I can’t believe it’s been a year already…and yet it seems ages ago…
Author Archives
Palestinian-Israel conflict and Academic Freedom
Reblogging this for the relevance to what’s happening now–the movie “Five Broken Cameras” gives the Palestinian point of view and how Israel has continually destroyed their homes and taken more and more land.
Dispatches from the Underclass has a post up on academic freedom and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
I clicked on the link to the letter, and the part about the union’s collective bargaining agreement stood out:
“institutional discipline or restraint in their discussion of relevant matters in the classroom…” [the CBA prohibits] “explicit or implicit threat of termination or discipline for the purpose of constraining a faculty member in the exercise of his or her rights under such principles of academic freedom.”
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“Teachers are entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing their subject, but they should be careful not to introduce into their teaching controversial matter which has no relation to their subject.”
This was clarified later with the following:
“The intent of the 1940 statement is not to discourage what is “controversial”. Controversy is at the heart of the free academic inquiry which the entire statement is designed to…
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Israel calls for north Gaza evacuation after raid
Targeting the police chief’s home? Really? Is he a terrorist, too?
DN! on Israel attacks
DN! has the attacks on Gaza. I wanted to link to it because it shows that not all Israelis are supportive of the bullying of the Palestinians. Also–I wanted to be clear that Israel does have a right to defend itself–which it was doing with intercepting the rocket fire. They don’t have a right to kill innocent people, despite what Netanyahu states.
Mystery solved
The visitor (s) we had over the weekend were apparently here for the 4th of July celebration at a nearby elite military academy. The 4th celebration is a big deal, naturally.
The plane, a Embraer Legacy 600, was either owned or leased by a person attending the festivities.
My coworker said that there was another jet parked at the airport over the weekend, as well. They had actually requested the airport expand its runway to accommodate jets. It is able to take up to 727’s. Amazing. I have to give kudos to the pilots, because it still looks to me like a pretty short runway.
I knew there was wealth associated with the elite academy, but I didn’t realize to what extent.
Petition for Whistleblowers and Freedom of the Press
The Progressive has this release:
Thursday, July 10, 2014<br>
CONTACT: Nikolina Lazic, <a href=”mailto:nikolina@prwatch.org“>nikolina@prwatch.org</a>
TAKE A STAND NOW FOR A FREE PRESS
Tell President Obama America’s Best Reporters Should Be on the Beat, Not in Jail
The U.S. government is insisting that award-wining New York Times “national security” reporter James Risen reveal a confidential source — or go to jail. Risen says he won’t capitulate.
Now you can let this journalist and top government officials know that you’re in solidarity with his brave stand for a free press. Sign the petition “We Support James Risen Because We Support a Free Press at: http://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=9775&tag=CMD20140508&track=CMD20140508.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation has called the government’s effort to force Risen to reveal a source “one of the most significant press freedom cases in decades.”
So much is at stake: for whistleblowers, freedom of the press and the public’s right to know. And for democracy.
That’s why our team at The Progressive/Center for Media and Democracy is joining forces with RootsAction, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR), the Freedom of the Press Foundation and The Nation magazine to insist on protection for the confidentiality of journalists’ sources.
Amplify our combined voices. Click here to sign the petition to President Obama and Attorney General Holder: http://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=9775&tag=CMD20140508&track=CMD20140508.
Thank you for taking action!
— The team and CMD and The Progressive
———-
CONTACT:
The Progressive, Inc.
Publisher of The Progressive magazine
PRWatch.org, ALECexposed.org, Progressive.org,
SourceWatch.org, and PublicSchoolShakedown.org
409 East Main Street, Suite 100
Madison, Wisconsin 53703-4929
Phone: (608) 257-4626
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Your ability to know what is going on in the world depends on the press being able to gather information without threat of jail.
A democracy cannot survive without the press revealing the facts that politicians and government officials would rather you not know. The press has the right to keep their sources secret….especially in this age of no privacy, as we saw with the previous story on Brian Williams. The ability to obtain information from sources without them being compromised is already in jeopardy without the threat of jail for reporters who managed to keep their sources secret from the NSA/CIA spying.
Brian Williams trailed to interview
So… was Brian Williams surprised by this? If a news person is surprised by all that NSA/CIA is doing, then we’re in serious trouble, folks….
…and it shouldn’t surprise Williams that Snowden was “cagy”….Williams, et al, apparently can’t move about without detection, so Snowden is smart to keep information to a minimum.
The Definition of a Bully: Israel
Definition of a Bully:
bul·ly1
ˈbo͝olē/
noun
noun: bully; plural noun: bullies
-
1.a person who uses strength or power to harm or intimidate those who are weaker.
verb
verb: bully; 3rd person present: bullies; past tense: bullied; past participle: bullied; gerund or present participle: bullying
-
1.use superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone), typically to force him or her to do what one wants.
Israel is pummeling the Palestinians…for what? It’s like one kid throwing pebbles at another and the other pulling out a gun and shooting.
The death toll in Gaza jumped overnight, doubling to 80 dead and more than 500 injured, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The latest fatality was 5-year-old Abdullah Abu Gazal, who was killed in a midmorning Israeli airstrike in Beit Lahia.
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80 people dead, including children. People watching the soccer games, minding their own business, struck dead. And once again, members of the media are targeted. Not all Palestinians are in Hamas, yet Israel is shooting at anyone and anything.
And how many Israelis have been hurt? No serious injuries reported. None dead. Repeat that–NONE dead. There is absolutely no justification for the fierceness of the Israeli attacks.
Netanyahu said Wednesday Hamas was to blame, because it was “hiding behind civilians.”
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Stunning.
In other words….”it’s not my fault if stupid civilians get in the way of my bombs…”
Let them be. Let them have their small parcel of land. Treat them as you wish to be treated.
Gulen Charters, Ohio, Indiana, and politicians lining their pockets
Diane Ravitch has this up on the apparently greased palms of Republican Cliff Rosenberger and how Gulen schools have flourished in Ohio. The article states that the investigation includes Indiana, as well….
Meanwhile, I’m reading a press release of Governor Mike Pence taking his family to England…on a “jobs creation trip”. The release I read noted that he is paying for his children’s portion of the trip…but it left off his wife, whom is also going. They’ll be gone for two weeks. Unbelievable. What a snow job–does anybody actually believe this guy is going to create jobs by this trip? How many hours do you think he’ll devote to schmoozing for jobs? I’m betting a day. Half a day. An hour. A few minutes on the elevator down to the pool..
This article states that it is funded by the Indiana Economic Development Foundation through private donations. I want to know who the donors are and what exactly Pence is doing–I don’t trust the tea partier at all. They are good about saying one thing and doing the exact opposite–such as government being “too big”–and then, as I noticed yesterday in yet another press release, Pence created four more positions in his office for people who are no doubt cronies of his. So, how does one “shrink government” by creating more useless positions while eliminating important ones, such as child welfare workers?
So, I’m waiting to see the fallout of this investigation and its connection to Indiana. Pence and his henchmen are trying to wrest away what little control Glenda Ritz, an official elected by the people of Indiana, has on the Dept of Education.
A nice summer day…
…so last week, I had the day off before the 4th and decided to take a nice ride on the country road…
There’s a great river that has managed to escape most of the toxic onslaught of my state. (But, never fear, IDEM will allow toxins to be poured into this river–mercury being one of them.)
A huge tree just under the surface….dead to our eyes, but alive and offering shelter for the abundant life underneath the water.
Speaking of trees underwater, this is amazing. Notice how the dead trees support new plant growth to feed the fish and offer shelter to the smaller critters. And I noticed the wording of the article–saying that worms had damaged the trees underwater–but I think that is the wrong perspective to take–that these worms also provided food for the fish, too. I’m sure the holes also played their part in some positive for nature. I’m thinking of air pockets, but perhaps they’re too small for that?
Anyway, on with the pics…
If you look closely, you can see a black snake sunning itself on the far upper left dead tree. I swear there was another snake, on the bigger logs, but I can’t for the life of me find it now. Perhaps it swam into the water just before I snapped the pic. Another time I was here, five snakes were sunning themselves.
Aaaaahhhh….serenity. Makes you want to hop into a canoe, doesn’t it? No? You’ve never been canoeing? You don’t know what you’re missing. There is a different view of rivers from a slow cruise down the river.
Finally, I looked up in the sky and saw this:
Dragon in the sky. or dog blowing bubble gum? Or eating cotton candy? Anyway, look Ma, no chem trails in sight!
As a side note, it always seems that stuff happens when I have a migraine. And this weekend was no exception…while I was laying there like a slug all weekend, the city had a visitor. I don’t know more details than that because whomever it was is going to great lengths to keep their identity secret…although the method of transportation kind of makes it hard to *not* be noticed…
Anyway, hope you all enjoy the pics.
Eagle 
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