November 21, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/vatican-indictments-leaks-scandal/

Vatican hands down indictments in leaks about scandal
AP November 21, 2015

Photograph -- Emiliano Fittipaldi, one of two Italian journalists facing a criminal probe over leaks from the Vatican, holds a press conference Nov. 17, 2015, in Rome, a day after a hearing at the Vatican. Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images
Play VIDEO -- Two new books claim to expose Vatican secrets


VATICAN CITY -- A Vatican judge on Saturday indicted five people, including two journalists and a high-ranking Vatican monsignor, in the latest scandal involving leaked documents that informed two books alleging financial malfeasance in the Roman Catholic Church bureaucracy.

Two members of the pope's reforms commission and a newly identified assistant were indicted on charges of disclosing confidential Vatican information and documents, while two journalists were indicted on a charge of soliciting and exerting pressure to obtain the information, according to the indictments released by the Vatican on Saturday.

Monsignor Lucio Vallejo Balda and Francesca Chaouqui were arrested by the Vatican earlier this month; Balda is being held while Chaouqui was released after agreeing to cooperate with the investigation. The indictment also identifies for first time an assistant to Balda, Nicola Maio, as under suspicion.

The three Vatican insiders also face an additional charge of forming a criminal organization.

Journalists Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi both published books this month recounting instances of greed and financial abuse at the Vatican, citing Vatican documents.

Nuzzi, who refused a Vatican summons for questioning, was defiant in a message on Twitter. "You can do what you want but as long as the world exists, there will be journalists who report uncomfortable news," he wrote.

Fittipaldi appeared for questioning but refused to give any answers, citing Italian law on protecting sources.

If the Vatican tribunal ultimately convicts the two authors, it will come down to a political question as to whether the Holy See will request their extradition from Italy - and whether Italy will oblige.

The trial is set to begin on Tuesday. The trial will be open to the press, as was the case previously in the case of documents leaked during the papacy of Benedict XVI. After formalities on Tuesday, the trial is expected to resume the following week.




“Two members of the pope's reforms commission and a newly identified assistant were indicted on charges of disclosing confidential Vatican information and documents, while two journalists were indicted on a charge of soliciting and exerting pressure to obtain the information, according to the indictments released by the Vatican on Saturday. …. The three Vatican insiders also face an additional charge of forming a criminal organization. …. Nuzzi, who refused a Vatican summons for questioning, was defiant in a message on Twitter. "You can do what you want but as long as the world exists, there will be journalists who report uncomfortable news," he wrote. Fittipaldi appeared for questioning but refused to give any answers, citing Italian law on protecting sources. If the Vatican tribunal ultimately convicts the two authors, it will come down to a political question as to whether the Holy See will request their extradition from Italy - and whether Italy will oblige.”


This story makes me really curious to know the contents of the two books, and what the formation of a “criminal organization” by three Vatican officials amounted to. Could it have anything to do with pedophilia? Or perhaps illegal fund raising? As for news reporters being charged for a crime, reporting “uncomfortable news” is indeed not a crime here, and I would hope it isn’t in Italy. I feel sorry for the Pope, but many or even most large organizations have incidents of illegal and unethical activity by some within their group. He seems to be prosecuting the matter assertively.






http://www.cbsnews.com/news/paris-attacks-style-threat-brussels-belgium-lock-down-capital/

Terror threat puts Belgium's capital on lockdown
CBS/AP
November 21, 2015

Play VIDEO -- One suspect on the run as death toll rises in Paris attacks
Play VIDEO -- Paris one week later: Taking back the night
Photograph -- Mathias Dymarski and Marie Lausch were among the victims killed in the Nov. 13, 2015, terror attacks in Paris, their friend Clara Regigny posted to Twitter Nov. 14, 2015. CLARA REGIGNY VIA TWITTER
Play VIDEO -- American Muslims denounce ISIS
Play VIDEO -- Are copycat terror attacks possible in the U.S.?


BRUSSELS -- Heavily armed police and soldiers patrolled key intersections, subways were closed and many stores shut their doors in Belgium's capital Saturday as the government warned of a threat of Paris-style attacks. At least one suspect from the deadly Paris attacks is at large, and was last seen crossing into Belgium.

Prime Minister Charles Michel said the decision to raise the threat alert to the highest level was taken "based on quite precise information about the risk of an attack like the one that happened in Paris ... where several individuals with arms and explosives launch actions, perhaps even in several places at the same time."

The Belgian Federal Prosecutor's office said Saturday that several weapons were discovered during the search of the home of one of three people arrested earlier in the week in connection with the Paris attacks, but said no explosives were found.

Meanwhile, Belgian media reported that a key suspect in the attacks was arrested in the Brussels region Friday night.

Belgian soldiers stand guard outside the Radisson Blu hotel in central Brussels Nov. 21, 2015, after security was tightened in Belgium following the fatal attacks in Paris.

Authorities across Europe, the Mideast and in Washington are trying to determine how a network of primarily French and Belgian attackers with links to Islamic extremists in Syria plotted and carried out the deadliest violence in France in decades - and how many may still be on the run.

A new potential link emerged Saturday in Turkey, where authorities said they detained a 26-year-old Belgian suspected of connections to Islamic extremists - and possibly to the Paris attacks. The private Dogan news agency identified him as Ahmet Dahmani and said he is suspected of having explored areas in Paris that were targeted in the attacks.

Belgium's national Crisis Center has raised its terrorism alert for the Brussels region to Level 4, which indicates a "serious and immediate threat." Belgium's special security Cabinet held an emergency meeting Saturday morning.

Brussels was the home of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected organizer of the Nov. 13 Paris attacks, and Belgium has filed charges of "participation in terrorist attacks and participation in the activities of a terrorist organization" against three suspects relating to the Paris attacks.

At least one Paris attacker, Salah Abdeslam, crossed into Belgium the morning after the attacks. A Paris police official and the Paris prosecutor's office said Saturday they had no firm information on Abdeslam's whereabouts, including whether he was in the Brussels area.

CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey reports from Brussels that there's a fear that Abdeslam could be hiding in the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek, a hotbed of jihidi recruiting where some 30 young men have left to fight in Syria and Iraq.

Heavily armed police and soldiers patrolled Saturday morning at key intersections of the Belgian capital, a city of more than 1 million that is home to the headquarters of the European Union, the NATO alliance and offices of many multinational corporations.

Mathias Dymarski and Marie Lausch were among the victims killed in the Nov. 13, 2015, terror attacks in Paris, their friend Clara Regigny posted to Twitter Nov. 14, 2015.

Residents were recommended to avoid gatherings, train stations, airports and commercial districts. Service was halted on the Brussels Metro, as well as on streetcar lines that run underground.

As the first snow flurries of the season fell, many stores and commercial centers in the capital shut their doors on what normally would have been a busy weekend shopping day in the lead-up to the Christmas and New Year's holidays. The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium closed for the weekend, and a Saturday evening concert by French rocker Johnny Hallyday was rescheduled for next March, the Palais 21 venue announced on its website.

Brussels Airport, which is not in the Brussels administrative region, reported normal operations Saturday, but external communications manager Florence Muls said special attention was being paid to security.

The prime minister, speaking at a news conference after the emergency government meeting, said, "We urge the public not to give in to panic, to stay calm. We have taken the measures that are necessary."


He said that the government's crisis cell will meet again on Sunday afternoon to reassess the threat.

Dahmani was detained in the Turkish coastal city of Antalya along with two other suspected militants with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. A senior Turkish government official told The Associated Press that Dahmani was believed to have been in contact with the Paris attackers, though the official did not say when. Dahmani had arrived in Turkey Nov. 14 from Amsterdam, and the three were preparing to cross into Syria, the official said.

The official cannot be named because of Turkish government rules that bar officials from speaking to reporters without prior authorization.

French special police forces arrive at the scene as shots are exchanged in Saint-Denis, France, near Paris, Nov. 18, 2015, during an operation to catch suspects in the deadly attacks in the French capital.

The Belgian Federal Prosecutor's Office said he could not comment on Dahmani's detention or disclose any information about him. A Paris police official said he had no information about Dahmani or his possible visit to the attack sites. The Paris prosecutor's office said it had no information to communicate about Dahmani.

Concerns about Europe's porous borders prompted interior and justice ministers meeting in Brussels on Friday to promise tightened controls to make it easier to track the movements of jihadis with European passports traveling to and from warzones in Syria.

Paris prosecutors said Friday that they had determined through fingerprint checks that two of the seven attackers who died in the bloodshed Nov. 13 had entered Europe through Greece, an entry point for many of the hundreds of thousands of migrants seeking asylum in Europe.

The five other attackers who died had links to France and Belgium. One of the seven dead has not been identified, while a manhunt is underway for one suspect who escaped, 26-year-old Abdeslam. French police stopped Abdeslam the morning after Friday's attacks at the Belgian border but then let him go. His brother Brahim blew himself up in the Paris attacks.

The suspected ringleader, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was killed in a raid Wednesday on an apartment in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis. Seven of the eight people detained in that raid have been released, the Paris prosecutor's office said Saturday. The eighth person still in custody, Jawad Bendaoud, said in televised remarks during the siege that he let people stay in the raided apartment as a favor and "didn't know they were terrorists."

The sails of the Sydney Opera House are illuminated in the colors of the French flag on Nov. 14, 2015, in Sydney, Australia, in solidarity with the people of France.

Marking a week since the carnage, some Parisians lit candles and paid tribute Friday night to the victims with silent reflection. Others decided that enjoying themselves was the best way to defy the extremists. They sang and danced on Place de la Republique, in the heart of a trendy neighborhood where scores of people were killed.

France's Parliament has extended a state of emergency for three months, expanding police powers to carry out arrests and searches and allowing authorities to forbid the movement of persons and vehicles at specific times and places. On Saturday, Paris police also extended a ban on demonstrations and other gatherings through Nov. 30, when a U.N. climate conference with more than 100 heads state is scheduled to start.

French President Francois Hollande is also meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday morning in Paris to discuss cooperation in the fight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, Cameron's office said. Hollande will travel to Washington and Moscow later in the week to push for a stronger international coalition against ISIS.




“Heavily armed police and soldiers patrolled key intersections, subways were closed and many stores shut their doors in Belgium's capital Saturday as the government warned of a threat of Paris-style attacks. At least one suspect from the deadly Paris attacks is at large, and was last seen crossing into Belgium. .... The Belgian Federal Prosecutor's office said Saturday that several weapons were discovered during the search of the home of one of three people arrested earlier in the week in connection with the Paris attacks, but said no explosives were found. …. A new potential link emerged Saturday in Turkey, where authorities said they detained a 26-year-old Belgian suspected of connections to Islamic extremists - and possibly to the Paris attacks. The private Dogan news agency identified him as Ahmet Dahmani and said he is suspected of having explored areas in Paris that were targeted in the attacks. …. Residents were recommended to avoid gatherings, train stations, airports and commercial districts. Service was halted on the Brussels Metro, as well as on streetcar lines that run underground. …. Brussels Airport, which is not in the Brussels administrative region, reported normal operations Saturday, but external communications manager Florence Muls said special attention was being paid to security. The prime minister, speaking at a news conference after the emergency government meeting, said, "We urge the public not to give in to panic, to stay calm. We have taken the measures that are necessary." …. Concerns about Europe's porous borders prompted interior and justice ministers meeting in Brussels on Friday to promise tightened controls to make it easier to track the movements of jihadis with European passports traveling to and from warzones in Syria. …. The eighth person still in custody, Jawad Bendaoud, said in televised remarks during the siege that he let people stay in the raided apartment as a favor and "didn't know they were terrorists." …. On Saturday, Paris police also extended a ban on demonstrations and other gatherings through Nov. 30, when a U.N. climate conference with more than 100 heads state is scheduled to start.”


Bendaoud “didn’t know” his guests were terrorists. I wonder how many Islamic people in those European countries, and even here, are complicit at least to the degree that they give money to Islamic charities which are in effect funding terrorism. That was in the US news after 9/11 – to give money to charity is a basic requirement for Islamic people, but some of the “charities” are false fronts for al-Qaeda, Hamas, etc. With the language divide and the cultural cohesiveness between refugees, it is probably pretty difficult to reject jihadists even though the moderate believers don’t approve of that lifestyle. A number of American believers have stood up recently in the news against jihadists, but more need to do that, and do it in the Middle East where it really counts. Just to say that Islam is “a religion of peace” is simply not enough. The peaceful believers need to refuse succor to terroristic groups, drive them out of moderate mosques and even fight them. It’s a war, and it isn’t actually the American fight. Jihadism in the Middle East goes back at least to the conflicts between Israel and Palestine, and the Taliban in Afghanistan. It was a war against the West since the 1920s when the Ottoman Empire fell. Of course we did invade Iraq, and helped the Shah of Iran, and we still stand firmly beside Israel. Both the US and Russia have “meddled” in Middle Eastern affairs, sometimes to “spread freedom around the world,” and other times for power and oil profits. That has been the pattern for at least the last 75 years. It is a very sad thing. When I hear people talk about Armageddon I basically think that it isn’t the future, but the present.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/arabic-speaker-detained-from-flight-because-passenger-complained/

Arabic speaker detained from flight after nervous passenger complains
CBS/AP
November 20, 2015

Play VIDEO -- Trump draws criticism for talk of database to track Muslims


PHILADELPHIA -- A Philadelphia man says he is humiliated and upset after he was briefly stopped from boarding a flight from Chicago when another passenger overheard him speak Arabic, making him uncomfortable.

Pizza shop owner Maher Khalil emigrated from Palestine 15 years ago. He says he had never experienced discrimination before the incident Wednesday at Midway International Airport.

"We came to America to have a better life," Khalil explained on Friday. "Everybody in America is from different countries. I'm one of them. I'm an American citizen."

Khalil said he was chatting with a friend while waiting to board a Southwest Airlines flight. When he approached the gate, he said, they were told they couldn't board because another passenger felt uncomfortable.

"We were just chatting, like everybody else," Khalil said in a telephone interview. "I'm like: 'Are you kidding me? Are you serious? Is this a prank or something?'"

Khalil called the police for help, but when they arrived, some passengers assumed it was because the officers were responding to a terrorist threat.

The two men were later allowed to board.

As Khalil walked to his seat at the back of the plane, some were suspicious of a white box he was carrying and asked to see what was inside, he said. To ease the tension, Khalil opened it and shared the baklava he'd bought with a few passengers.

"When we walked onto the airplane, I told my friend to smile so (other passengers) can think there's nothing wrong," Khalil said. "Everybody started giving us that look."

Southwest Airlines Co. said the flight departed 10 minutes late after a disagreement with two customers. The Dallas-based airline says its employees are trained to address "passenger situations" to ensure the safety of flights.

"I swear, I never had that feeling before," Khalil said. "I felt like we're not safe no more in this country. Because I'm Arab, I cannot ride the airplane? The person who complained is the one who should be kicked out, not me."

Khalil's experience is just one of many in an ongoing targeting of Arabic people in Western nations since the Paris terror attacks.

In Canada, a man who posted a video threatening muslims was arrested, and in Florida, a man was arrested by the FBI after he threatened to firebomb two Islamic organizations.

A long-established bookstore was also targeted in Colorado likely because it's named ISIS -- after the sun goddess -- a brick was thrown through the window.




“Pizza shop owner Maher Khalil emigrated from Palestine 15 years ago. He says he had never experienced discrimination before the incident Wednesday at Midway International Airport. "We came to America to have a better life," Khalil explained on Friday. "Everybody in America is from different countries. I'm one of them. I'm an American citizen." Khalil said he was chatting with a friend while waiting to board a Southwest Airlines flight. When he approached the gate, he said, they were told they couldn't board because another passenger felt uncomfortable. …. The two men were later allowed to board. As Khalil walked to his seat at the back of the plane, some were suspicious of a white box he was carrying and asked to see what was inside, he said. To ease the tension, Khalil opened it and shared the baklava he'd bought with a few passengers. "When we walked onto the airplane, I told my friend to smile so (other passengers) can think there's nothing wrong," Khalil said. "Everybody started giving us that look." In Canada, a man who posted a video threatening muslims was arrested, and in Florida, a man was arrested by the FBI after he threatened to firebomb two Islamic organizations. A long-established bookstore was also targeted in Colorado likely because it's named ISIS -- after the sun goddess -- a brick was thrown through the window.”


Conservative Westerners are just that – they don’t really want funny-looking and sounding outsiders anywhere near them. They are becoming much more up front and vocal about it now, though, and that is certainly predictable. Donald Trump is still offensive to me, but having a strong defense is suddenly a little more sensible and proactive than it is paranoid. Just as 9/11 changed things, so has this very aggressive attack on innocent people in Paris. As we protect innocent Muslims whenever they are assaulted or even harassed, we need to protect our own homes and lives as well. I feel sure that our Homeland Security is doing that. As for letting in tens of thousands of Arabic speaking foreigners who have been shown at least in one case to have included a Paris terrorist in their household, I am strongly of the opinion that the vetting process for each one of them should be extensive, even though it will take some time and money.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bratton-paris-attacks-a-911-style-game-changer/

Bratton: Paris attacks a 9/11-like game changer
By REBECCA KAPLAN FACE THE NATION
November 15, 2015

Play VIDEO -- Paris attacks: Video catches French police assault on Bataclan
Play VIDEO -- Morell: Our anti-ISIS strategy is not working

From Face The Nation


New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton said Sunday that the deadly coordinated terrorist attacks on Paris that left at least 129 people dead and 352 injured are like the Sept. 11 attacks "in terms of the game-changing aspect of it."

In the past few days, the NYPD has been on constant alert in areas where large segments of the public gather such as sporting events or Times Square, and at French institutions around the city, Bratton said on CBS' "Face the Nation." But the city also has no shortage of especially vulnerable "soft targets."

"The soft targets are going to have to rely very heavily on public awareness as we always try to do - 'See something, say something,'" Bratton said. "We have very active offense in terms of our intelligence gathering capabilities with the FBI."

He said his department will also be looking at the use of suicide vests in the Paris attacks and how to train and protect first responders for that type of weapon.

One thing that makes the current threat environment especially challenging, Bratton said, is the rise in apps that allow terrorists to communicate outside reach of law enforcement or intelligence services. If the Paris attackers used those apps - as former CIA deputy director Michael Morell said he believes they did - it would be the first example of a terror attack carried out in that manner.

"We, in many respects, have gone blind as a result of the commercialization and the selling of these devices that cannot be accessed, either by the manufacturer or, more importantly, by us the law enforcement even equipped with a search warrant and judicial authority," Bratton said. "This is something that is going to need to be debated very quickly."



Search term: Covert Messaging Apps

http://appcrawlr.com/app/related/366733
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http://www.appdecide.com/app/ios/buzzbuka-covert-messaging/308352221/

Buzzbuka (Covert Messaging)
by David Soloveichik
CATEGORY -- Social Networking


http://nypost.com/2015/08/18/snapchat-like-messaging-app-promises-private-texts/
Snapchat-like messaging app promises private texts
By James Covert August 18, 2015 | 9:24pm

When it comes to security, one can never be too obsessive, nor too extreme.

That is the guiding principle behind Confide, a fast-growing messaging app whose privacy features — even in the age of Sony hackers, Edward Snowden and Hillary Clinton — may strike some newcomers as a little over-the-top.

An e-mail or text received on Confide is hidden by an animated wall of orange bricks that only reveals the message one line at a time as the user scrolls down the screen to read it. When the user is done, the brick wall explodes — along with any message, file or photo — for good.

New York-based Confide boasts a who’s-who list of investors that’s anything but low-profile, including Google Ventures, First Round Capital, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, SV Angels, David Tisch and Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman.

Confide also launched a free desktop version on Tuesday, which blocks screen shots by rendering them blank and gray.




CBS -- “In the past few days, the NYPD has been on constant alert in areas where large segments of the public gather such as sporting events or Times Square, and at French institutions around the city, Bratton said on CBS' "Face the Nation." But the city also has no shortage of especially vulnerable "soft targets." …. . If the Paris attackers used those apps - as former CIA deputy director Michael Morell said he believes they did - it would be the first example of a terror attack carried out in that manner. …. cannot be accessed, either by the manufacturer or, more importantly, by us the law enforcement even equipped with a search warrant and judicial authority," Bratton said. "This is something that is going to need to be debated very quickly."

“One thing that makes the current threat environment especially challenging, Bratton said, is the rise in apps that allow terrorists to communicate outside reach of law enforcement or intelligence services.” Covert messaging apps are pretty new, I think, because I had never come across the term before. Bratton’s statement that they are inaccessible “even equipped with a search warrant and judicial authority” seems to imply that the technology is too advanced for our government and police to break. The ones I found listed on the net (see above) are named in such a way as to attract teens, bullies, serious spies and perhaps kiddie porn freaks. Most of them are marked “free,” and apparently the really bad dudes who hit Paris soft sites have been using these. Technology has apparently gotten ahead of itself with this one, because there’s no way to intercept or decipher these messages. We can’t even fight a simple war now due to the march of technology. This is not good! What would Anonymous do?





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-so-few-eager-students-will-earn-a-stem-degree/

Why so few eager students will earn a STEM degree
By LYNN O'SHAUGHNESSY MONEYWATCH
November 17, 2015


Many high school students intend to major in a STEM field in college, but most of them won't be able to handle the rigorous courses they'll need to earn a degree in science, technology, engineering and math.

That's the conclusion of a new report by ACT, the testing giant. The organization's study suggests that only 26 percent of high school seniors who expressed an interest in STEM fields are academically ready for tough first-year STEM classes in college.

The findings represent troubling news for the legions of high school students who hope to pursue one of these challenging majors. According to ACT, 49 percent of the 1.9 million graduating high school seniors who took the ACT exam in 2015 expressed an interest in majoring in a STEM field. ACT documented that this keen interest in STEM majors and related careers has remained at this high level for several years.

Teenage interest in STEM fields isn't surprising, considering the tremendous focus on the type of salaries these college grads can earn. Lists of the nation's top-paying jobs are dominated by occupations requiring STEM degrees.

Many students focused on STEM careers, however, appear to be setting themselves up for failure because they don't possess strong backgrounds in science and math before heading to college.

According to the ACT report, certain categories of students fared better than others who are interested in STEM fields. Thirty-one percent of male students, for instance, met the STEM benchmarks versus 21 percent for female students.

When broken down by race and ethnicity, ACT found Asians performed the best among graduating high school seniors who expressed an interest in STEM majors. Here are the percentages of these students who met the STEM readiness benchmark:

African Americans: 5 percent
American Indians: 8 percent
Asians: 49 percent
Hispanic: 13 percent
Pacific Islander: 17 percent
White: 32 percent
Two or more races: 25 percent

Among high school students hoping to pursue a STEM degree, medical and health degrees were cited the most often. Here's the breakdown of interest in specific STEM fields:

Medical and health: 42 percent
Engineering and technology: 25 percent
Science: 22 percent
Computer science and mathematics: 11 percent

Meeting the STEM benchmark is important because ACT research has concluded that students meeting or exceeding the benchmark have a 49 percent chance of attaining a STEM degree in six years compared to only 17 percent for those who fall below this benchmark.

Students who meet or surpass the STEM benchmark have a 75 percent probability of earning a grade of C or higher in first-year college STEM courses such as calculus, biology, chemistry and physics. They're also more likely to earn good grades, persist in a college STEM major and earn a STEM-related bachelor's degree than those who didn't meet the benchmark.

While many high schools students want to major in STEM subjects, the number who said they would like to eventually teach math and science is shockingly low. Less than 1 percent of 2015 high school graduates who took the ACT test said they would like to become math or science teachers.

As the ACT report noted, this is a troubling finding because well-prepared teachers are critical to boosting the percentage of students who are ready to tackle subjects like calculus, physics and chemistry in college.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACT_(test)

ACT (test)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The ACT (/eɪ siː tiː/ ay-see-tee; originally an abbreviation of American College Testing)[11] college readiness assessment is a standardized test for high school achievement and college admissions in the United States produced by ACT, Inc.[11] It was first administered in November 1959 by Everett Franklin Lindquist as a competitor to the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test, now the SAT.[12] The ACT originally consisted of four tests: English, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Natural Sciences. In 1989, the Social Studies test was changed into a Reading section (which included a Social Studies subsection) and the Natural Sciences test was renamed the Science Reasoning test, with more emphasis on problem solving skills.[13] In February 2005, an optional Writing test was added to the ACT, mirroring changes to the SAT that took place later in March of the same year. In the spring of 2015, the ACT will start to be offered as a computer-based test that will incorporate some optional Constructed Response Questions; the test content, composite score, and multiple choice format will not be affected by these changes. The test will continue to be offered in the paper format for schools that are not ready to transition to computer testing.[14][not in citation given]

The ACT has seen a gradual increase in the number of test takers since its inception, and in 2011 the ACT surpassed the SAT for the first time in total test takers; that year, 1,666,017 students took the ACT and 1,664,479 students took the SAT.[15] All four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. accept the ACT,[16] but different institutions place different emphases on standardized tests such as the ACT, compared to other factors of evaluation such as class rank, GPA, and extracurricular activities.

ACT, Inc. says that the ACT assessment measures high school students' general educational development and their capability to complete college-level work with the multiple choice tests covering four skill areas: English, mathematics, reading, and science. The optional Writing Test measures skill in planning and writing a short essay.[17] Specifically, ACT states that its scores provide an indicator of "college readiness," and that scores in each of the subtests correspond to skills in entry-level college courses in English, algebra, social science, humanities, and biology.[18] According to a research study conducted by ACT, Inc., in 2003, a relationship was found between a student's ACT composite score and the possibility of him or her earning a college degree.[19]

To develop the test, ACT incorporates the objectives for instruction for middle and high schools throughout the United States, reviews approved textbooks for subjects taught in Grades 7–12, and surveys educators on which knowledge skills are relevant to success in postsecondary education. ACT publishes a technical manual that summarizes studies conducted of its validity in predicting freshman GPA, equating different high school GPAs, and measuring educational achievement.[20]

Colleges use the ACT and the SAT because there are substantial differences in funding, curricula, grading, and difficulty among U.S. secondary schools due to American federalism, local control, and the prevalence of private, distance, home schooled students, and a lack of a rigorous college entrance examination system like those used in some other countries. ACT/SAT scores are used to supplement the secondary school record and help admission officers put local data—such as course work, grades, and class rank—in a national perspective.[citation needed]

The majority of colleges do not indicate a preference for the SAT or ACT exams and accept both, being treated equally by most admissions officers.[21] According to "Uni in the USA," colleges that also require students to take the SAT Subject Tests do so regardless of whether the candidate took the SAT or ACT;[21] however, some colleges accept the ACT in place of the SAT subject tests [22] and some accept the optional ACT Writing section in place of a SAT Subject Test.[23]
. . . .
In addition, some states have used the ACT to assess the performance of schools, and require all high school students to take the ACT, regardless of whether they are college bound. Colorado and Illinois have incorporated the ACT as part of their mandatory testing program since 2001. Michigan has required the ACT since 2007, Kentucky and Tennessee require all high school juniors to take the ACT and Wyoming requires all high school juniors to take either the ACT or the ACT WorkKeys.[24]

Use[edit]

The ACT is more widely used in the Midwestern, Rocky Mountain, and Southern United States, whereas the SAT is more popular on the East and West coasts. Recently, however, the ACT is being used more on the East Coast.[25] Use of the ACT by colleges has risen as a result of various criticisms of the effectiveness and fairness of the SAT. American Mensa is a high IQ society that allows use of the ACT for membership admission if the test was taken prior to September 1989. A composite score of 29 or above is required.[26] The Triple Nine Society also accepts the old ACT test for admission, with a qualifying score of 32; after September 1989 the qualifying score is 34.[27]



http://www.princetonreview.com/college/sat-act

The SAT vs. the ACT
Colleges will accept either the SAT or ACT. So which should you take?

It's all about the numbers. Some students end up scoring substantially higher on the SAT; others do better on the ACT. In lieu of a crystal ball, we created The Princeton Review Assessment (PRA) designed to help you determine which test is better fit with your abilities.


To help you zero in on the right exam, here are seven key differences:

1. ACT questions tend to be more straightforward.
ACT questions are often easier to understand on a first read. On the SAT, you may need to spend time figuring out what you're being asked before you can start solving the problem. For example, here are sample questions from the SAT essay and the ACT writing test (their name for the essay):

SAT: What is your view of the claim that something unsuccessful can still have some value?
ACT: In your view, should high schools become more tolerant of cheating?

2. The SAT has a stronger emphasis on vocabulary.
If you're an ardent wordsmith, you'll love the SAT. If words aren't your thing, you may do better on the ACT.

3. The ACT has a Science section, while the SAT does not.
You don't need to know anything about amoebas or chemical reactions for the ACT Science section. It is meant to test your reading and reasoning skills based upon a given set of facts. But if you're a true science-phobe, the SAT might be a better fit.

4. The ACT tests more advanced math concepts.
In addition to basic arithmetic, algebra I and II, and geometry, the ACT tests your knowledge of trigonometry, too. That said, the ACT Math section is not necessarily harder, since many students find the questions to be more straightforward than those on the SAT.

5. The ACT Writing Test is optional on test day, but required by many schools.
The 25-minute SAT essay is required and is factored into your writing score. The 40-minute ACT writing test is optional. If you choose to take it, it is not included in your composite score — schools will see it listed separately. Many colleges require the writing section of the ACT, so be sure to check with the schools where you are applying before opting out.

6. The SAT is broken up into more sections.
On the ACT, you tackle each content area (English, Math, Reading and Science) in one big chunk, with the optional writing test at the end. On the SAT, the content areas (Critical Reading, Math and Writing) are broken up into 10 sections, with the required essay at the beginning. You do a little math, a little writing, a little critical reading, a little more math, etc. When choosing between the SAT and ACT, ask yourself if moving back and forth between content areas confuse you or keep you energized?

7. The ACT is more of a "big picture" exam.
College admissions officers care about how you did on each section of the SAT. On the ACT, they're most concerned with your composite score. So if you're weak in one content area but strong in others, you could still end up with a very good ACT score and thus make a strong impression with the admissions committee.




CBS -- “That's the conclusion of a new report by ACT, the testing giant. The organization's study suggests that only 26 percent of high school seniors who expressed an interest in STEM fields are academically ready for tough first-year STEM classes in college. …. Lists of the nation's top-paying jobs are dominated by occupations requiring STEM degrees. Many students focused on STEM careers, however, appear to be setting themselves up for failure because they don't possess strong backgrounds in science and math before heading to college. According to the ACT report, certain categories of students fared better than others who are interested in STEM fields. Thirty-one percent of male students, for instance, met the STEM benchmarks versus 21 percent for female students. …. Less than 1 percent of 2015 high school graduates who took the ACT test said they would like to become math or science teachers. As the ACT report noted, this is a troubling finding because well-prepared teachers are critical to boosting the percentage of students who are ready to tackle subjects like calculus, physics and chemistry in college.”

“Meeting the STEM benchmark is important because ACT research has concluded that students meeting or exceeding the benchmark have a 49 percent chance of attaining a STEM degree in six years compared to only 17 percent for those who fall below this benchmark. Students who meet or surpass the STEM benchmark have a 75 percent probability of earning a grade of C or higher in first-year college STEM courses….” Both ACT and SAT require a good level of basic knowledge to do well, but SAT seems to be fading in popularity. The Princeton article above said that the SAT stresses vocabulary and ACT more advanced math and scientific reasoning. It also said that “some” students do considerably better on the SAT than they do on ACT – that is probably those with a greater language gift versus mathematics or reasoning.

Meeting the benchmark on either test is always going to require STUDYING while the kids are in high school, and many parents put their kids in courses specifically for taking the SAT. Too many students in this country, unfortunately, are too interested in football and video games to put in the hours studying STEM subjects or even a liberal arts major. If they are going to teach in high school they will need at least a Masters’ Degree in the subject they plan to teach, and it will require work. If they become a scientist they will have to have a PhD. If they were students in a college prep high school they would have access to better books, better teachers and more challenging work which might prepare them better for college level science and math, plus some high schools nowadays are aimed particular at technical and scientific subjects.

It seems to me that what kids now need to do is learn a good basic amount in all subjects, learn to write and develop their vocabulary for all uses, but begin by the Middle School level to focus on the math and science courses if they really want to go into one of those fields. Parents who want their children to go to an Ivy League school or pursue a scientific course at any major college should try to get their kids into a college prep academy. There is more to fear in a “failing” school than just the bullying from rough kids for “acting white.” There is a grave risk of failing both ACT and SAT tests because during their entire career, they had inferior learning experiences and that is not their own fault. The only way they can begin to make up for that deficit is to read, read, read and include various non-fiction subjects in the reading. I’ve always believed that the public library is the basis of American democracy.





http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/11/17/456344212/could-atropine-eyedrops-help-reduce-nearsightedness-in-children

Could Atropine Eyedrops Help Reduce Nearsightedness In Children?
ANGUS CHEN
NOVEMBER 17, 2015

Photograph -- Atropine is a drug used to treat multiple eye disorders including nearsightedness and farsightedness.
Ryan Kellman/NPR


If you peek into classrooms around the world, a bunch of bespectacled kids peek back at you. In some countries such as China, as much as 80 percent of children are nearsighted. As those kids grow up, their eyesight gets worse, requiring stronger and thicker eyeglasses. But a diluted daily dose of an ancient drug might slow that process.

The drug is atropine, one of the toxins in deadly nightshade and jimsonweed. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, atropine was known as belladonna, and fancy Parisian ladies used it to dilate their pupils, since big pupils were considered alluring at the time. A few decades later, people started using atropine to treat amblyopia, or lazy eye, since it blurs the stronger eye's vision and forces the weaker eye to work harder.

As early as the 1990s, doctors had some evidence that atropine can slow the progression of nearsightedness. In some countries, notably in Asia, a 1 percent solution of atropine eyedrops is commonly prescribed to children with myopia. It's not entirely clear how atropine works. Because people become nearsighted when their eyeballs get too elongated, it's generally thought that atropine must be interfering with that unwanted growth.

But as Parisians discovered long ago, the drug can have some inconvenient side effects.

Because it dilates pupils and blurs vision, atropine makes it hard to see up close or to stand bright lights. "The children had difficulty reading. They would wear photochromatic glasses to shade against the glare," says Dr. Donald Tan, senior adviser at the Singapore National Eye Center. "We realized, yeah, atropine does work, but we've got to reduce the dose so we can reduce some of these side effects. Otherwise it will never be practical."

So Tan and a group of collaborators started testing out different doses of atropine on a group of 400 nearsighted children in Singapore. The participants took the eyedrops every day for two years. Since some patients' eyes will go into a growth spurt after going off the atropine, the researchers monitored the participants for a year off eyedrops. Patients whose nearsightedness rebounded during that year went back on the low-dose atropine for another year or two.

The children getting the lowest dose, eyedrops that were just 0.01 percent atropine, had the least worsening of nearsightedness compared with any other group after a five-year period. "We slowed the progression of myopia by 50 percent [in this group]," Tan says.

He and his colleagues have been researching atropine as a treatment for eye problems since the 1990s. Part of the reason this formulation did better, he says, is that these children's eyeballs had virtually no growth spurt after the initial two-year treatment period.

And the children on 0.01 percent atropine had almost no uncomfortable side effects from the eyedrops, the researchers reported Monday at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting in Las Vegas.

"That was a surprise. You'd think 0.01 percent would be completely worthless as a concentration, but it turned out to be slightly better." says Dr. David Epley, a pediatric ophthalmologist and a former president of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, who wasn't involved in the study. "The beauty of it was basically no kids had side effects."

That opens atropine back up as a practical treatment for myopia, Epley says. "This gives us a tool to slow down that progression of myopia that we didn't have in a safe way before."

Epley has been prescribing 1 percent atropine for some children in his own practice. He says he recommends it for children whose eyesight is rapidly getting worse and need new eyeglasses every few months, but not for patients who have only mild vision impairment.

If low-dose atropine can be made available to more people around the world, then that's likely to reduce the number of people at risk for developing a retinal detachment or retinal degeneration because of extreme nearsightedness. That's more important now, since the prevalence of nearsightedness has been increasing dramatically over the years, Epley says. About 40 percent of people in the U.S. are nearsighted, up from 25 percent in the 1970s.

But making the drug available to a lot of people might not be so easy. Right now, only eyedrops with 1 percent atropine are commercially available in the United States, though 0.01 percent is available in places like Hong Kong, where myopia is especially common. To get the diluted version, families and physicians in other locales need to get a compounding pharmacy to create it, and the Food and Drug Administration has approved only the 1 percent solution so far.


Correction
Nov. 17, 2015
A previous version of this story identified Dr. David Epley as a past president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He is a former president of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus and a spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology.




“And the children on 0.01 percent atropine had almost no uncomfortable side effects from the eyedrops, the researchers reported Monday at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting in Las Vegas. "That was a surprise. You'd think 0.01 percent would be completely worthless as a concentration, but it turned out to be slightly better." . . . . "The beauty of it was basically no kids had side effects." …. If low-dose atropine can be made available to more people around the world, then that's likely to reduce the number of people at risk for developing a retinal detachment or retinal degeneration because of extreme nearsightedness.”


Nearsightedness is on the rise in this country. Why, I wonder? I first heard of atropine 40 years ago in one of Agatha Christie’s mysteries which centered on a mysterious poisoning which turned out to be an old lady’s eye drops! So it has been known for years, but not in this new .01% strength. Compounding pharmacies are necessary to dilute the solution from the 1% which can be bought in the US. There is always getting it from Hong Kong, however. The article says that myopia is especially common in some places, including Hong Kong.





http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/11/17/456217917/wanted-speakers-of-mayan-languages-many-of-them

Wanted: Speakers Of Mayan Languages, Many Of Them
Jasmine Garsd
November 17, 2015

Photograph -- When he started elementary school in Guatemala City, bullying was so bad, Jayro Velazquez (left) decided to stop speaking his native Mam. His mother, Hilda (right), says it pained her to see him reject his roots.
Jasmine Garsd/NPR
Photograph -- Sheba Velasco says the number of calls she gets from detention centers and courts has increased.
Sheba Velasco
Map -- A map of the many Mayan languages spoken in Guatemala.
courtesy of Sergio Romero


On a weekday morning, in an upscale area of Arlington, Va., the suburban silence is as thick as the foliage save for the hum of a leaf blower or an occasional car. In one of the homes, Sheba Velasco is thinking of snacks for the children. She's their nanny.

Then the phone rings.

Thousands of miles to the west, it's very early in the morning, and a young man has been caught trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.

"First of all" Velasco begins, "may I ask that he is from Nebaj? He speaks Ixil?"

The young man is indeed from her hometown: Nebaj, Guatemala. And, like Velasco, he speaks the Mayan language Ixil (pronounced ih-SHEEL).

Velasco works as an interpreter for the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, but also for immigration courts. She's one of the few Ixil interpreters in the United States.

On the phone, Velasco begins speaking loudly. Like many Mayan languages, Ixil moves acrobatically between soft shushes and hard glottal consonants. On the line, a man's voice responds in short sentences.

No, he's not allergic to any medication, Velasco says in English, to the lady now on the other end of the phone call.

Later on, Velasco explains that the man was being taken to a clinic. He sounded more like a boy, she tells me, and he was scared. She told him to calm down.

Not long ago, calls like this didn't happen very often. These days, she says she fields "six to 10 calls a week. Mostly are young kids crossing the water. Some of them are ill, sick. Or immigration has them."

Six Million Speakers

The Mayan empire collapsed mysteriously around the 9th century. Among the supposed reasons are drought, plague or some other type of ecological disaster.

"But the descendants of Mayans live today," says Sergio Romero. At the University of Texas he teaches three Mayan languages. There are more than 30, though, and an estimated 6 million people who speak them.

As Central Americans become the largest group of new arrivals to the U.S., the language of immigration is changing. Spanish is still the primary tongue between South, Central and North America, but there are more Mayan speakers.

That has created the shortage of interpreters. When he's not grading papers or planning lessons, Romero tells me, he's taking calls from detention centers and courts.

"A lot of these people will be perfectly capable of purchasing beans or tortillas or beer at a store in Spanish," he explains. "But then, engaging the police or working with a lawyer or declaring in front of a judge is not something they would be able to do."

As the demand for interpreters soars, there aren't a lot of options for increasing the supply.

Few universities offer instruction in Mayan languages. Tulane offers K'iche' and Kaqchikel; University of North Carolina offers Yucatec Maya.

That raises the question: why aren't more native Mayan speakers in the U.S. stepping forward to help?

Romero explains that all immigrants are not proud to speak their language.

"The stereotypical poor person in Guatemala is a speaker of an indigenous language. The tremendous linguistic diversity of Guatemala is seen as a disadvantage," he says. "It's seen as one of the reasons why the country is so poor."

Romero points out that these claims are illogical — neighboring Honduras and El Salvador are equally poor, and they are not multilingual countries.

As with most of Latin America, there is a double-speak in Guatemala when it comes to indigenous culture: On the one hand, the diversity of ethnicity celebrated as a source of pride and tourist attraction. There is also a strong indigenous pride movement. In 1990 the Guatemalan Mayan Languages Academy was created. And there has been a musical renaissance in recent years, with young groups ranging from hip-hop and heavy metal singing in Mayan.

In reality, though, the country has often subjected its indigenous peoples to discrimination or worse. By the time immigrants who speak Mayan languages get to the U.S., or even before then, they often choose to drop their native language at the border.

Jayro Ivan Velazquez is 9 years old. I meet him and his mother Hilda on a sunny day in a dark living room of a shelter for migrant women and children. She apologizes for his bowl-shaped haircut, but it's as cute as he is.

They've lived in Texas for a year, but Jayro been trying to forget his native language, Mam, for much longer than that. The bullying started, he says, when he began elementary school in Guatemala City. Hilda would pick him up and speak to him in Mam — the only language she knew back then.

"They said that language is made-up" Jayro says. They'd tell him: "'Your mother speaks an ugly language.' "

"He started to pull away from me," his mother recalls. "He no longer spoke." She says it made her sad to see her son reject his roots.

Jayro is unusually reflective for such a young boy. He says he'd watch his mom, and listen to her speak, and think "that's not an ugly language."

But after the bullying became physical, Jayro got a head injury. Hilda says he announced he would no longer speak any Mam.

She tells me all this in a still-awkward Spanish punctuated by the staccatos that are typical of many Mayan languages. "And then he would only speak Spanish. Spanish, Spanish, Spanish."

Hilda learned Spanish in the U.S., while she and Jayro were in a detention facility. They'd been caught at the border, and they spent nearly a year locked up. Nobody in there spoke Mam.

She says she was placed with an interpreter she could barely understand.

She tried talking with her son, but he'd made up his mind to forget that language. She became depressed. So another detainee taught her Spanish.

Hilda hardly speaks Mam anymore; only over the phone once in a while with a sister.

After some prodding, Jayro tells me there's this one phrase in Mam, a kind of inside joke between him and his mom.

"ẍkatil ntzeltije"

It's a very important phrase to know if you are a cuddly, 9-year-old year old boy like Jayro.

"ẍkatil ntzeltije"

He says it means "scratch my back." Hilda's face lights up, and her quiet demeanor is broken by a laugh.

"And then I scratch his back" she tells me.

In Spanish.




The loss of their native language is something which is occurring to a distressing degree among American Indians. The reservation schools in the 1800s often punished the kids for speaking their own language, undoubtedly partly as a security measure, but mainly as a tool to force them to assimilate culturally. The result was that the pride and cohesiveness of many tribes was broken and they did what the whites wanted – they joined the army, learned English until it became their primary language, took jobs in the city and moved away from the reservation. Now many of them are trying to recreate the cultural elements that have been lost. Interestingly, though, the Navajo Indians were used very creatively in WWII as “code talkers.” It seems there were no cognates and the Germans were mystified.

The pity, to me, is that when the Navaho and others learned English they didn’t continue to use their own tongue in family and tribal community situations. This recent use of a native speaker to translate for the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, but also for immigration courts, is a very good thing. I think in the old days such immigrants would simply be shunted into a form of imprisonment and told to learn English. Of course they need to learn English, but to have Ixil speakers available to communicate with them about what their pressing needs are and how our system here works, that is so much better. Velasco is one of the few Ixil interpreters in the United States. It is a blessing that the remainders of the Mayan language remain, especially since their culture has disappeared.




http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/2015/11/19/wisconsin-school-adopts-124-fine-bullying/76047654/

Wisconsin school adopts $124 fine for bullying
KARE, news source
November 19, 2015


Parents in a small Wisconsin community whose children repeatedly bully other kids may now find themselves faced with $124 fine.

The Plover Village Board this month approved an anti-bullying ordinance. The Stevens Point Journal reports the ordinance gives police the ability to notify parents in writing if their child is caught bullying and to ticket the parents if their child is caught bullying again within 90 days.

Plover Police Chief Dan Ault wrote and proposed the ordinance. Ault says the ordinance is intended to motivate parents to confront their children if bullying is taking place.

A similar bullying ordinance was passed in Monona, a city in Dane County, in 2013. Monona Detective Sgt. Ryan Losby says police have not given out any fines since the ordinance passed, but have issued three warnings.




This article is very brief, so I went to the Net to find more about this town. There is a very good and up to date website against bullying, spotlighting several different states where citizens are taking action against what is becoming a diseased outgrowth of our competition driven culture.

Go to this site and peruse the news articles available. -- www.schoolbullyingcouncil.com/category/bullyingnews/. I think it’s high time that the plague of bullying, which has become so serious in our K-12 school systems, that kids are growing up unnecessarily timid and unable to excel in their school subjects as a result. That’s one of the breeding grounds of depression and worse sorts of mental illnesses in kids. Many such kids will grow up to be disengaged from society and often very angry. That’s how they gravitate toward gang membership and criminality in general. It’s hard to form a stable, happy, productive, generous personality when you’re traumatized in your daily life. What we expect in a person as a good citizen is largely an outgrowth of good mental health.