[FoxNews] Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education will examine ‘CCP’s grip' on classrooms.
The influx of foreign funding, often linked to the Chinese Communist Party, infiltrating American K-12 schools is "deeply concerning" to Parents Defending Education (PDE), a grassroots organization dedicated to fighting indoctrination in the classroom that plans to take the issue to Capitol Hill next week.
PDE president Nicole Neily is gearing up to speak at a House Education and Workforce Committee subcommittee hearing on CCP funding in K-12 institutions. Neily, who hopes the hearing puts a spotlight on the issue, feels it is critical because "most American families have no idea" it's taking place throughout the nation.
"As we know, he who pays the piper calls the tune. And, a recent Parents Defending Education investigation found that there were many, many districts around the country that have been taking money from the People's Republic of China over the past several years," Neily told Fox News Digital.
"We believe that families deserve to know what is taking place, where the money is coming from, what the curriculum is, so that they can make a decision whether they want their children to participate in these programs or not," she continued. "We are not saying that these programs shouldn't exist. We are not saying that children shouldn't learn Mandarin or Chinese culture, but rather that families should know and be able to decide whether they want their child to participate in a program that might have a teacher that has come from China, that is a member of the Communist Party and that is teaching true history."
Neily said parents should be aware if a specific teacher is teaching the truth about contentious issues such as Taiwan, Tibet and Tiananmen Square, or if a more "sanitized" version of events is being taught in America schools.
Earlier this year, PDE found that Fairfax County Public Schools’ TJ Partnership Fund had received over $1 million worth of donations from Chinese interests since 2014. Documents reveal that the 501c(3) nonprofit operating out of Thomas Jefferson High School (TJHS) received funding amounts of more than $500,000 from Shirble HK, and more than $250,000 from Tsinghua University (Beijing) and the Ameson Foundation, respectively.
These findings piqued the interest of PDE, which then filed a public records request to figure out what exactly took place and what the entities received for the large amount of money they sent over. Neily’s group has not yet received all the requested documents, but she’s concerned with issues that have already been uncovered.
"We have identified that what these entities received in exchange for their donations were tours of the school, lesson plans, meetings with teachers. And so, essentially, what it looks like happened is that all of these teachers, all of these party officials came over, took the lesson plans, and then went back to China and created what are called Thomas schools by one of the donors, which is essentially ripping off the model of this elite STEM school in America," Neily said.
"Interestingly, now we're seeing Thomas Jefferson mired in equity fights, and it has dropped in the rankings domestically," she continued. "So, Thomas Jefferson is now not only not able to compete against other schools of its caliber in America, but certainly not against its counterparts internationally, which is a travesty."
Neily said that Fairfax County Public Schools officials seem to believe "this is merely just a cultural exchange program," but PDE feels it's actually much more serious.
"We have both foreign nationals basically ripping off an education model that American companies, American students, American education system has poured millions of dollars into," Neily said. "Also that - what are these students actually learning at the end of the day?"
PDE FOIA findings, which are not yet complete, can be seen here.
Fairfax County Public Schools provided Fox News Digital with the following statement: "Fairfax County Public Schools adheres to the Virginia Department of Education Standards of Learning for social studies instructions."
Neily pointed to a concern that K-12 schools could mirror Confucius Institutes that often operate on university campuses that teach a sanitized version of Chinese history, often glorying former CCP Chairman Mao.
"We don't know what our children are learning or, frankly, are not learning. And parents deserve to be empowered. They should know and have access to that material, so they can determine whether this is a program that they want their children to participate in, or if it's a program where they think, ‘You know what, that makes me a little bit uncomfortable,’" she said.
PDE, a grassroots organization dedicated to fighting indoctrination in the classroom, said it has identified 143 American schools districts that have received funding from the CCP. While many programs have been shut down in recent years amid widespread criticism, others remain in existence. Earlier this year, PDE published a report "Little Red Classrooms," which was sent to 34 governors, key lawmakers and committee chairs.
The report uncovered disturbing evidence linking CCP-sponsored financial entities to American K-12 schools, according to PDE. The group also accused the CCP of openly using deceptive tactics to influence the next generation of Americans to advance their own self-serving agenda.
PDE said it also found that Confucius Institutes and Classrooms were operating in schools in the vicinity of numerous U.S. military bases including U.S. Naval Academy, Buckley Air Force Base and Space Force, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Dover Air Force Base, Fort Bliss, Fort Liberty, Fort Knox, Naval Station Great Lakes, Hanscom Air Force Base, Hill Air Force Base, Lackland Air Force Base, Langley Air Force Base, Los Angeles Air Force Base, MacDill Air Force Base, McGuire Air Force Base, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Nellis Air Force Base, Naval Station Norfolk, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Naval Base San Diego.
"I think it raises a different set of national security concerns," Neily said. "What access, what material do the teachers have access to? What student data do these teachers have access to and what is being communicated back to the mainland?"
Neily plans to call for greater transparency surrounding why millions of dollars of China-linked funding has flowed into America’s K-12 classrooms.
"Several years ago, we saw Secretary DeVos and Secretary Pompeo take steps to rein in the Confucius Institutes at the higher education level, which they were able to do because the Higher Education Act mandates transparency of foreign funding of gifts over $250,000. Unfortunately, there is no such corollary for transfer for transparency at the K-12 level," she said. "So, we think that is a very obvious, and should be a very bipartisan, first step."
Neily feels the "first step is just knowing where the money is coming from" so parents can make more informed decisions.
"This is not an anti-Asian hate movement. This is simply a matter of following the money and determining what these districts are providing in exchange for what amount of money," Neily said. "There is curriculum, there are teachers, and then there is also data that is flowing back and forth, and that, to us, is something that is deeply concerning."
The Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, chaired by Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., will hold the hearing Neily will testify at, titled "Academic Freedom Under Attack: Loosening the CCP’s Grip on America’s Classrooms," on September 19.
[Last Refuge] As expected, the FDA has approved a new series of COVID-19 "booster" vaccines which are immediately available for anyone who trusts the institutions of government to be focused on your health and wellbeing. For everyone else, hard pass.
"The FDA is confident in the safety and effectiveness of these updated vaccines and the agency’s benefit-risk assessment demonstrates that the benefits of these vaccines for individuals 6 months of age and older outweigh their risks."
FDA — Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took action approving and authorizing for emergency use updated COVID-19 vaccines formulated to more closely target currently circulating variants and to provide better protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death. Today’s actions relate to updated mRNA vaccines for 2023-2024 manufactured by ModernaTX Inc. and Pfizer Inc. Consistent with the totality of the evidence and input from the FDA’s expert advisors, these vaccines have been updated to include a monovalent (single) component that corresponds to the Omicron variant XBB.1.5.
#3
They're advertising the new vax on the TV - 'the pandemic is over, but COVID is here to stay. It is one of the top five killers of (I don't remember).
The 'top five killers' do not include pneumonia, which CDC weekly records show surpassed COVID deaths every week since mid-March, 2022.
But - "Ask your doctor if the new vaccine is right for you." But forget about the cheap pneumonia vaccines, of which there are two well-established traditional formulas to prevent a total of 35 'variants'. I had both, a few years ago.
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/12/2023 17:44 Comments ||
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#4
This Booster when injected into Postal Vote Drop Boxes reliably causes spontaneous multiplication of any mailed vote placed in it! It's a miracle™! (/sarc)
Planks used to assemble the 2024 stage.
[ZeroHedge] During the hysteria of the covid pandemic questions swirled around how the federal government would respond to the events under the declaration of a national health emergency. What kind of powers would they claim to have and which constitutional rights would they try to suppress? What many Americans did not consider, however, was the implementation of emergency powers under state governments rather than the White House.
Most of the covid mandates crushing the US economy during that period were not federal mandates, but state mandates, and there's a good reason why covid tyrants chose to focus on state level restrcitions.
There are a number of requirements and obstacles for any president seeking to enforce mandates at the federal level, along with more scrutiny and oversight than is commonly understood. Though a president can declare emergencies unilaterally, there are still some legal checks and balances (to be sure, these are quietly being eroded with each passing year).
On the other hand, state governors in 44 states have sweeping authorities under emergency conditions, with very little immediate legal recourse. As we have seen recently in places like Hawaii and now New Mexico, Democrat governors have been playing with fire (no pun intended) as they seek to push the envelope of emergency controls at the state level.
In Hawaii, the exploitation of state emergency provisions under Governor Josh Green led to possibly thousands of deaths as they refused to release water supplies for fire fighting and even blockaded Maui residents, forcing them back into the blaze. They have even put an information blackout in place and denied news organizations access to the scene of the disaster. One has to ask – Was this done out of stupidity? Or was this a test to see what kinds of trespasses and controls citizens would accept?
In New Mexico we see a similar extreme overstep by Governor Michelle Grisham, who believes she has the authority to dictate the 2nd Amendment rights of Albuquerque residents due to rising crime. The level of mental gymnastics on display in her arguments to justify the banning of lawful open carry and conceal carry protections make it clear that this is not about protecting the public. The lack of logic and reason indicates that this is an ideological decision based in zealotry. Watch as she struggles to present any reasonable position – turning instead to deflection.
The root of her argument is this: “I am banning legal firearms carry in Albuquerque because under emergency powers I can.”
That's it. That's all she's got.
But this is not a valid argument and there are a number of reasons why.
... The timing and tone of the state government decision on gun carry in Albuquerque reads like a political maneuver, a test to see what the public will submit to. Grisham admits that she expects numerous legal challenges to her decision, but she does not seem too concerned with the public reaction. Maybe she should be? Or, is she so certain that the New Mexico 2nd Amendment community will sit on their hands that she feels comfortable there will be no protests, no open carry marches and no public defiance to be worried about?
One thing is inevitable, if Grisham is unopposed in New Mexico, numerous Democrat governors and mayors across the country will try to enforce the exact same emergency powers.
#2
/\ I have found that there really are very few valid coincidences. Sort the flower looking pieces to one side, the animal and fence looking pieces to another. Eventually the pasture and barn can be constructed.
[NYT] In the annals of history, the vivid and horrifying images of the Twin Towers collapsing on that fateful Sept. 11, 2001, are etched into the collective memory of Americans.
But amid the chaos and devastation of that day, there’s one building that often remains shrouded in obscurity, its significance relegated to the shadows — World Trade Center 7.
On that same day, as the sun dipped below the horizon at 5:20 p.m., Building 7 crumbled to the ground.
Astonishingly, this skyscraper had not been struck by an airplane, and fires raged on only a few of its floors.
The reason behind its collapse has long been a subject of contention, with many questioning the official narrative.
#3
The contention is based on two different engineering theories. The NIST says the steel in the main supports weakened because of the fire. Other say that auxiliary columns failed and that was the main problem.
Posted by: lord garth ||
09/12/2023 8:32 Comments ||
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#4
A bunch of engineers from the Institute of Northern Engineering based out of the University of Alaska Fairbanks drafted/authored a White Paper that does not blame fire and concludes:
The collapse of WTC 7 was a global failure involving the near-simultaneous failure of every column in the building.
#5
I've also read it was because of the seismic result of the trade centers collapsing.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
09/12/2023 15:53 Comments ||
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#6
I seem to recall photographs of numerous people described as Agency employees going through the rubble and paper litter around the build looking for classified material. They were all wearing EFFBEYE standard windbreakers and the notation was that the New York Station was clandestine so they had to pose as Bureau agents.
[Dawn] THE Chitral region of KP has been in the headlines of late due to the Sept 6 deadly cross-border incursion in which a large band of TTP turbans reportedly crossed over and attacked Pak positions before being pushed back into Afghanistan.
Though the authorities have not given any numbers, the raiders were reported to be in the ’hundreds’. The interim foreign minister insists this was an "isolated incident" and that the Afghan Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... rulers did not sanction the attack, while the Foreign Office has repeated the mantra that Pakistain’s concerns have been communicated to the relevant quarters in Kabul.
State functionaries may be giving the impression that all is well in the region, but more information is needed on the exact details of the attack, while the local people need to be reassured that their lives and properties will be protected by the state.
Chitral lies in a strategically sensitive area, bordering Afghanistan and with only the Wakhan Corridor separating it from Tajikistan. China’s Xinjiang region is also in the vicinity.
This makes it an attractive location for transnational jihadists looking to expand their operations, even though Chitral itself has largely been shielded from terrorist activity.
Moreover, the region is culturally, linguistically and ethnically distinct from the rest of KP. While Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... and erstwhile Fata suffered the most during earlier waves of terrorism, Chitral managed to weather the storm. The area where the incursion took place is close to the traditional lands of the Kalash people, and Chitral also has a significant Ismaili population.
Therefore, the state needs to beef up security in the area, as the banned TTP and sectarian turbans thrive on targeting minority communities. While there have been reports of small-scale infiltration from Afghanistan, the last major incursion occurred in 2011 when reportedly a very large number of turbans staged attacks, leading to several fatalities among coppers.
Simply expecting the Afghan Taliban to ’do more’ may not be enough, especially when there is speculation that some Taliban factions may actually be encouraging attacks within Pakistain.
The best option is for the military to provide iron-clad security to all vulnerable border regions, and ensure that no groups are again able to violate Pakistain’s territory.
A jirga in Chitral has asked the army chief to visit the area, and called upon the authorities to fence the border with Afghanistan.
Reports indicate that the Afghan Taliban had started relocating TTP fighters from the border area; the process must be sped up so that this ever-present threat on the country’s frontiers is neutralised.
The terrorist threat on the borders must be handled proactively. In the past, the country has suffered immensely by allowing malevolent actors to establish fiefdoms on Pak territory. This mistake must never be repeated.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
09/12/2023 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[18 views]
Top|| File under: Pak Taliban (TTP)
#1
Wow! This is like Canada asking the United States to build a border wall in the Yukon. Gilgit-Baltistan is lightly populated, and the Wakhan Corridor of Aghanistan is hardly populated. Chitral, again, is little more than a large town, and the attack on it must have been men in search of women. The place has little population because it is one of the most rugged places on earth.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
