What's in the news?

Started by Beorning, September 21, 2014, 07:02:11 AM

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Oniya

Average cost for one year of college, using the lowest-cost option of a state resident attending a public university - approximately 9500 USD.  That does not include room and board.  Or books and required materials.

http://www.collegedata.com/cs/content/content_payarticle_tmpl.jhtml?articleId=10064

After looking at those numbers, consider that the average per capita income in the US is 27,000, according to the 2010 census.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

AmberStarfire

#3776
That site's an interesting read. I think a lot of university's value comes down to people's perceptions and the qualifications people get at the end of it. As far as quality goes, I've found the quality of non-university classes to be much higher in some cases. I've also found on-campus study to be much more useful than external or distance education. When it's yourself, your books, and a teacher guiding readings and newgroups, it's just not the same as sitting in a classroom with someone who knows what they're talking about and is firmly focused on guiding you through a subject. Those who say people can't progress past a certain point without university study are deluding themselves. Study is useful, but people are quite capable of researching things and learning by themselves without a teacher guiding them, or through non-university classes. What people learn is really up to them and their dedication. University does develop people's research skills etc, but most people out there have already studied for around 12 years. With BA/BSc requirements for a lot of jobs, that's 15 or 16 years of study at which point people are considered to 'know little'. I think people know a whole lot more than others assume they do. It's what they do with it and what subjects they stay with that counts.


Oniya

Quote from: AmberStarfire on August 01, 2016, 01:27:05 PM
That site's an interesting read. I think a lot of university's value comes down to people's perceptions and the qualifications people get at the end of it. As far as quality goes, I've found the quality of non-university classes to be much higher in some cases. I've also found on-campus study to be much more useful than external or distance education. When it's yourself, your books, and a teacher guiding readings and newgroups, it's just not the same as sitting in a classroom with someone who knows what they're talking about and is firmly focused on guiding you through a subject. Those who say people can't progress past a certain point without university study are deluding themselves. Study is useful, but people are quite capable of researching things and learning by themselves without a teacher guiding them, or through non-university classes. What people learn is really up to them and their dedication. University does develop people's research skills etc, but most people out there have already studied for around 12 years. With BA/BSc requirements for a lot of jobs, that's 15 or 16 years of study at which point people are considered to 'know little'. I think people know a whole lot more than others assume they do. It's what they do with it and what subjects they stay with that counts.

The problem in the States is primarily that employers are using the 'has college diploma' tick-box as a way of determining who they will hire.  Not necessarily 'This person studied X - we need someone who studied X', but 'This person graduated, T/F.'  As a result, people who want a living wage want to go to college.  As a result of that, colleges say 'Hm - high demand.  They'll pay more.'  And then we get into the whole student loan thing. 
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

RedRose

That sounds so expensive to me. I'm used to free universities (unless you go to one of those few private places). Of course if you dorm there/live on campus then it's not free, but most kids just live at home. You do buy your own books to read, may or may not be provided with class books. You may have to pay a fee for various things - some of the money will be paid back to you if you don't mess up your books. But nothing like what I know Americans have to pay.

And definitely employers in France will want you to have graduated some kind of university for most jobs.
O/O and ideas - write if you'd be a good Aaron Warner (Juliette) [Shatter me], Tarkin (Leia), Wilkins (Faith) [Buffy the VS]
[what she reading: 50 TALES A YEAR]



Oniya

Quote from: RedRose on August 01, 2016, 03:13:05 PM
You do buy your own books to read, may or may not be provided with class books. You may have to pay a fee for various things - some of the money will be paid back to you if you don't mess up your books. But nothing like what I know Americans have to pay.

There are 'buy back' programs at most colleges, but when I went, they were a joke.  Especially in the STEM fields (which are pretty good fields if you can get hired), the textbooks would have a new edition every year, so the buy-back was a pittance since the bookstore couldn't resell the books.

Question - do French employers look to see whether your degree is applicable to the position?  Or is someone with a degree in Music going to be preferred over a self-taught (non-graduate) programmer for a computer-related job?
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

RedRose

In that case they're going to consider both as "no degree", I think. Now, if instead of music it was something kinda related, then they may well prefer that person to the self taught one, not giving him a chance to prove himself :( Unless he came with a lot of experience or references.
O/O and ideas - write if you'd be a good Aaron Warner (Juliette) [Shatter me], Tarkin (Leia), Wilkins (Faith) [Buffy the VS]
[what she reading: 50 TALES A YEAR]



TheGlyphstone

Quote from: Oniya on August 01, 2016, 03:20:24 PM
There are 'buy back' programs at most colleges, but when I went, they were a joke.  Especially in the STEM fields (which are pretty good fields if you can get hired), the textbooks would have a new edition every year, so the buy-back was a pittance since the bookstore couldn't resell the books.

Question - do French employers look to see whether your degree is applicable to the position?  Or is someone with a degree in Music going to be preferred over a self-taught (non-graduate) programmer for a computer-related job?

Textbooks are such an absurd scam, it's unbelievable. Not only do they release a new edition every year, but one year's edition will be exactly the same as the last except for different 'test' questions. I had two year's consecutive books where they didn't even change the actual questions, just the order they were numbered in.

Lustful Bride

Quote from: TheGlyphstone on August 01, 2016, 05:05:07 PM
Textbooks are such an absurd scam, it's unbelievable. Not only do they release a new edition every year, but one year's edition will be exactly the same as the last except for different 'test' questions. I had two year's consecutive books where they didn't even change the actual questions, just the order they were numbered in.

Books are so expensive for me I tend to to the first week without one. Which sucks so bad since some of them now have a passcode in them for the online portion of the class.

And they wonder why college students are going insane or suffering from ulcers.

TheGlyphstone

I just pirated as many as I could find, using copies of previous editions and getting homework questions from friends. And then the companies figured out the online passcode thing to make the books truly non-refundable.

TaintedAndDelish


( I typically wait for stories to show up on mainstream sites. Not sure how credible the Canary is )

Paris strikes astonishing partnership with secret Isis sponsor tied to Hillary Clinton [EXCLUSIVE]
http://www.thecanary.co/2016/07/29/paris-strikes-astonishing-partnership-secret-isis-sponsor-ties-hillary-clinton/

Oniya

I don't know about The Canary in particular, but the 'Isis sponsorship' seems to derive from an article in Le Monde (A French newspaper - perhaps easier to track down a reliability factor on it.)  The English reports of the article refer to LaFarge paying taxes that indirectly supported Daesh from 2013 to 2014.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

TaintedAndDelish

Yeah, you can get the English translation of the original page like this ( well, machine translated )

How cement manufacturer Lafarge worked with the Islamic state in Syria

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/article/2016/06/21/comment-le-cimentier-lafarge-a-travaille-avec-l-etat-islamique-en-syrie_4955039_3218.html&prev=search

I'm not sure how much I trust Ruptly.

Oniya

Yeah, I wasn't either, which is why I dug back to Le Monde.  It seemed like a source that either one of our European members might be able to verify or discredit.  (For all I know, it could be the French equivalent of the Daily Mail.)
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

AmberStarfire

#3788
What I did with the textbooks was get the most recent versions. However, there were a lot of recommended readings/textbooks/references for the course as well. There wasn't a library I could easily get to over here (the nearest with any useful books was in Dublin city centre and usually open during working hours, which didn't help when I worked a lot of the time). However, as a distance ed student, the library would send free photocopies of material from books they had in stock. Near the start of the semester, I went through the recommended references (complete with page ranges) and got ones printed up that I could. With the rest (and other books on the topic), I went to amazon.co.uk and got old editions of the textbooks. I got a number of them for around £0.01 + postage. With photocopies and books sent to me, I had a cheap library of references right there, so I didn't need to get to libraries for the rest of the semester and the content I received was relevant for the course. I'd definitely recommend that approach. The references at the back of the textbook can also form a good list.


RedRose

I remember sometimes having really old textbooks, like 10 years +. All the answers written inside already by previous kids  ::)
O/O and ideas - write if you'd be a good Aaron Warner (Juliette) [Shatter me], Tarkin (Leia), Wilkins (Faith) [Buffy the VS]
[what she reading: 50 TALES A YEAR]



gaggedLouise

#3790
Quote from: RedRose on August 02, 2016, 04:11:08 AM
I remember sometimes having really old textbooks, like 10 years +. All the answers written inside already by previous kids  ::)

I've heard of school kids in the present century, at run-down schools here in Sweden, getting used school atlases that still had the Soviet Union and West/East Germany in them.  ::) And those books of maps were handed them by the school itself.

Good girl but bad  -- Proud sister of the amazing, blackberry-sweet Violet Girl

Sometimes bound and cuntrolled, sometimes free and easy 

"I'm a pretty good cook, I'm sitting on my groceries.
Come up to my kitchen, I'll show you my best recipes"

gaggedLouise

Quote from: Oniya on August 01, 2016, 07:48:33 PM
I don't know about The Canary in particular, but the 'Isis sponsorship' seems to derive from an article in Le Monde (A French newspaper - perhaps easier to track down a reliability factor on it.)  The English reports of the article refer to LaFarge paying taxes that indirectly supported Daesh from 2013 to 2014.

Yep, the references to the digwork of Le Monde seem right...but neither Le Monde nor The Canary take the ISIS business links further ahead than the summer of 2014. So at least over the last two years with the string of escalated terror acts and bombings in western Europe, and the increasing flood of reports about the barbarism of ISIS "at home", there is nothing linking Lafarge to them.

Good girl but bad  -- Proud sister of the amazing, blackberry-sweet Violet Girl

Sometimes bound and cuntrolled, sometimes free and easy 

"I'm a pretty good cook, I'm sitting on my groceries.
Come up to my kitchen, I'll show you my best recipes"

Oniya

Quote from: gaggedLouise on August 02, 2016, 06:12:18 AM
Yep, the references to the digwork of Le Monde seem right...but neither Le Monde nor The Canary take the ISIS business links further ahead than the summer of 2014. So at least over the last two years with the string of escalated terror acts and bombings in western Europe, and the increasing flood of reports about the barbarism of ISIS "at home", there is nothing linking Lafarge to them.

Thanks, GL - it seemed a little tenuous to me as well, like accusing John Kerry of supporting the Vietnam War because he paid taxes to the US.  A weak link, since paying taxes is part of general budgeting, and possibly completely wrong.  (Kerry, who was a Vietnam vet, testified at the Fulbright hearings on behalf of VVAW.)
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

TheGlyphstone

For that matter, it's ISIS, which isn't a recognized or legitimate government - paying them 'taxes' to operate in territory they control is more accurately described as extortion.

Beguile's Mistress

*nods*  Like what organized crime does when they move into your neighborhood.

gaggedLouise

I remember reading a few years back about a batch of U.S. soldiers who were stationed in western Iraq, in a district where it was fairly peaceful at the time, and were helping to restore an old Christian church building there, several centuries old and with fine wall paintings. It was both a way of picking up links to pre-Saddam Iraq and about doing something for and with the local Christians. I don't remember the name of the place, of course - but it's not unlikely that it's come under attack again and that the locals may have been driven away or sold like cattle.

Whoever gets to write the history of ISIS and such movements is going to come up with a really dark book.  :'(


Good girl but bad  -- Proud sister of the amazing, blackberry-sweet Violet Girl

Sometimes bound and cuntrolled, sometimes free and easy 

"I'm a pretty good cook, I'm sitting on my groceries.
Come up to my kitchen, I'll show you my best recipes"

Lustful Bride

#3796

TaintedAndDelish

#3797
Interesting piece by Breitbart on Khizir Khan ( Father of American Muslim Soldier )
http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2016/08/02/khizr-khan-constitution-sharia/
Snipped insecure image. -Vek

Vekseid

There's scraping the bottom of the barrel, and then there is taking a hatchet to chip off bits of wood to suck on.

That's Breitbart for you.

I will trust that his views as of 2015 are more representative of how he feels now than how he felt in 1983.

Seriously, Tainted, do you want to be held to the same standard that you are holding Khizir to?

Cassandra LeMay

#3799
Quote from: TaintedAndDelish on August 03, 2016, 01:25:29 AM
Interesting piece by Breitbart on Khizir Khan ( Father of American Muslim Soldier )
http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2016/08/02/khizr-khan-constitution-sharia/

Interesting indeed, in how Breitbart interprets the source material they quote.

Quote from: Vekseid on August 03, 2016, 03:02:06 AM
I will trust that his views as of 2015 are more representative of how he feels now than how he felt in 1983.
I can't even tell if he shared those views in the first place. At least not from the Breitbart article.

QuoteIn his book review,  Khan takes no issue with Brohi’s shocking interpretation of human rights. In fact, he claims Brohi “successfully” explains them and argues his points “convincingly.”
It's quite possible to acknowledge that someone argues their point well without concurring with it. One can comment on the technical quality, so to speak, of an argument; thatr does not mean one endorses the conclusions the author of the reviewed work arrives at.

QuoteKhan provides his own advocacy for Sharia law in a separate academic paper titled “Juristic Classification of Islamic Law,” which he also wrote in 1983, while studying in Saudi Arabia.
No sorry, he doesn't advocate anything. He describes the foundations and trends in Islamic law for those who are not aware of the cultural, religious, and historical framework and background. To call that "advocacy" is like claiming an epidemiologist who describes the symptoms and spread of an infection wants more people to get infected. (Edit: And as a P.S., let me state that I do not want to compare Islam to an infectuous disease. It was just the first example that sprang to my mind, perhaps because I have been reading a bit about the Zika virus recently.)

QuoteA devout Muslim, Khan also cites two radical Muslim Brotherhood figures as scholarly sources — Said Ramadan and Muhammad Hamidullah.
No matter their political leanings, both men were scholars of Islamic law, and (as far as I am aware) authorities in the study of Islamic law, especially Hamidullah, who received a doctorate in Germany and one in France at the Sorbonne.so yes, he cites them as scholarly sources - because they were scholars of the field Khan was writing about.

QuoteBy comparison, his expertise in American constitutional law is barely evident. In fact, there appears to be few if any legal citations in federal or state court records for Khan, who describes himself on his business website (removed Tuesday from the Internet) as “attorney at law.”
I didn't research Khan's background, but one article Breitbart quotes describes him as "specializing in international trade law in Saudi Arabia, the US, and Pakistan". I strongly doubt that working in that particular field would generate many legal citations in US court records. To claim he doesn't know constitutional law just because he hasn't agrued it in court is a bit odd.
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