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·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   Zero Tolerance, Zero Common Sense   Friday, February 13, 2009   Here we go again. In yet another case of over reactive, one-size-fits-all, "zero-tolerance," zero-common sense enforcement, Marie Morrow, an honors student and drill-team commander in the Young Marines, was recently expelled from school.  Her crime?  She left three rifle shaped drill team props in the back of her car at Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora, Colo.  Colorado law mandates expulsion for any student found with a "dangerous weapon" on school grounds, which includes "a firearm facsimile that could reasonably...

Helicopters, masked police, snipers on the roof, all the works. The reason? Somebody got scared of guns. Nope, not real guns; those are banned in England. Toy guns carried by the partygoers as props for the Wild West themed party. Read on

Rules. Link Only http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=109380&catid=339

LONDON: The FBI has given to Pakistan evidence amassed by it on involvement of elements based in that country in the Mumbai strikes, including on the LeT handlers' warning to the attackers about the arrival of Indian commandos while watching the mayhem live on TV, a media report here said on Sunday. Stating that evidence is growing to prove that the Mumbai strikes were orchestrated by militants based in Pakistan, 'The Sunday Times' reported that Zarar Shah, a communications specialist of Lashkar-e-Toiba, has admitted under interrogation in Pakistan that he advised the terrorists by phone as the attacks unfolded. Controllers...

Just days ago we had read about the Islamic hatred of Jews in the UK and Denmark. Now like a life threatening disease it has spread to Belgium. As an Islamic group was caught with a mafia style hit list of prominent Jews in Belgium.

A month-long operation by British, Afghan and coalition forces saw fierce close-quarter combat. WHEN Lance-Corporal Ben Whatley was killed on Christmas Eve, he was leading his Royal Marines from the front as they fought close up with the Taliban. His family in Norfolk had put Christmas festivities on hold, expecting him home in early January. It has now emerged that the clash in which Whatley died – a helicopter-borne assault on the village of Chah-e Anjir — was the climax of a month-long operation in Helmand province involving 1,500 British, Afghan and coalition troops. The offensive, described in detail this...

The Israelis just struck back hard at Hamas in Gaza. In response, the United Nations, the European Union and the Arab world (at least publicly) expressed their anger at the killing of over 300 Palestinians, most of whom were terrorists and Hamas officials. For several prior weeks, Hamas terrorists had been daily launching rockets into Israeli towns that border Gaza. The recent volleys of missiles had insidiously become more frequent — up to 80 a day — and the payloads larger. Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists were reportedly supplying their own training and expertise. These terrorists point to the Lebanon war of...

A Star Wars lightsaber has been banned by troubled retailer Woolworths because barmy shop bosses fear it could be mistaken for a gun. Despite being in the midst of their bleakest and possibly last Christmas ever, bosses at the Midlands branch are restricting the sale of the £24.99 Christmas favourite to anyone under the age of 18. Firearms experts said the company was “going over the top” by banning the toy. Brandon Cook, who specialises in restricted sales issues with the Trading Standards Institute, said: “Some companies are going the whole hog and are banning the sale of any weapon-style...

Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis declared war on drug dealers, gangs and other law breakers on Tuesday night during a community meeting at the South HOPE Center. Maj. Hampton Gardner told the audience of about 100 people that it’s no secret that Sumter has had its share of problems, and is seeking the community’s help in combating crime to find a “common solution.” More than a dozen members of the sheriff’s office were on hand for the forum, representing all the divisions under Dennis’ auspice. “We’re being victimized by a small, small, small minority of criminals. But we are the...

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. - A fake grenade that fell out of a student's bag forced a brief lockdown and partial evacuation of West Valley High School early Friday afternoon. Around 12:30 p.m. a 14-year-old student was showing his friend a gas mask in class when a fake grenade next to the mask tumbled out of the bag and the fake charging pin on the grenade came loose. The teacher in the classroom saw the fake grenade and quickly grabbed it and the gas mask and took it to the administration office. That's when school officials called the cops and evacuated...

A head teacher who suspended the equivalent of a quarter her pupils in one year has seen exam pass rates increase by 65 per cent. Caroline Haynes, 49, adopted a zero tolerance disciplinary approach to her secondary school pupils, convinced that by allowing disruptive students to remain in class was jeopardising the chances of others. She has handed out 478 suspensions in one year at a school with 1,880 pupils and seen GCSE pass rates shoot up. Mrs Hayes criticised the Government's policy of encouraging schools to reduce exclusions, which then reflects better on their Ofsted rating. She said: "Statistics...

But Why Does The AP Report Ignore Key Part of Story? Remember when you were a young school kid and you drew a vampire during the week of Halloween? Remember how the blood was always dripping down from his menacing, pearly white teeth? Remember how it was all in good Halloween fun? Well, you can just forget THAT mister, at least if you are a 5th-Grader in the Savannah-Chatham school system in Georgia. In Georgia, if you draw a vampire you get called a gang member -- even when you were assigned to make the drawing -- and then you...

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35, Orlando) -- She's only 12 years old but Ashleigh Jones is feeling the heat of this election year. That’s because the seventh grader at New Smyrna Beach Middle School was called a racist by classmates for wearing a pro-Sarah Palin t-shirt. Jones is volunteering at the Republican Headquarters in New Smyrna Beach. The Palin t-shirt was a gift from her fellow volunteers. But when she wore it to school she learned just how tough politics can be. “Some of the students were calling me racist because I was Caucasian,” she said. “I wanted the...

MHS student suspended for having hunting bow in his SUV A Milaca [Minnesota] High School senior has been suspended for 10 days for having a hunting bow in his vehicle. But is the school administration following its own policies? Keith Larson realized he had forgotten the cased bow in the back of his Ford Explorer when discussion of a recent incident in Blaine took place during his first hour economics class on Tuesday, Sept. 23. Keith had said he didn’t think the Blaine student should have been suspended because the box cutter was for his job. “I didn’t see what...

Teachers have sparked fury by banning pupils from playing in the playground before school - for health and safety reasons. Children have been ordered not to play in the 15 minutes before lessons start - in case parents or their young children get injured at Ashburton Junior School in Croydon, south London. Adam Bates, 31, whose 10-year-old son Shane had a tennis ball confiscated last week, said today: "It's ridiculous, the kids are deprived of valuable play time in the morning. "Everyone's always going on about exercise but this school is clamping down on it. "My kids really look forward...

Tool from teen's part time job gets him suspended from high school Is it a weapon, or is it a tool? Blaine High School senior Tony Richard has been suspended for two weeks, and could be expelled for the entire year, after security officers found a box cutter in the teenager's car. "It's not fun, I'll tell you that," Richard said Tuesday. "All my friends are in school.. Say oh yeah it's vacation, but there's nothing to do at home all day and I still got to do all my school work and stuff. I'd rather be in school." Richard's...

HILTON HEAD ISLAND — A 10-year-old South Carolina student has been suspended from school after his pencil sharpener broke and he didn't immediately get rid of the blade inside. Authorities tell The Island Packet of Hilton Head that a teacher at Hilton Head Island International Baccalaureate Elementary School found a small razor blade on the boy in class Tuesday. A police report says it was obvious the blade came from a pencil sharpener. The report says the boy is a well-behaved, good student and cried when he was suspended for at least two days. He could face further punishment. School...

HOW far should a school go in disciplining an unruly student? And what responsibility do parents bear for that youngster’s behavior? These are issues that American educators and parents perpetually wrestle with, and they have been debated around Westchester recently because of two incidents that have received attention not just in coffee shop chitchat but also in the news media. In early June, a trustee of Ardsley’s school board resigned after other middle school parents expressed outrage at her 14-year-old son’s behavior. They accused him of bullying children and repeatedly threatening violence, including a massacre and bombing, and blamed the...

The youth and his lawyer Edward Paltzik say the charges are trumped up. In fact, Paltzik insists that teacher Sharon Cantante, like Gilda Radner's Lisa Loopner on the old "Saturday Night Live" skit, didn't mind getting a few noogies from the boys. "She had this very bizarre tendency to invite students to give her noogies," Paltzik claimed. "This teacher has a history of encouraging noogie behavior." The teen is taking his case to the state Appellate Division. The Mirenberg camp showed a photo of the eighth-grade teacher smiling broadly while absorbing a male student's noogie. The 39-year-old divorcee seems completely...

An Oregon City fourth grader missed her last day of school Friday because she shared a lip cream with two classmates. Madison McFadden attends Redland elementary. She said she didn’t know she was breaking school rules. Madison says it all began the day before school got out when students were cleaning out their desks. Related Content More education news More Oregon news She found a medicated, over the counter, lip cream called “abreva” in her desk. It’s a cold sore medication and can numb up an area. A classmate asked her what it was and wanted Madison to share. She...