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The suspect, Brian Meehan, who was arrested in Amsterdam, was expected to appeal. In addition, the extradition request must be approved by Justice Minister Winnie Sorgdrager.
The extradition request said Mr. Meehan, 31, is accused of involvement in the June 1996 slaying of Veronica Guerin, 36, who reported on Dublin's underworld bosses for The Sunday Independent.
The National Security Agency headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Wikimedia and other organizations, ranging from the liberal Human Rights Watch to the conservative Rutherford Institute, against the National Security Agency (NSA) challenging the government's mass surveillance program.
The lawsuit centers on the NSA's controversial practice of "upstream surveillance," which is the capturing of broadly interpreted "foreign intelligence information" from non-U.S. citizens, as authorized by the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA). According to a Wikimedia blog post, the program casts a wide net and "as a ...
The NSA intercepts and copies private communications in bulk while they are in transit, and then searches their contents using tens of thousands of keywords associated with NSA targets. These targets, chosen by intelligence analysts, are never approved by any court, and the limitations that do exist are weak and riddle...
Wikimedia founder Jimmy Wales and executive director Lila Tretikov wrote in a New York Times opinion piece that they are standing up for the privacy rights of Wikipedia's 75,000-plus contributors -- many of whom wish to remain anonymous as they edit or write about topics that may be controversial where they live.
"These volunteers should be able to do their work without having to worry that the United States government is monitoring what they read and write," they said, later adding that "as a result [of upstream surveillance], whenever someone overseas views or edits a Wikipedia page, it's likely that the N.S.A. is tracking th...
Wales and Tretikov added, "We are asking the court to order an end to the NSA's dragnet surveillance of internet traffic."
The U.S. Supreme Court denied the ACLU's 2013 challenge to the FAA because it said the lawsuit's parties (namely Amnesty International) lacked proof they had been spied on. The ACLU and Wikimedia believe this new case against the government will succeed because one of Snowden's leaked disclosures included a classified ...
ACLU attorney Patrick Toomey told Politico that it was also relevant that "the plaintiffs in this case engage in hundreds of billions of international communications each year," and that it's "inconceivable that the NSA isn't copying and searching through."
Other defendants include NSA director Michael Rogers, National Intelligence director James Clapper and Attorney General Eric Holder. Wikimedia's partners in the lawsuit include The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International USA, Pen American Center, Global Fund for Women...
The case is Wikimedia v. NSA., U.S. District Court, District Of Maryland, No. 1:15-cv-00662 and can be found here.
(or whatever World Cup game you happen to be watching) to bring you breaking news. Okay, so it started last May, when Newsweek came out with a list of America’s 100 best high schools based on Washington Post journalist Jay Mathew’s Challenge Index. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, where I teach ...
I wrote a reply to the list which appeared in Education Week’s June 14 issue under the headline, "Ranking America’s High Schools: A Few Quibbles on What Constitutes ‘Best.'" I argued that the Challenge Index is not an accurate tool for determining the best schools because it measures only how many kids take hard classe...
In an upcoming issue, Edweek will print a letter from Jay Mathews answering my riposte. (An extended version of his response is included after the jump-- in this blog only!) In his rebuttal, Jay suggests that I have been lured into deserting the progressive ship on which I’ve sailed thus far in my career by the siren c...
With apologies to those who have been holding their breath as I mountaineer the crevasses of portfolio Entry 4 along the path toward board certification, and because I feel a little guilty at all the homework I’m assigning here (you are to read both my response to Newsweek and Jay’s response to me, with extra credit if...
I am always delighted to see Emmet Rosenfeld’s pieces in Education Week and Teacher Magazine. He is one of the most talented young teachers in the country, and is well on his way to becoming the best teacher/journalist/commentator we have. He starred in several chapters of my book Supertest, about the rise of Internati...
His commentary in the June 14 Edweek, “Ranking America’s High Schools,” was particularly interesting to me because it is one of the few fresh and original critiques of Newsweek’s America’s Best High Schools list, based on the Challenge Index formula I came up with in 1998. So it saddens me to see that in this piece Ros...
Many of us agree that the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, where Rosenfeld now teaches English, is the best high school in America when measured by the old standard, test scores, which is pretty much the same thing is measuring schools by average parental income. Jefferson’s average SAT score th...
If people want to measure high schools on this test score-family income scale, that is their right. It is likely to continue to be the favorite yardstick because money is the way we judge so much in a free economy. Go into any neighborhood and ask the first person you see about the local high school, and invariably if ...
I invented the Challenge Index because I had stumbled across several schools full of low-income students where the quality of the faculty, as measured by their efforts to help average and below average students improve and prepare for college, was better than several schools I studied in good neighborhoods where the te...
The editors at Newsweek liked the idea of measuring schools in a different way. Each year we add some new features, such as the equity and excellence rating in response to the complaint from Rosenfeld and others that we don’t say how well students are doing on the AP and IB tests. Rosenfeld’s former school Mount Vernon...
A top 100 high schools list based on SAT or AP scores, as Rosenfeld appears to favor as the best definition of the word “best,” would have no schools that had even as many as 30 percent low-income students. Newsweek’s top 100 list has 29 such schools, including a few with more than 70 percent low-income students. The g...
Rosenfeld argues that a school could do well on the Newsweek list if it gave hundreds of AP or IB tests to ill-prepared students who all got the lowest possible scores. Theoretically, that is true, but it is impossible for such a thing to happen in an American public school. Students, parents and teachers simply would ...
In his piece, Rosenfeld is being true to his school, and I admire that, but he has to be careful not to judge the world with a Jefferson mindset. He has somehow gotten the idea that, because of the success of East Los Angeles calculus teacher Jaime Escalante, the man who inspired the Challenge Index, there is now a “wi...
But those few who have followed Escalante’s example have found that he was right. They do not believe, as Rosenfeld puts it, that “just putting kids into hard courses makes them smarter.” But they do believe, as Rosenfeld demonstrated with many low-income and minority students at Mount Vernon, that putting kids in hard...
Simple measures, like body temperature or barometric pressure, can be useful. It surprised me that an indicator as rudimentary as the level of participation in college-level tests helped reveal which high schools were making these unusual efforts, and which were not. But it turns out to be true, and worth doing, even i...
As a parent, I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Matthews. I think this educational system is full of tests and evaluations that don't tell us anything, but help pad the school's resume. If we have a school whose population consists of kids who have to pass an entrance exam to get in, meaning that they already have a highe...
Whether it is Jay Matthews or other educational gurus, the problem is that tests,etc. are given so much importance that creative teaching is difficult. As for passing the National Boards, the judging is somewhat warped. In our English department, the very best teacher on the staff did not pass. I just don't think the j...
What makes students think are creative teachers. As for SAT scores, our county rates very high, but the potentates at the top neglect to say that not even 30% of juniors or seniors take the test. I also looked at the list, and feel that there are thousands of schools who don't have the criteria mentioned to make the li...
Scoring and tests that clump a school, state, etc. really don't give the full picture. The ACT is required for Sr. to enter college in this state, therefore nearly every senior takes it( bright and not so very bright). Rarely does anyone take the SAT. This skews the results when compared to other states' avg. scores. S...
Jay Matthews had every Charlotte-Mecklenburg high school on his list in 2005. This included three high schools which were rated as low performing by the state of North Carolina due to abysmal scores on the End of Course testing mandated within the state. The reason these schools made Mr. Matthews list was simple: in CM...
Below I've pasted in Jay's comments to me received yesterday. The gist of my letter to him was that the Challenge Index doesn't address scores, just numbers. Many teachers aren't properly trained to teach AP courses and even if they have smart and motivated students, there are a significant number of 2's. Just numbers ...
teaching and more passing scores for kids taking them. Let me explain.
dedication IF it's to be taught right, i.e., a way that gives '"average"
You've left out an important variable that all readers should know about.
percentage of all seniors had at least one 3 on one AP.
income kids, whereas the Newsweek list has 29.
an ivy. They do not represent a personal or national problem.
college prep, and represent a national problem, big college dropout rate.
This arguement reminds me of the arguement that is being made about Algebra I being a 'gateway' course to college, and the response of the powers to be that Algebra I be required of all students. And of course the outcry from some teachers and administrators that 'these kids can't do algebra.' It starts with the realiz...
I'm with Emmet on this issue, but for a different reason. What we find in our district is that because many colleges do not accept AP courses for college credit, many students would prefer not to pay/can't afford to pay $85 per AP test when it won't count in their favor. Taking the course, however, does count in their ...
What the Jay Matthews Scale reveals is the number of districts willing to shell out the money for students to take AP tests. Yes, that shows that the district/school is supporting these students. No, it doesn't show that these schools are necessarily any better than schools that can't afford to do the same.
I work in one of the tens of thousands of public schools in this country that is not characterized as suburban, or rural, or urban, or even one with a low SES population or one with a high SES population. We do not qualify or merit or attract the kind of money that would support our students to take AP tests; yet we do...
Of course, you are right, AP courses and tests shouldn't be the end all be all - but just one indicator of a school's achievement and efforts to bring a quality, rigorous, and challenging curriculum to all students. Again, the focus should be on giving all students an opportunity to learn advanced material - regardless...
Yes. Tests have grown out of control. To my mind, they should be tiny and (almost) painless.
Hello all. My name is Jordan Fein, and I'm an Montgomery Blair High School Magnet Program student writing an editorial about Jay Matthews' controversial challenge index for Silver Chips, our school newspaper. I've read all of these posts and have enjoyed all of your comments. However, there is someone in particular who...
I think your anecdote regarding Charlotte-Mecklenburg County high schools very effectively illustrates the point that the current Challenge Index encourages schools to pressure un-prepared students into AP classes. I would very much appreciate it if you could let me know where you found out that the county pays for all...
For all of you that are interested, my article will appear in the October issue of Silver Chips and will be online at http://silverchips.mbhs.edu/. Thanks to Mr. Rosenfeld for providing an excellent forum for discussion.
Thank you, all, for your insightful contributions to the discussion of the high school ranking system and “Challenge Index”. I have followed the comments regarding how schools benefit in the rankings by having large numbers of students taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams. However, I believe this is only half of th...
Rankings are based on a ratio of number of AP or IB tests taken at the school divided by the number of graduating seniors. As has been previously pointed out, schools benefit from feeding as many of these tests as possible to students in their schools. However, the denominator, “graduating seniors,” also poses seri...
In essence, schools benefit by having both a large number of AP test takers and a low number of graduating seniors. Thus, a school that has administered 1000 AP exams with 500 graduating seniors (1000 divided by 500, or 2.0) scores lower than a school with 400 graduates (1000 divided by 400, or 2.5). What does this mea...
This is, in fact, the case at Eastside High School, a school in Florida that ranked 4th in 2005 and 6th in 2006 on Matthews’ index. Eastside houses the town’s magnet IB program. Many of the program participants are bussed from the wealthy west side of town to the economically disadvantaged east side. In 2004, EHSâ€...
Parents from the wealthy west side buy into the ranking system hook, line, and sinker, using those data as a way to make educational decisions for their children. It is hard to believe that this occurs only at EHS. Ultimately, however, one must ask what message this sends to kids: if you’re wealthy and White, you can...
As educators, we must continue to question and challenge the use of competitive rankings and simple quantitative measures that make claims of equity that do not, in fact, truly address critical and complex social issues in education.
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Romantic movie quiz: Can you spot all 20 iconic moments in this scene?
Valentine's Day is just around the corner and our minds have turned to romantic flicks - from Titanic to Ghost, Pretty Woman and more.
Can you guess all 20 romantic movies?
International flower delivery service FloraQueen has launched a new quiz challenging users’ knowledge of iconic moments from 20 popular romantic films.
From the 1942 classic Casablanca to 2018’s blockbuster hit A Star Is Born, a memorable moment from each of these movies have been illustrated in a single scene, which can can be viewed in full here.
Click image to open interactive version (via FloraQueen).
PLANS to demolish a harbour-front home in Lilliput and replace it with a block of nine flats are set to be approved.
Members of Poole council’s planning committee will consider Fall Over Ltd’s application to demolish the home in Dorset Lake Avenue on Thursday with a recommendation that they back the scheme.
The firm’s application seeks permission to build a replacement five-storey block of nine three-bedroom apartments.
A planning statement submitted alongside the application in December says the “contemporary approach” to the new block follows similar developments in the area.
The proposal will be considered by councillors on Thursday (March 21) with a recommendation that planning permission be granted.
A report by case officer James Gilfillan said the development would provide economic, environmental and social benefits.
Great potential! Renovated home in town. Close to shopping. Workshop ready for business. New roof and new carpet. Painted inside and outside. Hard to find 1.2 acres in city limits.
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co (DSME), one of the country’s top three shipyards, said that its net profit halved in 2018 from a year earlier due to a loss from asset sale. Net profit reached KRW 320 billion last year, compared with a profit of KRW 645 billion a year earlier.
However, Operating income, however, surged 40 percent on-year to reach KRW 1.03 trillion as set-aside reserves, against potential losses, were reclassified as operating profits, while sales dipped 13 percent to KRW 9.64 trillion. The figure marks the second straight year that the shipyard has posted a profit.
Daewoo Shipbuilding clinched deals valued at USD 6.81 billion last year, surpassing its annual order goal of USD 6.6 billion. Samsung Heavy bagged USD 6.3 billion worth of orders last year, lower than its initial target of USD 8.2 billion.
Above: Google Street View car equipped with Aclima's air pollution sensing platform.
Google wants to help measure air pollution while also mapping air quality in our communities. The company announced that it will be using its Street View cars in California to understand how safe the air is. It will be using sensors provided by Aclima to collect air quality data, which will be transformed into visual i...
Starting today, as Google’s Street View cars roll through the streets of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the Central Valley region, they’ll have Aclima sensors embedded on them to sense air pollution. Google says these three major metropolitan areas were selected because with nearly 30 million registered vehicles, mana...
Although San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the Central Valley region are named, it appears that other areas within California may be targeted, so don’t be surprised when you see the Street View car come by.
This is the second time Google has worked with Aclima on this type of project. In July, it announced a pilot program in Denver, Colorado using Street View cars. So it’s likely that more cities and metropolitan areas will be added.
All of the data collected by the Aclima sensors will be available on Google Earth Engine to anyone who wants to help analyze and model the data.
Google’s Street View cars provide an incredible opportunity to collect a lot of data from our communities. Not only are these vehicles already traversing neighborhood and city streets, but they’ll be able to provide specific information by particular location, not just in general terms. So perhaps we might be able to v...
This isn’t the first environmental project that Google has done. Last year, it worked with the Environmental Defense Fund to map methane leaking from natural gas local distribution systems.
How do Oregonians define government transparency in the digital age?
OPINION: Are Oregonians comfortable with the state releasing all of their personal data to anyone who requests it?
As a news media company, filing public records' requests is automatic for us, and we get our dander up any time a public agency tries to interfere with the public's right to know.
So we were more than a little concerned last week when Gov. Kate Brown instructed state agencies that receive public records' requests for large amounts of information about state employees to contact her office before releasing it.
There is no evidence to suggest the governor's office is seeking to deny or delay these requests, but that didn't stop speculation from spilling over last week.
Mostly because at first glance, such a move flies in the face of the governor's public promises to be transparent with Oregonians. She made this pledge when she took office in February 2015 following former Gov. John Kitzhaber's resignation amid corruption allegations.
She promised then and to this day to promote openness. She says she will not operate government in secrecy, so this recent declaration about public records' requests would seem at odds with that promise.
But this is the same governor who signed last summer's Senate Bill 481, which passed in June 2017 and took effect the first of this year.
The bill, one of the first reforms to Oregon public records laws in decades, mandated a 15-day time limit for agencies to release requested records in most cases. It was long overdue, and supported by groups such as the Society of Professional Journalists.
It would be easy to jump on the governor-bashing bandwagon. But Oregonians deserve to know both sides of the story, which is critical in this age of identity theft and computer hacking of data sets.
The governor's office says she's not looking to approve or deny public records requests for sizable amounts of data, or delay the release thereof. Those decisions are still left to the agencies receiving the request, said her communications director Chris Pair.
Her office isn't interested in small information requests either, Pair said. But it does want to know and understand the types of information being sought when requests for large amounts of data are sought.
"We want to know what the risk is to the individuals whose data we are custodians of," Pair said. "We're seeking to understand the types of information being sought, and we're looking at where else it is happening."
The state has been routinely providing birth month and year information, but is now being asked for full birth dates. Pair said the governor's office wants an accounting of who is asking for that data set since the state has not been releasing more than the month and year of birth.
This is important, Pair said, because in certain circumstances, the information can be used unintentionally. For instance, he said, voter registrations can be changed quickly and easily online with just a full name and complete birthdate. Perhaps the Secretary of State’s office should fix that bug.
Color us gravely disappointed if Gov. Brown is just kowtowing to union members to withhold their information following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Janus case, which prohibits unions from collecting fees to cover collective-bargaining costs from employees who are not members.
That would be too big a favor to ignore.
But if she's trying to ensure the state protects information it's entrusted with, then she's following through on a promise, and she must be given a chance to demonstrate such.
Public trust erodes quickly when residents don't have access to the work the government is doing on their behalf, or when they cannot get answers to reasonable questions.