China, Japan Have Giant Salamanders

ODN

Who knew? Giant salamanders exist in the wild in Japan and China.

Wikipedia:

The Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus) is endemic to Japan, where it is known as Ōsanshōuo (オオサンショウウオ/大山椒魚?), literally meaning “giant pepper fish”. With a length of up to almost 1.5 m (5 ft), it is the second-largest salamander in the world, only being surpassed by the very similar and closely related Chinese giant salamander (A. davidianus).

A student in Kyoto, Japan saw a Giant Salamander near a river while walking to school last year.  The Japanese Giant Salamader is on the IUCN’s “red list” as a “near-threatened species,” according to the video.

Video by ODN and the British newspaper The Telegraph.

(Updated article)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/10965843/Giant-salamander-discovered-on-walk-to-school-in-Japan.html

Another Death From The Epidemic Of Violence And Bullying In The U.S.

A California teen who killed himself after years of bullying has sparked a community discussion about the destructive behavior while raising questions among his family about the way he was treated.

Adam Kizer, a 16-year-old sophomore at Sonoma Valley High School near San Francisco, died Saturday at a hospital after being taken off life support, his family said.

He hung himself four days earlier and did not respond to life-saving efforts, said his father, William Kizer.

Mr. Kizer said his son had been a target of bullying since elementary school in Wyoming, where other kids once bound him and poured gasoline on him.

According to pressdemocrat.com, the abuse continued in Sonoma after the family moved there in 2011, with students at Sonoma Valley High picking on the slightly built teen with shaggy hair, encouraging him to take his own life, the father said.

In a show of community support, about 200 people attended a vigil Sunday night at the Sonoma Plaza. Makeshift shrines could be seen at a park near the school as well as on campus, where students were taking final exams before the end of the school year.

(Updated article)

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/4010404-181/suicide-of-sonoma-teen-sparks

What Is The School-To-Prison Pipeline?

TYT Network.

What is the school-to-prison pipeline?

The “school-to-prison pipeline” is a disturbing national trend where children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems, according to the ACLU.

Many of these children have learning disabilities or histories of poverty, abuse, or neglect, and would benefit from additional educational and counseling services, but instead, they are isolated, punished, and pushed out into the criminal justice system.

“Zero-tolerance” policies at schools criminalize minor infractions. Cops in schools leads to students being criminalized for behavior that should be handled inside the school. Blacks and Latinos are especially vulnerable to these trends and the discriminatory application of discipline.

Are Teachers Treated Poorly In This Country?

The Young Turks

Annika McKenzie, 34, is charged with second-degree assault and strangulation for physically attacking a teacher, according to ABC 7.  Her 14-year-old niece is facing second-degree assault charges as a juvenile.

McKenzie allegedly became enraged because she believed that a math teacher at Alverta B. Gray Schultz Middle School in Hempstead, Long Island “put her hands on” her 12-year-old daughter, the New York Daily News reports.

The teacher, Catherine Engelhardt, was outside her classroom at around 2 p.m. when, cops said, McKenzie attacked her. Engelhardt is a 22-year veteran of the Hempstead School District.  McKenzie allegedly knocked the teacher to the ground, then put her in a chokehold until she lost consciousness, according to Pix 11.

The niece allegedly joined in the attack by punching the teacher in the head, Hempstead Police Chief Michael McGowan told Newsday.

(Updated report)

Baby Sea Lion Wanders Onto San Diego High School Grounds, Gets ‘Detained’ By Police

A baby sea lion was “detained” after trespassing into an Imperial Beach high school five blocks from the beach in San Diego, California, Friday, said the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.

The pup was placed in a police car as animal control officers and Sea World employees arrived to care for him.

“While deputy sheriffs attempted to interview him as to his activities, he clammed up and requested his lawyer,” San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said in the statement titled, “The Sheriff Always gets his…Seal?”

‘Open Carry’ Michigan Man Carrying Rifle Taunts Police And They Back Down

TYT Network

Is “open carry” strange?  Does “open carry” happen in Europe?  Do Europeans even know what “open carry” is?  Are there racial aspects to “open carry?”

Pakman: Have You Ever Been Suspended From School?

Liberal radio talk show host and commentator David Pakman answers the question “Were you ever suspended from school?”

Pakman and his producer Lewis were both suspended from school.  Here, they tell their stories.

David Pakman

(Updated post)

High School Teacher Found Hanging In Classroom

KABC reported that a school in Placentia, California was shocked and wracked with grief after a 31-year-old teacher was found hanging by students in an El Dorado High School classroom Monday.

Authorities responded to a 911 call at the school at 8:34 a.m. and found Jillian Jacobson, of Anaheim, in full cardiac arrest.

It was an apparent suicide, according to CNN.

CNN

Film Director James Cameron And Wife Create America’s First All Vegan School

Coming fall of 2015, MUSE school in Calabasas, California will be the first school in America serving an entirely plant-based menu to their students.

The school, which opened its doors in 2006, has two campuses and was founded by Rebecca Amis and Suzy Amis Cameron, wife of famed film producer and “Titanic” director, James Cameron.

With a strong seed-to-table program already in place and lots of flourishing gardens tended to by the students, the plan to guide the entire menu toward an entirely whole foods, plant-based one has been in the works for the last year and a half.

Pakistan Authorities Arrest Taliban Militants Involved In School Massacre, Give Credit To Afghanistan For Help

A Pakistani army spokesperson said Thursday that 12 local Taliban militants have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the deadly school attack last year that killed at least 148 people.

The militants were part of what is believed to be a 27-member cell, of which nine others have been killed, according to jurist.org.

Pakistan credited the cooperation of Afghanistan, where six of the militants were arrested.

The spokesperson said that Pakistan has been working closely with the Afghan government to search for the Pakistani Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah, who allegedly ordered the school attack and assigned commanders.

The Pakistani Taliban have a history of fighting against the Pakistani government and have tried to overthrow the authorities and impose Sharia. Since it is the main place of operations of the Taliban, Pakistan has been a focal point of global anti-terrorism efforts.

The Washington Post states that NATO played a role:  “At a news conference on the outskirts of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, the chief spokesman for the Pakistani military announced that six Taliban militants were arrested recently during a joint mission by NATO and Afghan troops in eastern Afghanistan.”

More:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/02/12/u-s-forces-afghan-troops-arrest-taliban-militants-wanted-for-school-massacre/