Sharing the best net stories

[basilio]

Have you ever wondered what might be going on in our schools? Came across this story on being "terrored" . Reminded me on what I was missing .


Getting “Terrored”
March 18, 2007

At the Metropolitan School “terror” is a verb, not a noun. “To terror a teacher” means to subject a teacher to a continual stream of intimidation and abuse with the intention of causing the maximum amount of stress. The main purpose of this is to intimidate the teacher into giving up on any attempt to enforce the rules. Also it can be used to attempt to drive the teacher out of the school, or as a way for students to assert their status or authority with their peers. Consequently it is aimed largely at teachers who are new to the school, or at least new to the class, although if a class is arrogant enough it will be aimed at any teacher who expects them to behave.

Terroring begins with low level disruption. Admittedly everything at the Metropolitan school begins with low level disruption. However, if you are getting terrored then any effort to prevent the disruption or enforce the school rules will lead to escalation through the following stages:

http://teachingbattleground.wordpress.com/2007/03/18/getting-terrored/

 

[akkopower]

Have you ever wondered what might be going on in our schools? Came across this story on being "terrored" . Reminded me on what I was missing .

I used to work at a school in Logan, dodgy part of Brisbane. Among teachers it was thought of as the 2nd worst school in Brisbane, throughout my time there (1yr) 3 students were charged with rape and 8 with man slaughter (Johnathon Thurstons uncle - if anyone remembers).

I never experienced any of the things in the posted article. I am a young male maths teacher, so i guess i get the most ****e flung at me. As a teacher terror is still a noun to me

 

[overit]

This is a great story! He has done some crazy stuff.

Also check him out on wikipedia.

Barefoot Bandit Colton Harris-Moore strikes again, to fans' delight and FBI's despair

TO the FBI he is a brazen teenage criminal with a price on his head but to his fans the "Barefoot Bandit" is a folk hero with a huge online following.

Colton Harris-Moore, a lanky 19-year-old, has just added to his cult status by crash-landing a stolen aircraft in the Bahamas. He is now an international fugitive from justice.

Detectives are searching the sun-soaked Abaco islands after Harris-Moore apparently flew from Indiana to the Caribbean, stole a car, broke into a restaurant and then performed his usual vanishing trick.

For more than two years the outlaw has left the authorities struggling in his wake as he went joyriding in planes, boats and cars. He became known as the Barefoot Bandit last autumn after police found footprints in an Idaho airport hangar from which an aircraft was stolen. The teenager walked away unhurt after crash-landing 420km away.

More...

 

[basilio]

In making up your world views have you ever wondered why the USA continues to be involved in long expensive wars that seem to go nowhere ? Excellent analysis offers some very practical reasons for this situation.

And it's worth checking the background of the writer as well.

Hope and Change Fade, but War Endures
Seven Reasons Why We Can’t Stop Making War
By William J. Astore


...Why do our elites so readily and regularly give war, not peace, a chance? What exactly are the wellsprings of Washington’s (and America’s) behavior when it comes to war and preparations for more of the same?

Consider these seven:

1. We wage war because we think we’re good at it -- and because, at a gut level, we’ve come to believe that American wars can bring good to others (hence our feel-good names for them, like Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom). Most Americans are not only convinced we have the best troops, the best training, and the most advanced weapons, but also the purest motives. Unlike the bad guys and the barbarians out there in the global marketplace of death, our warriors and warfighters are seen as gift-givers and freedom-bringers, not as death-dealers and resource-exploiters. Our illusions about the military we “support” serve as catalyst for, and apology for, the persistent war-making we condone.

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175271/tomgram:_william_astore,_operation_enduring_war/

 

[overit]

This has movie deal written all over it! I dont think you could have written a much better script. He has had a pretty amazing run for a few years. And what about the ending. Boat chase and possible shoot out???

Police capture 'Barefoot Bandit' in the Bahamas
06:10 AEST Mon Jul 12 2010

Fugitive burglar and Internet folk hero, the "Barefoot Bandit," has been nabbed by Bahamas police after one last daring attempt to evade capture ”” this time in a stolen boat.

Bahamian authorities said 19-year-old Colton Harris-Moore was arrested seven days after they found the wreckage of a stolen plane he is believed to have flown to the archipelago.

"In an effort to avoid capture, the suspect engaged in a high-speed chase, by boat, with police," a police official told reporters.

"After a brief chase, the suspect was taken into custody without incident," he said, adding that Harris-Moore was arrested with a firearm and other evidence.

The official did not confirm a Fox News report that the dramatic water chase included a shoot out.

 

[sinner]

This has movie deal written all over it! I dont think you could have written a much better script. He has had a pretty amazing run for a few years. And what about the ending. Boat chase and possible shoot out???

It is in Fox Networks interest to sensationalise the story as much as possible:

In April 2010, 20th Century Fox purchased the film rights to the book Taking Flight: The Hunt for a Young Outlaw, based on a proposal by Bob Friel.[18] Harris-Moore's mother has retained celebrity lawyer O. Yale Lewis to seek control of entertainment interests related to her son. She has also hired John Henry Browne to handle her son's criminal defense.[19]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colton_Harris-Moore

 

[overit]

It is in Fox Networks interest to sensationalise the story as much as possible:

Yeah after I posted this I found another article which seemed to be much more on the money. What a great story though. Living the dream!

Barefoot Bandit caught in Bahamas - SMH

Authorities caught Harris-Moore on Harbour Island, a small tourist destination just off mainland Eleuthera, police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade told a news conference.

Harris-Moore was carrying a handgun that he tried to throw away and shots were fired during a water chase, Greenslade said. He did not say who fired them.

"It was like something you might see in the movies," Greenslade said.

Earlier Sunday, a police official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't allowed to discuss the case said Harris-Moore initially attempted to flee but police shot out the engine on his boat.

 

[overit]

Interesting story on many levels.

How the night wind lost the smell of petrol

July 17, 2010

For once, a story of hope from Aboriginal Australia. Andrew Stojanovski spent 11 years working in the remote Northern Territory community of Yuendumu. Here he recounts the ravages of petrol sniffing and tells of the elders who saved young lives and turned the community's fortunes around.

'I'm going to kill you, you white c---!'' Farris yelled as he smashed a fist into my face. The house was under siege by six petrol sniffers as rocks and nulla nullas smashed against the windows. My newly pregnant bride, Vesna, and our Warlpiri neighbour, Tanya, were inside. Vesna hid under the kitchen table, terrified.

Farris came at me again, armed with a boomerang, a nulla nulla and a star picket. First he threw the boomerang at me. I ran down the corridor, hoping to escape through the door at the end. The door was locked. I had no escape. Farris charged at me. My vision was filled with this youth with bulging, bloodshot eyes, anger fuming out of him, nulla nulla swinging and aimed at my skull. I had no way out and no weapon to block the blows of that fire-hardened mulga.

Continue reading>>>

 

[overit]

To Protest Hiring of Nonunion Help, Union Hires Nonunion Pickets

Jobless Recruits Get Minimum Wage 'To March Around and Sound Off'

WASHINGTON””Billy Raye, a 51-year-old unemployed bike courier, is looking for work.

Fortunately for him, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters is seeking paid demonstrators to march and chant in its current picket line outside the McPherson Building, an office complex here where the council says work is being done with nonunion labor.

....

The union's Mr. Garcia sees no conflict in a union that insists on union labor hiring nonunion people to protest the hiring of nonunion labor.

 

[overit]

I am male but I fall into this category since becoming an active trader. I used to be quite fit but not any more. I started to get swollen feet from lack of circulation. I now walk 1hr every morning and night where possible. Often thought of getting an exercise bike to sit behind the computer. An eye opener!

Women who sit while relaxing for six hours more likely to die, study says

RELAXING at home can have deadly consequences for women who sit for more than six hours a day during their leisure time, regardless of how much they exercise, scientists say.

A new study from American Cancer Society researchers found that women in particular who sat for longer than six hours a day during their leisure time - engaged in activities such as watching television, surfing the internet and reading - had higher death rates.

And it did not matter how much daily exercise they did, the risk remained virtually unchanged.

Several studies have already shown there is a link between long sitting times and obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and unhealthy diets.

More...

 

[Sean K]

I met a guy through the internet once.

He seemed an OK dude and he said he was thinking about visiting the place I lived.

I said, 'come and visit'.

Joe Blow came and stayed at kennas' house in Peru for a holiday.

woohoo!!

Would post photos but they're classified.

 

[basilio]

Smoke and Mirrors at Babcock and Brown
I thought the unfolding story on the way B&B made their billions deserves a wider audience. Whenever we are told to put our trust in analysts, auditors or the value of a deregulated marketplace this story should be trotted out. I fear it is probably only one example of many similar companies which collectively are a large part of our financial security ( investments, pension funds, super funds). Not good for public confidence.

If there is any justice some of the Principals in these companies should end up in jail.

Gone with the wand
MICHAEL EVANS AND DANNY JOHN
July 24, 2010

THE opening questions appeared innocuous enough. You were the managing director of Babcock & Brown? Yes.
Between 2004 and 2007, you were variously described in Babcock & Brown annual reports as its managing director, chief executive officer and group chief executive? Yes.

But when former Babcock & Brown chief Phil Green fronted a liquidator’s hearing in the Federal Court into last year’s $3billion corporate collapse, it took just minutes to strip away appearances and reveal the private reality of what had been a very public face.

Question: Was there ever a formal resolution to appoint you MD? Answer: I don’t recall.

Were you ever employed by Babcock & Brown Ltd? — My employment contract was with Babcock & Brown International.

Was it a written contract? — I believe so. Now that you mention it, I may have been employed by Babcock & Brown Australia. But I was group CEO.

Over two days, Green would effectively admit that very little about Babcock & Brown was as simple as it appeared.

http://www.theage.com.au/business/gone-with-the-wand-20100723-10p0p.html

 

[Calliope]

I loved this story;

Taxi drivers the world over might want to think twice about pinching their passengers' belongings following the vigilante justice dished out by Angela Devery, who lost her iPhone last week after a night on the tiles.

Last Friday night, with a few cocktails under her belt, Devery, 30, from Melbourne's Carlton North, left her phone in the back of a taxi.

Thankfully, Apple provides a service to iPhone users called MobileMe, which allows them to pinpoint the location of their phones on a map. There have been several cases around the world in which people have used the service to track down thieves.

http://images.smh.com.au/2010/07/23/1710872/angemain-420x0.jpg

 

[nunthewiser]

I met a guy through the internet once.

He seemed an OK dude and he said he was thinking about visiting the place I lived.

I said, 'come and visit'.

Joe Blow came and stayed at kennas' house in Peru for a holiday.

woohoo!!

Would post photos but they're classified.

Awesome!

I have met a few people from here and in chat over the years ...been an eye opener for sure......lol some i would even meet again

Good stuff.

 

[Calliope]

I put the wrong link on post #33.

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/iphone/no-one-takes-anges-iphone-for-a-ride-20100723-10o2n.html

 

[overit]

Not a new concept but a nice feel good story!

'Please give me a job' sign gets unemployed man back in work

An unemployed man landed a job by standing in the pouring rain by a busy road with a cardboard sign pleading: "Please give me a job".
......

Mr Wheeldon, of Newcastle-under-Lyme, had failed to find work after spending the past two years caring for a former partner who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis.
....

"I had been out of work for so long, looking after my partner and doing all the little things for her like brushing her hair.
...

Mr Champion explained how he had been driving to fetch bacon sandwiches for colleagues when he spotted Mr Wheeldon standing on the roundabout.

He said: "I was on my way to work at about 8am and I saw Mark standing in the pouring rain, holding a placard which read: 'Please give me a job'.

"I thought if someone could stand there in that deluge – and it was absolutely torrential rain – then they must be determined to find a job. My attitude was that he would be an asset to any company.

"There are not many unemployed people who would have done that and I thought that anyone who wanted a job that much deserved a chance.

"When I brought him back to the office was so soaked through that a little puddle formed under his chair while I interviewed him.

"I spoke to him for about 20 minutes and then offered him the job on the spot. I was really impressed by his determination and he has the right kind of attitude that we want here.

 

[overit]

WikiLeaks.

Afghanistan War Logs: 90,000 classified documents revealed by Wikileaks

Tens of thousands of secret American military documents have been leaked disclosing how Nato forces have killed scores of civilians in unreported incidents in Afghanistan.

The classified memos also reveal the secret efforts of coalition forces to hunt down and “kill or capture” senior Taliban and al-Qaeda figures.

And they document growing evidence that Iran and Pakistan is supporting the insurgency. Although many of the claims in the documents, of which there are more than 90,000, have been aired previously, the leak to the website Wikileaks is highly embarrassing. It was condemned by the White House last night, which said the information could threaten the safety of coalition operations.

More...

 

[Timmy]

Maybe this should be in the conspiracy theory thread.


Taliban can't train monkeys to shoot US soldiers with machine-guns, say scientists
http://www.news.com.au/technology/t...s-say-scientists/story-e6frfro0-1225897407988



Who comes up with this stuff?

 

[nunthewiser]

knew it was a setup.

 

[basilio]

This time is different.

Apparently more more has been lost with the above phrase than at the point of a gun. Anyway that's what a bond trader with an unusually long memory had to say about one of the recent economic crisis's.

This is by way of introducing a very prescient article on where we seem to be heading with financial crisis's.

Cheers

It will happen again
July 20, 2010

The global meltdown was just the latest of many financial crises over the past 800 years, and the patterns are always the same.

'THIS time is different''. When hedge fund Long Term Capital Management collapsed in 1998, a trader with an untypically long memory reportedly summed up the problem. ''More money has been lost because of four words than at the point of a gun.''

Hence the title of the book by Carmen Reinhart and former IMF economist Kenneth Rogoff. This Time Is Different (Princeton University Press, 2009) analyses eight centuries of financial crises, and finds that the patterns are always the same. The book's message: we have been there before.

http://www.theage.com.au/business/it-will-happen-again-20100719-10hxn.html