D.C. schools hire expert to help improve outcomes for African American boys – The Washington Post.

hmmmm.

Syrian mother’s agony: why I made my teenage daughter become a child bride .

sigh….

Malaysian plane crash: 23 U.S. citizens among dead – chicagotribune.com.

hmmm.

Ukraine government, Malaysia Airlines confirm passenger plane crash, at least 295 presumed dead (UPDATES, VIDEO).

Jeezus….

One-Third Of Borneo’s Rainforest Has Been Cut Down | Popular Science.

hmmmm.

Does “The Ocean Cleanup” Stand Up To Peer Review? | Popular Science.

Hmmmm.

BBC News – India six-year-old raped in Bangalore school by staff members.

hmmmm.

Yet another TSA screener doesn’t know that DC is part of America – Boing Boing.

Makes one feel safe and secure, eh?

US foreign policy: Absurdity of double standards in Palestine – Opinion – Al Jazeera English.

No matter if what was perpetrated upon you was even worse, there is no impunity for a state or people who perpetrates atrocities and war crimes upon others, even if they themselves had historically experienced even worse.

None.

And yes, I know my country commits atrocities. Being a citizen does not mean I automatically approve of everything my government does.

Obama viewed as more caring than Bush, but no more effective | Pew Research Center.

heh

House votes to block bonuses at the IRS | TheHill.

hmmm

Elizabeth Warren Destroys Janet Yellen – Business Insider.

hmmmm

How the US’s Foreign Policy Created an Immigrant Refugee Crisis on Its Own Southern Border | The Nation.

Sigh….

Why Poor Schools Can’t Win at Standardized Testing – The Atlantic.

Arne Duncan is a fool with zero knowledge of how to evaluate or improve schools.

It truly, truly pisses me off that this administration has wasted a chance to improve public education in this country. In fact, all of their efforts are setting things back for years. And not to ignore a huge unspoken issue here, unless their is an abrupt turn-around, the Obama administration is solidifying an economic (and often racially based) caste system in this country for generation to come.

“…Standardized tests are not based on general knowledge. As I learned in the course of my investigation, they are based on specific knowledge contained in specific sets of books: the textbooks created by the test makers.”

…We tend to think of data as immutable truth. But we forget that data and data-collection systems are created by people. Flesh-and-blood humans need to count the books in a school and enter the numbers into a database. Usually, these humans are administrative assistants or teacher’s aides. But severe state funding cuts over the past several years have meant cutbacks in the school district’s administrative staff. Even the best data-collection system is useless if there are no people available to manage it.

…It may be many years until Philadelphia’s education budget matches its curriculum requirements. In the meantime, there are a few things the district—and other flailing school districts in America—can do. Stop giving standardized tests that are inextricably tied to specific sets of books. At the very least, stop using test scores to evaluate teacher performance without providing the items each teacher needs to do his or her job. Most of all, avoid basing an entire education system on materials so costly that big, urban districts can’t afford to buy them. Until these things change, it will be impossible to raise standardized test scores—despite the best efforts of the teachers and students who will return to school this fall and find no new books waiting for them.”

Ground offensive likelier in Gaza: Israel official – The Wall Street Journal – MarketWatch.

blood thirsty motherfuckers

White House Petition Site Generates More Grievances than It Redresses – Yahoo Finance.

The Obama administration is big on civil engagement my ass.
More like big on smoke and mirror talk and empty promises.
Talk is cheap and action seems beyond the Obama administration’s scope of talents.

Israeli naval shelling kills four boys on Gaza beach: medics | Reuters.

Isn’t interesting that all atrocities perpetrated by Hamas/Palestine are the Palestinians’ fault and all atrocities perpetrated by Israel are the Palestinians fault as well.

Hypocrites bent on genocide.

Everything You Need To Know About The Israel-Gaza Conflict – ABC News.

1.) Hamas doesn’t give a shit about the people it supposedly represents.

2.) the government of the state of Israel is a murderous hypocrite, intent on genocide.

Tens of thousands flee Israeli raids on Gaza – Middle East – Al Jazeera English.

Two words: war crime.

There is simply no justification for the murder of innocents willfully conducted by the Israeli government. By its own logic, they have given Palestine the moral justification to wipe them off the map. I’m not saying Palestine would at all be justified in doing that. I’m merely pointing out what racist, hypocritical murderers the state of Israel is.

Senate Split: Why Iowa Is Competitive and New Hampshire Isn’t – NBC News.com.

“A final observation from our new NBC/Marist polls: President Obama is unpopular in both New Hampshire (39% approval rating among voters) and Iowa (37%). Yet once again, congressional Republicans are even more unpopular — 19% approval rating in New Hampshire, and 21% in Iowa.”

Hmmmmm.

Plus people from NH traditionally has a dislike for both carpet baggers and Massholes.

Man Breaks Into Kennedy Compound Looking for Katy Perry | TIME.

sometimes the way the human mind works is hysterical.

Homeless in Hawaii? Lawmaker wants to give you a free flight home | Fox News.

Bad title. Lawmaker wants existing law implemented would be actually accurate.

Family That Owns Hobby Lobby Plans Bible Museum in Washington – NYTimes.com.

Backwards, inbred, un-American rejects.

Confident Assad launches new term in stronger position | Reuters.

grrrrreat.

U.S. lawmakers press CDC chief over angerous pattern of lapses – Yahoo News.

close enough for government work?