The EU has urged the U.S. to wait until the U.N. report comes back before it takes any action. Note how the French have made a stupid statement that the U.N. report is basically not needed. Yep. That tells me more than anything the U.N. is very important to the assessment of what is going on and who is doing it. I am increasingly suspicious that it isn’t Syria doing it….then the question is…who is…?
Category Archives: civil rights
The lie of privatization and schools
Two topics that might not seem interrelated popped up this morning–the mindless demands that children perform like cogs….and the privatization of Walter Reed. Note that the only ones who truly benefit from this are the profiteers. The children don’t reach their true potential and the most vulnerable–the sick and elderly–don’t get the care we are capable of giving them….
(hat tip Diane Ravitch for Robert Rendo’s comment)
Koch money in NY race
Diane Ravitch has this up. Buying elections. Buying candidates.
Pence Determined to gut Dept of Education
In non-war news, Diane Ravtich has a sobering post up this morning.
…and this is how the neocons have been able to get away with so much…unethical crooks moving in the shadows…
How can you tell… **edited
…when John Kerry is lying? His lips are moving. (Old joke, but unfortunately still works.)
From Global news in Canada.
Anytime anyone involves ego in a decision, you can bet it is a bad decision. Going to war over a warped perception of credibility is wrong. And America’s credibility was seriously damaged with going to war in Iraq. We were perceived as bullies and liars. The whole world rejoiced when Barack Obama was elected because the whole world disagreed with our invasion.
But the world’s perception of us didn’t seem to bother Congress before now, eh?
And what exactly does “protect our values” mean?? Because I don’t value war.
Kerry tries to shut up opposing voices by throwing out ” this is not the time for armchair isolationists”….that’s you and me, folks, the American public that speaks out against war. We’re sick of war and we’re sick of millionaire politicians telling us that our opinions don’t matter.
He asks if one would be comfortable if we don’t act and Assad gasses his people. Hello? Are we alone in the world? Israel and Saudi Arabia have a stake in this and they should be expected to bear the brunt of it–skin in the game, as they say…they are both wealthy nations, and we are fast losing our wealth. Well, it’s still there, technically, but in the hands of a few who don’t want to pay taxes….that… fund… wars. So Saudi Arabia and Israel need to ante up.
Note how Kerry asserts that there will be no boots on the ground, but from what I was watching yesterday, he once again flip-flopped and stated that he did not want that put in writing because it may become necessary if things escalate. Mighty suspicious….
Tell me again why Kerry was trying to interfere with U.N. gathering evidence on chemical weapons? And why aren’t we waiting for the U.N. to get the results bacK? The Syria situation is not new–this has been happening for over a year now….so why the rush, rush, rush to bomb?
And tell me why those pictures of the dead keep nagging at me–like I have seen them before…? That they were from a chemical weapons attack, but not the current event with Syria?? I just can’t shake that feeling.
Here’s the view from emptywheel. During the hearing, Kerry was drumming his fingers on the table with impatience that they were questioning him. John McCain was caught playing computer games….on taxpayer’s dime. If those same taxpayers were caught playing computer games during company time, they would be fired.
Another take here on it from the Israelis:
Note the sentiment if the U.S. doesn’t strike, Israel will. Is that supposed to be a threat of some sort?
Lastly, John Kerry’s testimony as a Vietnam veteran before Congress, below. He stated yesterday that no chemicals had been used since WWI…I was stunned that he chose to ignore Agent Orange used in Vietnam. In this video, he acknowledges the horror of them and how we “destroyed villages in order to save them…” Note also the reference to Nixon, who stated he “did not want to be the first president to lose a war…” Doesn’t that sound eerily similar to “we have to go in to Syria to save our credibility…”?? The Communism threat was a lie, btw, as only 25% of the people in Vietnam were Communists. The rest were peaceful Buddhists. Pretty sad, eh?
**Edited to fix stupid link to Kerry’s Vietnam Testimony:
…and more **edited
While watching the talking heads push for war, I look at President Obama and I am reminded of the Native American tale of the two wolves:
I can sense there is a fight going on inside Obama. I am afraid that the dark one will win, because if he goes to war, that is the side he will feed.
**Edited to add: One can’t lay this only on Obama if we go to war—because there are the warmongers in Congress, on Wall Street, in Israel, in Syria, who are playing their parts in this, too. Just wanted to be clear on that. And it takes those of us opposed to war to speak out to feed the light.
Labor Day…what unions…?
Another reader of Diane Ravitch posted this on how times have changed.
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We Do Not Support A War on Syria.
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“You Take Care of Us. We Keep Everything. Screw You.”
Geoffrey, can you spare a dime?
A reader of Diane Ravitch wants to know if Geoffrey Canada of Harlem Children’s Zone can spare some change from the $200 million in the bank?
“Held up my sign:
“Philadelphia, Mississippi: 1963 Black children not allowed in libraries
“Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 2013 No school libraries”
Barbara McDowell Dowdall English Department Head (Ret.) A, Philip Randolph Technical High School
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A letter to Boston
The Indignant Teacher has a post up highlighting Diane Ravitch and her letter to Bostonians.
Bostonians being recently threatened with the bombing perhaps can understand a bomb has gone off in the public school system–put there by billionaires who wish to destroy it for their own greed. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy to see as a bombing in a public space…it’s much more stealth than that…and the damage done is not felt in real time, but in years past it. It will be hard for some to realize the connection to the destruction to society and democracy…making it easier for those doing it to not be held accountable.
The Racism of Charter Schools
Ani McHugh, a high school English teacher in New Jersey has a letter to Bill Gates and questions all the evidence pointing to racism.
Also from teacherbiz blog, she has this up–requesting that Arne Duncan and all of the pro-testing, testing, testing reformers take the tests they require of the kids and publish their results.
…because we need to know if they are qualified to run schools.
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