President Barack Obama has been named Time’s 2012 Person of the Year. The publication said, in announcing its choice for the annual cover story : “We are in the midst of historic cultural and demographic changes, and Barack Obama is both the symbol and in some ways the architect of this new America.” “In 2012, he found and forged a new majority, turned weakness into opportunity and sought, amid great adversity, to create a more perfect union.” Obama won a second term in the White House last month, withstanding a challenge by Mitt Romney and varying degrees of foreign and domestic tumult. The short list of runners-up for the Time distinction: The late Malala Yousafzai, a symbol of the struggle for global women’s rights Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s new president Renowned physicist Fabiola Gianotti Apple CEO Tim Cook Obama also won the magazine’s POY honor in 2008. Last year’s winner was The Protester, an amalgam of those who sought change around the world. Mark Zuckerberg won in 2010 and Ben Bernanke in 2009. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un won Time ‘s reader poll for 2012 … thanks to 4chan trolls. Do you agree with Obama’s POY selection? Yes. He’s the perfect choice. No way! Someone else! View Poll »
When HBO viewers sit down to watch the Game of Thrones Season 3 premiere on March 31, they’ll be able to do so with a bottle of Iron Throne in their hands. A blonde ale from Ommegang brewery, the beverage will be “crafted to directly tie into themes and nuances of the medieval-like fantasy realm of Westeros and the surrounding kingdoms,” according to a company press release. No, this doesn’t mean those drinking it will start to crave sex with their brother or sister. The brew will come in 25-ounce corked bottles, ideal for long days on The Wall couch, and cost $8.50 per drink. Take your first look at the packaging above and let’s all raise a glass to Tyrion Lanister and company!
Cassadee Pope was named the winner on The Voice results show last night after an hour and 58 minutes of filler … but at least that filler was strong by reality show standards. Case in point? Rihanna performing “Diamonds” live: Rihanna – Diamonds (Live on The Voice) A little awkward that she wasn’t singing the backing vocals – performed by herself on the studio track – but she sounds good live (and looks great as always). The Killers, Bruno Mars and Kelly Clarkson also took the stage on the NBC show’s final episode of 2012, with Cassadee Pope joining the latter in her performance. Do you think C-Pope deserved to win? YES! Team Cassadee FTW! NO! Should’ve been Terry! Or Nick! View Poll »
Texas teachers could be armed with guns themselves following Friday’s stunning Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. The state’s governor, Rick Perry, has expressed support – at least for allowing districts to determine whether their teachers can carry concealed weapons. It has also been reported that one Texas district already permits teachers to pack concealed handguns in class; Perry says he is open to expanding the idea. Perry told the NE Tarrant County Tea Party on Monday evening: “In the state of Texas, if you go through the process, have been trained, and you are a handgun-licensed individual, you should be able to carry a gun anywhere in the state.” In addition, Virginia Gov. McDonnell said Tuesday, “I know there’s been a knee-jerk reaction against that [but] I think there should at least be a discussion of that.” “If people were armed, not just a police officer but other school officials … certainly there would be an opportunity to stop aggressors coming into the schools.” “So I think that’s a reasonable discussion that ought to be had,” he added. Virginia and Colorado have already seen gun sales spike this week. In the Harrold Independent School District in Texas, a policy was already implemented in 2007 that allows teachers to carry concealed handguns in schools. Harrold superintendent, David Thweatt, has said “We’re a rural community. We’re in a county about a little smaller than the state of Rhode of island.” “We’re 30 minutes from law enforcement. Thirty minutes is an extremely long time.” In Connecticut last week, 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot his mother dead, then drove to the nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. He broke his way in before murdering 20 children as well as six adults in the school. After the slaughter, Lanza turned the gun on himself and shot himself dead. It was one of the worst high school massacre shootings in United States history and has sparked a wide debate on gun control and regulations in America. What do you think: Should teachers be allowed to carry guns? Yes, it could actually prevent violence! No, that would be utter insanity … View Poll »
The poor girl took her teacher seriously… In a ‘what the hell was she thinking’ moment, 16-year-old high school student Samantha Pawlucy showed up to school on ‘dress down Friday’ in jeans and a t-shirt…but Samantha’s pink shirt drew extra attention because she was wearing a Robney/Lyan tee. According to NBC News… “The teacher told me to get out of the classroom, I said no,” Samantha said. “She told me to take off my shirt and said that she has another one if I need one. And then the teacher asked me… ‘Are your parents Republican?’ I said, ‘I don’t know.’ She said that’s like her wearing a KKK shirt.” Samantha was so embarrassed by the public criticism in front of her classmates that she told her parents she didn’t want to return to school. “I didn’t know what to think, I didn’t think it was right at all.” They requested a meeting with the principal and the teacher. The teacher apologized to Samantha and her parents saying that the statement was meant as a joke. “It was funny to her, but I was really embarrassed,” Samantha said. “If it was a joke between two adults, I can take a joke like that but (my daughter) didn’t know how to take it. She doesn’t understand, she actually thinks she did something wrong,” her father, Richard Pawlucy, said. “I can just picture her sitting there, feeling ashamed for just wearing a T-shirt,” said her mother, Christine Pawlucy. “That someone could spin that and throw it back on a 16-year-old child and make her feel so terrible.” A spokesperson for the Philadelphia School District told NBCPhiladelphia.com that the teacher was transferred to another classroom as the district investigates the incident. Now we’ve all had teachers who cracked on us back in the day. Do you think her teacher took it too far or can this girl not take a joke? Images via nbc
Was he buggin’ for this or are they overreacting? Chicago High School Board Member Called To Resign Over Racist Facebook Post A Berwyn, Illinois school board member is “Berwyn CARES shares the outrage of students, teachers and residents in learning about racist posts on the Facebook page of board member Michael Iniquez,” the group said in a statement issued after the Chicago Sun-Times reported on the comments. Iniquez sits on the Morton High School District 201 school board. The district serves more than 8,000 students, mainly from Berwyn and Cicero. The Sun-Times reported Wednesday that on Iniquez’s Facebook wall was the post, “IT’S FRIDAY NI–A’S,” next to a picture of a nearly naked black child dancing. The whole word — a version of the n-word — was spelled out on the wall of Iniquez’s Facebook page. His entire Facebook page appears to have since been removed. “Certainly, if these allegations are true, he has no place on this school board,” Berwyn CARES President Robert Pauly said. The group, representing several hundred parents, stopped just short of calling for Iniquez’s resignation as it awaits the outcome of an internal investigation being done by the Town of Cicero where Iniquez works as the head of the rodent control. Iniquez is a longtime supporter of Cicero Town President Larry Dominick, who has condemned the posts, and the son of the town’s former police chief. In an interview earlier this week, Iniquez blamed the racist post on his 15-year-old son but acknowledged writing on his public Facebook page about getting drunk at a Cubs game and comparing the White Sox ballpark to a ghetto. He did not return a phone message Thursday. Berwyn Alderman Marge Paul in an interview Thursday called on Iniquez to resign, noting the revelations about him only aggravate a situation where parents are moving out of Berwyn rather than send their children to high school in the underperforming Morton District 201. This guy is blaming the post on his son, but we’ve all seen this meme before — is it racist for a Latino person to post? Source More On Bossip! Dirty Dog Diaries: MORE Women Come Forward Telling Royce That Her New Boo-Thang Dezmon Briscoe Been Tryna Chop Them Down Too! Single And Ready To Mingle: The 10 Best Cities To Meet New People And Get Freaky! Cheaper To Chop Her: Men (And Women) That Got Caught Trying To Pay For That Poon Ain’t That A B–?! Dirty Dogs That Faced Bad Karma For Their Dirty Dog Ways
The ever-vigilant crew at WeaselZippers has uncovered a jaw-dropping incident at Woodbrook Elementary School in Virginia in which third-grade students performed (and school officials claim wrote ) a song titled, “Part of the 99” as part of a “Kid Pan Alley” performance in October. But despite the backlash, Albermale County school district is standing behind the song, claiming the children chose and… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Blaze Discovery Date : 03/01/2012 03:57 Number of articles : 2
Wait… what now? An Arizona judge has ruled that Tuscon schools must change the way they’ve been teaching Mexican-American history in the schools because the current curriculum is too inflammatory. An administrative law judge found the program’s curriculum was teaching Latino history and culture “in a biased, political, and emotionally charged manner,” and upheld state officials’ findings that it violated a state law passed in 2010. The Tucson Unified School District had appealed a decision by the law’s principal backer, then-state schools superintendent Tom Horne, to shut down the program. Horne left office at the end of 2010, but his successor, John Huppenthal, backed Horne’s ruling in June. Huppenthal said Tuesday’s ruling shows “that it was the right decision.” “In the end, I made a decision based on the totality of the information and facts gathered during my investigation — a decision that I felt was best for all students in the Tucson Unified School District,” he said in a written statement. Under the law, the state can withhold 10% of its funding for the school district — about $15 million a year — until the district changes the course. In a written statement, Tucson Superintendent John Pedicone said the school board’s lawyers are reviewing the ruling, and board members will discuss it at their January 3 meeting. During their appeal, district officials pointed out that an audit commissioned by Huppenthal praised the program and found “no observable evidence” that the classes violated state law. A witness for the school system argued that teaching students “historical facts of oppression and racism” was less likely to promote “racial resentment” — something specifically banned by the 2010 law — than ignoring that history. In Tuesday’s ruling, administrative law judge Lewis Kowal said the auditors observed only a limited number of classes. He added, “Teaching oppression objectively is quite different than actively presenting material in a biased, political, and emotionally charged manner.” “Teaching in such a manner promotes social or political activism against the white people, promotes racial resentment, and advocates ethnic solidarity, instead of treating pupils as individuals,” Kowal wrote. He cited a lesson that taught students that the historic treatment of Mexican-Americans was “marked by the use of force, fraud and exploitation,” and a parent’s complaint that one of her daughters, who was white, was shunned by Latino classmates after a government course was taught “in an extremely biased manner.” The 2010 law also bans courses that “promote the overthrow of the United States government,” are “designed for a specific ethnic group” or advocate “ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.” What’s the point of teaching kids history at all if we’re going to sugarcoat it? Are we going to stop teaching about slavery next? None of this even begins to sound like democracy… Source
Wide academic disparities among the races have plagued this country for years. Now a 19-month long civil rights study of the Los Angeles Unified School District has unearthed what many people have been saying is one of the main reasons for the lags in education among black and Latino students, failures in the education system… (Continue Reading At Hip Hop Wired)
