Loudoun County Students Stage Walk-Outs to Protest Sexual Assault in Schools

Posted on October 26, 2021 by Peter Watt

NATIONAL REVIEW

Loudoun County Students Stage Walk-Outs to Protest Sexual Assault in Schools

By CAROLINE DOWNEYOctober 26, 2021 1:12 P

Loudoun county student walkout, October 26, 2021. (Scott Taylor 7 News I-Team/ Screenshot via Twitter)

After a Virginia juvenile court judge concluded Tuesday that a transgender teenager sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl at a Loudoun County high school, students orchestrated walk-outs to protest the district and demand better safety measures.

In the court decision Tuesday, Chief Judge Pamela L. Brooks found sufficient evidence that a gender fluid individual committed sexual assault at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Va., in May 2021.

AFGHAN TEENAGERS TURN HOMESCHOOLERS

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Peter Watt

AFGHAN TEENAGERS TURN HOMESCHOOLERS

21 October 2021 Afghanistan

Blocked from education by the Taliban, Ritu Mahendru speaks to young women risking their safety to teach younger students.

Two months on from the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, women and girls have been pushed out of work, education and face disparate forms of violence. Afghanistan is on the brink of famine, there is no work, and social services have come to a standstill. The banks are closed, the economy is collapsing and freedom of speech is shrinking. International aid remains limited and is failing to reach everyone. Many Afghans continue to live in fear.

The Taliban have banned secondary school education for girls but, despite the risks, teenage girls in Afghanistan have set up schools in their homes to educate their younger peers. Sutooda is one of them. ‘I am teaching other girls, my neighbours and my cousins,’ the 14-year-old explained. ‘I teach them Dari and Maths. I support them with their homework.’ Her students are aged between 9 and 11 years old.

‘Losing our education means losing our lives. When there is no education we are like dead bodies. We feel so inferior,’ Sutooda continued. ‘They [the Taliban] are worried that if they gave an opportunity to girls to go to school, they will be more powerful. The Taliban is afraid of women that’s why they banned us, because they know that we will fight for our rights.’

I know girls are being deprived from education so I decided to teach them. I don’t want them to waste their time

Gul (not her real name), is 15 years old and said her family are encouraging of her decision to teach other girls. ‘I came first in my class. I know girls are being deprived from education so I decided to teach them. I don’t want them to waste their time,’ she said.

It’s clear that the Taliban is returning to its hardline policies working within an extreme version of Islamic Law. Its solution to lawlessness and corruption is to rule using what they have declared the ‘true and pure Islam’. Now, the so-called Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan has permanently shut the Ministry of Women Affairs, stripping women of jobs and their rights. In the newly formed government, there is not a single female minister. Women are not able to leave home without a mahram (a male guardian).

The Taliban cited girls’ safety and security as its key reasons for stopping them going to school. However, Gul and Sutooda say the biggest fear for Afghan women and girls has always been and still is the Taliban. They are now too afraid of violence to walk on the streets of Kabul.

SHAMEFUL

‘Since the Taliban took over I haven’t gone outside the house. If I go outside they will hit or beat me – they will marry girls forcefully,’ said Gul.

Sutooda has only left the house in the car with her father. ‘Most of the times I am drawing. I think my studies were for nothing,’ she said.

‘I feel stressed. I wish it were all a dream. We had lots of achievements in terms of human rights, women rights, and individual families [before the Taliban took over]. It’s shameful. It’s a disaster. We lost everything in one night.’

Since the Taliban took over I haven’t gone outside the house. If I go outside they will hit or beat me – they will marry girls forcefully

‘The Taliban says that girls can’t go to school until there is safety,’ said Gul. ‘Even though previously the city wasn’t safe and there were suicide attacks, all girls were going to school. It’s the Taliban who has bad feeling for girls. Because they had no idea about girls’ education.’

The Taliban have pledged to review the curriculum for Afghan schools, a move likely to reduce students’ access to a range of subjects and further constrain girls’ education. New Internationalist spoke to young women who were especially afraid of losing access to science and secular studies.

‘I miss my teachers and my class fellows,’ said Sutooda. ‘My favourite subjects are history and geography. History teaches us about past and we can learn a lot from it. Geography because I want to learn about other countries and their borders. They [The Taliban] will probably remove the history because there is a lot about Taliban.’

DEAFENING SILENCE

After the US-led military coalition invaded Afghanistan in 2001 it spent billions of dollars on women’s empowerment projects. The international community’s presence and funds shaped the policy agenda in Afghanistan, and there were some enormous changes to all aspects of Afghans’ lives. Against staggering odds, women and girls have since made significant achievements in education and health sectors.

Millions more girls were in school than they were under the Taliban rule. Although the situation of Afghan girls was never satisfactory, 3.5 million children remained out of school – 85 per cent of them girls. Only 37 per cent of adolescent girls are literate, compared to 66 per cent of boys of the same age. However, there was a hope amongst Afghan women that their rights would advance through their increasing presence as key members of the Afghan society – as activists, politicians, researchers, musicians, journalists, actors, business leaders and sports people.

Afghan girls know about the world and their rights. We are not the girls they beat 20 years ago

‘Education is the main basis of freedom and any civilization,’ said Afghan journalist Massoud Hossaini who managed to escape to the Netherlands following the Taliban takeover. ‘If the girls are banned from higher education, the Afghan society will never progress and have a change for a better future.’

‘Time is passing and girls will remain uneducated,’ said Sutooda. ‘There won’t be any women to govern, or work in NGOs, or as doctors.’ But she remained defiant: ‘Afghan girls know about the world and their rights. We are not the girls they beat 20 years ago.’

Despite the fact that the West knew the Taliban were a repressive regime, especially towards women, the US government have remained largely silent about human rights violations against women and girls. Afghan women are living the legacy of the so-called ‘War on Terror’. Many of them see the US and its allies as instrumental in nurturing the environment in which the Taliban grew and thrived, along with their repressive politics.

Sutooda had a message for the international community: ‘They shouldn’t recognize the Taliban as an official government unless they let women go to schools… According to human rights law, women and men are equal.’

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Posted in Afghan Teenagers Turn Homeschoolers | Tagged "I miss my teachers and my class", Taliban has banned secondary education for girls, womenare not allowed to leave home without a male guardian, Young womenrisk safety to teach younger girls | Leave a comment

National School Boards Association Apologizes for Letter to Biden Admin Comparing Parents to Domestic Terrorists

Posted on October 23, 2021 by Peter Watt

CBNNEWS.COM

Displaying 30+ Stories

National School Boards Association Apologizes for Letter to Biden Admin Comparing Parents to Domestic Terrorists

10-23-2021

Andrea Morris

YouTube Screenshot: WUSA 9 News/Loudoun County

The National School Boards Association (NSBA) apologized Friday for sending a letter to the Biden administration last month asking the federal government to investigate alleged threats and violence from concerned parents over their children’s education.

“As you all know, there has been extensive media and other attention recently around our letter to President Biden regarding threats and acts of violence against school board members,” the NSBA wrote in Friday’s memo.

“We wanted to write to you directly to address this matter. On behalf of NSBA, we regret and apologize for the letter,” the organization wrote, noting that “there was no justification for some of the language included in the letter.”

The initial 6-page letter sent on September 29, asked the administration to examine whether apparent threats to school-board members over mask mandates and “propaganda purporting the false inclusion of critical race theory” required a federal investigation.

“As these acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials have increased, the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes,” it reads.

On Oct. 4, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the FBI was looking into what he called “a disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff.”

But during a contentious hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, Garland told Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) that no one at the White House had talked to him about the NSBA letter.

Garland also insisted during the hearing that the DOJ was not going to investigate parents who take issue with school board policies.

“The Justice Department supports and defends the First Amendment right of parents to complain as vociferously as they wish about the education of their children, about the curriculum taught in the schools,” he said. “That is not what the memorandum is about at all, nor does it use the words ‘domestic terrorism’ or ‘Patriot Act.'”

Friday’s memo promised that the NSBA board would “do better going forward” and vowed to review “not only the proceedings leading to the letter but also other related concerns raised by members even before the letter was sent.”

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It’s never too late to get back to learning (or re-learning). Many parents (72%) say they plan on learning math and science right alongside their kids this school year.

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Posted in Nal School Boards Assn.: We apologize | Tagged Dept. of Justice: We will investigate, Nal School Board Assn says: We made a mistake, Schl Board Assn asks Biden to investigate "terrorist" Parents, US Atty Gen walks back on investigating parents' actions | Leave a comment

Parents Should Control Education: Ron Paul

Posted on October 18, 2021 by Peter Watt

Parents Should Control Education

written by ron paul

monday october 4, 2021

During last week’s Virginia gubernatorial debate, Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe promised that as governor he would prevent parents from removing sexually explicit books from school libraries, because he doesn’t think “parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”McAuliffe’s disdain for parents who think they should have some say in their children’s education is shared by most “progressives,” as well as some who call themselves conservatives. They think parents should obediently pay the taxes to fund the government schools and never question any aspect of the government school program.School officials’ refusal to obey the wishes of parents extends to the anti-science mask mandates. Mask mandates are not only useless in protecting children from a virus they are at low risk of becoming sick from or transmitting, the mandated mask-wearing actually makes children sick! Yet school administrators refuse to follow the science if that means listening to parents instead of the so-called experts.

Replacing parental control with government control of education (and other aspects of child raising) has been a goal of authoritarians since Plato. After all, it is much easier to ensure obedience if someone has been raised to think of the government as the source of all wisdom and truth, as well as the provider of all of life’s necessities.

In contrast to an authoritarian society, a free society recognizes that parents have both the responsibility and the right to provide their children with a quality education that reflects the parents’ values. Teachers who use their positions to indoctrinate children in beliefs that contradict the views of the parents are the ones overstepping their bounds.

Restoring parental control of education should be a priority for all who believe in liberty. If government can override the wishes of parents in the name of “education” or “protecting children’s health” then what area of our lives is safe from government intrusion?

Fortunately, growing dissatisfaction with government schools is leading many parents to try to change school policies. Parents are also responding by pursuing alternatives to government schools, including the option hated most by authoritarians: homeschooling.

The unnecessary coronavirus lockdowns and the teachers union officials’ support for keeping schools closed have also contributed to the growth in homeschooling.

Parents looking for a homeschooling program that includes an introduction to the ideas of liberty should consider my homeschool curriculum. My curriculum provides students with a solid education in history, literature, mathematics, and the sciences. It also gives students the opportunity to create their own websites and internet-based businesses. The curriculum is designed to be self-taught, with students helping, and learning from, each other via online forums.

Starting in fourth grade, students are required to write at least one essay a week. Students also take a course in public speaking.

The curriculum teaches history from a pro-liberty perspective, and the economics section is taught from the Austrian viewpoint. But, unlike government schools, the curriculum does not compromise education quality, distort facts, or undermine parental authority in pursuit of an ideological agenda.

Students using my homeschooling program develop a love of learning, study superior communication skills, and gain real-world business experience. They also develop critical thinking skills that will enable them to succeed in whatever career paths they choose.

Parents interested in giving their children a well-rounded homeschool education that includes an introduction to sound economics and the ideas of liberty can get more information about my curriculum by going to RonPaulCurriculum.com.

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Posted in Should Parents control their children's education? | Tagged authoritarianism vs. Freedom, growing dissatisfaction with Public Education, Ron Paul says parents should control their children's education, VA Gov. Candidate McAuliffe wants Govt. to dictate education | Leave a comment

U.S. Homeschooling Jumped 300 Percent During COVID

Posted on October 13, 2021 by Peter Watt

U.S. Homeschooling Jumped 300 Percent During COVID

by Bob Adelmann September 30, 2021

In “Homeschooling in Uncertain Times,” just published by the Pioneer Institute, authors William Donovan and William Heuer celebrate one unmistakable benefit from the COVID-related shutdown: Not only has the number of homeschooled children tripled, but most parents are deciding to keep their children in a homeschool environment even after the virus has dissipated.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of households with children being homeschooled has doubled in one year, from 5.4 percent during the 2019-20 school year to 11 percent in 2020-21. Among black families, it increased nearly five-fold, from 3.3 percent to 16.1 percent in just one year. In the past two years, homeschooling in the United States has more than tripled.

Said co-author Donovan, “For a lot of people who had been thinking about homeschooling, the pandemic made it a good time to make the change.” The authors added, “Traditional homeschooling was rapidly growing before the pandemic, and is likely to stick.”

The growth in homeschooling in black families was especially notable:

We point out the rise in homeschooling among Black and other minority families. While they too were influenced by health concerns, often they chose to homeschool because they believe their homes are a safer environment than the halls and grounds of public schools, especially in urban areas.

This no doubt is upsetting to liberal academics such as Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Bartholet. She claims that homeschooling is “a threat to children and society.” She co-authored “Parents’ Religion and Children’s Welfare: Debunking the Doctrine of Parents’ Rights” with James Dwyer. Dwyer, a law professor at the College of William and Mary, claimed that the fundamental civic relationship is not that between parents and their children but instead is between the individual and the state.

The rapidly growing homeschooling phenomenon [poses a] threat to children and society….

Many homeschool precisely because they want to isolate their children from ideas and values central to public education and our democracy.

Many promote racial segregation and female subservience.

Many question science.

Many are determined to keep their children from exposure to views that might enable autonomous choice about their future lives.

She then goes on to demand “a rethinking of child rights … and recommends a presumptive ban on homeschooling, with the burden on parents to demonstrate justification for permission to homeschool.”

Bartholet’s real target is Christians homeschooling their children. From her Arizona Law Review article:

A very large proportion of homeschooling parents are ideologically committed to isolating their children from the majority culture and indoctrinating them in views and values that are in serious conflict with that culture….

Many don’t believe in the scientific method, looking to the Bible instead as their source for understanding the world.

The state owns the children, according to Bartholet:

The legal claim made in defense of the current homeschooling regime is based on a dangerous idea about parent rights — that those with enormous physical and other power over infants and children should be subject to virtually no check on that power.

That parents should have monopoly control over children’s lives, development, and experience.

That parents who are committed to beliefs and values counter to those of the larger society are entitled to bring their children up in isolation, so as to help ensure that they will replicate the parents’ views and lifestyle choices….

The legal claim is also inconsistent with an idea that has been central since the beginning of compulsory education — that the state has a powerful interest in educating children in ways that enable positive participation in the larger society.

In an interview with the Harvard Gazette Bartholet expanded her attack on Christians educating their children at home:

Many homeschooling parents are extreme ideologues, committed to raising their children within their belief systems isolated from any societal influence….

The danger is both to these children and to society. The children may not have the chance to choose for themselves whether to exit these ideological communities; society may not have the chance to teach them values important to the larger community, such as tolerance of other people’s views and values.

Does Bartholet not see the irony in that last statement, about “tolerance of other people’s views and values”? Without realizing it, she makes a compelling case for homeschooling that reaches far beyond concerns over health and safety. Homeschooling may teach children that they are sovereign citizens, that God has given them certain unalienable rights, that the Constitution guarantees those rights, and that governments are instituted among men to protect those rights.

All of this is counter to the “culture” that Bartholet and other statists support and defend. It’s no wonder that those in the freedom fight celebrate the small bit of good news that government’s heavy-handed COVID response is bringing: Homeschooling is on the rise and its increase is likely to continue.

Bob Adelmann

http://LightFromTheRight.comAn Ivy League graduate and former investment advisor, Bob is a regular contributor to The New American, writing primarily on economics and politics. He can be reached at badelmann [at] thenewamerican [dot] com.

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Posted in Homeschooling jumps 300 percent during Covid | Tagged Bartholet: The State owns the children, But Harvard Prof. Bartholet claims it is wrong to Homeschool, Homeschooling up 500% for Black familiesduring covid, Rise in Homeschooling likely to continue | Leave a comment

FREE BOOKS ON INTERNET ARE NOT FREE !! READ A SCAM VICTIM’S SAD STORY

Posted on October 12, 2021 by Peter Watt

INTRODUCTION:

We publish Alpha-Phonics, a phonics reading instruction program used by tens of thousands for over 37 years. There are scammers who offer it FREE. They are 100% illegal and can cause you a lot of trouble if you get caught up in their schemes.

This is the story of one man who tells how much trouble a “FREE” scam caused him. So, beware of things “FREE”

How to Avoid the Usenet.nl Scam (2018), by Sean Gabb

By seangabb / In Law / 3rd March 2018

How to Avoid the Usenet.nl Scam
Sean Gabb
3rd March 2018

The best way to avoid what might have happened to me is not, under any circumstances, to do business with Usenet.nl. If, however, you are careless enough to find yourself in my position, here is how I seem to have got out of it.

On the 28th August 2017, I joined Usenet.nl. This is a service that promises unrestricted access to the newsgroups. The deal was that I was allowed a free trial fortnight, in which I could download up to 5Gb of data. After that, I would pay £7 a month to keep the service. I had to give my real name and address, and to set up a PayPal standing order.

I suppose most people sign up for this kind of service in the hope of open access to smutty pictures and videos. What lets me speak so openly about my own experience is that I was hoping instead to feed my Wagner habit with an unlimited supply of Tristan and The Ring. For the avoidance of doubt where any copyright cop is concerned, my custom is to download free recordings, and then, if I like them, to upgrade to CDs bought on Amazon or E-Bay. I had a look round. I downloaded a Karajan recording of Die Meistersinger. It came down so garbled, it was a pain to listen to. So I deleted everything, and then went to the Usenet.nl site to cancel my account – well within the trial period.

Here, I found that there was no easy way to cancel. Whenever I tried, I was directed to a 404 error. But I thought nothing of this. I cancelled my standing order with PayPal, and sent an e-mail of notification.

On the 11th September 2017, I had this e-mail:

Hello Sean Gabb,

we have tried to deduct the membership fee for your usenet.nl account on 12/09/17 00:47, but this has not been successful.

Your account has been suspended.

Please ensure that:

a) that PayPal has permission to debit your bank account or credit card.
b) that the data stored at PayPal is correct.

Please note that unfortunately PayPal accounts that are topped up manually by money transfer cannot be accepted.

As soon as verification has been successfully completed, your test account will be activated and you will be able to use your login data to surf Usenet with Highspeed.

Verify payment details here → In case you want to transfer the amount, you can do this with the following data:

Transfer here →

Do you have any questions? Please don’t hesitate to contact us or to use our contact form.

Have a nice day and best regards,

I sent back a quick reply that I had cancelled my account. That same day, I had this:

Dear

Thank you for your e-mail.

You have registered with Usenet.nl for an account on 28th of August 2017.

Maybe you overlooked that you had to terminate within the 14-day trial, if not wanted, and it automatically turned into a regular package on 12th of September 2017 with the normal running time of one year. This you agreed to in accepting the terms and conditions expressly.

If you have the suspicion though, that someone else used your private data to open this account liable to pay costs, we must advise you to file charges at your local police against “unknown” and send us a copy of that report. We will then close your file and erase your dates from our server

For further questions please contact us any time.

Kind regards

Invoice-Service-Team
Tel. + 49 2261 6066-367 | Fax. + 49 2261 6066-198
invoice-service [at] usenet [dot] nl www.usenet.nl
Usenet.nl S.r.l
Via XXV Marzo, 4
47895 Domagnano
San Marino
C.O.E. SM 22403 Executive
Geschäftsführer: Giacomo Boria

I told Usenet.nl to go away. They refused, and there was a desultory correspondence. Then, on the 22nd November 2017, I received this letter by e-mail and in hard copy from Tesch Inkasso Forderungsmanagement GmbH, a purported debt collection company:

Claim of Usenet.nl S.r.l. , file number NX17/61369, your customer number 8535186

Dear Sean Gabb,

regarding the above mentioned matter, we would like to inform you that our client Usenet.nl S.r.l., has commissioned us with the collection of their overdue claims. You have not yet paid the current invoice for the Usenet services provided by Usenet.nl S.r.l. .

Referring to the documents submitted to us, our client has complied with his contractual obligations with respect to you. Our client has duly performed his services and furnished you with his statement of account.

Unfortunately, you have not yet carried out the complete settlement of the outstanding balance in spite of repeated reminders from our client and you are already considerably in delay of payment.

The outstanding total claim is specified as follows:

1. Principal claim for services provided according to invoicenumber 11290956 incl. chargeback fees 76,47EUR
2. Interest (see attached interest statement) 0,35EUR
3. Dunning costs according to §§ 280, 286 BGB 11,54 EUR
Subtotal 88,36EUR

4. Costs of our commissioning according to § 4 (5) RDGEG claimed as damage caused by your delay according to §§ 280 I,II, 286 BGB:
a) 1,0 Business fee according to § 4 (5) RDGEG in conjunction with No. 2300 VV RVG of EUR 45,00EUR
b) Flat fee for post and telecommunications according to No. 7002 VV RVG 9,00EUR
Total claim 142,36EUR

To avoid further additional costs and measures, we kindly ask you to pay the above mentioned debt until 03.12.2017 at the latest.

Please use the following payment methods:

Bank details:
Commerzbank AG
IBAN: DE82 3844 0016 0722 0809 06
BIC/SWIFT: COBADEFFXXX

To make payment even more convenient for you, we offer to make money transfers directly to our London Account: Sort Code 406201, Account number 30544830, Favour of: Tesch Inkasso Forderungsmanagement GmbH. The total claim would be then 126,61 GBP.

PayPal account: paypal [at] tesch-inkasso [dot] de

Please note: If you decide to pay via PayPal we have to charge handling fees in the amount of 8,00 EUR. The total claim would be then 150,36 EUR.

Payment can also be made via transfer to the bank mentioned in the footnote of our letter.

We would like to draw your attention to the fact that we have the authorisation to collect outstanding debts, so that payments should only be made to our account and further correspondence should also only be directed to our address.

We herewith indicate that the above mentioned deadline has to be absolutely kept.

Should there be any problems with the payment or discrepancies concerning the demand, please feel free to contact us at any time by e-mail or telephone.

Together we will find a solution.

Yours faithfully

S. Ludwig
Tesch Inkasso Forderungsmanagement GmbH
Registered legal services provider for debt collection services pursuant to Section 10 of the Legal Services Act (Rechtsdienstleistungsgesetz)
Registry Court Cologne Reg. No. 39598, Managing Directors: S. Ludwig, VAT ID NO. DE 215665473

To summarise everything so far, Usenet.nl was claiming that my not having cancelled exactly as directed – that is, as had been impossible – had meant I was signed up for its regular service. My non-payment on the specified date had made me liable to pay the entire annual sum. Because I had not paid this as required, Tesch Inkasso was now threatening me with unlimited escalation of the original purported debt, followed by court action and bailiffs.

I had a momentary wobble, then common sense came to the rescue. No company would sue, even in the Small Claims Court, for so small a sum. No English court would find against me. I had taken reasonable action within the trial period to cancel. I did not use the service outside the trial period. Indeed, Usenet.nl had told me my account was suspended. It had no claim for payment.

I did some research on Usenet.nl and Tesch Inkasso. What I found prompted this reply:

Dear Sirs,

I have received your letter dated the 20th November 2017, demanding that I pay you the sum of E142.34. I notice that your letter is in the same form as this one that you sent to another Usenet.nl subscriber in 2016: https://www.reddit.com/r/usenet/comments/554uhn/usenetnl_is_a_scam/

I will not pay you, because I do not owe you or your client any money. I signed up for a free 14-day trial of your client’s service in August 2017. I then attempted to cancel within the free period. I was unable to cancel, and unable to contact your client.

I am not alone in this. Here is a forum of other people who also tried and failed to cancel: https://toughnickel.com/scams-fraud/Is-Usenetnl-a-scam. Here is another one: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/usenetnl/internet/usenetnl-tesch-inkasso-still-scamming-in-2016-internet-1309769

It seems that the Usenet.nl website is configured to make cancellation unreasonably difficult. I therefore cancelled my subscription via Paypal and uninstalled the relevant software. I did both within the 14-day free trial period. Since then, I have not used your client’s service. Our agreement was terminated when I cancelled via Paypal – within, I repeat, the 14-day free trial period.

I am advised that your business model is to send me the letter that I received today. After the 3rd December, you are planning to send me another letter in stronger terms. There are copies of these also all over the Internet.

I therefore tell you that, if you contact me again, I will report you to the British and German police. You and your client have been running this scam since at least 2007. I regret that I failed to check out your client before signing up for its service. But I repeat that I am now fully aware of your business model, and that you will at least be wasting your time if you continue harassing me for payment of this fraudulent invoice.

Sean Gabb

I have heard nothing since. I may get more threatening letters next week, but suspect I shall not. The Internet is haunted by companies that offer a service, but are in fact scams. I do not think there should be regulation. I simply think little of the people concerned. I hope the correspondence given above will serve as a warning to the unwary, or at least as a template for making these people go away.

Just like FREE Lunch, there is no such thing as a FREE book

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For Parents who during the Coronavirus Crisis are beginning to Homeschool, whose interest is in making sure their kids are adequately being taught to read, we suggest they consider using Alpha-Phonics. It has been used successfully for over 37 years by tens of thousands of Parents to easily teach their children to become excellent readers. With Alpha-Phonics Parents can make a lot of progress in a short period of time. Learn all about it below:

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Pos

Posted in Beware of FREE book offers on the Internet | Tagged Always do business with solid sellers like ALPHA-PHONICS, FREE book offers may cost you plenty!!, Many Scamers are Foreign making them untouchable, Read this story of a real SCAM you should AVOID | Leave a comment

An Oklahoma family has been named the kindest in the country. Why?

Posted on October 8, 2021 by Peter Watt

FAMILY

An Oklahoma family has been named the kindest in the country. Why?

Heard on Morning Edition

SHARON PRUITT-YOUNG

Luke and Holly Barrón live in Oklahoma with their three sons, 7-year-old Reid, 5-year-old Holden and 2-year-old Conley. Their oldest son, Keaton (pictured here), died in 2018 when he was 8 years old following a battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia that began when he was 2 1/2. Part of what made Keaton so special was how much he cared about others, his family said.

Holly Barrón

The Barróns may seem like a normal family in Oklahoma but they’re also “America’s kindest family,” according to Parents magazine.

Luke and Holly Barrón live in Oklahoma with their three sons, 7-year-old Reid, 5-year-old Holden and 2-year-old Conley. Their oldest son, Keaton, died in 2018 when he was 8 years old following a battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia that began when he was 2 1/2, the magazine says.

But out of that tragedy, the Barróns have been able to touch countless lives through numerous altruistic acts inspired by Keaton’s memory.

“Keaton was the most amazing child we have ever met. Probably the most amazing person we have ever met,” Holly Barrón told NPR’s Morning Edition. “That kid, from the time he was born, was just super special.”

NATIONAL

‘Be Kind’: Tween Kentucky Sisters Hope Campaign Will Spark A Wave Of Kindness

Part of what made Keaton so special was how much he cared about others, his family said. While he was in the hospital, Keaton and a friend named Kay came up with a “kindness club” which they named the K Club, and that later became the Keaton’s Kindness Foundation.

They set membership fees at $1 — or whatever prospective members could afford — with all donations going toward charity, the foundation statement reads. The club took off, allowing the K Club to bring joy to people’s lives with charitable acts, many of which were for pediatric hospital patients

Parents magazine chose the Barróns to be the winners of its “America’s Kindest Family” contest. Contestants were nominated by the magazine’s readership and the winners were chosen by a panel of judges that included Parents Editor-in-Chief Julia Edelstein, TV personality Al Roker and actress Kristin Bell.

The Barróns will be featured on the magazine’s November cover. As their prize, they’ve been awarded $10,000 as well as a $15,000 food donation to the charity of their choice.

But, as the adage goes, kindness is its own reward. And Keaton’s family continues to be inspired every day, not only by his kindness, but by his positive attitude.

“Through our day … we have a wide range of emotions, but just to step back and think about the attitude and outlook that Keaton had, and to know that, hey, if this little kid can do it in spite of everything that’s been going on, there’s absolutely no reason why we can’t,” Luke Barrón told NPR.

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Just 56% of Americans can name all three branches of government

Posted on October 7, 2021 by Peter Watt

STUDY FINDS

EDUCATION, POLITICS

Just 56% of Americans can name all three branches of government — a 15-year high!

SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

by Chris Melore

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PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — American politics may be in a disheveled state right now, but it’s apparently making more people aware of their rights as citizens, a new survey reveals. Researchers from the University of the Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center say knowledge about civics has actually increased over the last year — reaching its highest levels since 2006.

The center’s annual poll of more than 1,000 people finds 56 percent of Americans are now capable of naming all three branches of government. In 2006, just 33 percent of respondents could accurately say the three branches include the executive, legislative, and judicial.

Moreover, following a divisive impeachment trial, contentious election, multiple court battles, and deadly riot at the Capitol, Americans have come out of the last year with a great understanding of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Three-quarters of the poll (74%) correctly stated that the First Amendment protects the freedom of speech. However, fewer respondents knew it also protects the freedom of religion (56%), freedom of the press (50%), the right to assembly (30%), or the right to petition (20%).

“Higher proportions of the public have a foundational awareness of the three branches and the protections in the First Amendment,” says Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center in a media release. “But this knowledge appears to have been purchased at a real cost. It was a contentious year in which the branches of government were stress-tested.”

Facebook and the freedom of speech

Despite more people brushing up on their knowledge of one of America’s most important documents, how they apply that knowledge is still leading to some confusion. With controversy over how social media platforms like Facebook censor and block people’s posts continuing, the poll looked at how the public views these actions.

Six in 10 Americans (61%) incorrectly stated that the First Amendment’s protection of free speech means Facebook must permit all users to freely express themselves on their website. Researchers explain that the First Amendment protects citizens from government censorship, but social media companies and their platforms are private entities. Therefore, the courts have ruled that the freedom of speech doesn’t cover these forums.

Despite this, 66 percent of conservatives, 61 percent of moderates, and 55 percent of liberals all believe that the First Amendment covers what people say on Facebook.

Confusion in Congress too

The public is also very fuzzy on how long the people they elect to public office stay in those jobs. Just 35 percent correctly said that a U.S. senator serves for six years. Only 36 percent knew that a congressman serves for two years.

When it comes to court rulings, only 51 percent correctly said that the Supreme Court gets the final say on whether something the president does is constitutional or not. Additionally, one in three people actually think that a 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court does not become a law. Instead, these Americans incorrectly think a 5-4 ruling either goes to Congress for “reconsideration” or is sent back to a lower court level.

The Capitol riot continues to divide the nation

When it comes to the chaotic events of Jan. 6, the poll finds the country remains split evenly over whether Americans had the right to protest and storm the Capitol building. In fact, 49 percent believe arresting the protesters at the U.S. Capitol violated their constitutional right to petition the government. Meanwhile, 49 percent believe arresting protesters at the Capitol did not violate the Constitution.

Surprisingly, researchers find the thought that people had a right to disrupt the process to certify Joe Biden’s election received bipartisan support. Along with 53 percent of conservatives and 51 percent of moderates who think it’s unconstitutional to arrest the Capitol rioters, 42 percent of liberals agree with this belief.

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Couple With 11 Kids Homeschool Every Child on Their Mini Farm, Call Them a ‘Gift From God’

Posted on October 5, 2021 by Peter Watt

(Courtesy of Courtney Rogers)

LIFE & TRADITION

Couple With 11 Kids Homeschool Every Child on Their Mini Farm, Call Them a ‘Gift From God’

The kids don’t need to stray far from home to find the activities that enrich their lives

BY LOUISE BEVAN

September 26, 2021 Updated: October 1, 2021

A couple with a mini farm in New Mexico has welcomed 11 biological children in just 10 years. They homeschool every child, are fast running out of space in their 15-seater transit van, and are expecting their 12th child in March 2022.

Yet Courtney and Chris Rogers, for whom their faith in God is central, say that, amid the chaos, they are grateful for their joy-filled home.

“I always wanted to be a mother,” Courtney told The Epoch Times, “but I never imagined having almost 12 children. I love having a large family and I’m thankful God entrusted them to us.”

Epoch Times Photo — Courtney and Chris Rogers’s children. (Courtesy of Courtney Rogers)

Courtney and Chris, raised in North Carolina and Georgia respectively, moved to New Mexico eight years ago.

In descending age order, their growing brood includes Clint, 11; Clay, 10; Cade, 9; Callie, 8; Cash, Colt, and Case, all 6; Calena, 4; Caydie, 3; Coralee, 2; and Caris, 9 months.

Chris, himself one of 10 siblings, works at the family’s church and does various construction projects, while Courtney cares for and homeschools the children year-round, allowing time out for family vacations and work days.

The big family also ensures to allocate time to care for the plant and animal residents of the farm on which they live.

“Being homeschooled and working together on our farm makes us a close family,” Courtney said. The older boys especially, she said, love it when they are able to learn construction skills from their father.

“We have fun, but also work hard to keep the farm and household going,” she added.

Joking that a family their size “eats a ton,” Courtney claimed that visits to the grocery store are never-ending. Thankfully, the farm provides some of the meat, eggs, and vegetables that comprise their staple diet.

Everyone helps with chores. “We all live here and we all clean up,” Courtney reasoned.

The mom of 11 became pregnant with her first child a month after she and Chris got married. Thrilled to be starting a family so early, it was a devastating blow for the couple to suffer a miscarriage just before the 6-week mark.

“I was heartbroken,” Courtney wrote for Love What Matters. “Sure, it was an early loss, but it was a wanted pregnancy and the end of a dream.”

Six months later, Courtney got another positive pregnancy test. She was cautious, but the pregnancy progressed well and she gave birth to her first baby, Clint, in March 2010.

Sixteen months later, Clay arrived. Courtney’s following pregnancies came closer and closer together; when the third baby, Cade, was just 3 months old, Courtney discovered that number four was on the way. “I must admit I was a little embarrassed to announce this pregnancy. ‘What will everyone think?’” she wrote.

But after baby four, the couple’s first daughter, Courtney’s love for being a mom took over. The family was blessed with seven more babies, including twins.

Parenting 11 kids under the age of 11, however, is no mean feat. Space is becoming an issue for the Rogerses and finding a babysitter is nearly impossible.

The size of their party means that renting just two hotel rooms on trips is no longer enough. They already have to pull a small luggage trailer for longer excursions. Renting a house is the best option they have for now, said Courtney.

Their shared Christian faith gives the couple, and their kids, the conviction they need to stay grounded.

They don’t need to stray far from home to find the activities that enrich their lives: Courtney and Chris teach classes at church, volunteer in the nursery, play the piano, and help with American sign language interpreting; the family attends church services together.

Courtney shares life with 11 kids on their New Mexico mini farm with the world via her Instagram page.

“We believe children are a gift from God and that they shouldn’t be taken for granted,” she told The Epoch Times. “Now, more than ever, we need to take the time to teach our children values, a proper work ethic, and to love God and family.”

Share your stories with us at emg [dot] inspired [at] epochtimes [dot] com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter

Louise Bevan

Louise Bevan is a writer, born and raised in London, England. She covers inspiring news and human interest stories.

ISN’T IT TIME FOR FAMILIES TO QUIT PUTTING THEIR MASK ON, TAKING THEIR MASK OFF, AND BACK ON AGAIN………..

IT IS TIME TO MAKE THE MOVE TO HOMESCHOOLING !!

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There’s a scientific reason why kids dislike broccoli and cauliflower

Posted on September 27, 2021 by Peter Watt

child vegetables diet — (Credit: cottonbro from Pexels)

CHILDREN, FOOD

There’s a scientific reason why kids dislike broccoli and cauliflower

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

by Chris Melore

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NORTH RYDE, Australia — Children and vegetables are not exactly a match made in heaven. In fact, many parents will probably admit getting their kids to eat greens like broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts can be next to impossible. While some may think children are just being picky, a new study finds there’s an actually scientific explanation for why kids dislike these vegetables. A team in Australia says a youngster’s tastes may come down to the organisms in their saliva.

Brassica vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts, are the enemies of many children and even some adults as well. Even former president George H.W. Bush famously declared his dislike for broccoli. Now, scientists know what’s likely behind this.

The study finds bacteria in the mouth can mix with certain enzymes in these veggies — producing an unpleasant and sulfurous odor. Specifically, Brassica vegetables contain a compound called S-methyl-ʟ-cysteine sulfoxide. It produces a potent smell when it interacts with the same enzyme coming from bacteria in a person’s oral microbiome.

Blame the parents!

Ironically, the study finds parents should actually blame their own microbiome if their kids don’t like eating broccoli. Previous studies show that the levels of this odor-producing compound vary from adult to adult. However, parents and their children typically have very similar microbiome makeups in their saliva.

With that in mind, researcher Damian Frank and a team working at Australia’s national science agency (CSIRO) examined how both adults and their children react to Brassica vegetables depending on their microbiome makeup. First and foremost, the team discovered that children with higher levels of these volatile compounds in their saliva causes them to dislike broccoli, cauliflower, and other Brassica vegetables.

What are people smelling from these veggies?

Researchers used a process called gas chromatography-olfactometry-mass spectrometry to identify the main odor-active compounds in raw and steamed cauliflower and broccoli. From there, 98 child-parent pairs rated the odors they smelled coming from these greens. Each of the children were between the ages of six and eight years-old.

Dimethyl trisulfide ranked as the most unpopular odor coming from raw broccoli and cauliflower among both kids and their parents. Study authors say this compound smells rotten, sulfurous, and putrid.

After this test, researchers mixed saliva samples from the group with raw cauliflower powder. The team discovered large differences in the production of sulfur volatile compounds between participants, but very similar results when comparing parents and their kids.

Surprisingly, the parents of children with high levels of volatile compounds in their saliva did not hate broccoli and cauliflower as much as their youngsters did. Frank’s team believes this is probably because the adults in the study have learned to tolerate the flavor of Brassica vegetables over time. Researchers conclude that the findings provide new insight into how the human microbiome interacts with certain foods.

Now, when a child says “yuck” while eating a plate of broccoli, parents will understand their kids are really telling the truth!

The study appears in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

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AFGHAN TEENAGERS TURN HOMESCHOOLERS

SHAMEFUL

DEAFENING SILENCE

National School Boards Association Apologizes for Letter to Biden Admin Comparing Parents to Domestic Terrorists

Bob Adelmann

INTRODUCTION:

How to Avoid the Usenet.nl Scam (2018), by Sean Gabb

Just like FREE Lunch, there is no such thing as a FREE book

An Oklahoma family has been named the kindest in the country. Why?

You can easily teach your own child to read. Find out how:

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ALPHA-PHONICS WAS A TOP AWARD WINNER IN THE 2021 PRACTICAL HOMESCHOOLING MAGAZINE “BEST OF” CONTEST:

Couple With 11 Kids Homeschool Every Child on Their Mini Farm, Call Them a ‘Gift From God’

ALPHA-PHONICSIS A TOP AWARD WINNER IN THE 2021 PRACTICAL HOMESCHOOLING MAGAZINE “BEST OF” CONTEST:

Blame the parents!

What are people smelling from these veggies?

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