Every year, policymakers across the U.S. make life-changing decisions based on the results of standardized tests. These high-stakes decisions include, but are not limited to, student promotion to the next grade level, student eligibility to participate in advanced coursework, eligibility to graduate high school, and teacher tenure. In 40 states, teachers are evaluated in part…
At the FBI, Great Power And Scandal Tend To Go Hand In Hand
Drama at the FBI is nothing new. Given its 109-year history, the FBI has seen many scandals and numerous directors come and go. Its directors, in fact, have always been the face and driving force of the FBI. Most have retired or moved on to other work, four were forced to offer resignations, but only…
The allure of war: the motivations of Jordanian foreign fighters in Syria
Raad Adayleh/AP/Press Association Images. All rights reserved.In the light of the June attacks in Jordan, the Hashemite Kingdom has closed its borders with Syria and continues to imprison its nationals for terrorism-related charges. Jordan has already taken steps to limit the threat from extremists, but without fully understanding the many reasons why these men have…
Starving Yemen
Still from the film documentary,'Starving Yemen'2016. BBC Arabic/BBC Our World. All rights reserved.Most of us are glued to our visual media watching the nightmare unfolding in Aleppo and the systematic bombing and killing of a besieged population in the city while the world’s politicians are debating allocation of responsibility in New York between meals at…
This House Of Cards Tweet Perfectly Captures The Comey Testimony
It’s safe to say that Donald Trump has left many of us speechless. And as our nation and much of the world tuned in Thursday morning to watch former FBI Director James Comey testify about his interactions with the president, the folks at House of Cards found the perfect way to sum up the surreal:…
“No birthdays here”
A secondary school English class – lessons are as much about academic education as about sharing culture and creating a safe space to learn.Refugee Education Chios. All rights reserved. Amid freezing temperatures in Europe’s hotspots, refugees fleeing from some of the most dangerous places on earth still encounter political stagnation and the threat of forcible…
Republican Senator Comes Out Against Party’s Health Care Bill
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) dealt her party another punishing blow to its already maligned and delayed health care bill. After the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office published its estimate on Monday that 22 million Americans would lose access to health care coverage under the Senate Republican bill, Collins published a series of tweets explaining why she will vote against…
Britain's nuclear deep: a new transparency
HMS Victorious. Wikimedia Commons/UK Ministry of Defence. Public Domain.The debate in Britain over the renewal of the Trident nuclear-missile programme continues to develop, despite great efforts to close it down. One issue in particular is of deep concern to the authorities: whether the oceans are in the process of becoming transparent. If the submarines which…
Lawyers Demand Trump Stop Blocking Critical Twitter Followers
If President Trump won’t delete his Twitter account, Americans should at least be able to send him critical messages through the platform. That’s the argument in a letter sent by lawyers on behalf of individuals whose Twitter accounts have been “blocked” by Trump’s twitter account. A team from the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia…
Inside Basmane
At the corner of Gaziler Caddesi, the kebab seller Emre is listing how to ask for a bottle of water in Turkish, Arabic and Kurdish. Minimal knowledge of these three languages is a sort of passport to enter Basmane, a neighbourhood in Izmir. Away from the large modern avenues of Alsancak, showcase of the secular…