Rocket Barrage out of Gaza – What’s New?
You’ll be tempted to think you’ve read this before, and it’s old news. Hamas in Gaza reportedly reached a truce with Israel after firing 700 rockets toward Israeli population centers, resulting in death for four and injuries for many unsuspecting Israelis. Newspapers in Israel surmise that another temporary truce has been reached because schools have been reopened, and the “all clear” sign given that everyone can go back to business as usual.
Although Israel responded with some 350 air-strikes, only eleven terrorists are reported killed. But Netanyahu says it’s not over amid criticism that a truce has been reached. Israel’s official position is that they don’t negotiate with terrorists. To the extent that a (temporary) truce has been instituted, Netanyahu is actually being attacked from the “right” for having reached a truce at all.
Attempted Takeover of Education by “Personalized Learning” Platform, Summit
Many schools have adopted the Summit curriculum for their students. The New York Times reports that there is a rebellion in Kansas where schools had adopted the program, handed out laptop computers to students to use daily.
It didn’t go over so well. The students don’t like being taught from a laptop, requiring that they spend multiple hours per day hovering over a little computer. Students complain of eyestrain and carpel tunnel issues. A girl with epilepsy started having multiple seizures per day, and it’s been suggested that she limit her screen time to 30 minute sessions to cut down on the seizures.
Parents are ticked off about the program. Many are pulling their kids out of school to get them away from influences over which they have little knowledge and no control. The program was developed by Mark Zukerberg and his pediatrician wife Priscilla Chan. It turns out that students have to enter all manner of personal information in order to get enrolled in the “personalized learning” program, and that starts a few bells ringing. Isn’t that what Facebook does? It collects all kinds of personal information, data and contact information, then sells it to whoever can pay. That right there ought to be all anybody needs to know about “personalized learning.” Given the record of the boy billionaire and his penchant for selling the personal data of millions who thought they were signing up for convenience and the ability to contact and keep up with their “friends,” only later to find that they’d been duped into making Zuckerberg fabulously rich while their personal data was for sale all over the internet.
Knowing that Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Twitter and the long list of other tech outfits that have taken over the world are pushing global warming, gay marriage, open borders, Trump hatred and all kinds anti-American sentiment, here’s a bit of advice. Don’t give any of them ANY personal information. And that goes double for kids in school.
North Korea Resumes Missile Testing
Establishment media had its predictable meltdown when the bad haircut recently fired short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan. He was standing up to Trump, revealing that the two summits between the American President and little Kim Jong-Un accomplished nothing, according to jaundiced pundits. They’d previously argued that President Trump accomplished nothing except to give the height-challenged dictator the credibility he so earnestly desired.
Turns out that neither the President nor his advisors are concerned in the least about the short-range missiles. Those weapons are not capable of carrying a nuclear payload (assuming North Korea has a nuclear payload), and they’re also not capable of reaching distant targets. So the mainstream media panicked and warned that all was lost. Meanwhile the Trump administration blew the whole thing off as no big deal in the grand scheme of things. At least nobody’s climbing down man-hole covers in Hawaii, fearful they’ll all go up in a mushroom cloud within minutes. At least there’s that…
Florida: Guns in the Classroom
These days, nearly every shooting leads to cries for more and stricter gun controls. State legislators in Florida are attempting to tackle the problem from a different angle. Largely in response to the deadly Parkland shooting in February 2018, a bill has passed that will allow teachers to be armed on campus and in the classroom. The Guardian program, as it is called, requires a 144-hour training course. While counties can opt out of the program, 40 of Florida’s 67 counties have teachers participating in the program.
Funny-man on the Front Lines
While it rarely penetrates American news, armed conflict has been under way between the Ukraine and Russia since the 2014 annexation of Crimea. Multiple Russian-backed “People’s Republics” have declared independence in eastern Ukraine, leaving the country a crumbling bulwark for Europe in the face of Soviet-style expansion. Recent Presidential elections propelled a political new-comer into office in Ukraine, Voldymyr Zelenskiy. Zelenskiy is a comedic actor who became famous for his role playing a school teacher who unexpectedly becomes president in a popular sitcom. His campaign mirrored his TV show in many ways, targeting corruption with comedy. For many entrenched career politicians in Ukraine this is no laughing matter. Zelenskiy’s first act as President has been to dissolve Parliament for snap-elections, his own party is so new that it currently holds no seats. Russia is also ready to exploit any weakness or division, advancing their interests in a conflict that has lasted five years and claimed over 13,000 lives.
Counting the Cost
The German Finance Ministry has reported that the country spent over 23 billion euros ($25.65 billion) supporting and attempting to integrate migrants and refugees, an increase of 11% over the previous year. An additional 7.9 billion euros were expended to help prevent any more from entering EU territory. Most have originated from Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. Backlash to the enormous influx of immigrants has roiled the political landscape across Europe. A German public TV station conducted a telephone survey to commemorate the 70th anniversary of their Constitution asking if Islam “belongs to” or “is a part of” Germany. Over 95% of participants said, “no.” Large, expensive, unassimilated and often hostile migrant populations have become a liability to the very politicians responsible for resettling them.
A Deal They Can’t Refuse
The Trump Administration has announced that the first phase of their plan for peace in the Middle East and Israel will be implemented in the coming months. The Palestinian Authority and Hamas are outraged! They assert that they have agreed to nothing, and furthermore no details have been released regarding the most sensitive issues like the status of Jerusalem or real Palestinian statehood. True on all counts. The plan will begin taking effect, the Palestinians have not agreed, and what the actual proposals will be on the more contentious portions is unknown. Phase one of the plan is the ECONOMIC PORTION. Foreign capital will begin flowing into Gaza and the West Bank. When the rest of the plan is eventually revealed, the PA, Hamas, and their constituents may find themselves in the embarrassing situation of having benefited from the first portion for some time.
