Gus has returned from wherever Gus goes and makes a post of earth-shattering importance....about a cooking class at Harvard.

Except he forgot that he has set up his auto-censor to thwart his ubiquitous kitchen remodeling spammers by substituting the word "SCAM" for "kitchen." So his exciting new post reads like this:

Gus Sainz Wrote:...There are no prerequisites, exams are optional, and you get to do all the tasty lab experiments right in your own SCAM.

..."The hope is that by combining these two different perspectives [science and cooking], you will gain a unique insight into how recipes work. Not just the fancy recipes -- but the recipes you make in your own SCAM," says Michael Brenner, course founder and applied mathematician at Harvard University, in a promotional video (see above.)

...Class "meets" twice a week for an hour. Students watch the chefs create some of their signature dishes, interspersed with clips of instructors "digging into the science" behind the SCAM magic, Sorensen says. "Almost all chefs talk a little about the science, but some more than others," she says. Look for a particularly impressive lesson on entropy and latent heat from New York City chef Dave Arnold, from the bar Booker and Dax.

Students will be able to ask questions and interact with one another online, then go into their SCAM and conduct experiments, like making molten lava cake or ice cream to understand key science concepts....

Boola boola!? The Gold Standard is turning brown.? Too bad it wasn't a church and the NEA would award a grant.

Quote:Police probe Saybrook laundry incident


The Saybrook laundry room, site of the 'poopetrator' incidents

By Adrian Rodrigues
Staff reporter
Wednesday, October 2, 2013

In the late evening of Sept. 7, Lucy Fleming '16 opened the dryer in the Saybrook College laundry room to an unpleasant surprise.

Her clothes were soiled with human feces, and it took the physical delivery of the excrement to the Saybrook Master;s Office to catch administrators' attention.

In the past several weeks, an unknown individual or group, who students have dubbed the "poopetrator," has repeatedly defecated in students' laundry, leaving many fearful about the safety of their clothes. After an additional episode was reported on Sept. 26, Saybrook Master Paul Hudak announced that Yale Police has officially joined the investigation and is seeking further information.

"We have asked our students not to leave their laundry unattended, the affected machines have been thoroughly disinfected, and we are actively seeking information about who the perpetrator might be,"? Hudak told the News. "That's about all we can do."

The incident has sparked concern throughout campus. Although Yale Police could not be reached for comment, the Yale College Council said in an email to the News that they would speak with the Council of Masters to see whether any changes to laundry access need to made.

On Sept. 6, Fleming said, two other Saybrook students -- Fleming's suitemate and her suitemate's boyfriend -- were first targeted, as their clothes were soiled with urine and food waste. The next day, when Fleming's clothes were also urinated upon, she re-washed and dried them only to find that excrement had ruined them.

"I simultaneously wanted to throw up, cry and punch someone," Fleming said.

Many students expressed desire to have the Saybrook laundry room watched by security guards -- but in the meantime, Saybrook undergraduates have already taken matters into their own hands. Students have been standing watch over the machines, said Camille Fonseca '16.

But she added that most students think the severity of the incidents warrants 24/7 security.

"It's ruining people's quality of life,"? Fonseca said.

Although several students reported rumors that the incidents have since spread to other residential colleges such as Silliman College, administrators have not confirmed whether this is the case. For now, most of the concern is still focused on Saybrook, and several students -- such as Mitchell Jones '16 of Berkeley College -- said they would not feel comfortable doing their laundry in Saybrook.

Of a dozen students interviewed, all said they wished to see the perpetrator disciplined. However, opinions diverged on what the exact punishment should be.

Owen Kaye-Kauderer '16 said that because the ideals of trust and character touted by the University had been violated, the individual should be expelled, while others said the situation warranted a more rehabilitative approach involving mental health resources.

"The fact that this could happen at Yale is shocking to me,"? Fleming said. "Think about what this means for our community."

At least four incidents in the Saybrook laundry room regarding soiled laundry have occurred in the past month.

Notorious academic fraud George Gollin is exploiting the government shutdown to line his pockets with campaign donations, says Time magazine.

Quote:Democratic congressional candidate George Gollin, running for Illinois' 13th district, asks for money to help defeat his opponent and "the rest of the Tea Party nihilists [who] will pull the trigger on a government shutdown that will hurt millions of Americans."

"A non-resident Doctorate, earned by getting credit for life experience, from one of the BETTER unaccredited universities, such as COLUMBIA PACIFIC UNIVERSITY, may be of minimal value in getting a teaching job at Harvard, but it can do wonders for self-image, respect of others, and in many cases, advancement in business or industry."

John Bear-The Alternative Guide to College Degrees & Non-Traditional Higher Education

Now why should anyone be blamed for being a little miffed at JB for hyping them and then saying he didn't, for saying they were good and useful, and then saying they are a joke? Why? because people had to pay a lot of money to put those diplomas on the wll just to have the former salesman laugh at them. If people think he's a lying con artist, well, I fully undrstand.

There are only two possibilities.
1-He lied.
2-He was too damned lazy to really research the subject.

Probably a good dose of each.

The Center for Security Policy offers a ten-part online course entitled The Muslim Brotherhood in America: The Enemy Within.

Learn about 'civilization jihad', a form of warfare that employs manipulative financial techniques, lawfare, infiltration of our civil institutions and government and insidious information dominance.

Quote:About the Course

Have you ever asked yourself why, despite more than ten years of efforts –involving, among other things, the loss of thousands of lives in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, well-over a trillion dollars spent, countless man-years wasted waiting in airport security lines and endless efforts to ensure that no offense is given to seemingly permanently aggrieved Muslim activists – are we no closer to victory in the so-called “war on terror” than we were on 9/11?

Thankfully, we have been able to kill some dangerous bad guys. The sad truth of the matter is that, by almost any other measure, the prospect of victory is becoming more remote by the day. And no one seems able to explain the reason.

In an effort to provide the missing answer, on April 24, the Center for Security Policy is making available via the Internet a new, free ten-part video course called “The Muslim Brotherhood in America: The Enemy Within.” This course connects the proverbial dots, drawing on a wealth of publicly available data and first-hand accounts to present a picture that has, for over a decade, been obscured, denied and suppressed:

America faces in addition to the threat of violent jihad another, even more toxic danger – a stealthy and pre-violent form of warfare aimed at destroying our constitutional form of democratic government and free society. The Muslim Brotherhood is the prime-mover behind this seditious campaign, which it calls “civilization jihad.”

Another crazed RA prof demanding death for people he doesn't like. But unlike similar disgraceful incidents like those involving stalker George Gollin, this time the university suspended the jerk. But shouldn't they be firing his stupid ass as a menace to civilized society? Or are faculty death threats so common that RA administrators are just blasé about it all?

Quote:'Disgraceful:' University suspends prof who hoped for murder of NRA children
By Katherine Timpf
on Sep 20, 2013 at 12:47 PM

Administrators at the [regionally accredited] University of Kansas have suspended the journalism professor who suggested on Monday he would like to see the murder of the children of National Rifle Association (NRA) members.

KU's chancellor, Bernadette Gray-Little, announced the suspension Friday morning, according to a local radio station, KMBZ.


Professor Guth has been placed on administrative leave.

"In order to prevent disruptions to the learning environment for students, the School of Journalism and the university, I have directed Provost Jeffrey Vitter to place Associate Professor Guth on indefinite administrative leave pending a review of the entire situation,” he said.

“Professor Guth’s classes will be taught by other faculty members," he added.

And on Thursday the school released a statement condemning Guth's tweet.

“The contents of Professor Guth’s tweet were repugnant and in no way represent the views or opinions of the University of Kansas. "[I]t is truly disgraceful that these views were expressed in such a callous and uncaring way. We expect all members of the university community to engage in civil discourse and not make inflammatory and offensive comment

There is no word whether or not Guth will be paid throughout the suspension.

Guth turned to Twitter on Monday in response the a crazed gunman’s rampage at the Navy Yard in Washington D.C., in which 12 perished.

“#NavyYardShooting The blood is on the hands of the #NRA,” tweeted David Guth, who is an associate professor of Journalism at the university’s William Allen White School of Journalism.

“Next time, let it be YOUR sons and daughters, he continued. “Shame on you. May God damn you.”



Speaking with Campus Reform on Wednesday, Guth confirmed it was he who sent the controversial tweet.

“Hell no, hell no, I do not regret that Tweet,” he said. “I don't take it back one bit.”

Campus Reform has learned that Guth was also publicly censured by the university on October 8, 2010 for "unprofessional, threatening, and abusive behavior towards another faculty."

"His conduct violated acceptable standards for professional ethics, University policies and Article V.2 and Article V.5 of the Faculty Code of Conduct," read's the public notice on the school's website. "This announcement represents public censure of Professor Guth for his actions."

One third of colleges and universities are "in real financial trouble." The Gold Standard is looking more like the Pyrite Standard every day.

Quote:September 3, 2013

Higher education is headed for a shakeout, analysts warn
By Jon Marcus

Facing skeptical customers, declining enrollment, an antiquated financial model that is hemorrhaging money, and new kinds of low-cost competition, some U.S. universities and colleges may be going the way of the music and journalism industries.

Their predicament has become so bad that financial analysts, regulators and bond-rating agencies are beginning to warn that many colleges and universities could close.

“A growing percentage of our colleges and universities are in real financial trouble,” the financial consulting firm Bain & Company concluded in a report—one-third of them, to be exact, according to Bain, which found that these institutions’ operating costs are rising faster than revenues and investment returns can cover them.

That’s because, as enrollments decline and families become more sensitive to price, colleges are cutting deeply into their revenue by giving discounts to attract students. The result is that, even though their sticker prices seem to be ballooning faster than the inflation rate, many of these schools are falling further and further behind.

“As the price keeps going up, within 10 years our price tag will be over $75,000,” said Julie Richardson, dean of admissions at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. “That’s a number that begins to concern a lot of people.”

So does Hampshire’s discount rate—the proportion of its tuition revenue that goes back out the door in the form of financial aid—which Richardson said is 46 percent.

More than 150 colleges and universities got failing scores on an annual test of their financial stability by the U.S. Department of Education in results, released this year, that date from 2011. Several have closed, including Saint Paul’s College in Virginia, Lon Morris College in Texas, Atlantic Union College in Massachusetts, Chester College in New Hampshire, and for-profit Chancellor University in Ohio. A few are in bankruptcy.

This trend has been little noticed outside of higher education. And inside higher education, some critics contend, colleges are not reacting to it quickly enough.

“Change is needed, and it’s needed now,” the Bain report said. “Still, at the majority of institutions, the pace of change is slower than it needs to be. Plenty of hurdles exist, including the belief that things will return to the way they were. Note: They won’t.”

Robert Zemsky, chairman of the Learning Alliance for Higher Education and the author of a new book proposing educational reforms called Checklist for Change, said academic faculty are part of the problem. He said many hope things will just get better.

“The faculty aren’t convinced that change is necessary,” said Zemsky, who also teaches at Penn’s Graduate School of Education. “We faculty—and it is we faculty—are encamped north of Armageddon. We can sort of look over the horizon and see the chaos.

We’re on the sideline. And that’s terrible that the faculty, writ large, are on the sideline.”

Another dilemma is that the small colleges in the most trouble—the Saint Paul’ses, Lon Morrises and Atlantic Unions—don’t have the clout to reform the system.

“You have a problem, because the top of the industry is doing just fine, thank you,” Zemsky said. “And historically it’s the top of the industry that has led change. So the real question is, how do you get the top of the industry fully engaged in this? And you can’t say, well, you’re going to go out of business. Because, you know, I’m at the University of Pennsylvania. Let me tell you, the one thing I don’t worry about is, Penn isn’t going out of business. Don’t frighten me with that one. That’s not going to work.”

Meanwhile, though the likes of the University of Pennsylvania are also seeing plenty of applicants, college enrollment overall is dropping. It fell 1.8 percent last fall and another 2.3 percent in the spring, according to the National Student Clearinghouse. More than 300 campuses reported that they still had space in their freshman class or for transfer students as recently as July—two months after the close of the admissions season. Private colleges and universities are particularly vulnerable. The bond-rating company Moody’s reports that more than 40 percent of them are experiencing enrollment declines.

One institution, Hope College in Michigan, now pays for half the cost of a plane ticket, up to $300, plus transportation from the airport, housing, and meals for prospective applicants who live outside of driving distance just to come and visit.

But most colleges and universities are responding not with airfare, but with deeper and deeper discounts on tuition, which are cutting into their bottom lines. The national average discount rate has swelled to 45 percent, up from 37 percent in 2000, according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

This means that, even though tuition has been skyrocketing, families are actually spending 13 percent less on college than they did in 2009, the student-loan company Sallie Mae reports. This may be good news for students and their parents, but, for colleges, the trend is unsustainable, according to the Council of Independent Colleges.

“The old way of doing business is not going to sustain itself into the future,” said Zemsky. “You need somebody who stands up and says, ‘We can do better. Let’s get started.’ Absent that, we’re in for some really unpleasant times in higher education.”

On September 10, 2013, the notorious John Klemper, aka John Bear, the Janus of Distance Learning, alerted his klones at DD about another one of his delightful and no doubt profitable stints as an "expert" witness in a legal matter. The silence has been deafening. Not a single post in response so far, and only 38 views.
http://degreediscussion.com/forums/viewt...f=2&t=9730

What lesson should Klempner take from this profound disinterest in his fabulous adventures? Are his klones sending him the same message they sent Gollin? Klempner jumped the shark decades ago, but has he finally jumped the shark even amongst his own acolytes?

Will Klempner hang around there for years, posting more nonsense in reply to his own lame posts, like Gollin did? Not likely.

Look for Klempner to decide that it's better if some kid gets boinked in the ass than for him to be ignored, and go back to posting full time at the gay boy pornographer's forum. Since the deviants and degenerates there are already on their knees or bent over he can keep pretending it's because they are worshipping him.

Here's a post from "Jimmy" at DD:

Quote:I am in a heated discussion via email with a ministerial colleague who adamantly states Florida licenses Spiritual Advisors/Healers. I say they don't. Does anyone on here have any insight into this?

Quote:I am in a heated discussion via email with a ministerial colleague who adamantly states Florida licenses Spiritual Advisors/Healers. I say they don't. Does anyone on here have any insight into this?

Like Amtrak and the Post Office? Who knows more about quality, efficiency and value for the money than the feds?

Quote:Morning Bell: 4 Problems with Federal College Scorecards
Lindsey Burke
August 23, 2013 at 6:50 am

Yesterday, President Obama announced his plan to make “college more affordable, tackle rising costs, and improve value for students and their families.”

But a big part of the President’s plan includes creating a college rating system—a federal scorecard—to evaluate colleges on measures such as graduation rates, the number of low-income students served (i.e., the percentage of Pell Grant recipients), graduate earnings, and affordability.

Scorecards are a seductive idea. But having the federal government issue scorecards to measure college output would be a mistake. Four problems with the President’s plan:

1. Government says what’s best. As we wrote yesterday in National Review Online, for one thing, a monopoly government scorecard would inevitably reflect what bureaucrats—rather than parents, students, and scholarly communities—determine is or is not important in education.

2. Special-interest institutions with more clout could shape the standards. Existing institutions that are comfortable within the cocoon of protectionist accreditation would lobby hard, and no doubt effectively, for output measures that define success in their own terms.

3. Standard-setters would also control college funding. Educational institutions’ lobbying becomes particularly problematic when considering the second part of President Obama’s proposal: to then tie federal student aid to the new rating system by giving larger Pell Grants and lower student loan interest rates to students who enroll in colleges that fare well on the federal scorecard.

The logical outcome is a system that has the federal government handing out subsidies based on a rating system designed by the people handing out the funding. What could possibly go wrong?

4. We already have scorecards. A competing range of private outcomes-based scorecards already exists, sponsored by such outlets as U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, ACTA, and Kiplinger’s. Each of these reflects the differing visions of quality held by different Americans, from post-graduation salary to the likelihood of a well-rounded education. A one-size-fits-all federal rating system is unnecessary and will likely trump these independent evaluators that parents and students have long trusted.

If the Obama Administration truly wants to “shake up” higher ed and bring down college costs, it would acknowledge that federal government intervention is the problem, not the solution.

Continuing to increase federal subsidies enables universities to raise tuition. Since 1982, the cost of attending college has increased 439 percent—more than four times the rate of inflation. Increases in college costs exceed increases in health care costs, which have risen more than 250 percent over the same time period. Economist Richard Vedder argues that “some of these financial aid programs have contributed mightily to the explosion in tuition and fees in modern times.”

The key in education reform is to do things that improve students’ learning. A federal college scorecard gets an F on all counts.