The Battle of Natural Bridge - Tallahassee Teenagers Take Arms

On the 6th of March, 1865, towards the end of the civil war, Confederate and Federal troops fought for control of a vital natural river crossing of the St Marks River, just south of Tallahassee, Florida's state capital. The battle was very significant because the bridge was the gateway to the city. One of the aspects of the Battle of Natural Bridge that makes it such as legendary tale is that many of the Confederate troops were young men, teenage boys and cadets from what is now Florida State University.

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McDonalds versus Starbucks - Battle of the Titans in Furniture and Decor

Ambiance is a billion dollar business, and McDonalds is going full force in adopting Starbucks' Style of Furniture and Decor. In a major redesign of their over 30,000 stores, Mcdonalds is adding leather sofas, contemporary chairs, modern lights, and a plethora of other upscale pieces in their renovation. All this, paired with a 2nd prong attack on Starbucks by significantly upgrading their coffee quality and taste, and what we now have is a restaurant that serves all the Mcdonalds food you grew up with, while fashioning a place for coffeeheads to "chill", Seattle style.

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Israel Strangling the Life out of Gaza

In an article the year before last, well respected Israeli scholar and author Ilan Pappe called Israel's policies for the Gaza strip measured Genocide (1). He was referring to Israel's bombardment of Gaza, commenced in two operations (Summer Rains and Autumn Clouds) after the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, air-raids which, for a short-time ran in conjunction with a substantial Israeli ground operation into the coastal strip. Ilan believed (and believes) that Israel's aim was to kill civilians in small enough numbers to keep the international community's furore from becoming too severe, while still being enough to eventually deal ...

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Reflections on Black History Month

At this critical time in the history of our country, it is important for Muslims, whose legitimate existence in this country is being challenged in some quarters, to connect to our American Muslim roots. As Muslims, our story in this country did not begin with the coming of Syrians, Lebanese, Albanians, or Yemenis at the turn of the 20th Century and later. It began with the lives of those courageous African Muslim slaves whose blood, sweat, and tears were instrumental in building this country. Their struggle is our struggle, and our struggle should be viewed as a continuation of theirs.

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Are Churches And Other Non-Profits Covered By The Do Not Call List?

The National Do Not Call Registry (NDNCR) stops the vast majority of telemarketers from contacting people who register their telephone number with the NDNCR. However, that being said, not all organizations are included in the NDNCR's blocking list. This includes companies with whom you have an existing business relationship, as well as charities, religious groups, surveys and politicians.

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So You Think The Rules Need Changing

If you are contemplating petitioning the Government for change, you need to make sure your introducing a new regulation or the enforcement of an existing regulation that will in fact solve the problem. Can the agency you are targeting acutely satisfy your complaint or does the resolution need some other type of action like introducing a new law, or filing a suit against those who caused the problem?

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Deceptive Schemes That Allow Telemarketers To Call You

Due to the fact that millions of Americans are fed up with telemarketers and have eagerly subscribed to the National Do Not Call Registry, it shouldn't come as a surprise that many marketing companies have developed various deceptive schemes in an attempt to contact people and skirt around the law. This might not worry you if you're registered with the National registry because the law will protect you against these schemes right? Wrong.

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Human Trafficking, the Art of Pigeon Flying

The article deals with the rising incidence of kabootarbazi, or human trafficking in Punjab. The Mughals introduced kabootarbazi, the art of pigeon-flying in India; its current connotations, however, are less innocuous. Trafficking specialists - travel agents, politicians, pop stars, sports officials - has sprung up, offering creative solutions that pivot on the Great Indian Rope Trick: ascend the rope of a foreign junket - as member of a sports team or pop singer's troupe or a folk dancer's group - and, on scaling foreign shores, poof, vanish! Recently, on Easter vacation in Tuscany, I came face-to-face with one such pigeon and learned the story of his flight.

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Respect - Understanding Coexistence

If only all nations will work for the promotion of world peace rather than wasting lives by violent acts of war, then the generations to come will have a less stressful and worry-free dwelling place. Communication lines must be free from biases and reservations. If one ear is tainted with color, then communicating is treated as nonsense.

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The Big Lebanese News

Following the affairs in Lebanon is not a matter of a spy and dagger game. You can simply keep up with the events back home with just a click of a mouse. There's more than just news. You'll find interesting blogs, updates on the sporting world, and Middle East and World News from the country's leading newspapers.

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Multiculturalism, Culturism, Diversity and Dr. Putnam

Multiculturalism holds that we should celebrate our differences. Culturism suggests that we celebrate our unity. In the history of the world every tribe, nation and group has thought it wise to emphasize their unity. But multiculturalists have the strategy "celebrate diversity" as a radical new idea. Robert Putnam has recently put the two sides to a test.

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Kenya's President Moves To Restore Peace

Kenya's president Mwai Kibaki has moved to restore sanity in a country that has witnessed serious political turmoil in the last ten days. Since he was announced the winner of the presidential polls held on December 27th, some parts of the country have been hit by skirmishes leading to loss of lives and wanton destruction of property.

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Is There a Bias in Media or is it Just an Urban Legend?

Is there a liberal bias in news reporting? Or is there more of a conservative bias? A variety of organizations are spending time reviewing news media coverage and have determined the reporting in most media tends to be skewed toward either a liberal bias or a conservative bias. Each side is quick to point out their findings to the other.

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Dream Research - The Result of 19 Years of Studies, Experiences and Cures

My research reveals the realization that humans are still animals in many ways and we are constantly dominated by the anti-conscience, which is the primitive conscience that has not evolved like the conscious and is evil and very violent. This dangerous part of the mind causes craziness to the conscience, increasing the craziness that already characterizes the conscience due to the domination of the ego.

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Edison Chen, Gillian Chung - Sex Scandal Rocks Hong Kong

When Canadian born actor and singer, Edison Chen, took his Pink MacBook to a Hong Kong repair shop named eLiTe Multimedia, he got a lot more than he bargained for. An employee copied the memory and the contents have turned out to be the equivalent of digital dynamite. The laptop was loaded with sexy photos featuring Edison and some of Asia's top actresses and singers.

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Police Increase Their Use of ANPRS Cameras

The police have for some time had Automatic Number Plate Recognition System cameras at their disposal but until recently had not realised just how widespread the problem of uninsured drivers was ( estimated at 2M ) and just how effective the ANPR system can be in detecting these law breakers. London police have been engaged in operation Reclaim since the end of 2007 and have been surprised at the high number of expensive cars they have seized due to them not being insured.

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Fidel Castro - Almost a 50-Year Run as Dictator of Cuba

Fidel Castro has been a thorn in the side of the United States for nearly 5-decades, one of our nearest neighbors, a communist country. Many citizens of Cuba, have fled to freedom to find sanctuary in the United States, and who could blame them? Fidel Castro took over the Cuban government in a revolution and he promised to give the country back to the people, but when the dust had settled, Fidel Castro, gave the country to himself.

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Social Stratification In The US

As far as the United States of America is concerned, social class is not that colorful that has been and is in Europe. in Europe, in spite of the great socialist movements, the development of the left wing mentality and partisan ship, the extension of an academic trend that rejects the stratification of culture as high versus low and authenticates the culture of low income, etc (cultural studies of Frankfort and Birmingham), what has emerged is not the disappearance of the class concept, but only the shift of the stress from the two extremes of high and low classes to the middle class. The concept, however, is there yet.

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Million Deaths Among Indian Smokers Expected In 2010

Starting 2010, it is predicted that at least one million Indians will die soon due to tobacco use. As this happens, it is tantamount to mass killing caused by the complications of tobacco intake. In this case, what could be best measures that the Indian government can impose to reduce the number of deaths in the country among smokers?

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Dubai's Bachelors Live The Hard Way

While Dubai may have grown amazingly in the last few years, some of its gray areas still remain unresolved. For example, its roads speak of congestion and indiscipline, which remain critical despite of so many measures being undertaken by the government. Similarly, the issue of poor working conditions and scarce accommodation for laborers can also be mentioned here.

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Use Patient Surveys to Improve Your Health Care Business

Surveys of your patients will help you discover what they think of your service. With competition in healthcare becoming more common, it is imperative to get an edge by using patient satisfaction data to drive quality improvements at your site. This article discusses several examples of using surveys in various settings and the positive results from doing so.

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Corporal Punishment - Ban Enacted

In the United States corporal punishment of children in school is legal in twenty-two states, and "reasonable" corporal punishment of children by their parents/caretakers is legal in every state except Minnesota (Bitensky, 1998). Prohibition of corporal punishment in family day care, group homes/institutions, child care centers, and family foster care varies according to state laws (EPOCH-USA, 1999b).

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Cognizance and Incognizance

Ideally, we would recognize everything we are aware of. Unfortunately, due to our imperfection, we find it very difficult to do so. In other words, a resistance to recognize certain things forms within us. An improved self-image is required in order to recognize our weaknesses and the other's strengths, thereby recognizing our rights and duties as human beings.

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Social Class in America

In general social class refers to the distinctions between groups and individuals which are different from one society to another society or even within a particular society. Every group of people believes in particular ideas such as age, gender, education, religion, income, family origin that put an individual in a higher or a lower position in a society.

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Where's the Civility in Civil Liberties?

The horror of 9/11 has put a crimp in civil liberties. While some seem willing to forfeit personal freedoms for the sake of Homeland Security others are not so quick to give the idea their support. Proponents of civil liberties point to a downturn in personal trust and an increase in the numbers of rules and regulations that diminish the perception of civil liberties.

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Independent Thinking When Casting Your Vote

Don't be mislead by national media that, by the dictates of the U.S. Constitution, should remain neutral when reporting the news. Do you think you should take at face value, what you hear on TV or read in the newspaper? This is but one issue of many being addressed as it concerns the question: Adjusting the U.S. Election Process - Should it be done?

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The Latest News on Coffee and Health

You win some and you lose some is a common phrase, one that the coffee bean recently experienced in regards to women's health. Two reports released this month both involved the health effects of coffee on female health. One report coffee was not too fond of and, the other, coffee liked a lot, or, should I say, a latte.

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Schengen Comes To Bavaria And Czech Republic - No More Border Controls

The tiny village of Bayerisch Eisenstein, on the Bavarian-Czech border, together with its Czech neighbour, Zelezna Ruda, have celebrated the end of border controls along the former iron curtain. 60 years after the iron curtain divided Europe and 18 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Finally, crossing the border between East and West is as easy as crossing the road.

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The Shrinking Penis Panic

While the idea of penis-shrinking hysteria may make for entertaining reading, the paranoia that can be triggered during mass hysteria outbreaks shouldn't be dismissed so easily. The violence that can erupt as a result of mass hysteria has led to some tragic episodes over the years. In other words, don't believe everything you hear (especially if it involves penis-melting combs).

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Debt Cancellation - The Wrong Signal For Fighting Poverty

Defining poverty varies and depends from one place to another, from one time to another and from one year to another, from household to another... A poor person in my village, Kpala, owns land, has shelter, eats fresh food but does not have health care and cannot afford to send his children to school. A poor person in Rwanda does not have land, cannot send his children to school, does not have access to health care but has access to a telephone. A poor person in Canada has shelter, basic health care but will live on junk food; his children will have access to a free and compulsory primary school. We all know that poverty exists, changing parameters from one place to another. But how do we measure poverty?

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Overview - Leap Year 2008

February 29th only comes every four years. Many exciting events have happened on past leap days. In 1692, in Salem, Massachusetts, the first witchcraft accusations were pointed to Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba. In 1960, Hugh Hefner opened the first Playboy Club in Chicago, which was later known as the busiest night club in the world. February 29, 2008 should herald an exciting leap day, since there are so many events occurring in our world.

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Globalization and Generation Y

The international marketing firm Youngster recently reported that for the first time in history, the market group known as Generation Y, those ages 10 to 25, is evenly divided across each of its five age based subgroups. A short to ten years ago when Generation Y first burst on to the scene, the vast majority of Generation Y was age 10 to 14. This first wave of Generation Y influenced popular culture giving us nSync and Brittney Spears. The youngest segment of Generation Y represented over 50% of the group and they controlled the mass media market. In the 10 years that have followed, the early 10-year-olds of Generation Y became 20-year-olds filling out the top ranks of Generation Y. The relatively constant birth rate in the Western World resulted in an even distribution across all stages of the Generation Y. The expanding size of Generation Y has resulted in the dissemination of their influence not only through popular culture as determined by those younger than 18, but also the business culture that is determined by the most innovative in the technology field, those age 18 to 25. But, what impact will this have on globalization?

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The Knowledge You Must Have

If you think that your dreams are meaningless images or reflections of your state of mind, you have a lot to learn because your dreams are a source of information and free psychotherapy that is absolutely safe and guaranteed. They are produced by the unconscious mind that regulates your body and constantly protects you from the inherent craziness in your anti-conscience.

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In the Passing of a Brick - The GVN Story

Everyday, thousands of people around the world give up their time, money and comfort level to volunteer in a community in need far from their own homes. Not prompted by fame or fortune, their efforts and generosity are astounding and noteworthy, and can be taken as an individual protest against a global current of hopelessness, despair, inequality, greed, racism and xenophobia.

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New Orleans Road Home Program Woes Continue

According to new data released by the Louisiana Road Home Program, a state-run program set up to assist victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, about 25% of applicants initially interviewed are ineligible for grants. ICF International, a subcontractor handling closures for the Road Home Program, is obligated to close 90,000 cases by the end of the year or face a $150,000 penalty in its $750,000 contract.

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Social Stratification in America

Social stratification in American Society is not clearly defined or determined; nevertheless social scientist has developed a socio -economic stratification of the American society. Americans believe in a three class society: rich, poor and middle class and most Americans consider themselves as middle class. In reality the American society is more diverse and incongruent and there is an extensive difference among people.

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Parking For The Disabled - Is It Really Necessary?

Such a bold statement is bound to create angry feedback when you aim it at communities of people who are disabled and in need of special vehicle parking facilities. Just because someone has a disability does not, and must not deny them the rights of "normal" people, or prevent them from having access to, and use of extra privileges which are necessary, indeed vital to them, due to their condition...

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X-Rays - CT Scans Should Not Be Used Indiscriminately

Every exposure means there is radiation and there is no bottom line under which damage can be ruled out. The use of CT scan is purely for health check in the absence of clinical symptoms or high risk factors would be completely incorrect. Also, when a patient has a serious illness they should ask critical questions because too often patient are carelessly transferred to radiology and indiscriminately x-ray is used too frequently for diagnostic convenience.

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The Sticky Issue of Blacks, Gays and So-Called Hate Crimes

Few people can imagine what it must be like to be drug behind a pickup truck until your body is ripped apart, while the monsters driving gleefully scream about how much you deserve it. What a gruesome thought indeed. Or what kind of a sick mind would think of beating someone to death and then stringing them up to resemble a pitiful scarecrow?

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Could A Self-Certified Mortgage Lead To Financial Ruin?

With 'credit crunch' rapidly becoming an everyday phrase, the Citizen's Advice Bureaux has conducted a survey to establish the true extent of the debt problem for the UK and the results are quite startling. They have concluded that many people drowning in debt or on the verge of slipping under have got there due to a combination of bad advice, irresponsible lending practices and fraud.

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The Post Modern High School

I am disenchanted by the contemporary high school and I believe we can do better. Schools are so antiquated in many ways, so lacking in the kind of community that exists in some small towns or schools around the province. While our large urban schools meet the needs of some students, for too many they are vast spiritless places where far too many students are unhappy.

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Tsunami Tales

As we pass the third anniversary of the tsunami tragedy that struck South East Asia on 26th Dec 2004, it seems like a good time to look back and recount a few personal experiences from people in Phuket, Thailand. These are not big stories in the overall scale of the event, they are just a few individual accounts from people who were there when the waves struck.

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Alaska Owes Millions In Unclaimed Money To Citizens

In 1880, Canadian Prospector Joe Juneau ushered in the gold rush era by discovering gold in Alaska. America's coldest state also boasts the largest oil field in North America and its main source of revenue is the oil and natural gas industry. There is another source of wealth that most residents of America's Last Frontier have yet to discover- Alaska unclaimed money and property.

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Recent Study Indicates that Racism is Alive and Well at San Francisco Schools

A recent study has indicated that presence (or lack thereof) of African American students is factored in when parents choose which San Francisco school their children will be attending. While some people felt that the results have been sensationalized in the press, a number of teachers working in San Francisco schools have stepped forward to indicate that they have personal knowledge of this fact.

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Tall Ships Vs The Ghost Ships

Local protesters hoping to scupper plans to scrap redundant US ships in the United Kingdom claimed the proposals would turn a blossoming coastal town into a "disease-ridden cesspit" A Government inquiry into plans to allow the rotting American vessels to be dismantled in a dry dock heard from a number of objectors who claim the scheme would cause major health and environmental problems in the area.

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The Land Of The Virgin Queen

The state of Virginia is named after Queen Elizabeth I of England who was known as the Virgin Queen because she did not take a consort. The coast of Virginia along the Atlantic was first explored by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584 and it soon became the first permanent settlement for the English in the New World. It is believed that the colony of Virginia also include Bermuda.

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American Antique Democracy Comes To Europe Finally

America played the major background role in the amazing evolution of antique Europe from war torn shops, cities shattered, and divided by an Iron Curtain, into 24 nations expanding the amazing Schengen area. From 50 years ago, when Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg frightened Germany and France by taking their borders controls down, naming their passport free area for the first border town, Schengen, to dismantle it's border control.

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Television - Stupid News Worth Noting

In the course of watching television news broadcasts, it does not take long to find something that stands out as exceptionally idiotic, being passed off as important fact. On a local newscast, I viewed a story that was billed as information to help people protect their job during a recession. During the report, there was a picture of people bustling around a busy office, while the reporter rattled off tips that essentially boiled down to the following advice:

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