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Why the U.S. Can’t Compete Educationally A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford The United States cannot follow the Finnish model to emerge from second class world educational status, because the Finnish system is based on social equality and esteem for the teaching profession. Here, “teachers are relentless hounded and degraded, made the scapegoats of society’s inequalities by sharing low scores with their students, whose families and communities are cut off from America’s wealth.” To compete, America must be radically transformed.

Why Isn't Closing 40 Philadelphia Public Schools National News? Where Is the Black Political Class? If some racist made an inappropriate remark about the First Lady or her children our national "civil rights leaders" Obama fans all of them, would be all over that. But standing up for ordinary black children is something our leaders just don't do much any more.  When was the last time you heard Sharpton, Jealous or any of that tribe inveigh against school closings and the creeping privatization of our schools?   Why Isn't Closing 40 Philadelphia Public Schools National News? Where Is the Black Political Class?

Nasrallah says Syria risks becoming like Iraq - Middle East - Al Jazeera English Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, has accused the US, Israel and some Arab states of stoking "terrorism" in Syria during a speech broadcast to thousands of his supporters in southern Beirut. "Who wants the destruction of Syria? America and Israel and some Arab countries," said Nasrallah, whose Shia movement is close to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government. "They want to destroy Syria because it is the main ally of the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine." Condemning deadly twin blasts that killed dozens and injured hundreds of people in Damascus on Thursday, Nasrallah criticised the Syrian opposition over its accusation that Assad’s forces were behind the attacks. The explosions, the Hezbollah chief added, were proof that Syria risks descending into an abyss similar to Iraq. "The Syrian people are at a crossroads," Nasralla...

Noam Chomsky: Cuba, The Drug War, And The Isolation Of The U.S. Cuba, The Drug War, And The Isolation Of The U.S. By Noam Chomsky May 11, 2012 "Information Clearing House" -- Though sidelined by the Secret Service scandal, last month’s Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, was an event of considerable significance. There are three major reasons: Cuba, the drug war, and the isolation of the United States. A headline in the Jamaica Observer read, “Summit shows how much Yanqui influence had waned.” The story reports that “the big items on the agenda were the lucrative and destructive drug trade and how the countries of the entire region could meet while excluding one country – Cuba.” The meetings ended with no agreement because of U.S. opposition on those items – a drug-decriminalization policy and the Cuba ban. Continued U.S. obstructionism may well lead to the displacement of the Organization of American States by the newly-formed Community of Latin American...

: Information Clearing House Home   Sign up for our FREE Daily Email Newsletter The US Military's 'Anti-Islam Classes' How widespread is the use of anti-Islamic material in the US military? Video Inside Story - Al Jazeera May 13, 2012  -- Al Jazeera has obtained exclusive material of a course taught on a US military base implying that Hamas has influenced the US government at the highest levels. The course is called "Understanding the Threat to America." And in it are hundreds of slides that claim to link the Muslim Civil Liberties Advocacy Organisation (CAIR) and other American Muslim groups to the Palestinian group Hamas. It was taught to senior military officers at a base in the state of Virginia.   The US military is conducting a review of all material taught to its officers after the website Wired.com exposed another course teaching anti-Islam material. One of the slides presented by Army Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Dooley says the m...

Saudi Arabia beheads woman for 'sorcery' - Middle East - Al Jazeera English A Saudi woman has been beheaded after being convicted of practising sorcery, which is banned in the conservative Gulf kingdom, the country's interior ministry said. Amina bint Abdul Halim bin Salem Nasser was executed on Monday in the northern province of Jawf for "practising witchcraft and sorcery", the ministry said in a statement carried by SPA, Saudi Arabia's state news agency. The ministry gave no further details of the charges for which the woman was convicted. London-based newspaper al-Hayat quoted a member of the Saudi religious police as saying Nasser was in her 60s. The official claimed she had tricked people into giving her money, claiming that she could cure their illnesses. According to the report, she apparently charged up to $800 a session. Amnesty International said the beheading brought the number of executions in the kingdom to 73 this year. Another woman w...

Germany grappling with violence at demonstrations - The National Berlin // The German government is considering banning some radical Muslim groups and expelling violent demonstrators from the country after several police were attacked and injured by Islamists protesting against displays of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed by a far-right organisation.