Where does Google Voice fit into the privacy spectrum these days?
Being gifted a spectacular MotoX Adroid phone from my brother saddled me with the obligation to sort through privacy options I had avoided confronting until now by staying away from smart phones and as much as possible, the public observation grid. I use a client-side email application connected to a private email service, which means my mail isn’t being stored on Yahoo or Google’s servers or monitored by them (as most people’s e-correspondence is). And I use a client-side calendar as well NOT synched via the cloud, which is another layer of privacy protection I’ve got that many people gave up a long time ago.
“White feminists” want to determine what feminism is
Fabulous post by Betty Mamzelle on the white privilege of “White Feminism”.
This, in a nutshell, is about how white people feel they own the right to dominate a conversation (or a movement) and tell other people what can and cannot be discussed; who’s in and who’s out; what topics are allowable and which are not; and what’s important v. what is not … and how those beliefs extend to the battleground of feminism.
Even though feminism is supposedly about protecting women from other-abuse, “white feminists” feel perfectly comfortable browbeating or excluding women who don’t fit their concept of what feminism is supposed to be. Betty says,
MotoX battery life, care & unlimited plans from $5
The MotoX is an awesome phone. I’m using and loving it on Republic Wireless’ $25/month unlimited talk, messaging & 3GB plan. You can get unlimited talk & messaging with a $5 wifi only plan too or pay $40 on the unlimited 4G phone network. No contract required for any plan and the MotoX sells for $300 (or get a Defy for $100).
Here are some good tips on how to care for its battery and make sure you get the optimal length of time between charges.
Black Bruins say UCLA admits just a small number of Black students – for sports wins
A Yale Daily News reporter provides the essential background for this video decrying the starkly racist policies of UCLA, one of the United States’ largest colleges.
Last week, Sy Stokes and 11 other black male students from UCLA uploaded a YouTube video of a spoken word poem called “The Black Bruins.” The poem attacks the university for its lack of racial diversity, specifically its incredibly small percentage of black male students. Overall, only 3.3 percent of the male population of UCLA is black. Of the 2,418 entering male freshmen, only 48 were black.
Like Jobs and Winfrey, Suli Breaks will not let exam results decide his fate
Young people around the world are speaking up about education and careers. We need to listen to them because – this is their age. The age of information. And they know, much more than we give them credit for.
No dejaré que el resultado de un examen decida mi destino (subtitulado en Español)
Lyrics
Right now, there is a kid finishing parents evening in a heated discussion with his mother,
Saying why does he have subject subjects he will never ever use in his life…
And she will look at him blank eyed, stifle a sigh, think for a second,
And then lie.
She will say something along the lines of,
“You to get a good job you need a good degree and these subjects help you get a degree.
We never had this opportunity when I was younger”
And he will reply, “but you were young a long time ago weren’t you mum?”
Bob Braun explores relationship between Christie and NJ violence
Lots of things Bob Braun says are way too important to only be seen on Facebook. Like his thoughts on the relationship between Christie’s ranting/abuse and youth shootings motivated by a desire for “respect”:
If the governor of the state can suggest that someone should “take a bat” to a woman, why should we be surprised that a child shoots people because they “disrespected” him?
We live in a state in which the governor prides himself in bullying, misogynistic behavior, someone who shows his displeasure with threatening gestures and who refuses to defend gun restrictions in court. We live in a state whose voters re-elected this bully and elected as US senator a man who, as Newark mayor, laid off cops and presided over the worst carnage in almost a decade. We live in a state where the busiest interstate crossing can be held for political ransom despite the threat to public safety.
Republic Wireless & Moto X Phones plans from $5 to Unlimited @ $25/mo
Buy the Moto X Phone worth $599 from Republic Wireless for $299. And get unlimited talk, text and 5GB data for $25 along with it.
Also, get the chance to win a free Moto X Phone and $120 towards your service.
Make battle for Newark Public Schools visible with #saveNPS hashtag!
These days, every important cause needs a hashtag to be visible in the world of social media, and with the Christie administration announcing its intention to close 15 more schools in Newark as the next step in its attack on public education in urban communities, cause visibility is greatly needed.
A hashtag is the # symbol when it’s used in tweets or Facebook posts. Short hashtags are great because Twitter gives you only 140 characters to express whatever you want to say. #saveNPS is not actively being used for any other campaign, so how grabbing it for the Save Newark Public Schools Campaign?
Wunderground for most reliable weather reports
For the most reliable weather reports use Wunderground.
Why are their weather reports so good? Easy. They download directly from the US National Weather Service and display the information without changing it. Try it, you’ll like it!
Look inside
We need to learn to look inside ourselves for approval and create balance and strength in that sacred space ~ a Kimiism
My favorite rendition of the “Cup Song” is the Irish school version
Coláiste Lurgan in Conamara, Ireland put together this amazing community performance of the Cup Song (Amhrán na gCupán in Gaeilge). 600 students and staff tap out the syncopated rhythm and harmonize the chorus to a beautiful young colleague’s lovely Gaelic lyrics, and they’re joined by guitarists and drummers too. 2.5 minutes of pure pleasure. Treat yourself!
The original is pretty good too. Anna Kendrick performing in Pitch Perfect
WSJ Op-Ed laments the waning of white supremacy
Alternet author Adam Peck does a good job of showing the humour in Joseph Epstein’s massively egotistical and racist WSJ Op-Ed in which Epstein proposes, “we need more rich white men in power, preferably WASPs,” and goes on to say,
There are a lot of problems in Washington, D.C these days, but not many solutions to them. Inefficiency, an allergy to cooperation, and stiff resistance to pragmatism have all ground the federal government to a stand-still. But one op-ed contributor to the Wall Street Journal knows what the real problem is: not enough rich, white men.
Film: American Violet
Film: American Violet
American Violet is a film that shows us the criminal justice system being used as a tool to disenfranchise target communities from housing, jobs and social services – with no regard for whether detainees have ever committed a crime, or how the arrest of one member will impact the stability of an entire family.
People who are falsely detained and have children or parents at home who rely on them for support, are likely to succumb to coercion and plead guilty to crimes they did not commit in order to get released from jail and back to their families. But afterwards, they will face the consequences of being branded as convicts and the immediate loss of social support services their families rely on, including their family’s home if they live in public – or publicly supported – housing.
Book: Reign of Error by Diane Ravitch
Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools by Diane Ravitch
Category: Social Justice, Education
In the days that Diane Ravitch was U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education in the administration of George H. W. Bush, she drank lots of Kool Aide and believed strenuously that destroying public education was good for students of color and poor kids. But one day the veil was lifted from her eyes. She understood the error of her previous thinking, and did a complete about face to become the country’s most visible and high-profile champion of public education. I’m a Diane fan and now, you can be too! Read her book and her blog.