College Student Achievement and leadership has every time been a subject matter with the aim of profoundly resonates with college activities and career coordinators. After all, pardon? Wear out is college if it cannot push and advance college students’ achievement thereafter?

College and academia ought to in no way be the octopus with the aim of tries to entangle or surround students, nor the pushy father with the aim of tries to target them to take (or require) unrelated career curriculum in which they are not interested in pursuing.

To really alter a college campus and effect college students selected of great consequence components are of the essence each time you bring in a keynote spokesman to effect your students.

Undoubtedly, orientation and long-awaited week are high-energy kickoffs in which you need an outstanding spokesman who is able to just now associate with and communicate to your students.

An exceptional spokesman innately and spontaneously knows how to resolve this by nature, as such will pour unpretentiously in place of some skillful orator with a powerful presence. Upon concerning with and appealing the audience, the keynote spokesman ought to relinquish compelling and transformative content. Hype forlorn will not be sufficient, nor sustain the consequence of college students. Remember college students are clever and can find out through fraud citizens who are not harmonious, nor single with their message.

Never in a million years did I anticipate being a worldwide licensed spokesman, but by goal of my travels to on 50 countries and 6 continents, I repeatedly was invited to chat by the side of various academic institutions, colleges, and universities. Initially, I was overseas serving in a civilized scope, primarily working in war-torn and third humankind nations.

Because citizens liked me, I often got asked to chat by the side of organization and legislative meetings, along with selected churches and religious gatherings. Humorously, I was even asked a a small number of time to chat to groups by the side of a birthday parties in Indonesia. This was a crumb unwieldy by the side of basic, until I realized how earnest and longing for everybody was to hear me.

Most of all, I would say I get pleasure from speaking to college students for the reason that they are in a place in their life someplace they really plea individual growth. Their hearts and minds are release to valuable input, powerful impartation, and individual transformation.

Particularly, college learner orientations and long-awaited week kickoffs serendipitously proved to be the ideal fit in place of me. Because I was a earlier prohibitive train teacher, I experientially know the challenges students look entering and transitioning into college.

I qualified English and ESOL (English to students of other languages) to 11th and 12th grade prohibitive train students. Therefore I understand the challenges prohibitive train students look entering college and the magnitude of the transition involved.

My own years attending commune college, awakened me academically as I went from being a B learner in high-school to suitable an A learner in college. My intellectual curiosity enthused me to pursue another bodies of awareness with a unruly zeal and passion. I particularly found economics, marketing, communications, and law to be nearly everyone fascinating.

I attended Valencia Community College (VCC), someplace I achieved lofty achievement as a learner, making the dean’s file and graduating with a 3.8 GPA. I distinguished myself as a learner by the side of VCC, similar to which I entered UCF and continued making prohibitive letters earning Cum Laude by the side of graduation.

Clothed in retrospect whilst I look back on folks days spent studying by the side of college, I find out particular and evident dogfight steps I took to push my individual achievement. One gadget I maintain yet to refer to is I complete my college education in 3 years. Because I had such an intense passion to travel the humankind, I wanted to graduate as quickly as promising. I therefore took a rotund load of 15 courses two summers back to back, while throughout the fall and winter semester taking 18 and 24 hours correspondingly (which I solitary may well resolve with a dean’s override and approval). This resulted in me graduating with a Bachelors degree, Cum Laude, by the side of the age of 20.

Thereafter I embarked leading my humankind travels and real education, which books may well in no way maintain qualified me. Nevertheless academic achievement is something I personally mastered and excelled by the side of. Yet the academic experience was not something I calculatingly pursued, but considerably by goal of survival open.

When I enthused from Orlando to a nearby suburb called Clermont, whilst I began living with my father and step-mom, I was extra uncomfortable as I entered internal train. While living with my grandparents in elementary train, I complete all grounding inside a carry some weight of minutes by going away barred to theatrical production throughout the afternoon following train.

This quick verge on to grounding didn’t bring to an end it in internal train, which I soon found barred whilst I brought mother country a D on my progress tell in my science seminar. My father just now with belt in employee practical selected hardhearted pressure to my flipside to increase in intensity understanding up beyond with the aim of I was to resolve better in train.

Yet in no way did my father, step-mother, or grandparents sit down with me and teach me how to suitably study to excel academically. Ironically, I hear the same story from many high-school and college students all through the humankind.

Why is it parents, schools, and colleges punish in place of poor academic performance but in no way teach students proper study behavior, techniques, and strategies to excel academically?

Well, with the aim of million cash question has been the platform in place of my speaking career to college students all through the humankind.

Empowering students to ace the academic experience is my passion and individual pleasure. I take lofty joy in taking students who were shunned in high-school and making champions barred of them. It is wonderful and a lofty honor to transform students others wrote inedible and looked down leading, similar to which they return to their mother country town and demonstrate their successes by the eyes of the naysayers who didn’t believe in them.

Believing in college students and plateful them happen to with the aim of which they nearly everyone plea to be is my furthermost pleasure and passion. I conjecture you may well call me a dream-maker of sorts.

Know assuredly A+ achievement is obtainable. You in no way again need to be panicky by books, college classes, or college professors who ask rationally probing questions.

Let your confidence begin and as you resolve, your competence will be an enthusiast of and catch up. Never be panicky by pardon? You don’t know or don’t understand. Harness your mental capacities and strength to transcend intimidation and clinch motivation.

Let your emotional juices move you to go intimidation to unquenchable motivation as you farm the winner inside to begin and conquer pardon? In the ancient academically has ready you in! Now, it is schedule in place of you to begin and conquer each seminar and curriculum with the aim of can pave a pathway of achievement in place of you to your nearly everyone advantageous opportunity.

It has been three decades since Star Wars was written by George Lucas. After the first
three films became successful, three additional films and two animated series had been
released. But aside from the films, pocket books, comic books, and collectibles have also
been sold to many fans worldwide. This just proves how much Star Wars has grown into
such a successful enterprise.

How else could a fan celebrate the 30th anniversary of Star Wars if not by buying a
special Star Wars 30th Anniversary action figure? If you haven’t been collecting Star
Wars action figures, then you better start now with the Stormtrooper action figure.

In the Star Wars universe, Stormtroopers were known to be devoted troops of the
Empire. The Stormtrooper action figure is a 3 ¾-inch scale model of the Stormtroopers
in the Star Wars movies. Crafted especially for Star Wars fans, this miniature
Stormtrooper is complete with details and features. Each package also comes with a
special collector’s metal coin commemorating three decades of the Star Wars series.

Action Figures: Iron Man Figure

With the recent news that Star Wars will be remade (into a 3D films) for yet another time, Star Wars fans around the world are anxiously awaiting for the series release in 2012. In the mean time you will just have to wait and enjoy all of the cool Star Wars toys and memorabilia.

This has been a review on the Star Wars 30th Anniversary Stormtrooper Action Figure which is available through the action figure company web site Entertainment Earth. If you are looking for one of the best sources to find Star Wars collectibles and memorabilia online, look no further than Entertainment Earth. They really do have everything a Star Wars fan could ask for.

If you are looking for some additional fun with free online games, it isn’t too difficult to find such game sites in Google. However too many sites have a lot of banner ads, pop-ups, other distractions and mostly, games are just too easy and uninteresting. Often, by the time you have found a great site with cool games without too many ads, your leisure time may be gone.

Most of today’s web browser games are made in flash or java and both technologies have some advantages and disadvantages. In general, Flash games load quite fast, but are limited in graphics. Java loads a bit slower but has better graphics. However this is soon to all change because Flash has improved greater in terms of technology that it is now becoming de facto standard in web browser game industry. Just like playing an online Flash video, in order to play flash or java version games, you’ll probably have to download plugins before you can play but most of the time, they have been already installed in your browser. For those who prefer to install or update plugins manually should visit adobe.com and java.com to download them first.

We have an awesome collection of exciting full of action games, including the categories ‘war games’, ‘tower defense games’, ‘strategy games’ and ‘shooting games’. Some of these games are so addictive and fun that you’ll enjoy many hours of fun with advanced graphics and even learn a little bit about history of wars, like for example “Warfare 1917″, “Mud and Blood 2″ and “Art of War 2″ are based upon historic battle scenarios. One of the most interesting things about successful war-related games are that they don’t necessarily have to have pretty graphics, but their appeals are based on strategy demanding game plays with inspired plots. It’s pretty obvious that these games are mostly played by teenagers to college students, between the ages of 15 and 25 years old.

One of the most popular games is Elite Forces: Clone Wars, a great flash game made by Elite Games. The game features cloned army, just like Star Wars, that must capture opponents’ barracks to produce even more units. Capture the largest barracks to create units even faster and ultimately capture all opponents’ barracks to complete the scene. It sounds pretty easy but it requires a good quick judgement skills to succeed and it is definitely a fast paced game that it’ll keep you busy right from the start. However if you’re looking for some slower paced games, we recommend one of our popular games, “Sling Wars in the Middle Ages”. It is a game for all ages and one of its interesting points are unique characters with funny actions. Throwing slingshots to knock out your opponents can be never this fun!

Besides War Games, EF: Clone Wars and Sling Wars in the Middle Ages, Canopian arcade features hundreds of more Free Games, all playable online. Gamers with very limited leisure times can even enjoy from many quick shooting games to short arcade games. Enjoy them in your spare time and be sure to watch your time because some of these games can get really addictive! so just sit back, relax and enjoy.

Hasan A. Yahya, Ph.Ds

What social aspects are parts of a war system and what aspects contribute to peace?  Four concepts are the answers for these questions, they are: the idea of nationalism and patriotism, the military-industrial complex,  the idea of domination (feeling of superiority) and cultural promotion in isolation. 

Nationalism and Patriotism: In the past few centuries, the idea of nationalism was growing rapidly, Accompanied by popular feeling of patriotism. Being an Arab, or American, or Russian gives many people a sense of identity and meaning in human life. Many men become having intense  feeling of being alive, important, and connected to others by becoming worriers to kill and die for their country. With advance technologies and weapon industry, wars became more destructive of civilian life since the 17th century. It became imperative for  politicians (the elite)to persuade the public to participate in mass war and to endure  the causalities  and economic hardships of war mobilization. In his study titled: A Study of War, Quincy Wright”(1964,:pp. 51-52), concludes: “Since popular support  became more necessary with the new technologies, the management of opinion became increasingly important. Development of the sentiment for war ….. National sovereignty defined by the new international  law, became the prevailing value,  the dominant sentiment, the political objective and the leading cause of war in the modern period.”Therefore, since the French revolution, the struggle of the merchant class, workers, and peasants was against the feudal aristocracy. The revolution created the French identity, the nation as a whole, as opposed to a high privileged elite.  The struggle for “Liberty, equality, and justice” was connected to a sense of belonging to a national community, as opposed to international community. (WE and they). National pride emerged in almost all European nations but transformed into a sense of national superiority in relation to other countries and peoples. This sense of superiority was legitimized as doctrine to colonize other nations around the world. Nationalism became the rhetoric of imperialism, as a major theme justifying the struggle of one imperial state against another, manipulating nationalism and patriotism to divert people’s attention away from inequalities and injustices at home. Colonized people in return, using the slogan of nationalism and patriotism revolving against the colonization powers as a foreign domination. For example, American revolution against Britain, and post World War II   independence movements  and revolutionary wars in the Third World nations.  By nature, nationalism as a belief system needs “enemy”. Unfortunately nation-states (Chinese, Egyptians, American, Russians, Japanese, British, German, etc.,) mirror each other in this respect which makes peace very difficult to achieve. Lack of love and mutual respect contribute to hatred and possibly war. Further more, nationalism is promoted in schools, with the morning pledge of allegiance, and with history books glorify the national and military heroes. Pop-cultures , movies, plays, songs, media and the press all follow steps and strengthen that feeling of nationalism. The slogan “our country” became inferior with Other countries, and should rank ahead of other countries.  To cure this disease of nationalism, internationalism, one world, people of the earth, themes should be promoted.      

The Military-Industrial Complex: This factor also is important in promoting wars, promoting science to produce military and industrial complex was supported and funded in almost all advanced nations to use and to market weapons to other countries as well. Making war became the goal of these military industries, because peace, destroy these industries, increase unemployment, and reduce enjoyment of life. The United States alone spent 01 billion dollars on defense from 1946  to 1981,  and 89 billion from 1981 to 1988. The corporations that manufacture weapons, the university researchers who provide the scientific knowledge needed to make them, and the millions of workers who work for military contractors have strong reasons to support a foreign policy that emphasizes military force. Would these people work for military industrial complex be trained to do something else of civilian and social advantage? And how, the process may be managed and redirected. A new task and measurement for modern world to begin planning for it and implementing it, and evaluating its outcomes for the cause of humanity all over the planet.

Domination and Feeling of Superiority: Domination as opposed to democracy is the third factor that distinguishes peace system from war system. Our position support the idea that if people dominate other people and disrespect their self determination, war will be inevitable. The age of slavery has gone, and people in modern age should build new relations on the grounds of understanding, and mutual appreciation to live in peace. Domination versus democracy is an aspect of all social and political relations between individuals and groups. The concepts overlaps with other two concepts, “oppression vs. liberation” and ” authoritarianism.”  In relations with domination, members of one group or nation mobilize  resources and power, and regard themselves as intellectually and morally superior, and attempt to impose  their will and their ideas on the subordinate  group or nations. Views   In the extreme, the dominant group views subordinates as dehumanized objects and has no understanding or empathy or responsibility toward them. In addition, victims of subordinate groups are considered collateral damage while killed with no mercy or regret. In short, struggle for domination among and between nations  clearly contribute s to modern warfare. History is our teacher about many colonial or imperialist wars in the past two  centuries. Anti-colonial struggles walks side by side with the domination colonized powers in every nation was under attack and occupation. Examples can be found in Vietnam, Nicaragua, Hungary, Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq and Palestine. We believe that also, domestic inequality based on social class, ethnicity and gender is one of the causes as social foundation of modern war.  Domination by a ruling class or oligarchy in many countries  promote war because the elite have much to gain and little to lose. Greediness of political power for keeping their own interests, creates suppression and continuous conflict. Public awareness is needed in this regard to reduce possibilities of local and regional wars. Education might be the vehicle for transforming societies toward international understanding, and appreciation of each other in order to live in peace.  This conference may be marching in this direction.    

Cultural Promotion of Isolation: The application of theory C., or Crescentology for the author. Theory C. of conflict management was an idea developed in the last ten years to be finally a science of Crescentology. More specifically, when I constructed research among Muslim students reside in Michigan, Lansing area. A  typology of Muslims in the United States was developed. Later became a theory of classifications in terms of Merton’s deviation and adaptation theory.  Even though the research was about satisfaction and participation in the community activities, it was developed through a test of measurement of hypothetical classification of Minority group members of a relatively small community. This development led to a theory of neutrality or theory C. of conflict management. In 1995, the idea was developed further to constitute a new science of Crescentology. A new branch of social sciences, not applied sociology, but similar to psychotherapy, under the name of socio-therapy or Crescentology. If classified it would be under the science of criminal Justice and related areas of mental health. It is assumed, however, that conflict has its roots in cultural mental health problems (on a large scale measure)  through relation normalization, assimilation and acculturation of the generations in any society. And science means propositions, hypotheses, theories,  and laws.

The need for policy active players in the society with understanding of human nature and social environment of human beings is a serious one. For a long time, sociologists were problem watchers rather than problem solvers. Some might disagree with this statement. Others may consider the new idea as a new role for sociologists may be close to the notion of political science. But what it meant is that qualified crescentologists have to achieve certain interdisciplinary-qualifications in comparative social-psychology, political science, and education. Such qualifications are necessary tools for crescentologists to be more active in the decision and policy making in the field of social order, stability and normalization as opposites of disorder, instability, and conflict.  If the ideas introduced in this book were taken seriously and applied for social conflict situations, then the theory will find its way to the reconstruction process of new image of reality of normalization shared by different groups, nations, and cultures. Only in that case, the purpose of the author of Crescentology will be realized and fulfilled. The concept “Crescentology” is a combination of two words, crescent which means the changing shapes of the moon, and logo which means word. As a term, it means: A word about changing parts. Applying the phenomenon of crescent transformation to culture and society by talking about its transformation (or change) from one stage to another is Crescentology. In other words, it is the scientific study of the cultural perceptions including behavior of small and  large organizations. It is the combination © of psychology (as A or B) and sociology (as A or B) sciences in studying social behavior. According to this definition, Crescentology covers both macro and micro levels. Cultures as we know have different perceptions on themselves and others. These perceptions influence the individual and the group social behavior. To illustrate, the ingredients of culture from Individuals to whole nations are brought up to perceive “we” as good, and “they” as bad. Social behavior differs among people according to these perceptions.  Crescentology is the study of this phenomenon, “we” as A, and “they” as B. Both perceptions interchangeably are the same. Because “We” for us is “they” for others. And “They” for  others is “we” for themselves.(1618) www.hasanyahya.com

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**The article is part of a paper will be presented at the International Conference on the Impact of World War II on the Arab countries especially, on Palestine at Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, May 13th, 2010.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown issues a posthumous apology to the World War ll code breaker following an online petition of over 30,000 signatures.

In a statement issued to The Telegraph Gordon Brown has apologized for the “utterly unfair” treatment Alan Turing and thousands of other gay men suffered at a time when homosexuality was deemed a criminal offence.

Turing, famous for deciphering German Enigma codes, is often hailed as a mathematical genius and a war time hero. His contribution to the war effort earned him the OBE. Time Magazine included Turin in its celebration of the 100 most important people of the 20th century.

In 1952 however, he was tried and convicted under the charge of “Gross Indecency” for having a homosexual relationship. Forced to choose between a prison sentence and chemical castration Turin chose the latter. In 1954 he committed suicide.

“It is no exaggeration to say that, without his outstanding contribution, the history of the Second World War could well have been different. He truly was one of those individuals we can point to whose unique contribution helped turn the tide of war”, writes Brown.

“I am pleased to have the chance to say how deeply sorry I and we all are for what happened to him. Alan and the many thousands of other gay men who were convicted as he was convicted, under homophobic laws, were treated terribly.”

The article which appeared in Thursday’s edition of The Telegraph came in response to a petition calling for the government to “recognize the tragic consequences of prejudice that ended this man’s life and career.”

For weekly gay news, chat and soundbites visit www.maleforce.com

Discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in Dec. 1848 set off a rush for California. Eager miners had to choose from three difficult and dangerous routes to get there.

The fastest, but expensive, was a sea journey to Panama, a portage to the Pacific and another trip by ship to San Francisco. A mid-continent route required arduous climbing through the Rocky Mountains. A southern route through desert country — newly won as spoils in the Mexican War — had to contend with lack of water and animal forage.

Jefferson Davis, a senator for Mississippi — later president of the Confederacy — suggested that camels be imported to carry supplies across the southwestern desert to the miners — and gold on the return trip. His proposal was greeted with jeers and laughter in Congress.

In 1853, Davis was appointed Secretary of War and in a position to pursue his camel venture. Two years later, Congress appropriated ,000 to buy camels for military purposes.

Major Henry C. Wayne was given the task of acquiring the camels. U.S. Navy Lt. David Porter, commander of the cargo ship Supply was directed to transport the exotic animals. Neither man had ever seen a camel except, perhaps, in a circus.

At Tunis, Wayne purchased the first camel he laid eyes on, paying the asking price by an astonished camel herder. In short order, Wayne and Porter had bought four broken down camels that soon died. One good camel was given to them by the Bey of Tunis.

Fortunately an American named Gwinn Heap, who had lived in Tunis many years, joined the expedition. He took the two neophytes to Egypt were nine camels were purchased at greatly inflated prices.

With this, Heap went on alone to Smyrna where his connection with the American government was unknown. There he purchased 23 healthy animals by the time Wayne and Porter arrived.

Included in the motley herd of 33 camels were “21 Arabian beasts of burden (one hump), two Bactrians (two humps), nine Dromedaries (bred for fast riding) and one Tuili (an enormous offspring of an Arabian female and a Bactrian male).”

Three native handlers were taken along to manage the camels during the three-month Atlantic crossing. The camel drivers were Hadji Ali (shortened to Hi Jolly by the sailors), George Caralambo (Greek George) and Elias Calles.

The camels were quartered below deck in straw-padded stalls. A hole was cut in the deck to accommodate the Tuili’s hump. In rough weather, the animals were tied down in a kneeling position so they would not break their legs.

One camel died on the voyage. However, six colts were born; and two of these survived. Thus, the expedition landed at Indianola, Texas, with one more animals than it started with. Upon reaching shore, the camels went berserk — breaking their harness, bellowing, kicking, and romping about.

The camels were a great curiosity. Newspapers front-paged the arrival. Folks at San Antonio laughed at the camels and doubted their strength. Whereupon, Wayne arranged a demonstration of their prowess.

He asked the crowd to point out a camel. That one kneeled and was loaded with two bales of hay weighing altogether 613 pounds – a heavy load for a mule. Then, two more bales were placed on the camel’s back. Upon command, the camel arose easily and strode away – to cheers from the crowd.

Total cost of the expedition was ,331. The balance of the ,000 appropriation was returned to the government — a precedent that never caught on.

Maj. Wayne set out in caravan for Camp Verde, an Army post 60 miles northwest of San Antonio. Heap and Porter returned immediately to Asia Minor where they purchased 42 more camels. This brought to 75 the total number of animals imported.

En route to Camp Verde, the caravan stopped for rest at Victoria. There Mrs. Mary Shirkey was allowed to clip enough camel hair to knit a pair of socks. She mailed them to Wayne, and he sent them to President Franklin Pierce. The president sent Mrs. Shirkey a silver goblet.

The 1st U.S.A. Camel Corps was designated in March 1857. Edward Beale was placed in command. He was promoted and assigned duties in Washington, D.C., where a Civil War was brewing.

Beale’s appointment to the camel cavalry was a quirk of fate. He had been graduated from the Naval Academy but resigned when President Millard Fillmore appointed him Superintendent for Indian Affairs at California.

When gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in 1849, Beale and an Army courier were selected to carry the news to Washington, D.C. They were ordered to take different routes so the news would get through even if one of them perished in the attempt.

Beale chose a dangerous route. He shipped south to San Blas then struck out overland by horseback to Vera Cruz through bandit country. On the Gulf coast he caught a ship to Washington. He was the first to arrive at the Capital, proudly carrying an eight-pound gold nugget.

The government in 1885 was still seeking an acceptable, all-weather route through the vast American continent to California. Beale was ordered to take his camels and survey a possible route along the 35th parallel from Fort Defiance, Arizona, to a Colorado River crossing.

The party left Camp Verde in June, 1857, with 25 camels, mules, sheep, dogs, supply wagons and regular Army cavalry.

The camels at first fell behind with sore humps due to inaction of the sea voyage.

By the time they reached El Paso, however, Wayne reported to Secretary of War Floyd:

“Laboring under all the disadvantages arising out of the fact that we have not one man who knows anything whatever of camels, or how to pack them, we have nevertheless arrived here without an accident.

“Although we have used the camels every day with heavy packs, they have fewer sore backs and disabilities by far than would have been the case traveling with pack mules.

“The camels live and keep on food which the mules reject and which grows in the greatest luxuriance in the most barren of our American deserts — namely, the greasewood, a small, bitter bush useless for any purpose.

“I was told by the highest authority on leaving San Antonio, that not one of them would ever see El Paso; that they would give out on the way. This prediction has not been verified by fact.”

In another report, just before reaching a water hole, Beale wrote:

“Our horses were now beginning to suffer very much, having been almost constantly at work for 36 hours without water. One of the most painful sights I have ever witnessed was a group of them standing over a small barrel of water and trying to drink from the bung-hole, frantic with distress and eagerness to get at it!

“Our camels seemed to view this proceeding with great contempt and kept quietly browsing on the grass and bushes.”

Upon arriving at the Colorado, the regular cavalry viewed the wide crossing warily. It was supposed the camels had a horror of rivers and would balk, or would be unable to swim. However, they waded in unperturbed, and all reached the other side safely. Ten mules and two horses drowned.

Beale and Hi Jolly, decked out in Arabian garb and bells, rode triumphantly astride their two Bactrians into the village of Los Angeles. The mission was a complete success.

The route they charted one day became the famous highway Route 66, now Interstate 40.

Wishing to test the endurance of camels in winter, Beale followed the same route back in early 1858. The camels were indifferent to cold weather.

Secretary Floyd was impressed with the camels’ performance and ordered the purchase of 1,000 additional animals. However, Congress was more concerned with the possibility of civil war at home. All monies were spent on conventional defenses.

Camp Verde and its camels fell to Confederate forces in February 1861. Without any experience in managing camels, the confederates killed many “ships of the desert” as nuisances.

When Union forces regained Camp Verde, the remaining camels were scattered to various owners. Beale gave 28 of them to Los Angeles. They were housed on main street to transport mail and baggage from San Pedro.

The last 33 animals were auctioned off by the government to a rancher named Sam McLeneghan. He sold three to a circus, and used the others for freight service for many years.

The camels performed able and cheaply. Yet, as the caravans approached a town, a driver would have to go ahead on a horse and shout, “Camels coming, camels coming!”

This was a warning to horse riders whose mounts usually spooked at the strange looking, foul smelling camels. Nevada passed a law levying a 0 fine for using a camel on a public highway.

McLeneghan finally turned his camels loose. They and their few descendants wandered about the wastelands of Texas, Oklahoma and Arizona for many years.

Historian Robert Froman confirms by contemporary newspaper articles that a huge, wild camel with the skeleton of a man strapped to its back roamed Arizona and trampled to death a woman when surprised at a spring.

Thereafter the enraged camel was called the Red Ghost. It was shot to death in 1893 — some human bones still strapped to its hump.

The Middle East drivers who came with the original shipment of camels scattered also. Calles ended up in Mexico where his son, Plutarco, became president of Mexico in the early 1920′s. Greek George served a long term with the U.S. Army and died in Montebello, California, in 1913.

Hi Jolly became a living legend in the west. Once — insulted because he had not been invited to a picnic at Los Angeles — Hi Jolly broke up the gathering by driving into it with a cart pulled by his two pet camels.

The Syrian camel driver, and U.S. Army scout, is said to have died in 1903 with his camel out on the Arizona desert, his arms around the neck of his faithful steed. A monument marking Hi Jolly’s “last camp” was erected at Quartzsite, Ariz.

In April 1934, the Oakland (Calif.) Tribune reported: “Topsy, the last American camel that trekked across the desert of Arizona and California died today at Griffith Park — destroyed by attendants when she became crippled with paralysis of old age.” Her ashes were interred in Hi Jolly’s monument at Quartzsite.

April 20, 2003

Click here to see this article on Lindsey Williams’ website

Defence has re-emerged as a key issue in the news following a string of recent developments both in operations abroad and in the workings of government here in Britain.

For a country that once had one of the most powerful and largest militaries in the world, it is hard to believe that defence ever left the main political stage. But the end of the Cold War coupled with other public sector priorities, reduced defence spending in real terms and major conflicts becoming less frequent, made defence a less prominent issue.

This is changing now, driven by the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Iraq War was controversial and divisive, but it also placed the Armed Forces in the mainstream spotlight for the first time in over a decade. For every discussion about when the troops should be withdrawn or when an inquiry should begin, there was also talk of armoured vehicles and strategies against the insurgency.

Were the troops prepared? Would the strategies work? How effective was equipment like Snatch Land Rovers? All of these questions became regular issues not only in defence news but also the mainstream media.

They highlighted the functions of defence policy and the workings of Britain’s powerful defence industry in supporting the War.

Even as the country grew tired of Iraq, its support for the troops there continued.

All of this contributed to an important foundation for the coming war in Afghanistan.

The same debates over funding, equipment and strategy reappeared but with a greater sense of urgency.

As the casualties have risen over the past few years, defence news has not only become mainstream, but also a priority.

The war has also found a way to infiltrate other mainstream news topics. Name one, and defence will have a relevant area in it.

Health? Can the NHS supply the best medical care to wounded soldiers?

Security? If the Army can’t defeat insurgents, they could move to attack Britain next.

Public spending must now factor in the Afghan War and the overall MoD budget in much greater respect to the nation’s long term standing and goals. As the government moves to cut spending, cutting or reducing the budget for a ministry engaged in the toughest fight since Korea is hard to justify.

Defence has also proven to be a job creator, something any economy will welcome in the midst of a global recession. The defence industry is responsible for thousands of jobs as a result of MoD and international procurement programmes.

Defence news is now part of the mainstream focus of news organisations. War, terrorism, public spending and jobs are all issues of concern. As long as they continue to be so, defence news will permeate.

For news to be of any value, it needs to work inside a framework of defined factors. Satisfying these criteria gives the news piece credibility in the market. The salient features of any news piece must include the following: Timeliness, impact, proximity, prominence, conflict, bizarre, human interest, and currency. With new media breaking barriers in communication, another factor has crept into news there by adding another criterion to the existing ones- Sex.

The utility of News depends firstly on its immediacy. The information has to be hot off the shelf for it to carry value. Most information has a specific shelf life, but news thrives on the sole condition that it be recent. The value of time-specific events or information diminishes as more times lapses between when the thing happened and when the information was first disseminated.

The impact a certain news article will produce is again of great value for News. A significant and important event which is directly affecting them will hold more interest for audiences than something which will not directly affect them. For e.g. the recent oil spill in the Bay of Mexico and its effect on the surrounding ecosystems has caught the attention of audiences across the globe.

Information and occurrences surrounding celebrities, the who’s who, influential individuals, etc. is another thing people want to read about. Tiger Woods scandal was a much talked about topic for many days. How close the event occurs to the audiences also increases its impact and newsworthiness. Geographic proximity matters to audiences as they would like to be informed of things happening in the vicinity.

It is a well-known saying in Journalism that when a dog bites a man, it’s not news, but when a man bites a dog, it is. The unusual, odd, unexplained and mysterious always hold a great allure for people. This type of news always attracts people’s attention by piquing their curiosity.

News pertaining to wars, clashes, battles, dissent, etc. is an important part of daily news coverage. The long standing conflict between Palestine and Israel has always been in news.

Stories which tell endearing tales of human spirit and courage, tales which inspire, and which tug at the reader’s heartstrings hold immense appeal for the audiences and this quality of a story makes it an indispensable  part of news. The recent story of a 19-year-old girl sailing across the globe in her pink boat was an inspiring story for the youth and a tale of endurance for many readers.

Another important criterion for news to be relevant is currency. When some new development or a fresh idea becomes a much sought after topic, this thought gains momentum and takes up a major chunk in news reportage for some time. Terrorism is one such topic which has become an important part of news due to the increase in its occurrence and also its spread.

Sensationalism has always been a gimmick most news providers use to sell their product- although the veracity of a sensational news piece is questionable. With new technology breaking all barriers and serving up everything from the insipid to the perverse, ‘sex’ has become another big factor in news coverage. Sex scandals, extra-marital affairs, leaked private tapes, etc. become front page news and such news garners a lot of attention across a broad spectrum of readers.

For a piece of information to be newsworthy, one or more of these factors must be satisfied. With changing times, news values have seen change in priorities with sensational and sex stories getting more coverage and being paid more attention to. However, the old-school values of news reign supreme at all times even if interests have shifted.

The Art of War Ancient secrets to speedy accomplishment of objectives is explored in great detail in this book. Read about secret diagrams hidden in the 2,500 year-old classic on competitive success.Click Here To Grab Your Copy

The book discusses secret symbols, analogies, and metaphors which are painstakingly explained and interpreted for optimum comprehension. This is a must reading not only for students of military science. This is also a must reading for businessmen and anyone who wants to excel in any field.

Book Excerpts: 7 of the 20 items ON WAGING WAR [Ts`ao Kung has the note: "He who wishes to fight must first count the cost," which prepares us for the discovery that the subject of the chapter is not what we might expect from the title, but is primarily a consideration of ways and means.] 1. Sun Tzu said: In the operations of war, where there are in the field a thousand swift chariots, as many heavy chariots, and a hundred thousand mail-clad soldiers, [The "swift chariots" were lightly built and, according to Chang Yu, used for the attack; the "heavy chariots" were heavier, and designed for purposes of defense. Li Ch`uan, it is true, says that the latter were light, but this seems hardly probable. It is interesting to note the analogies between early Chinese warfare and that of the Homeric Greeks. In each case, the war- chariot was the important factor, forming as it did the nucleus round which was grouped a certain number of foot-soldiers.Click Here To Grab Your Copy

With regard to the numbers given here, we are informed that each swift chariot was accompanied by 75 footmen, and each heavy chariot by 25 footmen, so that the whole army would be divided up into a thousand battalions, each consisting of two chariots and a hundred men.] with provisions enough to carry them a thousand LI, [2.78 modern LI go to a mile. The length may have varied slightly since Sun Tzu's time.]

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Juggling the teaching curriculum, energetic students and individual students needs can be difficult at the best of times. Throw in some kids with learning difficulties and you’ve got yourself a real challenge.

Here are eleven tips to cater for students with learning difficulties:

1. Provide an outline to ADHD students with key concepts or vocabulary prior to lesson presentation.

2. ADHD kids are easily bored, even by you. Increase your teaching speed a little – but be mindful of when it’s too much. Include a variety of activities during each lesson appropriate to elementary school.

3. Engage students with muti-sensory teaching material but be aware that too much audio-visual material can be distracting for ADD students. Use entertaining photos, pictures, sounds and noises that are related to the teaching material.

4. Make lessons brief or break longer presentations into discrete segments.

5. A great lesson or presentation should aim to involve ALL students actively. You can engage espcially difficult students by asking them to help the class and make notes on the board.

6. Ask your attention deficit students to form mental images of the topics you’re talking about. Your students can share their images with each other so you can be sure that they’re visualizing the teaching material.

7. Engage students by addressing them directly, making them answer questions, or respondign with handsignals.

8. Novel ways of teaching, such as role playing, can be very enaging for students, especially if they have attention difficutlies. I have taught ADD ADHD students the history of the Revolutionary War in the parking lot of the school, using cars, trees, and other objects to represent events and places in history. This can work well.

9. Let your creativity loose! It’s hard to keep students engaged, no matter how good a teacher you are. By considering that you actually motivate and entertain your students, your teaching style will become more engaging. Kids will learn much better when they are interested and excited about a topic. Enjoy what you’re teaching and be excited!

10. ADD and ADHD students will be more responsive if they are stimulated and engaged in the situation. Mix your teaching style up by varying pitch, tone and speed of voice. This will keep your students engaged.

11. Your ADD ADHD elementary school aged student would probably find lessons that emphasize “hands-on” activities highly engaging.

If your challenged students do fall behind in the classroom, it may be worth investigating other options to increase their learning ability.