Sunday, October 19, 2014


News Clips For The Day


SCHOOLS OF TODAY


The New Vocabulary Of Urban Education – NPR
by EVE ABRAMS
October 17, 2014

Once upon a time, most kids attended things called schools to get an education. And, in those schools, these kids were called students.

Well, times are changing — especially in urban areas with lots of charter schools. In New Orleans, where just about every school receiving public funding is now a charter, we asked a bunch of adults where they had gone to school.

Their answers: Newton Elementary and Newton High School, Warren Easton High School, Epiphany School, Folsom Elementary School, Valena C. Jones School and the Moses Brown School.

Then we asked several kids the same question.

Their answers: Belle Chasse Academy, Langston Hughes Academy, Mount Carmel Academy, Success Preparatory Academy and KIPP Central City Academy.

Can you spot the difference?

One word stands out: "academy."

"It goes back to Plato," explains Larry Cuban, a professor emeritus at Stanford University's Graduate School of Education. "And it has a long history of intellectual exchanges."

Cuban studies school reform and teaching. He says our idea of an academy comes from Europe and traveled to the United States in the 17th and 18th centuries.

"Think Phillips Exeter, Andover," Cuban says, "private schools for elites where intellectual learning would occur. So it has that kind of pizzazz and kind of a cachet."

Cachet — something struggling schools in New Orleans and many of America's big cities could use.

"So it's an urban phenomenon," Cuban explains. "It's aimed at children of color because it's very hard to get experienced, highly skilled teachers into urban schools. This is, I think, aimed at both teachers and kids — the renaming."

And the renaming doesn't stop there.

"A scholar is like a person who's from Akili," says Jada Brown, a fifth-grader at Akili Academy in New Orleans, "who does what they need to do." At Akili, all students are known as scholars.

"It's a big term for us," explains fourth-grade teacher Julie Patterson, one of the school's founding teachers. Patterson says Akili uses "scholar" to send a message to its kids.

"We have big goals for you," Patterson explains. "We have big ideas. So you're not just a regular old student. You follow our values, you follow our school rules. That means you're a scholar."

"No word is magical in changing behavior," says Larry Cuban, but using words like "scholar" and "academy" can change the way students and teachers think about what happens in the classroom.




“'It's a big term for us," explains fourth-grade teacher Julie Patterson, one of the school's founding teachers. Patterson says Akili uses 'scholar' to send a message to its kids. 'We have big goals for you,' Patterson explains. 'We have big ideas. So you're not just a regular old student. You follow our values, you follow our school rules. That means you're a scholar.' 'No word is magical in changing behavior,' says Larry Cuban, but using words like 'scholar' and 'academy' can change the way students and teachers think about what happens in the classroom.”

The words “academy” and “scholar” do sound as though they represent a higher level of intellectual pursuit; and if the teachers (in ALL SCHOOLS) would teach their classes with personally held higher expectations of their students and belief in their capabilities, therefore imparting a higher level of information to their “scholars,” our US schools wouldn't be so far behind as they are now. When the schools were integrated, many white teachers and staff members thought the black kids were less intelligent, and rather than focusing on intensifying the education they received, they slowed down the way they taught the whole class. If students do fall behind the class it means they need special help, and they should receive it with no stigma attached.

A high school diploma should represent the skills necessary to vote, work in an office, shop effectively, read the newspaper and many books, and speak with good pronunciation and grammar. With that kind of high school education the scholar could then continue to read on his own even if he doesn't go to college, investigating important subjects such as business documents as well as general subjects of interest. Then it wouldn't be deemed necessary for every applicant to a large business to have a college degree. The complaint I saw in an article which reflected the comments of several businessmen was that so many job applicants couldn't read and write well enough, and use good grammar and pronunciation. Those are grammar school and high school subjects. If going to a school called an academy and being termed a scholar will really help, I have no objection to it. I just don't think it should be necessary.

The one thing in the article that hints at a real change is the agreement students sign, stating “You follow our values, you follow our school rules.” Too many big city schools are uncontrolled and undisciplined, with playground bullies running rampant rather than being reined in. It's hard for the good kids to study in that environment. I personally think requiring uniforms would help. Many people, especially my fellow liberals, think that uniforms diminish a student's creativity and individuality. I personally think kids with their pants hanging down low enough to show their underwear, or in the case of girls with their bra and bra strap showing – both of which occur purposely and not be accident – are not in a frame of mind to pursue their education. Uniforms would stop those practices. “Sagging” and the female version called “whale tail” are also just profoundly disrespectful to good society. I feel the same way about bra straps purposely shown. It's just disgusting. People can have “good society” without being rich. School is a good place to teach kids about these things. It's a part of being a good citizen. Besides, I don't believe a young person can properly appreciate world history or Bach with a whale tail or a red bra strap showing. See the enlightening wikipedia article called “Whale Tail.” The Wikipedia article called “undergarment” is very interesting on a more general level, going back to the ancient Greeks and what they wore.



http://www.theind.com/news/walter-pierce-re/17314-re-entry-points

RE: ‘Entry Points’
WALTER PIERCE
Friday, 02 May 2014

WHEN A FASHION EXPRESSION BECOMES A FINE-ABLE OFFENSE, WE’RE ALL IN TROUBLE. BY WALTER PIERCE
Friday, May 2, 2014


Well, it finally happened: a Louisiana town with a ban on saggy pants actually handed out fines to three young men not named Conner, Tanner and Hunter. No surprise our fashion offenders go by Gujuan, Shaiheem and Devacques, and the St. Landry Parish town of Eunice will not brook their boxered buttocks.

Test case for bad law? Maybe.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana has repeatedly warned local governments to cease and desist, but saggy pants ordinances keep popping up across the Bayou State. Marjorie Esman, the state chapter’s executive director, won’t say whether they plan to fight Eunice’s version of the saggy pants law now that three people have been ensnared by it, but she hits squarely on the most pernicious aspect of such ordinances: “One of our concerns about saggy pants laws in general is that they are used as a pretext to create an entry point into the criminal justice system for young African-American men,” Esman says. “And they are often used ... to take one kind of conduct and use that as a pretext to search for things like marijuana, which then becomes an arrestable offense... That’s a huge concern because the racial implications of that are enormous.”

Cities and parish governments, in other words, are creating a prohibition against an urban fashion popular among young, black males as a means of providing police with “probable cause” to question and search people who in most cases are not otherwise violating any laws. Complicating matters, many within the black community’s older generations support such measures.

Saggy pants are an easy target: They have become one of the most identifiable cultural markers of urban youth, mainly black males, and their association with hip-hop culture, which for many in the mainstream is known only (and unfortunately) for its misogyny and celebration of drugs, amplifies the stigma.

But such “entry points,” as Esman calls them, can also be a subtle if not still effective way to target the hip-hop demographic.

Lafayette has an ordinance related to bicycles that reads, “It shall be unlawful to ride a cycle at night without a visible rear reflective device and a properly operating headlamp.” Arguably there is a genuine public safety aspect to this ordinance. But ask yourself how many times, if ever, Lafayette’s bike headlamp ordinance has been enforced in the Saint Streets or Broadmoor neighborhoods. I’m willing to wager it’s been used to stop and question a brother in McComb-Veazey on more than one occasion.

Eunice, however, raises racial profiling to an art form. The town also has a ban on so-called “afro-combs” that have “teeth of a length in excess of three-quarters of an inch.” In Eunice such combs are defined as “dangerous weapons.” Tanner, Conner and Hunter, therefore, do not use them.

The three young men facing saggy-pants fines in Eunice almost certainly cannot afford to fight the charges — a convenient and probably common scenario wherever such ordinances exist. That’s where the ACLU could and hopefully will step in. And here’s the thing: Eunice doesn’t appear to have a legal leg to stand on, and even an un-caffeinated attorney could catch the town with its proverbial pants down. 

Louisiana’s obscenity law, which delineates in blush-inducing detail the various ways one may be obscene, has an important caveat: “... municipalities, parishes, and consolidated city-parish governments shall not exceed the scope of the regulatory prohibitions contained in the provisions of this Section.”

There is no mention of saggy pants in the state’s obscenity law because, let’s be honest, the visibility of someone’s boxer shorts is no more a threat to decency than a bra strap peeking out from a sleeveless shirt — a common sight in steamy South Louisiana not confined to those of loose morals.

Above all, saggy pants laws are a woefully inadequate Band-Aid for a problem that is much deeper, systemic and worrisome: the alienation and lack of opportunity for young, black men. No law will fix that, and besides, like any style that inflames the modest, saggy pants will go away. Let’s just wait them out.




“One of our concerns about saggy pants laws in general is that they are used as a pretext to create an entry point into the criminal justice system for young African-American men,” Esman says. “And they are often used ... to take one kind of conduct and use that as a pretext to search for things like marijuana, which then becomes an arrestable offense... That’s a huge concern because the racial implications of that are enormous.'... Cities and parish governments, in other words, are creating a prohibition against an urban fashion popular among young, black males as a means of providing police with “probable cause” to question and search people who in most cases are not otherwise violating any laws. Complicating matters, many within the black community’s older generations support such measures.... But ask yourself how many times, if ever, Lafayette’s bike headlamp ordinance has been enforced in the Saint Streets or Broadmoor neighborhoods. I’m willing to wager it’s been used to stop and question a brother in McComb-Veazey on more than one occasion.... The town also has a ban on so-called “afro-combs” that have “teeth of a length in excess of three-quarters of an inch.” In Eunice such combs are defined as 'dangerous weapons.'... Above all, saggy pants laws are a woefully inadequate Band-Aid for a problem that is much deeper, systemic and worrisome: the alienation and lack of opportunity for young, black men.

“No surprise our fashion offenders go by Gujuan, Shaiheem and Devacques” is an offensive way of saying that it is mainly (but not entirely) black kids who do it. The point of the article is that such laws are used as a gateway of sorts to a criminal career. I read in one article that not only the police but also school administrations mark young black kids for jail terms later by punishing them more heavily for the same offense than they do white kids, and doing that repeatedly until the police become involved in their misdeeds. I have always hated the way wealthy kids and football players, when I was growing up, were let off easy for bullying, cheating, etc. That's the old rule that if the child's father is important in the town, the bully will go unpunished to bully others. The American Civil Liberties Union leader Marjorie Esman believes that because such laws have been abused, they should not be on the books. I disagree. Deal with police abuse as a separate issue from laws that regulate basic morality, and dressing or behaving in a sexually promiscuous manner is immoral. It is telling indeed that the article states, “many within the black community’s older generations support such measures.” They don't approve of the obnoxious “fashions” any more than I do. The fact is that these kids are not moving in a direction toward good citizenship and emotional maturity, and they are in fact more likely to be involved in a gang and drug use at the very least if they continue on such a path.

In one article I saw about a city school environment which mandated that kids would be sent home when they dressed in such an inappropriate way, a girl had been sent home to change clothes because she was showing her bra straps. Her mother complained that the child was being discriminated against and emotionally abused instead of scolding the girl for what she had done. I just thought that if her mother at home would have a blanket rule that she was not allowed to go out in super short skirts, low rider jeans showing her underwear in the back and her bra exposed, the problem would be solved in the way it should be. The schools shouldn't be left holding the bag when dealing with these problems. Children shouldn't come to school dressed like that any more than they should be allowed to carry weapons or drugs to the campus. Adults have too often abandoned their duty to supervise their children in this country. I see it in three year olds up to high school age. I really feel sorry for modern day school teachers.





New Research Suggests Small High Schools May Help After All – NPR
by PATRICIA WILLENS
October 17, 2014

Findings from a new long-term study of small high schools in New York City show the approach may not only boost a student's chances of enrolling in college but also cost less per graduate.

The city began an intensive push to create smaller learning communities in its high schools in 2002. That year, the city's education department rolled out a districtwide lottery system for high school admission.

The study, by the research group MDRC, compares the academic outcomes of students in the small schools with a control group of students who sought admission, lost a lottery, and enrolled in other New York City high schools.

At the same time, then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg started creating hundreds of high schools enrolling about 100 students per grade — enrollments much smaller than the comprehensive high schools that had been the norm for decades.

These small schools shared some key characteristics: academic rigor, personalized relationships with teachers, and real-world relevance to the classroom lessons. Another key: outside funding, including from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carnegie Corp. of New York, and the Open Society Foundations. (Those three philanthropies are also supporters of NPR.)

The proportion of students who graduated from these high schools in four years and enrolled the next year in a post-secondary institution was 8.4 percentage points higher than in the control group, 49 percent, the MDRC study finds. In particular, the researchers found that the schools boosted college enrollment for black males by 11.3 percentage points, a 36 percent increase relative to their control group counterparts.

The small high schools included in the multiyear study also cost less per graduate. Costs were roughly 14 percent to 16 percent lower, the study said, largely because students graduated in four years rather than staying for a fifth year of high school. 

"What is truly remarkable about these results is that a high school reform has had a measurable effect on college-going and it has done so at scale — across scores of public high schools," said Gordon Berlin, the president of MDRC.

MDRC's study was funded by the Gates Foundation, which invested heavily in supporting small high schools across the nation beginning in 2000. However, nine years later the foundation backed away from the initiative in New York and elsewhere, saying it "fell short" of expectations.

While critics have labeled the Gates effort a failure, other researchers have been monitoring small schools for decades and have found generally positive impacts.

A review of studies published between 1990 and 2009 found "the weight of evidence ... clearly favors smaller schools." An MIT study of New York City public small high schools also found positive effects: higher graduation rates, better test scores and an increase in college enrollment.

This could be a clash between expectations and reality. Or is it merely that school size, all by itself, is not the decisive factor in student success?

New York City's small-schools efforts "are about much more than just the size of the schools," says John Hutchins of MDRC.

"But the findings are really robust — and demonstrate the effects of a public school reform delivered at scale (in scores of high schools) for a mostly disadvantaged population."

Patricia Willens is the education editor at WNYC News in New York.



http://www.mdrc.org/

MDRC – Building Knowledge To Improve Social Policy

Created in 1974 by the Ford Foundation and a group of federal agencies, MDRC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan education and social policy research organization dedicated to learning what works to improve programs and policies that affect the poor. MDRC is best known for mounting large-scale demonstrations and evaluations of real-world policies and programs targeted to low-income people. We helped pioneer the use of random assignment — the same highly reliable methodology used to test new medicines — in our evaluations. From welfare policy to high school reform, MDRC’s work has helped to shape legislation, program design, and operational practices across the country. Working in fields where emotion and ideology often dominate public debates, MDRC is a source of objective, unbiased evidence about cost-effective solutions that can be replicated and expanded to scale.

Over the years, MDRC has brought its unique approach to an ever-growing range of policy areas and target populations. Once known primarily for evaluations of state welfare-to-work programs, we also study public school reforms, employment programs for ex-prisoners and people with disabilities, and programs to help low-income people succeed in college. We are known not only for the high quality, integrity, and rigor of our research, but also for our commitment to building evidence and improving practice in partnership with school districts; community colleges; federal, state, and local governments; foundations; and community-based organizations.

MDRC has worked in nearly every state and most major cities, in Canada, and in the United Kingdom. We are funded by government agencies and some 70 private, family, and corporate foundations. With a staff of more than 250 in New York City and Oakland, California, MDRC is engaged in close to 80 projects in five policy areas: Family Well-Being and Children’s Development, K-12 Education, Young Adults and Postsecondary Education, Low-Wage Workers and Communities, and Health and Barriers to Employment.

MDRC was founded as the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation. However, in 2003, we made “MDRC” the registered corporate identity of our organization, thereby formally adopting the name by which we had become best known to our professional colleagues and the general public.




“The study, by the research group MDRC, compares the academic outcomes of students in the small schools with a control group of students who sought admission, lost a lottery, and enrolled in other New York City high schools. At the same time, then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg started creating hundreds of high schools enrolling about 100 students per grade — enrollments much smaller than the comprehensive high schools that had been the norm for decades.... These small schools shared some key characteristics: academic rigor, personalized relationships with teachers, and real-world relevance to the classroom lessons. Another key: outside funding, including from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carnegie Corp. of New York, and the Open Society Foundations. (Those three philanthropies are also supporters of NPR.)... In particular, the researchers found that the schools boosted college enrollment for black males by 11.3 percentage points, a 36 percent increase relative to their control group counterparts.... The small high schools included in the multiyear study also cost less per graduate. Costs were roughly 14 percent to 16 percent lower, the study said, largely because students graduated in four years rather than staying for a fifth year of high school.... 'What is truly remarkable about these results is that a high school reform has had a measurable effect on college-going and it has done so at scale — across scores of public high schools,' said Gordon Berlin, the president of MDRC.... While critics have labeled the Gates effort a failure, other researchers have been monitoring small schools for decades and have found generally positive impacts. A review of studies published between 1990 and 2009 found "the weight of evidence ... clearly favors smaller schools." An MIT study of New York City public small high schools also found positive effects: higher graduation rates, better test scores and an increase in college enrollment.”

“'But the findings are really robust — and demonstrate the effects of a public school reform delivered at scale (in scores of high schools) for a mostly disadvantaged population.'" I grew up in a small high school, and our graduating class was, incidentally, 100 students. It was very good for me. I was a pretty shy kid in many ways, especially pure socializing such as playground relationships and parties, so an environment in which there were fewer people made it easier for me to know more of them personally and feel more at ease. The competition for good grades was not something I particularly felt. I studied, played in the band, was in the drama class and high school play, was on the school newspaper, and in the Future Teachers Club, though I didn't want to teach by the time I got out of college. I made a solid high B average and got a scholarship to college. I think if I had been in a huge northern school with violent gangs and too many kids in the classes I would have essentially disappeared in the background and perhaps not done as well academically.

“This could be a clash between expectations and reality. Or is it merely that school size, all by itself, is not the decisive factor in student success?” Well, of course it's not only about school size. If the teachers don't get paid at the very least a “living wage,” they may not put out the extra effort that is needed. Good textbooks cost more money and so do fully qualified teachers. Also those teachers need to give of themselves to each student when the student needs help, especially if there are no teacher's assistants to help those who need help in reading, math, etc. In a school where the teacher/student ratio is smaller those things will tend to be easier on the teacher, and the student will gain confidence and maturity as they interact more closely with the teacher. If they develop an active affection for their teachers, as we did for the most part, they will learn more easily from them. There are a number of my teachers whom I remember to this day with love and respect.





http://news.yahoo.com/effectiveness-ebola-travel-ban-questioned-072730370--politics.html

Effectiveness of Ebola travel ban questioned
By ERICA WERNER
October 18, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) — A ban on travel from West Africa might seem like a simple and smart response to the frightening Ebola outbreak there. It's become a central demand of Republicans on Capitol Hill and some Democrats, and is popular with the public. But health experts are nearly unanimous in saying it's a bad idea that could backfire.

The experts' key objection is that a travel ban could prevent needed medical supplies, food and health care workers from reaching Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the nations where the epidemic is at its worst. Without that aid, the deadly virus might spread to wider areas of Africa, making it even more of a threat to the U.S. and the world, experts say.

In addition, preventing people from the affected countries from traveling to the U.S. could be difficult to enforce and might generate counterproductive results, such as people lying about their travel history or attempting to evade screening.

The U.S. has not instituted a travel ban in response to a disease outbreak in recent history. The experts insist now is not the time to start, especially given that the disease is still extremely contained in the U.S. and the only people who have caught it here are two health care workers who cared for a sick patient who later died.

"If we know anything in global health it's that you can't wrap a whole region in cellophane and expect to keep out a rapidly moving infectious disease. It doesn't work that way," said Lawrence Gostin, a professor and global health expert at Georgetown University Law Center. "Ultimately people will flee one way or another, and the more infection there is and the more people there are, the more they flee and the more unsafe we are."

Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health voiced similar objections at a congressional hearing this past week. So did President Barack Obama after meeting with administration officials coordinating the response.

Obama said he didn't have a "philosophical objection" to a travel ban but that he was told by experts that it would be less effective than the steps the administration has instituted, including temperature screening and monitoring at the five airports accounting for 94 percent of the arrivals from the three impacted nations. There are 100 to 150 arrivals daily to the U.S. from that region.

"Trying to seal off an entire region of the world — if that were even possible — could actually make the situation worse," Obama said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address.

Still, with little more than two weeks from midterm elections and control of the Senate at stake, the administration is facing mounting pressure on Capitol Hill to impose travel restrictions. Numerous Republicans have demanded a ban, as have a handful of Democrats, including at least two endangered incumbent senators, Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Mark Pryor of Arkansas.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, also favors a travel ban, and his spokesman, Kevin Smith, said the speaker hasn't ruled out bringing the House back into session to address the Ebola issue. Obama "has the authority to put a travel ban into effect right now," Smith said.

Lawmakers have proposed banning all visitors from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, or at least temporarily denying visas to nationals of those countries. They've suggested quarantining U.S. citizens arriving here from those nations for at least 21 days, Ebola's incubation period, and limiting travel to West Africa to essential personnel and workers ferrying supplies.

Related steps that have been proposed by Pryor and others include strengthening existing quarantine centers, getting health officials to assist with screenings at airports and ensuring that information collected at airports on travelers from hot zones is shared with state officials.

Experts say some of those limited steps make sense but question the legality, ethics and effectiveness of large-scale quarantines. Although it would be theoretically possible to get supplies and medical personnel to West Africa even while shutting down commercial air travel, in practice it would turn into a logistical nightmare, they say. They cite expenses and difficulties in chartering private aircraft or enlisting the military's assistance to transport thousands of personnel and huge amounts of supplies from around the world that is now moving freely on scheduled air travel.

Screening measures now in place allow arrivals from West Africa to be tracked; if those people go underground, attempt to enter via the Southern Border or by other means, it becomes that much harder to keep tabs on them.

Another difficulty arises because there are no direct flights to the U.S. from the impacted nations, raising the question of where to draw the line. Should flights from Paris, Amsterdam, London or Munich be banned if it turns out there is a passenger from Monrovia, Liberia, on them? Or should the other passengers just be screened? What if Ebola breaks out on European soil — should the travel ban be extended?

Among the travel ban skeptics is former President George W. Bush's top health official, who coordinated the government's response to bird flu in 2005 and 2006. At the time, it was feared that the H5N1 flu strain, capable of jumping from birds to humans, could become the catalyst for a global pandemic.

A travel ban "is intuitively attractive, and seems so simple," said Mike Leavitt, who led the Health and Human Services Department from 2005-2009. "We studied it intensely in preparation for H5N1. I became persuaded that there are lots of problems with it."




“It's become a central demand of Republicans on Capitol Hill and some Democrats, and is popular with the public. But health experts are nearly unanimous in saying it's a bad idea that could backfire.... The experts' key objection is that a travel ban could prevent needed medical supplies, food and health care workers from reaching Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the nations where the epidemic is at its worst. Without that aid, the deadly virus might spread to wider areas of Africa, making it even more of a threat to the U.S. and the world, experts say. In addition, preventing people from the affected countries from traveling to the U.S. could be difficult to enforce and might generate counterproductive results, such as people lying about their travel history or attempting to evade screening.... said Lawrence Gostin, a professor and global health expert at Georgetown University Law Center. 'Ultimately people will flee one way or another, and the more infection there is and the more people there are, the more they flee and the more unsafe we are.'... including temperature screening and monitoring at the five airports accounting for 94 percent of the arrivals from the three impacted nations. There are 100 to 150 arrivals daily to the U.S. from that region.... Lawmakers have proposed banning all visitors from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, or at least temporarily denying visas to nationals of those countries. They've suggested quarantining U.S. citizens arriving here from those nations for at least 21 days, Ebola's incubation period, and limiting travel to West Africa to essential personnel and workers ferrying supplies....Related steps that have been proposed by Pryor and others include strengthening existing quarantine centers, getting health officials to assist with screenings at airports and ensuring that information collected at airports on travelers from hot zones is shared with state officials.... A travel ban 'is intuitively attractive, and seems so simple," said Mike Leavitt, who led the Health and Human Services Department from 2005-2009. "We studied it intensely in preparation for H5N1. I became persuaded that there are lots of problems with it.'”

President Obama tends to be more deliberative than I am and move more slowly when I think something needs to be done immediately. Maybe that's partly why he is president and I am not. I do trust his good sense, and all the health experts say that no travel ban should be instituted. I do think, though, that 94% of all arrivals being physically scanned by officials is insufficient. 100% should be scanned for temperature and other signs of illness, especially if they have just come from Africa. I don't care if it is the flu, put them in quarantine immediately. I wouldn't ban all travelers from those key countries, but their names should be listed though, along with followup information such as the address where they will be staying and telephone number. I wouldn't only gather that information of those coming from the Hot Zone, but on every traveler from ANY PART OF AFRICA and kept in a computer record until the 21 days have passed. It is only a matter of time before Ebola spreads more widely in Africa, I am afraid.

Pryor's recommendation of “strengthening existing quarantine centers, getting health officials to assist with screenings at airports and ensuring that information collected at airports on travelers from hot zones is shared with state officials” all sound like the kinds of measures that can be made without violating anybody's rights and could be crucial when trying to contain a widespread outbreak here. The US is huge. It's easy for a traveler to disappear from sight and hide here. The idea of such travelers from Africa coming over the Rio Grande is something that shouldn't be ignored as “paranoia,” either, even if it is the Republicans who are saying it. “Strengthening our quarantine centers” is a very important idea. The failure of that hospital in Texas as a quarantine and treatment center in multiple ways is now apparent, so some government money could well go into improving that infrastructure of qualified hospitals. Who knows, a killer influenza may be coming next, like the one that is right now paralyzing little children, so spending that money would not be wasteful. I deeply regret the fact that our public health structure was robbed of so much of its funding. We are paying for that now.





http://news.yahoo.com/goliath-encounter-puppy-sized-spider-surprises-scientist-rainforest-125720953.html

Goliath Encounter: Puppy-Sized Spider Surprises Scientist in Rainforest
By Tanya Lewis
October 18, 2014

Piotr Naskrecki was taking a nighttime walk in a rainforest in Guyana, when he heard rustling as if something were creeping underfoot. When he turned on his flashlight, he expected to see a small mammal, such as a possum or a rat.

"When I turned on the light, I couldn't quite understand what I was seeing," said Naskrecki, an entomologist and photographer at Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology.

A moment later, he realized he was looking not at a brown, furry mammal, but an enormous, puppy-size spider.

Known as the South American Goliath birdeater (Theraphosa blondi), the colossal arachnid is the world's largest spider, according to Guinness World Records. Its leg span can reach up to a foot (30 centimeters), or about the size of "a child's forearm," with a body the size of "a large fist," Naskrecki told Live Science. And the spider can weigh more than 6 oz. (170 grams) — about as much as a young puppy, the scientist wrote on his blog. [See Photos of the Goliath Birdeater Spider]

Some sources say the giant huntsman spider, which has a larger leg span, is bigger than the birdeater. But the huntsman is much more delicate than the hefty birdeater — comparing the two would be "like comparing a giraffe to an elephant," Naskrecki said.

The birdeater's enormity is evident from the sounds it makes. "Its feet have hardened tips and claws that produce a very distinct, clicking sound, not unlike that of a horse's hooves hitting the ground," he wrote, but "not as loud."

Prickly hairs and 2-inch fangs

When Naskrecki approached the imposing creature in the rainforest, it would rub its hind legs against its abdomen. At first, the scientist thought the behavior was "cute," he said, but then he realized the spider was sending out a cloud of hairs with microscopic barbs on them. When these hairs get in the eyes or other mucous membranes, they are "extremely painful and itchy," and can stay there for days, he said. [Creepy-Crawly Gallery: See Spooky Photos of Spiders]

But its prickly hairs aren't the birdeater's only line of defense; it also sports a pair of 2-inch-long (5 centimeters) fangs. Although the spider's bite is venomous, it's not deadly to humans. But it would still be extremely painful, "like driving a nail through your hand," Naskrecki said.

And the eight-legged beast has a third defense mechanism up its hairy sleeve. The hairs on the front of the spider's body have tiny hooks and barbs that make a hissing sound when they rub against each other, "sort of like pulling Velcro apart," Naskrecki said.
Yet despite all that, the spider doesn't pose a threat to humans. Even if it bites you, "a chicken can probably do more damage," Naskrecki said.

Bird eater or mostly harmless?

Despite its name, the birdeater doesn't usually eat birds, although it is certainly capable of killing small mammals. "They will essentially attack anything that they encounter," Naskrecki said.

The spider hunts in leaf litter on the ground at night, so the chances of it encountering a bird are very small, he said. However, if it found a nest, it could easily kill the parents and the chicks, he said, adding that the spider species has also been known to puncture and drink bird eggs.

The spider will eat frogs and insects, but its main prey is actually earthworms, which come out at night when it's humid. "Earthworms are very nutritious," Naskrecki said.

Birdeaters are not very common spiders. "I've been working in the tropics in South America for many, many years, and in the last 10 to 15 years, I only ran across the spider three times," Naskrecki.

After catching the specimen he found in Guyana, which was female, Naskrecki took her back to his lab to study. She's now deposited in a museum.




“Known as the South American Goliath birdeater (Theraphosa blondi), the colossal arachnid is the world's largest spider, according to Guinness World Records.... Some sources say the giant huntsman spider, which has a larger leg span, is bigger than the birdeater. But the huntsman is much more delicate than the hefty birdeater — comparing the two would be "like comparing a giraffe to an elephant," Naskrecki said.... 'Its feet have hardened tips and claws that produce a very distinct, clicking sound, not unlike that of a horse's hooves hitting the ground,' he wrote, but 'not as loud.'... Prickly hairs and 2-inch fangs – When Naskrecki approached the imposing creature in the rainforest, it would rub its hind legs against its abdomen. At first, the scientist thought the behavior was 'cute,' he said, but then he realized the spider was sending out a cloud of hairs with microscopic barbs on them. When these hairs get in the eyes or other mucous membranes, they are 'extremely painful and itchy,' and can stay there for days, he said..... it also sports a pair of 2-inch-long (5 centimeters) fangs. Although the spider's bite is venomous, it's not deadly to humans. But it would still be extremely painful, 'like driving a nail through your hand,' Naskrecki said.... 'They will essentially attack anything that they encounter, 'Naskrecki said.... The spider will eat frogs and insects, but its main prey is actually earthworms, which come out at night when it's humid. 'Earthworms are very nutritious,' Naskrecki said.”

The largest spider I have ever been near was a tarantula which a graduate student in my first husband's zoology department was using as her research subject. She did it because, like me, she was afraid of spiders, and she wanted to lose her fear. It was kept in a small fish tank with glass over the top, of course. Like most tarantulas it wasn't very active, but when I tapped on the side of the tank with my fingernails it immediately spread its legs out wider so it would look more fearsome. It certainly did. In spite of having several pairs of eyes on their head, they can't see very well. If they feel threatened they immediately go into a fighting stance, some species with their two front legs up in the air, and face the threat. Of course the only thing they can do to a human is make a bad sore at the site of the bite or in a very few cases deliver a deadly bite. The small and beautiful black widow is among the worst, and they are all over the south. I have seen those all my life. The most insidiuos is the brown recluse which looks entirely too much like all other small brown spiders for my taste. Another very interesting North Carolina spider is called the Orb Weaver, and as with the black widow, it is very beautifully colored. A female has a leg span of a little over two inches and a body about the size of the first joint of my little finger. The Orb Weaver is also called a Writing Spider for the heavy line of extra silk in the web that acts as an alarm bell to the spider, telling it that something has fallen into the web. Country people used to say that if the spider writes your name in the web you will die. The female builds a very large web and sits in it, waiting for moths or grasshoppers to become entangled in the web. If you want to get a cheap thrill you can throw a small piece of dried wood into the web and watch the spider come running out to attack it. When they catch their prey they immediately bite it and start rolling it up in their silk. I have heard that black widow spider venom dissolves the inner tissues, which the spider will then “drink.” Lovely, no?





Keene, New Hampshire, pumpkin festival turns to mayhem
CBS/AP October 19, 2014, 8:25 AM

KEENE, N.H. - Disturbances lasted until early Sunday near Keene State College after an annual pumpkin festival erupted into mayhem and led to arrests, injuries and police in riot gear using tear gas.

Keene State student Ellery Murray told The Boston Globe that she was at a party Saturday that had drawn a large crowd when people started throwing things. She said police responded in riot gear and used tear gas to break up the crowd.

"People were just throwing everything they could find - rocks, skateboards, buckets, pumpkins," she said. "People just got too drunk."

Keene State College President Anne Huot said in a statement obtained by CBS Boston that the school will hold involved students responsible for their behavior.

"Despite the concerted efforts of organizers, city officials, police, and Keene State College, there continued to be disruptive behavior at parties in multiple locations around the city, injuries, and property damage," Huot said. "We deplore the actions of those whose only purpose was to cause mayhem."

The parties around the school were part of the annual Keene Pumpkin Festival, where the community tries to set a world record of the largest number of carved and lighted jack-o-lanterns in one place.

WMUR-TV in Manchester showed footage of a crowd toppling over a car, people running from tear gas clouds, street signs being torn down and fires burning in the streets. Police dressed in riot gear ordered crowds to disperse.

College officials provided few specifics on the melee but said Keene State students and out-of-town visitors were involved.

At least 30 people were injured near the school before evening Saturday, and 20 of them were taken to hospitals, Keene Fire Chief Mark Howard told New England Cable News. Twelve arrests had been made by that time.

The Southwestern New Hampshire Fire Mutual Aid organization said on Twitter that several people were injured from thrown bottles at a party involving hundreds of people.

Gov. Maggie Hassan said state and local safety officials worked to defuse what she called "the situation."

Hours after the commotion broke out, emergency officials said they were still working the scene and couldn't provide any details.

College President Huot said in an emailed statement that the festival has been promoted by others "as a destination for destructive and raucous behavior" and the college had tried on the front end, in working with the city and campus, to prevent this from happening.




“Keene State student Ellery Murray told The Boston Globe that she was at a party Saturday that had drawn a large crowd when people started throwing things. She said police responded in riot gear and used tear gas to break up the crowd.... 'People were just throwing everything they could find - rocks, skateboards, buckets, pumpkins,' she said. 'People just got too drunk.' Keene State College President Anne Huot said in a statement obtained by CBS Boston that the school will hold involved students responsible for their behavior. 'Despite the concerted efforts of organizers, city officials, police, and Keene State College, there continued to be disruptive behavior at parties in multiple locations around the city, injuries, and property damage,' Huot said. 'We deplore the actions of those whose only purpose was to cause mayhem.'... WMUR-TV in Manchester showed footage of a crowd toppling over a car, people running from tear gas clouds, street signs being torn down and fires burning in the streets. Police dressed in riot gear ordered crowds to disperse. College officials provided few specifics on the melee but said Keene State students and out-of-town visitors were involved. At least 30 people were injured near the school before evening Saturday, and 20 of them were taken to hospitals, Keene Fire Chief Mark Howard told New England Cable News. Twelve arrests had been made by that time.”

“College President Huot said in an emailed statement that the festival has been promoted by others 'as a destination for destructive and raucous behavior' and the college had tried on the front end, in working with the city and campus, to prevent this from happening.” This reminds me of those “flash mobs” that were erupting in various places several years ago without any prior warning. It was all set up on the Internet that an “event” of that kind was to be at a certain place and time, and large crowds of young people would just show up there, sometimes dressed in costumes or dancing – not violent but definitely “acting out.” This would occur in some utterly ordinary place like a shopping mall. The police were at their wits ends. It's one of those things that people used to call “sowing wild oats,” and was acknowledged by adults as a phase the young man or woman was going through. I think this college may be forced to forbid the pumpkin festival in the future, and perhaps tell the local bars not to serve any student more than half a dozen drinks. The “town and gown” groups need to get together and discuss it. I went to UNC, and while there was a lot of drinking, I don't remember any really bad things that happened there of that type. There was unfortunately a madman who stabbed a nun to death in the Arboretum, but that was a one time thing.