Blackinformant.com – African-American culture, news commentary, politics

The other day I received word that cousin of mine has been arrested for conspiracy to a recent murder in his hometown. On one hand I was shocked, but unfortunately I was not too surprised because he had been heading down that path for a very long time. Devon (not his real name) started out in a married two-parent home. When he and his other brothers and sisters were a little ...More

(silive.com) "The allegations that teachers at Wagner High School were directed to add points to state exams in order to boost the school's performance are an extreme example of a more subtle type of grade inflation that's common throughout the public school system, according to teachers at every school level on Staten Island. Educators at a half-dozen Island schools said that pressure to grade state exams generously has gone up in ...More

From South Africa (pretorianews.co.za) 'Until we begin to roll back the flood of violence in communities, there is very little schools can do to prevent violent behaviour among pupils coming through the school gates." These are the words of the dean of education at the University of Pretoria, Professor Jonathan Jansen. A spate of violent incidents at school has lead to a public outcry and given rise to the perception that children were ...More

(onlineopinion.com.au) "Much of the media interest in the first anniversary of the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina in August fixated on the negative. Sometimes, however, hurricanes have silver linings: when Hurricane Katrina demolished New Orleans’s public school system it gave the city’s educational landscape a much-needed clean slate. According a New York Times report, New Orleans public schools were “among the most abysmal in the nation before the storm”. In the 2004 ...More

(MercuryNews.com) "Teachers learn two things early on in their careers: Out-of-pocket spending comes with the job. Don't expect reimbursement. But as the mushrooming cost of basics such as books and paper join newer expenses related to computers and other electronics, school officials and local education foundations are stepping up efforts to help teachers cope. In San Jose's East Side Union High School District that means restoring $200 reimbursements to teachers like Wendy ...More

UNIFIL Patrol Takes Nights Off, UN Admits Hizbullah Arming (israelnationalnews.com) "Hizbullah terrorists are free to roam at night without fear of being identified by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), according to a report by the German paper Der Spiegel. Spanish UNIFIL official Richard Ortax admitted to the paper that no patrols are carried out at night “because of the danger involved.” UNIFIL commanders said their function is to ...More

For those that need a refresher to what we are fighting against: (theaustralian.news.com.au) THREE Christian high school girls were beheaded as a Ramadan "trophy" by Indonesian militants who conceived the idea after a visit to Philippines jihadists, a court heard yesterday. The girls' severed heads were dumped in plastic bags in their village in Indonesia's strife-torn Central Sulawesi province, along with a handwritten note threatening more such attacks. The note read: "Wanted: 100 ...More

(MiamiHerald.com) "To anyone who has walked the streets of Overtown, Liberty City, Wynwood and Little Haiti, there is no denying that these Miami neighborhoods have a vibrant underground economy. The big challenge always has been quantifying that economy in terms of population and purchasing power. The problem: Data from the U.S. Census or traditional sources like Claritas don't tell the full story. They often don't account for multiple families living in one ...More

I found this pretty good article over at SFGate.com on the homeless in San Francisco. This particular article follows a woman who has been in and out of drug treatment centers, hospitals and other related support. The 2-year cost to taxpayers for "helping" this individual? $100,000 (and she still "shoots up" from time to time)! While the amount spent in her case may be the exception, the cycle isn't. This further proves ...More

Sounds like some US cities. [Correspondents Report - abc.net.au] [excerpted] "Osaka has developed Japan's biggest homeless population through a combination of economic and social factors. For years the city was a key part of Japan's rapid economic progress. Industrial growth required workers to build it, and Nishinari in Osaka was the centre for day labourers who could gather here in the morning and be pretty much guaranteed a well-paid day's work. But the economic ...More