Bill Gates tells nation’s governors that budget cuts do not have to limit school learning.

Really Mr. Gates ? This argument is more than a little truth challenged.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/28/bill-gates-budget-cuts_n_829218.html

From earlier posts on this blog.

Diane Ravitch “How did right-wing ideas become the education agenda of the Obama administration?”My sense is that it has a lot to do with the administration’s connections to the Gates Foundation and the Broad Foundation. Although both are usually portrayed as liberal or at least Democratic, their funding priorities have merged with those of the very conservative Walton Family Foundation. I explain this curious power elite in a chapter of my book called “The Billionaire Boys Club.”

Joanne Barkan.

Got Dough? Public School Reform in the Age of Venture Philanthropy Joanne Barkan, Dissent Magazine: "The cost of K-12 public schooling in the United States comes to well over $500 billion per year. So, how much influence could anyone in the private sector exert by controlling just a few billion dollars of that immense sum? Decisive influence, it turns out. A few billion dollars in private foundation money, strategically invested every year for a decade, has sufficed to define the national debate on education; sustain a crusade for a set of mostly ill-conceived reforms; and determine public policy at the local, state, and national levels. In the domain of venture philanthropy - where donors decide what social transformation they want to engineer and then design and fund projects to implement their vision - investing in education yields great bang for the buck." Read the Article

I have a suggestion of how Mr. Gates could assist the schools. He, and Microsoft could pay their fair share of taxes. And, he could talk to his many billionaire friends to pay their fair share of taxes. If the rich paid their share, the entire budget deficit could be ended in two years.

While Americans are being asked to sacrifice, major corporations continue to use the rigged tax code to avoid paying any federal taxes at all. If you have “one dollar” in your wallet, you’re paying more than the “combined income tax liability of GE, ExxonMobil, Citibank, and the Bank of America“:

“I have one dollar in my wallet. That’s more than the combined income tax liability of GE, ExxonMobil, Citibank, and the Bank of America. That means somebody is gaming the system.”

See the Fair Share effort at United for a Fair Economy. Here. http://www.faireconomy.org/

Second, we should have a 2% tax on sales of shares, stocks, and bonds. I pay 8% on gas and clothing. A financial transaction tax would resolve the budget crisis in a year. I wonder why it hasn't been adopted? Then, with tax fairness, we should continue to consider school reform.

Labels: Bill Gates, school accountability

100,000 Strong in Wisconsin

Labels: Rally, unions, Wisconsin

The Battle in Wisconsin and Rage Among Teachers

Diane Ravitch

Thousands of teachers, nurses, firefighters and other public sector workers have camped out at the Wisconsin Capitol, protesting Republican Gov. Scott Walker's efforts to reduce their take-home pay -- by increasing their contribution to their pension plans and health care benefits -- and restrict their collective bargaining rights.

Republicans control the state Legislature, and initially it seemed certain that Walker's proposal would pass easily. But then the Democrats in the Legislature went into hiding, leaving that body one vote shy of a quorum. As of this writing, the Legislature was at a standstill as state police searched high and low for the missing lawmakers.

Like other conservative Republican governors, including Chris Christie of New Jersey, John Kasich of Ohio, Mitch Daniels of Indiana and Rick Scott of Florida, the Wisconsin governor wants to sap the power of public employee unions, especially the teachers' union, since public education is the single biggest expenditure for every state.

Public schools in Madison and a dozen other districts in Wisconsin closed as teachers joined the protest. Although Walker claims he was forced to impose cutbacks because the state is broke, teachers noticed that he offered generous tax breaks to businesses that were equivalent to the value of their givebacks.

The uprising in Madison is symptomatic of a simmering rage among the nation's teachers. They have grown angry and demoralized over the past two years as attacks on their profession escalated.

The much-publicized film "Waiting for Superman" made the specious claim that "bad teachers" caused low student test scores. A Newsweek cover last year proposed that the key to saving American education was firing bad teachers.

Teachers across the nation reacted with alarm when the leaders of the Central Falls district in Rhode Island threatened to fire the entire staff of the small town's only high school. What got their attention was that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and President Obama thought this was a fine idea, even though no one at the high school had been evaluated.

The Obama administration's Race to the Top program intensified the demonizing of teachers, because it encouraged states to evaluate teachers in relation to student scores. There are many reasons why students do well or poorly on tests, and teachers felt they were being unfairly blamed when students got low scores, while the crucial role of families and the students themselves was overlooked.

Diane Ravitch.

Thanks to a reader for suggesting this post.

Labels: Barack Obama, Ravitch, teacher bashing, Wisconsin

Elementary Diagnosis

Omani police fired rubber bullets at stone-throwing protesters demanding political reform on Sunday, killing two people, and demonstrators set government buildings and cars ablaze, witnesses said. Hours after the violence, Oman's ruler, Sultan Qaboos, gave an order to create 50,000 jobs for citizens in the Gulf Arab state of 2.7 million people. Witnesses said more than 2,000 protesters had gathered for a second day in a square in Sohar demanding political reforms, more jobs and better pay before police tried to disperse them, first with tear gas and batons and then rubber bullets. Reuters

The monumental struggle for regimes in the Middle East and North Africa to contain their citizens' unrest has emerged front-and-center as the single most momentous, precedent-shattering series of events in modern Islamic history. Islam, which exerts such an especial covenant with its worshippers, exhorting them to submit in prayer five times daily, and which delineates every aspect of the lives of the faithful, has failed to teach its political leaders due respect for their populations.

While the mullahs, the clerics, the ayatollahs pound the lessons of the Koran into the malleable minds of Islam's faithful, further influencing them to obey and to submit to the prevailing order in each of their countries governed by dictators, theocratic despots, benevolent monarchs, oil-rich sheiks, and monstrous tyrants, the fundamental needs of those vast numbers who are unschooled, indigent and yet produce new mouths to feed year upon year, go ignored.

From Algeria to Yemen, Bahrain to Sudan, Qatar to Morocco, the average of each of those regimes' appearance on the human development index as judged by all civil, health, education and income indices are miserably low. On the consumer price index, the availability to these people of basic consumer goods, gives a result on average reflecting another failure. On the corruption score, most of these countries with rare exceptions have an unfortunately dismal rating.

On the index of freedoms for the people inhabiting countries like Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan and Egypt, among others, the result is intolerably low. But modern technology has impinged on all of these countries, from use of the Internet enabling access to social network sites, to cellphone use. As a result, it has become impossible for autocratic rulers to keep their populations ignorant of the freedoms available to people elsewhere in the world.

Freedom to vote in fair elections, freedom to join political parties other than the dominant one, freedom to dress as they wish, to consume music, to dance; freedom to purchase goods and services because they are available in societies where trade is seen as a positive element in the growth of a country's GDP. They also become aware that other countries' populations live under far fewer religious and political strictures.

Above all, they see that although unemployment exists universally, it does not exist to the degree that it does in Africa and the Middle East where the economy is far more stagnant and resistant to positive change, than elsewhere. The unemployment rate among educated and lesser-educated rural youth in Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, among others, is staggeringly high. And young people become restless.

They begin to agitate for their rights, not seeming to understand that their rights are totally dependent upon the whims of those who govern, and happenstance of their countries' economic performance. And there is just so many government jobs to go around in any country, before it begins to collapse in upon itself through the weight of poorly-functioning, non-producing jobs that do nothing to further the financial security of the country.

If there is a lack of enterprise and entrepreneurial spirit and opportunity, if industry and investment in production other than the extraction of naturally-endowed fossil fuels are not present nor encouraged, there is a limit to the number of jobs that can be made available. If people are not employed they cannot purchase even those foods that are available. And when there is a global food shortage bringing up the price of basic food and energy, it is highly concerning.

The very elemental formula for dissent and complaint, for protest and insurrection, for demands and resorting to violent rhetoric, descending into violent action is there: a bulging unemployed youth demographic, food scarcity, lack of fundamental civil freedoms.

Labels: Crisis Politics, economy, EDUCATION, Middle East

Refugee Claims

It is hard to turn people down. People who plead for the opportunities to start a new life. Because where they have come from they have been persecuted, their rights have been violated, they fear for their lives and those whom they love, and they have a wish to begin again, elsewhere, in a country that protects human rights. And which is well known for its generosity. Which would include its relaxed and compassionate social services.

In countries which neglect to protect, or even care about legally protecting their citizens' basic human rights, it is unlikely that a universal and easily-accessed hospitalization and medical system exists. It is also highly unlikely that there are well organized and taxpayer-funded social services available, from subsidized housing to paid dental care; an altogether enviable social welfare system to assist the unfortunate. Canada has these ingredients for decency because it is a socially advanced and wealthy country.

These benefits have wide appeal. And like all good things they are well known to exist, even among those outside the borders of the country. Who would dearly appreciate having the opportunity to take advantage of them. And so, Canada, a vast country with a relatively small indigenous population, made wealthy by its naturally-endowed riches becomes a target for immigrants eager to improve their aspirational opportunities, and refugees fleeing poverty.

A relatively new category of refugee claimants came into view in the past ten years or so. Women presenting with claims for refugee status on the basis that they have been sexually abused in their countries of origin and they are fleeing those violations of the human spirit. Many of these women come from the Caribbean. Where there is a cultural tradition of single mothers, of absent fathers, of physical abuse of women, and of wayward boys lacking discipline.

A handful of claims that were rejected by the Refugee Board or the officers of Citizenship and Immigration Canada were brought on appeal before the Federal Court. Which court has now seen fit to overturn those decisions, ordering new hearings into the women's application for refugee status. Four of the women claim spousal abuse; one, a Guyanese woman fled her country after having been raped in the presence of her children during a home invasion.

One of the women was Brazilian the other Mexican, and two were from St.Vincent. These are culturally and traditionally male-dominated societies, but even in Canada where women's rights are protected by law and violations taken seriously, there are brutal incidents of wife beatings and spousal murders. And there are unfortunate incidents of home invasions, and more than sufficient-to-despair incidents of brutal rape.

Women attempting to escape as refugees collapsed and corrupt regimes like Republic of Congo where rape of girls and women is used as a weapon of war would constitute legitimate refugees with legitimate gender-abuse fears. Women and girls who lived in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan had legitimate fears because of institutionalized gender abuse. As one of the IRB officers noted, state protection was available in the countries these five women fled.

And of one it was commented upon that while awaiting deliberation on her refugee claim, she had failed to demonstrate steady employment or financial independence throughout the eight years she had already spent in Canada. Canada, it hardly needs repeating, has an expensive and extensive health-care system and network of social support systems. The economy is strained enough to ensure that everyone is adequately covered.

Although Canada was the first country in the world to enact formal guidelines for assessing refugee claims by women facing gender-based persecution, it does not follow that all such claims have merit, that the women claiming persecution are honest. It seems likely, however, that the end game is to ensconce themselves in a generous welfare community with no obligation on their part to find independent employment.

Labels: Canada, Crisis Politics, Culture, Human Relations

SUGGESTION TO THE ACADEMY: ADD ONE MORE OSCAR CATEGORY

The OSCARS (c) always do a pretty good "IN MEMORIAM" montage.

I think they ought to build this category up and give an OSCAR (c) for BEST DEAD MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY.

Just kidding.

The show was awful.

ALSO:

I think the winners ought to stop saying, "I SHARE THIS AWARD WITH..." because they DON'T mean it: you know they won't actually share the award with anyone; they're gonna keep the dang thing on their own mantle.

Twenty-six assaults per day in Marseilles, France, courtesy the religion of peace.

AS RELIAPUNDIT EARLIER NOTED:

Mozlem Mayhem in France (From here.)

Twenty-six assaults per day in Marseilles.

Is there any need to comment on the figures when the figures speak for themselves?

When the Superior Court reopened after the New Year, district attorney Jacques Dallest (photo above) used the occasion to explain the figures in more detail. And this year, they are more painful than before. They paint the portrait of a city that is suffering from crime: a 19% increase in armed robberies over 2009. With, as the attorney said, "assaults" executed "only for lucre" rising at a frightening rate.

Three hundred crimes, major and minor, take place each day within the precinct (Marseilles-Aubagne-La Ciotat) of the Superior Court.

"Marseilles is a minefield of criminal infractions," attorney Dallest declared in summary.On November 11, 2010 a police raid turned up six weapons, including a replica of an M16 and a replica of an AK47.

Ammunition, bullet-proof vests and three stolen motorcycles were also found.Finally, according to the archbishop of Marseilles Georges Pontier, some Catholic schools implanted in "working class neighborhoods" have a student body of up to 80% Muslims!

For the archbishop, training through inter-religious dialogue will permit these questions to be answered: "How to announce the Gospel? How to accept Muslim holidays? What can we accept or not accept?"

According to archbishop Georges Pontier, "We must not run from these questions. Even if the subject is delicate and marks a juncture of the religious dimension and identitarian issues.

"Note: If 80% of the classes are Muslim there aren't many questions left to run from, except perhaps how to justify leaving the other twenty percent in this cultural cloaca.

And still these ridiculous religious "leaders" think they can deal with this in normal ways!!

More here.

MUSLIM CRIME WAVE IN MARSEILLE

THIS IS JUST THE START.

Where is HMS Ark Royal NOW? You Scumbag Politicians!

Irony of Ironies, a headline from the Telegraph, published a few minutes ago! Cameron is strong on words, but weak in both his head, his character and in any positive policies to protect either the welfare or the security of his countrymen!

Libya: Cameron proposes no-fly zone to protect Libyan people from attacks by Gaddafi loyalists

Labels: Cameron

More unrest in Oman - Do Cameron, Clegg and Hague realise where it is?

The BBC reports more unrest in Oman this afternoon, linked here, more dangers for our country with its historically challenged Coalition Government leadership!

Labels: Oman

Aussie Promo: The Daredevil in the Mold

Tipster: meg_pat2000

Labels: International Airings, Season Six, The Daredevil in the Mold, Video

DEATH OF CIVILIANS IN GAZA WAS NOT ISRAEL'S FAULT

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Israel cannot be faulted for death of civilians in Gaza while fighting against Hamas, as a panel has concluded:

JERUSALEM: Nearly nine years after the Israeli assassination of a Hamas leader in Gaza killed at least 13 civilians and led to international condemnation, a government-appointed panel has found the consequences ''did not stem from disregard or indifference to human lives''.

The three-member panel, headed by a retired Israeli Supreme Court justice, found on Sunday that the collateral damage was ''disproportionate''. But it said its examination of the operation according to Israeli and international law ''unequivocally'' ruled out a criminal offence.

It attributed the deadly results of the operation to ''incorrect assessments and mistaken judgment based on an intelligence failure in the collection and transfer of information'' among the different agencies involved.

Naturally, Hamas has condemned these findings, and will not accept any blame on their side, when as it so happens, it's their fault for getting civilians on their side blasted. They've practically used them as human shields and see no value in them except propaganda purposes to undermine Israel. And that's why Hamas has no legitimacy. Speaking of which, just look at some of this data on how they've been enforcing sharia and anti-semitic indoctrination. And then they have the sheer gall to accuse Israel of anything.

ISLAM AND THE CULTURE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

YOU CAN TAKE THE ISLAMO-MISOGYNIST OUT OF DAR AL ISLAM, BUT YOU CANNOT TAKE THE ISLAMO-MISOGYNY OUT OF THE MUSLIM.

NYTIMES: Abuse Often Follows Afghans to America:

In Afghanistan, a decade after the overthrow of the Taliban and the rise of an influential women’s rights movement, the violent subjugation of women remains broadly accepted. In recent weeks, the Afghan government has sharply criticized the country’s shelters for battered women and moved to take control of them.
But much more quietly, a culture of domestic violence — not only by husbands but also by husbands’ families — has followed Afghan immigrants to destinations like New York, where women’s advocates say they are now discovering just how widespread the problem is.

THE CULTURE IS ISLAM: WHERE THERE IS ISLAM THERE IS ISLAMO-MISOGYNY.

TO END IT ONE MUST EITHER ERADICATE ISLAM, OR MAKE ALL OF ITS PRACTITIONERS APOSTATES.

THIS IS NOT AN INTERNAL ISSUE FOR MUSLIMS BECAUSE THE HOMES IN WHICH THIS ABUSE TAKES PLACE ARE THE HOMES THAT BREED ISLAMO-TERROR AGAINST INFIDELS.

WHY/HOW?

SIMPLE:

A HOME THAT TEACHES ITS BOYS THAT ABUSE AGAINST WIVES AND MOTHERS AND SISTERS IS OKAY IS OF COURSE SIMULTANEOUSLY TEACHING THAT GENOCIDE AGAINST INFIDELS IS OKAY.