IT'S COMING APART AT THE TRUTH SEAMS

IT’S COMING APART AT THE TRUTH SEAMS

Teachers beginning to teach. All India (except the nuclear enthusiasts) turn out against Bush/US.

Item 1.

High school teacher's comments investigated by district

AURORA Colorado- A 16-year-old boy at Overland High School doesn't want to hear what he calls his teacher's left-wing political rants.


Sean Allen frequently recorded his teachers to back up his notes. Allen recorded Jay Bennish, his 10th grade World Geography teacher, making comments about President Bush's State of the Union Address.
Allen's father claims the comments made in the recording are biased and inappropriate for a geography class.
"I'm not saying Bush and Hitler are exactly the same, obviously they're not. OK? But there are some eerie similarities to the tones that they use," says Bennish in his critique of U.S. economic and foreign policy.
Towards the end of the class, Bennish goes on to say, "I'm not in anyway implying that you should agree with me, I don't even know if I'm necessarily taking a position. But what I'm trying to get you to do is to think about these issues more in depth and not to just take things from the surface."
The Cherry Creek School District is conducting a thorough investigation of the complaint from the Overland High School parent and student concerning comments.


http://www.9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=b7d7ae4f-0abe-421a-00f4-4b4074e4847e&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf

The following is the entire unedited text of a statement from the Cherry Creek School District regarding the auditape.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT

The Cherry Creek School District is conducting a thorough investigation of a complaint from an Overland High School parent and student concerning comments teacher Jay Bennish made in his 10th grade World Geography class about President Bush's State of the Union Address. The parent said he believed the comments were biased and inappropriate for a geography class.

From listening to the recording of the class made by the student, it seems evident that a breach of district policy occurred regarding the balanced presentation of sensitive material. The district is taking the following steps to deal with this apparent violation of district policy and expectations during the class.

1. Determine if this is an isolated incident or a pattern of behavior.

2. Correct the breach of district policy and expectations.

3. Take immediate action to resolve student and parent complaints in a fair and reasonable manner.

4. Present a balanced viewpoint to effected students in regard to the President's State of the Union Address.

5. Use this as an opportunity to ensure that all staff understand and comply with district policy and expectations regarding balanced presentations on sensitive subject matter.

6. Make certain that communication timelines are clear so that parents receive a prompt response to any complaints.

The district is in the process of identifying any personnel actions that may be necessary.
********

Students protest teacher's suspension

• Teacher on leave after comments

RELATED LINKS
• Watch CBS4's report on the tape
By CBS4 News
March 2, 2006
AURORA, Colo. -- Dozens of students at Overland High School walked out of class this morning in support of a teacher who was at the center of a controversy over comments he made about President Bush during a geography class.
It appeared there were also some students who were supporting the student who recorded the teacher's comments and brought them to the attention of radio talk shows. The teacher, Jay Bennish, was on paid leave while the Cherry Creek School District investigated the comments
*****/

Item 2.

http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060302/NEWS01/603020327/1005
03/2/06 -
Bush goes on 'trial' in Morris
Parsippany students confront issues of terrorism and war
BY ROB JENNINGS
DAILY RECORD

PARSIPPANY NJ -- President Bush is being tried for "crimes against civilian populations" and "inhumane treatment of prisoners" at Parsippany High School, with students arguing both sides before a five-teacher "international court of justice." The panel's verdict could come as soon as Friday.

Teacher Joseph Kyle said the "hearing"-- he preferred that term to trial -- opened on Monday in a senior advanced placement government class. The school's principal said he signed off in advance on the subject matter.

"I knew it was a sensitive topic. Morris County is a conservative county. Parsippany is a conservative district," Kyle, 37, a teacher at the high school since 1998, said on Wednesday evening.
Alumnus disturbed

Former county Sheriff John Fox of Parsippany denounced the weeklong hearing -- where students debated whether Bush is a war criminal and questioned classmates playing administration officials and the Army general who oversaw Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq -- as "terrible"and "disturbing."

"Those are young, impressionable minds those people have control over. We don't need those liberal academics doing what they're doing. I find that offensive," said Fox, a Republican who graduated from Parsippany High School.
Kyle declined to discuss his opinion of Bush, the war in Iraq or the U.S. response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He said he isn't trying to show up the president.

"President Bush is often tried in absentia all around the world," Kyle said.

"All we hear in the papers is, war crimes this, war crimes that -- without even hearing a defense. It would be irresponsible for a teacher to pretend that isn't happening," Kyle said.
Defense begins

At the high school, prosecutors rested on Wednesday following testimony from nine "witnesses," Kyle said.
The prosecution list included Khaled El-Masri, a German citizen allegedly tortured by U.S. forces; international human rights attorney Michael Ratner; Larry Wilkerson, chief of staff for former Secretary of State Colin Powell; retired CIA foreign policy analyst Ray McGovern; and U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld were called by the defense before the seventh-period class concluded, Kyle said.
The defense will resume its case today with eight additional witnesses and, possibly, a verdict -- decided by two English teachers, one history teacher, a guidance counselor and someone from the school's media department, Kyle said.
Morris County Freeholder Jack Schrier, a Republican, said he was "truly outraged" by the war crimes hearing.
"It's not un-American. We do have freedom of thought and freedom of speech. But we're a nation at war. Not only this teacher, but so many others in the nation, have lost sight of that," Schrier said.
Principal supportive
High school Principal Anthony Sciaino defended Kyle.
"I think that the way he's doing it, in that it's more of a debate, makes it ideal and connects perfectly with the AP government curriculum," Sciaino said.
Kyle is no stranger to controversial topics. Starting on Tuesday, his sophomore class will put former President Andrew Jackson on trial for alleged abuses against Native Americans.
Kyle insisted that he doesn't have a partisan agenda. While teaching at Montclair High School, he conducted an impeachment trial of President Clinton while he was in office.
"There's nothing bad with exploring evidence on both sides," Kyle said.
Kyle said he received several letters from parents who were "all complimentary" of the war crimes hearing.
One thing that Kyle said he would like to keep private is the verdict.
"That decision is going to be sealed," he said, explaining that students will be told the outcome but asked not to tell others.
*****/
ITEM 3.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/03/02/D8G3ER0G0.html


Ohio Woman Says Kids Requested Cages
Mar 02 8:04 AM US/Eastern

By CONNIE MABIN
Associated Press Writer
NORWALK, Ohio
Some of the special-needs children who slept in cage-like beds fitted with alarms had asked for the structures to be built, their adoptive mother testified at a custody hearing.

Sharen Gravelle testified Wednesday that she and her husband Michael built bunk beds and attached a wooden playhouse the family called a club house for some of the children's toys.
The other children then requested them and the couple felt the brightly painted beds enclosed with wood and wire helped keep them from getting into trouble at night, she said.

The couple have pleaded not guilty to several charges, including child endangerment, in a separate criminal case. The custody hearing was scheduled to resume Thursday.

Prosecutors accuse the couple of locking some of their 11 adopted children in cages to discipline them, and want Huron County to take permanent custody them. The children have been in foster care since the enclosed beds were discovered last fall.
The Gravelles are fighting to regain custody. They deny abusing their adopted children, ages 1 to 15, and say the beds were necessary to protect the youngsters, who suffered from various psychological and behavioral problems.

Under questioning by her attorney, Ken Myers, Sharen Gravelle said that when the children became older they acted up more, including escaping from their regular beds in the middle of the night to fetch knives from the kitchen or to punch each other.
"They just didn't seem normal to me, I mean the behavior didn't and I didn't know what to do," she said.

The mother said she sought help from Huron County social workers and received none. So she did research on the Internet and found Elaine Thompson, an independent licensed social worker also charged in the case.
Gravelle said Thompson approved the beds and that at least one inspection for another adoption was done at the home in rural Wakeman about 60 miles west of Cleveland after the enclosures were built.

Huron County Juvenile Prosecutor Jennifer DeLand said the Gravelles have refused a court order to undergo psychological testing. She presented documents from the Gravelles' first adoption home study that she said proved the couple had lied about previous abuse allegations and investigations by a child protective agency in Lorain County, where they used to live.
Sharen Gravelle denied lying and said she had not seen the documents, although she acknowledged her and her husband's signatures were on the papers below a sworn statement that the information was true.

Sharen Gravelle said she met her husband in 1986 at a dinner for a child sex abuse support group. She said she was attending because a relative had been molested. Michael Gravelle was there because he was accused of inappropriate touching, a charge he denies. The couple married two months later.

The Gravelles are charged with child endangering, falsifying adoption applications and lying under oath when becoming qualified for adoption funding. If convicted, they would face one to five years in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine for each of 16 counts of felony child endangering.

ABROAD

ITEM 4.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/ats-ap_top10mar02,0,4643031.story

Nuclear Deal With India a Victory for Bush
By DEB RIECHMANN
Associated Press Writer

8:11 AM PST, March 2, 2006

NEW DELHI — On his first trip to India, President Bush and his Indian counterpart agreed Thursday on a landmark nuclear energy agreement that deepens ties between the world's oldest and largest democracies.

Bush acknowledged it will be difficult to persuade Congress to support the agreement, in which the United States would share its nuclear know-how and fuel with India. But he said he's confident it will be approved so India can power its fast-growing economy without expanding world demand for oil.

Critics in Congress say the United States is making an exception for India, which has nuclear weapons but won't sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

"Proliferation is certainly a concern and a part of our discussions, and we've got a good-faith gesture by the Indian government that I'll be able to take to the Congress," Bush said.

"But the other thing that our Congress has got to understand is that it's in our economic interests that India have a civilian nuclear power industry to help take the pressure off the global demand for energy," the president said. "To the extent that we can reduce demand for fossil fuels, it will help the American consumer."

The agreement was a political coup, too, for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "We made history," he said, standing alongside Bush in a sunwashed courtyard.

http://www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=19292

***/ (continued)


PM says 'welcome', protesters cry 'Go back Bush'
Minu Jain, New Delhi: While the Indian government rolled out the red carpet for US President George W. Bush, a groundswell of protest erupted across the country Thursday with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets demanding to be heard over the congratulatory chorus of a visit going most smoothly.

However, despite the huge protests, the day went off peacefully with no reports of violence anywhere.

It was a day of protocol and protests in India as the US president officially began his visit in the capital.

As the government feted the president, the ripples of discontent were felt all over with India's civil society, including students and rights activists, joining Left politicians that prop the government and Muslim groups to vent their ire on the streets -- and even in the hallowed halls of state assemblies and parliament.

The niceties of the controversial civilian nuclear deal between the two countries may have been lost on much of the crowds, but Bush's global policies were top of the mind issues, whether in New Delhi or Mumbai, Siliguri or Lucknow.

In New Delhi, a crowd of about 25,000 marched through the streets shouting "Hands off Iraq", "No blood for oil" and "Jo Bush ka yaar hai, desh ka gaddar hai!" (One who is a friend of Bush is a traitor to the country).

While many of the demonstrators at the march from the Ramlila ground in the heart of the city to Parliament Street were from within Delhi, others came from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The organisers said 75 buses bringing in protestors from neighbouring states had been halted on Delhi's borders.

"We regret that the Congress party has come forward to make friendship with America," CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat told the rally, triggering jeers and more anti-US slogans, even as the prime minister was hosting a lunch for Bush.

A prominent face at the Delhi rally was well-known writer and activist Arundhati Roy.

In India's financial capital Mumbai, surging crowds of nearly 150,000 people gathered to protest at the Azad Maidan calling Bush "the biggest terrorist".

Carrying placards like "Bush go back" and "Don't sell India to Bush", the demonstrators burnt the US president's effigy and stamped on the US flag.

Although police made extensive arrangements, traffic went out of gear in the metropolis. Protesters also forcibly closed some shops in the area, including a McDonald's outlet, even as administrators remained mute spectators.

"Bush is the biggest terrorist in the world. India should not have invited a person like him. The person who is responsible for so many deaths is being feted in a country that believes in non-violence," said Mohammed Idris, a schoolteacher.

The scene was replicated in smaller ways perhaps in other towns. In Uttar Pradesh, particularly its capital Lucknow, Muslim groups released black balloons and carried placards like "Enemy of Mankind - George Bush Go Back".

In India's software capital Bangalore, about 2,000 people marched through the central business district for a meeting to demonstrate the strong resentment of "aam admi" (common man) against the hegemony of the Bush administration.

"Though we have nothing against the American people, we condemn the imperial policies of Bush who invaded Iraq and killed thousands of Iraqis, including women and children, on the pretext of eliminating weapons of mass destruction that were never found," said Samajwadi Party leader S. Bangarappa.

Even in the relatively lesser-known West Bengal town of Siliguri, 600 km from the capital Kolkata, hundreds of communists took out protest rallies in several parts of the city.

The situation was much worse in Kolkata, ruled by a CPI-M government, with the city virtually coming to a standstill.

Away from the streets, the situation was equally surcharged.

The anti-US sentiment found an echo in the Indian parliament, where leftist MPs called the visit an "affront" to India and asked Manmohan Singh to "apologise" for breaking protocol to receive Bush on his arrival.

In the Andhra Pradesh assembly, for instance, the house had to be adjourned over protests by the Left parties and Majlis-e-Ittehaadul Muslimeen (MIM).

Novel forms of protests were being planned in the Andhra capital Hyderabad where Bush comes calling Friday.

Bush will fly in a chopper to the N.G. Ranga Agricultural University and the Indian School of Business (ISB) on the city's outskirts. Should he look down, he will see black balloons and black kites flying.

And if only he could hear! Auto drivers have decided not to ply their vehicles but blow horns outside the assembly to vent their ire.

Muslims groups have also called for a shutdown Friday to protest Bush visit.

Added another leader: "Bush is an international terrorist and he should be tried at an international court. His visit has induced Bush flu which is more dangerous than bird flu."

That may be rhetoric. But behind it is a huge anti-Bush sentiment and outrage against his administration that is clamouring to be heard.

*****/ (continued)

All India protest marks Bush visit
New Delhi: Nation-wide protests greeted U.S. President George Bush as he was ironing out the final glitches in the Indo US Civilian nuclear with the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in New Delhi today.

A rally organised by the Left Parties along with the Samajwadi Party today witnessed large scale protests as thousands of people participated in it, carrying red flags and shouted anti-Bush slogans.

A wide scale reverberation of “Killer Bush go back” filled the air of the Ramlila Grounds from where the procession started. A gamut of Communist leaders including CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yetchury, Brinda Karat, CPI leader A. B. Bardhan and Samajwadi Party leader and son of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister , Akhilesh Yadav marched towards the Jantar Mantar.

As the news of the finalisation of the nuclear deal poured in, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury in his initial reaction said that he still do not consider it to be a deal and said that the Left parties is not opposed to the deal until it harms India’s security.

Prakash Karat addressing the rally said: “ I do not know what deal has been finalised but through this protest I want to make clear that Bush may be welcomed by the Government but he is not welcomed by the Indian people at all”.

He also warned the UPA government that his party will not tolerate any misadventure by the United States against Iran.

“The U.S. wants that the way it had invaded the oil wells of Iraq it will be able to attack Iran in a similar way. But we want to tell our government that we will not tolerate any attack on Iran,” said Karat.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav while addressing the procession accused the UPA government of stooping to a new low and urged the Left leaders to rethink its decision in providing outside support to the UPA Government

He also said that there has been no unanimity in the political circles regarding the growing engagements of India with the United States as the Prime Minister never bothered to consult all parties in this matter.

Demonstrators carrying anti Bush placards with a sea of red flags also burnt effigies of the US President.

However, the security remained tight as police and personnel from the Rapid Action Force were present in large numbers along with their water cannons and box of tear gas shells along the path taken by the procession.

Meanwhile, in Bhopal also activists of Samajwadi party in toe with the Left Parties beat the effigy of Bush with slippers to vent their anger.

Reports of demonstrations from Bangalore and Kolkata have also reached but no reports of any untoward accidents have come from there.

The Parliament too witnessed uproar in both the houses on the issue of Bush coming to India. Left Parties and Samajwadi Party leaders protested and chanted slogans of “Barbarian Bush Go Back”. This was an extension of demonstration done in the morning by the Samajwadi Party MPs who adorning the red caps expressed their anti Bush feelings.

As soon as the House met, MPs of Samajwadi Party demanded an apology from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for receiving US President George Bush at the airport.

“We will not allow the House to run till Singh apologises for receiving Bush at the airport,” SP Parliamentary Party leader Janeshwar Mishra said.

****/ (continued - The Nation)

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060313/roy

Bush in India: Just Not Welcome
by ARUNDHATI ROY
[posted online on March 1, 2006]
On his triumphalist tour of India and Pakistan, where he hopes to wave imperiously at people he considers potential subjects, President Bush has an itinerary that's getting curiouser and curiouser.
For Bush's March 2 pit stop in New Delhi, the Indian government tried very hard to have him address our parliament. A not inconsequential number of MPs threatened to heckle him, so Plan One was hastily shelved. Plan Two was to have Bush address the masses from the ramparts of the magnificent Red Fort, where the Indian prime minister traditionally delivers his Independence Day address. But the Red Fort, surrounded as it is by the predominantly Muslim population of Old Delhi, was considered a security nightmare. So now we're into Plan Three: President George Bush speaks from Purana Qila, the Old Fort.
Ironic, isn't it, that the only safe public space for a man who has recently been so enthusiastic about India's modernity should be a crumbling medieval fort?
Since the Purana Qila also houses the Delhi zoo, George Bush's audience will be a few hundred caged animals and an approved list of caged human beings, who in India go under the category of "eminent persons." They're mostly rich folk who live in our poor country like captive animals, incarcerated by their own wealth, locked and barred in their gilded cages, protecting themselves from the threat of the vulgar and unruly multitudes whom they have systematically dispossessed over the centuries.
So what's going to happen to George W. Bush? Will the gorillas cheer him on? Will the gibbons curl their lips? Will the brow-antlered deer sneer? Will the chimps make rude noises? Will the owls hoot? Will the lions yawn and the giraffes bat their beautiful eyelashes? Will the crocs recognize a kindred soul? Will the quails give thanks that Bush isn't traveling with Dick Cheney, his hunting partner with the notoriously bad aim? Will the CEOs agree?
Oh, and on March 2, Bush will be taken to visit Gandhi's memorial in Rajghat. He's by no means the only war criminal who has been invited by the Indian government to lay flowers at Rajghat. (Only recently we had the Burmese dictator General Than Shwe, no shrinking violet himself.) But when Bush places flowers on that famous slab of highly polished stone, millions of Indians will wince. It will be as though he has poured a pint of blood on the memory of Gandhi.
We really would prefer that he didn't.
It is not in our power to stop Bush's visit. It is in our power to protest it, and we will. The government, the police and the corporate press will do everything they can to minimize the extent of our outrage. Nothing the happy newspapers say can change the fact that all over India, from the biggest cities to the smallest villages, in public places and private homes, George W. Bush, the President of the United States of America, world nightmare incarnate, is just not welcome