The overwhelming majority of Texas schools use scare tactics and spread myths in place of teaching basic sex and health information that students can use to protect themselves and others, according to a report released Wednesday by watchdog group Texas Freedom Network.
TFN's two-year study of education materials from 990 Texas school districts showed that about 94 percent of public schools use abstinence-only programs that usually pass moral judgments while either downplaying or ignoring contraception and health screenings.
Report critical of sex education in Texas schools
Bailout Bank Blows Millions Partying in L.A.
A bank that received $1.6 billion in bailout money just spent a fortune last week in L.A. hosting a series of lavish parties and concerts with famous singers ... and TMZ cameras caught it all.
Northern Trust, a Chicago-based bank, sponsored the Northern Trust Open at the Riviera Country Club in L.A. We're told Northern Trust paid millions to sponsor the PGA event which ended Sunday, but what happened off the golf course is even more shocking.
Newly homeless Gazans lament otherwise valuable rainfall
Palestine’s long-awaited rainfall, called a blessing from heaven by Palestinians in the West Bank, was described as a curse for homeless families in the Gaza Strip.
Israel completely destroyed at least 2,000 Palestinian homes and left as a many as 12,000 damaged during its 22-day assault on Gaza.
46,000 people were displaced, according to the United Nations.
According to the official Palestinian Authority news agency, Wada, the rains are “adding to the suffering of homeless people in Gaza,” despite the blessing to farmers.
CONGRESSMAN WANTS MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL REASSESSED
A US congressman plans to brief fellow members of Congress and the Obama administration about his recent trip to Gaza, saying the US should pressure Israel regarding border closures and reassess its military support for the Jewish state.
Rep. Brian Baird, a Democrat from Washington state, visited Gaza last week with fellow Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota and was struck by “the level of destruction, the scope of it, specifically the civilian targets - schools, hospitals, industry.”
Baird also said Israel had “apparently willfully destroyed any capacity of the Palestinians to rebuild their own infrastructure.”
Amnesty International: Gaza white phosphorus shells were US made
White phosphorus bombs used by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip were produced and supplied by American arms manufacturers, according to an Amnesty International report that called for a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel.
The report documented dozens of weapons used by Israel and Hamas during the three-week offensive, concluding that both groups had carried out attacks on civilians constituting war crimes punishable by international law.
The human rights group said that weapons experts in Gaza found white phosphorus artillery shells marked M825 A1 – a US-made munition – throughout the coastal strip. The Times published photographic evidence that Israel was using the M825 A1 shells on January 8. At that time, Israeli military spokesmen denied that the weapon was being used, saying: "This is what we call a quiet shell – it has no explosives and no white phosphorus".
TVNL Comment: What the hell is a "quiet shell?" Look it up; there is no such thing. The term was simply made up to answer the question posed about the illegal weapons used by Israel.
FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds spills her secrets.
Most Americans have never heard of Sibel Edmonds, and if the U.S. government has its way, they never will. The former FBI translator turned whistleblower tells a chilling story of corruption at Washington’s highest levels—sale of nuclear secrets, shielding of terrorist suspects, illegal arms transfers, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, espionage. She may be a first-rate fabulist, but Edmonds’s account is full of dates, places, and names. And if she is to be believed, a treasonous plot to embed moles in American military and nuclear installations and pass sensitive intelligence to Israeli, Pakistani, and Turkish sources was facilitated by figures in the upper echelons of the State and Defense Departments. Her charges could be easily confirmed or dismissed if classified government documents were made available to investigators.
Read more...
Obama picks anti-Iran man for Iran post
The White House names controversial Middle East negotiator Dennis Ross as its special foreign policy adviser for Persian Gulf affairs.
Ross, as a member of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, also put his signature on a September report saying that "the Europeans make war more likely if they do not strengthen sanctions against Iran and effectively end all commercial relations."
Straw blocks UK Cabinet Iraq minutes
Justice Secretary Jack Straw said he could not permit the release of records from 2003 discussions over the invasion of Iraq because it would cause too much "damage" to democracy.
He told MPs he had signed a certificate vetoing rulings by the Information Commissioner and Information Tribunal that key records should be disclosed. Mr Straw said he had signed a certificate under section 53 of the FOI Act, "the effect of which is that these Cabinet minutes will not now be disclosed".
Obama HURTS 100 Million to Help 9 Million
Dear President Obama,
HI!, yoo-hoo, over here, we are 100,000,000 men, women and children who rent and we seem to be invisible to you and the media (including NPR, New York Times and the Wall Street Journal) but clearly our numbers make us important. We are wondering why you are helping 9 million people at the expense of me and my 99,999,999 friends, neighbors and fellow countrymen. Not to mention the additional millions of former homeowners who will soon join us because they rationally decided to live within their means and rent.
But how is your plan hurting 100,000,000 renters? It is hurting them in three major ways:
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