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Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock 12/23/2012

11:30 AM Tukiyooo 0

<ul class="diigo-linkroll">      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://lisamyers.org/2012/12/17/to-america-from-a-teacher/">To America from a Teacher « lisamyers.org</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">In this must-read post, Lisa Myers says so many things right. So many of us teachers have shocked that people have seen into the heart of who we are but why did some teachers have to die for people to see it?  "No, for most of us, our all does not include a sacrificial death, but it does include a sacrificial life. It means working a full day at school then continuing that work at home well into the evening as we grade papers and prepare materials that will lead to authentic learning in the classroom. That’s our surface work. At a deeper level, however, we also do the following:”"</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/inspiration">inspiration</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/5056066832/efblike">TeachMeet @BETT 2013 - Eventbrite</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Teachmeets around the world are great opportunities for teachers to get together and share ideas. In the UK, they are having a teachmeet as well - sadly the tickets are already "sold out" which shows how many teachers really love these events. Informal ways for teachers to talk to teachers - these are great. There's one in Georgia in January - I'm working on my schedule to be there. Look for a teachmeet in your area.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teachmeet">teachmeet</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/unconference">unconference</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/uk">uk</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/ukedchat">ukedchat</a></p>                                        </li>  </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='http://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock 12/23/2012

To America from a Teacher « lisamyers.org In this must-read post, Lisa Myers says so many things rig...

The Perils of Yoga for Men - NYTimes.com

9:18 AM Tukiyooo 0

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; color: black; text-align: left; font-size: 14px; "><nyt_text style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div id="articleBody"><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Men are famous for ignoring aches and pains. It's macho. Men get physical exams less often than women. They tend to remain silent if worried about their health. When hurt, their impulse is to shun doctors and rely on home remedies, like avoiding heavy lifting to ease backaches. Male athletes play through injuries. It's all about virility and manliness.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">The stereotype has exceptions, of course. But denial of injury and ill health — from the relatively inconsequential to the grave — is common enough that physicians seek ways to encourage men to be more forthcoming.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">So it pays to listen carefully when guys start talking about intolerable pain and upended lives. Doing so led me to an unexpected finding that I have confirmed in a trove of federal data. It suggests that<a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/y/yoga/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="More articles about yoga." class="meta-classifier" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">yoga</a> can be remarkably dangerous — for men.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Guys who bend, stretch and contort their bodies are relatively few in number, perhaps one in five out of an estimated 20 million practitioners in the United States and 250 million around the globe. But proportionally, they are reporting damage more frequently than women, and their doctors are diagnosing more serious injuries — strokes and fractures, dead nerves and shattered backs. In comparison, women tell mainly of minor upsets.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Men who are breaking the code of silence are doing so with physicians in hospital emergency rooms, who in turn report their findings to the federal government.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Their outspokenness reveals much about modern yoga and suggests ways it can be made safer. As a practitioner since 1970, I know some of the guy hazards personally and have learned through painful experience how to live with my inflexible body.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">The male disclosures help explain one of the central mysteries of modern yoga — why it is largely a feminine pursuit. As Yoga Journal, the field's top magazine, put the question: "<a href="http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/2585" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">Where Are All the Men?</a>"</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Science has long viewed the female body as relatively elastic. Now the new disclosures suggest that women who tie themselves in knots also enjoy a lower risk of damage. It seems like common sense.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Surprisingly, evidence of the male danger has, to my knowledge, never before been made public. Nor has its flip side — that women seem less vulnerable. The subject of male risk merits discussion if only because the booming yoga industry has long targeted men as a smart way to expand its franchise.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Informal observations hint at possible explanations. Yoga experts say women tend to see classes as refuges while men see challenges — their goal at times to impress the opposite sex.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Women say men push themselves too far, too fast. Men admit to liking the intensity but say the problem is pushy teachers who force them into advanced poses while urging them to ignore pain.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">I stumbled on the issue after my book, published in February, laid out a century and a half of science and, in its <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html?_r=0" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">chapter on injuries</a>, contradicted the usual image of yoga as completely safe. The yoga establishment makes billions of dollars by selling itself as a path to healthy perfection. Predictably, it responded with sharp denials.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">I also received a surprising number of moving replies from injured yogis — male and female — including <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/stroke/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="In-depth reference and news articles about strokes." class="meta-classifier" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">stroke</a> victims.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">A letter initiated my inquiry. In April, a man told how an agonizing back injury had turned his life into "a living hell." Too many instructors, he wrote, are "pushing us too hard and having us do dangerous poses."</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">The "us" resonated.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Suddenly, I realized his cry sounded familiar.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">I raced through a correspondence file and saw that many of the letters about serious damage had come from men.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Tara Stiles, a yoga teacher who runs a popular studio in Manhattan, told me that guys have more muscle (one reason for their relative inflexibility) and can thus force themselves into challenging poses they might otherwise find impossible. It seemed a plausible explanation for blinding pain.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Other teachers echoed her analysis and cited supporting anecdotes.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Yoga poses are unisex. But in my research, I found a world of poorly known information on gender disparity.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">"Science of Flexibility," by Michael J. Alter, explained how the pelvic regions of women are shaped in a way that permits an unusually large range of motion and joint play. In yoga, the pelvis is the central pivot for extreme bending of the legs, spine and torso.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">In June, I turned to the <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/c/consumer_product_safety_commission/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More articles about Consumer Product Safety Commission" class="meta-org" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">Consumer Product Safety Commission</a> and its <a href="http://www.cpsc.gov/library/neiss.html" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">National Electronic Injury Surveillance System</a>, which monitors hospital emergency rooms. In July, officials sent me 18 years of annual survey data that summarized the admission records for yoga practitioners hurt between 1994 and 2011, the maximum available span.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">First, I needed a baseline that would let me compare the guy admissions to males doing yoga in the United States. Figures in the yoga literature described men as making up some <a href="http://www.iayt.org/site_vx2/publications/Bibliographies_Members/stats.pdf" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">10 percent</a> of practitioners at the beginning of the period and <a href="http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/2804" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">23 percent</a> at the end. So the middle ground seemed to be roughly 16 percent.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Then I dug into the medical data. The analysis took weeks, but the results spoke volumes.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">If men were getting hurt in proportion to their numbers, the rate of injury would have been about 16 percent — my estimate for the fraction of practitioners who were male. But the rate was higher. Over all, I found that men accounted for slightly more than 24 percent of the admissions to hospital emergency rooms.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">To deepen my analysis, I focused on specific injuries, especially ones inside the body. Guys, it turned out, accounted for 20 percent of the torn muscles and damaged ligaments, which result in swollen joints. Dislocations of the knee, shoulder and other joints came in at 24 percent.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">The figure for broken bones and fractures was 30 percent. The injury sites ranged from the toe to the tibia, the bigger of the two bones in the lower leg.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">For nerve damage, which can result in pain and lost muscle control, the male figure jumped to more than 70 percent. The cases included <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/sciatica/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="In-depth reference and news articles about Sciatica." class="meta-classifier" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">sciatica</a>, where compression of a spinal nerve in the lower back can result in pains that race down the back, hip and leg.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">I found the trend in women's admissions to be just the opposite. The major injuries were few proportionately, and the minor traumas quite abundant. Women, for instance, accounted for a vast majority of the <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/symptoms/fainting/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="In-depth reference and news articles about Fainting." class="meta-classifier" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">fainting</a> episodes.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">None of this means that women go unharmed, as my letter files and the admission records show. But men seem to get it worse.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">In August, I shared my analysis with Loren M. Fishman, a doctor in Manhattan who uses yoga in his rehabilitation practice and whom I profile in my book. "It's men's strength turning against them," he remarked.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Some yoga practitioners will surely see my analysis as unconvincing. That's O.K. It's the kind of topic that can only benefit from thorough discussion — as well as rigorous new studies that can rule out the possibility of false clues.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Skeptics may argue that the injured guys are simply wimps who are inflating the male-injury figures.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">That seems unlikely. A new book, "Hell-Bent," by Benjamin Lorr, evokes the contrary ethos in its subtitle: "Obsession, Pain, and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga."</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Happily, the field is evolving in ways that may enhance safety.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">All-male classes, by definition, avoid the flexibility gap between women and men and instead play to masculine strengths. The classes tend to emphasize muscle building and fitness moves like squats, as well as poses. Their developers tend to avoid talk of injuries, a marketing no-no.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">The styles include YoGuy ("be comfortable") and Broga (as in bro yoga, "where it's O.K. if you can't touch your toes"). A number of studios offer what they call yoga for dudes.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">I'm a yoga enthusiast, not a basher. I do my routine every day and want the practice to thrive — but to do so honestly, with public candor about its real strengths and weaknesses.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">From reader mail, I know that many yogis are working hard to make the practice safer. The male risk factor seems an important consideration in the redesign of poses and routines. And I'm sure instructors of mixed classes will find many ways of reducing any danger. A first step would be frank discussions with students.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">In time, it seems likely that the myth of perfection will give way to the reality of better yoga — for everyone, including guys.</p><nyt_author_id><div class="authorIdentification" style="margin-bottom: 2.8em; "><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 15px !important; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; font-style: italic; ">William J. Broad is a science reporter for The New York Times and the author of "The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards."</div><div><br></div></div></nyt_author_id><nyt_correction_bottom><div class="articleCorrection" style="margin-bottom: 2.8em; "></div></nyt_correction_bottom><nyt_update_bottom></nyt_update_bottom></div></nyt_text><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); display: inline !important; float: none; "></span></div><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/23/sunday-review/the-perils-of-yoga-for-men.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20121223&pagewanted=print">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/23/sunday-review/the-perils-of-yoga-for-men.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20121223&pagewanted=print</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

The Perils of Yoga for Men - NYTimes.com

Men are famous for ignoring aches and pains. It's macho. Men get physical exams less often than women. They tend to remain silent if wor...

What do employers think about overeducated job seekers?

8:13 AM Anonymous 0

<br /><div class="ArticleHeadline" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-top: -30px; text-align: left;"><div class="hdr_org_bld" style="color: #ff6600; font: normal normal bold 18px/normal arial, helvetica;"><h1 id="articleHeadline" style="color: #000066; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span id="cbArticle_lblHeadline">What do employers think about overeducated job seekers?</span></h1></div><div class="group_share_top clearfix" style="height: 25px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 5px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;"><div class="share_icons"><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto;"><li class="cb_share_button share_top" style="background-color: #e3eff7; border-bottom-color: rgb(166, 205, 231); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image: initial; border-left-color: rgb(166, 205, 231); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(166, 205, 231); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(166, 205, 231); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; color: #333333; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; height: 18px; line-height: 18px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; width: 110px;"><b><br /></b></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="ArticleContent" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><div style="clear: left; color: #444444; float: left; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="media-image" src="http://artstg.icbdr.com/sites/all/files/styles/large/public/Overeducated_0.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;">Job seekers rarely consider the commitment a company makes when hiring somebody. Training, health benefits, salary, office space, technology, equipment -- these are investments companies make in a new hire, along with the hope that their newest employee will be a return on their investment.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;">Hiring managers often see a red flag when an overeducated job seeker applies for a position. While the job seeker sees this as an advantage -- surely he is more qualified than most applicants -- hiring managers see him as a flight risk, or somebody who won't stay at the company long before finding a better opportunity.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;">If you're overqualified, how can you combat this stereotype and land the job?</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;"><strong>Why it's a problem</strong></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;"><b><br /></b>A certain liability comes along with overeducated job seekers, which weighs against the education advantages they have over other job seekers. "The problem may not be the over-education," says Marcia LaReau, president of career-services company <a href="http://www.forwardmotioncareers.com/index.php" style="background-color: transparent; color: #07519a; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">Forward Motion LLC</a>. "The question that generally comes up is, 'Is this person looking for something better, and will they leave if/when it comes along?'"</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;">Helen Cortez, human resources manager for <a href="http://www.nextdayflyers.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #07519a; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">Next Day Flyers</a>, agrees. "Often when I read through résumés, I come across candidates who at first glance appear to be overqualified and overeducated for the openings. As a company, we may be a bit hesitant to bring in these individuals. The concern is longevity. There is an expense tied with bringing new team members on board, and there is also an adjustment by the team they work with. That's not to say we don't bring in overqualified candidates, because we have, and we feel very fortunate to have these individuals on our team."</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;"><strong>Why it might not be a problem</strong></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;"><b><br /></b>Employers are just as aware of the tough economy as job seekers. They know that many overqualified people are willing to take any to get a paycheck, but they still need to make smart business decisions. Make the choice easy by marketing your qualifications as an added perk.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;">"The company wants the best employees but also wants assurance that these workers will stick around," says Amber Dixon, marketing director of <a href="http://www.intermountainfinancialgroup.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #07519a; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">Intermountain Financial Group LLC</a>. "They are aware that the individual may not stay with the company once the economy improves, but they can benefit from the knowledge of the educated employee until that happens. And, they hope that the individual and the company will create a strong working relationship that will persuade the employee to stay, but maybe in a higher capacity."</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;">If you're an overeducated job seeker, make your intentions and your career goals clear in your cover letter and during interviews. "We've found [that] a discussion on the topic can be very enlightening," Cortez says. "Candidates may be at a stage in their life where they don't want to travel or where they want to be a part of a smaller organization that's in a growth cycle rather than a Fortune 500 company. The right circumstances can lead it to being a win/win situation."</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;">Also, stress the benefits of your education and training. "I know that we care more about being educated than overeducated," Dixon says. "In my circle of networks, many employers have mentioned that they would rather hire someone with a higher degree than someone without one in this economy."</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;">Ideally, you'll find a job where there's room to grow. "What's more productive is to apply for higher jobs where the candidate gets to grow into the position," LaReau says. "HR professionals know that the best jobs are the ones with the right balance between experience and growth." Whether you're over- or under-educated, or somewhere in-between, explain why you and this job are a good match and what each side will get out of the relationship.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.433333396911621px;"><em>Susan Ricker is a writer and blogger for </em><a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #07519a; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;"><em>CareerBuilder.com</em></a><em> and its job blog, </em><a href="http://www.theworkbuzz.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #07519a; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em>The Work Buzz</em></a><em>. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.</em></div></div>

What do employers think about overeducated job seekers?

What do employers think about overeducated job seekers? Job seekers rarely consider the commitment a company makes when hiring somebody. Tra...

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 12/23/2012

1:31 AM Tukiyooo 0

<ul class="diigo-linkroll">      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://appadvice.com/appnn/2012/12/poke-facebook-launches-new-app-for-sending-self-destructing-messages">Poke! Facebook Launches New App For Sending 'Self-Destructing' Messages -- AppAdvice</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Facebook has launched its response to Snapchat, with Facebook Poke, the self destructing message deliverer? Why would you want a message to self destruct or delete itself if a person tried to do a screengrab on their phone? Well, so you can send goofy pics to your friends with no trace left behind! Never fear, however, teenagers are here. They've been talking to me about how they get around this - if you're snap chatting a friend and you have a friend with you - get the friend up close to be ready to take a picture with their camera phone and then post the pic on Facebook that was delivered with Snapchat. They think it is hilarious but admit that this app is also being used as a new way to "flash" others. How long will it take for everyone to learn that you can't ever really destroy anything any more? If it is done it is permanent - the easiest way to keep private things private is to never do them in the first place. This article goes into more about Facebook poke if you really get into that sort of thing or want to keep up with what the kids are doing.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/tumblr">tumblr</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/facebook">facebook</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/social">social</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/media">media</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/digiteen">digiteen</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/privacy">privacy</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2012/09/02/my-best-posts-on-new-research-studies-in-2012-so-far/">My Best Posts On New Research Studies In 2012 — So Far | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">As you read up on research, start on Larry Ferlazzo's list of best posts on new research studies in 2012. Great post.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/research">research</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/edreform">edreform</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2012/12/20/is-this-the-most-important-research-study-of-2012-maybe/">Is This The Most Important Research Study Of 2012? Maybe | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Larry Ferlazzo writes what may be one of the most important POSTS I've read all year. I like Larry's balanced approach to education, and this post is one more reason why. Memorizing may give you a temporary bump in test scores but it is a long term recipe for disaster - aren't we seeing that now? If you want to understand more, read Larry's post and if you're really interested, pay for the research study behind it which studied 3500 German students over 5 years about their work in math.  Larry says  "A quick summary is that, though extrinsic motivation and “surface learning” (such as memorization) might result in short-term gains in assessments, they actually hurt long-term (five-year) academic growth. The development of student intrinsic motivation, “deep learning strategies” (requiring “elaboration” and connections to other knowledge — I think that might correspond to the idea of “transfer”), and students feeling that they had more of a sense of control (though this last quality had a less consistent effect — it seemed to depend on grade level) of their learning were the main ingredients necessary for increased academic growth..."</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/research">research</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/math_teacher">math_teacher</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/mathchat">mathchat</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/tumblr">tumblr</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/evernote">evernote</a></p>                                        </li>  </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='http://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 12/23/2012

Poke! Facebook Launches New App For Sending 'Self-Destructing' Messages -- AppAdvice Faceboo...

Babe of the Week: Lindsay Lohan

9:00 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />The combination of being in the Christmas spirit and a <strike>burning sensation when we pee</strike> desire to see all wrongs righted results in the staff of IWS Entertainment proudly announcing that our Babe of the Week is none other than Lindsay Lohan!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-jY6V7j6sQG_wlg58R2Tjn4M8Xi59D1rhliJaGPfKWJ6jcb1vr6h8AvUYbWoSrNV3jgUTKH4TIWN6GkfDdIzkvPjlZumh3Kc-E1sSBKqmLkpFbxr92kBNGMnJLGIpPVD1wBW9ObIIQY/s1600/Lindsay+Lohan+Nude+Boobs+Drunk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-jY6V7j6sQG_wlg58R2Tjn4M8Xi59D1rhliJaGPfKWJ6jcb1vr6h8AvUYbWoSrNV3jgUTKH4TIWN6GkfDdIzkvPjlZumh3Kc-E1sSBKqmLkpFbxr92kBNGMnJLGIpPVD1wBW9ObIIQY/s400/Lindsay+Lohan+Nude+Boobs+Drunk.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Can you believe Lindsay has never been our BotW? Crazy! Just look at her beauty!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikecJwvyejRMZAuujQzevz3GzZxpsfIlhsjqtMVj6NVW5jLSCyHHCdzjjqXOToN5ANzXl916k_7Y5jW6RUEraavPeRkSlb0WrXAUB5Rv1Ij_5o2N12a0VuLHrtOS8Da_KWbp1gFtblhc8/s1600/Lindsay+Lohan+Boobs+Cleavage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikecJwvyejRMZAuujQzevz3GzZxpsfIlhsjqtMVj6NVW5jLSCyHHCdzjjqXOToN5ANzXl916k_7Y5jW6RUEraavPeRkSlb0WrXAUB5Rv1Ij_5o2N12a0VuLHrtOS8Da_KWbp1gFtblhc8/s400/Lindsay+Lohan+Boobs+Cleavage.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />Oh sure, Lindsay is a high-spirited girl who has had some trouble over the last couple of years, but she is still a total babe. Just look at her here! Eyes at half-mast as she lounges sexily by the pool in a comfortable stupor…<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJCPnIHCwlFslJdesA_U40IpbsPgfF6JIHJCDrt6iuKr98PdWRG37qARjahflWisVrz6r77C-dfsHNnjuTAAFPMLRrtYHaZYZ-Ehe47jFcjHEvyHHug56AbSiaxLiLB9ibyq4E75oflXs/s1600/Lindsay+Lohan+Feet+Drunk+Nude.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJCPnIHCwlFslJdesA_U40IpbsPgfF6JIHJCDrt6iuKr98PdWRG37qARjahflWisVrz6r77C-dfsHNnjuTAAFPMLRrtYHaZYZ-Ehe47jFcjHEvyHHug56AbSiaxLiLB9ibyq4E75oflXs/s400/Lindsay+Lohan+Feet+Drunk+Nude.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Or here, as she teases us making us think that we caught her in the act of undressing…<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOL9uozhchXi1Pn9tzwTVgNDraBWMD-KznbBvP2ISMEwhzzvP9xfGmpukwVZm2IC6QJJvuurCzuSId8hKimY6mVZELL8fvBoS_dOw8TBtzV2ubJlpKA7CusvCvRP1X9Eq4v_3zWMmYkis/s1600/Lindsay+Lohan+Naked+Ass+Legs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOL9uozhchXi1Pn9tzwTVgNDraBWMD-KznbBvP2ISMEwhzzvP9xfGmpukwVZm2IC6QJJvuurCzuSId8hKimY6mVZELL8fvBoS_dOw8TBtzV2ubJlpKA7CusvCvRP1X9Eq4v_3zWMmYkis/s400/Lindsay+Lohan+Naked+Ass+Legs.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><br />There is absolutely no doubt that Lindsay Lohan is EXACTLY the kind of babe that we here at IWS just love. I’m so glad we could correct this outrageous oversight and FINALLY name her our Babe of the Week! <br /><div><br /></div></div>

Babe of the Week: Lindsay Lohan

The combination of being in the Christmas spirit and a burning sensation when we pee desire to see all wrongs righted results in the staff ...

RUSSIAN FORCES TAKE SYRIAN CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS UNDER CONTROL

6:08 PM Tukiyooo 0

<br /> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSPmdZKgab7bbDr1Srvdyt7vdSZHHH-_sm7dJ-SX76DImLs5tGHHSMYyfvGwHO_iyUMKjkO9LTebeg4OU0siIKTBkSNUrGkFXUmczjwhDzjHauUQoESqWX28sPjaL3puN6iLkc6fTINz1m/s1600/2092728766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSPmdZKgab7bbDr1Srvdyt7vdSZHHH-_sm7dJ-SX76DImLs5tGHHSMYyfvGwHO_iyUMKjkO9LTebeg4OU0siIKTBkSNUrGkFXUmczjwhDzjHauUQoESqWX28sPjaL3puN6iLkc6fTINz1m/s400/2092728766.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><b>Alleged Syrian WMD storage site</b></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">RUSSIAN FORCES DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN REMOVING THE WMD OUT OF THE REACH OF JABHAT AL-NUSRA TERRORISTS.</span></b></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Via DEBKA<i>file</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i> </i> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The chemical warfare threat looming over SYRIA’S civil war and its neighbors has taken an epic turn with the announcement by RUSSIAN Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Saturday, Dec. 22, that “the SYRIAN government has “consolidated its chemical weapons in one or two locations amid a rebel onslaught and they are under control for the time being.”<br />He added that RUSSIA, “which has military advisers training SYRIA’S military, has kept close watch over its chemical arsenal.”<br /><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">debkafile’s military and intelligence sources report: The RUSSIAN foreign minister’s statement was a message to Washington that the transfer of SYRIA’S weapons of mass destruction to one or two protected sites was under RUSSIAN control. This had removed the danger of them falling into the hands of the al Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra ,which had come ominously close Friday, Dec. 21, when the Islamists spearheaded a SYRIAN rebel assault for the capture of the al-Safira military complex and Bashar Assad’s chemical and biological stores.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Lavrov did not go into detail about how this arsenal was removed and to which locations. But his reference to “RUSSIAN military advisers training SYRIA’S military” clearly indicated that RUSSIAN forces were directly involved in removing the WMD out of the reach of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists. His assertion, that they were “under control” indicated that RUSSIA was also involved in safeguarding them.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Reason for RUSSIA’S military intervention</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">THE PREVENTION OF WESTERN MILITARY INTERVENTION IN THE CIVIL WAR BEHIND THE FORCES DEDICATED TO THE REMOVAL OF BASHAR ASSAD</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">debkafile’s Moscow sources add: </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">RUSSIA’S military intervention in the SYRIAN civil war achieved four objectives:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">1.  The prevention of Western or ISRAEL military action for seizing control of SYRIA’S chemical and biological weapons arsenals;</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">2.   The prevention of Western military intervention in the civil war behind the forces dedicated to the removal of Bashar Assad. The RUSSIAN military is now engaged in the dual mission of guarding his WMD arsenal and his regime;</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br />3.  The RUSSIAN military presence in SYRIA delivers a heavy swipe to the rebels;</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br />4.   RUSSIA’S intervention and military presence have laid the groundwork for Moscow and Washington to work out an accord that will bring SYRIA’S civil war to an end.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="color: blue;">debkafile SITREP Friday, Dec. 21</span>:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The SYRIAN Air Force is again firing Scud missiles, this time to stem the general offensive SYRIAN opposition forces, including jihadis, launched Friday, Dec. 21, to capture the SYRIAN army’s military-industrial complex at al Safira and the big chemical and biological weapons store adjoining the facility. It is there, that Scud D missiles stand ready for launching, loaded with chemical weapons.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkLAxPZlJNjtH2q_yYoGgdx3RzfYaKavuPapJY9znAtVu6uYpP4vEn98Nt-FHqtgpi8kgFuoFtoAFdM7nCBgZHgxV0SEZoQxoSEvL21wdQ9BC-wPCPh6yZBA3w5_Xf6Z6q2cApzJ584lTD/s1600/Syria-chemical-400x256.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkLAxPZlJNjtH2q_yYoGgdx3RzfYaKavuPapJY9znAtVu6uYpP4vEn98Nt-FHqtgpi8kgFuoFtoAFdM7nCBgZHgxV0SEZoQxoSEvL21wdQ9BC-wPCPh6yZBA3w5_Xf6Z6q2cApzJ584lTD/s320/Syria-chemical-400x256.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Rebel forces are converging on Al Safira from the east, the west and the south. Among them are brigades of the Jabhat al-Nusra which the US has designated part of al Qaeda in IRAQ.<br />debkafile military sources report extremely heavy fighting. The rebels have reached points 1-2 kilometers from the perimeter walls of the Al Safira chemical weapons stores and are being pounded by SYRIAN warplanes and assault helicopters as well as Scuds, in a desperate effort to halt their advance.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Success in seizing control of those stores would re-tilt the balance of the war in their favor and bring President Bashar Assad face to face with a decision on whether to broach the perilous dimension of chemical warfare on the rebels or even against NATO or US targets outside SYRIA.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br />A prime factor in his decision would be the information received in Moscow and Tehran – and almost certainly passed on to the SYRIAN ruler – that taking part in the offensive are rebels who underwent training in recent weeks in northern JORDAN by US, CZECH and POLISH officers in tactics for seizing chemical or biological caches and dismantling them.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">RUSSIAN and IRANIAN intelligence watchers suspect that elements from all three armies as well as JORDAN are present in the rebel assault force, in order to be on the spot when the weapons of mass destruction are captured and appropriate them to forces under NATO command.  They must beat Jabhat al-Nusra’s fighting brigades to this target, although at this moment, the jihadis are ahead of the race.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />The battle for al Safira has brought US and NATO into direct intervention in SYRIAN hostilities. Western intelligence services estimate that even if Assad removed some of the banned weapons from this complex, large quantities remain and must be prevented from reaching the wrong hand</span>s.</span></div>

RUSSIAN FORCES TAKE SYRIAN CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS UNDER CONTROL

Alleged Syrian WMD storage site RUSSIAN FORCES DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN REMOVING THE WMD OUT OF THE REACH OF JABHAT AL-NUSRA TERRORISTS. Via DE...

Guns In America: The Spiritual Opportunity For Grace

4:56 PM Tukiyooo 0

<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">The best way to invest the wave of mass murders we have experienced in recent years would be to repent from social violence. Reasonable regulation of firearms would be the most obvious pragmatic way to back off from our compulsive habit of violence. But gun reform is at once a far, far cry from enough on the one hand, and extraordinarily hard to achieve on the other. I have not read America & Its Guns: A Theological Expose by Jim Atwood and my theological hero Walter Brueggemann. I’ve only read Rick Barber’s review at <a href="http://www.alban.org/conversation.aspx?id=10140">http://www.alban.org/conversation.aspx?id=10140</a>; but I have just ordered the book and plan to read it soon. If we are going to think and act with wisdom we need to engage violence theologically. Isn’t that what the Cross compels us to do? <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">At this initial stage, I am wondering if the very difficulty in even discussing guns rationally might be a point of entry into the theological challenge we must confront if we are going to take repentance deep enough to respond to all the bloodshed – not just Columbine, Virginia Tech, the Gabby Gifford shooting; the Colorado Theater Massacre, and Sandy Hook Elementary – but all the the one at a time killings and the 181 school shootings in America since Columbine. A reform that makes such killings less frequent is not an adequate answer. But maybe that’s where we have to begin.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Let’s start with the anti-gun folks. There is something oddly self-defeating in our way of challenging gun violence. It is as if we are more concerned with expressing a feeling and maintaining a moral stance than we are about saving lives. As part of that puritanical separatist sentiment, we do not take into account the people on the other side. We imagine them all to be dumb and violent. That is simply not true. I know any number of kind, decent folks, progressive on all manner of social issues, but they are pretty attached to their guns. In ways -- perhaps the ways I will discuss momentarily -- they feel violated or fear being violated by those who would deprive them of their weaponry. That feeling may or may not be reasonable, but it is real, and if we want to change our society, we have to start with what’s real – reasonable or not. To disregard the concerns of the gun owners is itself a kind of violence. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">One year my Diocese (not Nevada) devoted our Convention to gun violence. We passed a resolution forbidding Episcopalians from owning handguns and requiring all church members to hand over their guns to their priests. In Georgia! We lost a few members, but to my knowledge never collected a single handgun. What were we smoking?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Here’s what I mean by puritanical separatism: many Abolitionists opposed the Union war effort and all the political efforts of the 1840s and 50s to stop the spread of slavery. They were perfectly content to see the South go its own way. The Abolitionists would have abolished slavery in their nation without freeing a single slave. They would have accomplished nothing but to keep their own skirts clean. That is the kind of spirit among the anti-gun activists that will perpetuate the violence. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">The pro-gun folks are decidedly voicing something deep within the American identity. One pro-gun comment I read this week said, “I am an American. I will not give up the gun in my purse.” Her gun was part and parcel of being an American in her mind. That takes some unpacking. But it must not be dismissed. She is onto something. America has 5% of the world’s population, but we own 50% of the world’s guns. We have lots of guns and we use them. The U S per capita rate of gun deaths is about 20 times the average of other developed nations. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/12/14/chart-the-u-s-has-far-more-gun-related-killings-than-any-other-developed-country/">http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/12/14/chart-the-u-s-has-far-more-gun-related-killings-than-any-other-developed-country/</a>. No other developed nation has anything like our rate of gun deaths. Only Chile is even in the ballpark. To be fair, several undeveloped nations are worse. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate</a>. But the woman’s point is still fair. Owning and using lethal weapons is wired into our self-concept. I gather Atwood and Brueggemann help us understand how we came to identify with our guns.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">For now, I think of a line from a song written by a Nevada singer-songwriter. “Something to do with my pride. Something to do with my fear.” Let’s start with fear. Americans are afraid. We are very afraid. Many people carrying guns are afraid of the other people carrying guns. No surprise. Our crime rate is high. So some of that fear just makes sense.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">But I have personally observed that an extraordinary number of people who are not seriously at risk are just as afraid, often more afraid, than are the people who live and work in dangerous neighborhoods or have dangerous jobs. Maybe fear is contagious so we catch it from people who are afraid with good reason. But I am also intrigued by the argument of Lynn Serafinn in 7 Graces of Marketing. <a href="http://the7gracesofmarketing.com/tag/lynn-serafinn/">http://the7gracesofmarketing.com/tag/lynn-serafinn/</a>. She says that marketing strategies for the past several decades have used fear (including fear of scarcity), sex, and a kind of debased humor to sell, sell, sell. Those who are bombarded with this kind of marketing at the rate we Americans are, by her reasoning, are bound to be afraid. If I know Walter Brueggemann, I suspect he’ll make the same connection. We are, in short, afraid. And we have placed our trust not in God or in each other, but in our own access to lethal force. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Speaking of the lethal weapons of his day, the Psalmist wrote: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses; but we trust in the name of the Lord.” (Ps 27). When Judah turned to the death dealing power of Egypt for defense, Isaiah said, <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">“Woe to them that go to Egypt for help, and trust in chariots and stay on horses for they are many; and in horsemen for they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel; nor do they seek the Lord. Because you have said ‘We have made a covenant with death, with Hades we have an agreement, . . . .’ I lay in Zion a foundation stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone . . . “ (Is. 28: 14-16) <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Our level of fear, though understandable, says something about our faith. Our trust is not in the foundation stone, the tried stone, the precious cornerstone. Instead when we say the answer to “a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” we have made a “covenant with death.” We trust our ability to invoke the death of another to save us from death. “Something to do with our fear.” “<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">But also “something to do with (our) pride.”  What constitutes human worth? What makes a person a hero? How do we establish our status? Is it who we are, what we have, or something we can do? Culture defines the criteria of human worth. In our culture, if a person can amass great wealth, he or she is worthy. Second, best is the ability to kill people. There is an axis of value here. There is a horizontal axis of good versus bad plus a vertical axis as pride versus shame. On the good versus bad axis, it matters who we kill – good to kill Osama bin Laden (not the Christian view – I’m talking about the cultural value), bad to kill innocent children. But on the pride versus shame axis, the thing is to be able to kill – anybody, preferably a lot of people. The strong person may refrain from killing, especially if restraint justifies him or her on the good-bad axis; but the ability to kill is what counts. Unless we are physically very formidable or have terrific martial arts skills, the best way to be lethal is to pack heat. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Where do I get the idea that our capacity to kill is a measure of our worth? What makes us a “great nation?” It isn’t our education system, which we don’t fund. Neither is it the purity of our democracy, which we spend a fortune to corrupt. It’s our ability to inflict shock and awe – impose our will by force. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Who are our movie heroes if not the rugged individuals who can dispatch large numbers of people in just a few minutes of screen time?  The ability to kill carries cred. It gets respect. If we aren’t rich and we can’t kill, what good are we?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">We have lost more people to gun deaths in the United States since 1968 than in all our wars. People in other developed nations, and even many undeveloped nations, think of us as “violent.” Why is that? “Something to do with our pride. Something to do with our fear.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">When puritanical separatism faces off against pride (more specifically its corollary of shame) and fear, there isn’t much space left in the room for reason. Reason would find the right tool for the right job. Because mass shootings account for a statistically insignificant percentage of total gun deaths, restricting the right to own semi-automatic weapons to law enforcement, the military, or others with some legitimate need to kill large numbers of people very fast will not actually have a major impact on the rate of gun deaths. But if we want to stop mass shootings, restricting the right to own semi-automatic weapons would save lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Requiring background checks to prevent criminals, terrorists, and dangerous mentally ill people from buying guns would not necessarily stop a random crazy person from getting a gun and committing mass murder. But it would reduce the number of individual gun deaths each year. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">We don’t have to repeal the 2<sup>nd</sup> amendment or ban all handguns to make a difference that would save lives. But it would take reasoned negotiations taking into account the concerns of both sides. The good thing about needing to come together is that in order to have reasoned negotiation; we must first engage the spiritual issues underlying our puritanical separatism, our pride, and our fear. What if in the course of discussing legislation there were actual conversions of heart? What if we turned to each other in God, found our worth in God’s eyes, entrusted our well-being to God? What if we actually beat our own weapons into plowshares, not because the other side forced us to do so, but because we as a culture redefined the measure of human worth in such a way that the ploughshare carried more respect than the weapon? <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">I am not saying we need a change of heart instead of a change of law. But we cannot achieve a change of law without some change of heart; and if that change of heart just kept going, it would achieve more than legislation ever could. It might achieve something worthy of the blood that has been spilled.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

Guns In America: The Spiritual Opportunity For Grace

The best way to invest the wave of mass murders we have experienced in recent years would be to repent from social violence. Re...