Homeland Security Report

1) The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has released the latest version of doctrine for Homeland Defense as performed by the Armed Forces of the United States. From the doctrine: ” This publication provides doctrine for the defense of the US homeland across the range of military operations. It provides information on command and control, interagency and multinational coordination, and operations required to defeat external threats to, and aggression against, the homeland. ” Specifically, this includes command relationships and interagency responsibilities and considerations, air, land, maritime and space operations, and other operations key to homeland security and defense.
Source: DOD Joint Doctrine for Homeland Defense Released181 pages; PDF.

Early Childhood: Who's Ready for School?

Most parents and teachers are concerned about the school readiness of America’s youngest children, says a new study by The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.. But for those parents who may worry that their children don’t know the alphabet, numbers or colors before kindergarten, the findings may come as a surprise. In fact, teachers say they value social skills - such as following rules and directions, and being able to play and share well with others — over academic skills as a better predictor of children’s success in school.

Few parents (25 percent) and teachers (7 percent) describe U.S. children as being extremely or very prepared to learn upon entering kindergarten, PNC found, meaning that they know the basics like counting, spelling their names and that they are prepared to listen in class. Nearly three of five parents (57 percent) and two-thirds of teachers (66 percent) say that U.S. children are only somewhat prepared.
Source: Survey Highlights: Home and Classroom-Views of Parents and Teachers

CQ Researcher: Corporate Social Responsibility

Is good citizenship good for the bottom line?
Corporations across the country are embracing efforts to improve society. Unlike traditional efforts by businesses to appear socially responsible, the current movement emphasizes profit and long-term company success along with good works. Firms such as Whole Foods and Nike strive to make good citizenship a recognized part of their brand. General Electric, Coca-Cola and other more traditional corporations also support corporate social responsibility (CSR), motivated by advocacy group pressures, threatened government regulations and demands from employees, customers and investors. Some conservatives oppose CSR activities, arguing a company's only legitimate purpose is to enhance shareholder value. Some critics from the left label CSR a public relations ploy and say the government should expand corporations' legal responsibility to employees, the public and the environment.
Source: CQ Researcher August 3 available online (Goodwin subscription password protected)

Did You Know?

Today, August 10th is:Gutzon Borglum Day On this day in 1927, sculptor John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum began carving the faces of four American presidents out of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. He chose this site because of its smooth-grained granite and the way it dominated the surrounding terrain. It took 14 years to bring the mountain sculpture to its present appearance, but because of delays caused by lack of funds and bad weather, only six and a half years were actually spent in carving. Gutzon Borglum died before the national memorial could be completed, but his son, Lincoln, continued to work on the project until funds ran out in 1941. Since that time no additional carving has been done, nor is any further work planned other than maintenance of the memorial.

Apollo Missions Online

For nearly 40 years, the photographic film from the Apollo moon missions has remained literally frozen in time, sitting in a freezer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, untouched by anyone but a handful of researchers. Now a team from Arizona State University, led by a geological sciences professor, Mark S. Robinson, from the university’s School of Earth and Space Exploration, has collaborated with NASA to create a public digital archive of each frame of the film -- more than 36,000 shots in all. The resulting archive will be made available to the general public via a Web site run by Arizona State students. It’s the first time the body of film from the nine manned moon missions has been digitized in its entirety, and t he first time that most people, even most lunar scientists, will get to see the images at such a high level of detail.

New Poet Laureate

Charles Simic was named the new U.S. poet laureate by the Library of Congress last week. Simic is the author of more than 20 books of poetry, including The World Doesn't End, a collection of prose poems for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1990.

Born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, Simic emigrated with his family to the United States after World War II. As a teenager, he learned English and began writing poetry. He is now a professor emeritus at the University of New Hampshire.

Every Child is Average

The current No Child Left Behind legislation is based on the idea that every student is capable of being proficient, with performance that falls “in the middle,” between basic and advanced achievement. The problem is that striving for an average level of proficiency actually dilutes student achievement. As the Education Week article “NCLB Seen as Curbing Low, High Achievers’ Gains” reports, the focus on teaching to the average level of student proficiency leaves students who achieve at higher and lower levels behind. Teachers work to to ensure students reach the mandated adequate yearly progress scores, but in the end, students who are above or below average lose. High achievers aren’t challenged to move beyond average performance, and struggling students are not given the support they need to reach proficiency.
Source: National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Inbox

Case for Intelligent Consumption

Part of the mission of this college is to build “a foundation for students to become responsible citizens and enhance their quality of life.” I thought of that when I read what other colleges are doing to promote intelligent consumption. Recently educators at Oregon State University developed an intelligent consumption program called “Sustainable Living Project.” “Creating a sustainable Community” is under development at the University of Connecticut now. “Educators with backgrounds in environmental sciences, psychology, economies, group facilitation, social sciences, youth development, communication and outreach”, according to the author Tom Worthleyof UCONN, “can be part of the educational effort to create and encourage communities of people committed to living in a more sustainable way.” Incorporating concepts of sustainable living across programmatic lines and into existing and new outreach programs—how cool would that be for Goodwin College?
Source: “The Case for Intelligent Consumption” by Tom Worthley in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Journal September 2007
Suggested Sites: Environmental News Network and OSU Sustainable Living Project

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

It's here! The library has several copies of the final installment in the epic tale of Harry Potter. An astonishing 11,000,000 copies were sold in the first 24 hours! Don't miss the seventh and final book in J.K. Rowling's bestselling series.

Higher Education Act in Senate

The Senate continues debate on the Higher Education Act today, with final passage of the sweeping bill expected in the late morning or early afternoon. They voted on Monday to reject an amendment that would have created a federal loan program that would compete with private loans. Before adjourning yesterday, the Senate also passed a handful of amendments including: a federal clearinghouse that would allow students to shop around for the best loan terms, study the feasibility of collecting information on the employment of college graduates , federal funds for 80 Upward Bound programs that lost their grants this year, including 21 programs at historically black colleges and universities. The Upward Bound Program provides grants to colleges and organizations to prepare low-income high-school students for college, and program of technology grants for minority-serving institutions.

Source: Chronicle of Higher Education

Classic Short Stories for English Classes

This Web site is dedicated to the short story and to those interested in reading light prose.Fewer and fewer people these days read short stories. This is unfortunate--so few will ever experience the joy that reading such fine work can give. The goal of this site is to give a nice cross section of short stories in the hope that these short stories will excite these people into rediscovering this excellent source of entertainment. This collection of classics includes Poe, Twain, Melville, James, and more. Enjoy!
Source: Classic Short Stories http://www.classicshorts.com/

Last Harry Potter Update

Book 6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Voldemort and his Death Eaters are wreaking havoc across Britain as Harry, now 16, enters his sixth year at Hogwarts. Harry learns that Voldemort has split his soul into seven objects known as Horcruxes which will give him immortality. Two Horcruxes have already been destroyed, and Harry and Dumbledore set out to retrieve another. Finding one in a locket, they return to Hogwarts. There they are ambushed by Death Eaters and Dumbledore is killed by Snape. Harry pursues Snape, who reveals he is the Half-Blood Prince before escaping. Harry discovers the Horcrux he has is a fake -- the real one was already destroyed by someone named "R.A.B." who has left a note in the locket. Harry decides not to return to Hogwarts the next year so that he can destroy the remaining Horcruxes, thereby killing Voldemort. Ron and Hermione vow to join him.

Book 7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
This is the last book in the series and is out this weekend. Reserve a copy in the library now!

Generation Hex

They grew up together, if in two different worlds, the boy wizard and a generation of college students. The darkest of Dark Arts, they say, couldn't keep them from diving into Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final book in the series, on July 21. Lucky for them, they won't need a "time-turner" to hold on to the magic.

Universities and colleges across the country are adding Harry Potter to the curriculum in a variety of disciplines — English, philosophy, Latin, history, and science — and professors say courses fill up as quickly as Honeydukes on a Hogsmeade weekend.
Source: Chronicle of Higher Education July 18, 2007

Colldge Accreditation System Fails

The federal government's system for accrediting colleges is a misguided failure that should be largely replaced with a simpler method that relies on key institutional data about cost and quality, a trustees group is arguing.

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a conservative-leaning lobbying association led by Anne D. Neal, proposed in a report released on Tuesday that a process of "expedited accreditation" might begin to repair a system that the council regards as detracting from academic quality rather than improving it.
Source: Chronicle of Higher Education July 18, 2007

Histology Laboratory

The July issue of Lab Medicine features an article on the automation of the histology laboratory. The field of histopathology has been enriched with new discoveries and technological advances during the last decades. This article presents a review of the specimen flow through the various stages of tissue handling from surgery to molecular assays, the steps facilitated by automation, and improved instrumentation. This issue is available in the library now.
Source: "Automation of Histology Laboratory" Lab Medicine July 2007

Harry Potter Update Continued

Book 4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry, now in his fourth year at Hogwarts, is selected to compete in the ancient and dangerous inter-school Triwizard Tournament, even though he is too young. Harry completes two tasks in the tournament alone, and the third -- a trip through a maze -- simultaneously with fellow Hogwartian, Cedric Diggory. The two winners touch the trophy together and are transported to a graveyard, where Peter Pettigrew kills Diggory on the spot and ties up Harry. Pettigrew then enacts a ritual that transfers some of Harry's blood to Voldemort, making him immune to the magic that protects Harry, as well as giving the Dark Lord a body. Voldemort and Harry enter a duel, but because their wands are "brothers," they connect (the Priori Incantatem effect if you really want to impress), causing spirit echoes of Voldemort's victims, including Harry's parents, to spill out from his wand. These odd ghost-like beings help Harry escape back to Hogwarts. Barely an hour later, Harry's life is again threatened, this time by a Death Eater masquerading as a teacher, but he is saved by Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall.

Book 5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
After Dementors attack Harry and his bullying cousin Dudley during the summer, our hero is escorted to the secret headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, a secret group of wizards fighting the Dark Lord who is rallying his forces and trying to retrieve a secret weapon: a prophecy hidden in a glass sphere. Harry has a vision that Sirius Black is being held captive by Voldemort at the Department of Mysteries. Determined to retrieve Black, Harry, Ron and others are lured into a trap, but are saved from Death Eaters when Order members arrive. A battle ensues, the glass sphere is broken and the prophecy is lost. Black is killed by a Death Eater. Voldemort appears, fights Dumbledore, and then escapes. Dumbledore later reveals the prophecy: in effect, Harry must either destroy Voldemort or be killed by him. The movie version of this book is out now and getting good reviews. Tomorrow the Potter update will finish with Book 6, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

New Books

Assessing Academic Achievement by David E. Tanner
The Reagan Diaries by Ronald Reagan (edited by Douglas Brinkley)
Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China by Peter Hessler (National Book Finalist)
The Doctor's Wife by Elizabeth Brundage
Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny by Suze Orman
Triple Crown: Three Complete Novels by Dick Francis
Learning to Breathe by Karen White
Love Walked In by Marisa De Los Santos
The Weather Makers: How Man is Changing the Climate by Tim Flannery
Famous by Kathleen Flenniken (Poems)
Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Harry Potter Review Continued

Book 2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Despite dire warnings about returning to Hogwarts, Harry does so, only to learn that a monster has escaped from Hogwarts' chamber of secrets. It attacks several students -- including Hermione -- leaving them paralyzed. Because he is able to speak to snakes, Harry is suspected of being the Heir of Slytherin, the villain who has unlocked the chamber of secrets and is controlling the monster. Ron's sister Ginny is kidnapped and hauled off to the chamber, forcing Harry and Ron to take action. In the chamber, Harry encounters and kills Tom Riddle who -- it gets a bit confusing here -- is a sort of ghost-memory version of the teenage Voldemort, the real heir of Slytherin. (Bonus point: "Tom Marvolo Riddle" is an anagram of "Lord Voldemort.") That closes the chamber and Harry leaves Hogwarts for summer break.

Book 3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry is back at Hogwarts for a third year, eager to play Quidditch. Instead, Harry finds himself in apparent danger from the convicted murderer Sirius Black, who has escaped from Azkaban prison. Soul-sucking Dementors, who guard the prison, have been sent to Hogwarts, supposedly to protect Harry from the escapee, but who more than once attack our hero. Eventually, Harry learns that Black was once his parent's best friend and accused of having betrayed their whereabouts to Voldemort. Worse, Black, it turns out, is Harry's godfather. But when Harry finally confronts Black, he discovers that Black was framed for giving up Harry's parents and that he escaped Azkaban to kill the actual murderer, Peter Pettigrew (a.k.a. Wormtail), Voldemort's servant. Black is captured by the Dementors but, thanks to Hermione's time-travelling device, she and Harry return to the recent past to help Black escape.

Tomorrow--Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Global Researcher: Energy Nationalism

A world thirsting for imported oil and gas is seeking new supplies in Central Asia and Africa, where many nations have nationalized their energy resources. In a dramatic reversal from 30 years ago, government-owned or controlled petroleum companies today control 77 percent of the world's 1.1 trillion barrels of oil reserves. While the emergence of these rising petrostates has helped diversify the world's energy sources, many are considered oil “hot spots” — vulnerable to disruption from international terrorists or domestic dissidents. In addition, many of the petrostates are blending politics and energy into a new energy nationalism, rewriting the rules of the world's energy markets and restricting international oil corporations' operations. Russia's confrontational energy policies alarm its neighbors, and critics say a booming China is combing the world for access to oil and gas resources without concern for suppliers' corruption or human rights violations. Many also worry that growing competition for dwindling oil supplies will lead to greater risks of international conflict.

Source: summary from the report Global Researcher July 20, 2007. Read the report by going to CQ Researcher.

Harry Potter Review

The seventh and last Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, arrives in bookstores Friday, July 21. If Harry Potter is little more than a name to you, some background is in order so that you won't feel left out as the talk over the next few days swirls around all things Harry. Each day this week I will provide a summary of one of the previous books.

The story's backdrop is that Harry was left an orphan at the tender age of one when his wizard parents were killed by the evil curse of the dark Lord Voldemort. Harry survived the curse -- although it did leave a distinctive scar on his forehead -- and was raised by the singularly ordinary Dursleys, a Muggles (non-magical) family.At 11, Harry is enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which is where book 1 really gets rolling.

Book 1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
On the train to Hogwarts, Harry meets Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, with whom he's to become fast friends, as well as the hateful Draco Malfoy, a subsequent player on the side of evil. At Hogwarts, he encounters the kindly headmaster Albus Dumbledore and other professor-wizards like Minerva McGonagall, Harry's head of house, and the evil-seeming Severus Snape, who are to play roles throughout the series. Harry turns out to be an expert flier, allowing him to play the school sport Quidditch, a kind of soccer on broomsticks, for his house team Gryffindor. He also joins forces with Ron and Hermione to find out what is being hidden in Hogwarts -- and guarded by a three-headed dog. The three discover that it's the Philosopher's Stone, which produces the elixir of life. Voldemort wants the stone and he and Harry battle it out. Harry saves the stone, but Voldemort escapes. Harry returns to the Dursleys for the summer.

Tomorrow: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets