WHAT ME LEARN?????

"IF OUR GOAL IS TO DESTROY PUBLIC EDUCATION IN AMERICA, THIS IS PRECISELY THE RIGHT PATH." On the coat tails of Diane Ravitch's article (linked below) I will add my concern? disbelief? sad resignation? I voted for Obama, for an intelligent, progressive thinking Harvard man. Not someone who would extending the Bush agenda of Dumbing down the education system. And yet this is what Higher Education has taught him. That it is better to continue the legacy of making schools "simpler" so no child can be left behind, than to give a child a broad awareness of a world he is about to encounter. The result of our present school system is that students at Princeton don't know there is a wall in Palestine, and Harvard Presidents don't know anything about good education. The best thing for Corporate America, government control, monopolizing private sector is a dumber America. Hooray for the U, S of A. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DAYS WHEN A GOOD TEACHER WAS ONE WHO TAUGHT YOU TO THINK FOR YOURSELF? To explore other possibilities. To search for more than just what the classroom had to offer? Well bye bye higher education. We have bailed out millionaires, while allowing teachers to be fired, libraries to close. Perhaps if they had been taught ethics, history, and simple social responsibility rather than the simple mathematics of how to get a bonus even though you've sunk a company....perhaps people in 'the greatest nation' would not be jobless, homeless and still thinking the government is daddy always looking out for their best interest. Perhaps we would be a truly great nation made up of truly great thinkers. The Big Idea -- it's bad education policy - Los Angeles Times

Israeli "Diplomacy"

Ms. Gabriela Shalev Israel Ambassador to the U.N. Speaks of Terrorism as 'asymetric warfare'. She states that there is 'licit and illicit warfare'. Does Israels use of white phosphorus on civilians involve 'licit' warfare? Gaza War Casualties - Final Tally of 2009 Gaza War Casualties (Facts and Figures) She went on to speak of human sheilds....and 12,000 rockets fired by Gaza. Those rockets were not much more than firecrackers that did in fact kill less than 20 Israelis. Compare that to the 250 children, 960 civilians killed in 22 days by Israel. Not to mention wounded children, women, elderly. Medics fired upon etc. In such a densely populated Ghetto how could a combatant escape the vicinity of civilians I would ask? Ms Shalev indignantly speaks of "at best uncooberated accusations" against Israel. She says "they confuse the language to demonize Israel" and how "our army is so dear to us". She speaks of the doctor who was killed by "Friendly Fire" and of "self introspection. And the the 'diplomat' Shalev states "The General assembly is always, always against Israel" I believe she said "mainly liberals" (she has a thick accent) and at this point made quotes with her hands. She says these things with an air of indignation. On being questioned by a student on the Goldstone Report and how it was eventually voted against, although an independent study. Shalev stated "The Moral Minority was against the Goldstone Resolution" and that is should not be in NYC. When asked about settlements in Jerusalem, she stated ' Jerusalem was never on the table, it will always be a part of Israel" When I referred to her saying we are demonized due to "uncorroborated evidence" and how can there be corroberated evidence if you do not allow the press in.......her response was "We have looked around the world and decided War Is Not A Place for Press". I gave a gasping involuntary outburst throwing my hands up in a gesture of 'what the heyyyy?'. And she did sigh in resignation that it might not be the best answer. But I assumed it was the answer agreed upon by the powers that be, and after all she is corporate lawyer mouthpiece of her country. I forget the question but a response was about how after these 'wars' there is a Special Compound set up by Israel in order to tackle grievances about how the military behaved. Interestingly enough these testimonies are heard by the military. Fox - Hen house ring a bell? All in all she seems to feel that Israel is the only country who knows Diplomacy and therefore states that in order to negotiate there must be "No preconditions". hmmmm 'illegal settlements'......guess they would no longer exist?