Trump, Putin Meeting Ends After Several Hours of Talks
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New York Post
16 minutes ago
- New York Post
To understand Russians, try catching a ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre
He's Putin on the ritz To try to understand a land which birthed a Putin, I went back to my old notes. I have been to Russia several times. A taxi, empty, cruised past, slowly, repeatedly, then grudgingly stopped. In English, the cabbie said: 'We must take foreign language in school. Still, we avoid anyone who looks American. They're trouble. They carry little conversation dictionaries but Americans we never understand. Talk too fast. 'Impatient. When you can't understand they bang you on the back — and you hit yourself against the wheel. Always they get mad. One threw hands around, pointed to where he wanted to go and his arm crossed my face. I couldn't see to drive. Dangerous. Americans are much trouble.' The Bolshoi Theatre got me into a personal cold war. They make you remove your coat before entering. I was freezing. It was chilly outside and inside. Also, my nose was running. Me walking to my seat, he then trotted out from his booth. This Gardes Des Robes tugged at my lapel. I tried sign language. He did physical language. As I headed for my seat he physically barred my way. A shivering lady comrade who'd doffed her wrap explained: 'People here are used to authority. You obey automatically.' Another said, 'We are on a cultural level. The sold-out Kremlin opera seats 6,000, Tchaikovsky Hall has nightly musical concerts. Also the Central Puppet Theatre, Operetta Theatre, Children's Theatre and 27 other Moscow theatres, including the Bolshoi, which was founded in 1776. And for three rubles [less than a dollar], I can sit in the seat which once held the czar.' She comes here how often? Her answer: 'This the first time.' On the outside, pleasant. Inside, something else. Crumple a Kleenex in your luggage. It's crumpled differently upon your return. Hotel elevators delist two floors. Reportedly, it's where the hotel held the building's wire tap equipment. Get opinions and commentary from our columnists Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter! Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Showers without curtains. Sinks minus stoppers. Room service that doesn't answer. I myself brought in a chicken sandwich and cup of hot chocolate. Two days later a chicken sandwich and candy bar were on my bed. The manageress: 'Our new hotel will have 6,000 rooms. Equipped with every modern facility.' Me: 'Will it have a swimming pool?' She: 'Certainly not. But it will have a concert hall.' 'Hotels have reasonable rates. Wish entertainment — you pay extra.' I asked if she vacations with her husband. 'No. I go separately. To the Crimeas. Sochi in the Black Sea where many of the presidium go.' I also asked famed Russian circus clown Popov if he gets a percentage of all the Popov dolls sold. Answer? 'Nyet.' Does his contract guarantee special dressing room and dresser in attendance? 'Nyet.' How then can you tell you're a star? 'I have a car.' In the words of Commie Slamdamnhe, there are many nice things about that country. Like parking places. Only problem? They got nothing to park. Only in Putinville, kids, only in Putinville.
Boston Globe
16 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Education Department quietly removes rules for teaching English learners
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Since March, the Education Department has also laid off nearly all workers in its Office of English Language Acquisition and has asked Congress to terminate funding for the federal program that helps pay for educating English-language learners. Last week, education advocates noticed that the guidance document related to English learning had a new label indicating it was rescinded and remains online 'for historical purposes only.' Advertisement On Tuesday, Education Department spokesperson Madi Biedermann said that the guidance for teaching English learners, which was originally set forth in 2015, was rescinded because it 'is not in line with administration policy.' Advertisement A Justice Department spokesperson responded to questions by sending a link to the July memorandum and said he had no comment when asked whether the guidance would be replaced. For decades, the federal government has held that failing to provide resources for people not proficient in English constitutes discrimination based on national origin under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. In rescinding the guidance, the Trump administration is signaling that it may stop enforcing the law under that long-standing interpretation. The Education and Justice departments have been responsible for enforcing the law. In the July memorandum, Attorney General Pam Bondi cited case law that says treating people, including students, who aren't proficient in English differently does not, on its face, amount to discrimination based on national origin. Other guidance related to language access for people using services across the federal government is also being suspended, according to the memo, and the Justice Department will create new guidance by mid-January to 'help agencies prioritize English while explaining precisely when and how multilingual assistance remains necessary.' The aim of the effort, Bondi said in a statement published alongside the memo, is to 'promote assimilation over division.' The consequences for school districts were not immediately clear, but advocates worry that rescinding the 2015 guidance could open the door for weaker instruction for English learners and upend decades of direction from the federal government to provide English-language services to students who need them. 'The Department of Education and the Department of Justice are walking away from 55 years of legal understanding and enforcement. I don't think we can understate how important that is,' said Michael Pillera, an attorney who worked at the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights for 10 years and now directs the Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights. Advertisement Without pressure from the federal government to comply with the law, it is possible that some school districts will drop services, Pillera said, particularly as many districts struggle with financial pressures. 'It's going to ripple quickly,' he predicted. 'Schools were doing this because the Office for Civil Rights told them they had to.' Many districts will probably not change their services, but rescinding the guidance opens the door, said Leslie Villegas, an education policy analyst at New America, a think tank. Advocates may watch for changes in districts that previously had compliance problems or those that had open cases with the Office for Civil Rights related to English-language instruction, she noted. 'The rescission of this guidance may create the mentality that no one's watching,' Villegas said. In recent months, the Justice Department notified at least three school districts — in Boston; Newark; and Worcester, Massachusetts — that the government was releasing them from government monitoring that had been in place to ensure they offered services to English-language learners. 'Unfortunately, we're not at all surprised,' Anna Krieger, executive director of Massachusetts Advocates for Children, said of the Trump administration's latest move. 'It's a really devastating decision.'' In anticipation of such a shift, Krieger said in a phone interview Wednesday evening, state lawmakers recently took action to ensure ongoing protections for Massachusetts students who are learning English and those with disabilities. 'They will still have the same rights next year that they had in the last school year,' she said. Advertisement Supporters of immigration restrictions argued that relieving pressure on schools to provide these services might be helpful, especially given the costs to districts. 'If you devote all these resources to these kids coming in [to school] completely unprepared, inevitably it will diminish the quality of education others are getting,' said Ira Mehlman, spokesperson for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. Todd DuBois, communications director for U.S. English, a group that advocates for English as the official and common language, said some education is needed to help 'bridge the gap' for students who do not speak English, but the group is concerned that multilingualism 'gets in the way of teaching English literacy earlier in life.' Tonya Alanez of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
UPI
18 minutes ago
- UPI
Vance, Hegseth, Miller laud Guard troops, denounce capital protesters
A Humvee is parked in front of Union Station in Washington as members of the National Guard patrol on Monday after President Donald Trump last week deployed the National Guard to assist in crime prevention. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Aug. 20 (UPI) -- As protesters chanted nearby, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller visited National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday amid what the Trump administration says is a crime crackdown. The three Trump administration officials greeted National Guard troops at the capital's Union Station while positioned near a table containing hamburgers for the troops, PBS News reported. "In just the past nine days, we've seen a 35% reduction in violent crime," Vance told those in attendance. "We've seen over a 50% reduction in robberies," he added. "We're seeing really substantial effects because these guys are busting their a*****." Vance said he wanted to thank the National Guard troops in person and hand out some hamburgers to show his appreciation for their efforts. Hegseth said the National Guard deployments in Washington are needed to ensure residents, visitors and those who work in the capital are safe. "The American people, the residents of D.C., deserve a safe and beautiful city," Hegseth said. "That's our mission." He called the National Guard troops "patriots who serve the country" and want to make Washington a "beautiful, safe capital." The National Guard troops are "proud of this mission" and making sure "law and order is established here in the capital," Hegseth added. He said the Defense Department is providing the resources that the troops need and working with law enforcement partners to ensure safety in Washington. Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered and chanted near Union Station, which drew a rebuke from Vance. He said the protesters "hate the idea that Americans can enjoy their communities," according to PBS News. Vance said he went to Union Station with Hegseth and Miller because criminal activity was very high there, which local officials deny. Miller added to Vance's criticism of the protesters by calling them "stupid white hippies" and said they do not represent Washington, D.C.'s residents, The Hill reported. "We are not going to let the communists destroy a great American city, let alone the nation's capital," Miller said. "All these demonstrators you've seen out here in recent days, all these elderly white hippies, they're not part of the city and never have been," Miller said. "We're going to ignore these stupid white hippies that all need to go home and take a nap because they're all over 90 years old," he added. Trump last week put the federal government in control of Washington's Metropolitan Police Department, which has been accused of falsifying crime data. Though Trump administration officials have characterized crime in the city as out of control, in actuality, crime in the district has fallen in recent years or remained flat. An agreement on Friday put the police department under local control, but Trump sought and received National Guard deployments from West Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee and Louisiana. About 1,200 National Guard troops are slated for deployment in the capital, in addition to 800 Washington National Guard troops who already are there, according to The Washington Post.
