#robinson isd

[thoughtlessarse]

The resurgence of far-right violence in the UK is in part due to Elon Musk’s decision to allow figures such as Tommy Robinson back on to the social media platform X, researchers say. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, and those of his ilk are not leaders in the traditional sense and the far right has no central organisation capable of directing the disorder and violence that has been seen, experts say. Jacob Davey, director of policy and research at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), said: “People have been naming the EDL [English Defence League] as key figures when the EDL actually has ceased to function as a movement.” The UK, like other parts of the world, now has “a much more decentralised extreme-right movement,” he said. “There have been known figureheads at protests – including some avowed neo-Nazis – but there’s also this loose network that includes ­concerned local citizens and football hooligans. “All of these people are tied together by these loose online networks, ­activated by deeply cynical influences – many outside the country – and galvanised by viral online disinformation from unknown and untrustworthy sources.” Instead, Robinson, who is believed to have left the country earlier last week before a legal case, and other figures act as “weathermakers”, according to Joe Mulhall, director of research at Hope Not Hate, the anti-fascism organisation. They inspire people to take ad hoc local action, or spread their own misleading or false videos online about issues including migrant boats and child grooming gangs. The killings of three young girls in Southport last week was the spark for continuing violence, fuelled by false claims that the perpetrator was a 17-year-old asylum seeker called “Ali al-Shakati” who had arrived on a boat last year.

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[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Inside Climate News:

Before the sun set on his inauguration day, Joe Biden reversed a raft of his predecessor’s deregulation policies with the stroke of a pen. Among them was an order revoking the permit for the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline. 

Canceling the project was a campaign pledge to address the climate crisis. But looming over that decision was the risk that an obscure but powerful international legal system could force the United States to pay billions of dollars to Keystone XL’s Canadian developer, TC Energy. 

That system—embedded in thousands of trade and investment treaties—allows corporations to drag governments before panels of arbitrators, usually behind closed doors. Governments have been ordered to pay billions of dollars in damages to oil and mining companies for violating those treaties. While the system was intended to protect foreign investors from unfair treatment or asset seizure, many environmental advocates, lawyers and politicians say it is now being used to win awards from governments that enact new environmental regulations or raise taxes on polluting industries.

Increasingly, these critics warn the system threatens climate action by punishing governments that phase out fossil fuels. 

The $15 billion claim TC Energy brought against the United States was one of the largest-ever in response to a climate policy. The company lost earlier this month, but the case was dismissed on a technicality and its outcome says nothing about other pending cases around the world.

Australia, Canada, Colombia and Slovenia are facing tens of billions of dollars in claims from companies for phasing out coal power plants, rejecting mining licenses or disallowing liquefied natural gas permits. In 2022, Italy was ordered to pay a British oil company roughly $200 million after offshore drilling restrictions upended the firm’s development plans. 

In other countries, the system set up for these claims—investor-state dispute settlement, or ISDS—has driven up costs of closing coal power plants, prevented governments from canceling oil and gas licenses or otherwise impeded efforts to reduce fossil fuel use, government ministers and researchers say. Companies even win awards despite leaving behind environmental contamination, violating human rights or breaking national laws.

The ISDS system is uniquely daunting for governments because arbitrators overseeing the cases can award compensation not just for real losses but also for unearned, expected future profits. It’s a key reason awards can balloon into the billions of dollars. 

Governments already face numerous practical and political obstacles as they attempt to move away from fossil fuels, said Canadian lawyer and professor Gus Van Harten, who has studied ISDS’s evolution for decades. “This system is providing an unwarranted and unexpected further minefield.” 

As Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland, put it in a speech this year: “I cannot overstate just how perverse this is.”

[invincible-selfxmade-punk]

Charlie Robison - Loving County (studio version)

As we were pulling out of our professional development day yesterday we saw a van marked Loving ISD. Myself and & the driver started singing Loving County and it was then that I found out Charlie Robinson had passed away.

I had no idea.

Another good one gone.💔

[channeledhistory]

There is an obscure mechanism by which fossil fuel companies maintain their global domination even as their products are destroying our futures. Most rank-and-file climate activists haven’t heard of it and most news media rarely discuss it in great detail. It is a tool that has its origins in colonialism and advantages corporate power over democracy. The technical term for such a tool is “Investor-state dispute settlement” or ISDS. And while it sounds boring and technical, it is crucial that we familiarize ourselves with it in order to dismantle it.

The Global ISDS tracker, a newly launched online database, describes these as “secretive corporate tribunals.” When nations enter into trade agreements with one another, they usually include a clause on using the benign-sounding ISDS to resolve corporate disputes with national regulators. In other words, if a corporation originating in one nation sees its profits threatened by regulations or nationalization in another nation, it can sue that second government.

When applied to curbing carbon emissions in order to save our planet’s ability to sustain life, one can see that such tribunals can be extremely problematic. Country A decides to transition away from the oil and gas industry toward green, renewable energy. However, an oil company based in Country B sues via an ISDS agreement to extract its lost profits. That’s precisely what is happening, to the tune of $327 billion, according to the Global ISDS Tracker. “[F]ossil fuel cases… can devastate public budgets or even bankrupt a country.”

For example, Nigeria is currently facing a massive set of damages determined by an ISDS tribunal to be paid to a UK-based company for a gas project to the tune of 30 percent of the entire nation’s foreign exchange reserves. And, foreign mining companies are demanding $30 billion from the Republic of Congo using ISDS tribunals. That’s twice the amount of Congo’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Former UN climate envoy and former Irish President Mary Robinson, who said she was “outraged” when she found out about oil and gas companies using ISDS to extort nations, explained that “if countries do the right thing on climate, they have to compensate fossil fuel companies.” Where did ISDSs come from and how are they remotely justifiable in an era when society broadly agrees on democracy as the best form of government? Former U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration explained in the context of the 2016 free trade agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, that “ISDS is specifically designed to protect American investors abroad from discrimination and denial of justice,” and that it is a “more peaceful, better way to resolve trade conflicts” compared to the “gunboat diplomacy” of earlier eras. […]

According to a 2023 report by David Boyd, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, “[o]f the 12 largest ISDS awards to date, 11 involve cases brought by fossil fuel and mining investors.” The $95 billion they extracted from nations using ISDS “likely exceeds the total amount of damages awarded by all courts to victims of human rights violations in all States worldwide, ever,” wrote Boyd.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning media outlet Inside Climate News prefers to call ISDS “economic colonialism,” especially given that “the majority of cases have been filed by corporations from the United States, Europe, and Canada against developing nations.” Colonialism is a fitting descriptor. Gus Van Harten explained in his 2020 book “The Trouble with Foreign Investor Protection,” that ISDS treaties “originate in the efforts of former colonial powers and international organizations, especially the World Bank, to constrain newly independent countries.” In other words, ISDS is a means by which to extend colonialism after the end of physical occupation.

Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel prize-winning economist, prefers even harsher terminology. He called ISDS mechanisms “litigation terrorism,” because they “instill fear of environmental regulations, climate regulations because you know that it’s going to be costly” for governments.

British commentators had pressured the UK government to exit from treaties such as the “Energy Charter Treaty” (ECT) that require ISDS tribunals. In February 2024, the UK announced it would quit the ECT, following in the footsteps of France, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most recently Members of the European Parliament also backed a proposal to end its ECT membership. It was called a “historic” vote against a treaty seen as a “climate killer.” It’s time for the U.S. to do the same. Last November, hundreds of climate justice and civil society groups signed on to a letter urging President Joe Biden to end ISDS mechanisms built into a trade agreement with nearly a dozen Latin American and Caribbean nations called Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity. The signatories explained that ISDS was “a global governance regime that prioritizes corporate rights over those of governments, people, and the planet.”

This was followed by a similar letter in December 2023 signed by more than 40 lawmakers from the Senate and House urging Biden to remove ISDS provisions from all trade agreements. The signatories, including Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sheldon Whitehouse, lauded Biden for his “powerful action when he shut down the Keystone XL pipeline project, preventing the construction of a tar sands oil pipeline,” and pointed out that “TC Energy (formerly known as TransCanada)—the company behind the now-defunct pipeline—has filed an ISDS claim for billions of dollars to be litigated not in an American court, but in a shady international tribunal.”

What good does it do Biden and the U.S. for him to be a climate champion if any steps he takes to undermine fossil fuel domination are countered by a powerful and secretive corporate weapon? Momentum against ISDS provisions is growing. In April 2024, hundreds of academics in law and economics also wrote to Biden urging him to “eliminate ISDS liability from existing agreements,” and offering valuable expertise on how it can be done. Biden had said in 2020 that he was against ISDS provisions—in spite of his role as Vice President to the pro-ISDS Obama. In a letter to the United Steelworkers union, he said “I oppose the ability of private corporations to attack labor, health, and environmental policies through the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) process, and I oppose the inclusion of such provisions in future trade agreements.” But what about current trade agreements? It’s troubling that multinational corporations from the U.S. launched the highest number of ISDS cases worldwide. The U.S. is currently the top producer of crude oil in the world. U.S. oil and gas companies are reaping extraordinarily high profits while taking advantage of billions of dollars of public subsidies in the form of tax breaks. The least Biden can do to curb a deadly industry that is threatening our entire species is to take action against ISDS provisions in existing trade agreements.

[ksstradio]

Minor Changes To SSISD Policy Should Make Qualifying For Extended Leave A Little Easier

Minor Changes To SSISD Policy Should Make Qualifying For Extended Leave A Little Easier

Minor changes to two local policies should make qualifying for extended leave a little easier, should employees have cause to need it, Sulphur Springs ISD administrators told trustees when presenting the recommended changes for approval this week. SSISD Assistant Superintendent Lisa Robinson noted Aug. 15, 2022, that DMA and DEC were the two local policies administrators had pulled out of the…

[girl-with-the-most-cake]

“Homeless for a month and a half after the hurricane, Justin Williams had to put his life back together while teaching Alief ISD sixth graders. Tiffany Robinson pushed students even harder to pass state tests after teachers lost 11 school days to Harvey.” This story made me cry. This is about my home, and these teachers do so much with so little support.

[thetrashiestoftrash]

If you can’t read the text in the pictures, this is for Shaunise Robinson, a black teacher in Garland ISD, who needs a bone marrow stem cell transplant and can’t find a matching donor. Her best chance for recovery is for as many people to see this as possible.

I checked the news article--she has aplastic anemia and currently requires regular blood transfusions to survive. Black donors are underrepresented in the bone marrow registry at 600,000 potential donors (out of almost 27 million total potential donors), and none of them are a match for Shaunise. To give an idea for the scope of things.

If you’re in the North Dallas area, police and firefighters are hosting an event at Southern Skates on Saturday, January 14th, at 1 PM where you can be tested. Alternatively, the giant link above will take you to the registry website where you can sign up to have a swab kit mailed to you for free.

Don’t worry Bro , Black Tumblr got you and your Sister.✊🏿

Can we find her a donor please ✊🏿🙏🏿

[iqvts]

1810 Ocampo Lane, Robinson, TX 76706 from iQ Visual Tours on Vimeo.

For more information: cbwaco.com/listing/71-253961/1810-ocampo-lane-robinson-tx-76706

This cute home in Robinson ISD is open to possibilities! Walk in to the open living/dining with a welcoming brick fireplace and updated flooring. The kitchen offers great storage and counter space, including a built-in with extra shelving. Just off the kitchen you'll find an over-sized laundry room with freezer space. The layout of this home features an additional space that can be used as another bedroom, breakfast nook, or office space. Sitting on over a quarter of an acre corner lot surrounded with beautiful mature trees gives good space between neighbors. The two storage sheds convey.

Contact: Amanda Cunningham (254) 495-0338 amanda.s.cunningham@gmail.com

[gregorycpeters]

Thomas Payne hired as Hudson Bend Middle School principal

Lake Travis ISD Superintendent Brad Lancaster introduced Thomas Payne, newly-hired Hudson Bend Middle School principal, to the Lake Travis ISD board of trustees at Tuesday’s board meeting. Beginning July 1, Payne will replace Principal Mark Robinson who took a job as principal of Austin ISD’s Bowie High School, Lancaster said. Payne had been a social studies teacher at Hudson Bend Middle School from 2006-2009 before moving to Leander ISD to be an assistant principal at Canyon Ridge Middle School for two years, Lancaster said. He also served as assistant principal at Dripping Springs High School and is currently finishing the school […]

http://ift.tt/2qCz3HM

[planotxfoundationpros]

Plano Reelects Mayor

On March 6, 2017 Plano voted to give Mayor Harry LaRosiliere a second term.  He won with 52.25 percent of the vote beating out candidates Lily Bao, Douglas Reeves and Bill Lisle III.

Along with the Mayor's reelection, several other positions and bonds were voted on.  Kelsey Samuel's post in the Plano Courier states:

Mayor Harry LaRosiliere wins second term

Incumbent Plano ISD school board trustees Tammy Richards and Nancy Humphrey maintain their spot at Place 1 and Place 3, respectively. Angela Powell will represent Place 2 and Greg Myers will represent Place 6 over incumbent trustee Marilyn Hinton.

Also, the first five items of the 2017 bond referendum were supported by Plano voters, all except Proposition 6 which would preserve Collinwood House. Eleven percent of Collin County voters come out to the polls.

The largest part of the bond referendum, $90.27 million, will be spent on street improvements in the city like alley reconstruction, sidewalk constructions, screening wall reconstruction, traffic signalization, as well as street reconstruction, lighting and new right-of-ways.

Also among the bond items was three new public safety facilities. Plano Fire Rescue calls for $15 million to fund the design and construction of a new fire training facility on the northwest corner of McDermott Road and Robinson Road. This proposal also includes $12 million to include a northwest Plano Police substation, and a $2 million renovation to the Parkway Fleet Service Center, where Plano Fire Rescue and Plano PD service and repair department vehicles. The three projects total $29 million.

There’s also a $78.85 million proposal to fund recreational trails and multiple park improvements such as new sidewalks, trails, trees, playground expansions, lighting, restrooms and more. Other parks receiving similar upgrades includes Jack Carter Park, Harrington Park, Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve, Arbor Hill Nature Preserve and Windhaven Meadows.

The parks proposal also includes a new maintenance facility, $2.5 million for athletic field improvements and $12 million to add a new drainage channel, new lights, new irrigation, larger restrooms, trees and additional parking at Carpenter Park.

The bond has $12.5 million dedicated to recreation center improvements like Oak Point and High Point Tennis Center. The bond would fund a large outdoor pool added to Oak Point Rec Center, as well as a $2.5 million for tennis court renovations at High Point. There’s $10 million dedicated to library expansions at Davis Library and Harrington Library.

Read the full story here...

Be sure to check out the Plano Courier or the Plano section of the Dallas Morning News to keep up with the latest information in Plano, Texas.

Don't forget, if you are looking to sell your house in Plano and have foundation damage to get it looked at and repaired by professionals.  Check out our information on foundation repair at: http://plano.texasfoundationpros.com/foundation-repair/

Check out the full story here: Plano Reelects Mayor

[ksstradio]

Tira News - Oct. 7, 2021: North Hopkins Alumni Homecoming Returns On Oct. 23, 2021

Tira News – Oct. 7, 2021: North Hopkins Alumni Homecoming Returns On Oct. 23, 2021

By Jan Vaughn Carol Robinson passed away and a graveside service was held at the Tira Cemetery on Monday, October 4th at the Tira Cemetery. Carol was the wife of Allen Robinson. Please remember the family in prayer. North Hopkins ISD Billy George Taylor, son of the late Omer and Gertrude Taylor of Tira, passed away and there will be a graveside service at the Tira Cemetery on Monday, October…

[spladebeforn38]

Katy ISD Family STEM Event - www.katymagazine.com (press release) (blog)

The STEAM Center and Katy ISD Curriculum and Instruction welcome Dr. Jendai Robinson for a family STEM event. Dr. Robinson is a chemist, mathematician and a NASA Fellow. She is a self-described maker who is currently working on fabrication and ...

http://ift.tt/2pzvgtH

[louiseholdenne]

Katy ISD Family STEM Event - www.katymagazine.com (press release) (blog)

The STEAM Center and Katy ISD Curriculum and Instruction welcome Dr. Jendai Robinson for a family STEM event. Dr. Robinson is a chemist, mathematician and a NASA Fellow. She is a self-described maker who is currently working on fabrication and ...

http://ift.tt/2pzvgtH

[theigners8014]

Katy ISD Family STEM Event - www.katymagazine.com (press release) (blog)

The STEAM Center and Katy ISD Curriculum and Instruction welcome Dr. Jendai Robinson for a family STEM event. Dr. Robinson is a chemist, mathematician and a NASA Fellow. She is a self-described maker who is currently working on fabrication and ...

http://ift.tt/2pzvgtH

[thatedge41]

Katy ISD Family STEM Event - www.katymagazine.com (press release) (blog)

The STEAM Center and Katy ISD Curriculum and Instruction welcome Dr. Jendai Robinson for a family STEM event. Dr. Robinson is a chemist, mathematician and a NASA Fellow. She is a self-described maker who is currently working on fabrication and ...

http://ift.tt/2pzvgtH

[storturly31]

Katy ISD Family STEM Event - www.katymagazine.com (press release) (blog)

The STEAM Center and Katy ISD Curriculum and Instruction welcome Dr. Jendai Robinson for a family STEM event. Dr. Robinson is a chemist, mathematician and a NASA Fellow. She is a self-described maker who is currently working on fabrication and ...

http://ift.tt/2pzvgtH