Al Qaeda Plan to Drain US Economy - Did Fall of Soviet Union Result From Similar US Policy?
In an audio speech a day after the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, Ayman al-Zawahri, the leader of Al Qaeda, called on Muslims to carry out a “a few disparate attacks” on American soil and to “bleed America economically,”.. NY Times, Attack U.S., Qaeda Chief Tells Muslims in a SpeechFor those of us in the 70s and 80s calling for a shift in US defense spending into so
Elfrank-Dana: Advance will fail because of its hopeless departure from sound construction
John Elfrank-Dana is chapter leader of Murry Bergtraum HS, a school squarely in the target zone of the Bloomberg/Tweed mantra of "Let's do what it takes to make the school fail so we can close it and give the building to Eva Moskowitz."John, who created the short film, Advance - sent this to his principal:The faculty votes DEFAULT (growth).We know it's no fault of your own, but this cho
SUPE Opens National Campaign: Students Resisting Teach for America
Davids battling the multimillion dollar TFA Goliath. Support them here: Donation Page: http://www.gofundme.com/4ar298Dear SUPE Supporter,Tonight, thousands and thousands of soon-to-be college graduates will be submitting their applications to apply to be future Teach for America corp members.With that being said, we couldn't think of a better night to make our first official announcement of our up
John Merrow Goes Through Rhee Withdrawal; Ravitch Disagrees
I am done reporting about Michelle Rhee. For one thing, there are many education stories of greater national significance to cover. ... John MerrowJohn, the story remains. It is not finished... Diane Ravitch [Why doesn't John Merrow get it? That the Rhee story with all its extensions IS the story of ed deform -- in spades.] Merrow wrote about the refusal of the mainstream press to pursue the Rhee
YESTERDAY
Portelos Hearing: NY Post Reporter Reuven Fenton Commits Journalistic Malpractice
Yes, Reuven, the staff of IS 49 was so intimidated, threatened, manipulated, demoralized, and polarized that they elected Portelos chapter leader. Twice. While he was in the rubber room.Re-EditedNY Post hack reporter Reuven Frank, right, with NY Post PhotogI know some people are anxious to find out about Day 1 of the Portelos 3020 hearing yesterday.But you won't find anything accurate in Reuven Fe
SEP 12
Heading to Portelos Hearing (Sept 12) This Morning at 10
A modern day Frank Serpico, only this one, Portelos, banished in often solitary confinement to the rubber rooms that the master of disinformation UFT president Mulgrew said were closed three years ago. Yes, public, know a teller of disinformation (Mulgrew) by the company he keeps (candidate Thompson) -read here and here, here, here, here. ..... New York City EyeI may do some tweeting from there e
Can UFT Close Achievment Gap Betweem Thompson and di Blasio?
14% pts bigger gap than Weiner had in 05-dropped out for unity. Thompson should DOASWEINERDID.But the elites, including the UFT, fearing di Blasio won't let him do it. They want to squeeze very ounce out of this race.So if we don't see 40% watch them all jump on board for Thompson. Bloomberg (behind the scenes) etc plus the UFT.So tell me my friends, which side are they on?Here is a comment on my
Ravitch and New Book Today at Judson Church
I'll be there taping and interviewing and some MOREistas will be there to distribute the hot off the press new newsletter, MORE Stuff in Your Mailbox. If there is one thing to fault Diane on in her book (and I haven't finished all of it) is her allowing the unions off the hook for their complicity in ed deform. I do get there are long-time relationships she has. But there were also long-time relat
SEP 11
Everything you ever wanted to know about the 9/11 conspiracy theory in under 5 minutes
This is almost funny. Almost. Or very scary.Posted at http://www.corbettreport.com/911-a-conspiracy-theory/11 Sep 2011 9/11: A Conspiracy Theory Posted by Corbett Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadEverything you ever wanted to know about the 9/11 conspiracy theory in under 5 minutes.(Watch French, German, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew or Portuguese translations of this video.)TRANSCRIPT: On the mor
Once Again Randi and Mulgrew May Give Us a Bloomberg Like Candidate
After all, the reason D'amato and Tisch and some of the other plutocrats and their functionaries backed Thompson was to cause maximum damage in the Democratic primary and, if possible, have an anemic candidate like Thompson in the general election. If anybody gives Joe Lhota a shot to win, it's an awful candidate like Bill Thompson. ... Reality Based Educator.You really can't make this stuff up, g
De Blasio at 40.02% With 95% Precincts Reporting
I have an entire post ready to go talking about a Big Bill, Little Bill runoff. Thompson is about 26%, just a point or two off my prediction earlier in the day. I am surprised deB has held up at around 40%. I was expecting some blow-back to drive him down to about 36%.What a difference a few votes will make. My Sal Albanese vote may be the difference. My Rockaway loyalty drove me there, as Sal cam
Leticia James in Strong Showing But Faces a Runoff, Stringer a Winner
My wife just asked me who she voted for for Public Advocate based on my recommendation and when I said Leticia James, she said, "Who's she?" Right now James and Squadron are neck and neck at around 33% but with 4 candidates neither will get 40% and there will be a runoff. James has real potential as someone with a future. If you haven't seen her speech challenging ed deform at a PEP, check it out.
SEP 10
Betting on Thompson Surge as I Pulled the Lever for .....
Don't count your di Blasio chickens yet.On my short 2 minute walk to the polling booth I was listening to Brian Lehrer and a woman said she changed her mind about di Blasio because of the Wayne Barrett and Slate articles -- they bothered me too.She was going to Thompson. I detect a late Thompson surge and some wearing away of diBlasio support and will make a rough guess that di Blasio numbers will
SEP 09
Breaking: NYPD String Safety Nets Around 52 Broadway in Case Thompson Doesn't Make Runoff
With so much at stake for the gang running the UFT and AFT (Randi) -- but not so much for NY city teachers -- who one would think are their main constituency -- there is fear that bodies will come crashing down from the roof of the UFT headquarters if Bill Thompson doesn't make it into the runoff, though I agree with Reality Based Educator that he probably will (2013 Election: Predictions And Endo
MORE Weekly Update Sept. 9, 2013
Lots of info packed in here. The highlight is that I picked up the first edition of our newletter: MORE Stuff in Your Mailbox.This is the one committee in MORE that I have tried to be fairly active on. How nice to have all these young whippersnappers doing all the work while old folk like me rest.Let me know if you will distribute the newsletter in your school. The only way to beat the Unity machi
Why MORE?
Speaking with you the day before meeting with my principal was very helpful. It allowed me to better register what really is, as Julie has stated, "clear as mud." The UFT selected part of our committee was the only prepared party at the the table. The principal and her supervisors were unprepared and relied on our take and interpretation of the choices to be made. We advised that our school trigge
SEP 08
Video: SUPE Student Slams Michelle Rhee and Deformers at LA Town Hall
I used to stand by reformers.... But after seeing the facts, and the data and everything, and my own lived experience. I cannot – I’m sorry — stand by what you preach if it has to do with high-stakes accountability, this “school choice,” which sounds great, you know, choice — who can argue against that? But, I don’t agree with the fact that charter schools, and how they push our certain students,
Video: A "must watch" for every UFT member!
In case you missed it last week, this video was also posted at the MORE blog:“Advance” – The Movieby morecaucusnyc A very helpful video that explains the new evaluation system and provides suggestions for how educators should prepare themselves. A "must watch" for every UFT member!Created by John Elfrank-DanaTeacher/UFT Chapter LeaderMurry Bergtraum High Schoolhttps://sites.google.com/site/uftmbhs
Welcome to CharterLand! Charter school tricks exposed
Some politicians want charter schools. But do charter schools want you?The battle against ed deform gets funner and funner.New Infographic: Welcome to CharterLand!Posted at National Opportunity to Learn Campaign: http://www.otlcampaign.org/blog/2013/09/04/new-infographic-welcome-charterland Friday September 6th, 2013There is growing outrage over the story of Tiana Parker, a seven-year-old student
Educational Experiment Engineered for Failure
Art teacher's contest entry "Educational Experiment Engineered for Failure” kids struggle w/tests as John King looks on. Vote for this picture to win, go to the FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/464Gallery http://tinyurl.com/kurczzrA Medina High School art teacher is seeking online votes in the second annual Vision Art Awards, in which she has entered a painting protesting the state-mandated
Noah Gotbaum Running for City Council
Norm -- In 4 DAYS, the UWS will have a new council member! (CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU VOTE SEPTEMBER 10TH!)We all want Noah to win. That means SPREADING THE WORD!Can you forward this email to 5 PEOPLE you know that live on the Upper West Side? It only takes a second and it goes a LONG way! * * * *
Political Rumblings - Norm in The Wave
Political RumblingsBy Norm ScottI get it about The Wave’s dismissal of Bill de Blasio because he ignores Rockaway. Maybe it’s because I’ve only lived here for 34 of my 68 years with half my life lived in Brooklyn. I’m not a Rockaway chauvinist when it comes to choosing the next mayor. The Wave takes him to task for not showing up in Rockaway, not a life or death matter for me. I would judge him mo
Carol Burris: The damage to educators by APPR
When the commissioner says that it is only 20%, he is of course, being disingenuous. Test scores have undue weight, and he knows it... Carol Burris, NYS Principal of the yearIt is vital that all of the stories be told and that the data is gathered so that parents, the media and policymakers understand what a foolish and destructive evaluation system APPR is... Below is a link to the story I wrote
UFT Misleads Membership in Latest Thompson Mailer Claiming Offer of Retro Pay
With Thompson still unable to move into second place, and DiBlasio in striking distance of avoiding a runoff entirely, this UFT leadership has reached a new desperate low... Peter LamphereWill Thompson offer teachers a chicken in every pot just as Herbert Hoover did in the 1928 election? (How did that work out?)Word last night was that a desperate Leo Casey was engaged in a twitter attack over the
SEP 07
A Big Whoo - Summer School for Teachers Report from an Undisclosed Urban Location
This came in over the transom from an Ed Notes reader:I had the privilege of attending ten days of training in a Summer Institute. The primary advantage of attending the institute is I lost the last two weeks of my treasured summer vacation.My district has adopted Responsive Classroom, which I have nicknamed snapping and clapping. When the teacher is pleased with a student response, a ten finger w
9-7-13 Ed Notes Online
Ed Notes Online: Do You or Can You Twerk ?A Big Whoo - Summer School for Teachers Report from an Undisclosed Urban LocationThis came in over the transom from an Ed Notes reader:I had the privilege of attending ten days of training in a Summer Institute. The primary advantage of attending the institute is I lost the last two weeks of my treasured summer vacation.My district has adopted Responsive C