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[mp3t track="http://media02.radiovaticana.va/audio/audio2/mp3/00529625.mp3″ volslider="y" autoplay="n" title="'Real' Christian or 'Parlour' Christian?" ind="y" flip="y" caption="caption text"] Pope Francis says it is the Holy Spirit that moves the Church
(Pope Francis says it is the Holy Spirit that moves the Church but for many Christians today, the Holy Spirit is a stranger.
Speaking on Monday morning during Mass at the Casa Santa Marta the Pope urged believers to allow themselves to be propelled by the Holy Spirit whom, he said, shows us the way to freedom.
He also had a special greeting for the Vincentian Sisters of Charity who work at the Casa Santa Marta and who are marking the feast day of their founder: St. Louise de Marillac.
Drawing inspiration from the reading of the day which recounts the dialogue between Paul and the first disciples in Ephesus, Pope Francis recalled that the disciples told Paul that they had "not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit".
This is something, he said, that happens today as well as many who believe in Jesus do not know the Holy Spirit.
Many, he said, say they have "learnt through Catechism" that the Holy Spirit is "in the Trinity" but they do not know anything more and they wonder what the Spirit does.
"The Holy Spirit is the one who moves the Church, he said, the one who works in the Church and in our hearts" making each Christian unique and yet, together with other Christians, a unit.
The Holy Spirit, the Pope continued, opens the doors and invites us to bear witness to Jesus. "At the beginning of Mass we heard the words: 'you will receive the Holy Spirit and you will be my witnesses in the world'. The Holy Spirit is the one who moves us to praise God, to pray the Lord, the one who is within us and teaches us to see the Father and to call him 'Father'.
The Holy Spirit frees us from this 'orphan-like' condition which the spirit of the world wants to put us in" he said. Pope Francis said the Holy Spirit is "the protagonist of the living Church" and he warned against the danger of not living up to this mission of the Holy Spirit thereby reducing faith to "morals and ethics". It is not enough, he said, to just respect the Commandments and do "nothing more". Christian life, Francis reiterated, "is not just an ethical life: it is an encounter with Jesus Christ." And it is thanks to the Holy Spirit that this encounter takes place.
"But we keep the Holy Spirit as a 'luxury prisoner' in our hearts: we do not allow the Spirit to push us forward, to move us. The Sprit does everything, knows everything, reminds us what Jesus said, can explain all about Jesus. There is only one thing the Holy Spirit can't do: make us 'parlour' Christians (…) The Holy Spirit cannot make us 'virtual' Christians who are not virtuous. The Holy Spirit makes real Christians. The Spirit takes life as it is and prophetically reads the signs of the times pushing us forward (…), the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity" he said.
Pope Francis urged all faithful this week to reflect on the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives and to ask ourselves whether we have the courage to go out into the world bearing witness to Jesus. And inviting us to prepare for the upcoming Feast of Pentecost, the Pope said we must think of the Holy Spirit who is within our hearts and ask for the grace of obedience and docility to the Spirit: "This is what we must do this week: think of the Spirit and talk to Him".
(Courtesy Vatican Radio)


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Debating (Online)
The event has ended.
A workshop for student members providing public speaking experience.
6.15pm: Registration
6.30pm: Debate begins
Cost: Free to attend
Bookings: Please visit Clubs & Competitions to book and for further information.
Cancellations: Students should let the Secretaries know if they are unable to attend.
This event is not a qualifying session.

subset: commoncrawl


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Data collection was conducted in two phases. In phase one, Pew Internet conducted two online and one in-person focus group with middle and high school teachers, as well as two in-person focus groups with students in grades 9-12. Focus group findings were instrumental in shaping the development of a 30-minute online survey, which was administered in phase two of the research to a national sample of middle and high school Advanced Placement and National Writing Project Summer Institute teachers, drawn from sample files provided by the College Board and the National Writing Project, respectively.
Phase One—Focus Groups
Focus group discussions were designed to elicit from teachers and students their perceptions of the different ways digital technologies such as the internet, search engines, social media, and cell phones are impacting and shaping students' research and writing habits and skills. Teachers were also asked to speak in depth about their experiences teaching research and writing to middle and high school students today, any challenges they encounter, how they incorporate digital technologies into their classrooms and assignments, as well as how these technologies play a role in their professionalization.
In-person focus groups were led by two Pew Internet researchers, and were held on-site at a College Board school in the northeastern United States, immediately following school hours. Each discussion was approximately 1.5 hours in duration, and students and teachers were provided with Barnes & Noble gift cards as a token of appreciation for their participation ($25 for students, $50 for teachers). Focus group discussions were recorded and transcribed.
Two online focus groups were also held with teachers. The first utilized an existing online research community of 150 Advanced Placement teachers. A series of discussion questions or "exercises" designed by Pew Internet were administered to this group by panel administrators using an online, asynchronous platform. Panel administrators then provided Pew Internet with transcripts of responses to the exercises.
The second online teacher focus group was administered by Pew Internet staff using an online focus group platform. Participants in this group consisted of 30 National Writing Project teachers recruited by NWP site administrators. The asynchronous 3-day focus group was moderated by Pew Internet staff, and all participants were able to see and respond to one another's comments as well as questions and comments from the moderators. Transcripts of the focus group were downloaded following completion of the discussion.
All focus group sessions were analyzed to identify key themes, and discussion guides were revised and adjusted between groups to better probe emergent themes. All focus group discussion guides are available at the end of this section.
Phase Two—Online Survey
Following completion of focus group discussions, Pew Internet designed and fielded a 30-minute online survey with a national sample of middle and high school teachers. The sample is not a probability sample of all teachers because it was not practical to assemble a sampling frame of this population. Instead, two large lists of teachers were assembled: one included 42,879 AP teachers who had agreed to allow the College Board to contact them (about one-third of all AP teachers), while the other was a list of 5,869 teachers who participated in the National Writing Project's Summer Institute during 2007-2011. A stratified random sample of 16,721 AP teachers was drawn from the AP teacher list, based on subject taught, state, and grade level, while all members of the NWP list were included in the sample.
Email invitations containing a link to the survey and unique username and password were sent to members of the sample; teachers could not opt-in to the sample. The response rate was 12% for the AP teachers and 14% for the NWP teachers. Given the nature of the sampling frames used for the study, no margin of error has been computed.
The online survey was conducted from March 7–April 23, 2012, and was completed at least in part by 2,462 teachers (2,067 teachers completed the entire survey; partial completes were kept, and all percentages reported are based on those answering each question).
The teachers who participated in the survey
The survey results presented here are not based on a representative sample of U.S. middle and high school teachers, yet every effort was made to administer the survey to as broad a sample of educators as possible from the samples available. Overall, the 2,462 Advanced Placement and NWP Summer Institute teachers who participated in the survey comprise a fairly wide range of subject areas, experience levels, geographic regions, school type and socioeconomic level, and community type (full sample characteristics below).
The final sample includes teachers from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. All teachers who participated in the survey teach in physical schools/classrooms, as opposed to teaching online or virtual classes. English/Language Arts teachers make up a significant portion of the sample (36%), reflecting the intentional design of the sample. Only 9% of the final sample is middle school teachers, with the other 91% reporting that they currently teach grades 9-12. While half of the teachers participating in the survey report teaching in a small city or suburb, there is fairly wide distribution across school size and students' socioeconomic status. There is also a wide distribution in terms of teachers' ages and experience levels.
Interpreting the results
There are several important ways the teachers who participated in the survey are unique, which should be considered when interpreting the results reported here. First, 95% of the teachers who took the survey teach in public schools, thus the findings reported here reflect that environment almost exclusively. Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, the majority of teachers in this sample (56%) teach AP, honors and accelerated courses, thus the population of middle and high school students they work with skew heavily toward the highest achievers. These accelerated classes may have resources and support at their disposal—particularly in terms of specialized training and access to digital tools—that are not available in all classrooms.
In addition, it is critical to keep in mind that almost a third of the sample (NWP teachers) has received extensive training in how to effectively teach writing in today's digital environment. The National Writing Project's mission is to provide professional development, resources and support to teachers to improve the teaching of writing in today's schools. The NWP teachers included here are what the organization terms "teacher-consultants" who have attended the Summer Institute and provide local leadership to other teachers. Research has shown significant gains in the writing performance of students who are taught by these teachers.15
Thus, the population of teachers participating in this research might best be considered "leading edge teachers" who are actively involved with the College Board and/or the National Writing Project and are therefore beneficiaries of resources and training not common to all teachers. It is likely that teachers in this study are developing some of the more innovative pedagogical approaches to teaching research and writing in today's digital environment, and are incorporating classroom technology in ways that are not typical of the entire population of middle and high school teachers in the U.S.
More information about this study's survey questions and focus groups can be found at the beginning of this report.


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Journal Article
Lakshmanan V, N ST, Bansal D, Padubidri SV, Palakodeti D, Krishna S.
2021. Comprehensive annotation and characterization of planarian tRNA and tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs).. RNA.
Bansal D, Kulkarni J, Nadahalli K, Lakshmanan V, Krishna S, Sasidharan V, Geo J, Dilipkumar S, Pasricha R, Gulyani A et al..
2017. Cytoplasmic poly (A) binding protein (PABPC2) critically regulates epidermal maintenance and turnover in planarian Schmidtea mediterranea.. Development.
Sarkar SR, Dubey VKumar, Jahagirdar A, Lakshmanan V, Haroon MMohamed, Sowndarya S, Sowdhamini R, Palakodeti D.
2022. DDX24 is required for muscle fiber organization and the suppression of wound-induced Wnt activity necessary for pole re-establishment during planarian regeneration.. Dev Biol.
Krishna S, Yim DGr, Lakshmanan V, Tirumalai V, Koh JLy, Park JEun, Cheong JKong, Low JLeng, Lim MJs, Sze SKwan et al..
2019. Dynamic expression of tRNA-derived small RNAs define cellular states.. EMBO Rep. 20(7):e47789.
Lakshmanan V, Bansal D, Kulkarni J, Poduval D, Krishna S, Sasidharan V, Anand P, Seshasayee A, Palakodeti D.
2016. Genome-Wide Analysis of Polyadenylation Events in Schmidtea mediterranea.. G3 (Bethesda). 6(10):3035-3048.
Javali A, Lakshmanan V, Palakodeti D, Sambasivan R.
2020. Modulation of β-catenin levels regulates cranial neural crest patterning and dispersal into first pharyngeal arch.. Dev Dyn.


text:
I think she was the only person who believed me at the time when I said I was going to travel the world.
For a long time, I basically lived out of a suitcase while I travelled. So, my trunk stayed behind at my parents house. And, over time, it took a bit of a beating.
When I finally started to settle down and needed some furniture I rescued my trunk.
I just used some MDF type board that I had cut at the hardware store to size.
I added a nice super thick layer of foam, wrapped it in quilt batting, and then wrapped the whole thing with some microfiber type fabric.
Added some home made cushions and now it's a bench!
I've picked the lock many times, but now I just don't lock it. If I ever remember the special secret hiding place I put the key, then I'll lock it again~ |
Yes, I was a bit of a Barbie fanatic when I was a kid. I couldn't possibly let go of them so I keep them in my trunk. I've also got a bag of Glamour Gals that I can't get rid of either. They were like miniature Barbies...sort of. Anyone else out there remember them?
Do you have any of your childhood toys kept in a special place? Leave a comment!


text: This place is a costumer's hidden paradise. Anything too strange to sell at a regular Goodwill location ends up here—and that means COSTUMES! Thousands of pounds of clothing (and props) move through here every week. If you don't know what form your superhero persona should take, come here, and be inspired. Here's what turned up on a recent foray: a floor-length green fake-fur bathrobe for Swamp Thing; six yards of Louis XIV goldthreaded damask fabric for Baroque Babe; a size 42 DDD bra for GRAND-ma; toddler-size red tights and a bag of stuffing (stuff tights and wear on head) for He-Devil; and a London Fog trench coat with zip-out fur lining for Clark Kent. The store always has lots of different colors of sheets, too, if you need a cape. Everything is $1.29 per pound, so you can afford to go wild with a pair of scissors and a glue gun.


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As Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Julius Genachowski focused the agency on unleashing the opportunities of wired and wireless broadband. He successfully pursued policies to promote investment and job creation, drive innovation, foster competition, and empower consumers.
During Genachowski's tenure from June 2009 to May 2013, the FCC developed and worked to implement the National Broadband Plan, an ambitious strategy to harness the opportunities of high-speed Internet, promote U.S. global competitiveness, and bring the benefits of 21st century communications to all Americans.
The Commission modernized outdated programs and eliminated barriers to innovation and investment. The Commission adopted the landmark Connect America Fund, a once-in-a generation overhaul of the multi-billion dollar Universal Service Fund and related rules, transforming it from supporting telephone service to broadband. The Connect America Fund replaced legacy programs with new market-driven, incentive-based policies to achieve universal broadband, both wired and wireless.
The Commission pursued other forward-looking strategies to unleash the opportunities of mobile broadband, including freeing up spectrum and removing barriers to spectrum use and broadband build-out. The Commission under Genachowski's leadership developed a bold "incentive auctions" initiative to deploy market forces to reallocate broadcast spectrum from inefficient uses to flexible mobile broadband, which was signed into law in February 2012. The Commission also ordered the largest release of unlicensed spectrum in 15 years, building on the approach that gave us Wi-Fi.
Through its Broadband Acceleration Initiative, the Commission under Genachowski's leadership advanced policies that reduce the cost and time required to deploy broadband infrastructure, including by streamlining the process for attaching communications equipment to utility poles and siting wireless towers.
During Genachowski's tenure, the agency took strong steps to preserve Internet freedom and openness, adopting a framework to protect free enterprise and free speech online, incentivizing significant private investment in Internet applications and services as well as broadband networks and infrastructure.
The FCC during Genachowski's tenure reviewed hundreds of mergers and acquisitions, including a number of major transactions. The Commission's transaction review focused on promoting competition, driving innovation and investment, and benefitting consumers. The Commission moved to block the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger, insisted on a substantial spectrum divesture in Verizon/SpectrumCo, and imposed strict conditions to protect over-the-top video and Internet freedom in Comcast/NBC.
Internationally, the Commission worked to harmonize global spectrum policies, facilitate open market access for cloud computing, and promote greater Internet freedom, working with international organizations and through bilateral engagement with both major economies and developing countries. As Chairman, Genachowski traveled to 22 countries to engage international counterparts and stakeholders.
In his tenure, the Commission sought to close the nationwide broadband adoption gap. He spearheaded a number of initiatives focused on broadband adoption and consumer empowerment, including the Connect to Compete program, which provides job training and low-cost, high-quality laptops and broadband to low-income Americans; the Jobs4America initiative, which has has a goal of bringing more than 100,000 new broadband-enabled contact center jobs to the U.S. over two years; worked with wireless providers to end "bill shock" and empowered consumers with alerts for wireless voice and data overages and announced a new industry database of stolen cellphones to curb thefts, for which he was awarded the D.C. Chief of Police Medal of Merit. The Commission worked with internet service providers (ISPs) to adopt measures to minimize three major cyber threats, including an Anti-Bot Code of Conduct, an IP route hijacking industry framework and secure DNS best practices. The Commission also launched the Small Biz Cyber Planner, which enables small businesses to develop a plan to protect themselves from cyber threats.
The Commission has also worked to significantly improve the accessibility of technology and media, including by ensuring that people with disabilities can more easily use online communications services and content.
The Commission also worked to harness modern communications technologies for public safety. On an accelerated schedule, the FCC began implementing PLAN, the new nationwide mobile emergency alerting system; worked toward an interoperable nationwide mobile broadband network for first responders; and charted much of the transition to Next Generation 9-1-1 services, which will harness the latest communications technology – like the ability to send photos, videos, or texts – to revolutionize emergency response and save lives. As chief executive of the FCC, Genachowski oversaw over 1700 employees, an agency budget of approximately $400 million per year, and universal-service and other programs disbursing about $10 billion annually.
The FCC under Genachowski's leadership was been a model for excellence in government, including being named the most improved agency in the federal government by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management based on government-wide employee surveys.
Prior to his FCC appointment, Genachowski spent more than a decade working in the technology and media industries as an executive, investor, and board member. He was Chief of Business Operations and before that General Counsel at IAC/InterActiveCorp; Special Advisor at the private equity firm General Atlantic; and co-founder of the technology incubator LaunchBox Digital.
Genachowski's confirmation returned him to the agency where, in the 1990s, he served as Chief Counsel to Chairman Reed Hundt, as well as Special Counsel to General Counsel William Kennard (later FCC Chairman, 1997-2001). He has served as a U.S. Supreme Court law clerk for two years, for Justice David Souter and Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., and as a clerk for Chief Judge Abner Mikva of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Genachowski worked in Congress on the staff of the House select committee investigating the Iran-Contra affair, and for then-U.S. Representative (now Senator) Charles E. Schumer.
Genachowski received a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1991, and served as co-Notes Editor of the Harvard Law Review. In 1985, he received a B.A. from Columbia College, magna cum laude, where he was Editor of Columbia Spectator's Broadway Magazine; re-established Columbia's oldest newspaper Acta Columbiana; and was a writer and researcher for Fred Friendly, former President of CBS News. He was also a certified Emergency Medical Technician, served on the Columbia Area Volunteer Ambulance, and taught cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
President Obama nominated Chairman Genachowski in March 2009, and he was confirmed by the Senate on June 29, 2009. He served on the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States. President Obama also named Genachowski to lead the United States delegation to Poland for the commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
A son of immigrants, Genachowski is married and has three children.


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Unlock Your iPhone With Your Voice? Yep, It Works & Here's How
iPhone users are constantly learning new things that their phones can do.
It's amazing the amount of cool hacks that are available on our phones. I'm sure you have learned quite a few tricks, but I learned one recently that I had no idea was even a thing. It was so cool, that I figured I would share it with you.
I discovered this little iPhone hack on TikTok of all places. Did you know that you can unlock your phone by the sound of your voice with a custom phrase?
I didn't either.
Once I saw this video, I instantly had to try it for myself. Turns out, it actually works!
This is especially handy in many states with a new law being enforced that restricts drivers from holding or operating their cell phones or other electronic devices while the vehicle is in motion. Devices may be used via a hands-free or voice-operated technology.
So let's say that your phone is locked and you want to play a specific song from your phone. If you have voice control turned on, you can simply unlock your phone by the sound of your voice and then say what song you want to hear. For the sake of this post, I am just going to focus on how you unlock your phone with a custom phrase.
Below, you will see the step-by-step process on how to unlock your iPhone by the sound of your voice.
CHECK IT OUT: How To Unlock Your iPhone With Your Voice


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UVA June: Dragas just a tool in right-wing 'reform'
By Peter Gunter
Three months after Teresa Sullivan was fired and rehired as President of the University of Virginia, concerned people are still searching for an explanation to what seemed like a rash and arbitrary act. The lack of specifics in Rector Helen Dragas' repeated justifications– the need for "change" and "strategic dynamism"– only fuels the demand for more concrete explanations.
To many, what happened at UVA in June seemed an isolated event, the result of a few business people trying to impose a corporate-style takeover of a state institution. This view is only partially correct. The Sullivan affair makes a lot more sense when understood in the context of the actual corporate takeover of American public education that has been underway for at least a decade. This takeover involves a carefully coordinated strategy to redirect the flow of public money into private firms while controlling politicians (and occasionally the media) to accomplish this goal.
Let's start with the money. Amidst her vague explanations for ousting Sullivan, Dragas was clear about one thing: state funding has declined precipitously. In her 10-point "right thing, the wrong way" memo, Dragas noted that state spending has been cut from $15,000 to $8,300 per UVA student since 2000. Virginians have questioned why the General Assembly won't restore the money, noting that neighboring states Maryland and North Carolina continue to spend, per student, up to three times as much.
Across the country, students have turned to private lenders. Since 1999, according to The Atlantic, education debt has increased by 511 percent, with the average student now shouldering a load of $25,000. With the prospect of widespread default, economists fear this could cause the next great financial crisis.
With that looming, one might think that government and Wall Street would be working together to curtail student debt. The reality is exactly the opposite, and it may stem from the highly profitable for-profit university industry. One of the biggest corporate owners of for-profit universities is Education Management Corporation, or EMC. When Goldman Sachs bought a major stake in EMC in 2006, the firm's private universities immediately turned their admissions offices into sales-driven boiler rooms. Longtime admissions staff were replaced by high-pressure sales teams who, according to a fraud complaint filed by the Justice Department and four states, utilized coercive phone scripts to convince prospective students that loans could be easily repaid after earning their degree.
In spite of the massive debt that private universities are creating, conservatives want to open the door to more private universities. This will supposedly force public universities to become more competitive by cutting liberal arts programs, replacing tenure with merit pay, and adopting online education– reforms that Sullivan was accused of failing to speedily embrace at UVA.
The need for such reforms may seem inevitable in a bad economy. Less inevitable, however, are the roles played by backstage influencers. Ten to fifteen years ago, American higher education seemed the envy of the world. Since then, right-wing think tanks, including the Manhattan Institute and the American Enterprise Institute, have redirected the conversation away from state defunding by claiming that universities are failing due to wasteful overhead, unproductive tenured professors, and the teaching of liberal ideology.
Never mind the stark reality on most campuses these days of stagnant salaries and an increasing reliance on adjunct faculty who receive low wages and no benefits. The right-wing think tanks remain silent on state defunding because the goal– born of the belief that a private enterprise is always superior– is starving the beast.
At first glance, the reams of op-eds, articles, and books the think tanks churn out appear driven by a populist concern for an educated citizenry and a strong economy. But the lack of any original scholarship at these institutes, their tendency to cherry-pick data from legitimate studies, and their failure to publish in peer-reviewed journals betray them as propaganda outlets serving the financial interests of the Wall Street financiers and industrialists who fund them.
Consider ACTA. One of the few people to publicly support Dragas for firing Sullivan was Anne Neal, president of ACTA, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. The language Dragas used to justify firing Sullivan reads as if taken directly from ACTA's position papers. While the mission page of goacta.org speaks to idealistic goals of "higher standards," "accountability," and "affordable education," a more in-depth examination reveals discussions about the proliferation of courses straying from the Western canon, the undue influence of Marxist professors on campus, and the need for a balance of conservative teachings.
What the ACTA website fails to mention is the name of key supporter Charles Koch, who, with brother David, has amassed a $60 billion fortune, largely from oil and coal. In 1980, David Koch stood as vice-presidential candidate for the Libertarian party on a platform of eliminating myriad government institutions including the public school system. Having failed in that direct political effort, the brothers have turned to working behind the scenes by funding the Tea Party, climate-warming deniers, and groups like ACTA.
ACTA appears to be an effective investment for the brothers. According to a recent email blast to supporters, "ACTA is defining the national conversation on higher education." Whenever Neal appears on discussion panels in print and TV, one might suppose that the ACTA is a grassroots group of university trustees. However, like UVA's board, ACTA's board is loaded less with academics than industrialists. It even includes hard-right icon and former Attorney General Ed Meese. Neal herself has never been an academic or a trustee. Instead, she is a lawyer whose higher education credentials rest primarily on writing a book entitled Reforming the Politically Correct University.
Even ACTA's mission is beset with contradictions. Why, for instance, would ACTA decry failing standards in public education– and then vigorously lobby to change the laws that govern the accreditation boards that uphold the standards? Why indeed? Because for-profit universities need accreditation to tap into federal student loans and grant money.
In addition to the six-figure sum they gave him, the Kochs have also enthusiastically promoted Governor McDonnell as a future presidential candidate by repeatedly inviting him to speak at their semi-annual confabs. Such effusions from the Koch brothers are rare but understandable in light of the governor's extreme right-wing stands on issues like offshore drilling, school vouchers, and privatizing state agencies.
Governor McDonnell probably had more to do with Sullivan's firing than his terse public statements might suggest. The governor's post-debacle reappointment of Dragas speaks volumes about their political alignment. Shouldn't any leader of UVA seek greater state funding? Dragas seems content to support a budget driven by the governor's absolutist pledge never to raise taxes—the same pledge that top lobbyist Grover Norquist has gotten every Republican in Congress to sign. And who is it that funds Grover Norquist in this effort? Again, the Koch brothers.
In many ways, the privatization of American higher education is following the path of public K-12 education. Over the past decade, education companies like Pearson (which now owns the software firm that caused a million-dollar debacle for Albemarle) have reaped huge profits through sales of standardized testing, textbooks, online education, and teacher evaluations. When you were a child, you may have gazed at the name on the spine of your textbook and seen the names of competing companies like Addison-Wesley, Allyn & Bacon, Macmillan, Silver Burdett, and Scott Foresman. Today, they're all owned by Pearson.
In 2000, Goldman Sachs served as advisor and lead underwriter in Pearson's acquisition of National Computer Systems, a deal that gave it a near monopoly on testing programs. Since then, Pearson has made billions from the standardized testing launched by the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act. Pearson lobbyists worked tirelessly to pass the Act and have continued to lobby state legislatures– which have slashed funding for libraries, arts, lunches, and sports– to ensure spending on standardized testing.
As state money is pushed from schools to corporations, the propaganda machine continues to beat the drum of school failure that is now being measured by standardized tests. The right wing continues to advocate for vouchers and charter schools, despite prominent studies that disprove charter schools' success in raising the overall level of education achievement. What charter schools have been effective in accomplishing, however, is destabilizing teacher unions, lowering teacher pay, and building Republican control over school budgets.
One of the most contentious battles is taking place in New York City, where a non-profit group called StudentsFirst, having seen some successes in a few impoverished areas, is leading a citywide charter school movement. A counter group, New Yorkers for Great Public Schools, claims that StudentsFirst is a political effort, pointing to the fact that Students First is funded by New York City's wealthy elite, and that the founder, Michele Rhee, has sought strategic assistance from none other than Mitt Romney's Bain Capital to mount her assault on the NYC school system.
It's no coincidence that two of the major supporters of StudentsFirst, Paul Tudor Jones and Peter Kiernan, were involved in the firing of Sullivan. Dragas reportedly pre-informed Jones who penned an op-ed telling us to be "elated," and Kiernan bragged of his role (before quickly resigning from the Darden School's governing board). In his book, Becoming China's Bitch, Kiernan acknowledges the increasing power of think tanks and lobbyists, but he claims to be a "radical centrist" in a world where the Brookings Institute is as far to the left as the American Enterprise Institute is to the right. Kiernan rails against teacher unions and exorbitant six-figure school board pensions but says nothing about his long tenure at Goldman Sachs, how the company helped transform American education, or whether he faced any moral dilemmas as he amassed his own ten-figure fortune.
Although Sullivan and Dragas have put on brave faces of reconciliation, the issues that divide them remain as deep as the party divisions that have split the nation and immobilized the U.S. Congress. Yes, American education is in financial crisis; and, yes, there are important debates about the quality of public education, the distribution of tax dollars, and the role of online education. But I doubt that we can have an honest debate as long as the conversation, the laws, and the politicians are controlled by the one percent.
Peter Gunter is a local writer who graduated from UVA in 1981, debt free.
97 comments
The author of this piece needs to take a good, hard look at the cost of his education back in 1977-81 and compare it to what UVA is spending today. He will see that college costs are out of control, in large measure due to a construction boom and a steep increase in highly paid administrators who never set foot in the classroom. The solution? Universities need to reverse this trend, spending more money on instruction and less on bureaucracy and
fancy facilities. To ask government to pick up the tab for this excess, or students to take on ever more debt, is just not right.
Brilliant analysis Mr. Gunter, thank you .
The most important part of this story is how much the education is subsidized per student. If you add in the money from hospital profits to that amount UVA should be able to teach kids for free.
Looks like the only "bang" students are getting for thier money is in the frat houses... Just ask playboy........
It is amazing how universities in Europe and Asia offer competitive educations without minor league sports programs.
Good analysis Peter. Perhaps some investigation about actions of BOV members at other state colleges, notably George Mason, would be in order. You might find some very interesting crossover.
Governor McDonnell probably had more to do with Sullivan's firing than his terse public statements might suggest. - Ya think?????
Dragas was merely doing other peoples' bidding. They reappointed her out of their own guilt about how much flak she took for trying to implement their agenda. She was a fall guy, a patsy. That's why there is no explanation of her actions. She was essentially doing what the rich guys made her do.
@ Bill Marshall - Presume your Playboy comment refers to UVA's latest claim to fame......
From US NEWS...."Officials at the University of Virginia on Wednesday weren't thrilled with Playboy's dubious distinction listing the nation's oldest public university as the No. 1 party school in America."
"We are demanding a recount," UVA spokeswoman Marian Anderfuren told NBC News.
Sorry Marian, not funny! The sad truth is that the US News ranking is the truth and along with it comes the underlying truth that alcohol flows more than water in the Academic Village and yet does anyone doubt that sexual assaults don't correlate to this ranking. They are almost non-existent at UVA yet the FBI numbers say 1 in 4 college girls are sexually assaulted. Why don't they do rankings on how many girls drop out of this school crushed by the barbaric treatment girls get in SMB hearings. Something to be really proud of folks!
Seeing as its the hospital that's in trouble, I would like to know where these giant subsidies are actually coming from....
I am tired of hearing about how universities misuse their funds. fact: the largest single expense the University has is their payroll. Take a look at the cost of healthcare, folks. THAT'S a major increase every year. All the money being spent on bricks and mortar isn't coming from the state, it is from donors, and can't be applied to things like state salaries/benefits. I agree that the highest level administrators are paid exhorbitant salaries. If staff are expected to take under-market salaries for the privilege of working at UVA, so should administration. People should keep in mind that faculty salaries that have been reported are not accurate and are actually lower in most cases. Physician salaries are substantially higher than academic faculty.
This is the tip of the iceberg. Look at the past emploment of several members of the BOV and you will be amazed at what you find. Connect the dots and the whole UVA debacle and fiasco will look like minor league play compared to what is being bought and sold in DC. Corporate America is out to eliminate any iota of law or regulation that cuts into profits. From the EPA to the Justice Department a full court press is on to make money at the expense of the health, welfare and safety of all of us.The rules aren't for the 1%. The 1% wants to drive the 47% deeper into poverty.
"These are the times that try men's souls.................................................................................
The only choice is this election becomes clearer each and every day. Vote for the people, not for the 1%
@Lewis Mountain - Howdy neighbor. I too enjoyed a much cheaper cost of tuition and education at UVa as an undergrad, back in the 80s...and I agree with you that we ought to have more transparent budgets and examine where the money is really coming from as well as where it's going.
I think you will be disappointed to learn that it's not being 'wasted' on buildings and other brick and mortar projects, even though we, living surrounded by UVa, are heavily impacted by those projects.
As @watcher notes: it's being spent on people, the recurring cost. And back in the 70s and 80s, there were a LOT more bureaucratic employees at UVa who were a heck of a lot less efficient. In other words: we've already done a lot of cutting in that area.
The issue is, instead, I suspect, a decrease in the revenue as much as an increase in spending, though it is true there is a huge new layer of bureaucracy. Again, we really need some budget transparency, that's what is sorely lacking.
Lewis Mtn Says: The author of this piece needs to take a good, hard look at the cost of his education back in 1977-81 and compare it to what UVA is spending today. He will see that college costs are out of control, in large measure due to a construction boom and a steep increase in highly paid administrators who never set foot in the classroom. The solution? Universities need to reverse this trend, spending more money on instruction and less on bureaucracy and fancy facilities. To ask government to pick up the tab for this excess, or students to take on ever more debt, is just not right."
This is horse hockey. The cost of University education is going up for one reason. State politicians of both parties won't raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy. They underfund the public universities and then force them to raise tuition. Yes administrators need to go unless their job is lobbying the State legislature for funding UVA at 100% not 8%. But to blame the rising costs on Universitiy inefficiency is just plain wrong. The BOV should be protesting in front of the Governor's mansion and the House of Delegates.
T. Sullivan is a 2nd rate bureaucratic hack, and most of those who have had any dealings with her rwalize it. Her entire career is built around affirmative action for females and blacks, and "being nice" to others. Males get screwed if they think they are coming to UVA. The admission rate for females and minorities is over 70%.
@ remi I beg to disagree . I know many who have dealings with President Sullivan and they are very impressed. I doubt if thousands would have come to her defense if what you say we're true.
@remi You are wrong. Please reference your claim. The problem is Dragas' lack of leadership. Dragas needs to resign.
President Sullivan is an excellent leader and a brilliant scholar.
According to "The Answer Sheet"; 11/17/2009
By:Valerie Strauss
male: 8,380 applied; 3,014 accepted, or about 36 percent
women: 9,983 applied; 3,721 accepted, or about 37 percent
male: 8,121 applied; 2,742 accepted, or about 34 percent
women: 9,677 applied; 3,531 accepted, or about 36 percent
male: 7,218 applied; 2,680 accepted, or about 37 percent
women: 8,868 applied; 3,339 accepted, or about 38 percent"
Besides Dragas, UVA's biggest problem is the make up of the tenured faculty:
Bacon's Rebellion
September 14, 2012
Decline of White Patriarchal Privilege at UVa?
By: James A. Bacon
"Now we learn from a presentation of the Special Committee on Diversity to the University of Virginia Board of Trustees that in the fall of 2o11 men held 76% of TTT (tenure and tenure track) positions while women held only 24%. For fully tenured positions, men outnumbered women by a five-to-one margin. It goes without saying that tenured faculty members receive the highest pay and enjoy the greatest perks and job protection."
The racial imbalance was even worse. In the fall of 2011, "under-represented minorities," which include African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans and "Two or Mores" — constitute only 15% of the tenure and tenure-track faculty.
Admission criteria at UVA is extremely fair.
How do you think women felt prior to August 26, 1920? How do you think black students felt prior to 1950?
Thank you A/P this is very interesting, and certainly shows there is work to be done in terms of racial and gender equity. Unfortunately, I do not think this is the Governor, or the current BOV's priority. In fact, of in all the vague complaints Dragas made about Sullivan - addressing diversity issues was not one of them
" Why do the Koch Brothers want to end public education "
This video is worth watching .
How does all the financial help that UVA offers the students play into this? I know there is much more financial help today than there ever was 30 years ago. I'm not questioning the rationale behind financial help but who pays for all this? I'm assuming the actual costs for tuition, board and food is not what is being formally charged. Athletes, minorities and poorer students are being subsidized by the rest of the student body or do these subsidies come from another source as do Jefferson Scholars.
Kindly elaborate.
Leadership among the UVA BoV is clearly lacking. Dragas is to blame.
Heywood Fralin was the leader during the crisis, and not Dragas. Dragas, a woman capable of a coup (due to deceptive means), has not demonstrated effective leadership at UVA. Quite the opposite. Dragas has no credibility. At a minimum, the UVA faculty should have been included in the process to oust the President. If in fact UVA accreditation in question, Dragas must be forced to resign.
Heywood Fralin's comment..."As a member of this Board, I am of the opinion that we have all made mistakes in this process. It is clear that every member knew that the Rector and the Vice-Rector intended to meet with President Sullivan to ask for her resignation. I was not clever enough at the time to confer with other members to determine if three would be willing to call a special meeting of the Board of Visitors to discuss such action. I am confident there would have been three willing members and that if such a meeting had been called, a vigorous discussion would have ensued, and no one knows what the vote would have been. I apologize to the University community including all Board members that I didn't think of this solution sooner. It would have avoided this crisis."
Robert Greenwald of Bravenewfilms has a new documentary about the Koch Brothers. There is also an impact report and this is a link to that
So if we divide the 2012 budget by the number of students served then we get an actual
"cost per student" So can we do that for 2012 and then go back in time to 1985, adjust for the consumer price index and see the difference?
I would imagine that the amount spent per student is probably 5-10 times based on antecdotal evidence.
The Koch brothers were no more than names until I watched the above video about their attempt to influence the education policies of public schools in North Carolina - now I seriously wonder if they. via ACTA, were the force behind the attempt to oust Sullivan with McDonnell as their partner.
It is stunning to watch in the youtube video how the public rose up against them in the North Carolina case, and without knowing who was behind the Sullivan firing, perhaps, that is also what happened here in Charlottesville.
What are the connections of the present UVa board to the Koch brothers ? We need to know
At Remi,
Actually the percentage of African-American Students has declined from somewhere around 12-14% to about 8% from what i hear. There is a problem with race at UVA and its the problem that has been raised by the group UCARE in their recent report sent to the Governor, Legislature, BOV, UVA Admin and Deans and faculty senate and a whole host of other UVA stakeholders. See the report at:
See the recent press release news: http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/UCARE-Releases-Report-on-Race-Rel...
The gist of this is to urge the BOV and the University to consider matters of racial equity and diversity in their current strategic planning processes. These issues have been missing in the post Sullivan debacle discussions.
Great to throw the right wing in this piece, but why no mention of the student reform act of 2010. As a student, I get to have no interest deferred and loan from the government? Lovely!
Also, whoever posted before about GM being saved and having paid off the debt better read more articles since the US - meaning all citizens - still own a large stake in the company and won't sell because of the huge loss that would incur... but at least the unions are happy
This whole mess was ENTIRELY political and an undue embarrassment to UVA (even more so than the caviar/champagne tailgating and the green sportjackets and plaid ties). A normal American shows up with nose-bleed seats for a football game and everyone in the parking lot says, "We have stars on our bellies, and you do not. You are not one of us." American SAT scores are at an all-time low and college loans are almost unheard-of. Loans of any kind are almost non-existent. Thanks to this economy -- whomever you wish to blame. Tenure is fraud. Performance (as in the NFL) is rewardable, but what have you done for me THIS week?
Mr. Jefferson (who is the most-often-co-opted person on the planet) had high ideals for his academical village and it has devolved into a political fiasco. They must be tamping down the turf on Monticello to keep the Sage of Monticello from spinning out of his grave and using Indiana Jones-style ark-of-the-covenant laser eyes to fix all of your sorry arses. If you are an educator, and in it for your career, then you already have missed your mark. Both of my parents were life-long educators and made the sacrifices to be in it for the students.
This president was fired for differences of opinion with the board, which they are tongue tied to discuss for personnel reasons and restrictions. Sullivan can stand there and claim she doesn't understand and know they can't disclose. Let it go, folks. Amazing that this faculty wants the accreditation called into question out of spite knowing it would affect the students adversely and yet they don't care. Who is really important here? Sullivan and her feelings or the students?
@ Nancy...the statis quo is better? Certainly not endorsing the Koch Bros, but the system is broken and something needs to change...
Off topic - VA Beach legislator Scott Rigell is touting his new Chinese drywall legislation across our Facebook walls.....who will really benefit? Dragas.
I agree and there is excellent research on how to do that . We need to use that research and not allow our public education system to be re-segregated by Koch brother funded initiatives. Until I watched the video above I was completely naive about what they were up to . I was shocked !
Their focus is not to improve education .
Anyone sincerely interested in doing that should read this book -
" How Children Succeed " by Paul Tough
What will affect the students adversely is to allow the system that brought this mess upon us to continue unabated or unchallenged. The way the BOV is appointed is corrupt and needs to be changed. That means the group in power now is not legitimate. They need to go as was apparent in the berating of Cohen and Sullivan at the last meeting. The BOV composition must change. There needs to be more voting faculty and staff and students and fewer uberrich corporate campaign payoff positions.
The Sacs threat is just a pressure point for those types of changes. Everyone come out and tell your legislators what you think today at 6:30 at the Law School. If you don't the students will be affected adversely.
Well, we now know the name behind Democracy. Obviously Peter is an unhappy disgruntled teacher approaching his 50s unfulfilled in a middle age crisis and psychologically needs to fabricate a conservative political collusion that in his mind explains what he finds wrong with the US educational system. The failing educational system is not due to the lack of money thown into the system, but more the lack of time and interest parents are investing with regard to their child's education and behavior which begins at home as well as the effect of hollywood and media. However, it is true that everyone has an agenda. Unfortunately, at the university level the individuals that are selected(not voted upon) for leading roles are often liberal gifted researchers and academic achievers that have little common sense and little or no experience in the real world workplace trenches much like many of the successful politicians that are able to sway the public for their votes. On the medical side, it is those that can bring money/patients into the hospital that are put in charge and granted private practice type incomes. Appreciative foreign medical grads now comprise a significant presence in the hospital halls doing a large portion of the caregiving during their four year indenture to board certification which is already changing the face of medicine in the US but that is another story.
I would expect many county Farmers to say things like let's blame the victim when it comes to education. Peter nailed it on the head. Bottom line: Conservatives of both parties protect corporate and wealth interests. They defund public education, they appoint the rich to prevent any change and to privatize the public. Why hasn't the BOV been vociferously fighting against the shrinking state support of UVA (down to 8%)? Because they are anti-tax ant-government and they were appointed to do nothing put promote the privatization of public institutions. Look at the VA Port Authority Board-SAME EXACT PHENOMENON as the BOV.
Toscano is on the WINA Radio now and says maybe you can't legislate change because its the personalities. Respectfully disagree, this would have been a whole lot less likely to have happened if the BOV was not stacked with extremely wealthy corporate welfare supporters. Let's make the BOV of the Public UVA look like and represent the public in the Commonwealth. That takes a change in legislation. Protect the University from the corporate class that wants to prey on public institutions. That's why Sulilivan was fired because the ideological differences were Corporate takeover to privatize and destroy public higher education vs. protect the public university, free speech, shared governance, academic freedom and public good. There is enough evidence to suggest this was why Sullivan was fired. Come out to the Public meeting at 6:30 at the Law School. Sign up to speak. Tell them to change the BOV appointment process and insert the public, faculty,staff, & students back into UVA governance. If you came out to support Sullivan you will come out for tonight.
Demand full funding of UVA
Demand faculty staff, students with a voting seat on the BOV
Demand the Governor's appointment be rejected
Demand an end to campaign pay off appointments by any governor
Demand the BOV look like the public the University serves in terms of gender, race, social and economic status. End corporate domination of our public university-it's dishonorable.
was the most fun I've had on campus since ... 1974?
The controversy is not over yet, as this article makes plain. The trend to "online education" and a takeover by the right wing corporatists seems counterproductive to me in light of artist Kyle McDonald's covertly acquired photographs of supposely intelligent people staring at new Apple computers with totally robotic expressions on their faces.
Although online education is now being ballyhooed as a cost-saving measure, the valuable elements of education are most efficiently transferred in a human to human interface that allows the student's mirror neurons an opportunity to learn the intellectual behaviors of educated minds in a process similar to learning to dance. Staring at a computer won't teach anyone the most important elements of what we might call "the dance of the intellect among facts" ... so it is important to remember that reading books and attending lectures have never been important to the ill-educated.
I will see many of you at the Messiah Sing In on Tuesday, December 8, at 8 p.m. in Old Cabell Hall? ... God willing.
Is it true that the University of Virginia is now being funded at a per-student rate approximately equal to the funding of community college students in North Carolina? or does North Carolina actually appropriate more for its community college students than Virginia appropriates for the University? Shame, shame, shame on you Ms. Dragas -- for being such a patsy.
@Moi ... fyi, the University was left off Playboy's first poll of party schools because "it isn't fair to include professionals with amateurs." After the Mad Bowl mud bath was closed down, the party moved out to Biscuit Run for a while. RIP David Breeden ....
@Citizen Party...Well said. Way to bring a little common sense to the discussion.
@ Logan Anderson (PR firm of H&K) - you don't know what you are talking about. Dragas needs to resign because she cannot even meet a deadline to respond to the Southern Assoc. of Colleges and Schools regarding UVA's accreditation.
Dragas is a complete failure. Rector Dragas is an embarrassment to the UVA community, and this mess is just getting worse.
No other U is governed like BoV at UVA. Dysfunctional leadership is not leadership.
Dragas is a complete failure & must resign.
President Sullivan to the BoV
New York Times, June 2012
"Trust does not mean an absence of disagreement, but it requires that disagreements be frankly discussed. No matter how accomplished he or she may be, a president cannot read minds. When you choose a new president, tell him or her what you are thinking..."
"...Deans and provosts at every peer institution are setting aside funds now to raid the University of Virginia next year given the current turmoil on our campus," she said.
And, now UVA's accreditation is a stake. Thanks Dragas.
Funny how arrogant it is for you to believe the only Dragas/Bov supporters work for a PR firm. Sorry to say you are wrong about this as well as just about all the other so called facts you spew. Constant hissing...don't you ever tire of it?
Dragas is incompetent and should find herself another Research University to ruin.
@Logan - you have said all this before. Dr. Sullivan is an excellent leader and the UVA community is behind her.
Another example of Dragas' failure to lead the BoV:
UVA Board's Lazy Business Sense
by: David Karpf
"The larger point is that the Board of Visitors has misread their business textbooks. Brooks writes, "What happened to the newspaper and magazine business is about to happen to higher education: a rescrambling around the Web." Rector Dragas, Vice Rector Kington and the rest of their cabal took him too literally. To put it bluntly, they're just plain wrong.
This is a common misunderstanding of disruption theory. Clayton Christensen coined the term in his 1997 book, The Innovator's Dilemma. He has written a series of popular business titles on the topic ever since. Disruptive innovations are ones that undermine existing markets, leveling unsuspecting market leaders. The Internet is often treated as One Big Disruption. That's fine shorthand if you're writing a pithy op-ed, but it misses some important nuance: what drives disruptive innovation is the collapse of revenue streams, not the appearance of competition."
@Christian Gehman: "After the Mad Bowl mud bath was closed down, the party moved out to Biscuit Run for a while."
What years were these?
Online classes could have a limited but vital role to play at a university. When I worked at Va Tech, faculty on campus were hearing many negative comments from students about online classes. These students, enrolled on campus, often took an occasional online course , and felt that the live face to face classroom was much better. I did a study of all students taking online classes and stratified it by distance from campus. Students who lived near Tech and were taking online classes were not satisfied with their experience. But as moved out away from Tech in 20 mile increments, those negative comments gradually changed to real apprecialtion for the opportunity to take online classes at a great distance (50 miles plus). and amazement at how intimate and exiciting the online experience could be. My conclusion: online classes should never be seen as a replacement for college face to face class, but can be a vital supplement to the overall educational experience.
@Christian Gehman:
"it isn't fair to include professionals with amateurs." LOL
"After the Mad Bowl mud bath was closed down, the party moved out to Biscuit Run for a while."
"What years were these?"
UVA's hedonistic years in the 1970s when the depraved ones first saw girls on campus. Those years are back as the playboy ranking confirms. We're in the era where "jersey shore" and the "kardashians" are role models for success and celebrity.
@H - "Dragas is incompetent and should find herself another Research University to ruin."
Dragas' days are limited. UVA's accreditation is at stake.
@non-smoker - funny stuff!
@Feets - who owns Biscuit Run?
"Big chill: Biscuit Run presaged Wintergreen money mess"
By Hawes Spencer |
Feb. 6, 2012
"Despite– in a deal reminiscent of Biscuit Run– scooping up $4.6 million from taxpayers four years ago, Wintergreen Partners Inc. has reportedly defaulted on its loan from Bank of America and now implores members to voluntarily lend it $6 million to save the company from bankruptcy."
Seems anything related to UVA has some kind of money mess associated with it; yes?
Amazing that accreditation is at stake, and yet there are no voices from the UVA community. What gives? Think about the consequences of losing our accreditation. Fewer high caliber graduate applicants, loss of esteemed faculty, loss of staff, loss of financial dollars. Loss of accreditation should command a rebellion at UVA campus.
Excellent analysis Mr. Gunter.
I understood that Logan had promised to leave the building some time ago.
@ Logan please comply, no one wants to hear you.
If the accreditation is at stake, this faculty only has itself to blame, and they know it. Go ahead and throw your punch. It's only an opinion. We'll see what history decides.
History decided pretty fast Logan - by history being made in the response to reinstate Sullivan. I think the little people have been pushed just one mile too far by corporate know-it-alls and CEO I lead the world rubbish. no, Donald Trumps method of leadership tends to fail in terms of long term change and organizational unity via change. Especially when dealing with smart people who aren't always totally motivated by the almighty dollar.
OK, I guess, but not answering the question at hand. There's been a claim that some sort of Easters equivalent was moved to Biscuit Run at some point after the party was banned at UVa itself in 1982.
I'm just asking for dates, because I've never heard of this.
It might be of interest to some that the Treasurer of the ACTA Board is Lee Goodman, longtime Virginia Republican activist and former right hand to Jim Glimore, both in the AG's and Governor's office.
Thanks Peter Gunter! 40 years later I still remember your scout camp horror story: "...he climbed the rope over the cliff edge he stared into the vulture's face."
Kinda the same story actually.
Dragas' leadership has put accreditation in jeopardy - Lack thereof...
Logan, you are embarrassing UVA with your false claims.
it's time for some input from Kieran Healy. Remember his 'Declaration of Independence
Yes, and behind it all is the need to find another scam to make a bubble with. The education thing is a lot like the housing scheme in that both are viewed as good and worthy things. This allows a coallition to form that will support the direction of public monies into the system (e.g. housing loan guarantees -> student loan guarantees). Private sector businesses get in on the act through the for-profit universities, stocks soar and derivatives are sold until the whole mess is over leveraged and it comes crashing down. A few people make out really really well, the banks get bailouts and the US treasury gets more debt, more currency gets printed and round and round she goes.
Sullivan's leadership has put the University in jeopardy. You will have to face that sooner or later. Very sorry to say the University missed a golden opportunity. You are entitled to your opinion and I am entitled to mine. The University will be "drifting in yesterday" for many years. Go ahead and accuse me of all your ugly thoughts. It is true and I am an alum too. So there you go.
It is Dragas' leadership that has placed UVA's accreditation at risk. Dragas is pulling the U down with her.
After Dragas' attempted to blindside the president, she had an opportunity to demonstrate leadership and resign. She did not. Dragas' failed coup has presented nothing but problems for the U. She failed. Her actions have tarnished UVA's image.
You are tarnishing UVA's image. You clearly didn't attend UVA. Honor...I think you picked the wrong name. Great job last night. 60 people showed up.
If the BOV had done their work in the light of day, with some honor and integrity, the facts of the matter of Terry Sullivan's leadership could have been discussed rationally. I personally think she is doing an ok job. I wish she would back off on the speed of the budget model changes, that she would clean out the plantation culture, and replace some deans who have already bought into the corporate model and increase faculty input processes.
Somehow Logon has lost the ability of causal reasoning. Dragas and the BOV started the whole debacle with their dishonorable, back room, corporate, privatization scheming with who knows what help and support from outside sources. When one BOV member spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on corporate PR and then another millionaire BOV comes into rescue her and pay the bill, you know the whole system is corrupt and off base. There was obviously no reasonable evidence that Siullivan had dropped the ball to deserve the treatment she received or they would have done it in the light of day. If the University is going to be drifting in yesterday for many years it is a direct consequence of Dragas and the BOV cabal motivations and actions. The longer they all stay the longer the historical analysis continues providing ample time for the Legislature to fix the entire structural problem of appointments.
Time to remove the cancer of corporate domination of public university governance.
Dragas needs to get out of Dodge. She needs to go asap.
One of the most appalling things she has done, of which we have proof, the emails to the student representative Ms Hurd, is to attempt to influence a student to violate the honour code. Is this not a form of harassment, using one's position to influence a student to do something dishonourable? If for no other reason the Governor should have fired her, but he didn't. What does that reveal about him and the rest of his advisors? Dragas wrote the letters not the rest of the BOV.
Rector Dragas' poor leadership lead to chaos at UVA. This is not the way to govern a Research U.
President Sullivan has demonstrated excellent leadership and management of UVA under extraordinary obstacles created by the Rector. Dr. Sullivan is moving the U forward with the support of faculty, staff and the entire UVA community.
Remember Darden grads: "The absence of leadership should not be confused with the type of leadership that calls for 'no action' to be taken"
President Sullivan could not take action during the accreditation mess because it was a conflict of interest. President Sullivan was not involved with the attempted coup to have herself fired. All blame is Dragas'. Dragas didn't even respond to the accreditation committees' deadline for a response.
The BoV must act to prevent UVA from losing its' accreditation.
"Also, what is often referred to as "participative management" can be a very effective form of leadership. In this approach, a new direction may seem to emerge from the group rather than the leader. However, the leader has facilitated that new direction whilst also engendering ownership within the group - i.e., it is an advanced form of leadership."
In less than 2 years, President Sullivan has been facilitating enormous changes at the UVA. She has participated fully with the faculty, staff and U community, in managing UVA resources and propelling changes to make UVA a better research and higher learning institution.
@CP - we definitely need to have the corporate dollars removed from public universities.
When it comes to funding U's, I don't understand the distinction between public and private. Particularly when a public U's majority of funding is coming from corporate America.
There should be a means test of some kind. What happens if McDonnell decides that 5% is enough for the U?
@PK - Funny stuff! Actually, the Rector probably read "50 Shades of Grey" trilogy, and now she can't think straight.
Is this a sign? "Helen Dragas hasn't backed off the Board of Visitors, but she has backed out of purchasing an Albemarle estate that had been providing a home away from home in the bucolic serenity of rural Albemarle County."
The Hook, 9/28/2012, by: Courtney Stewart
Would that it were a sign, A-P. But, I fear it is no more so than the unused resignation notices her publicity firm drafted for her.
Carol Wood is resigning according to CVILLE. When will Patricia Lampkin resign?
this article points out one failure i feel does not get enough attention. local governments across the country continue to cut education budgets, and then turn around and decry the failure of public education. i send my kids to a private school because of this.
this school year, i attended back to school night at baker butler where my daughter and listened to how their SOL scores have been getting lower for the last 3+ years now. no outline in what is going to be done, just a "i have been meeting with the teachers to discuss how to improve this."
counter this with st. anne's where not only do they outline their curriculum, but map out their 5 year curriculum strategy and describe the challenges they see ahead and announce the steps they are taking to address them. they engage the parents and teachers to help solve these problems. they raise the bar of expectations of the kids. it's night and day between the 2 environments. our public schools have great teachers but are continually handcuffed by poor administration and lack of support by local government with continual education budget cuts.
our kids becomes the losers in this game of chicken. this is why we are currently making arrangements to get our last daughter into st. anne's so she has a chance.
Moi is - Toril Moi (born 1953 in Norway) is James B. Duke Professor of Literature and Romance Studies and Professor of English, Philosophy and Theatre Studies at Duke University. Previously she held positions as a lecturer in French at the University of Oxford and as Director of the Center for Feminist Research at the University of Bergen, Norway. She works on feminist theory and women's writing; on the intersections of literature, philosophy and aesthetics; on "finding ways of reading literature with philosophy and philosophy with literature without reducing the one to the other."
Teril Moi is also on The Johns Hopkins University New Literary History Advisory Board - Advisory Editor.
Why is Teril Moi trying to sabotage the UVA? We pay you for your lectures. Go trash your own universities.
@ DS -...and your private school child does not have to be educated with non-English speaking students who did not score above the 132 IQ? Your child did not have any conflict at the family level nor was diagnosed with PTSD due to abuse, right? Your kid is not hungry in the morning, right?
All stats bear out that the "no kid left behind" is a disservice to the poor and disadvantaged - the very kids the program was suppose to help. Figures!
When the playing field is fair for all kids, I will listen. Otherwise, just go pay for your kid's private education...and get off this page!
sorry - no DS, but IC - failure of "no kid's left behind" comment
BOV comes in at 5 for worst ideas in 2012.
@ Dragas: Please don't take the rest of us down with you! Dragas is the worst leadership UVA has had to content with EVER. Better to have no leadership at all than the Titanic/Dragas fiasco.
@UVA BoV: How was wine tasting this weekend; yep, I was there. How sick!
Concerned UVa Alum,
Are you serious? This embarrassing group of incompetents and thugs actually appearing at public social events? That would really be strange. They should be keeping a very low profile, as they draft their resignations. If your report is accurate, we really need the GA to act forcefully and decisively to rid the University of this scourge.
Getting rid of Dragas just gets rid of the face of the coup. Not the cause.
During the emergency session to get rid of Sullivan, Gov McD was in Europe. He came home for a day and went to Romney's event in Utah , where would be VP's and cabinet members were paraded. From there, the Gov went to the Koch Brother's retreat. Do you think McDonnell got any marching orders at either event? Rumor has it the Koch Brothers think McDonnell has potential to be president.
Who was the puppet master behind Dragas? She is not smart enough to have done this on her own. She is not a leader. Was it Kirk? Was it Nau? Was it Paul Tutor Jones? Was it McDonnell? And do some or all of them answer to the Koch Brothers?
@gggrr: That is the point Peter Gunter makes in this article. A;so see the illustration above the article. It reinforces his point about McDonell's ambitions
The only embarrassment here is that the people who comment on slime like the Hook are total losers with nothing else to do but criticize and berate others. Half of you don't even have a dog in this fight, you just want to argue to argue. Get over yourselves and go back to work and teach the students. Oh yeh, the students. You seem to have forgotten about them, right? Your turnout last week was lousy because people want to move on. Jeezzzzzz....
@Chris, If The Hook is slime why are you here. Losers you said? Move on
agree, outragedalumna.
this chris character comes under several names; all dysfunctional, all illiterate, and all supportive in a completely unconvincing way of the main problem, ms. dragas. i don't know. but, like many, many others have suggested, these names front for some paid voice of ms. dragas, that is not worth whatever mr. nau is paying them for their unconvincing, irresponsible and pathetic service to this failed rector. ms. dragas simply doesn't understand that she needs to move on. she failed in her wrongheaded coup and has, by her continuing presence, rendered good governance at the University impossible. although "chris" is not worth reading -- even by his own argument -- grrr may be right. nevertheless, when dragas is removed, great progress will have been made, and the stiffling voices of ms. kilberg and mr. goodwin will be compromised, or perhaps rendered moot.
@Eurohoo. grrr. is right, but what I wanted to point out is that our comments are responses to Peter Gunter's article and this is exactly what Gunter is saying. Now we all need to do something about communication if we are to act as one. I was unaware of the Town Hall Meeting with the State legislators last Thursday and my family of five would have attended, had we known. Many of us interested parties live far out of town, and in other States, so it takes some planning to be in C'ville but we will come for important occasions. I did attend a function this last Sunday and found that many of the attendees were like myself. They did not know about the Town Hall Meeting and would have attended as well.
I, too, was unaware of the Town Hall Meeting with state legislators last Thursday. I would have attended.
@ Courtney Stewart -- the home Mas Dragas might have considered purchasing could have contained Chinese wallboard?
Now, as to the problem with the members of the BoV not being accountable to the University's Honor Code, the the simplest solution would be: make them all either "students" or "Professors" whose responsibility, once a year, would be to give a one hour seminar presentation at the school of their choice at UVA ....
You deleted all my posts. When this story breaks in the next few months I will certainly not consider the Hook as a venue. I also noticed the recent uptick in online ads by UVA. How transparent!
My apologies to the hook. I was very mistaken.
Top 3 posts by RNC. I know this style because I dated the head of the RNC in California. He, as an individual ranked as the the worst person I ever met. Didn't even have money to take care of his empty pool in Sacramento, Ca. He even suggested that the Republican base in California was being stooged by pretend running mates who were gay democrats. How low can the RNC go on like this? This occurred during Schwartenegger's run for governor. We know how credible Arnold was, right Maria? Ashcroft was speaking in the Sacramento Valley.
moi, can you email me your deleted posts please?
@Logan - Run for office why don't you? But, by the way, you seem to have forgotten the old joke "How many Virginians does it take to change a light bulb?" (answer: three -- one to change the bulb and two to talk about how good the old one was .... )
@Obama has my Republican vote. Please explain. Did you wonder into the wrong room?
And as for Ms. Dragas's comment quoted in the Washington Post "Dragas said: "I sincerely apologize for the way that this was presented." ... what is most significant, is that Ms. Dragas's comment includes no apology to the University FOR HER ACTIONS in embroiling it in such a ridiculously pointless brouhaha, BUT ONLY EXCUSES "THE WAY IT WAS PRESENTED." Clearly, as for Ms. Dragas "She's Gotta Go" is the conclusion the other members of the BoV logically should come to, if only because Ms. Dragas so egregiously claimed the work product of Hill + Knowlton as her own work. Clearly, Hill + Knowlton has other clients whose agendas might have been well-served by Ms. Dragas's actions had they succeeded, and it is long past time to eliminate the influence of Hill + Knowlton from the Board of Visitors, where it now functions as a "shadow" member.
Just curious. Why would anyone date any head of the RNC? Strange what comes up on these posts.
@outragedal -- there's really no telling what strange conjunctions may transpire in the dating scene in Orange County (birthplace of the blessed John Birch Society) -- or any other part of California. Arnold and Maria might be another example .... Mentioning this personal experience as an intensifier for the verity of the factoids presented is amusing, but hardly persuasive.


text:
Title: Where We Belong
Author: Eve Connell
Release Date: February 19, 2015
One woman emerging from the depths.
At the age of seventeen, Amelia Baide won silver at the Olympic Games and was the second-fastest woman in the pool. Then one tragic night she crashed into a lake and was dragged out without a pulse. Now twenty-four, she is still haunted by it and hasn't swum again. Until this year's anniversary of the accident. It is a day unlike any other and a strange turn of events finds Amelia back at a swimming pool.
Harry Jamieson had eyes for one girl, while women and the media had eyes for him. As a trainer of Olympic athletes, he was an in-demand man. Until one boozy morning after … But from bad luck to pure chance he runs into his old flame, Amelia, at a swimming pool no less. She doesn't remember a thing from the night of the crash.
And Harry knows every single secret.
The pair joins forces—a comeback for Amelia and Harry's ultimate coaching opportunity. But dodging waves is hard to do; and even the strongest swimmer may sink.
Where We Belong is a second-chance love story for young and old, for swimming enthusiasts and romantics at heart.
At the age of seventeen, Amelia Baide won silver at the Olympic Games and was the second-fastest woman in the pool. Then one tragic night she crashed into a lake and was dragged out without a pulse. Now twenty-four, she is still haunted by it and hasn't swum again. Until this year's anniversary of the accident. It is a day unlike any other and a strange turn of events finds Amelia back at a swimming pool.
Harry Jamieson had eyes for one girl, while women and the media had eyes for him. As a trainer of Olympic athletes, he was an in-demand man. Until one boozy morning after … But from bad luck to pure chance he runs into his old flame, Amelia, at a swimming pool no less. She doesn't remember a thing from the night of the crash.
And Harry knows every single secret.
The pair joins forces—a comeback for Amelia and Harry's ultimate coaching opportunity. But dodging waves is hard to do; and even the strongest swimmer may sink.
Where We Belong is a second-chance love story for young and old, for swimming enthusiasts and romantics at heart.
Chapter 1
We had the fight moments after I slipped the robe off my shoulders into a pool around my feet. I had one foot on the shower base, one on the plush rectangular mat.
At that moment, my
fiancé, Kristopher, knocked from the other side of the bathroom door, which I'd
already locked for privacy.
He had this
tendency often. The first word he would speak to me all day? As I stepped into
the shower. Was it okay if he went out with his friends instead of the dinner
reservation? As I stepped into the shower. His
solution to cancer? As I stepped into the shower.
Clenching my jaw, I
awaited the question.
Amelia?" he asked.
I sighed. "You
should have gotten it when I told you I needed to shower. Or while I collected
my creams and lotions and make-up. Or while I sniffed around for a clean towel
in your stash in the corner."
The soap—as we both
knew—was irrelevant in this argument. For a fleeting moment, I wondered if we
stayed together out of laziness. And maybe we did. Because I hated many
characteristics about my fiancé. Especially his ignorance of this anniversary.
It was September twenty-ninth.
This year I called
my boss's mobile at the crack of dawn to fake a sick day, playing up my groggy
tone as a terrible sore throat in addition to a nauseous tummy. She told me to
get well, and I swallowed the news with a lump in my throat, guilty for lying. I was an assistant for a
medium-sized advertising business and handled paperwork, invoicing and calls
all day long—it wasn't like my absence would be of consequence to day-to-day
activities. I'd pick it up tomorrow.
Last year Kristopher
and I made dates apart with our respective best friends, and I'd spent it
eating all the ice cream along a strip of shops down the coast. I'd thrown up
once and then kept on going. Jaffa flavour, I remember.
I'd licked and
slurped the drips down the paper cup, and only thought twice of the
anniversary. Once on the drive down to the beach, and then once as I'd clutched
the sides of a rusty public bin and spewed my guts up to the backdrop of
disgusted gasps from passers-by.
I don't know what
Kristopher did that day, but he came back when the night sky was a deep
sapphire blue, whisky on his breath as he climbed in bed behind me.
The year before I
took a day off from work and spent $600 buying cocktail dresses I would never
have occasion to wear. The next day I
donated them to charity.
Six years ago
today, I died. Hence, it was the one time
of the year we didn't forget the date. Unlike some years when we had to shop
for Christmas gifts at two am on
the twenty-fourth.
I stared down the
white door of the bathroom, one foot tingling with the sharp cold of the shower
base, hand clutching the knob. I stepped back onto the tiles, accepting defeat.
"Come on, Amelia,"
he said in a low tone. "Just one Goddamn bottle of aftershave. That's all I
"No. Just wait till
I'm done."
"Amelia," I said.
"Amelia, please," he said, voice breaking. "I
haven't showered and I stink. I just need a few f**king sprays, and I'll be out
of your way all day."
I gritted my teeth
and hobbled from toe to toe, the cold seeping up my legs. If we kept going on
like this staying out of each other's way was pointless. We knew how to nip at
each other's sensitive spots in a way learned from several years of being
together. I saw the forthcoming crash, clenched my eyes shut against the pain.
My shoulders heaved, bracing for impact.
Was this what
happened to me just before my crash?
there a moment of wide-eyed fear as my corded, muscled arms grabbed the wheel
at the proper ten and two positions, and I flew through the air, reduced to a
thin, crushed and crumpled body at the bottom of the lake?
Hot tears grew
heavy behind my eyelids as something inside me snapped. I shut the gate to the
horrific visions.
It was too late to
Kristopher banged
his fist on the door, the boom
echoing. I bent and hurried on my new
clothes folded on the counter.
"Come on. This is
beyond a joke. It will take you a few seconds to pass it." The door rattled,
the handle jerking, but I'd locked the door already. "Amelia."
I slipped my arms
into the cardigan and threw open the
door, despite the bags under my eyes and the chill settling over my chest
because of the unbuttoned front.
I said, "Have it
all," pushing the aftershave bottle into his chest, then rushed past him.
And I didn't look
Chapter 2
I woke to star- and heart-shaped glow-in-the-dark stickers radiating in neon green from the ceiling. A ceiling I'd never seen before in my life—typically, I wasn't the sort of man to befriend the fancy sticker type of person.
It was pre-dawn,
barely so, the sun a tiny orb just under the horizon through the crack in the curtains.
My world swayed as
I tilted my head. I held my ears in my palms, and my fingers weaved through the
messy state of my bed hair. Under the purple sheets, my stomach churned, and
farther down, morning glory unstuck from the
aforementioned undelightful purple
sheets. I crawled out of the bed.
What the f**k was this? I thought. And where the f**k was I?
I remembered
flashes from the previous night. A club, a slime party, and breathy kisses with
the girl who lay splayed under these purple sheets beneath her stars and hearts
glow-in-the-dark ceiling.
Viol … Vick … no, it was Vivienne. No, wait, Vivienna.
I smiled, proud of
my achievement. But that dropped into a wobbly set of lips. My stomach churned
again. I lurched into the attached bathroom and retched, wiping myself clean
with water.
though I was ninety-nine-point-nine per cent certain I f**ked Vicky (or
Vivienna), I shivered at the thought of sharing her toothbrush, so I used the
handy finger-stick in lieu and then the mouthwash beside the basin.
Feeling somewhat
refreshed, I let out a deep breath and looked around the bathroom, not much of
a better sight than the bedroom. The towels were white and pale purple, the
soap purple, and more stickers dotted along the corners of the mirror above the
I stared at my
reflection, disgusted.
My hair Mohawked, askew
to one side, a chunk plastered across my forehead in a teenage boy-crush style.
I fussed it around with my hands. It looked as if I just had sex, which was
better than it had moments prior.
I stepped back into
her bedroom, peering amongst the sheets and all her hair. I sighed upon seeing
her, confirming one thing. She had the youthful expression of someone I hoped
was legal. I was twenty-eight, she perhaps twenty or twenty-one. I hoped.
Since she was still
asleep, I returned to the bathroom and looked around for supplies to make
myself appear more human. But I caught my reflection in the mirror and stalled.
My tan skin and dark hair vividly contrasted against my steel-blue eyes. Most
noticeably, a bloodshot glare, lined with
purple bags, rolled lazily at the reflection.
I didn't suspect my
pick-up techniques from last night would have worked if I'd looked like this.
Just twelve or so hours
ago, one look at Vivienna and she was
under my arm, my lips near her ear telling her things she wanted to hear.
wished I'd had the foresight to stop drinking and pick up her nuisances: the
squeals I thought made her sound cute, the frilly neckline of her dress more
girly than sweet, and the bright purple shoes. The poor woman had a young girl trapped inside her body.
I looked through
the doorway and whispered, "You're a little crazy, Purple Vivienna."
I never should
Stop, Harry. I told myself. Find some deodorant, get some clothes on, and get out of here.
So I did just that.
Then I walked out of her bedroom without a note or text. I didn't have her
number, plus she didn't care for me.
The others didn't,
either. They thought they cared.
But they wanted the
thrill of a night with the Harry Jamieson.
night of passion and drinking
with the idea of love.
One of us had to
have our heads screwed on.
mine teetering on the right side of sanity, I dashed out and found my car
parked by the kerb outside her house, hoping she'd been sober enough by the end
of the night to drive it. I knew
with absolute certainty I wouldn't have gotten behind the wheel.
I didn't drive
after drinking. Not anymore.
travelled home, which took an hour—a long way for pussy, even by my
standards—and did the whole routine: shower, force down some hangover-cure
food, spend the rest of the day watching TV like a zombie. Late afternoon, I got onto all my emails,
responding to meetings, questions and other ad hoc business, then prepared some
training sessions for my swimmers.
When I woke the
next morning, I stumbled drowsily onto my front lawn in just a pair of sleeping
pants and retrieved the delivered roll of newspaper. My neighbour, having
noticed my exit, darted her eyes away and scurried inside her house.
I never claimed to
be a sight for sore eyes in the morning. But what the hell was that about?
Five minutes later, as I tipped a steaming cup of coffee to my lips, I saw the headline and
cursed, spraying coffee all over my granite countertop.
Author Bio
Author Links


text:
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text:
Captured by the Viscount
by Wareeze Woodson
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing, LLC
Publication Date: November 27, 2019
Under cover of night and with the best of intentions, Lady Isabel Carlyle breaks into the viscount's residence to restore his stolen property and retrieve her own. She understood the viscount was out of town for at least a sennight. When she entered the mansion, she never once considered facing a pistol aimed directly at her heart.
The Viscount Matthew Paul Rutherford has need of a bride before the month's end. Previously, he had selected two different damsels from the marriage mart—Almack's. However, both ladies met with a fatal accident before the wedding. Now, presented with an unexpected solution to his problem in the form of the lovely thief, he gives Isabel a choice, marriage or gaol.
I write historical romance fiction novels set in the 1800s forward with a twist of suspense. All of my characters and stories that are portrayed in my books are fictitious. I am a native of Texas, but I have traveled throughout America and beyond. As a dreamer, I love to visit new places where I can imagine a heroine meeting a hero in a special way. I'm an avid reader of (all sorts) and I love to write.
I married my high school sweat-heart and after having raised three sons and one daughter, our love for each other remains unshaken. Now we enjoy our eight grandchildren. We can send them home, but we're always happy for their return.
Outside of my family activities, I sing with the Silver Belles at my church and hate to miss even one practice. The local chapter of RWA is also at the top of my list of pleasures. It keeps me grounded with craft and connected with other writers.
Most of all, I enjoy going fishing with my husband. Give me a pole and leave me alone to bask in the sun, listening to water gurgle along the riverbanks while allowing my mind to float away to some distant place. Ah! Perfect.
$15 Amazon
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text:
Fuel's paradise? Power source that turns physics on its head
· Scientist says device disproves quantum theory
· Opponents claim idea is result of wrong maths
Alok Jha, science correspondent
Friday November 4, 2005
The Guardian
It seems too good to be true: a new source of near-limitless power that
costs virtually nothing, uses tiny amounts of water as its fuel and produces
next to no waste. If that does not sound radical enough, how about this:
the principle behind the source turns modern physics on its head.
Randell Mills, a Harvard University medic who also studied electrical
engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, claims to have built
a prototype power source that generates up to 1,000 times more heat than
conventional fuel. Independent scientists claim to have verified the experiments
and Dr Mills says that his company, Blacklight Power, has tens of millions
of dollars in investment lined up to bring the idea to market. And he claims
to be just months away from unveiling his creation.
The problem is that according to the rules of quantum mechanics, the physics that governs the behaviour of atoms, the idea is theoretically impossible. "Physicists are quite conservative. It's not easy to convince them to change a theory that is accepted for 50 to 60 years. I don't think [Mills's] theory should be supported," said Jan Naudts, a theoretical physicist at the University of Antwerp.
What has much of the physics world up in arms is Dr Mills's claim that he has produced a new form of hydrogen, the simplest of all the atoms, with just a single proton circled by one electron. In his "hydrino", the electron sits a little closer to the proton than normal, and the formation of the new atoms from traditional hydrogen releases huge amounts of energy.
This is scientific heresy. According to quantum mechanics, electrons can only exist in an atom in strictly defined orbits, and the shortest distance allowed between the proton and electron in hydrogen is fixed. The two particles are simply not allowed to get any closer.
According to Dr Mills, there can be only one explanation: quantum mechanics must be wrong. "We've done a lot of testing. We've got 50 independent validation reports, we've got 65 peer-reviewed journal articles," he said. "We ran into this theoretical resistance and there are some vested interests here. People are very strong and fervent protectors of this [quantum] theory that they use."
Rick Maas, a chemist at the University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNC) who specialises in sustainable energy sources, was allowed unfettered access to Blacklight's laboratories this year. "We went in with a healthy amount of scepticism. While it would certainly be nice if this were true, in my position as head of a research institution, I really wouldn't want to make a mistake. The last thing I want is to be remembered as the person who derailed a lot of sustainable energy investment into something that wasn't real."
But Prof Maas and Randy Booker, a UNC physicist, left under no doubt about Dr Mill's claims. "All of us who are not quantum physicists are looking at Dr Mills's data and we find it very compelling," said Prof Maas. "Dr Booker and I have both put our professional reputations on the line as far as that goes."
Dr Mills's idea goes against almost a century of thinking. When scientists developed the theory of quantum mechanics they described a world where measuring the exact position or energy of a particle was impossible and where the laws of classical physics had no effect. The theory has been hailed as one of the 20th century's greatest achievements.
But it is an achievement Dr Mills thinks is flawed. He turned back to earlier classical physics to develop a theory which, unlike quantum mechanics, allows an electron to move much closer to the proton at the heart of a hydrogen atom and, in doing so, release the substantial amounts of energy he seeks to exploit. Dr Mills's theory, known as classical quantum mechanics and published in the journal Physics Essays in 2003, has been criticised most publicly by Andreas Rathke of the European Space Agency. In a damning critique published recently in the New Journal of Physics, he argued that Dr Mills's theory was the result of mathematical mistakes.
Dr Mills argues that there are plenty of flaws in Dr Rathke's critique. "His paper's riddled with mistakes. We've had other physicists contact him and say this is embarrassing to the journal and [Dr Rathke] won't respond," said Dr Mills.
While the theoretical tangle is unlikely to resolve itself soon, those wanting to exploit the technology are pushing ahead. "We would like to understand it from an academic standpoint and then we would like to be able to use the implications to actually produce energy products," said Prof Maas. "The companies that are lining up behind this are household names."
Dr Mills will not go into details of who is investing in his research but rumours suggest a range of US power companies. It is well known also that Nasa's institute of advanced concepts has funded research into finding a way of using Blacklight's technology to power rockets.
According to Prof Maas, the first product built with Blacklight's technology, which will be available in as little as four years, will be a household heater. As the technology is scaled up, he says, bigger furnaces will be able to boil water and turn turbines to produce electricity.
In a recent economic forecast, Prof Maas calculated that hydrino energy would cost around 1.2 cents (0.7p) per kilowatt hour. This compares to an average of 5 cents per kWh for coal and 6 cents for nuclear energy.
"If it's wrong, it will be proven wrong," said Kert Davies, research director of Greenpeace USA. "But if it's right, it is so important that all else falls away. It has the potential to solve our dependence on oil. Our stance is of cautious optimism."
Alternative energy
Cold fusion
More than 16 years after chemists' claims to have created a star in a jar imploded in acrimony, the US government has said it might fund more research. Mainstream physicists still balk at reports that a beaker of cold water and metal electrodes can produce excess heat, but a hardy band of scientists across the world refuse to let the dream die.
Methane hydrates
The US and Japan are leading attempts to tap this source of fossil fuel buried beneath the seabed and Arctic permafrost. A mixture of ice and natural gas, hydrates are believed to contain more carbon than existing reserves of oil, coal and gas put together.
Solar chimneys
Sunlight heats trapped air, which rises through a giant chimney and drives turbines. Leonardo da Vinci designed such a power tower and the Australian company Enviromission plans to build one. Despite being scaled down recently, the concrete chimney will still stand some 700 metres over the outback.
Nuclear fusion
Turns nuclear power on its head by combining atoms rather than splitting them to release energy - copying the reaction at the heart of the sun. After years of arguments the world has agreed to build a test reactor to see whether it works on a commercial scale. Called Iter, it could be switched on within a decade.
Wave generators
No longer a dead duck, the hopes of engineers are riding on bobbing
floats again. The British company Trident Energy recently unveiled a design
that uses a linear generator to convert the motion of the sea into electricity.
A wave farm just a few hundred metres across could power 62,000 homes.
David Adam