Thursday, April 02, 2015

Fort Pierce 5th-grader suspended after recording teacher's taunt

Fort Pierce 5th-grader suspended after recording teacher's taunt - WSVN-TV - 7NEWS Miami Ft. Lauderdale News, Weather, Deco:
"FORT PIERCE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A Florida student and her parents say she received an unfair punishment for doing the right thing.
Eleven-year-old Brianna Cooper, a fifth-grader at Fort Pierce Elementary School, said her teacher had been mean to students in the past and she wanted to prove it.
Inside her classroom, Brianna recorded the instructor saying to a classmate, "Don't let the size fool you. I will drop you."
In another part of the recording the teacher is heard belittling another student.
"Biggest kid in the fifth grade and you acting like the smallest one," she is heard saying.
"I thought I did the right thing," said Brianna.
Her video led to the firing of that teacher. 
"I do think it's a good thing that this teacher is gone," said Kassie Faulkner, the girl's mother.
Faulkner said, regardless of exposing a classroom problem, her daughter is still suspended from school because of a policy regarding recording audio illegally. 
"I still don't believe she should be suspended," she said.
It is illegal to record somebody without their knowledge if there's an expectation of privacy. 

Justice Department Lets Lois Lerner Off the Hook, Won’t Pursue Criminal Contempt Charges | TheBlaze.com

Justice Department Lets Lois Lerner Off the Hook, Won’t Pursue Criminal Contempt Charges | TheBlaze.com:

"On Wednesday, the department confirmed to House Speaker John Boehner that it would not pursue the case. That decision sparked outrage among Republicans who said it proved the Department of Justice is a political tool of the White House, and not an instrument of justice.

“Once again, the Obama administration has tried to sweep IRS targeting of taxpayers for their political beliefs under the rug,” said Boehner spokesman Michael Steel."

Energy companies around the world infected by newly discovered malware

Energy companies around the world infected by newly discovered malware | Ars Technica:
Researchers have uncovered an ongoing espionage campaign that uses custom-developed malware to siphon confidential data out of energy companies around the world...
"The detailed information enables the attacker to make crucial decisions about how to proceed further with the attack, or to halt the attack," Symantec researcher Christian Tripputi wrote. "During the course of our research, we found that the majority of the targets were linked to the petroleum, gas and helium industries, suggesting that whoever is behind these attacks may have a strategic interest in the affairs of the companies affected."
The United Arab Emirates was the country most targeted by the attackers, followed by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Kuwait.

Symantec

Computers are initially infected with Laziok through spam e-mails coming from the moneytrans[.]eu domain. The e-mails contain a malicious attachment that exploits a Microsoft Windows vulnerability that was patched in 2012. The same vulnerability has been exploited in other attack espionage campaigns, including one that used the Red October malware platformto infect diplomatic, governmental, and scientific organizations in at least 39 countries. The Laziok exploit typically came in the form of an Excel file.

What life is like for Arab refugees living in Detroit

What life is like for Arab refugees living in Detroit - Business Insider
More than 30,000 Arab people call Dearborn, Michigan, home.
The Detroit suburb is the kind of place where Arabic speakers can walk into their local grocery and be spoken to in a language they recognize. 
The markets, businesses, mosques, and Islamic schools surround residents with reminders of the countries they left behind.
Student-photographer Salwan Georges and his family fled Iraq 10 years ago and relocated to the US. 
In 2014, Georges began photographing the people of Dearborn to capture their traditions. 
We've republished some of his photos here with permission, and you can find more on his website.

Nude Bras Are Now A ‘Subtle Form Of Racism

Nude Bras Are Now A ‘Subtle Form Of Racism, FYI - Chicks on the Right:

In a University of Oklahoma op-ed, a woman complains about nude bras. 
Because nude bras are clearly a subtle sign of racism toward women of color.
Imagine this: you are a young African American woman who has run to the local department store to grab a “nude” colored bra to wear under a sheer outfit, say a game-day dress or a work interview blouse.
But when you get to the store there is no “nude” lingerie, at least not for you.
Bras in slightly different shades of pale peach abound, but there are few to no options for darker-skinned women and they aren’t advertised as nude-colored. 
How would it make you feel that the fashion industry and society at large has based its ideal of nude on Caucasian people?
That the color of your skin doesn’t count as “nude?”

Disabled Navy Vet Left ‘Devastated’ After All of His Guns Are Confiscated — and He Still Can’t ‘Believe’ Why

Disabled Navy Vet Left ‘Devastated’ After All of His Guns Are Confiscated — and He Still Can’t ‘Believe’ Why | TheBlaze.com:
"A disabled U.S. Navy veteran in Glendale, Arizona, is “devastated” after he says police confiscated 28 of his guns, valued at over $25,000, after a neighbor made “false” allegations that he threatened him."

RAF prepares for attack by Russia with biggest air defence exercise in 30 years

RAF prepares for attack by Russia with biggest air defence exercise in 30 years:
The Royal Air Force (RAF) has launched its biggest defence exercise since the Cold War over the UK's skies in preparation for a mass enemy air attack on the country.
A Russian Tupolev Tu-95 plane
More than 30 aircraft participated in the drill, including 20 Typhoons and Tornado bombers and ED-3, AWACS, Sentinel and Shadow surveillance jets. The defence war game lasted for a day and took place over the northeast of England earlier this month.
The exercise, called Rising Panther, has been perceived by experts as a reaction to Russia's increasing military provocation.

Tupolev Tu-95 planes – nicknamed "Bear" – are strategic bombers that can be armed with cruise missiles 

In January 2015, two Russian Tupolev Tu-95s were intercepted close to UK airspace by the RAF, causing disruption to civil aviation. It was the second time in three months that the Russian giant bombers were intercepted by the RAF.
President Vladimir Putin has bolstered Russia's defence spending by 33% this year, the equivalent of 4.2% of GDP, making it the country's highest defence budget ever.

History for April 2

History for April 2 - On-This-Day.com:
Giovanni Casanova 1725 - Writer, philanderer, Hans Christian Andersen 1805 - Author ("The Ugly Duckling"), Emile Zola 1840 - Novelist 



Walter Chrysler 1875 - Auto manufacturer (Chrysler Corporation), Buddy Ebsen 1908 - Actor ("The Beverly Hillbillies", "Barnaby Jones"), Sir Alec Guinness (Alec Guinness de Cuffe) 1914 - Actor ("Bridge Over River Kwai", "A Passage to India", "The Empire Strikes Back", "Star Wars") 


Jack Webb (John Randolf) 1920 - Director, actor, Sir Jack Brabham - Auto racer, Marvin Gaye, Jr. 1939 - Singer ("I Heard It Through The Grapevine") 


1513 - Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sighted Florida. The next day he went ashore. 


1889 - Charles Hall patented aluminum. 


1917 - U.S. President Woodrow Wilson presented a declaration of war against Germany to the U.S. Congress. 


1935 - Sir Watson-Watt was granted a patent for RADAR. 



1956 - "The Edge of Night" and "As the World Turns" debuted on CBS-TV. 


1972 - Burt Reynolds appeared nude in "Cosmopolitan" magazine. 



1982 - Argentina invaded the British-owned Falkland Islands. The following June Britain took the islands back. 


1992 - Mob boss John Gotti was convicted in New York of murder and racketeering. He was later sentenced to life in prison. 

Wednesday, April 01, 2015

LIBERTY REVIEW

LIBERTY REVIEW:

http://www.libertyreview76.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-american-stage-by-tammy-derouin.html

The American Stage

By Tammy Derouin

I wonder how many other Americans feel like they are now sitting in the passenger seat of an out-of-control vehicle. The eyes dart from the map to the road, back and forth, knowing full well that something isn’t right.  We have been off course at different times in our past.  This will happen from time to time.  Experience from the past has taught us that when the scenery doesn’t look familiar and we get that undeniable feeling in the pit of our stomach, it’s time to pull over and regroup.  Of course, there are a few roles which need to be clearly established. 

The driver, the navigator and the arbiter all have different roles.  Each performs a vital function.  Neither is greater than or lesser than the other.  Their knowledge may be very similar but their responsibilities are different.  All roles are necessary to ensure that the correct path is traveled.  Each role establishes boundaries.  Although everyone may have similar knowledge, individual desires and the means to an end may vary.

The driver assumes the lead position.  He becomes the front man, the representative of the entire vehicle.  That doesn’t mean he is all knowing or all powerful.  He is not on a solo mission.  For whatever reason, his experience, knowledge, ability to cow poo through a conversation or the inability for the rest of the crew or passengers to see his fatal flaws, has put him in the driver’s seat.  However he got there, he’s there until the others recognize a smoking engine and a stiff right leg.

CNN Attack Ted Cruz’s Inexperience – His Response is Golden! - Eagle Rising

Image result for wiki commons image search Ted CruzCNN Attack Ted Cruz’s Inexperience – His Response is Golden! - Eagle Rising:

"CNN’s Dana Bash went hard after Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Sunday, but I think it was a fair attack. She focused in on the negative similarities between President Obama (pre-2008 election) and Senator Ted Cruz as he begins his run for the White House. She wondered aloud what the difference was between the “not ready for prime time” Senator Obama and Cruz, pointing out that neither has a whole lot of experience in politics or in governing."



Wave the czar's wand and bankrupt our country------Obama’s Strategy on Climate Change, Part of Global Deal, Is Revealed

Obama’s Strategy on Climate Change, Part of Global Deal, Is Revealed - NYTimes.com
"...Mr. Obama’s new blueprint brings together several domestic initiatives that were already in the works, including freezing construction of new coal fired power plants, increasing the fuel economy of vehicles and plugging methane leaks from oil and gas production.
It is meant to describe how the United States will lead by example and meet its pledge for cutting emissions.
But the plan’s reliance on executive authority is an acknowledgment that any proposal to pass climate change legislation would be blocked by the Republican­ controlled Congress..."