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Token Economy

by spinoza | Op/Ed

On social media we have personas we prop up, be they wild pseudonymic selves, or some semblance of our verifiable ID’s. On Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, et. al., there’s the ever-present component of a post being liked or faved, or recycled.  Many posters curry favor, pander, intimidate, or otherwise stoke the flames of approval-by-click. Many online personalities have cultivated followings of several hundreds or thousands of people.

A pattern occurs which supposes that every submission will get at least some percentage of affirmation. Meaning many tokens of approval and affection. I’m wondering what happens to general human relations when this newly dominant form of sharing comes with expectation of a cluster of facile responses- from mostly strangers, or ‘friends’ through association?

Brattleboro Union High School Board Meeting Agenda

by Not Signed In | Education

BRATTLEBORO UNION HIGH SCHOOL BOARD
53 Green Street
Brattleboro, VT 05301
www.wssu.k12.vt.us

NOTICE OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS

The BAMS Committee will meet at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, January 25 in the Middle School Conference Room.

The BUHS #6 Teacher Curriculum Committee will meet at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, January 25 in the WRCC Cusick Conference Room.

Lunar New Year of China, Korea and Vietnam

by ACCVT | Culture

Asian Cultural Center of Vermont (ACCVT) presents Lunar New Year of China, Korea and Vietnam. Sunday, February 7, 1-3 at 118 Elliot Street, downtown Brattleboro (across from the fire station). It’s the 14th annual celebration of its kind in southeastern Vermont.

It’s a potluck.  Dance with the Dragon, do group calligraphy, join in a Korean tug-of-war, make a paper lantern or some origami, and sing a New Year’s song from East Asia. You don’t have to be Asian or know anything about Asia to participate!  We usher in the year of the Red Fire Monkey, a year of change and innovation where risk taking will be rewarded. 

Countdown to Primaries – Turn It Up To Eleven

by cgrotke | Politics

The volume of presidential campaigns is currently set at maximum, as campaigns scramble to shore up support prior to the nation’s first primaries and the slow descent into summer conventions. Things remain lively for those who like this show:

– Trump says Sarah Palin can have a position in his administration, if elected.

 – Sanders is now besting Clinton in NH by 27 points according to a CNN/WMUR poll.

– NBC is reporting that some of Clinton emails on her private server were designated Top Secret/Special Access.

Selectboard Meeting Notes: Onward To Black Mountain Road

by cgrotke | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard made the decision to recommend the Black Mountain Road police station option to Representative Town Meeting, and the Town Attorney said Town Meeting Representatives could only vote on the police station portion of the facilities projects, as it was the only project with a change of location.

Several items were placed on the warning for Representative Town Meeting, the PAYT committee was dissolved, a Special Represntative Town Meeting has been scheduled, SeVEDS and child care centers both were warned not to burden Brattleboro’s taxpayers, and the FY17 budget has been approved for Representative Town meeting debate.

All this and more, in a meeting that stretched past ten o’clock.

Harris Hill Ski Jumping Competition Set For February 20 and 21

by Not Signed In | Recreation & Sports

SAVE THE DATE: HARRIS HILL SKI JUMPING COMPETITION SET FOR FEB. 20 AND 21

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — The nation’s best young ski jumpers are set to fly off New England’s only Olympic-size hill Feb. 20 and 21 at the annual Harris Hill Ski Jump in Brattleboro, Vt.

The nearly century-old competition will feature athletes from the United States, Canada and Europe who will compete on a 90-meter hill that’s one of just six of its size in the country.

Since its start in 1922, the annual event attracts several thousand spectators who watch watch jumpers soar up to 300 feet at speeds up to 60 mph.

Youth Services Hosting Monthly Group for Parents and Caregivers of LGBTQ Youth

by Not Signed In | Education

Brattleboro, VT–Youth Services is launching a support group for parents and caregivers of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) youth in the Windham County region, on Thursday, January 28 from 5:30-7 p.m., in collaboration with Green Mountain Crossroads, a local nonprofit dedicated to connecting rural LGBTQ people. The first meeting of Joining Our Youth (JOY) group, will be at Youth Services at 32 Walnut St. in Brattleboro, VT.

Free and open to the public, the group’s mission is to build community while offering support and resources. For more information about this initial or subsequent meetings contact Rosie Nevins-Alderfer of Youth Services at (802) 257-0361 or email info@youthservicesinc.org

Now After US Media Has Again Suckered the World About Rev. King! Time to Lower the Boom

by jay janson | Op/Ed

DESCRIPTION:
Okay, once again during Martin Luther King’s 2016 birthday celebrations, genocide justifying US media has suckered the world by suppressing King’s condemnation of “US atrocity wars and covert violence on three continents since 1945 meant to maintain unjust predatory investments.” Once again, the last year of King’s life during which he was vilified as a traitor for condemning the mass murder that was being perpetrated by his countrymen in Vietnam and Laos, has been tightly blacked out of all mention. Let’s get Beyond Vietnam translated into all languages.

Shout King Held All Americans Responsible for Atrocity Wars for Lucrative Predatory Investments

by jay janson | Op/Ed

DESCRIPTION:
What the world and most every Americans under the age of fifty, do not know (for it having been criminally suppressed in all US media for nearly a half-century), is that exactly one year before being assassinated, Rev. King condemned the US war in Vietnam and all previous “atrocity wars and covert violence on three continents since 1945 meant to maintain unjust predatory investments” and held all Americans, including himself, responsible for these atrocity wars for “not being willing to give up the pleasures and privileges that come from the immense profits from those predatory investment the wars and violence had been protecting.

Bomb – Bomb – Bomb – Bomb!

by tomaidh | Politics

Watch America’s last 4 presidents each announce that they’re bombing Iraq

Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and now Obama make their statements over
the span of two decades. 

I am appalled at the incalculable human costs of a demonstrably failed, bipartisan, interventionist foreign policy that has accomplished absolutely nothing for all of the 21st century.

Vermont Jazz Center Presents: Bobby Broom Trio

by Not Signed In | Music

The Vermont Jazz Center welcomes the Bobby Broom Trio on Saturday January 23rd at 8:00 PM. Broom is Chicago’s leading guitarist and, due to his commitment to teaching and his ability to draw crowds in Chicago’s best listening rooms, it is a rare treat to catch him on the east coast. He will perform with his long-standing trio of Dennis Carroll on bass and Makaya McCraven on drums who have each, respectively, played with Broom for 20 and 5 years. The trio will travel from Chicago to Vermont for this “one-off” concert with no other east coast gigs listed on their itinerary.

Broom stands out as one of the best guitarists in the world and has won the Downbeat Critic’s poll as Best Guitarist for 3 of the last 4 years. His music is both intelligent and soulful at the same time. He is a deep listener and an arranger who understands the power of space. He was “the first guitarist to be asked by Art Blakey to be a part of his group,” he loves standards, and can funk-out with the best of them. He has a beautiful tone, an extensive vocabulary of chordal voicings, a deep connection to the blues and a grooving rhythmical sensibility.

BCTV Schedules For The Week Of 1/18/2016

by BCTVProg | Media

BCTV channel 8 schedule for the week of 1/18/16

Monday, January 18, 2016

12:00 am Artists in the Berkshires: The Williams College Octet

1:00 am 1st Wednesdays: Roots of Latin Jazz

2:15 am TED Talks: Shai Reshef: An Ultra-Low-Cost College Degree

2:30 am Firefighters Architects and Engineers for 911 Truth

4:30 am Vermont’s Reliance on Incarceration

Brattleboro Time Trade Listings – Week of January 17

by Brattleboro Time Trade | Other

Brattleboro Time Trade:   Exchanging services, creating connections, strengthening communities, one hour at a time.  See below for more exciting Upcoming Events and learn what Time Trade can do for you!

How Time Trade Works: You do something for someone and earn
time credits for your “bank,” which you can then put towards someone else doing something for you! It’s that simple – and amazing!

This week’s fabulous listings, brought to you from a sick house:

OFFERS (i.e. things people could do for you):

Genealogical Research
Assistance Applying for Social Security Disability Insurance
Genealogy Tutoring/Mentoring
Lactation Support
Sewing
Lot of 8 Vintage National Geographic Magazines 1965 to 2007 (3D Glasses Included)

Parking Lot Snow Removal in Brattleboro

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Town of Brattleboro would like to remind everyone that the snow emergency ban is in effect.

Snow and ice will be removed from the parking lots in the downtown area this evening Jan 16.

Parked vehicles in the downtown parking lots must be removed by 10:30pm or they will be towed at the owner’s expense.

Weekend Creativity Series: Building Ornamentation

by cgrotke | Creative

One of the ways we used to be more creative as a culture was in our ornamentation of buildings. Part of the thrill of visits to big cities is to see the highly decorated and elaborate old facades.

While cost-cutting has streamlined buildings of more recent times, the Washington Cathedral in DC is a relatively new structure that stands as an example of what is possible with carved stone ornamentation. Cats, monsters, frogs, birds, snakes, owls, mules, dragons, pigs, and people are represented as gargoyles and water spouts.

Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda & Notes – January 19, 2016

by cgrotke | Town News

At Tuesday’s meeting, the Brattleboro Selectboard will likely endorse moving the police station to Black Mountain Road and doing full improvements for the fire stations. The board will also discuss spending $200,000 to make corrections to the gravity sewer project on Black Mountain Road.

The Waste Water Treatment Plant needs fixin’. Town Meeting Representatives will be summoned for a special Representative Town Meeting. Many articles will be considered for the upcoming regular Representative Town Meeting, the board will hear updates on PAYT as well as implementation of the Town Plan, Living Memorial Park may need a stormwater permit for the proposed skatepark, the parking garage gets new stairs, and more.

You can attend in person and participate! Or watch on BCTV then read about it here after.

Sanders Announces Winners of State of the Union Essay Contest

by Not Signed In | Politics

BURLINGTON, Vt., Jan. 15 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today announced the winners of his annual State of the Union essay contest for Vermont high school students. Nearly 800 students, a record number, from 39 high schools participated in the contest this year.

A panel of five Vermont teachers served as volunteer judges and selected Meredith Holbrook, a senior at Milton High School, as the winner of the contest. In her essay, Holbrook focused on the need to address domestic economic issues, such as hunger, homelessness and strengthening Social Security in the United States.