{"id":1061,"date":"2010-10-26T20:18:40","date_gmt":"2010-10-27T04:18:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/?p=1061"},"modified":"2010-10-28T21:19:01","modified_gmt":"2010-10-29T05:19:01","slug":"rouge-forum-update-the-education-agenda-is-a-war-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/rouge-forum-update-the-education-agenda-is-a-war-agenda\/","title":{"rendered":"Rouge Forum Update: The Education Agenda is a War Agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"

Little Red Schoolhouse<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Chicago Whittier Sitdowners Hold Strong For Complete Victory:<\/strong>
\n\u201cI was ignored, laughed at, intimidated and treated like a criminal by CPS.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of Arceli Gonzalez\u2019s opening remark Wednesday during her allotted time at the Chicago Public Schools board meeting is no longer true. The parents and activists protesting at Whittier Elementary School are not being ignored.<\/p>\n

After her contentious exchange with schools CEO Ron Huberman, Gonzalez and over a dozen other supporters of the protest filtered out of the board chamber. In the hallway, a gaggle of media crowded around for an impromptu press conference where Gonzalez said the sit-in would not end even if they received Huberman\u2019s promised letter outlining prior agreements to preserve the field house they call \u201cLa Casita.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the last 43 days, parents and activists from Pilsen have been living in the field house at Whittier, 1900 W. 23rd St., to protest the plan to demolish the decades-old building \u2013 deemed unsafe by CPS \u2013 and replace it with green space. It was to be the final part of $1.4 million in improvements to Whittier in the last year. The group demands a library for the school, one of over 160 in the system without a formal library.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want 10 books in the school, we want a full top-of-the-line library for our kids, just like other schools are getting,\u201d said Evelin Santos, a DePaul student from Pilsen who has been very active in the protests.<\/p>\n

news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/news.aspx?id=171262<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the Best Big Test Videos Yet:<\/strong> Male figure: Let\u2019s begin today\u2019s collaborative planning meeting with successes and challenges. Who would like to volunteer some successes? You are all required to volunteer successes.<\/p>\n

Female voice: My students are not understanding verse structure. We have been working on it for three days….<\/p>\n

Male voice: That is not a success. You need to mention a success for this week.<\/p>\n

Female voice: There have not been any this week. Today is Tuesday and Monday was a holiday.<\/p>\n

Male voice: See, it was not hard to find a success. Stop being so negative and we can get more done. Does anyone have a challenge to volunteer? voices.washingtonpost.com\/answer-sheet\/school-turnaroundsreform\/ha-funny-scary-education-conversation.html?wprss=answer-sheet<\/a>
\nwww.youtube.com\/watch?v=PGxHIWaF7oc<\/a>
\nThe Education Agenda is a War Agenda:<\/strong> CHULA VISTA, CA \u2013 Southwestern College today announced a major new partnership with the U.S. Navy and Department of Labor to train students for long-term, well-paying careers in ship maintenance and repair. The new program is the only one of its kind in California and open to anyone interested in becoming part of the Navy\u2019s civilian workforce.
\n\u201cOur students want an education that translates into a career. With this new partnership, they have yet another way to get it,\u201d Dr. Raj K. Chopra, Superintendent\/President of Southwestern College, said. \u201cWorking with our federal partners, Southwestern College is proud to offer diverse learning opportunities to our students and community.\u201d
\nThe program, called the Southwest Regional Apprenticeship Program, is based at the Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado. It includes academic and trade-based training, and provides its graduates U.S. Navy and Department of Labor Journeyworker certifications and a Certificate of Proficiency from Southwestern College.<\/p>\n

So You Want to Get a PhD in the Humanities? (Poignant video):<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.xtranormal.com\/watch\/7451115\/?ref=nf<\/a><\/p>\n

Another Creative Video by Jerry “Gangs in the Hat!” <\/strong>www.xtranormal.com\/watch\/7471189\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Stroker Mathis Sentenced<\/strong>: Former Detroit Public School Board President Otis Mathis was sentenced today to two years probation for misconduct in office related to accusations he fondled himself during a private meeting with the woman who was then serving as the district’s superintendent. www.detnews.com\/article\/20101026\/SCHOOLS\/10260389\/1408\/LOCAL<\/a><\/p>\n

More Detroit School Administrator\/Gangsters Charged:<\/strong> A federal grand jury today whacked a former Detroit Public Schools executive with new charges in a public corruption scandal involving inflated million-dollar invoices, kickbacks and expensive parties that were thrown on the school district\u2019s dime.<\/p>\n

Charged in the superseding indictment was Stephen Hill, 59, a former executive director of the Risk Management Department of the DPS, who allegedly accepted and demanded kickbacks from a vendor accused of looting more than $3 million from the school district by over-billing for inadequate work. Hill also accepted kickbacks in the form of a brand-new Mustang GT convertible in 2005, and a new Dodge Durango SUV in 2006, the indictment said.<\/p>\n

Hill also is charged with conspiring to use DPS funds to pay for his $40,000 retirement party when he temporarily left DPS in September 2005.<\/p>\n

Also charged in the superseding indictment were Sherry Washington, her sister Gwendolyn Washington, Marilyn White, and Sally Jo Bond \u2014 all of whom were partners in company called \u201cAssociates for Learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the indictment, Associates for Learning contracted with Hill to facilitate a wellness program for DPS employees that was supposed to cost $150,000. The company ended up billing DPS more than $3 million for the program, and gave Hill 5% of the total amount as a kickback, the indictment said.
\n\"\"<\/a>www.freep.com\/article\/20101027\/NEWS01\/101027063\/1318\/Ex-DPS-executive-others-indicted-in-corruption-case<\/a><\/p>\n

www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tcx9BJRadfw<\/a><\/p>\n

Perpetual War<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

2011 Exit? No! We Meant 2014. Pretty Much the Same Thing, eh? (call in another airstrike):<\/strong>
\nA chorus of military and diplomatic voices is predicting that combat operations in Afghanistan will likely continue for several more years, despite a promised U.S. timetable to begin withdrawing troops next July.<\/p>\n

Among those casting doubt on an aggressive drawdown in 2011 are former Marine Corps Commandant James Conway, who retired Friday; military analysts; NATO diplomats who will gather for a summit next month; and Marines serving in Helmand province interviewed by The San Diego Union-Tribune. www.signonsandiego.com\/news\/2010\/oct\/25\/allies-point-to-2014-for-exit-date\/<\/a><\/p>\n

From an On-the-Spot WashPost Reporter: Thanks to WikiLeaks, though, I now know the extent to which top American leaders lied, knowingly, to the American public, to American troops, and to the world, as the Iraq mission exploded. <\/strong>The American troops, who were risking their lives on the ground, witnessed and documented it themselves…was not \u201ccalming,\u201d as Rumsfeld would have it. Rather, this was sectarian war, and, over the next few months, the Bush administration\u2019s effort to convince the world that everything was hunky-dory in Iraq became less and less sustainable as the slaughter continued. According to the synopsis of the WikiLeaks documents by The New York Times, the death toll in 2006 reached beyond 3,000 one month.<\/p>\n

Late last year, I sat in on a seminar at Harvard\u2019s John F. Kennedy School of Government led by a former Bush official in Iraq and heard her say matter-of-factly that more than 1,000 people died in one day in the immediate killing after the Samarra bombing.<\/p>\n

But as the WikiLeaks documents show, Casey and Rumsfeld must have known that all along, owing to the accounts from their forces. Despite the statements of the top U.S. commanders at the time, it wasn\u2019t the journalists in Baghdad who were lying. www.thedailybeast.com\/blogs-and-stories\/2010-10-25\/wikileaks-shows-rumsfeld-and-casey-lied-about-the-iraq-war\/2\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Taliban Still Rising: <\/strong> An intense military campaign aimed at crippling the Taliban has so far failed to inflict more than fleeting setbacks on the insurgency or put meaningful pressure on its leaders to seek peace, according to U.S. military and intelligence officials citing the latest assessments of the war in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

Escalated airstrikes and special operations raids have disrupted Taliban movements and damaged local cells. But officials said that insurgents have been adept at absorbing the blows and that they appear confident that they can outlast an American troop buildup set to subside beginning next July.<\/p>\n

www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2010\/10\/26\/AR2010102606987.html<\/a><\/p>\n

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Puppet Gov on Obamagogue and the War Criminals: Hey Liberals How Are the Prosecutions Going?<\/strong>
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