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Monday, March 5, 2012

tomhayden.com - G-8 Withdraws From Chicago Summit: Thank You President Obama! Now End the War in Afghanistan

tomhayden.com - Peace Exchange Bulletin - G-8 Withdraws From Chicago Summit: Thank You President Obama! Now End the War in Afghanistan:

G-8 WITHDRAWS FROM CHICAGO SUMMIT: THANK YOU PRESIDENT OBAMA! NOW END THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN

DateMONDAY, MARCH 5, 2012 AT 3:11PM

The breaking news is that President Obama has pulled a very volatile meeting of the G-8 out of Chicago and relocated the event in the relative safety and secrecy of Camp David.

The NATO summit still is going forward, for now, in Chicago in late May, where thousands of protesters will assemble demanding the end of the wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan and possibly Iran. The summit represents an unnecessary show of NATO resolve at a time when the alliance, collapsing in Afghanistan, is on the verge of rushing to the exits. Obama has an opportunity to announce an accelerated withdrawal of US-NATO forces, an end to the drone attacks on Pakistan’s tribal regions, and a political-diplomatic settlement involving a consortium of powers with stakes in the region, Pakistan, China, India, Iran, Russia and Turkey.

Like Iraq before it, Afghanistan’s government is stubbornly insisting on sovereignty from an

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A Letter to NYC Parents from NYC Parents: Opt Out of High Stakes Testing | United Opt Out National

A Letter to NYC Parents from NYC Parents: Opt Out of High Stakes Testing | United Opt Out National:

A Letter to NYC Parents from NYC Parents: Opt Out of High Stakes Testing

by admin

In this letter Jeff Nichols and Anne Stone share their plan and reasons for opting their children out of high stakes testing. Please read and share widely.

Dear fellow parents of NYC public school students,

We have two children in public elementary schools in Manhattan, and until this year, when one child entered third grade, we were extremely satisfied with the educations they were receiving. Their teachers and principals have been without exception smart, professional and deeply knowledgeable about our children as individuals. Our experience of our son’s third grade year thus far, however, has convinced us that the standardized testing that has come to dominate our schools severely compromises his teachers’ ability to do their jobs. They have been forced to adopt inferior test-oriented teaching practices and to take too much time away from classroom activities to accommodate endless practice tests. The reward for their efforts from the Department of Education has been a completely unwarranted test-based grade of “D” for their school, which is sapping their morale. Even before the recent disastrous release of flawed teacher evaluations based on test scores, which promises to drive good teachers from the profession in droves, we had come to the conclusion that the current heavy emphasis on testing seriously undermines the quality of public education.

As parents, we feel compelled to act. We will be boycotting state-mandated standardized testing of our children for the indefinite future, with the goal of restoring control over education to those who really understand how children learn – parents and teachers. If you would like to join us or just share your impressions, please contact us using the email address given at the end of this letter, or check out the information and resources at changethestakes.org.

Here are five basic reasons for our decision:

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NATO/G8: Come to Chicago « Bill Ayers

NATO/G8: Come to Chicago « Bill Ayers:

NATO/G8: Come to Chicago

by billayers

CHICAGO 2012

May 18-21, 2012

Occupy This/Occupy That!

An Open Invitation

Bernardine Dohrn and Bill Ayers

The tiny fraternity of concentrated wealth and power that calls itself the Group of Eight (G8) is meeting in Chicago in mid-May, overlapping with representatives of history’s largest global military cohort, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), the gently self-named military behemoth dominated by the US.

Heads of state, spooks, foreign ministers and generals, cabinet members and secret operatives, advisors and bureaucrats— the 1% of the 1%—plan to gather in barricaded opulent surroundings while coordinating and conspiring to extend and defend their obscene wealth, to exploit the remaining fossil fuels, natural resources, human labor and the living planet to the last drop, and to dominate the people of the global majority.

A 1984-style national security dragnet is descending on the city to attempt to lock Chicago down. Chicago’s Mayor is concocting a culture of fear, suggesting that it is the human resistance to NATO/G8 that represents danger, outside agitators, violence and invasion. Universities and schools are being urged to close early in May; communities of color are told that this is not their concern; merchants are preparing for assault. In reality, NATO/G8 represents the masters of war; it is they who are the greatest purveyors of violence on this earth.

NATO/G8 will not be alone in Chicago: Occupy’s 99% will gather in a festival of life and peace, joy and justice. Two permitted, family-friendly rallies at the Daley Center and marches for justice, jobs and peace are scheduled on May 18 and 19 (and perhaps another on May 21). Music, dance, teach-ins and peoples’ tribunals will overflow the parks and theatres. We will all be there to open Chicago back up. In the spirit of the Arab Spring and Occupy, the Madison labor struggle, the Pelican Bay hunger strikers, teachers and nurses, the Dream youth, returning veterans against the wars, women insisting on reproductive dignity, foreclosure resistance,

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Jeb Bush Resorts to Faux Democrats and Paid Operatives to Battle Parent Trigger Opposition | Scathing Purple Musings

Jeb Bush Resorts to Faux Democrats and Paid Operatives to Battle Parent Trigger Opposition | Scathing Purple Musings:

Jeb Bush Resorts to Faux Democrats and Paid Operatives to Battle Parent Trigger Opposition

by Bob Sikes

Jeb Bush’s education foundation dropped two names in an attempt to crate the impression that democrats were in favor of Florida’s parent trigger legislation:

Tallahassee, FL – As the Florida legislature enters into the final week of session, the Parent Trigger continues to gain local and national momentum as the defenders of the status quo continue their campaign of misinformation.

Democratic National Convention chair, Obama’s national campaign co-chair and former teachers’ union organizer Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spoke in favor of the Parent Trigger:

“The Parent Trigger movement, that started in Los Angeles and now is spreading across the

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Big Education Ape: 3-5-12 PM Bronx Students Release 10-Point List of Demands EDition #OWS #soschat

Big Education Ape: PARENTS CAN!:
Big Education Ape: PARENTS CAN!

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Stop supporting sexist attacks on women.

act.credoaction.com - When Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown Law School student, testified before Congress to protest rightwing attacks to limit women's access to birth control, Rush Limbaugh called her a "slut" and a "prostit...

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coopmike48 Ga. schools superintendent talks about end to No Child Left Behind | AccessNorthGa - goo.gl/WurSw2 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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Governor Quinn’s Proposal Will Somersault TRIP

teacherpoetmusicianglenbrown.blogspot.com - Sure, let’s take away $87 million from the retired teachers of Illinois, and then let’s give that money away perhaps to more corporations as a gift from the governor. a retired teacher pays a tota...

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Shanker Blog » Revisiting The "5-10 Percent Solution"

shankerblog.org - In a post over a year ago, I discussed the common argument that dismissing the “bottom 5-10 percent” of teachers would increase U.S. test scores to the level of high-performing nations. This argume...

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WEEKEND QUOTABLES

michaelklonsky.blogspot.com - 31 were arrested at Virginia protest against law requiring women to have an ultrasound before getting an abortion. Rep. Delores McQuinn "The men and women who marched on Capitol Square have a rig...

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whitehouse.gov - The White House Office of the First Lady For Immediate Release March 05, 2012 American Jazz Museum Kansas City, Missouri1:30 P.M. CSTMRS. OBAMA: Oh, my goodness! (Applause.) Well, thank you all ...

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STUDENTS’ BALLOON SOARS AND TRANSMITS

utsandiego.com - A high-altitude weather balloon jammed with cameras rose far, far higher than jets fly, traveling to the edge of space during a journey that thrilled its “pilots” back at San Diego’s Mt. Carmel Hig...

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Pearson's edu-testing profits soar

schoolingintheownershipsociety.blogspot.com - London-based Pearson Publishing, the standardized testing giant, reports a 72% "surge" in profits during 2011. But the profit picture in the U.S. is not as rosy as it looks. Most of the profits are...

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Map: Fannie and Freddie's Bay Area Properties

baycitizen.org - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have quietly become major residential landowners in the Bay Area’s hardest hit neighborhoods, thanks to the mortgage crisis. According to records provided by ForeclosureR...

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LIVE FEED: Thousands Protest Rising Tuition at Capitol

davis.patch.com - Occupiers arrived at UC Davis Sunday night in anticipation of a rally at the capitol on Monday, in which thousands poured into downtown Sacramento. They are protesting the rising costs of tuition ...

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Occupy marchers | Davis Enterprise

davisenterprise.com - About 65 Occupy protesters are on the home stretch Sunday afternoon in their 99-mile trek from Oakland to Sacramento. Here, they're on Pedrick Road in Dixon, on their way to camp Sunday evening on ...

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