An Education in Classlessness | Economics reference cell

Economics : Of all the people in the city of New York who should be reluctant to charge someone else with elitism, the city's richest man has to be on the top of the list. But irony has never been one of the mayor's strong suits, so there he was?the other day?with a verbal assault on Bill Perkins for, of all things, having the temerity of being a vocal critic of charters, despite having gone to the "tony" Collegiate School for his own high school education.

Here's the NY Post's (natch) account: "The Post's Dave Seifman forward some pretty choice quotes from Mayor Bloomberg going off on state Sen. Bill Perkins, a major opponent of charter schools, on his weekly WOR radio show this morning. Bloomberg jabs at the pol for attending "elite private schools" and says he's been "violently" against choice for parents."

Now's not the right time to interject a tired pot and kettle analogy, but it does take a certain amount of chutzpah to attack Perkins when the mayor probably hadn't set foot inside a public school-his kids went elsewhere obviously-until he was elected mayor. And the same goes for Chancellor Klein who, along with Bloomberg, brought absolutely zero knowledge of public education to the job?when he was elevated to his supreme commander post. And this from a man who spends all of his weekends in Bermuda!

But what's even more egregious in our view is the mayor's failure to see with any clarity what?the charter phenomenon says about his own educational effort-a point that we have already made before. Here's the Post again: "Bill Perkins is a guy who went to elite private schools, and he represents a district where most people can?t afford elite private schools, and charter schools are their opportunity to get their kids a great education," said Bloomberg. "I think the numbers are something - there?s 10,000 places this year - more places for charter schools, and there?s something like 50 or 60,000 applicants for the 10,000 places."

Now, after eight years of so-called reform-along with reams of flack touting miraculous advance-we have stampedes in poor neighborhoods to flee the public school system as fast as possible. The Post's Seifman continues to spotlight the mayor's views in a follow up story: "Bloomberg argued that charter schools promote competition, which is one reason public schools in the city are improving. "Competition is great for everybody, and it's one of those things we want to encourage, and Perkins has been violently against it, while the educators and the public and the parents want more of [it]," the mayor said."

If the Harlem clamor for choice is any indication, this kind of a competition can best be described in sports language as a blowout-and as an indictment of the failure of the overall?Bloomberg effort. Diane Ravitch's hearing testimony sheds light on the true nature of this far from healthy competition: "Some charters are as idealistic as the original vision, but many others now see themselves as competition for public schools. They want to take over public school space and replace public schools. They revel in stories about beating public schools, not helping them."

But as far as Bloomberg's observation that the charter competition is in some way aiding public school improvement, where's the evidence of that? Which brings us back to the point that we made last week: "So there is obviously a perception of failure at the grass roots level. Whether this is a reality or not-and studies indicate that the charter exploits are exaggerated in the aggregate-doesn't matter. And the clamoring for, "choice," is an indictment of the current system that the media did so much to tout when it was all about mayoral control."

So what's missing from all of this trumped up outrage, is a concomitant genuine outrage at the three card monte game that the Bloombergistas have played-with Rupert and Morticia acting as the audience shills-with a gullible public. It is time to bring in the forensic accountants, and Perkins and his state senate crew should hold follow up hearings on testing fraud, unmerited teacher and administrator bonuses, and a profligate expansion of an educational bureaucracy that has failed to deliver real success even with an 80% increase in its allocation.

But that might not even be necessary if what they think is going to happen next spring actually does-new school tests that expose the naked emperor's false positives. As the NY Post reports: "Criticized for having steadily dumbed down standardized tests -- and trumpeted phantom gains -- the state Education Department says students in grades 3 to 8 taking required math and English exams starting tomorrow won't pass as easily this year. "Students are going to have to know more and do more to demonstrate proficiency on the exams," said John King, senior deputy state education commissioner."

And it will be more difficult to teach to the test: "A rising number of pupils have passed in recent years as cut scores dipped so low that some kids could randomly guess enough right answers to squeak by, experts found. State Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch and Education Commissioner David Steiner "are committed to ending the annual debate about whether our state tests have become harder or easier," King told The Post. "Doing that will require us to ensure that our tests become both less predictable and more comprehensive in terms of the number of items they test."

But, once the test fraud is exposed will it finally become clear that, as far as NYC's master of the house is concerned, "there's not much there?" Here's the Post's observation: "The sliding standards weren't revealed when Mayor Bloomberg touted dramatic spikes in state scores as a triumph of his stewardship. But the lid was blown off when federal officials found reading and math scores for New York students had remained flat on a national benchmark exam since 2007, while their scores on the state tests skyrocketed over the same period."

Education Secretary Arne Duncan, cited in Sol Stern's upcoming City Journal article, makes this telling point: ?We have to stop lying to children,? education secretary Arne Duncan said recently at a meeting of the National Governors Association (NGA).?We have to look them in the eye and tell them the truth at every stage of their educational trajectory.?

If Mike Bloomberg really wants to advance the interests of NYC school kids, he can begin by laying off the glass house?ad hominen attacks on Bill Perkins; and he can follow Duncan's advice by starting to?tell the truth-to those with an actual stake in public education-about how all of his extra funding and top down control of the educational bureaucracy has yielded a truly lackluster result. Don't expect this anytime soon, because mea culpas are conspicuously absent in the Bloomberg personality profile.

Source: http://economics-reference-cell.blogspot.com/2012/11/an-education-in-classlessness.html

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Source: http://paribsa.blogspot.com/2012/12/laurensmith2569-grandiloquent-exigence.html

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U.S. regulators grill Edison on bid to restart part of San Onofre

Federal regulators grilled Southern California Edison publicly for the first time Friday on its proposal to restart part of the troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant.

San Onofre has been out of service for 10 months because of unusual wear on steam generator tubes. A small radiation leak developed as a result and prompted a shutdown in January. The steam generators had been replaced less than two years earlier, costing co-owners Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric a combined $771 million.

After months of inspections and testing, Edison presented a plan to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in October to restart one of the two reactors at 70% power, for five months, before taking it offline for inspection. The company said that running the unit at reduced power would prevent the tube vibration that resulted in excessive wear.

The other unit, which had more serious issues, was not included in the restart proposal and will remain offline indefinitely.

Edison representatives sought to convince the commission that the units, although nearly identical in design, are different enough that Unit 2 can be run safely, while Unit 3 may not be able to operate again without extensive repairs. (Unit 1 of the plant has been permanently decommissioned.)

"Unit 2 is clearly different based on results," Edison Vice President of Engineering Tom Palmisano told NRC representatives, pointing out that Unit 2 showed substantially less of the unusual tube wear although its new steam generators had been operating for a year longer than Unit 3's.

Edison's analysis has blamed computer modeling by steam generator manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for failing to predict the behavior of steam within the generators, leading to the excessive vibration, as well as design changes made to support bars, which failed to stop the vibration, particularly in Unit 3. Mitsubishi had no one present at the meeting.

The meeting took place amid increasing debate over the fate of the plant, which once supplied enough power for 1.4 million homes.

Also, just one day earlier, Edison announced that it had found evidence of potential tampering with a backup generator connected to the reactor that Edison does not plan to activate.

Workers found coolant in the generator's oil system in October, and Edison said in a statement Thursday that it had found evidence that the incident might have resulted from intentional tampering, although the evidence did not confirm that tampering had occurred. The company said that it has beefed up security and that the incident did not pose a safety risk. The reactor unit it is attached to has been defueled.

Activists and residents have demanded that San Onofre be decommissioned. Short of that, they have demanded that the NRC force Edison to go through a license amendment process, complete with a courtroom-like hearing, before deciding whether to allow the plant to restart its Unit 2 reactor.

Although Friday's meeting was set up as a technical discussion between Edison and the NRC, anti-nuclear activists arrived en masse to express their opposition to restarting the plant, with some chanting "Shut down San Onofre" at the outset. They were joined by a group of four Buddhist monks and nuns who had planned to march to San Onofre from Dana Point on Friday and hold a six-day vigil by the plant to call for its decommissioning.

They changed plans, though, after a local activist took a radiation reading with his portable Geiger counter and claimed that an old steam generator being prepared for shipping had caused a spike in radiation. They took up their vigil at a pier in nearby San Clemente instead.

One of the monks, Senji Kanaeda, who lives in Seattle but is originally from Japan, said he was concerned about nuclear power in part because of the disaster at Fukushima.

"We would like to pass a safe world to the next generation," he said.

San Onofre is dealing with other issues as well. Edison is embroiled in a spat with the union representing many of the plant employees over the company's plans to lay off more than 700 workers. Daniel Dominguez, business manager of Utility Workers Union of America Local 246, wrote Edison executives expressing concerns that the layoffs could affect the plant's safety if it does restart.

Dominguez said in an interview that he is not concerned about Edison's restart plan from a technical perspective but is worried that the plant will not be able to safely operate with the reduced workforce, especially with cuts of highly skilled workers.

"We think it doesn't make sense to be doing layoffs while you're trying to restart a unit with significant challenges," he said.

abigail.sewell@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/b61f2fRNgcM/la-me-1201-san-onofre-20121201,0,7878021.story

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Rust and Bone

Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts in Rust and Bone.

Photo by Roger Arpajou.

Rust and Bone (Sony Classics), a gritty, transporting romance from the French director and writer who brought us the shattering 2009 prison drama A Prophet (Jacques Audiard and Thomas Bidegain), performs a curious act of alchemy on what sounds on paper like the hokiest premise ever: A down-on-his-luck amateur kickboxer falls in love with a beautiful killer-whale trainer who?s lost both her legs in an accident during a live show at a Sea World-like place called Marineland. Cue the uplifting surge of triumph-over-disability music, right? Except not at all, because Rust and Bone (based loosely on a short story collection by the Canadian writer Craig Davidson) turns out to be a film that?s as compact and modest as it is urgent and passionate.

Rust and Bone triumphs over its own potential hokeyness in no small part because of the frank physical chemistry between its two hugely charismatic stars, Matthias Schoenaerts (the hulking-yet-gentle Belgian actor who starred in last year?s Bullhead) and Marion Cotillard. Cotillard has had a run of more or less conventional supporting roles in Hollywood since her Oscar-winning turn as Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose. She played the love-interest-turned-villain in The Dark Knight Rises, Leonardo Di Caprio?s elusive wife in Inception, and Owen Wilson?s transhistorical muse in Midnight in Paris. Rust and Bone comes as a welcome reminder that, extraterrestrially gorgeous though Cotillard is, she shouldn?t be limited to playing polished, serene objects of male desire. Her character here, St?phanie, is a viscerally sexual, fiercely independent woman, an orca trainer by day and party girl by night who crosses paths with Schoenaerts? nightclub bouncer, Ali, after she gets in a drunken fight at his club and has to be driven home.

Ali is on the run with his 5-year-old son Sam (Armand Verdure) after the boy?s mother attempted to use him as a mule in a drug-smuggling operation. Father and son arrive in Antibes at the house of Ali?s sister (Corinne Masiero), an employee at a big-box store who reluctantly agrees to take the pair in despite her brother?s poor impulse control and on-again, off-again parenting skills?obsessed with kickboxing and mixed martial arts, he would rather watch training videos online than keep an eye on his lonely, needy son.

After St?phanie loses both legs above the knee (in an accident that?s shown, artfully and without excessive gore, from an underwater whale?s-eye POV), she enters a period of deep depression, in the midst of which?for reasons that are never quite made clear?she decides to call up the Belgian bouncer who drove her home that night. Slowly the two of them initiate a friendship that?s at first physical without being sexual?on their initial outing together, Ali takes her to the beach, where his animal enjoyment of the water encourages her to join him for a swim, recently healed stumps be damned.

Whatever digital trickery is used to strip Cotillard of her legs, it?s so beautifully and simply done that we soon stop thinking of her amputee status as a special effect and accept it as a simple physical truth. When things do get sexual between Ali and St?phanie (after a matter-of-fact lunch conversation in which he offers to help her discover ?if it still works?), their love scenes together are frequent, naked, graphic, and sizzling hot. It?s easy to believe that these two very different people?an educated animal trainer and a barely verbal meathead?share a powerful connection at the level of their bodies, a bond that they need more than they understand it. The most effective moments in Rust and Bone have to do with the joys and perils of possessing a body: Late in the film, when Ali takes up fighting for money in an illegal kickboxing ring, St?phanie watches from the sidelines with a mixture of fear, excitement, and sexual desire.

Not every viewer will be seduced by Rust and Bone?s style, which might be classified as romantic naturalism. There?s plenty of roving, intimate handheld camera in the style of the Dardenne brothers (whose company helped produce the film), but the movie?s tone couldn?t be farther from Dardennes? emotional austerity. Audiard is partial to long poetic montages of light on water, copious lens flares, and the pull-out-the-stops manipulative power of American pop music. A short scene of St?phanie rocking out alone in her wheelchair to the sound of the B-52s? ?Love Shack? tells us everything we need to know about the mojo she?s slowly recovering. And a later scene, in which St?phanie returns alone to Marineland to re-encounter the orcas who deprived her of her legs, must surely represent the most exhilarating narrative use to which Katy Perry?s ?Firework? has ever been put.

Looking back at Rust and Bone afterward, you may feel surprise, even shame, that you managed to care so much about this none-too-original story of two damaged people whose unexpected connection helps them each find their way out of a bad place in their lives. But Rust and Bone is a movie about letting go of shame and making way for the advent of pleasure. Let that be your guide to watching it as well.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=f6c110d57bc32cceb75738699c9b0930

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PFT: Roethlisberger won't play vs. Ravens

Reuters

It?s Christmas tree night at the Florio household.? Which means that I?ll be risking injury as I take an axe out to the back 40 and make like Jack Del Rio on the choicest trunk of pine.

Actually, the tree is in a box.? But I could still get injured; those fake needles are quite pointy.

Speaking of injuries, here?s our weekly look at the guys who are banged up for Sunday?s games.? Which I most likely won?t get injured while typing.

Cardinals at Jets

Three Arizona wideouts are questionable, but none are named Larry or Fitzgerald.? Andre Roberts looks to be the least likely to play with an ankle injury; he didn?t practice all week.? Running back Beanie Wells, back from IR, is now questionable with a knee injury.? Jets receiver Clyde Gates is doubtful with a concussion.? Tim Tebow reportedly will be inactive due to broken ribs that have him listed as questionable.

Panthers at Chiefs

Carolina running back Jonathan Stewart is doubtful with an ankle injury.? Quarterback Cam Newton has a right wrist injury, but he is listed as probable and missed no practice time.? Chiefs tackle Branden Albert is questionable with a back injury, as is linebacker Tamba Hali, who has an injured knee.

Bengals at Chargers

Receiver Mohamed Sanu is out with a foot injury that may require season-ending surgery.? Running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis is probable with an ankle injury.? Chargers wideout Eddie Royal is out with a hamstring.? Safety Eric Weddle is probable due a concussion suffered on that 4th-and-29 block from Anquan Boldin.

Browns at Raiders

Cleveland quarterback Brandon Weeden has been cleared to play after suffering a concussion on Sunday.? Running back Trent Richardson is probable with chest, rib, and finger injuries.? Raiders running backs Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson are questionable with ankle injuries.? Two of Oakland?s running backs, Taiwan Jones (ankle) and Marcel Reece (hamstring, quadricep), are probable.

Texans at Titans

A whopping 21 Texans are probable.? Out are cornerback Johnathan Joseph (hamstring, groin) and linebacker Brooks Reed (groin).? Titans linebacker Colin McCarthy (concussion) is out with a concussion.? Receiver Kenny Britt is probable with a knee injury.

Colts at Lions

The Colts have no major injuries.? Lions receiver Calvin Johnson (thumb) and running back Mikel Leshoure (ankle) are probable.? Safety Louis Delmas (knee) is questionable.

Jaguars at Bills

Receivers Justin Blackmon (groin) and Cecil Shorts (hamstring) are probable after unexpectedly missing practice on Thursday.? Twenty-two Bills show up on the injury report, with defensive ends Mark Anderson (knee) and Chris Kelsay (neck) out.

Vikings at Packers

Minnesota receiver Percy Harvin is doubtful once again with an ankle injury.? Nine others are probable.? Six Packers are out, including linebacker Clay Matthews (hamstring).? Receiver Greg Jennings is slated to play for the first time since September, listed as probable after recovering from hernia surgery.

Patriots at Dolphins

Defensive end Chandler Jones (ankle), guard Logan Mankins (ankle, calf), and tight end Rob Gronkowski (forearm, hip) are out for New England.? A total of 15 Patriots are questionable, including four receivers and tight end Aaron Hernandez (ankle).? The Dolphins have no major injuries.

Steelers at Ravens

Receiver Antonio Brown (ankle) and safety Troy Polamalu (calf) are probable after extended absences.? Receiver Jerricho Cotchery (ribs) is questionable to return to action after missing last week?s loss to Cleveland.? Four Steelers are out:? quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (shoulder), Byron Leftwich (ribs), linebacker LaMarr Woodley (ankle), and Mike Adams (ankle).? Several key Ravens are probable.? Tight end Ed Dickson (knee) is doubtful.

49ers at Rams

For San Fran, 11 players are probable.? Safety Darcel McBath is questionable with a concussion, and tight end Demarcus Dobbs has been ruled out after an arrest.? Rams receiver Danny Amendola, who played despite being doubtful last week, is doubtful again with a foot injury.? Without him, the chances of a Rams loss become probable.

Seahawks at Bears

Seattle receiver Sidney Rice is questionable with a calf injury.? Running back Marshawn Lynch is probable with a back injury.? For the Bears, receiver Devin Hester (concussion) and guard Chris Spencer (knee) are out.? Receiver Alshon Jeffery (knee) is doubtful.

Buccaneers at Broncos

The Bucs have only four guys on the list, and all are probable.? Broncos receiver Brandon Stokley is questionable with wrist and hip injuries.

Eagles at Cowboys

Running back LeSean McCoy and quarterback Mike Vick are both out with concussions.? Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray (foot) is questionable, but he?s expected to play.? Also questionable are receiver Miles Austin (hip) and running back Felix Jones (knee).? Receiver Kevin Ogletree is probable with a concussion that kept him from playing in the Thanksgiving loss to the Redskins.? Defensive tackle Jay Ratliff is doubtful with a groin injury.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/11/30/steelers-rule-out-ben-roethlisberger/related

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Home Equity Loans on the Rise - Finance - Global Economic Crisis ...

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Back in the days when housing prices were rising, consumers happily borrowed against the equity in their homes and went shopping. According to Bloomberg Businessweek (Howley, 26 Nov 2012):

Americans had used their homes like credit cards to go on spending sprees during the 2000 to mid-2006 real estate boom, tapping their equity to buy cars, televisions and luxury cruises. Consumers used about $677.3 billion, or about $113 billion a year, from home equity loans for consumer spending, according to a 2007 paper by former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and Fed economist James Kennedy.

Today, after years of declining lending, Heloc originations will rise in 2012 and are expected to rise further in 2013. As the housing market recovers, consumers are expected to spend money, ?fueling purchases of goods like televisions and refrigerators? which in turn helps boost the economy.

For discussion:

What are some economic effects of increased home equity lending?

?

Source: http://community.cengage.com/GECResource/blogs/finance/archive/2012/11/29/home-equity-loans-on-the-rise.aspx

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