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The costs of building privately vs publicly is absolutely astonishing

erietemperance
Investment Watch Blog
Thu, 22 Mar 2018 17:22 UTC
US fractured flag
Boring story.

The city I live in is along a river, and 6 years ago they wanted to build a park along the river. There was a proposal and a public hearing for the park. The park would consist of 1/2 miles of concrete sidewalks, 8 Benches, 1 Gazebo, 2.5 acres of grass (not sod, but that spry on seed mulch stuff), and a small play area for kids (~30′ x 30′)

The plans were laid out, the art work was made public, and the city said that they had enough surplus to pay for it. It was voted on, passed, and the final budget was $7.5 Million. They hired a company to do the work, no questions asked, and the work begun. They said it would take 12 weeks to complete and the park would be opened before the 4th of July.

Two years later, and another $5,000,000 the park was still not completed. The construction company disappeared and eventually the city sold the naming rights to a local company and they completed the park (slightly less then was first presented to the community). And it opened to no fanfare just over 3 years after it was scheduled to.

Comment: See Also:

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Document

Professors claim scientific objectivity reinforces 'whiteness ideology'

Nikita Vladimirov
Campus Reform
Mon, 19 Mar 2018 22:53 UTC
confused scientists
A newly published academic journal article argues that science educators must do more to combat "whiteness" and "White ideology" in the classroom.

In their research essay titled "Towards a truer multicultural science education: how whiteness impacts science education," University of Colorado at Denver scholars Cheryl E. Matias and Paul T. Le seek to "have the field consider the theoretical frames of whiteness and how it might influence how we engage in science education such that our hope for diversity never fully materializes."

"Whiteness embraces White ideology, and because Whites are at the apex of the racial hierarchy, whiteness becomes normalized and is invisible to those who benefit the most from it," the scholars observe. "This is particularly troubling because the normality of whiteness means that Whites do not believe that they are actively investing in White supremacy or racism, which keeps oppression intact."

While "the [science] culture attempts to be unbiased through peer reviewing and consistent methods and methodologies," this interpretation "falsely makes us believe that science is an objective enterprise and transcends culture," the academics assert.
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Alarm Clock

Israeli military courts are designed to detain and convict Palestinian children - reforms have been symbolic only

Yael Marom
+972 Magazine
Wed, 21 Mar 2018 19:54 UTC
training session for Palestinian children
© Facebook/Manal Tamimi
A training session for Palestinian children on detention, interrogation and trial
Israeli authorities have dedicated significant effort in recent years to highlighting the improvements allegedly made in the treatment of Palestinian minors within Israeli military courts in the West Bank.

Among the ostensible achievements are the establishment a juvenile court in the military court system, allowing for the increased involvement of parents in the military justice system, decreasing the length of time a child can be detained before being brought before a judge, and even an abandoned experiment of issuing summonses to Palestinian minors instead of sending an invading force of soldiers to arrest them in their homes in the middle of the night - the common practice today.


Comment: Geeze, those are the improvements? Even if they were implemented, it just goes to show what a barbaric country Israel is. Come on, guys, it's past time you entered the 21st century here.


A report published by Israeli human rights group B'Tselem on Tuesday argues that these so-called improvements have improved very little. The juvenile military court system system, which uses the tactic of denying bail to pressure over 70 percent of juvenile defendants and their families into accepting plea bargains, has a startling conviction rate that exceeds 95 percent.

The military juvenile courts do not come close to conforming to international standards and conventions signed and implemented by Israel, according to the B'Tselem report. And Israel's treatment of Palestinian minors contrasts starkly with the treatment Israeli children receive in Israel's separate, civilian juvenile justice system.

The Israeli army prosecuted 1,046 Palestinian minors in 2014 and 2015, according to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. More than a quarter of those indictments were of children 15 and under. Already in the first two months of 2018, the army arrested 274 Palestinian minors who were thrust into the military court system, according to Palestinian human rights group Addameer.
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Family

More ideological insanity: Service Canada directive forces employees to use gender-denial language - no 'Mr., Mrs., father, mother'

Catharine Tunney, Peter Zimonjic
CBC News
Wed, 21 Mar 2018 19:40 UTC
woman computer
© Shutterstock
A federal cabinet minister says a directive to Service Canada agents telling them to use gender-neutral language - such as 'parent' instead of 'mother' or 'father' - when speaking to the public was badly worded and will be corrected.

The directive, obtained by Radio Canada, the French-language arm of CBC, instructs Service Canada employees who interact with the public to stay away from terms such as Mr., Mrs., father and mother, and to "use gender-neutral language or gender-inclusive language."

"This avoids portraying a perceived bias toward a particular sex or gender," says a copy of speaking notes prepared for managers and team leaders. "It is important that Service Canada, as an organization, reflects Canada's diverse population and ensures that the views and interests of Canadians are taken into account when we develop policies, programs, services and initiatives."


Comment: They're not even worried about bias; they're worried about 'perceived' bias. This has nothing to do with a diverse population. Yes, Canada, like all nations is diverse in that it has two sexes, as well as a tiny minority of people confused about their sex. That doesn't mean we have to stop using language that applies perfectly well to everyone already, even the vocal and easily offended activist minority of gender deniers.


The move was quickly mocked by the Conservative opposition, who suggested Father's Day and Mother's Day would be renamed to be gender-neutral.
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Smoking

Hillary: You lost, get over it!

Mary Magaliner
New Right Network
Tue, 20 Mar 2018 00:00 UTC
Killary
© Unknown
'The Failure'
We Have Had Enough Hillary

Dear Hillary Clinton, Shut up already, please? Have you not embarrassed yourself enough? Now, in addition to quite a few other excuses as to why you lost, you are blaming white women. Specifically, conservative married white women. Your latest slur against a growing number of American citizens, which is sealing Donald Trump's future victory, is that we cannot think for ourselves, do not possess the willpower of a fly, and must trust the most important political decision of any Americans life to our husbands, our sons, or, more laughably, to our bosses.

We Control Our Own Narrative

So here is a wake-up call, Hillary. We are our own bosses. We have no one over us. We are business owners, writers, individuals with our own thought process. Most married women's husbands wouldn't dare tell them what to do, much less who to vote for. As a matter of fact, some of us are the reason they voted for Donald Trump. There are many of us. Hillary, maybe you should take a look at what real conservative married white women are saying on social media. A fantastic list of MAGA ladies who needed no assistance at all in determining who to vote for can be found in Twitter user @bradfordfile's tweet, here.

Comment: Bingo. 'The Basket of Deplorable White Women' with only 'one' painful, unending exception.

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Bad Guys

'The Caliphate's Lion Cubs': ISIS resumes training child militias in US-established safe zone in Syria


FARS
Thu, 22 Mar 2018 20:38 UTC
The ISIL terrorist group has restarted training children for war and suicide operations in a region protected by the US and its allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Deir Ezzur in Southeastern Syria
© FNA
The ISIL terrorist group has restarted training children for war and suicide operations in a region protected by the US and its allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Deir Ezzur in Southeastern Syria, an Arab media outlet disclosed on Thursday
The Arabic-language al-Manar news website quoted sources affiliated to the Syrian government's armed opposition as saying that the ISIL has again set up a military base to train what it calls 'The Caliphate's Lion Cubs' in Southeastern Deir Ezzur near the border with Iraq.

Numerous reports have said in recent months that the ISIL is recruiting again in Syria with the US help to attack the Syrian army positions in Deir Ezzur and destabilize the country.

Al-Manar said the child militias training center has been set up under the supervision of the former commander of ISIL bases in Raqqa, Abu Mohammed al-Fransi, adding that a large number of Syrian and foreign children have been recruited in there.

Meantime, Alexander Ivanov, the spokesman of Russia's airbase at Humeimim, said that "real evidence" indicates that the ISIL will resume operations with the support of certain regional and trans-regional states.

Comment: See also: 'Cubs of the Caliphate' and the struggle for reintegration: Daesh-brainwashed children after liberation

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Network

Facebook takes another blow as South Korea accuses the network of unfair practices


RT
Thu, 22 Mar 2018 19:27 UTC
Mark Zuckerberg
© Stephen Lam / Reuters
As Facebook stock takes a beating over the data row at home, the US company is facing new troubles abroad. South Korea has accused the social network of unfair practices.

The Korea Communication Commission (KCC) on Wednesday slapped Facebook with a 396 million won ($370,000) fine for violating a law against damaging the interests of users. The KCC said the social media giant illegally limited user access to its services from late 2016 to 2017.

The complaint was made when subscribers of local telecommunication providers SK Broadband and LG Uplus began experiencing a slowdown in their Facebook connections.

Comment: MSM says Facebook is facing its biggest crisis ever and Zuckerberg is blowing it

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Arrow Up

Gender-neutral baby names are on the rise

Leanne Italie
AP
Wed, 21 Mar 2018 00:00 UTC
Baby
© The Healthy Mummy
Whether Royal, Charlie or Salem, Skyler, Justice or Oakley, unisex names for babies are on the rise among parents more willing than ever to embrace the possibility of gender fluidity in their children and attempt to head off sexism on their behalf.

"We're definitely seeing more conversation today around the distinction of a truly gender-neutral name," said Linda Murray, global editor-in-chief of BabyCenter.com . "This generation is truly interested in gender neutral names."

The Social Security Administration puts out a top 10 list of popular baby names every year based on its registrations, but it also keeps track of names on the rise in its top 1,000. Name-watchers said crossovers and more neutral names haven't overtaken the top spots but are more heavily represented in the broader ranking, especially among millennial parents.

Pop culture and honoring family or religious history are important in baby naming, as is the cool factor. But more names are being used for either sex regardless of which gender they were originally associated with, and neutral naming has become a flashpoint for debate.
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Chalkboard

University of Wisconsin to eliminate majors such as philosophy and history to focus on programs with 'clear career pathways'

Rebecca Savransky
The Hill
Thu, 22 Mar 2018 18:51 UTC
college
The University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point is reportedly discussing a plan to eliminate 13 majors including English, philosophy, history and Spanish.

The campus - one of 11 campuses in the University of Wisconsin system - would instead focus on programs that have "clear career pathways," The Washington Post reported.

Under the proposal, the school would expand areas such as marketing, management, graphic design and computer information systems - areas that "have demonstrated value and demand in the region," according to the school.

Comment: While the study of philosophy, history and foreign languages should be encouraged and included in the general curriculum, students need knowledge and skills that will enable them to graduate with more than a debt burden, prepared to enter the workforce as mature adults - which is a far cry from what many institutions of 'higher learning' are currently offering.

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Attention

Arizona woman dies from allergic reaction to live bee acupuncture

Cydney Henderson
azcentral
Wed, 21 Mar 2018 01:38 UTC
live bee acupuncture
A woman from Spain is dead after having an allergic reaction to a live bee acupuncture' procedure where bee stings are used instead of needles.

The 55-year-old patient was receiving a treatment to relieve tight muscles and stress, according to a case study in the Journal of Investigational Allergology and Clinical Immunology.

However, the session quickly went south when the woman "developed wheezing, dyspnea, and a sudden loss of consciousness immediately after a live bee sting."
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