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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
December 1, 2014
via truthdig:
Harper’s Magazine Publisher Rick MacArthur bewailed the failure of The New York Times to run anything but the most establishment liberal view in its pages when the paper interpreted the Republican victory in the November midterm elections as an open opportunity for Hillary Clinton to “resurrect the Democratic Party.”
MacArthur wrote in his column in the Providence Journal on Nov. 20:
With a Democrat in the White House and Republicans holding only a slight majority in the Senate, MacArthur suggests that the word “resurrect” seems “hyperbolic.” And couldn’t low voter turnout in the midterms indicate dissatisfaction with Democrats as well as Republicans?
Two paragraphs after the excerpts quoted above, “the Times dropped any pretense of fair and balanced reporting by presenting the institutional voice of people who have very little interest in journalism, or, for that matter, democracy,” MacArthur wrote. According to Chozick and her editors, “In many ways, Tuesday’s election results clear a path for Mrs. Clinton. The lopsided outcome and conservative tilt makes it less likely she would face an insurgent challenger from the left.”
That opinion, says MacArthur, is based either on Chozick’s laziness or her editors’ preference for a Clinton candidacy. “But whatever the motivation, the assertion that Hillary’s path is clear was pulled out of the air. ......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/the_new_york_times_marginalizes_the_left_once_again_20141130
Promoting Hillary, The New York Times Once Again Marginalizes the Left
via truthdig:
Harper’s Magazine Publisher Rick MacArthur bewailed the failure of The New York Times to run anything but the most establishment liberal view in its pages when the paper interpreted the Republican victory in the November midterm elections as an open opportunity for Hillary Clinton to “resurrect the Democratic Party.”
MacArthur wrote in his column in the Providence Journal on Nov. 20:
A typical media “analysis” was provided by The New York Times, which almost immediately started promoting the inevitability of Hillary Clinton’s nomination as the next Democratic candidate for president. “Midterms, for Clinton Team, Aren’t All Gloom” declared its front-page headline on Nov. 7. According to the paper’s reporter, Amy Chozick, the misfortune of President Obama and Senate Majority (soon-to-be-Minority) Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) equaled good news for Mrs. Clinton and her “advisers,” among whom “a consensus formed … that it is time to accelerate her schedule.” This move toward a more rapid coronation was due to “pressure” on the former First Lady “to resurrect the Democratic Party,” since Mrs. Clinton is “already being scrutinized as the party’s presumptive nominee.”
With a Democrat in the White House and Republicans holding only a slight majority in the Senate, MacArthur suggests that the word “resurrect” seems “hyperbolic.” And couldn’t low voter turnout in the midterms indicate dissatisfaction with Democrats as well as Republicans?
Two paragraphs after the excerpts quoted above, “the Times dropped any pretense of fair and balanced reporting by presenting the institutional voice of people who have very little interest in journalism, or, for that matter, democracy,” MacArthur wrote. According to Chozick and her editors, “In many ways, Tuesday’s election results clear a path for Mrs. Clinton. The lopsided outcome and conservative tilt makes it less likely she would face an insurgent challenger from the left.”
That opinion, says MacArthur, is based either on Chozick’s laziness or her editors’ preference for a Clinton candidacy. “But whatever the motivation, the assertion that Hillary’s path is clear was pulled out of the air. ......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/the_new_york_times_marginalizes_the_left_once_again_20141130
November 30, 2014
Racism and the Charter School Movement: Unveiling the Myths
Sunday, 30 November 2014 00:00
By Antonia Darder, Truthout | Op-Ed
For almost three decades now, the charter school movement has sought to create the illusion that it is a better alternative to public education. Steeped in a narrow language of choice and student success, charter schools have also begun to quickly populate the terrain of educational justice, despite the conservative roots from which this movement sprang. Despite what was once a central commitment to public schooling in the United States, radical education advocates cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the struggles against racism that exist and persist within charter school environments, despite the rhetoric of equality and justice. This is particularly necessary because many of the most vulnerable students, with the greatest needs, have generally remained within now even more poorly funded and resourced public schools, while more and more public dollars, under private control, are redirected to serve the privileged few.
Common Myths
Given the growing number of teachers of color and children of color whose lives are directly affected by the consolidation of public-private resources, educators committed to a critical ethics of social justice in education must contend with the myths associated with the racialization process at work within charter schools today. One way to better understand this phenomenon is to consider the many myths at work in the charter school movement.
Myth of a Nation at Risk
In 1983, almost two decades before No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race to the Top (RTTT), "A Nation at Risk" served as the reactionary clarion call for a conservative political, educational movement. The neoliberal ideology that informed this movement was anchored in policies and practices of privatization, free-market solutions, deregulation, high-stakes accountability and the rhetoric of choice. This reactionary response was championed by former Secretary of Education William Bennett and former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch, who was a mean-spirited critic of multiculturalism and a vociferous advocate for a national curriculum, school choice and standardized tests, while working under the Bush administration - prior to her much-touted political conversion and enlightenment. The push by these federal agents for the privatization of education was in direct opposition to the struggles underway at the time, being forged by politically progressive and constructivist educational advocates associated with the post-civil rights era. These community efforts sought to place greater emphasis on critical thought and cultural relevance, as well as to contend with important questions of history and identity, long absent within traditional assimilative approaches of US schooling.
As would be expected, the underlying conservative foundation of the charter school movement today has resulted in a variety of deep tensions linked to questions of racism and education, particularly with respect to the education of working-class students of color. As such, new reactionary discourses have emerged under the guise of welfare reforms, tough on crime legislation and the failure of both teachers and public schools. These discourses, once again, normalize racialized views of morality and normalcy, as if people's life choices and conditions were not directly tied to the conditions, opportunities and benefits of class location, physical abilities, skin color, ethnicity or gender. Moreover, the increasing talk of accountability and deregulation has reinscribed the old bootstrap mantra, associated with individual effort and motivation. The market logic that informs these views also effectively abdicates the privileged, wealthy and powerful of any social responsibility or commitment to the democratic rights and needs of the most vulnerable populations, despite the widening gap between the rich and the poor. ...............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/27689-racism-and-the-charter-school-movement-unveiling-the-myths
Racism and the Charter School Movement: Unveiling the Myths
Racism and the Charter School Movement: Unveiling the Myths
Sunday, 30 November 2014 00:00
By Antonia Darder, Truthout | Op-Ed
For almost three decades now, the charter school movement has sought to create the illusion that it is a better alternative to public education. Steeped in a narrow language of choice and student success, charter schools have also begun to quickly populate the terrain of educational justice, despite the conservative roots from which this movement sprang. Despite what was once a central commitment to public schooling in the United States, radical education advocates cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the struggles against racism that exist and persist within charter school environments, despite the rhetoric of equality and justice. This is particularly necessary because many of the most vulnerable students, with the greatest needs, have generally remained within now even more poorly funded and resourced public schools, while more and more public dollars, under private control, are redirected to serve the privileged few.
Common Myths
Given the growing number of teachers of color and children of color whose lives are directly affected by the consolidation of public-private resources, educators committed to a critical ethics of social justice in education must contend with the myths associated with the racialization process at work within charter schools today. One way to better understand this phenomenon is to consider the many myths at work in the charter school movement.
Myth of a Nation at Risk
In 1983, almost two decades before No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race to the Top (RTTT), "A Nation at Risk" served as the reactionary clarion call for a conservative political, educational movement. The neoliberal ideology that informed this movement was anchored in policies and practices of privatization, free-market solutions, deregulation, high-stakes accountability and the rhetoric of choice. This reactionary response was championed by former Secretary of Education William Bennett and former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch, who was a mean-spirited critic of multiculturalism and a vociferous advocate for a national curriculum, school choice and standardized tests, while working under the Bush administration - prior to her much-touted political conversion and enlightenment. The push by these federal agents for the privatization of education was in direct opposition to the struggles underway at the time, being forged by politically progressive and constructivist educational advocates associated with the post-civil rights era. These community efforts sought to place greater emphasis on critical thought and cultural relevance, as well as to contend with important questions of history and identity, long absent within traditional assimilative approaches of US schooling.
As would be expected, the underlying conservative foundation of the charter school movement today has resulted in a variety of deep tensions linked to questions of racism and education, particularly with respect to the education of working-class students of color. As such, new reactionary discourses have emerged under the guise of welfare reforms, tough on crime legislation and the failure of both teachers and public schools. These discourses, once again, normalize racialized views of morality and normalcy, as if people's life choices and conditions were not directly tied to the conditions, opportunities and benefits of class location, physical abilities, skin color, ethnicity or gender. Moreover, the increasing talk of accountability and deregulation has reinscribed the old bootstrap mantra, associated with individual effort and motivation. The market logic that informs these views also effectively abdicates the privileged, wealthy and powerful of any social responsibility or commitment to the democratic rights and needs of the most vulnerable populations, despite the widening gap between the rich and the poor. ...............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/27689-racism-and-the-charter-school-movement-unveiling-the-myths
November 30, 2014
In the first-ever documentation of its kind, the CTA has created a ride along the length of each rail line. Shot in HD, you can now experience the 'L' like never before from the vantage point of the rail operator.
Ride the Rails: Blue Line to O'Hare
In the first-ever documentation of its kind, the CTA has created a ride along the length of each rail line. Shot in HD, you can now experience the 'L' like never before from the vantage point of the rail operator.
November 30, 2014
M-1 RAIL on time with completion of first phase of construction on Woodward Ave. in Downtown Detroit
Posted: 11/26/14
M-1 RAIL has completed its first phase of construction between Campus Martius Park and Grand Circus Park in downtown Detroit in time for America’s Thanksgiving Parade presented by Art Van. After the floats, clown corps and spectators have departed on Thursday, vehicle traffic will once again be able to travel the Downtown stretch of Woodward Avenue.
“We met our goal of installing a quarter of a mile of new track in both the north-and-southbound lanes of downtown in four months. We said Woodward would be ready in time for the annual Parade, and it is,” said Paul Childs, M-1 RAIL chief operating officer. “We had an aggressive schedule, along with a high standard for maintaining a clean and safe work site; and our skilled construction crews rose to the challenge. We’re pleased to be ready to kick off the holiday season in Detroit.”
“With the exception of some minor tasks, we are done with our work in this area for the year, but will return next year for track work from State St. to Larned,” Childs continued. “Woodward Avenue within the five-block stretch between Campus Martius Park and Grand Circus Park will be open to traffic. That’s really important to the businesses that have been so patient throughout the construction.”
Metro Detroit shoppers venturing downtown for “Black Friday” or the 11th Annual Shop Detroit on Small Business Saturday, Nov., 29 will be able to use Woodward Avenue to visit their favorite Detroit retailers. Starting at 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., Shop Detroit participants will enjoy holiday discounts at retailers located along Woodward Avenue and in the greater downtown area. ........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://m-1rail.com/m-1-rail-time-completion-first-phase-construction-woodward-ave-downtown-detroit/
M-1 RAIL on time with completion of first phase of construction on Woodward Ave. in Downtown Detroit
M-1 RAIL on time with completion of first phase of construction on Woodward Ave. in Downtown Detroit
Posted: 11/26/14
M-1 RAIL has completed its first phase of construction between Campus Martius Park and Grand Circus Park in downtown Detroit in time for America’s Thanksgiving Parade presented by Art Van. After the floats, clown corps and spectators have departed on Thursday, vehicle traffic will once again be able to travel the Downtown stretch of Woodward Avenue.
“We met our goal of installing a quarter of a mile of new track in both the north-and-southbound lanes of downtown in four months. We said Woodward would be ready in time for the annual Parade, and it is,” said Paul Childs, M-1 RAIL chief operating officer. “We had an aggressive schedule, along with a high standard for maintaining a clean and safe work site; and our skilled construction crews rose to the challenge. We’re pleased to be ready to kick off the holiday season in Detroit.”
“With the exception of some minor tasks, we are done with our work in this area for the year, but will return next year for track work from State St. to Larned,” Childs continued. “Woodward Avenue within the five-block stretch between Campus Martius Park and Grand Circus Park will be open to traffic. That’s really important to the businesses that have been so patient throughout the construction.”
Metro Detroit shoppers venturing downtown for “Black Friday” or the 11th Annual Shop Detroit on Small Business Saturday, Nov., 29 will be able to use Woodward Avenue to visit their favorite Detroit retailers. Starting at 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., Shop Detroit participants will enjoy holiday discounts at retailers located along Woodward Avenue and in the greater downtown area. ........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://m-1rail.com/m-1-rail-time-completion-first-phase-construction-woodward-ave-downtown-detroit/
November 30, 2014
http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/black_days_20141129
Black Friday .............. (cartoon)
http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/black_days_20141129
November 29, 2014
Published on Nov 28, 2014
Many journalists have been speaking out against the mainstream media, including former New York Times columnist Chris Hedges. He spent nearly two decades as a foreign correspondent, and claims that an unfettered press corps is a myth. RT producer Tyrel Ventura sat down with Hedges to uncover the truth about freedom of the press.
Chris Hedges: The Myth of the Free Press
Published on Nov 28, 2014
Many journalists have been speaking out against the mainstream media, including former New York Times columnist Chris Hedges. He spent nearly two decades as a foreign correspondent, and claims that an unfettered press corps is a myth. RT producer Tyrel Ventura sat down with Hedges to uncover the truth about freedom of the press.
November 29, 2014
http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/obama_strategy_20141128
Hagel's Departure (cartoon)
http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/obama_strategy_20141128
November 29, 2014
http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/racism_20141128
American Disease Control (cartoon)
http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/racism_20141128
November 29, 2014
from Consortium News:
A Dangerous CIA ‘Reform’
November 28, 2014
By Melvin A. Goodman
CIA Director John Brennan is promoting a reorganization scheme at the Central Intelligence Agency that will make it more likely that intelligence analysis will be politicized to support the interests of the White House and senior policymakers.
The organizational change that he favors would abolish the directorates of intelligence and operations, which were designed to maintain a bureaucratic wall between intelligence analysis and clandestine actions, in order to create regional and functional “centers” that would place analysts and operatives side-by-side. There is no doubt that such centers would do great harm to the production of strategic intelligence and would increase the likelihood of politicizing all intelligence production.
The CIA already relies heavily on so-called fusion centers, such as the Counter Terrorism Center (CTC) and the Counter Intelligence Center (CIC), which combine intelligence analysts and clandestine operatives. These centers were responsible for the operational failures in 2009 that allowed a Nigerian terrorist to board a commercial airline flight to the United States and enabled a Jordanian suicide bomber, a double agent, to enter (and blow up) the most sensitive CIA base in Afghanistan.
More recently, the CTC contributed to the intelligence failure regarding the danger and the lethality of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, which has contributed to the policy nightmare in the Middle East that just claimed a major bureaucratic victim, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. And let’s not forget the role of the CTC regarding the 9/11 intelligence failure, the most important intelligence setback since Pearl Harbor 60 years earlier. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://consortiumnews.com/2014/11/28/a-dangerous-cia-reform/
A Dangerous CIA ‘Reform’
from Consortium News:
A Dangerous CIA ‘Reform’
November 28, 2014
The CIA’s original purpose was to coordinate intelligence and provide unbiased analyses to U.S. presidents to avert another Pearl Harbor, but politicians and operatives have corrupted the process, a problem that CIA Director Brennan would make worse, writes ex-CIA analyst Melvin A. Goodman.
By Melvin A. Goodman
CIA Director John Brennan is promoting a reorganization scheme at the Central Intelligence Agency that will make it more likely that intelligence analysis will be politicized to support the interests of the White House and senior policymakers.
The organizational change that he favors would abolish the directorates of intelligence and operations, which were designed to maintain a bureaucratic wall between intelligence analysis and clandestine actions, in order to create regional and functional “centers” that would place analysts and operatives side-by-side. There is no doubt that such centers would do great harm to the production of strategic intelligence and would increase the likelihood of politicizing all intelligence production.
The CIA already relies heavily on so-called fusion centers, such as the Counter Terrorism Center (CTC) and the Counter Intelligence Center (CIC), which combine intelligence analysts and clandestine operatives. These centers were responsible for the operational failures in 2009 that allowed a Nigerian terrorist to board a commercial airline flight to the United States and enabled a Jordanian suicide bomber, a double agent, to enter (and blow up) the most sensitive CIA base in Afghanistan.
More recently, the CTC contributed to the intelligence failure regarding the danger and the lethality of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, which has contributed to the policy nightmare in the Middle East that just claimed a major bureaucratic victim, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. And let’s not forget the role of the CTC regarding the 9/11 intelligence failure, the most important intelligence setback since Pearl Harbor 60 years earlier. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://consortiumnews.com/2014/11/28/a-dangerous-cia-reform/
November 29, 2014
(Crain's Detroit Business) Woodward Avenue between Campus Martius Park and Grand Circus Park in downtown Detroit will reopen to vehicle traffic after Thursday’s America’s Thanksgiving Parade — in time for a Black Friday shopping rush.
That’s because the $137 million M-1 Rail streetcar project said today that it has finished its first phase of construction on Woodward.
“We met our goal of installing a quarter of a mile of new track in both the north and southbound lanes of downtown in four months. We said Woodward would be ready in time for the annual parade, and it is,” said Paul Childs, M-1 Rail COO, in a statement.
Traffic barriers on Woodward in Midtown will be removed temporarily for the parade floats, and then returned immediately afterward. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20141126/NEWS/141129907/woodward-to-reopen-thursday-first-phase-of-m-1-rail-work-wraps-up
Woodward to reopen Thursday; first phase of M-1 Rail work wraps up
(Crain's Detroit Business) Woodward Avenue between Campus Martius Park and Grand Circus Park in downtown Detroit will reopen to vehicle traffic after Thursday’s America’s Thanksgiving Parade — in time for a Black Friday shopping rush.
That’s because the $137 million M-1 Rail streetcar project said today that it has finished its first phase of construction on Woodward.
“We met our goal of installing a quarter of a mile of new track in both the north and southbound lanes of downtown in four months. We said Woodward would be ready in time for the annual parade, and it is,” said Paul Childs, M-1 Rail COO, in a statement.
Traffic barriers on Woodward in Midtown will be removed temporarily for the parade floats, and then returned immediately afterward. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20141126/NEWS/141129907/woodward-to-reopen-thursday-first-phase-of-m-1-rail-work-wraps-up
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