Hilary Clinton’s classified emails keep surfacing. Some of Hilary Clinton’s emails — found by the F.B.I. on Huma Abedin’s husband’s laptop –  released today Dec. 31 were classified. The classified material was redacted– removed – before releasing the emails.
The conservative group Judicial Watch filed suit against the State Department for all official department emails sent or received by Abedin on a non-state.gov email address.
“This is a major victory,†the group’s president, Tom Fitton, said in a Friday statement. “After years of hard work in federal court, Judicial Watch has forced the State Department to finally allow Americans to see these public documents.â€
Fitton added, “That these government docs were on Anthony Weiner’s laptop dramatically illustrates the need for the Justice Department to finally do a serious investigation of Hillary Clinton’s and Huma Abedin’s obvious violations of law.â€
  Out of fear for a replay of what happened two years ago in the city of Cologne — when groups of migrant men abused dozens of German women celebrating the arrival of the new year – the city of Berlin has decided to create “safe zones” for women at the New Year’s celebration at Brandenburg Gate.
On New Year’s Eve 2015, about 1,200 women became victims of sexual assault in several major German cities, with more than 600 women attacked in Cologne and about 400 victims in the northern German city of Hamburg.
Prosecutors established that more than 2,000 men were involved in the assaults, but only a tiny fraction — about half of them foreign nationals who at the time had only recently arrived in the country — had been identified a year later.
It took months for the full scale of the 2015 assaults to emerge, but when prosecutors released their final estimates, Germans’ attitude toward refugees changed dramatically:
To many, New Year’s Eve 2015 is the night Germany’s welcoming attitude toward newcomers ended. Leading politicians called for tougher deportation laws soon thereafter.
The safe zones are guarded by members of the Red Cross. There will also be psychologists present to help the women deal with the abuse they might suffer.
The safe zones were created at the request of Berlin’s police department. Earlier, the October Fest in Munich experimented with these safe zones, which proved to be very useful.
In addition to creating safe zones, the police have also informed would be partygoers that they are not allowed to bring their own alcoholic drinks to the party at Brandenburg Gate, or even to carry a backpack with them. They can go to the celebrations with their wallet and smartphone, and that’s about it.
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Firenze Sage:Â Â Why go out if you end up in a group therapy session surrounded by the Red Cross?
The current method: Can you add? Know some basic division? Then maybe you can become a teacher … Questions for wanna-be teachers ask for a bit of basic addition and division.
Here’s some examples of typical questions.
Here’s a question from a recent test given to college students in Michigan planning to become teachers: “Which of the following is largest? a. 1/4, b. 3/5, c. 1/2, d. 9/20.” Another question: “A town planning committee must decide how to use a 115-acre piece of land. The committee sets aside 20 acres of the land for watershed protection and an additional 37.4 acres for recreation. How much of the land is set aside for watershed protection and recreation? a. 43.15 acres, b. 54.6 acres, c. 57.4 acres, d. 60.4 acres”.
The Arizona teacher certification test asks: “Janet can type 250 words in 5 minutes, what is her typing rate per minute? a. 50wpm, b. 66wpm, c. 55wpm, d. 45wpm.” The California Basic Educational Skills Test asks the test taker to find the verb in the following sentence: “The interior temperatures of even the coolest stars are measured in millions of degrees. a. Coolest, b. Of even, c. Are measured, d. In millions”. A CBEST math question is: “You purchase a car making a down payment of $3,000 and 6 monthly payments of $225. How much have you paid so far for the car? a. $3225, b. $4350, c. $5375, d. $6550, e. $6398.”
OK — So what’s a better to hire teachers? Hire teachers based on the discipline — what they are competent in — what they learned in college. A degree in biology required to teach biology. The ‘how to be a teacher’ stuff be learned on the side.
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Firenze Sage:Â Â This is the best evidence for charter and voucher schools.
Gamekeepers at the Sandringham estate, where Harry first joined his family at the annual shoot more than 20 years ago, were “stunned†by the prince’s decision, according to The Sun.
“The Boxing Day shoot was always going to be a tricky issue. Meghan is a keen animal rights campaigner and doesn’t like hunting in any form,†an insider source told the newspaper.
“Harry loves it and has always been out there on Boxing Day. But if it means breaking with long-standing royal traditions to avoid upsetting her, so be it. It’s fair to say that there are some pretty stunned faces around here.â€
The move was described as a “major departure†for the prince— a keen marksman who earlier this month flew to Germany for a boar hunt whilst his actress wife-to-be stayed in Los Angeles with her mother.
A friend of Harry’s said:  “If Meghan’s not comfortable with him doing the shoot, he wouldn’t want to upset her.†The wedding is scheduled in May, 2018.
What do you think about the tax plan that passed recently? Depends on your views of the messenger. Excuse for the rich? Allows you to keep more of your money?
Satirist Ami Horowitz went to New York City’s West Village to ask Liberals if they approved of the GOP tax plan disguised as having been proposed by Bernie Sanders.
Reading out the plan and describing it as the the Republican’s plan, the interviewees at first described the GOP’s plan as “ridiculous†and “an excuse for the rich people to get a break on having to pay taxes.
Continuing to read the same plan and describing it as  the “Bernie Sanders†plan, then they were in support.
One woman responded, “It’s all just rational with Bernie. With Trump it’s not.â€
Horowitz finally revealed that he had been reading out the GOP tax plan all along and the surprised interviewees said they would be more open to supporting it and doing their research.
In a memo sent by the University of Minnesota earlier this month, staff was told that Santa and Christmas tree decorations were “not appropriate†for campus buildings.
In general, the following are not appropriate for gatherings and displays at this time of year since they typically represent specific religious iconography: Santa Claus, Angels, Christmas trees, Star of Bethlehem, Dreidels, Nativity scene, bows/wrapped gifts. Menorah, Bells, Doves, Red and Green or Blue and White/Silver decoration themes (red and green are representative of the Christian tradition as blue and white/silver are for Jewish Hanukkah that is also celebrated at this time of year).
The memo asked university staffers to consider using “neutral-themed†decorations when decking out their campus space.
In a comment to Campus Reform, the University of Minnesota claims that the memo was merely advisory rather than an enforced policy…
An arbitrary command to kill reindeer herded by the Sami people?  Come on, Norway. Santa’s sleigh may be a few reindeer short as Norway’s Supreme Court has ordered a reindeer herder to slaughter much of his herd just days before Christmas.
reindeer herd deemed unsustainable
The supreme court in Oslo ordered Jovsset Ante Sara, a reindeer herder of the semi-nomadic Sami people, to slaughter 41 of his herd of 116. The court ordered the slaughter on the grounds that a herd of his size is unsustainable and contributes to overgrazing, according to the New York Post.
Sara has successfully defended against the order twice since it was originally given in 2014. He says that he will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) since killing that many of his herd would make it impossible for him to make a living, according to The Guardian.
The semi-nomatic Sami people have a long history of herding reindeer in Lapland, Norway, Sweden and elsewhere for over 1,000 years. See pictures. Â
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Firenze Sage comments:  Notice the precision with which the know it alls issue a ukases — kill 41,not 39 or 44.
We’ve  recently learned from the Politico that Obama’s Department of Justice stalled Hezbollah investigation to secure his Nuclear Deal with Iran.
 The Wall Street Journal reports that  ObamaCare, by providing easy access to prescription opiods for all adults (via huge expansion of Medicaid) has an unforeseen result: the lowering of the life expectancy for he average American for the last two years in a row.
More of America’s poorest are dying of drug overdoses. More people are addicted to opiods.
Comment by Aptos Psychologist: Watch out every time you fill an opiod prescription. Be careful. Limit, reduce the use and get off those addictive medications.  What other ways can you deal effectively with pain?   written by psychologist Cameron Jackson, Ph.D.
Older students go back to school and lots of options are out there for them
Maybe that 20 year old son, daughter or young relative does better to get a full job and go back with some work experience under their belt? Probably true for many.
What’s happening:  According to the Wall Street Journal, it’s back to college for many older students over 24 and there’s lots of options!  Lots of choices are out there!  Roughly 40% of the 18 million students enrolled in 2 and 4 year colleges were over the age of 24 this spring. Many of these older students work full time, have families and are looking for flexible courses with online components.
Comment by Aptos Psychologist:  Whereas Obama’s policies were to close down and put out of business many “for profit” colleges – under Trump universities’ policies are changing for the good. There’s many more options out there for older students over the age of 24. Education coupled with work experience is the way to go for more and more students.
Trump’s policy towards the Ukraine is a complete change in policy from Obama’s policy – as Obama would not help the Ukraine when it was annexed by Putin back in 2014.
From the Wall Street Journal, On Monday the White House released a new national security strategy that named Russia as a “revisionist†power seeking to upend global order. On Wednesday President Trump followed up by confirming he’d approved the sale of lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine as it resists Vladimir Putin’s aggression.
Mr. Putin invaded and then illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, and Ukrainians have been fighting since to stop the march of Moscow-backed separatists in their south and east. They’ve had little material support from the West. That’s about to change now that the Trump Administration has approved a $41.5 million sale of weapons that include the Model 107A1 Sniper Systems, ammunition and parts.
Comment by Aptos Psychologist: Actions speak louder than words. Trump’s rhetoric of ‘get along’ with Russia –  now has teeth with a bite. Other news: Russia’s top prosecutor’s son is now on the “bad list” and cannot enter the USA or access his financial assets.
Some of Hilary Clinton’s emails — found by the F.B.I. on Huma Abedin’s husband’s laptop –  released today Dec. 31 were classified. The classified material was redacted– removed – before releasing the emails.
