Free Republic

Migrants will be forced to learn English Patrick Hennessy, Political Editor, Sunday Telegraph Last Updated: 1:48am BST 09/09/2007 Tens of thousands more immigrant workers will be forced to learn English before they are allowed into the country, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal. Highly skilled migrants have been forced to learn English as a condition of entry since last December The controversial crackdown, which is expected to reduce the number of people entering Britain by at least 35,000-a-year, will be unveiled by Gordon Brown in a speech to the Trades Union Congress in Brighton. The rules will affect those seeking to...

Source: University of Adelaide Date: August 17, 2007 Brains Learn Better At Night Science Daily — If you think that the idea of a morning person or an evening person is nonsense, then postgraduate student Martin Sale and his colleagues from the University of Adelaide have news for you. Martin Sale demonstrates the technique to stimulate nerve activity in the brain. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Adelaide) They have found that the time of day influences your brain’s ability to learn—and the human brain learns more effectively in the evening. And by identifying at what point in the day...

FORT HUACHUCA — The sound of shotguns being fired at Smith Middle School on Tuesday brought post military police officers to the scene. But instead of setting up a perimeter around the campus and then slowly beginning the process of clearing rooms, the soldiers used a new procedure of running to the sound to neutralize the active shooter. Law enforcement was putting out warnings to anyone intending to engage in criminal active shooting: If they kill, wound or otherwise threaten the public, they will be neutralized, and that could be lethal. Mark Dannels, deputy commander with the Cochise County Sheriff’s...

Immigrants told: it's time to learn English By Brendan Carlin, Political Correspondent Last Updated: 1:28am BST 11/06/2007 A crackdown on councils and other public bodies routinely translating documents into foreign languages was indicated yesterday amid fears that they discourage immigrants from learning English. Ruth Kelly, the Communities Secretary, said translation had been used too frequently and could become "a crutch" which acted as a barrier to integration. Ruth Kelly said translation had been used too frequently The practice allowed new arrivals to avoid learning English and meant that many never did, Miss Kelly said. "I do think translation has been...

WASHINGTON, April 24, 2007 – Decked out in their new military-issue combat boots and with bags packed in preparation for a trip to 90-degree climates, 45 civic and business leaders converged on the nation’s capital April 22 to take part in the oldest public affairs program sponsored by the Defense Department. Pentagon officials invited leaders from across the nation to participate in the 73rd Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, a weeklong journey covering 18,000 miles to introduce civilians to members of the armed forces who carry out military operations in Southwest Asia and the Horn of Africa. Defense Secretary James...

ANAH — Back home in Brainerd, Minn., this Minnesota Army National Guardsman Pfc. Adam Starry tends to lawns as a landscaper. Here in this 5,000-year-old city of about 20,000 people, Starry is helping to train several Iraqi police officers. Starry, of Company B, 194th Combined Arms Battalion, and 15 of his fellow soldiers are experiencing what it is like being an Iraqi police officer in a city that is still a hotbed of insurgent activity. They form a police transition team whose task is to train the Iraqi police on how to take control of their own communities and maintain...

FALLS CHURCH, Va., Feb. 23, 2007 – Rachel and Kelsi Okun kicked off their organization’s second treasure hunt today to raise scholarship funds for military children and spouses with the help of their classmates at Haycock Elementary School here. Rachel Okun, 11, (left) and her sister, Kelsi, 8, take turns answering classmates' questions, which were designed to explain their ThanksUSA organization and the second national treasure hunt, during an assembly at their school, Haycock Elementary in Falls Church, VA., on Feb. 23. Defense Dept. photo by Samantha Quigley  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “Treasure Hunt Aiding Needs of...

FOB PROSPERITY – One of the benefits of teaching Iraqi Soldiers is the opportunity to learn from them as well. Military Training Teams, while providing instruction and mentorship for the Iraqi Army, are also learning as they go. The MiTT of the "First Team's" 2nd Brigade Combat Team works a seemingly endless schedule to ensure 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division runs the way they should be. They lay the foundation, point them in the right direction and the Iraqis do the rest. Although the training team is relatively new, they do well, according to First Sgt. Joseph McFarlane, the...

HEIDELBERG, Germany, Dec. 7, 2006 – In today's global political environment, when something goes awry, the United States – rightly or wrongly -- can often get the brunt of the blame. This was the blunt assessment of retired German army Gen. Leopold Chalupa as he explained why it is so important for he and other former European leaders to tell the story of U.S. Army, Europe. Chalupa's words came during the USAREUR-sponsored Legion of Merit conference Dec. 5, where about 60 recipients of the medal received briefings on the transformation of U.S. forces in Europe and their leading role...

Finding Wisdom in the Wreckage November 9th, 2006 In retail the customer is always right; in politics the voters are never wrong. Republicans need to bear that in mind as they contemplate the wreckage left behind by Tuesday night’s Democrat tide. Defeat can be a great teacher and now is the Republican’s time to learn. Waste no time grumbling about the irresponsibility of the voters who handed power to a party so fundamentally unserious that it has nothing useful to say about any of the principal issues with which our government must grapple. Democrats didn’t deserve to win, but Republicans...

...In a report to be released today, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, which represents 100,000 educators from prekindergarten through college, will give ammunition to traditionalists who believe schools should focus heavily and early on teaching such fundamentals as multiplication tables and long division. ...The council's advice is striking because in 1989 it touched off the so-called math wars by promoting open-ended problem solving over drilling. Back then, it recommended that students as young as those in kindergarten use calculators in class ....According to their report, "Curriculum Focal Points," which is subtitled "A Quest for Coherence," students, by second...

An Iraqi Army Soldier crouches low while running to a covering position during a "Capstone" engineer training exercise. Department of Defense photo by Army Staff Sgt. Kevin Lovel, 363rd MPAD. CAMP LIBERTY -- Engineer soldiers from the 6th Iraqi Army Division proved their prowess on the latest methods of route clearance, patrolling and improvised-explosive device detection during “Capstone” training conducted by U.S. Soldiers from Multi-National Division - Baghdad’s 16th Engineer Brigade. The ability of IA engineers to fight terrorism and keep the roads safe for local residents is important for the future of the Iraq, said Sgt. 1st Class Richard...

Navy Cmdr. Tara J. Zieber assists an Iraqi Army medic who is preparing needle and thread used to suture wounds Saturday July 15. Story and photo by Cpl. Antonio RosasRegimental Combat Team-7,1st Marine Division CAMP AL QAÂ’IM -- Iraqi nurses and corpsmen will soon be able to treat patients for diseases, thanks to U.S. military physicians serving in this region along the Iraqi-Syrian border. Navy doctors provided Iraqis two days of training designed to teach them how to treat patients for parasites like hook worms. The microbial pests have caused a variety of health problems in locals here, including mental...

CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (July 24, 2006) -- Iraqi nurses and Iraqi Army corpsmen will soon be able to treat patients for diseases caused by lack of clean drinking water, thanks to U.S. military physicians serving in this region along the Iraqi-Syrian border. Navy doctors provided the Iraqis with two days of training which will enable them to treat patients for parasites – such as hook worms – which have caused a variety of health problems in locals here, to include mental retardation and anemia in children. The Iraqi medical personnel were also given training in crucial life-saving skills for...

FORT GILLEM, Ga. (Army News Service, June 14, 2006) – First Army trainers charged with preparing National Guard and Reserve Soldiers for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan updated their knowledge on IEDs last week. Eighty-five trainers met via video-teleconference with a unit currently serving in Iraq to learn about the latest tactics insurgents are using in IED attacks. The information will be used to update IED instruction Soldiers receive during theater immersion training. “We have to create awareness in our Soldiers,” said First Army Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin Hill. “We are sinking everything into this training to make it tough...

WASHINGTON, May 29, 2006 – Among the many veterans, active military units and war re-enactors marching down Constitution Avenue today were hundreds of high school students in heavy wool uniforms. Members of Lake Orion High School Marching Band march and sweat down Constitution Avenue in the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C., May 29. Chaperones work their way through the group offering them water bottles. The parade honored the men and women of America's armed forces who have given their lives for the nation's freedom. Photo by Paul X. Rutz  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "It's an...

CAMP HABBINIYAH, Iraq (May 10, 2006) -- While most service members do their best to avoid road-side bombs or walk in the opposite direction of a known landmine field, a small community of American troops seek such threats head on and are now training their Iraqi counterparts to do the same. American explosives ordnance disposal technicians are overseeing the development of an EOD company in the Iraqi Army's 1st Division, which is based out of nearby Camp Habbiniyah. The area surrounding Habbiniyah, where many military commanders believe insurgents transit or stage for attacks in Ramadi and Fallujah, has been a...

ZARQA, Jordan (Army News Service, April 25, 2006) – More than 300 U.S. Soldiers from U.S.- and German-based units gained greater insight into the Arabic culture at the Peace Operation Training Center in Zarqa, Jordan, March 24 through April 16. The Cultural Awareness Course is part of U.S. Central Command’s Theater Support Cooperation Program, and is taught by Jordanian allies and Soldiers from Third Army. “Third Army has partnered with the Jordanian Armed Forces to teach this training since October 2003, and pushes it as a key training platform and integral piece of the Forces Command training strategy for deploying...

One of my readers is an underemployed 59-year-old man from among us here in the South Suburbs. Call him Harry. He works in information technology. Slowly and wearily, he says: "Once you get past 50, I swear, it gets tough, it gets really tough." For instance, Harry applied for a job with a city of Chicago department that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He got an offer for some contract work. There were no benefits, but it was a paying job. A woman from the city called him one Monday morning and wanted to know if...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (March 12, 2006) -- Since its launch in October 2000, the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program has been preparing Marines for unarmed combat in a wartime scenario. The whole purpose of the program is to train Marines how to use the most lethal weapon in their arsenal, the mind. But to become more than just a user, to become a Martial Arts Instructor, Marines will need more than brainpower alone to succeed. MCMAP is an integrated martial art designed for, and executed by, all Marines throughout their careers, according to Marine Corps Order 1500.54B....