Catholic and independent schools had the biggest declines in the OECD’s Programme of Student Assessment (PISA) test results since 2009. Their students lost 1½ to nearly two years of learning in reading, mathematics and science. The falls in test scores were far bigger than for public schools. The learning loss in Catholic and independent schools Continue reading »
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Australia added 518,100 people through net migration in the 2022-23 financial year, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This is a record high by a very wide margin. The strain is obvious to all, in the rental crisis and infrastructure crowding. The Albanese government knows this is both unsustainable and Continue reading »
An award-winning livestock auctioneer went viral last year after selling a trucker cap on a Melbourne tram. Harry Cozens, a sheep and cattle auctioneer from Albury, was handed the cap by a fellow passenger and challenged to sell it, before launching into his call. First published by Guardian Australia December 13, 2023 Continue reading »
Terrorism takes different shapes and forms, and it is important always to be perceptive. A lot has been written about terrorism and terrorists these days, and most writings blame Muslims. It is true that there have been Muslim groups that have acted against both civilians and the military with great violence and savagery, and they Continue reading »
Nikki Haley’s gaffe illustrates her emptiness If there’s a worse time to drop a nuclear powered campaign gaffe than the week between Christmas and New Years less than a month before the primaries begin, I don’t know what it is. Many people are off work, sitting around watching TV, talking about world events with relatives and otherwise tuning into the news with a focus and attention they usually don’t have time for. Meanwhile, the news is usually pretty slow that time of year so any gaffe is going to get outsized attention on a loop because the media is desperate for campaign stories that aren’t dull as dishwater. Something that might be one little item in a crowded new cycle becomes The Major Story and a campaign is pushed back on its heels. If you’re one of those who tuned in over the past 36 hours you’ve heard about former S. Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s massive gaffe in New Hampshire on Wednesday when she was asked a very simple question at a town hall meeting: “What was the cause of the United States Civil War?” That’s not a trick question or a gotcha.
Extremists insist you fund religious schools They are relentless. Give them that. The investor class backed by useful idiots among Christian nationalists are determined to tear public education down to the foundations. Just as the fringe right finally ended women’s right to bodily autonomy with Dobbs, education remains in the crosshairs. They’re teeing up another Supreme Court test case (Politico): Groups aligned with the conservative legal movement and its financial architect, Leonard Leo, are working to promote a publicly funded Christian school in Oklahoma, hoping to create a test case to change the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the First Amendment’s separation of church and state. At issue is the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma’s push to create the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which would be the nation’s first religious school entirely funded by taxpayers. The school received preliminary approval from the state’s charter school board in June.
What astronomers see in the light bouncing across the universe.
The post The Echoes of Light appeared first on Nautilus.
Character actor Susan Twist has appeared more than once in the new Doctor Who. Could she appear again - and is she a secret major character?
Trump barred from 2024 primary ballot First Colorado. Now Maine. Maine on Thursday became the second state to bar Donald Trump from the 2024 primary ballot over his actions related to the Jan. 6 insurrection. Several Maine citizens challenged Trump’s eligibility for the presidency under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) reviewed the Jan. 6 record and found the reasoning of the Colorado Supreme Court to strike Trump from the primary ballot there “compelling.” “The U.S. Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government, and Section 336 [Maine statutes] requires me to act in response,” Bellows writes. “I am mindful that no secretary of state has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection.” Trump will appeal both the Maine and Colorado decisions. So many court cases, so little time California gets in on the action, says nope (New York Times): Hours later, her counterpart in California announced that Mr.
Our 14th most-read article of 2023.
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Originally published October 23, 2023.
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Dear Students,
We are saddened by the tremendous loss of life in many of the places you’ve read about—you know the ones, we don’t need to name them here.
The cost of human suffering by all the people who were affected by the thing that has happened in the place where it has happened is difficult to comprehend. Our hearts are with the people, all the people, but particularly the specific people you are thinking of right now when you read this statement.
At our University, we support values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we take a firm stance against things that are bad, like all the things you also believe are bad—for instance, violence. Violence is never the answer, but also, sometimes it is? Let’s table that.
The 10/7 Project, an effort by Pro-Israel elements to do damage control following Israel's Gaza offensive, has employed PR firms connected to Biden and other Democrats to shape public opinion, reveals Kit Klarenberg.
The post Top Democrat-Linked PR Firm Tapped by Pro-Israel Groups to Control Gaza War Narrative appeared first on MintPress News.
An examination of Hamas statements and political discourse demonstrates that the Palestinian group was hardly secretive about its plans for October 7.
The post The Spark That Lit the Fire: The Untold Story of the October 7 Attacks appeared first on MintPress News.
The Lever’s upcoming podcast series exposes the 50-year plot to legalize corruption in America. Listen to the trailer now.
The historical novel strives to recreate not only the material dimensions of a past age but also its mindset.
In today's BCTV Daily Dispatch: Night Court, The Rookie, Cobra Kai, What If…?, Joel McHale/William Shatner, Doctor Who, Conan O'Brien & more!
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DECADE Danse, an art exhibition by French-Australian artist Janet Besançon, shows an evolution of the artist’s work over the last ten years featuring “observations of our area in the life of a citizen of the globe”. The opening celebration is Saturday 5 January 2024 at Bellingen Gallery and Framing Studio from 5pm to 7pm, where... The post Decade Danse art exhibition inspired by gratitude for country appeared first on News Of The Area. BOAMBEE Headland’s littoral rainforest is emerging from the devastating damage of the October 2021 hailstorm that stripped it almost bare of vital foliage. The restoration is thanks to a team effort between Coffs Harbour Regional Landcare’s Sawtell. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us –... The post Restoration work sees Boambee Headland coming back to life after 2021 hailstorm appeared first on News Of The Area. A JOLLY collaboration of young and older people, coming together through music, brought residents of Marian Grove together to enjoy a special Christmas concert morning tea featuring the new Marian Grove/Mary Help of Christians Ukulele band and the Boambee Public School Choir. The festive fun took place on Friday 8 December at the Marian Grove... The post Seniors and school kids combine for Christmas concert appeared first on News Of The Area. It never fails. The man simply cannot be a decent human being. After months of Lieberman saying that there was no way that No Labels would do anything to help Donald Trump get a load of this: Tensions flared around No Labels, the quixotic third-party operation attempting to place Joe Manchin (or another centrist-ish candidate) on 2024 ballots. On Wednesday, the group’s founding chairman, Joe Lieberman, hit back at Democratic anguish over the group’s spoilsport campaign, tellingThe Wall Street Journal that “Right now, looking at the polling, it’s not No Labels that’s going to re-elect Donald Trump… Right now, it looks like it’s Joe Biden who’s going to re-elect Donald Trump.” Lieberman’s out-of-right-field attack isn’t shocking; after losing the 2006 Connecticut Senate primary, he left the party and successfully ran as an independent, while still caucusing with Dems. Two years later, he crossed party lines to campaign for John McCain, cementing his apostasy with a speech at the Republican National Convention. But the comment is nonetheless extraordinary.
Is a core of right ring conspiracy theories. But here’s the thing, while they’re clearly wrong about the details, that a significant chunk of elites are involved in statutory rape is almost certainly true. More true is that violation of laws and strong social more is common in elite circles. The main thing to understand is that violating social norms is a thrill. It heightens experiences. When people become powerful, the opportunity to violate norms that as someone weak they had to obey opens up and the experience can be thrilling. If you were raised in a very Christian society, pissing on a crucifix or homosexuality or the black mass (which is essentially just an inversion of a normal mass). Pedophilia is a massive taboo in our society, and so on. Same reason some people get off on sex where there’s risk of being discovered. | ||
