Free Republic

Pub and club revelers face a drugs test as soon as they enter the premises. Anyone going into a bar, whether they arouse suspicion or not, will be asked to take a swab test, which highlights any drug use. The scheme is being run by police in south Staffordshire and will initially cover the towns of Cannock and Stafford. Police have warned that anyone refusing will automatically arouse suspicion and have told establishments that do not co-operate that it will be held against them when their licenses come up for renewal. Liberty, the civil rights pressure group, said it...

From the Washington Politics & Policy Desk Published 12/26/2002 1:35 PM HIGHLANDS, N.C., Dec. 26 (UPI) -- Congressman Billybob Sez: Ignorance in America This here's the 330th Report ta the Folks Back Home from the (More er Less) Honorable Billybob, cyberCongressman from Western Carolina. I still remembers the one-room school house I attended, where Miss McGillicuddy taught us a love ov book-larnin in partic'lar, n ov the rich panoply ov life in gen'ral. Mos ov all, she taught us what education don stop when the las school bell rings. It's a lifelong pursuit. But ma able assistant, J. Armor, Esq.,...

THE former head of the government agency responsible for controlling diseases in Britain is calling for medical tests for immigrants before they are allowed into the country. Lord Turnberg, who retired as chairman of the Public Health Laboratory Service in July, said that the measures were needed to combat the spread of tuberculosis and HIV, where the recent surge in cases is largely the result of increased immigration from countries with high levels of the infections. His call reflects growing concern in the medical profession that the NHS is being overstretched by the cost of treating imported illnesses, which...

<p>WASHINGTON — Thousands of people on O'ahu were exposed to biological material during Cold War-era government experiments, Defense Department officials said yesterday.</p> <p>The material was supposed to be harmless, but the government has acknowledged that people with weakened immune systems could have become sick. Military officials also revealed for the first time that deadly chemical agents, including the nerve agents sarin and VX, were tested on the Big Island, but they insisted that no civilians were exposed.</p>

North tested missile parts in Iran, Egypt, U.S. aide says by Kim Min-seok August 30, 2002 North Korea has tested core parts of ballistic missiles in Iran and Egypt, a senior official of the U.S. Department of State, who is visiting South Korea, said Friday. "It has been confirmed that North Korea sent its missile technicians to Iran and Egypt to conduct experiments on core parts of the missile over several occasions," the official said. Experiments were conducted on parts produced by North Korea alone and jointly with Iran and Egypt, the official said. Most of the overseas experiments are...

How can a school receive a Blue Ribbon for excellence one year and be slapped with a label of "failing" the next? Moreover, how can Michigan rank dead last in the country with more than 1,500 "failing" schools? New federal labels are misleading parents and others into thinking that a full one-third of the state's public schools aren't adequately serving their children. That's simply not the case. The standards are the newest ingredient in a muddled stew of numbers and labels that do nothing for the quality of schools in Michigan or the students and teachers in them. In fact,...

OTTAWA -- Federally regulated companies and public services must not randomly test or prescreen employees for drug and alcohol use, the federal human-rights watchdog says. The Canadian Human Rights Commission released a new policy yesterday that says employee drug tests are an abuse of human rights under almost all circumstances. "Positive results of drug tests do not suggest a person is impaired," commission spokeswoman Catherine Barratt said. "If you want to test for a safe environment, testing for drugs is not going to get you there." That's because tests can show traces of drugs weeks after they were used, long...

July 5, 2002 The SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) has been used by colleges for many years to predict the success of students in college. Colleges have found SATs to be an effective tool in measuring college aptitude, that is, the ability to do college work. Since colleges are interested in admitting those students who will be successful in post-secondary work, the SAT has been one of the most widely used college aptitude tests in the nation. An aptitude test is different from an achievement test. An achievement test looks at what a student has accomplished. An aptitude test tries to...

I've setup a test database on my development server to test the new focus software. I've made extensive changes to the underbelly and in a few other places visible to you where I've basically rewritten the software. This database is almost completely empty! You will need to create a new account. DO NOT USE YOUR FREE REPUBLIC PASSWORD. Just in case this thing isn't as secure as I'd like it to be. Give it a good run! I've spent dozens of hours testing it, but I'm sure somebody will find more critical bugs that need to be fixed. When all...

Lawmakers want information on use of nerve gas in '60s * By David Goldstein, The Kansas City Star * WASHINGTON - Two members of Congress intend to call for an investigation into the secret testing of nerve gas and chemical and biological agents on U.S. servicemen in the 1960s. *  Rep. Mike Thompson of California and Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, both Democrats, plan to introduce legislation in their respective chambers next week, urging that the Pentagon reveal more information about the tests, known as Project SHAD. *   "If it's classified, we can deal with classified material," said Nelson,...

SUGAR LAND -- Two administrators at George Bush High School have resigned amid allegations that student records were manipulated to improve the school's rating on the TAAS test. Jean Bailey, the school's dean of instruction and TAAS coordinator, and principal David M. Baker resigned before the Fort Bend school district's investigation was completed, district officials said Tuesday. District spokeswoman Mary Ann Simpson said the pair would have been fired had they not quit. "We were outraged when we learned of this," Simpson said. The district began investigating in March after receiving an anonymous letter with detailed allegations about a scheme...

ATLANTA — The Georgia Professional Standards Commission Thursday voted unanimously for a six-month suspension of James Hope’s teaching license. While Gwinnett County Public Schools officials applauded the decision, saying it sent a “powerful message,” Hope announced plans to appeal. The Centerville Elementary School teacher posted questions from GCPS’ Gateway test on the Internet in March of 2000, after administering the high-stakes test to his fourth-grade class.  “I am disappointed they didn’t see it my way,” Hope said. “I didn’t know what to expect, but I’m not totally surprised.” The PSC vote accepted the April recommendation of Administrative Law Judge Catherine...

Gov Jeb Bush with FL students. Statement by Governor Jeb Bush Regarding the 2002 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) School Grades For Immediate Release Wednesday, June 12, 2002 Contact: Elizabeth Hirst (850) 488-5394 "This year fifty-six percent of Florida's schools earned an "A" or a "B". And that is good news. As we continue to strive for excellence and higher accountability in our schools we also see where our resources and assistance are needed most. Our schools and students need all the support and help we can offer, but setting the bar too low will only condemn them to a...

SAT Expected to Add Essay Section Sat Jun 8, 1:32 PM ETBy ARLENE LEVINSON, AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) - An expected overhaul of the SAT college entrance exam looks likely to include a handwritten essay, creating a new challenge for college-bound students, a big logistic chore for test administrators and more emphasis on writing in high school. "If there's a writing test that helps kids get into college, then schools are going to spend more time writing, which can't be a bad thing," said UCLA professor Eva Baker, co-director of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards...

Teachers dislike test being key to pupil promotions Few favor state's new policy By MELANIE MARKLEY Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Only 10 percent of Texas teachers believe a test should decide whether students are promoted or held back a grade, a recent survey found. David Henderson, who has conducted the biennial teacher survey since 1980, said this is the first time he has asked teachers their opinion about the state's new testing policy. Next year's third-grade class will be the first required to pass a state-required test in the third, fifth and eighth grades before they are promoted to the...

Two Aberdeen men are in jail facing charges they intentionally exposed others to the HIV virus.It is the second such incident in less than a week in South Dakota, a state that ranks second lowest in the nation for HIV infections with 22 cases confirmed last year. A Huron college student was arrested last week on similar charges.Mark McNeary, Brown County state's attorney, said the Aberdeen men's allegedly reckless actions in potentially spreading the virus that causes AIDS make them a danger to society.''Intentionally exposing an unknowing individual to HIV infection is unconscionable,'' McNeary said. ''It is obvious that...

<p>California's largest teachers union is pushing to dismantle the state's system for testing students, ranking schools and enforcing accountability -- linchpins in the multibillion-dollar academic reforms of recent years.</p> <p>Legislation sponsored by the California Teachers Association would create a new state testing program, controlled by teachers, and would kill plans to require high school students to pass an exit examination before receiving a diploma.</p>

Gov. Jeb Bush keeps the focus on education. Bush creates panel on FCAT assistance The governor's order comes after lawmakers fail to agree on accommodations for disabled students. By STEPHEN HEGARTY, Times Staff Writer © St. Petersburg Times published April 4, 2002 Legislators couldn't agree on a bill to grant disabled students more accommodations when taking the state's all-important FCAT test, but on Wednesday Gov. Jeb Bush revived the issue with a stroke of the pen. Bush signed an executive order creating a task force to make recommendations for expanding accommodations. One example might be allowing a blind student to...

Today I am calling for a teachers' revolt. I have come to realize that the biggest dreamers in our society, public school teachers who entered the work force with a noble calling to nurture young minds and prepare them for the world, are no longer allowed to do much of that. Instead, teachers have become standardized-test preparation specialists, seekers of exemplary ratings and blue ribbons. They are pawns in the political empires that our school districts have become. This movement for a teachers' revolution has been building in my mind for some time as I watch bright and wonderful teachers...

By TONY BATT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- The federal agency overseeing the Nevada Test Site plans to complete a report by late spring recommending a faster preparation time for possible resumption of underground nuclear tests. No tests are planned yet. But the upcoming report by the National Nuclear Security Agency is fueling speculation that the testing moratorium that began in September 1992 might soon end. "Let's put it this way. This is not a sign that the Bush administration is moving away from nuclear tests," said Ivo Daldeer, a foreign policy specialist at the Brookings Institution, a Washington,...