{"id":6724,"date":"2012-04-21T20:50:14","date_gmt":"2012-04-22T04:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/?p=6724"},"modified":"2012-04-21T21:57:54","modified_gmt":"2012-04-22T05:57:54","slug":"rouge-forum-dispatch-march-on-mayday-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/rouge-forum-dispatch-march-on-mayday-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Rouge Forum Dispatch: March on Mayday!"},"content":{"rendered":"

We Say FightBack!<\/strong><\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n

“The receipt of high monopoly profits by the capitalists in one of the numerous branches of industry, in one of the numerous countries, etc., makes it economically possible for them to bribe certain sections of the workers, and for a time a fairly considerable minority of them, and win them to the side of the bourgeoisie of a given industry or given nation against all the others. The intensification of antagonisms between imperialist nations for the division of the world increases this urge. And so there is created that bond between imperialism and opportunism, which revealed itself first and most clearly in Great Britain, owing to the fact that certain features of imperialist development were observable there much earlier than in other countries….<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a matter of fact the extraordinary rapidity and the particularly revolting character of the development of opportunism is by no means a guarantee that its victory will be durable: the rapid growth of a painful abscess on a healthy body can only cause it to burst more quickly and thus relieve the body of it. The most dangerous of all in this respect are those who do not wish to understand that the fight against imperialism is a sham and humbug unless it is inseparably bound up with the fight against opportunism.” (Lenin, Imperialism)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Rouge Forum 2012
\nJune 22-24 at Miami University (Oxford, OH)
\nAbout the RF
\nAccommodations
\nCall for Proposals
\nFeatured Speakers
\nGetting There
\nRegistration
\nRF 2012 Poster
\nRF Steering Committee
\nRF@AERA
\nProposal deadline extended to May 1<\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/strong>Proposals for presenting at Rouge Forum 2012 will be accepted unti May 1, 2012.
\nrougeforum2012.wordpress.com\/<\/a>
\nDetails for submitting your proposal can be found here.<\/strong>
\nOCCUPY EDUCATION! Class Conscious Pedagogies and Social Change<\/strong><\/p>\n

Quebec Students Rise Up Angry \u00a0(riot police an every day fixture—video embedded) <\/strong>Riot police used tear gas and concussion grenades on hundreds of students protesting outside Montreal’s Palais des congr\u00e8s Friday, where Premier Jean Charest was speaking at a symposium on northern development.
\nThe mayhem reached deep inside the convention centre, where Charest’s keynote speech was delayed after a group of protesters gained access to the building and confronted police guarding the meetings.
\nTwo police officers and at least two protesters were injured in the standoff, and 17 people were arrested.
\nFriday’s action is the latest in Quebec’s escalating student movement against planned tuition-fee increases.
\nCharest admonished the students and said the social disruption is “unacceptable.” \u00a0“This is 2012, this is Quebec. We have had ministers find tanks of gas on their verandas… Molotov cocktails in front of their offices. There are ministers who have had death threats,” the premier said.
\n“I find it unacceptable that one student association refuses to condemn violence,” he added, singling out CLASSE, the movement’s most militant group.
\nCharest said debate over Quebec tuition reaches back two decades, and his government’s decision to raise fees was made over a year ago after consultation with different groups. \u00a0 www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/montreal\/story\/2012\/04\/20\/students-palais-de-congres.html?cmp=rss<\/a><\/p>\n

Madison, MI, Teachers Sue to Halt Pay Cut <\/strong>Teachers in the Madison District Public Schools plan to file suit today against the district for imposing retroactive 10 percent pay cuts that take effect today.
\nBobby Robinson, a representative for the Madison Education Association, said the union particularly objects to provisions that make the pay cut retroactive to September 2011. An unfair labor practices suit and injunction request to stop the cut is expected in Oakland County Circuit Court.
\n“The 10 percent pay cut is one thing, but the retroactive part is against the law,” Robinson said. \u00a0http:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/article\/20120420\/SCHOOLS\/204200364\/1026\/schools\/Madison-teachers-sue-pay-fight<\/p>\n

www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OyKRn8hinb0&feature=relmfu<\/a><\/p>\n

Taxing the Rich is not Rich\/Abolition bwth: <\/strong>In France, Fran\u00e7ois Hollande, the Socialist who may well succeed Nicolas Sarkozy as president, wants to raise the top marginal income tax rate to 75 percent, calling earnings over a million euros \u201cimpossible.\u201d A candidate yet farther on the left suggests a top rate of 100 percent.\u201cThe debate in Washington is between the Bush-era and Clinton-era tax rates,\u201d said Mr. Diamond, whom Mr. Obama nominated to the Federal Reserve and Republicans blocked. \u201cOur finding is that the debate should be between the pre-1986 Reagan tax rate, which was 50 percent, and the rates that existed from Johnson until Reagan,\u201d which were higher.
\n\u201cThirty percent is three times smaller than the 91 percent of Roosevelt,\u201d Mr. Piketty said, responding to the Buffett Rule proposal and referring to the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who engineered the New Deal. \u201cAnd inequality is greater than in the time of Roosevelt.\u201d \u00a0http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/04\/17\/business\/for-economists-saez-and-piketty-the-buffett-rule-is-just-a-start.html?_r=4&pagewanted=2<\/p>\n

Crackup in the Ruling Class: Citigroup Boss Denied Bouus By Shareholders <\/strong> In a stinging rebuke, Citigroup shareholders rebuffed on Tuesday the bank\u2019s $15 million pay package for its chief executive, Vikram S. Pandit, marking the first time that stock owners have united in opposition to outsized compensation at a financial giant.
\nThe shareholder vote, which comes amid a rising national debate over income inequality, suggests that anger over pay for chief executives has spread from Occupy Wall Street to wealthy institutional investors like pension fund and mutual fund managers. About 55 percent of the shareholders voting were against the plan, which laid out compensation for the bank\u2019s five top executives, including Mr. Pandit. \u00a0 \u00a0http:\/\/dealbook.nytimes.com\/2012\/04\/17\/citigroup-shareholders-reject-executive-pay-plan\/?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120418<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>above, celebrate 41 years of the struggle to preserve Barrio Logan’s Chicano Park and its art<\/em><\/p>\n

The Department of Education, University of Athens, Greece is hosting the
\n2nd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CRITICAL EDUCATION
\n10-14 July 2012, Athens, Greece<\/strong>
\nOrganized by the journals:
\nJOURNAL OF CRITICAL EDUCATION POLICY STUDIES (UK)
\nCULTURAL LOGIC (USA\/CANADA)
\nKRITIKI (GREECE)
\nRADICAL NOTES (INDIA)
\nEle\u015ftirel Pedagoji (TURKEY)<\/strong><\/p>\n

icce-2012.weebly.com\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Congratulations on the Publication of<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n

George Schmidt review of the book and its relation to the potential Chicago school workers’ struke \u00a0 www.substancenews.net\/articles.php?page=3202&section=Article<\/a><\/p>\n

Blast from the Past<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

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

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High Stakes exams Eradicate Teaching of LA Rebellion (because the tests teach “it’s not right to rebel”) <\/strong>t two decades after the riots sparked massive violence that would leave dozens dead and thousands injured, lessons about them appear to be limited in Southern California classrooms. For many teachers, the pressure to teach content that will be tested in state standardized tests and Advanced Placement exams next month has crowded out time for the riots, however crucial they are to city history and the nation’s larger civil rights struggle.
\nThe Los Angeles Unified School District has not formally included the riots in its history curriculum because it is not part of the California social studies standards. The district plans to post material on its website for optional teacher use, however.
\nMichael Reed, the district’s history specialist, said the push to raise test scores has made principals “hawkish” about directing teachers to focus on the areas that will be tested. Test questions from the state’s eighth- and 11th-grade U.S. history exams released by state officials don’t stretch beyond the 1960s, although Reed said the latest tests included a question from the Nixon era of the 1970s. \u00a0 www.latimes.com\/news\/local\/la-me-riots-schools-20120415,0,487515.story<\/a><\/p>\n

Detroit Kids Walk to School Through Hundreds of Danger Zones (even on test days) <\/strong> The city’s crisis is mammoth. More than 3,000 structures in the Denby area alone are considered so dangerous, they need to be torn down. Last year, the city targeted the area around Denby and two other high schools for increased demolitions and patrols: Osborn, adjacent to Denby on the east side, and Cody, on the west side. More than 5,500 homes need to be demolished in the Cody area and more than 2,700 near Osborn. \u00a0 …More than 20,000 Detroit Public Schools students walk to bus stops to ride city or school buses each morning. Thousands more walk directly to school. For six months out of the year, it’s dark when they navigate around thousands of vacant structures.
\nAnd they do so in a city where more than 26,000 streetlights don’t work. \u00a0 www.freep.com\/article\/20120415\/NEWS01\/304150016\/For-many-kids-in-Detroit-school-zones-are-danger-zones?odyssey=tab<\/a>|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE<\/p>\n

Student Loan Debt Over One Trillion Dollars, the next bubble <\/strong> The growing student loan debt has led to concerns that it could harm the economy, especially since federally backed student loans can’t be discharged through bankruptcy. Recent reports show that student loans are on track this year to exceed $1 trillion \u2014 more than credit and auto loans. Meanwhile, default rates have climbed.
\n“Student debt has (been) growing for some time,” said Lauren Asher, president of the Institute for College Access & Success, an Oakland, Calif., policy organization that runs the Project on Student Debt. “College costs have continued to outpace both family incomes and available grant aid so students and families are increasingly turning to loans to fill that gap.”
\nThe student loan burden comes as cash-strapped states, including Michigan, continue to scale back support to public universities, leading schools to hike tuition, which means more students borrow more money to cover costs. Last week, Central Michigan University became the first of the state’s public universities to announce a tuition increase for the next school year. Others are expected to follow in coming weeks. \u00a0http:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/article\/20120417\/SCHOOLS\/204170370\/1026\/schools\/Students-amass-mountain-debt-default-rates-continue-climb<\/p>\n

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Banksters Clean up as States Borrow from Schools <\/strong> For the past decade governors and state lawmakers desperate to close deficits have adopted budgets that use a little-noticed accounting gimmick called a \u201cdeferral\u201d to borrow money from K-12 schools and pay it back in the next fiscal year.
\nThe problem is the state then immediately taps districts for yet another loan, perpetuating a borrowing cycle that persists today.
\nThe cumulative outstanding debt: $9.4 billion to K-12 schools statewide and $600 million to San Diego County districts.
\nIt would be easy to conclude that persistent school budget woes, including teacher layoffs and program cuts, could be minimized \u2014 if only the state would stop this temporary pilfering.But districts eventually do see the money months later. And by delaying payments the state avoids making permanent cuts in school funding on top of the ongoing reduction in spending that have hit education in recent years.
\nDeferrals also give districts the option of going out and borrowing money on their own to avoid deeper reductions locally. \u00a0 www.utsandiego.com\/news\/2012\/apr\/09\/state-borrowing-from-schools-is-adding-up\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Clairemont McKenna SAT Test Cheat “Alone” <\/strong> An investigation has shown that a Claremont McKenna College administrator doctored incoming freshmen’s SAT scores and other statistics in an effort to make the school appear more selective. \u00a0 The investigation also revealed that former vice president for admission and financial aid Richard Vos said he was responding to pressure from school president Pamela Gann to make the college more selective and did not intend to boost its ranking in U.S. News & World Report listings. \u00a0http:\/\/www.utsandiego.com\/news\/2012\/apr\/18\/probe-official-inflated-sat-scores-on-his-own\/<\/p>\n

San Diego Teachers Protest More than a Thousand Pink Slips <\/strong> \u2014 Hundreds of teachers turned their classrooms over to substitutes Wednesday to contest pink slips \u2014 or simply protest the San Diego school district\u2019s massive proposed personnel cuts \u2014 at hearings that give educators a last-ditch effort to save their jobs.
\nMany showed up in red union T-shirts and carried picket signs. Some brought stacks of papers to grade while they waited through the tedious proceedings. A few even arrived with babies, whose pediatric health care could be cut along with their parents\u2019 jobs.
\nThe San Diego Unified School District issued tentative layoff notices to 1,666 teachers \u2014 including 20 percent of the elementary teaching force \u2014 last month to cope with the state\u2019s fiscal crisis and help offset a projected $122 million deficit in next year\u2019s $1.1 billion budget. \u00a0http:\/\/www.utsandiego.com\/news\/2012\/apr\/18\/teachers-appeal-pink-slips\/<\/p>\n

Evolution Halted In Tennessee Again. Cretinism Sets In <\/strong> We now have compelling evidence that evolution doesn\u2019t happen \u2014 at least not in Tennessee. As of April 10, 2012, Tennessee has on its books a new law intended to undermine the teaching of evolution and promote the teaching of creationism in public schools. The legislation was opposed by pretty much every credible organization involved in the teaching of biology: the National Association of Biology Teachers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Institute for Biological Sciences, the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, the National Earth Science Teachers Association, the Tennessee Science Teachers Association and all eight Tennessee members of the National Academy of Sciences. But the legislators of Tennessee thought they knew better, and Gov. Bill Halsam, demonstrating neither courage nor conviction, allowed the bill to pass into law without his signature \u00a0 www.alternet.org\/story\/154961\/tennessee_skewers_teaching_of_evolution_in_schools_\u2014_is_your_state_next<\/a><\/p>\n

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Ed Department bogs Down on TED Evaluations (send them a 1% raise and they will vote for anything) <\/strong> – When the Education Department writes rules later this year that will change how teacher preparation programs become eligible for students to receive some forms of federal financial aid, it will tackle the task on its own.
\nA federal panel charged with recommending how best to overhaul regulations governing teacher preparation programs acknowledged Thursday afternoon that it would not reach a consensus on a set of proposals, and that the gaps between some negotiators — and between negotiators and the Education Department — remained too wide on too many issues.
\nAt the heart of the disagreement was what role, if any, evaluations of teachers based on their students\u2019 test scores should play when judging teacher preparation programs and, in the case of programs at colleges and universities, determining eligibility for some forms of financial aid. The failure to agree on new rules means that Education Department officials are free to write their own language, although they will be doing so after hearing strong objections from many negotiators to the federal proposals. \u00a0 \u00a0http:\/\/www.insidehighered.com\/news\/2012\/04\/13\/rule-making-teacher-preparation-programs-fails-reach-consensus<\/p>\n

UCSD’s Compton Cookout Reverberates Still <\/strong>Hosted by a fraternity in February 2010, the Compton Cookout invited women to dress as \u201cghetto chicks\u201d who \u201cusually have gold teeth, start fights and drama and wear cheap clothes.\u201d The invitation, posted on Facebook, promised chicken and watermelon.
\nWhen news of the event became public, it was immediately blasted by student leaders, civil rights activists and the chancellor.
\nAfrican American students contended that the party was part of an overall attitude of harassment and exclusion at the La Jolla campus, where African American students comprised less than 2% of undergraduates. \u00a0 \u00a0http:\/\/latimesblogs.latimes.com\/lanow\/2012\/04\/uc-san-diego-racial-harassment-settlement.html<\/p>\n

California University Bosses Party on While Tuition Booms <\/strong> As San Diego\u2019s public universities scaled back enrollment, cut classes and hiked tuition in recent years, the institutions increased spending on end-of-year and holiday parties for staff, public records show.
\nThe University of California San Diego spent $247,996 on such celebrations in 2011, up from $179,552 in 2010, according to reimbursement records. Much of it was for the medical center staff, which receives little in taxpayer funds but remains a public facility.
\nThe amount put UCSD in first place among 47 public agencies surveyed \u00a0 www.utsandiego.com\/news\/2012\/apr\/11\/drag-show-lips-and-more-sdsu-party-expenses\/<\/a><\/p>\n

A Sample of the Expenses from San Diego State’s Elites <\/strong> \u2022 Faculty and staff in the biology department ventured off campus Dec. 8 to Lips Restaurant for food and drinks and a drag show. The outing totaled $2,633.26. The department spent $2,945 for their holiday gathering the year before held on campus, which featured a disc jockey for four hours.
\n\u2022 SDSU\u2019s university relations and development staff celebrated the holidays Dec. 13, 2011 at Slater\u2019s 50\/50 at a cost of $1,816.25.<\/p>\n

The International Hot War of the Rich on the Poor<\/strong><\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout history many nations have suffered a physical defeat, but that has never marked the end of a nation. But when a nation has become the victim of a psychological defeat, then that marks the end of a nation.\u201d
\n\u2015 Ibn Khaldun, The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History (Abridged Edition) (Bollingen Series<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n

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Vets Comment on the Product of Endless Imperialist Warfare: barbarism <\/strong>In a war directed against an entire population that overwhelmingly opposes the foreign occupation, where every Afghan is considered “fair game,” grotesque conduct as revealed in the most recent photos is inevitable. No condemnation from Pentagon officials will put an end to it. No token punishment of rank-and-file soldiers will prevent further crimes from taking place. No public relations campaign by the White House will change the reality on the ground in Afghanistan.
\nThere is no “good conduct” in a colonial-type war. There is no such thing as a “kinder, gentler” occupation by the most destructive military machine on the planet, attempting to subjugate an impoverished population that stands in strong, determined opposition to foreign troops on their soil. This is the reality of the war, and will be until all U.S. forces have left. \u00a0(March Forward)<\/p>\n

Panetta: No Kidding. We are Serious this time. We are sorry to have produced too Many Barbarized Ghoul Troups: <\/strong> Defense Secretary Leon Panetta apologized Wednesday for gruesome, newly revealed photographs that show U.S. soldiers posing with the bloodied remains of dead insurgents in Afghanistan. He said war can lead young troops to “foolish decisions” and expressed concern the photos could incite fresh violence against Americans. \u00a0 www.google.com\/hostednews\/ap\/article\/ALeqM5j0AhpOA5VCO1LuzluMn_jBHMLfiQ?docId=ac5420e77e5145e6aba022b82bce0b35<\/a><\/p>\n

Say Leon, How do you Feel About WW3? <\/strong>Defense Secretary Leon Panetta offered a blunt assessment of the threats facing the United States on Wednesday, saying the potential for another war breaking out remains high in places like North Korea.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re within an inch of war almost every day in that part of the world,\u201d Panetta said in an interview with CNN\u2019s Wolf Blitzer, in response to a question about the threats in the Korean Peninsula. \u201cAnd we just have to be very careful about what we say and what we do.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0 thehill.com\/blogs\/defcon-hill\/policy-and-strategy\/222387-panetta-were-within-an-inch-of-war-almost-every-day<\/a><\/p>\n

Mini-Tet? Taliban hits Kabul <\/strong> At least 11 police officers and five civilians were injured and 19 insurgents killed in Sunday\u2019s brazen attacks on foreign and Afghan targets in Afghanistan’s capital and eastern provinces, government officials said.
\nFierce fighting continued throughout Kabul seven hours after the attack was launched around lunchtime on the U.S., British, German and Russian embassies, parliament, NATO headquarters and a military academy in some of the capital\u2019s most heavily guarded neighborhoods.
\nThe government said that by early evening all of the attackers in sites around Kabul had been surrounded by Afghan Security Forces.
\nThe Taliban took responsibility for the assaults in a message to the media, calling it part of a spring offensive.
\nThe attacks caused panic and fear throughout Kabul. \u00a0 \u00a0http:\/\/latimesblogs.latimes.com\/world_now\/2012\/04\/afghanistan-attacks-kabull-embassies.html<\/p>\n

Look! Up in the Air! It’s a Plane! It’s A War Plane! No! Wait! It’s A \u00a0Job! It’s AMERICA! \u00a0It’s BOTH! <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> The radar-evading F-35 fighter jet, a nearly $400-billion weapons program under development for more than a decade, is facing its worst turbulence since Washington decided to buy it in 2001 \u2014 when it was billed as the most affordable, lethal and survivable military aircraft ever built for the U.S. and its allies.
\nAt a time when federal spending is under a microscope, the plan to develop and build 2,443 airplanes is hundreds of billions of dollars over budget. The F-35, known as the Joint Strike Fighter, has been delayed by glitches in its onboard computer systems, cracks in structural components and troubles with its electrical system.
\nA two-star general serving as the military’s project manager was fired over the program’s never-ending problems. The Pentagon has delayed orders of the aircraft, and the fighter jet is caught in the middle of a major spending fight in Congress. What’s more, the plane has roiled political debate in Canada, the Netherlands and other allies that are picking up 10% of the development costs. \u00a0 \u00a0http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/business\/la-fi-fighter-jet-woes-20120419,0,2972144.story<\/p>\n

Are We Still in Iraq? Are there problems? <\/strong> A string of deadly explosions and other attacks shook Iraq on Thursday, with bombings in Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk resulting in the most fatalities. Over all, nearly three dozen people were killed and more than 100 wounded, according to security officials.
\nBy the standards of Iraq \u2014 where attacks occur daily, although at a much diminished rate compared with the height of the war \u2014 the wave of violence on Thursday was not extraordinary, although it was a reminder, after weeks of relative calm, that an organized insurgency remained active. \u00a0 www.nytimes.com\/2012\/04\/20\/world\/middleeast\/iraq-attacks-kill-dozens.html<\/a><\/p>\n

The US, Biggest Arms Dealer in the World, under Obamagogue, Wants more Secret Deals (liberals who want to disarm Americans Arm the World’s Tyrants) <\/strong> <\/strong>The Obama administration has blunted Congress\u2019s authority over proposed arms sales to other countries in an effort to cut legislators out of an increasingly prominent aspect of U.S. foreign policy.
\nOverseas arms sales account for a growing percentage, in some cases up to 25 percent or more, of annual revenue for the military-indutrial complex, and the Obama administration wants more authority to approve such sales to top buyers like Israel and Saudi Arabia without congressional oversight. \u00a0http:\/\/news.antiwar.com\/2012\/04\/19\/white-house-curtails-congresss-authority-on-arms-sales\/<\/p>\n

Marx: It is a small step from Troops Killing themselves, to killing officers <\/strong> HERE\u2019S a window into a tragedy within the American military: For every soldier killed on the battlefield this year, about 25 veterans are dying by their own hands. \u00a0 An American soldier dies every day and a half, on average, in Iraq or Afghanistan. Veterans kill themselves at a rate of one every 80 minutes. More than 6,500 veteran suicides are logged every year \u2014 more than the total number of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq combined since those wars began. \u00a0 www.nytimes.com\/2012\/04\/15\/opinion\/sunday\/kristof-a-veterans-death-the-nations-shame.html?_r=2<\/a><\/p>\n

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US Drones Will Continue to Bomb Pakistan <\/strong> Yesterday\u2019s statement from the Pakistani parliament has not changed anything, according to Obama Administration officials, who insist that drone strikes against Pakistan\u2019s tribal area will continue over any objections. They also addressed reports that the reduction in attacks in recent weeks was an effort to placate Pakistan, insisting that the strikes proved how successful the assassination campaign has been, and that it has sent everyone into hiding. \u00a0 \u00a0http:\/\/news.antiwar.com\/2012\/04\/13\/us-drone-strikes-against-pakistan-will-continue\/<\/p>\n

More than 9 Sexual Assaults a Day in US Military <\/strong> The number of sexual assault reports involving servicemembers remained relatively unchanged in fiscal 2011, according to an annual Department of Defense report on sexual assaults released Friday afternoon.
\nThe 3,192 reported incidents were just 34 more than the previous year, a 1 percent increase. But so many sexual assaults go unreported that Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta estimated earlier this year that the total number is closer to 19,000.
\nThe DOD offers two reporting options for sexual assault victims: restricted and unrestricted. Restricted reports allow victims to seek medical treatment and other services but remain confidential, which means the crimes are not investigated and few details are available. \u00a0 \u00a0http:\/\/www.stripes.com\/news\/dod-number-of-sex-assault-reports-holds-steady-in-2011-1.174405<\/p>\n

Why Do We Not hear, “bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb bomb Bahrain”? <\/strong> After a night of clashes between antigovernment demonstrators and the police, a protester was found dead Saturday near the capital as Bahrain struggled to restore calm before an international auto race on Sunday. Opposition groups blamed the police for the death. \u00a0http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/04\/22\/world\/middleeast\/in-bahrain-more-clashes-and-death-of-a-protester.html?ref=global-home<\/p>\n

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Who’s Coup in Guinea-Bissau? <\/strong> No elected president here has ever finished a full term. In 2009, the president was assassinated. And in January this year, his replacement, Malam Bacai Sanha, died from complications related to diabetes.
\nIn an emergency presidential election on March 18, Gomes won 49 percent \u2014 just shy of enough to win the election outright. A runoff is scheduled for April 29, but opposition candidates, including former President Kumba Yala, declared the first round of elections fraudulent, though international observers said there were no irregularities.
\nYala, who has a good relationship with the military, has refused to participate in the runoff election. He warned at a recent press conference: “Whoever dares to campaign will be responsible for what happens.”
\nThe nation also is a hotbed for the cocaine trade. Latin American drug smugglers ferry the drugs here to the nation’s uninhabited islands in the Atlantic Ocean. From there it is trafficked to Europe.<\/p>\n

The International Economic War of the Rich on the Poor<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Financial \u2018Reform\u2019 Failure: Chase, Bank Of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs Now 30% Bigger; Control Assests Equal To 56% Of U.S. Economy <\/strong> Five banks \u2013 JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. \u2014 held $8.5 trillion in assets at the end of 2011, equal to 56% of the U.S. economy, according to the Federal Reserve.\u201d Behold! The fruits of toothless, non-regulating financial \u2018reform\u2019! Financial oligarchs now control assets equal to a majority of the U.S. economy. They\u2019ve gained complete control of the European economy, and many others around the world. The conditions have been created for a bigger and more devastating global economic crash, \u00a0 theoldspeakjournal.wordpress.com\/2012\/04\/19\/financial-reform-failure-chase-bank-of-america-citigroup-wells-fargo-goldman-sachs-now-30-bigger-control-assests-equal-to-56-of-u-s-economy\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Drunken WhoreMongering Uzi Carrying Decadent Gang Won’t Pay Up (diving into the honeypot) <\/strong> \u2014 The Secret Service announced on Friday that three of its employees under investigation in connection with misconduct with prostitutes last week in Colombia have decided to resign, bringing to six the number of individuals forced out of the agency in the case. \u00a0 \u00a0http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/04\/21\/world\/americas\/secret-service-to-dismiss-2-more-in-scandal-official-says.html?ref=global-home<\/p>\n

Cracks in the Chinese Social Fascist Clique (the Long March for this? Let us withdraw this mandate from heaven) <\/strong> After a pampered childhood in the walled compounds of the Chinese capital, he was sent off for schooling in England, where he developed a reputation as an academically indifferent bon vivant with a weakness for European sports cars, first-class air travel, equestrian sports and the tango. \u00a0 … Bo Guagua\u2019s high living clearly irritated party leaders, who named the son, a 24-year-old student at Harvard, in the official statement describing the reasons for his father\u2019s fall from power.
\nOne former government employee with party ties said the leadership tolerated a certain level of corruption among top officials or their relatives as long as it was kept out of public view. He said Mr. Bo\u2019s collegiate antics, splashed across the Internet, were emblematic of an ambitious, cocksure family who often ignored the party\u2019s conservative standards of public behavior.
\nThe resulting buzz also drew unwanted attention to other so-called princelings, who often leverage their bloodline for financial gain but generally seek to avoid publicity lest it damage the party\u2019s image of self-sacrifice and asceticism.
\n\u201cIf you\u2019re discreet, they look the other way,\u201d the former government employee said. \u201cBut Guagua\u2019s behavior was striking by the standards; urinating against a fence at Oxford, kissing foreign girls \u2014 it all goes down bad in China.\u201d \u00a0 www.nytimes.com\/2012\/04\/17\/world\/asia\/bo-guaguas-parties-and-privilege-aggravate-elite-chinese-familys-fall.html?_r=3&pagewanted=all<\/a><\/p>\n

www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Bwb3ma33QT0&feature=related<\/a><\/p>\n

Jeff Neeley’s and GSA’s $823,000 Bash (clowns! Mediums! Where was the Secret Service?) <\/strong> You knew government bureaucrats were living large when they hired a medium.
\nAnd this mind reader who helped government workers communicate with the dead was just the beginning of the scandal involving the General Services Administration\u2019s $823,000 spending spree in Las Vegas. \u00a0There was also the $75,000 bicycle-building exercise, the clown show, 1,000 sushi rolls at $7 a pop, $6,325 spent on commemorative coins, $8,130 for souvenir books and 300 helpings of \u201cBoursin Scalloped Potato with Barolo Wine Braised Short Ribs\u201d at $5 each.
\nThe official responsible for the 2010 soiree \u2014 Jeffrey Neely \u2014 said he wanted his conference to be \u201cover the top.\u201d By all accounts, he achieved his goal \u2014 and now the party\u2019s over. \u00a0 \u00a0http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/what-was-the-gsas-jeffrey-neely-thinking\/2012\/04\/16\/gIQAC2nTMT_story.html<\/p>\n