News> in: Google Search:
|
Barack
Obama - John
McCain - Money
- Politics
- Workers
- 
Retirees
- Homeowners
- Students
- 
Farmers
- Families
- US_Debt
- Law
- 
Illinois
- 
Arizona
- 2008
Election
Education
- Consumer
- Poor
- People
- Oregon
- Calif
- Federal
Obama
- McCain
- Money
- Politics
- Legislation
- Veterans
- 2008
Election - "Obama
criticizes McCain on veterans' benefits." ... "[2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama told veterans
Saturday that he can't understand why Republican [2008 Election Presidential
Candidate] John McCain opposes legislation that would provide college scholarships
to people who have served in the U.S. [United States] military." ... ""Now,
let me be clear: No one can dispute John McCain's love for this country
or his concern for veterans. But here's what I don't understand. I don't
understand why John McCain would side with [Republican President] George
Bush and oppose our plan to make college more affordable for our veterans,"
the Democratic presidential candidate said. "George Bush and John McCain
may think our plan is too generous. I could not disagree more.""
-AP via -MSNBC
McCain
- Obama
- 
Clinton
- Veterans
- Education
- Money
- Legislation- 2008
Election - California
- "McCain
misses vote on a new GI Bill, scorns criticism from Obama."
... "Support for the troops returned as an issue to the presidential campaign
yesterday with harsh words from both sides." ... "The Democratic National
Committee accused [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John
McCain of being AWOL [Absent WithOut Leave] from the Senate vote yesterday
for a new GI Bill to provide better education benefits for returning veterans.
McCain was in California on a campaign and fund-raising trip, while both
Democratic [2008 Election Presidential] contenders, Hillary Clinton and
Barack Obama, left the campaign trail to vote for the bill, which passed
by a veto-proof 75-to-22 majority." ... "On the Senate floor, Obama questioned
why McCain opposed the bill. "I can't believe why he believes it is too
generous to our veterans," Obama said. "There are many issues that lend
themselves to partisan posturing, but giving our veterans the chance to
go to college should not be one of them." ... "The bill, which [Republican]
President Bush has threatened to veto, would pay tuition and other expenses
at a four-year public university for anyone who has served at least three
years since the 2001 terrorist attacks." -By Foon
Rhee -BostonGlobe
John
McCain - Hillary
Clinton - Barack
Obama - US- 
Iraq
- 
Afghanistan
- Military
- People
- Money
- Legislation
- Politics
- 2008
Election - Ariz
- Ill
- 
NY
- "McCain,
Military Oppose Expanding GI Bill." ... "[2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain,
R-Ariz. [Republican-Arizona], the presumptive Republican presidential nominee,
seemed to give a thumbs down to bipartisan legislation that would greatly
expand educational benefits for members of the military returning from
Iraq and Afghanistan under the GI Bill." ... "Both [2008 Election] Democratic
presidential candidates — Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill. [Democratic-Illinois],
and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. [Democratic-New York], — have signed on as
co-sponsors, and the bill has gained bipartisan support from 54 senators
on Capitol Hill in addition to [Virginia Democratic Senator Jim] Webb.
A vote on the proposal is expected before the summer." ... "But the bill,
which would dramatically increase educational compensation for American
troops, has run into some unexpected resistance, both at the Pentagon and
now from McCain, who has remained silent on the issue, saying he had not
studied the bill close enough." ... "Pressure had mounted on McCain to
support the bill — a veterans group, which backs the legislation, delivered
a petition to McCain's Senate office, signed by 30,000 veterans." ... "[Matt]
Flavin joined the military out of patriotism shortly after 9/11, went to
Officer Candidate School and, over the next five years, served tours in
Bosnia, Afghanistan and with Naval special forces in Iraq." ... "While
he did not join the military specifically to get benefits from the GI Bill
and does not think most troops do, Flavin supports the legislation." ...
""We owe them something," Flavin said of his comrades. "They've given life,
limb, everything there is to give. The people who bore the most pain and
suffering are the people who could use these benefits."" (1, 2,
3)
-By Z. Byron Wolf with contributions by Bret Hovell
-ABCNEWS.com
Secret
- Government
- Intelligence
- Terrorism
- Politics
- Illegal
- 
Surveillance
- Investigation
- Internet
- Archive
- 
Library
- 
Electronic
- Civil
Liberties - Brewster_Kahle
- Censorship
- San
Francisco - California
- Student
- Health
- Consumer
- 
Telephone
- Electronic
- Data
- National
Security Letter - "FBI
Targets Internet Archive With Secret 'National Security Letter', Loses."
... "The Internet Archive, a project to create a digital library of the
web for posterity, successfully fought a secret government Patriot Act
order for records about one of its patrons and won the right to make the
order public, civil liberties groups announced Wednesday morning." ...
"On November 26, 2007, the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] served
a controversial National
Security Letter (.pdf) on the Internet
Archive's founder Brewster Kahle, asking for records about one of the
library's registered users, asking for the user's name, address and activity
on the site." ... "The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Internet Archive's
lawyers, fought the NSL [National Security Letter], challenging its constitutionality
in a December 14 complaint
(.pdf) to a federal court in San Francisco [California]. The FBI agreed
on April 21 to withdraw the letter and unseal the court case, making some
of the documents available to the public." ... "The Patriot Act greatly
expanded the reach of NSLs, which are subpoenas for documents such as billing
records and telephone records that the FBI can issue in terrorism investigations
without a judge's approval. Nearly all NSLs come with gag orders forbidding
the recipient from ever speaking of the subpoena, except to a lawyer."
... "Brewster Kahle called the gag order "horrendous," saying he couldn't
talk about the case with his board members, wife or staff, but said that
his stand was part of a time-honored tradition of librarians protecting
the rights of their patrons." ... ""This is an unqualified success that
will help other recipients understand that you can push back on these,"
Kahle said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday morning." ...
"Though FBI guidelines on using NSLs warned of overusing them, two Congressionally
ordered audits revealed that the FBI had issued hundreds of illegal requests
for student health records, telephone records and credit reports. The reports
also found that the FBI had issued hundreds of thousands of NSLs since
2001, but failed to track their use. In a letter to Congress last week,
the FBI admitted it can only estimate how many NSLs it has issued." -By
Ryan Singel -Wired
Barack
Obama - United
States - Social
Security - Health
Care - Housing
- Markets
- Public
Schools - Poverty
- Race
- 
Global
- 
Climate
- Law
- Politics
- 2008
Election - "[Robert
Reich:] Obama for President." ... "I believe that
Barack Obama should be elected President of the United States." ... "Although
Hillary Clinton has offered solid and sensible policy proposals, Obama's
strike me as even more so. His plans for reforming Social Security and
health care have a better chance of succeeding. His approaches to the housing
crisis and the failures of our financial markets are sounder than hers.
His ideas for improving our public schools and confronting the problems
of poverty and inequality are more coherent and compelling. He has put
forward the more enlightened foreign policy and the more thoughtful plan
for controlling global warming." ... "He also presents the best chance
of creating a new politics in which citizens become active participants
rather than cynical spectators. He has energized many who had given up
on politics. He has engaged young people to an extent not seen in decades.
He has spoken about the most difficult problems our society faces, such
as race, without spinning or simplifying. He has rightly identified the
armies of lawyers and lobbyists that have commandeered our democracy, and
pointed the way toward taking it back." ... "Finally, he offers the best
hope of transcending the boundaries of class, race, and nationality that
have divided us. His life history exemplifies this, as do his writings
and his record of public service. For these same reasons, he offers the
best possibility of restoring America's moral authority in the world."
-By Robert
Reich
-
- Media
- Politics
- Corporate
- Network
- 2008
Election - 
-
-
-
- Torture
- 
- Human
Rights -
- Consumer
-
- 
- Safety
-
-
-
- Death
Penalty - "Okay,
Now I'm Bitter." [Mary Mapes on what
DISNEY/ABC didn't cover in the 2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate debate in Pennsylvania with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama]
... "In Iraq, we've seen a rebound in suicide bombings and gotten the disquieting
information that Iraqi soldiers have been fleeing the battlefield in frightening
numbers." ... "Americans learned that detailed discussions of torture techniques
had been held in the [Republican President] White House -- our White House
-- and President Bush revealed that he knew this and approved." ... "[Home]
Foreclosure rates have spiked to frightening levels." ... "U.S. [United
States] shoppers were told that food prices in this country are rising
at a higher pace than at any time in the past 17 years." ... "The airline
industry floundered through dreadful days of groundings, amidst safety
concerns, economic ailments and passenger anger." ... "Oil prices are setting
new records almost every day and $4 a gallon gas is coming soon to a service
station near you." ... "The anguish over China's human rights record and
its handling of Tibet turned the Olympic torch relay into a cross between
Spain's Running of the Bulls and 3rd grade keep-away." ... "[2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain, acting like a mean old
man trying to chase those pesky voters off his lawn, refused to endorse
a new GI bill that would help those currently serving our country get a
college education." ... "The Supreme Court issued a fractured opinion on
the death penalty that for the first time in years raises the real possibility
of a national debate on the value and morality of the ultimate punishment."
... "And we are in the middle of what is clearly the most important, most
consequential election of my lifetime -- and I'm no spring chicken." ...
"Instead, I sat in front of my TV open-mouthed, listening to a hodgepodge
of juvenile questions about flag jewelry, the possibility of a "dream"
ticket, elderly radicals, Charlie Gibson's personal tax concerns and ministers
who emote too much. What, no time for a question about Cindy McCain's purloined
pork chop recipe?" -By Mary Mapes
-HuffingtonPost.com
John
McCain - Health
- History
- Senior
- Politics
- Parents
- Women- Education
- Science
- Money
- 2008
Election - 
WVa
- "Dean:
McCain's Age Worries Voters: DNC Chair Cites Health,
'Old-Fashioned' Views." ... "Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard
Dean said Thursday that swing voters participating in focus groups commissioned
by the D.N.C. [Democratic National Committee] bring up [2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidate] John McCain's age unprompted." ... ""We didn't
bring it up, but they volunteered it," said Dean who explained that voters
have two concerns about McCain's age. "One was a health concern, the other
was, and this is really interesting . . . that his views are old-fashioned.""
... "At the age of 72, McCain would be the oldest newly elected president
in U.S. [United States] history if inaugurated in 2009." ... "Referring
to what Dean characterized as the party's most conservative focus group
in Charleston, W. Va. [West Virginia], the DNC chairman said "the women
in that group were shocked that [McCain] believed health insurance shouldn't
cover birth control pills and they were shocked about his belief in abstinence
only education."" (1, 2)
-By Teddy Davis and Mike Elmore
-ABCNEWS.com
Immigration
- Politics
- 
Texas
- School
- "Athens
School 'Attack' Proven To Be False, Girl To Be Charged."
... "Charges are being filed against 13 year old Melanie Bowers by Athens
ISD [Independent School District] through the Henderson County District
Attorney's office for filing a false report, said AISD officials today."
... "Bowers claimed earlier this week that she was beaten and threatened
- with killing and rape, no less - by a group of students at Athens ISD
last Friday, for creating a protest sign saying, "If you love our nation,
stop illegal immigration."" ... "After Melanie's accusations, administrators
reviewed school survellience videotape of the incident - which, instead
of showing students beating or attacking her, showed Bowers scratching
herself on her arms, face, and neck, and walking through the halls of the
school calmly long after she claimed the incident happened." ... "After
Melanie's parents were presented with that information and the video, the
school confronted Melanie, and she admitted that she made the story up."
-KLTV.com
John
McCain - 
Chuck
Hagel - Military
- Money
- 
Account
- Law
- Politics
- 
Virginia
- 
Nebraska
- US
- Iraq
- Op-Ed
- 2008
Election - "McCain
Is AWOL On New GI Bill." ... "In November 2007, Sens.
[Virginia Democratic Senator] Jim Webb and [Nebraska Republican Senator]
Chuck Hagel penned an op-ed in the New York Times advocating a reformed
G.I. Bill that would provide Iraq war veterans with greater educational
opportunities." ... "The idea, which was first introduced in January 2007,
was at once ambitious and benign. Adjust the current landmark law -- which
requires members of the armed services to pay $1,200 in order to participate
-- to better account for spikes in tuition and living expenses. Not only
would there be a greater incentive for those considering enlistment, but
the American economy would be bolstered by an influx of educated veterans."
... ""We must put together the right formula that will demonstrate our
respect for those who have stepped forward to serve in these difficult
times," wrote Webb and Hagel. "First-class service to country deserves
first-class appreciation."" ... "Flash-forward several months and Webb
and Hagel's vision (after months of consideration) is on the cusp of codification.
The 21st Century G.I. Bill may be included in the language of the next
Iraq war supplemental. And while, if considered separately, it could require
60 votes for passage, more than 50 Senators -- including many Republicans
-- have already signed on as co-sponsors." ... "And yet, surprisingly,
one of those Senators who has not yet offered his support is [2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain." -By
Sam
Stein -HuffingtonPost.com
Medical
- Database
- Abortion
- Science
- Literature
- Family
- Education
- Government
- 
Search
Engine - Funding
- Maryland
- US
- International
- Politics
- "U.S.
Funded Health Search Engine Blocks 'Abortion'." ...
"A U.S. [United States] government-funded medical information site that
bills itself as the world's largest database on reproductive health has
quietly begun to block searches on the word "abortion," concealing nearly
25,000 search results." ... "Called Popline,
the search site is run by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health in Maryland. It's funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development,
or USAID, the federal office in charge of providing foreign aid, including
health care funding, to developing nations." ... "The massive database
indexes a broad range of reproductive health literature, including titles
like "Previous abortion and the risk of low birth weight and preterm births,"
and "Abortion in the United States: Incidence and access to services, 2005.""
... "But on Thursday, a search on "abortion" was producing only the message
"No records found by latest query."" ... "Stephen Goldstein, a spokesman
for Johns Hopkins, said he wasn't aware of the censorship, and couldn't
immediately comment. " -By Sarah Lai Stirland
-Wired
John
McCain - Money
- Private
School - Virginia
- Press
- 2008
Election - ""I
Hope Attendance Here Was Not Compulsory"." ... "On
the second day of his week-long bio tour, [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate] John McCain visited his alma mater, Episcopal High School
[a private school in Alexandria, Virginia], to speak today about the importance
of education in the formation of a person's character." ... "The boldest
inquiry came from junior Katelyn Halldorson, who asked what exactly
the senator was doing at her school." ... ""I think judging by the amount
of press representatives here and also by the integration of your previous
political endorsements in your earlier personal narrative, we can see that
this isn't completely absent – er political motivation isn't completely
absent," she said. "Yet we were told that this isn't a political event.
So what exactly is your purpose in being here – not that I don't appreciate
the opportunity, but I'd just like some clarification."" ... ""I knew I
should have cut this thing off. This meeting is over," McCain joked, before
launching into a long description of his biography tour...." ... "McCain
concluded the visit by saying, "I hope that attendance here was not compulsory…I
apologize if you were unwillingly in attendance here."" ... "According
to one EHS [Episcopal High School] staff member, attendance was required,
although it was unclear what the punishment would have been if a student
had refused to show." ... "The DNC [Democratic National Committee] noted
that McCain's alma mater now costs $38K [$38,000.00] annually. The Dems
also mention in a memo sent to reporters that McCain's voucher plan would
only cover $2K a year. “Apparently, John McCain’s biography tour includes
bragging about his own education, but not his 26 years as a Washington
Republican putting tax cuts for the rich ahead of efforts to ensure every
student a quality education,” says DNC spokesman Damien LaVera in
a statement." -By Adam Aigner-Treworgy
-NationalJournal
Girls
- 
Fashion
- Politics
- Companies- 
North
Carolina - Students
- Faith
- "Modesty
is the new black for girls tired of racy clothes:
Teen groups teach the value of covering up." ... "In Charlotte [North Carolina]
and across the country, young girls, their mothers and even clothing companies
are covering up." ... "Teens and parents fighting over what is appropriate
is nothing new. But now, girl-centric groups are working to arm girls with
the awareness and self-confidence to say no to the sexy." ... "And in Charlotte,
more than 65 high-school students are participating in Pure Fashion, an
international faith-based program that recognizes "true beauty."" ... "It
was started in 1999 by a lay Catholic group, and has chapters in more than
25 cities, including Raleigh [North Carolina's capital]." -By
Rachel Sutherland -Charlotte.com
Barack
Obama - Professor
- Law
- Illinois- 2008
Election - "University
of Chicago: Obama was a 'professor'." ... "The University
of Chicago [Chicago, Illinois] said Friday [2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate] Barack Obama accurately described himself as a onetime law professor
at the school, despite the fact his formal title was "Senior Lecturer.""
... ""From 1992 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004, Barack Obama
served as a professor in the Law School," the statement said." ... ""He
was a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996. He was a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to
2004, during which time he taught three courses per year. Senior Lecturers
are considered to be members of the Law School faculty and are regarded
as professors, although not full-time or tenure-track," it also said."
-By Alexander Mooney and Peter Hamby
-CNN
Barack
Obama
- Christian
- American
- Race
- Politics
- History
- 2008
Election - 
Israel
- Military
- Terrorism
- Economy
- Health-Care
- Climate
- Housing
- Poor
- People
- Scholarships
- Family
- "A
More Perfect Union." ... [Partial text of Barack
Obama's speech "A More Perfect Union". Read full
text of speech or 
Watch
speech.] "[Barack Obama:] I have already condemned, in unequivocal
terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy.
For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally
fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I
ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while
I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political
views? Absolutely - just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from
your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed." ...
"But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply
controversial. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak
out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted
view of this country - a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that
elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with
America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily
in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from
the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam." ... "As such, Reverend
Wright's comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time
when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together
to solve a set of monumental problems - two wars, a terrorist threat, a
falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating
climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian,
but rather problems that confront us all." ... "Given my background, my
politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those
for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself
with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another
church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the
snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television
and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures
being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react
in much the same way[.]" ... "But the truth is, that isn't all that I know
of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped
introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations
to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a
man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured
at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who
for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God's
work here on Earth - by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy,
providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and
reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS." ... "In my first book,
Dreams From My Father, I described the experience of my first service at
Trinity:" ... ""People began to shout, to rise from their seats and clap
and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend's voice up into the
rafters....And in that single note - hope! - I heard something else; at
the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city,
I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories
of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion's den,
Ezekiel's field of dry bones. Those stories - of survival, and freedom,
and hope - became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our
blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day,
seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations
and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique
and universal, black and more than black; in chronicling our journey, the
stories and songs gave us a means to reclaim memories that we didn't need
to feel shame about...memories that all people might study and cherish
- and with which we could start to rebuild."" ... "That has been my experience
at Trinity. Like other predominantly black churches across the country,
Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety - the doctor and the
welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black
churches, Trinity's services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes
bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting
that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full
the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance,
the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias
that make up the black experience in America." ... "And this helps explain,
perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be,
he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my
wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him
have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat
whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect.
He contains within him the contradictions - the good and the bad - of the
community that he has served diligently for so many years." -By
BarackObama.com
-read full
text of Barack Obama's speech "A More Perfect Union" via
HavenWorks.com
Corporate
- Government
- Politics
- Hurricane
Katrina - 
Flood
- Disaster
- New
Orleans - 
Louisiana
- University
- Homes
- "Supreme
Court rejects Katrina victims' flood insurance case."
... "The Supreme Court refused Tuesday to offer help to Hurricane Katrina
victims who want their insurance companies to pay for flood damage to their
homes and businesses." ... "The justices rejected appeals from Xavier University
[in New Orleans, Louisiana] and 68 other individuals and businesses seeking
to allow their lawsuits against the insurers to go forward."
-AssociatedPress
Stephen
Colbert - Hillary
Clinton
- Barack
Obama
- Civil
Rights - History
- 
Humor
-
- Writers
- Union
- 
Entertainment
- 
Song
- Religion
- Medical
- University
- South
Carolina - Business
- 2008
Election - Politics
- "Colbert's
Civil Rights MLK Day Writer's Strike-Busting Writerless Show — In Song."
... "[Stephen Colbert,] After paying his respects to Monday's debate
and busting out a pretty darn good Tom Cruise imitation, Colbert made a
segue which, in retrospect, was brilliant: Moving from [2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate Hillary] Clinton and [2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama's bickering over who loved
Reagan more to the evidence provided by Tom Brokaw's book, Boom!
Voices of the Sixties, which, in addition to quoting Hillary Clinton
discussing how [former Republican President] Ronald Reagan finessed
the balance of his role "beautifully" on page 404, contains an early segment
devoted to the Reverend Andrew Young, the "last surviving member
of Martin Luther King's inner circle at the Southern Christian Leadership
Council," and lifelong, steadfast civil rights activist. Colbert got to
that — eventually — after first introducing a documentary-style segment
(in the style
of Brokaw's "1968" documentary, complete with soundtrack) about the
Charleston Hospital workers union strike of 1969, which was settled by
the young, er, Young, who negotiated with a vice president of the associated
Medical University of South Carolina — "the only administrator willing
to meet with Young was the newly-appointed vice-president of the medical
college, who had taken up the position just days before the strike was
called." The two worked behind the scenes to finally end the strike — and
on the hundredth day, they came to an agreement, awarding raises to the
striking workers." ... "That administrator? James Colbert — Stephen's
father." -By Rachel Sklar
-HuffingtonPost.com
"A-It's
All About Stephen."
Iraq
- Law
- Politics
- Jobs
- Teachers
- People
- Police
- Government
- Military
- History
- US
- "Iraq's
New Law on Ex-Baathists Could Bring Another Purge."
... "Maj. Gen. [Major General] Hussein al-Awadi, a former official in Saddam
Hussein's Baath Party, became the commander of the Iraqi National Police
despite a 2003 law barring the party from government." ... "But now, under
new legislation promoted as way to return former Baathists to public life,
the 56-year-old and thousands like him could be forced out of jobs they
have been allowed to hold, according to Iraqi lawmakers and the government
agency that oversees ex-Baathists." ... ""This new law is very confusing,"
Awadi said. "I don't really know what it means for me."" ... "He is not
alone. More than a dozen Iraqi lawmakers, U.S. [United States] officials
and former Baathists here and in exile expressed concern in interviews
that the law could set off a new purge of ex-Baathists, the opposite of
U.S. hopes for the legislation. " ... "The very first decree of the U.S.-led
occupation government was to disband the Baath Party and purge its members
from the government. Issued May 16, 2003, Coalition Provisional Authority
Order No. 1 also banned the top four ranks of the Baath Party from public-sector
jobs." ... "U.S. officials believed the order would remove about 20,000
Baathists, or 1 percent of the 2 million people in Iraq said to be party
members, according to L. Paul Bremer, then the occupation administrator."
... "He blamed the Iraqi politicians who oversaw the de-Baathification
process in mid-2003 for going beyond the intention of the order and purging
thousands of additional people, including about 11,000 teachers." ... "The
Iraqis tell a different story. According to Ali Faisal al-Lami, executive
director of the de-Baathification commission, Bremer's order pushed 140,000
Iraqis out of their jobs." (1, 2,
3,
4)
-By Amit R. Paley and Joshua Partlow
-WashingtonPost
John
Edwards
- South
Carolina - Workers
- Economy
- 2008
Election - Health-Care
- Kids
- Education
- "Edwards
gets union support, details $1.5B plan for SC." ...
"[2008 Election] Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Tuesday
won the endorsement of one of South Carolina's largest unions [the Communications
Workers of America] as he gave details of an economic plan his campaign
said would offer his native state's struggling economy $1.5 billion in
relief." ... ""Our country is no longer on the brink of a recession. I
think we're in one," Edwards said during a conference call with reporters
on Tuesday, a day after a testy debate between the Democratic candidates."
... ""I was proud to represent the grown-up wing of the Democratic Party,"
he told the cheering crowd." ... ""When all those kinds of personal attacks
are going on, it doesn't do a thing to help somebody get health care who
doesn't have it," Edwards said. "It doesn't do a thing to help our kids
get the education they need. We have work to do in this country."" ...
""There's a disconnect between Washington and the government paying attention
to what's happening in real people's lives, as opposed to just paying attention
to what's happening on Wall Street," he said." ... ""You watch what [Republican
President] George Bush does he just waits and waits and waits and then
by the time the water's coming in like a flood, he responds, which is exactly
what he's done about the economy," Edwards said. "A month ago I said we
had to do something about this and still be he waited and waited."" -By
Bruce Smith with contributions by Jim Davenport
-AP via-AJC
Corporate
- Energy
- Politics
- 
Enron
- California
- University
- Texas
- "Suit
against bankers tied to Enron debacle is tossed:
In dismissing the appeal by the University of California, nation's high
court appears to have doomed other big cases against former energy trader's
bankers." ... "The Supreme Court today dismissed a huge lawsuit growing
out of the Enron debacle that sought to hold Wall Street bankers liable
for scheming with the executives of the defunct Houston [Texas] energy
trader." ... "Lawyers for investment funds and pension plans, including
the University of California's pension plan, had sued Merrill Lynch and
the other bankers, seeking to recover more than $30 billion that was lost
when Enron folded in 2001." -By David G. Savage
-LAtimes
John
Edwards
- Education
- Health
Care - Working
- People
- Money
- 2008
Election - California
- "With
dig at Schwarzenegger, John Edwards campaigns in Calif.."
... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] John Edwards accused
[Republican California Governor] Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Thursday of
trying to gut education and health care programs at a campaign rally where
he also promised to usher in a new era of prosperity for working-class
America." ... "The Democratic presidential candidate expressed disbelief
that the Republican governor was taking aim at schools and the sick when
more investment is needed, not less. Schwarzenegger's spending blueprint
calls for 10 percent cuts to most state agencies and would slash classroom
funding by hundreds of dollars per student." ... ""The last thing that
needs to happen ... is to have any of the funding that is necessary to
provide health care for Californians cut. That funding needs to be there,"
Edwards said." ... ""We should not be cutting funding for K-through-12
education," he added. "Who in the world in America thinks we have too much
money invested in public education? This makes absolutely no sense."" -By
Michael R. Blood -AP
via -SFGate.com
Mike
Huckabee - 
Mitt
Romney
- 
Iowa
- Television
- Ads
- Crime
- Money
- Illegal
- Immigrants
- Colleges
- Abortion
- Health-Care
- 
Arkansas
- 
Massachusetts
- 2008
Election - "Huckabee:
Romney running 'dishonest' campaign." ... "Former
Arkansas [Governor and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate]
Gov. Mike Huckabee blasted Republican presidential rival [2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney as running a "desperate
and dishonest" campaign and predicted the former Massachusetts governor
won't be the Republican nominee." ... "Romney has been blasting Huckabee's
record on crime and taxes as governor of Arkansas in [Iowa] television
ads in the last days of the race." ... "Asked on Monday on CNN's "American
Morning" why he felt the need to respond to Romney's attacks, Huckabee
said, "I think a lot of people are deceived, and you have to ask do people
want to elect a president who has been dishonest in order to get the job
and said things about his opponents that simply aren't true?"" ... "With
the two men locked in a statistical dead heat atop the latest Iowa polls,
Romney has been airing television ads criticizing Huckabee for raising
state spending, backing in-state tuition for illegal immigrants at state
colleges and granting more than 1,000 pardons and commutations." ... "Huckabee
has said the claims are taken out of context, and hit back by questioning
the sincerity of Romney's opposition to abortion -- which was covered by
the state health care program Romney pushed through in Massachusetts."
-CNN
John
Edwards
- Working
- Family
- College-Education
- Money
- Race
- Des-Moines
- Iowa
- NC
- Barack
Obama
- Hillary
Clinton
- 2008
Election - "The
Road Warrior: Even if he loses in Iowa's bigger cities,
[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate John] Edwards can still
win by wrapping up smaller, far-flung precincts." ... "For months, Edwards
has been rounding up support in the state's rural precincts where the front
runners have paid less attention. While [2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate Barack] Obama and [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate
Hillary] Clinton have drawn crowds in the thousands in places like Des
Moines [Iowa] and Ames [Iowa], Edwards has been winning over people in
tiny towns like Sac City [Iowa] (population: 2,189). That's important,
the strategists say, because under Iowa's arcane caucus rules, a precinct
where 25 people show up to vote gets the same number of delegates as a
place that packs in 2,500. In other words, even if he loses to Obama and
Clinton in the state's bigger cities, he can still win by wrapping up smaller,
far-flung precincts that other candidates have ignored. "The bulk of our
support is in small and medium counties," says Jennifer O'Malley, Edwards's
Iowa state director. O'Malley says Edwards has visited all 99 counties
in the state; the campaign has so far trained captains covering 90 percent
of all 1,781 precincts. Rural voters are sometimes reluctant to caucus,
so the campaign has been enlisting respected community leaders to encourage
first-timers to get past their apathy or fear." ... "This could be wishful
thinking from an ailing campaign. But it's worth keeping in mind just how
wrong the media echo chamber can be when it comes to predicting winners
and losers. At about this time four years ago, Vermont Gov. Howard Dean
was the press-anointed darling who could seemingly do no wrong in Iowa.
Dour John Kerry was scorned by reporters as the should-have-been who had
blown it and couldn't possibly win. But on caucus night, Kerry wound up
the victor—and Dean wound up screaming. Reporters were left to wonder what
they had missed. One story the talking heads may be missing this time:
just how badly John Edwards hates to lose." ... "The desire to get ahead—to
win—is no small thing for Edwards. He was raised in the depressed town
of Robbins, N.C. [North Carolina], where his father, Wallace, worked in
a now long-gone textile mill. It's a biographical detail the candidate
mentions so often in speeches and campaign ads that it can sometimes border
on self-parody. Yet his father's story is what Edwards's campaign, and
political career, is all about. His dad worked his way up in the mill and
was promoted to supervisor. But without a college degree, there was only
so far he could rise. "He heard his mother and I talk about it at the dinner
table, so he knew what I was faced with," his father tells NEWSWEEK. Money
was scarce. Wallace was determined that John and his younger brother and
sister, Wesley Blake and Kathy, would attend college. He set an example
of self-improvement. He took classes offered by the mill, and tuned in
to the education channel on TV early each morning when the station aired
lessons in statistics and probability." ... "Tall and good-looking—and
he knew it—John Edwards was a popular student and a star football player,
skinny but fast. His high-school friend John Mashburn remembers Edwards
as a leader. "In a little redneck town, he was different," he says. There
was still racial tension in Robbins in the early 1970s, and black students
were sometimes mistreated. In protest, several of them once held a sit-in.
Edwards persuaded his white friends to join in. "Johnny got a lot of the
athletes, myself, our girlfriends … he was instrumental in encouraging
us," Mashburn says. John Frye, another high-school friend, says it was
a gutsy thing to do. He "stuck his neck out," Frye recalls. "There was
a price to pay in how some folks treated him after that. We had people
who didn't embrace desegregation even though it had been a bridge crossed
years earlier."" (1, 2,
3,
4,
5)
-By Arian Campo-Flores and Suzanne Smalley Dec
24, 2007 Issue -Newsweek
University
- Politics
- New
Jersey - "Police:
Princeton student faked attack, e-mail threats."
... "A [New Jersey] Princeton University student who argued that his conservative
views were not accepted on the campus confessed to fabricating an assault
and sending threatening e-mail messages to himself and some friends who
shared his views, authorities said Monday." ... "Princeton Township police
said Francisco Nava was not immediately charged with any crime, but the
investigation was continuing." ... "Nava claimed to have been assaulted
Friday by two men off-campus, police said. But he later confessed that
scrapes and scratches on his face were self-inflicted, and that the threats
were his work, too, said Detective Sgt. [Sergeant] Ernie Silagyi." -By
Geoff Mulvihill -AP
via -Newsday.com
Teen
- Women
- Government
- Science
- Money
- Education
- Politics
- History
- "First
rise in U.S. teen births since '91." ... "In a troubling
reversal, the nation's teen birth rate rose for the first time in 15 years,
surprising government health officials and reviving the bitter debate about
abstinence-only sex education." ... "The birth rate had been dropping since
its peak in 1991, although the decline had slowed in recent years. On Wednesday,
government statisticians said it rose 3 percent from 2005 to 2006." ...
"The reason for the increase is not clear, and federal health officials
said it might be a one-year statistical blip, not the beginning of a new
upward trend." ... "However, some experts said they have been expecting
a jump. They blamed it on increased federal funding for abstinence-only
health education that doesn't teach teens how to use condoms and other
contraception." ... "The new teen birth numbers are based on the 15-19
age group of women, which accounted for most of the 440,000 births to teens
in 2006. The rate rose to nearly 42 births per 1,000 in that group, up
from 40.5 in 2005. That translates to an extra 20,000 births to teen mothers."
-By Mike Stobbe -AP
via -Yahoo
Rudolph
Giuliani
- Mitt
Romney
- Mike
Huckabee - Immigration
- Politics
- Employee
- Legal
- Children
- College
- 2008
Election - Iowa
- New
York
- Arkansas
- "Topic
of immigration animates testy Republican debate."
... "The Republican candidates for the presidency engaged in a slashing
debate over immigration and other issues, confronting one another in testy
exchanges that reflected the wide-open nature of the race in the final
sprint toward the Iowa caucuses." ... "The debate Wednesday night showcased
some of the fierce battles that have raged recently between [2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidates] Rudolph Giuliani and Mitt Romney. Romney
accused Giuliani of making New York a "sanctuary city" for illegal immigrants
when he was mayor; Giuliani turned the tables on him, noting that Romney
had employed illegal immigrants at his home and adding, "I would say he
had sanctuary mansion, not just sanctuary city."" ... "After Romney and
Giuliani argued over immigration, Romney turned on [2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidates Mike] Huckabee for a proposal he made as governor
of Arkansas to give breaks in college tuition to the children of illegal
immigrants." (1, 2)
-By Michael Cooper and Marc Santora
-IHT.com
Religious
- School's
- Money
- Family
- History
- 
Oklahoma
- "Oral
Roberts President Resigns Amid Allegations (Update1)."
... "Oral Roberts University President Richard Roberts, son of the Christian
school's televangelist founder, resigned yesterday following accusations
that he used school funds for personal use." ... "The Tulsa, Oklahoma-
based university's regents will meet starting on Nov. 26 to discuss a replacement
for Roberts, 59." ... "Three university professors filed a lawsuit last
month against Richard Roberts. They allege that he used the school's aircraft
for a $29,411 trip to the Bahamas and spent school money to buy horses
for his children, according to John Swails, one of the plaintiffs." ...
"The university was founded in 1963 by Roberts' father, evangelist Oral
Roberts." -By William McQuillen and Jeff St.Onge
-Bloomberg
Money
- Politics
- School
- Healthcare
- US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- 
Christmas
- National_Debt
- Maryland
- "Bush
vetoes domestic spending bill: His first rejection
of an appropriations measure steps up his budget battle with congressional
Democrats, who deride as hypocritical his complaints about the price tag."
... "Intensifying his battle with Congress over federal spending, [Republican]
President Bush on Tuesday vetoed an appropriations bill for the first time,
rejecting $150.7 billion in spending for school aid, healthcare and other
domestic programs." ... "But as he complained about the cost of that bill,
which would have increased spending on these programs by 4.3% over last
year, Bush signed a $471-billion defense appropriations bill that pushed
up military spending by more than 9.5%." ... "And he urged Congress to
quickly appropriate $196 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."
... ""Congress' responsibility is clear: It should not go home for the
Christmas holidays without giving our troops on the front lines the funds
they need to succeed," Bush told business leaders in southern Indiana after
excoriating Democrats for mismanaging the federal budget." ... "The president's
veto and his complaints were greeted with derision by congressional Democrats,
who were quick to point out Bush's six-year record of approving unbalanced
budgets passed by Republican Congresses." ... ""It is patently absurd that
President Bush, whose irresponsible policies instigated record budget deficits
and added more than $3 trillion to the national debt, now wants to pretend
that he is somehow an exemplar of fiscal responsibility," said House Majority
Leader [and Maryland Democratic Representative] Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.)."
(1, 2)
-By Noam N. Levey and James Gerstenzang
-LAtimes
Money
- Television
- Religion
- University
- Politics
- Iowa
- "Senate
Panel Probes 6 Top Televangelists." ... "CBS News
has learned [Iowa Republican Senator] Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the
ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, is investigating six
prominent televangelist ministries for possible financial misconduct."
... "According to Grassley's office, the Iowa Republican is trying to determine
whether or not these ministries are improperly using their tax-exempt status
as churches to shield lavish lifestyles." ... "The six ministries identified
as being under investigation by the committee are led by: Paula White,
Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn.
Three of the six - Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar - also
sit on the Board of Regents for the Oral Roberts University." -By
Laura Strickler -CBSNews
United
States - Iraq
- Military
- Politics
- 
Kansas
- Illinois
- "At
an Army School for Officers, Blunt Talk About Iraq."
... "Here at the intellectual center of the United States Army [Fort Leavenworth,
Kansas], two elite officers were deep in debate at lunch on a recent day
over who bore more responsibility for mistakes in Iraq — the [Republican
President Bush's] former defense secretary, Donald H. Rumsfeld, or the
generals who acquiesced to him." ... "“The secretary of defense is an easy
target,” argued one of the officers, Maj. [Major] Kareem P. Montague, 34,
a Harvard graduate and a commander in the Third Infantry Division, which
was the first to reach Baghdad [Iraq's capital] in the 2003 invasion. “It’s
easy to pick on the political appointee.”" ... "“But he’s the one that’s
responsible,” retorted Maj. [Major] Michael J. Zinno, 40, a military planner
who worked at the headquarters of the Coalition Provisional Authority,
the former American civilian administration in Iraq." ... "No, Major Montague
shot back, it was more complicated: the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the top
commanders were part of the decision to send in a small invasion force
and not enough troops for the occupation. Only Gen. [General] Eric K. Shinseki,
the Army chief of staff who was sidelined after he told Congress that it
would take several hundred thousand troops in Iraq, spoke up in public."
... "“You didn’t hear any of them at the time, other than General Shinseki,
screaming, saying that this was untenable,” Major Montague said." ... "Much
of the debate at Leavenworth has centered on a scathing article, “A Failure
in Generalship,” written last May for Armed Forces Journal by Lt. Col.
[Lieutenant Colonel] Paul Yingling, an Iraq veteran and deputy commander
of the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment who holds a master’s degree in political
science from the University of Chicago [Illinois]. “If the general remains
silent while the statesman commits a nation to war with insufficient means,
he shares culpability for the results,” Colonel Yingling wrote." -By
Elisabeth Bumiller -NYTimes
World
- Climate
- Science
- Education
- 
Earth
- 
Environmental
- Emergency
- 
UN
- 
India
- US
- Politics
- 2008
Election - "Gore
and UN panel win Nobel prize: Climate change campaigner
Al Gore and the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have been
jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize." ... "The committee cited "their
efforts to build up and disseminate knowledge about man-made climate change"."
... "Mr Gore, 59, won an Oscar for his climate change film An Inconvenient
Truth while the IPCC is the top authority on global warming." ... "IPCC
chairman Rajendra Pachauri said he was "overwhelmed" by the award." ...
"He told a cheering crowd of colleagues and journalists outside his office
in Delhi [India's capital] that he hoped the award would bring a "greater
awareness and a sense of urgency" to the fight against global warming."
... "The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised the recipients' efforts to "lay
the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract [climate]
change"." ... "The committee said it wanted to bring the "increased danger
of violent conflicts and wars, within and between states" posed by climate
change into sharper focus." ... "It highlighted a series of scientific
reports issued over the last two decades by the IPCC, which comprises more
than 2,000 leading climate change scientists and experts." ... "Mr Gore
was praised as "probably the single individual who has done most to create
greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted",
through his lectures, films and books." ... "Speaking in Washington, Mr
Gore praised the IPCC, "whose members have worked tirelessly and selflessly
for many years"." ... ""We face a true planetary emergency," Mr Gore warned.
"It is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity."" ... "Correspondents
say Mr Gore's selection has prompted supporters to renew calls for him
to stand in next year's US presidential [2008 election] race. Until now,
Mr Gore has said he will not run." -BBC/News
Religious
- University
- Home
- Remodeling
- Jet
- Trip
- 
Autos
- Clothes
- Money
- Political
- Family
- Oklahoma
- Texas
- California
- "Scandal
brewing at Oral Roberts." ... "[Televangelist Oral
Roberts son and Oklahoma's Oral Roberts University President] Richard Roberts
is accused of illegal involvement in a local political campaign and lavish
spending at donors' expense, including numerous home remodeling projects,
use of the university jet for his daughter's senior trip to the Bahamas,
and a red Mercedes convertible and a Lexus SUV for his wife, Lindsay."
... "She is accused of dropping tens of thousands of dollars on clothes,
awarding nonacademic scholarships to friends of her children and sending
scores of text messages on university-issued cell phones to people described
in the lawsuit as "underage males."" ... "San Antonio [Texas] televangelist
John Hagee, a member of the ORU board of regents, said the university's
executive board "is conducting a full and thorough investigation."" ...
"The university reported nearly $76 million in revenue in 2005, according
to the IRS." ... "Oral Roberts is 89 and lives in California." ... "Richard
Roberts, according to the suit, asked a professor in 2005 to use his students
and university resources to aid a county commissioner's bid for Tulsa [Oklahoma]
mayor. Such involvement would violate state and federal law because of
the university's nonprofit status. Up to 50 students are alleged to have
worked on the campaign." -By Justin Juozapavicius
-AP via -Yahoo
University
- Free
Speech - Terrorism
- Intelligence
- Law
- Los
Angeles - California
- "GOP
politician sent email asking how to stop naming of dean."
... "A conservative [Republican] Los Angeles County politician asked about
two dozen people in an e-mail last month how to prevent the University
of California, Irvine from hiring renowned liberal scholar Erwin Chemerinsky
as its founding law school dean, a spokesman for the politician said Friday."
... "Making Chemerinsky the head of the law school "would be like appointing
al-Qaida in charge of homeland security," Michael Antonovich, a longtime
Republican member of the county Board of Supervisors, said in a voicemail
left with The Associated Press." ... "He was not available for further
comment on why he was getting involved in the situation at a campus located
outside his jurisdiction in Orange County [California]." ... "Chemerinsky,
a frequent legal commentator who represented exposed CIA [Central Intelligence
Agency] agent Valerie Plame, has repeatedly said Drake told him he was
out because he was "too politically controversial" due to his liberal activism."
-By Gillian Flaccus -AP
via -SFGate.com
Michigan
- Politician
- Crime
- Student
- "Michigan
GOP activist gets 5 years for sex assault." ... "[Republican
Michael Flory, 33,] A Michigan lawyer who sexually attacked a 21-year-old
woman at a Young Republicans convention here [Cleveland, Michigan] said
Thursday that he disgraced himself, his family and his political party."
... "[Judge Peter] Corrigan sentenced Flory, the longtime head of the Michigan
Federation of Young Republicans, to five years in prison." ... "The woman,
a Detroit [Michigan] college student, said she drank herself sick at a
Warehouse District bar on July 8, 2006, during the National Federation
of Young Republicans' convention. Flory, who led her state's delegation,
offered to take her back to her room. There, she said, he forced her into
sexual "atrocities" and called her degrading names." ... "The woman and
Assistant County Prosecutor Carol Skutnik said Flory and his friends later
executed a campaign of Internet postings and whispers within the state
GOP [Republican Party], accusing the victim of loose morals and character
assassination. " (1, 2)
-By Jim Nichols -PlainDealer
Mark
Foley - Gay
- Teenage
- Student
- Electronic
- 
Mail
- Internet
- Messages
- Florida
- Enforcement
- Politics
- "Foley
Unlikely to Be Prosecuted; Lewd Internet Messages Too Old."
... "Disgraced former [Florida Republican Representative] Congressman Mark
Foley, whose e-mails and instant messages to teenage former congressional
pages shocked the country, may avoid criminal prosecution in Florida because
of the state's three-year statute of limitations." ... "The Florida Department
of Law Enforcement did not start a criminal investigation of Foley until
November 2006, making it nearly impossible to prosecute what some officials
regarded as the best case, an explicit instant message sent by Foley to
a 17-year-old high school student in February 2003, when Foley was in Pensacola,
Fla." ... "Under Florida law, it is a third-degree felony both to use the
Internet "to seduce, solicit, lure or entice" a minor "to commit any illegal
act...relating to lewdness and indecent exposure" and to transmit any "information
or data that is harmful to minors...via electronic mail," which includes
instant messages." -By Vic Walter and Krista Kjellman
-ABCNEWS.com
Mitt
Romney
- Robert
Lichfield - Political
- Money
- Child
- Behavior
- Schools
- 
Utah
- Massachusetts- 
Maine
- 2006
Election - 2008
Election - "Businessman
quits as fundraiser for Romney: Robert Lichfield
of Utah is linked to the largest contribution in the 2006 Maine governor's
race." ... "Robert Lichfield, a controversial Utah businessman linked to
an organization facing civil allegations of child abuse and also connected
to the largest contribution in the 2006 [election] Maine governor's race,
has resigned from a fundraising position with [2008 election Republican
Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney's presidential campaign." ... "Lichfield
is named as a defendant in a federal lawsuit filed by more than 100 families
alleging that their teenaged children were mistreated at "behavior modification"
centers associated with the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs
and Schools, an organization that Lichfield founded." ... "Until he resigned
from the Romney campaign, Lichfield was co- chairman of its Utah finance
committee." ... "Lichfield's role with the former Massachusettts governor's
campaign has come under scrutiny since the Portland Press Herald/Maine
Sunday Telegram reported in May on both the civil lawsuit and Lichfield's
connection to contributions totaling $250,000 to a political action committee
established in Maine by the Republican Governors Association. " -By
Kevin Wack -MaineToday.com
Mitt
Romney
- Robert
Lichfield - Money
- Politics
- Child
- Behavior
- Schools
- Utah
- Massachusetts
- 2008
Election - "Top
Utah money man leaves Romney campaign." ... "A top
Utah fund-raiser for [2008 election Republican Presidential Candidate]
Mitt Romney's presidential campaign - who has links to an organization
facing a civil lawsuit alleging child abuse - is no longer part of Romney's
state finance team." ... "Robert Lichfield of La Verkin [Utah], who founded
the umbrella group called the Worldwide Association of Specialty Schools,
brought in some $300,000 earlier this year for Romney during a single Utah
event and has donated tens of thousands to the former Massachusetts governor
and other Republicans in recent years." ... "Lichfield is named in a federal
lawsuit charging that students of the "behavior modification" schools with
ties to WWASPS were subjected to "physical abuse, emotional abuse and sexual
abuse." The suit had 140 defendants at last count. " -By
Thomas Burr -SLTrib.com
Mitt
Romney
- Robert
Lichfield - Money
- Politics
- US
- Worldwide
- Children
- Behavior
- Schools
- Utah
- New
York - 2008
Election - "Romney
Cans Golden Goose Over Abuse." ... "[2008 election
Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney has asked his Utah
finance committee co-chair, Robert Lichfield, who is affiliated
with a controversial network of schools for troubled teens and has been
dogged by allegations of abuse and fraud, to step down, Radar has
learned." ... "Lichfield was named in a June 2007 complaint filed in federal
court in Utah by the families of 133 children who have attended schools
associated with WWASP, alleging that they were subjected to physical, sexual,
and emotional abuse. Plaintiff Chase Wood, who attended the Cross Creek
Center for Boys [in Utah] (founded by Lichfield in the late 1970s) and
another WWASP-affiliated school, claims he was fondled, forced to eat his
own vomit, and locked in a dog cage." ... "According to a class-action
lawsuit filed against him in New York in 2006 for fraud, Lichfield makes
$90 million a year through a complicated network of businesses based around
behavior modification and has owned or operated a total of 26 schools worldwide,
some of which have been closed by local authorities for mistreatment. The
lawsuit claims that the Academy at Ivy Ridge [in New York], a school that
sits on land owned by Lichfield and for which he has provided consulting
services, admitted students for five years without any accreditation as
an educational institution from the state." -By John
Cook -RadarOnline.com
US
- China
- Made
- Business
- Children
- Health
- Safety
- Brain
- Learning
- Consumer- Food
- Environmental
- Pet
- "Mattel
Recalls 848,000 Barbie, Other Toys With Lead (Update3)."
... "Mattel Inc., the world's largest toymaker, recalled about 848,000
Chinese-made Barbie and Fisher-Price products whose paint may contain excessive
levels of lead, its third in the past five weeks." ... "The 11 affected
toys include Barbie kitchen, living room and other furniture items as well
as Fisher-Price preschool Geo Trax Locomotive toys and Bongo Band drums.
No injuries have been reported, Mattel said today." ... "Mattel has recalled
21 million Chinese-made products since the beginning of August. U.S. officials
have raised alarm about tainted products from China including seafood containing
harmful drugs, toothpaste with an ingredient found in antifreeze and pet
food containing a chemical used to make plastic." ... "About 65 percent
of Mattel toys are made in China." ... "Lead may be toxic if ingested by
children and can cause brain damage, behavior and learning problems and
slowed growth, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency."
-By Heather Burke -Bloomberg
Iran
- 
Nuclear
- Energy
- Military
- Religion
- Economy- Student
- Free
Speech - "On
Two Fronts, One Nuclear, Iran Is Defiant." ... "Iran’s
leaders issued dual, defiant statements on Sunday, with the president announcing
that the nation had 3,000 active centrifuges to enrich uranium and the
top ayatollah appointing a new Islamic Revolutionary Guards commander who
once advocated military force against students." ... "The most recent report
of the International Atomic Energy Agency, released Thursday, said Iran
had 1,968 centrifuges enriching uranium at its main Natanz plant, 328 in
testing, and 328 in assembly — for a total of 2,624. The report noted that
the assessment was accurate as of Aug. 19, or two weeks ago." ... "The
goal of 3,000 centrifuges is significant to nuclear experts: they say that
if Iran could spin that many centrifuges nonstop for a year, it could make
enough highly enriched uranium for a single atom bomb." ... "[Iran's supreme
leader] Ayatollah Khamenei announced that Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, who
had led the force for a decade, would be replaced by Brig. Gen. Mohammad
Ali Jafari." ... "The Guards, which has about 200,000 members, controls
a
huge empire that has a stake in every significant corner of Iran’s economy
and its civil system of governance. Mr. Ahmadinejad was a member of the
Guards during the 1980 to 1988 war with Iraq, and he has placed dozens
of former members in leadership positions around the country and in the
central government in Tehran." ... "The Guards are, by design, the most
economic and politically independent body in the country, outside of the
supreme leader’s office. General Jafari has an established record of support
for the theocratic system of government, and its hard-line policies." -By
Michael Slackman and Nazila Fathi with contributions by David E. Sanger
and William J. Broad -NYTimes
US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- Computer
- Training
- "Army
cuts time spent on training: Aims to bolster front
lines quickly." ... "The US Army, struggling to cope with stepped-up operations
and extended deployments of its soldiers to Iraq [and Afghanistan], has
shortened the duration of several of its bedrock training courses so that
troops can return to fighting units on the front lines more quickly, according
to senior training officials." ... "One training course that is considered
the "first step" in educating newly minted sergeants -- the noncommissioned
officers considered the backbone of Army units -- has been cut in half
to 15 days. Meanwhile, an intensive program designed to prepare young officers
for advanced leadership has been compressed from eight months to less than
five months so that the Army can fill positions in constant demand from
commanders in the Middle East." ... "In a series of interviews in recent
weeks, Army training officials expressed confidence that soldiers are able
to master the skills they need to perform their jobs, and stressed that
their units are gaining invaluable, real-time experience in both wars.
But they also acknowledged that it is becoming increasingly difficult to
prepare them for all the missions they are assigned, such as tank crews
and artillery battalions that are participating in patrols and counterinsurgency
operations." ... "To help compensate for less time in the classroom, the
Army has established a growing number of mobile training teams. These small
groups of instructors, relying on computers and other advancements, bring
some training courses to soldiers in the field." -By
Bryan Bender -Boston/Globe
US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- Education
- Money
- History
- Virginia
- "Administration
Fights Dem Plan to Boost School Aid for Vets." ...
"The [Republican President] Bush administration opposes a Democratic effort
to restore full educational benefits for returning veterans, according
to an official's comments last week." ... "Senate Democrats, led by Virginia's
[Democratic Senator] Jim Webb, want the government to pay every penny of
veterans' educational costs, from tuition at a public university to books,
housing and a monthly stipend." ... "Such a benefit was a major feature
of the historic 1944 G.I. Bill, which put more than eight million U.S.
soldiers through college and is now credited by historians as fueling the
expansion of America's middle class in the post-war era." ... "Patrick
Campbell of the Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) endorsed
Webb's plan." -By Alexandra Bahou and Anna Schecter
-ABCNEWS.com
Military
- Law
- Computer
- Technology
- Online
- History
- "Documents
say Army knew of exam cheating: Crackdown spawns
imitators." ... "The Army was warned at least six years ago that its online
testing program was vulnerable to cheating, and has known for nearly a
year that soldiers are obtaining copies of exams and answers on the Internet
to fraudulently obtain promotion points, according to military documents."
... "The documents show that beginning in September 2006, the Army's own
computer technicians began monitoring soldiers' usage of shamschool.com,
the unauthorized website that is at the center of an investigation into
whether thousands of soldiers are cheating on the Army Correspondence Course
Program, known as ACCP." ... "Authorities warned the Army on numerous occasions
that portions of its online learning system are vulnerable to cheating
-- in direct violation of regulations and possible military law, according
to official military documents and reports." ... "The correspondence courses
are designed to help soldiers expand their military knowledge in a host
of areas, such as battlefield tactics and weaponry." ... "There were warnings
that the system could be compromised dating back to when the Army first
began widespread use of online courses in the late 1990s." ... "Specialists
at a workshop to enhance the Army's use of online education programs, which
the military convened in 2001 at Carnegie Mellon University, warned that
"the increased use of computer technology for distributed learning systems
. . . increases the odds of various forms of training compromise, such
as obtaining questions beforehand or enlisting a proxy for test taking,"
according to an official synopsis by the Army Research Institute." -By
Kevin Baron and Bryan Bender
-Boston/Globe
US
- 
Colombia
- Florida
- School
- Kids
- US
Immigration - Law
- "Can
Two Kids Alter Immigration Law?" ... "When teenage
brothers Juan and Alex Gomez were awakened at dawn on July 25 and arrested
by U.S. immigration officials, they simply became two more among the thousands
of kids who get snared in deportation dragnets along with their parents.
But this week Juan's Internet-savvy high school friends in Miami [Florida]
have turned his case into a cause celebre in Washington — and even if the
brothers eventually do get deported, the publicity they've garnered may
well boost the passage of a federal immigration bill that would keep other
young people like them from suffering the same fate in the future." ...
"Juan, 18, and Alex, 19, were toddlers when their Colombian parents brought
them on a visit to the U.S. in 1990. Despite having only a six-month visa,
the family did not return to their war-torn country and remained in Florida.
They started a modest business, sidestepping federal immigration authorities
for almost two decades. The boys, meanwhile, grew up as Americans and excelled
at school — especially Juan, who mastered 15 advanced-placement courses
at Miami's Killian Senior High School and almost aced the SAT before graduating
this past spring. Because the law denies benefits such as in-state tuition
to undocumented immigrants, the Gomezes could only afford community college
for their sons — but both were determined to earn college degrees." ...
"Each year some 65,000 kids graduate from high school in the U.S. under
similar circumstances." -By Tim Padgett
-TIME.com
| Education Notes: |
 - |
Education Weblog: Education Blog: |
|
|
|
http://allafrica.com/education/
The New York Times Learning Network
GrepLaw: More cyberlaw than you can fit on a floppy. - http://grep.law.harvard.edu
Google Search: teaching news Google Search: "education.+edu"
ED.gov - "U.S. Department of Education." >NLE - "National Library of Education." - ED.gov/NLE
EducationGuardian.co.uk
Google Search: "Innovation, Design, Entertainment, Art and Storytelling" Google Search: "Battle Stations 21" Google Search: "Naval Training Center"
Google Search: land grant universities
JURIST - World Law
UT Library Online - Journals - http://www.lib.utexas.edu/journals
The University of Iowa -- College of Education
|
|
