Blog
Who's Got Michelle Rhee's Back?
December 21st, 2009 - 10:25am
Filed under Education
D.C. Chancellor, Michelle Rhee, has proposed changes to the teacher tenure system that would offer higher salaries to teachers willing to link their paychecks to student performance. Those opting to be paid solely on seniority would receive smaller pay increases. Rhee has been in negotiations with the Teachers Union for more than two years. While Arne Duncan Secretary of Education has hinted that he'll look favorably on states that enact such reforms when distributing "Race to the Top" grant, he has refused to interfere with Rhee's negotiations with the unions. In the last couple years D.C.'s fourth-graders have made the largest gains in math among big city school systems, while eighth-graders have increased their math proficiency at a faster rate than all other big cities (U.S. Department of Education). - WSJ
Helping Iranians Stay Free Online
December 21st, 2009 - 10:19am
Filed under International Security
Traditional media in Iran has long been censored the government, leaving nontraditional new-media such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter as the only platform for dissenting opinions. President Ahmadinejad is working to censor all Internet access for the Iranian people, which can be attributed to movements like the one following the controversial presidential election last summer. Haystacknetwork.com is a new program designed to provide unfiltered Internet access to the people of Iran. The site conceals the identity of users, making them undetectable by Iranian authorities and "enabling them to learn, communicate and fight for their rights to personal liberty, freedom of expression and information." - OC Register, Written by GN Member Brian Calle.
An Empire at Risk
December 8th, 2009 - 1:27pm
Filed under Economy
The decline of an empire begins with debt explosion and ends with a reduction of national defense resources (Newsweek)."If the U.S. can't restore the federal budget in 5 to 10 years, a debt crisis may result in a major weakening of American power and a shift in the global economy. "Call it the fatal arithmetic of imperial decline. Without radical fiscal reform, it could apply to America next".