The Endgames that never end in Afghanistan

Real Great Afghanistan from Indus River to Oxus River

The Endgames that never end in Afghanistan

Since Afghanistan first became known as buffer state , it had been a weak state barely held together by a central government in Kabul. The modern boundaries of Afghanistan were defined by European powers to benefit foreign interests , not those of the people living there.

Due to its critical location , Afghanistan has always been the victim of the foreign invaders for centuries. But all the times , the consequences of the invasions were disastrous for both the Afghanistan and invaders , specially  the invasions in 19th century, when the British Empire invaded Afghanistan first in 1839 and then in 1878.
 In 1839, Britain moved to pre-empt this by invading  Afghanistan, but this  First Anglo-Afghan War was a disaster for Britain and similarly the Second Anglo – Afghan War in 1878.

The great game was the strategic economic and political rivalry and conflict between the British Empire and the Russian Empire for supremacy in Central Asia at the expense of Afghanistan, Persia and the Central Asian Khanates/Emirates.

At that time both the Russian , the expansionist Empire,  and British, the colonial empire were fighting against each others according to their own agenda . Unfortunately , they didn’t want to confront each other directly but they had made a poor country , Afghanistan as their battle field.

Then the British found that the Afghans could never be defeated in the battles field. They can be defeated in the beginning but soon after the defeat, they again emerge as big resistant power and defeat them.

So first in 1849 , to destroy Afghanistan’s Economy , the British occupied the economic hub of Afghanistan , Peshawar. Then in 1893 , using their famous formula Divide and Rule , the British divided the Pashtuns territory by drawing an imaginary line, the line of hatred, THE DURAND LINE , on the heart of the Pukhtuns to destroy their unity and power.

From the British perspective, the Russian Empire’s expansion into Central Asia threatened to destroy the “jewel in the crown” of the British Empire, India. The British feared that the Tsar’s troops would subdue the Central Asian khanates (Khiva, Bokhara, Khokand) one after another. The Emirate of Afghanistan might then become a staging post for a Russian invasion of India. and by 1865 Tashkent had been formally annexed. Samarkand became part of the Russian Empire in 1868, and the independence of Bukhara was virtually stripped away in a peace treaty the same year. Russian control now extended as far as the northern bank of the Amu Darya river.

1907 agreement between Russia and British. Anglo-Russian Entente: Signed on August 31, 1907, in St. Petersburg, Russia, recognized Britain’s influence over Afghanistan.  The classic Great Game period is generally regarded as running approximately from the Russo-Persian Treaty of 1813 to the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907, in which nations like Emirate of Bukhara fell. A less intensive phase followed the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, causing some trouble with Persia and Afghanistan until the mid 1920s. And the foreign policy of Afghanistan was also controlled by the British by force.

The Great Game, 1856-1907 which is the time when Russo-British Relations in Central and East Asia were tense.

Amir Amanuallah Khan

Amir Amanuallah Khan

In 1919 when King Amanullah Khan declared war against the British to get the sovereignty of Afghanistan. At that time also when there was an agreement in Rawalpindi , the British were not ready to negotiate the Durand line issue but left it for future negotiation as a bone of contention.

After this Third Anglo-Afghan War and the signing of the Treaty of Rawalpindi in 1919, King Amanullah Khan declared Afghanistan a sovereign and fully independent state. Afghans celebrate independence Day every August 19.  Afghanistan was never a part of British India.

From 1919 to 1973 , the government of Afghanistan was most in charge of its own internal affairs while receiving significant amounts of military and financial aid from foreign powers.

After World War Second , super powers played out their rivalries in Afghanistan in more subtle ways that fighting wars of conquest and drawing borders.

But when After second world war , the British empire was unable to continue keeping India as its colony further, so they decided to leave India, because the immense growth in nationalist sentiment in India throughout the Second World War effectively guaranteed that immediate Indian independence was a fait accompli. Fundamentally, Britain’s position in India following 1945 was untenable.

 The second world war left Britain exhausted both militarily and economically.

 Britain, put simply, had no other choice. It would therefore be quite inaccurate to state that India was voluntarily ‘given up. However apparently , the  Britain embraced decolonization as a voluntary process with a lot of iffs and butts.

This hurried retreat, unsurprisingly described by Churchill as a ‘scuttle’, was completed by August 1947.

British subordination to the United States, the so-called special relationship as it is optimistically known in London, is so taken for granted that it is seldom subjected to critical scrutiny. Why is it that the British ruling class and its agents have since 1945 come to embrace a junior partnership in the U.S. empire so wholeheartedly?

When the Labor government came into power in 1945, it found itself confronted by widespread colonial unrest, and at the same time dependent on the United States, an imperial rival that was intent on replacing British influence throughout the world with its own. The British had neither the economic nor military strength to hold onto their empire and were forced into an unwilling retreat.

Within months of the end of the war, it was glaringly obvious that Britain lacked the means to defeat a renewed mass campaign by the Congress. Its officials were exhausted and troops were lacking.

But the British still hoped that a self-governing India would remain part of their system of ‘imperial defence’. For this reason, Britain was desperate to keep India (and its army) united. These hopes came to nothing.

 The loss of India was a massive blow that seriously damaged British imperial pretensions.

Britain was now overshadowed by the United States and Soviet Union, its domestic economy had been seriously weakened and the Labour government had embarked on a huge and expensive programme of social reform.

Britain was finding it too costly to protect its remaining colonies.

Britain did not have the military strength and economic resources to defeat the resulting freedom fighters.  Moreover, Washington would not finance such an imperial endeavor: they wanted to replace the British, not prop them up.

In May 1947 two American responsible officers , Ronald A.Hare, Head of the division of South Asian affairs and Thomas E.well 2nd Secretary of US Embassy in India, visited Mohammad Ali Jinnah in his house in Bombay( now Mumbai). Jinnah promised them that Pakistan will protect the interests of America in the region and being a Muslim country , Pakistan with other Muslim countries would stand together against USSR.

What the British hoped for at this time was a partnership with the United States on relatively equal terms. Hopes of an equal relationship were soon eclipsed, however. Now America was an emerging world power on the world stage. The British state no longer had the power to protect its global interests.

The Cold War played an important role in legitimizing the U.S. empire.

Despite the collapse of the foundations of Britain’s rule in British India , London remained committed to a colonial presence in the region in some way or the other. So the idea of Pakistan was developed in 1939 to keep this country as the client state of British or its allies which will be completely depended upon them , strategically, financially , militarily and economically.

The British Empire had been sucking the blood of the Indian people to feed it own people for centuries, since 1775 to 1857 through East Indian company and then directly from 1857 till 1947. But when they decided to quit India, they wanted to cut into peices  the motherland of the Indian people as the reward for the Indian land which had been feeding the British families in Britain for centuries.

But on the other hand , the thirst of the British to destroy Afghanistan could never end and continuing their this thirst , the British handed over the land of Afghanistan from Durand line to Indus river to an unnatural state of Pakistan in 1947 which came into being on the lands of Afghanistan, Baluchistan , Bengal  and Sindh under the hegemony of Punjab by its  Army , civil military establishment and Judiciary.

And thus the bone of contention was left deliberately between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Because the British knew that Afghanistan would never recognize its territory to be a part of Pakistan, and will be demanding it for ever. As a result , there will be permanent clash between Afghanistan and Pakistan which will be in the interest of the British to keep both Afghanistan and Pakistan dependent upon them or on its allies. And thus the British or its allies will stop the expansionist policy of former USSR in that region and protect its oil interests in Middle through a so called Islamic state of Pakistan. And the other objectives were to make India weak by dividing its army , food basket of Punjab and also dividing the Bengal gulf.

And the irony is that the Muslims who were used by the British Empire for the slogan of Pakistan , were from Lakhnavo , Madrass , Bombai , and Nagpore . These territories  had nothing to do with the territories where the Pakistan had to be made. And the Muslims in those territories were in minority. Non of these territories  became part of Pakistan.

As a result those Muslims who betrayed their motherland India , migrated to Pakistan. In the army , and civil and military establishment those Muslims were given the highest posts. And  the Pashtuns, Baloch , Sindhi and Bengali were given in the slavery of Punjab, with the help of Punjab dominated Pakistan Army , establishment and judiciary.

Pakistan came into being in 1947. And since day one , to keep Afghanistan territory from Durand line to Indus river intact to it, Pakistan continued the same British Policy to destroy and weaken Afghanistan which continues till to date.

Afghanistan had been a buffer state between Britain and Russia and after 1947 Afghanistan was considered a buffer between US-backed Pakistan and Iran, on one side and the Soviet Union on the other hand.

But after the second world war , another game started which is called cold war between USSR and USA with its allies.

As the cold war between USA and USSR was in full swing , Afghanistan became the perfect battleground for the world’s two superpowers to fight a proxy war that would decide once and for all who would dominate global politics.

Pakistan was allowed to destroy and weaken Afghanistan since 1947.

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Since 1973 Pakistan had been inviting the radical elements from Afghanistan , trained , equipped and financed them for the militancy in Afghanistan.

One Washington policy maker has claimed that US support for Islamic extremists was not a consequence of the December 1979 Soviet invasion , but predated it. President Jimmy Carter’s National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brezenski told an interviewer in 1998 that the U.S began covert support for Afghan rebel groups based in Pakistan by mid-1979.

Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan on 24th December 1979 , but it was July 3 , 1979 that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul.

When former USSR invaded Afghanistan in 1979, Pakistani dictator and president Zia ul Haq called it a God gifted opportunity for Pakistan. And that opportunity was how to destroy and weaken Afghanistan.

On the other hand some in the United States saw the Soviet invasion as a gift. To Brezenski , the Russian move was a blunder that the U.S had to use it to its fullest advantage. “ The day that Soviets officially crossed the border , I wrote to President Carter : We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam war.”

The Afghan resistance i-e the seven Islamist “ Mujahideen” or “ Jihadi” groups based in Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan received the bulk of US and Saudi monetary , military and logistic support via the Pakistani Inter-Service intelligence Directorate (ISI).

Dictator Zia ul haq insisted that support for the Mujahideen from the outside world had to flow exclusively through Pakistani hands , principally through the Pakistan’s army’s directorate for inter-servvices intelligence ISI and the ISI jealously maintained its exclusive access to the Mjuahideen.

Continuing the British Policy , Pakistan has been destroying and weakening Afghanistan since its birth , in 1947 but now Pakistan was double happy, first  to destroy Afghanistan and second to make atomic bomb with the help of US and Saudi money.

It was not only Afghan Mujahideen who were harnessed by the US and its allies ( Western Europe , Saudi arabia, Pakistan , Egypt and China) to fight the Soviet Union but “ Jihadis” from around the globe to fight the “holy war” against the atheistic communist invaders.

Milton Bearden

Milton Bearden

The primary concern in Washington was the Soviet presence and its threat to U.S interests. The price of this for the Afghan people was never considered. Milton Bearden , CIA station chief in Pakistan from 1986 -89 said: “ The United States was fighting the Soviets to the last Afghan.”

However, James Nathan , a political scientist at the university of Delaware , criticized the politicians for wanting to put Afghan lives on the line to fight Washington’s war.

But Afghanistan was destroyed . However it is easier to destroy a state than to build a new one, and US planners exempted themselves from doing the later , while concentrating on the former.

As a result ,  2 millions Afghans were killed, 5 millions were disabled, 5 millions were compelled to leave their country and 5 millions were displaced internally.

But in Afghanistan America’s beneficiaries turned out to be America’s worst enemies.

The repercussions of U. S .policy in the recruiting , financing , training , and arming the most fanatical elements in the Muslim world to fight in the great Jihad against the Soviets, still echo today every where , especially in Afghanistan. But this US Policy is almost never admitted.

Eduard Shevardnadze

Eduard Shevardnadze

After the withdrawal of Soviets from Afghanistan , Russian Foreign Minister , Edward Shevarnadze told to the supreme Soviet in 1989 that we committed the most serious violations of our laws, our party and public norms to invade Afghanistan. As Shevarnadze apologized for his country’s role in the destruction of Afghanistan , US president Ronald Reagan authorized an increase in funding to the Mujahideen and rejected moves toward peace.

A ceasefire offer from Russian President Gorbachev was declined by the US who wanted to prolong the bloodshed until the last trace of Soviet influence was expunged.

The varying degrees of fundamentalism espoused by the seven Pakistan- based parties were taken to represent the opinions of all Afghans. While denouncing the Dr. Najeebullah, the United State offered no political alternative to him, rather than the seven groups, a few of which were aligned politically with most Afghans.

Washington’s blanked endorsement of the extremists had the effect of “weakening and undermining secular nationalist leadership , and fragmenting power in every locality” of Afghanistan.

Kabul was buring

Kabul was buring

According to Barnett Robin , “ ISI and CIA sponsored military activity increasingly took the form of encouraging individual commanders to fire rockets  into Kabul city, where they mainly killed the civilians. And the commanders were paid for each rocket fired. According to New York times correspondent , John F. Burns, at least a thousand civilians were killed in Kabul during the first year after the Soviet withdrawal. Kabul was buring and who burnt it were paying for it. On the other hand Pakistan had no intention of withdrawing support from the Mujahidden , so the shelling of Kabul continued.

Najibullah fled his post on April 16 , 1992. Almost immediately , Washington lost all concern for the deepening crisis for which it was in large part responsible. The truth is that the Bush Administration didn’t care anymore what happened in Afghanistan. Unfortunately for the Afghan people , it was the beginning of another era of devastation, fueled by Pakistan.

From April 1992 to February 1995 , before the Taliban took power, at least 25,000 civilians were killed in Kabul by indiscriminate shelling by all seven group Mujahideen , according to Western agencies.

Approximately 80 percent of Kabul had been reduced to rubble by early 1995, when the Pakistan-backed Taliban first started bombing the city. John F. Burns wrote , “ whole neighborhoods look like Hamburg or Dresden after world war 2nd bombing raids.

According to Michael Griffin, “No city since the end of the Second World War – except Sarajevo – had suffered the same ferocity of jugular violence as Kabul from 1992 to 1996. Sarajevo was almost a side-show by comparison and , at least it wasn’t forgotten.”Intervening in Bosnia was considered important to US national interests , whereas Afghanistan was ignored.

In 1992 the Bush Administration promoted a court to try war crimes by parties to the war in Bosnia. In doing so , the administration said it was sending “ a clear message that those responsible for the atrocities and gross violations… must be brought to justice.” But no such court was supported for Afghanistan , where , according to the New York Times , “ the onus for fueling a murderous war in Afghanistan falls on the U.S.and Pakistan.”

Amnesty international blamed the foreign powers that had originally supplied rockets and other weapons to Mujahideen against the Soviets for catalyzing the destruction . “ Afghan civilians have paid a terrible price for international involvement in their country’s affair.

After the fall of Najibullah Government , the government of Afghan Mujahideen was established in Peshawar under the supervision of the then prime minister of Pakistan  Nawaz Sharif government. And Pakistan started another game in Afghanistan.

Overtly Pakistan was supporting their government but covertly , Pakistan was preparing another group against the Mujahideen government because Pakistan has never wanted Afghanistan to be a stable state.

Due to the civil war , fueled by Pakistan, Afghanistan was descending into another anarchy.

Essentially the U.S. Invested in terrorism in the 1980s, and the Afghan people reaped the “ dividends”most horribly after the withdrawal of Soviets.

Between 1992 and 1996 , Western governments and the Western media turned their backs to Afghanistan. They got what they wanted , there was no need for Afghanistan any more.

In late 1994 with the full backing of Pakistan a new generation of fundamentalists, now called Taliban appeared , bringing a new era of terror for the Afghan people , especially Afghan women. A January 1995 secret cable from the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad described the Taliban as “ well-armed , militarily proficient and eager to expand their influence.

The mentor of the Taliban was the Pakistan Army , ISI and Pakistan established. That’s why they were fully armed, fianced and trained professionally by Pakistan Army.

So with the help of Pakistan Army and intelligence organization ISI , Taliban came into power in 1996. And thus another era for the destruction of Afghanistan and their atrocities agaisnt the Afghan people was started.

The brutalities of the Taliban government , its support of terror, its oppression of women and its iron grip on the people continued. The Pakistan intelligence organization ISI had full control over the Taliban government. It was just a puppet government.

The Clinton administration appeared eager to to build ties with the Taliban government, and showed interest to open Embassy in Kabul. The Clinton State Department like the Carter , Reagan and Bush Departments before it , unconcerned with the human rights consequences of having armed fundamentalists in charge of Afghanistan.

Within hours of its control of Kabul , by the direction of ISI Taliban hunted former president Najibullah, tortured him and hanged him in public. Dismissing women from from work and confining them to their homes.

The possible stabilization of war-torn Afghanistan by the Taliban was expected to yield a windfall for US based Oil company UNICOL , who wanted to build natural gas and oil pipeline from Turkmenistan to Pakistan via Afghanistan.US responsibility for the rise to power of the Taliban includes direct support in the form of a pipeline deal between the Taliban and a U.S. Corporation ( UNICAL). The situation in Afghanistan was standard for the company UNICAL, notorious for having abusive governments as business partners.

During the Taliban regime , Pakistan wanted to take Afghanistan to stone age. All terrorist organizations camps , including Al Qaeda were transferred to Afghanistan. And all the terrorist activities not only in Afghanistan but in the world were directed from those training camps , like 9/11 tragedy.

Osama bin Laden with his body guard

Osama bin Laden with his body guard

Pakistan deliberately transferred those terrorist camp to Afghanistan for their future plan to destroy Afghanistan. The plan was to declare Afghanistan as a terrorist state by the world community which could lead Afghanistan to disintegration. But the world community was silent and the destruction of Afghanistan in all fields of life continued according to the everlasting Agenda of Pakistan.

So after the August 7, 1998 embassy bombings , the United States under president Clinton went from a policy of polite diplomacy towards Afghanistan to a policy of threats , aggression and sanctions.

50 cruise missiles were fired at the compound of a training camp in Khost , where hundred of terrorist leaders , including Osama Bin Laden , were supposedly gathering. 21 people were killed and 53 wounded. Apparently Osam bin Laden had left house earlier. Two ISI officer were also killed, who were giving training to the global Al qaeda terrorists for the terrorist activities in the world.

This camp had been financed by ISI and built by a Pakistan contractor.

On October 1999, the US sponsored a resolution (1267) in the United Nation Security council that imposed sanctions on the Taliban. The Taliban immediately shut down the UN mission in Afghanistan and exited from the negotiations.

When the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was sanctioned by the United Nations in 1998 , Pakistan would stand by the Taliban and continue to give it aid. Taliban , was the most effective means for advancing Pakistan’s ambitions in Afghanistan and it continues till to date.

Ahmad Rashid

Ahmad Rashid

Ahmad Rashid , a Pakistani Journalist says that by 1997 the Pakistanis were providing 30 million dollars in aid annually to the Taliban as well as free oil to run the country’s war machine. By 1999 on-third of the fighters in the Taliban were either Pakistani fundamentalists or foreign volunteers who arrived by way of Pakistan.

Mullah Umar gave Osama bin Laden the authority to run his terrorist empire and to plot attacks abroad from Afghanistan, and  thus al Qaeda became a state within a state.

The alliance of Taliban and al Qaeda would set the stage for 9/11 , which in turn set the stage for the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan.

The Taliban goverment was quickly toppled from Power and United States and NATO allies took on the challenge of building a new Afghanistan.

The role of Pakistan has always been very destructive for Afghanistan. In case of Soviets invasion , Pakistan played the role against the occupation of USSR but in case of US and NATO occupation , Pakistan supported their occupation. However, both the US and USSR were the occupants. The fact is that Pakistan never loses any opportunity how to destroy Afghanistan. But even then Pakistan was not sincere with its allies like US , NATO and ISAF and was playing double cross game to prolong the war in Afghansitan.

At last that terrible nightmare of Taliban regime  for Afghan people lasted for 5 years.

Afghanistan is a weak state pulled apart by its neighbors. The 1979 Soviet invasion, then after the Soviet withdrew , various factions occupied and then lost control of the capital, Kabul, until the rise of Taliban government in 1996.

In fueling the Afghan civil war fueld by Pakistan , destroyed state institutions and killed 2 millions Afghan , five millions were disabled and five millions were forced into exile of moderate Afghans who might have helped rebuild the country,

Pakistan and the world community bear a large share of the responsibility for its destruction. Because according to its demand , Pakistan was given free hand by Washington and the world community to do what it wanted in Afghanistan. And it has always been the agenda of Pakistan to destroy and weaken Afghanistan to such an extent that it will not be able to demand for its territory occupied by Pakistan.

In 1998 US Embassy bombings and the US “retaliation” to them,  changed the status of Afghanistan in Washington DC.  Living in Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden , was behind the bombings. The US demanded and threatened Taliban government to hand over Osama bin Laden. A US diplomat told the Far Eastern Economic Review, “ We are determined to make life for Taliban very very difficult in every field – political , economic , military and in terms of their foreign relations- unless they hand over bin Laden.

But on the other hand , Pakistan was behind Taliban in making any decision. The then Director General of Pakistan Intelligence organization ISI General Mahmood had told to Mullah Umar ( Taliban leader), not to hand over Osama bin Laden to US , and promised full support fighting against America and its allies. And as the puppet government , Mullah Umar had no other option but to refuse handing over Osama to US. And that double cross game of Pakistan , could destroy Afghanistan to the fullest which Pakistan wanted to have solved the Pukhtunistan issue by making Afghanistan too weak with all respects.

But after the tragic events of 9/11 , media attention to Afghanistan dramatically increased and the U.S.’s war on terror was launched. Thus after 9/11 another game started in Afghanistan , when USA along with its allies and NATO invaded Afghanistan in 2001 , they did tremendous job to topple the government of Taliban in Afghanistan in October of 2001 . The people of Afghanistan took a sigh of relief.

But then US and NATO started to bomb Afghan people to save their lives.

The Afghans warned the not repeat the mistakes of allying with fundamentalists , but once again the fate of civil society was less important than “getting the job done”. Within two months, the Taliban retreated and Northern Alliance member began reestablishing themselves into positions of power and repeating the same mistakes.

Meanwhile , on the political front , Afghanistan’s government was redesigned by the US with Hamid Karzai as president. Prominent members of Northern alliance were repaid for their help in toppling the Taliban with high – ranking positions in the interim government while most ordinary Afghans were excluded.

After the fall of the Taliban , Northern Alliance warlords obtained more power than the central government.

Women’s rights activists in RAWA made an “ appeal to the United Nations and World community “ asking the UN to intervene to protect them from Northern Alliance commanders:

“The retreat of the terrorist Taliban from Kabul is a positive development , but the entering of the rapist and looter Northern Alliance is the city is nothing but a dreadful and shocking news for about 2 million residents of Kabul whose wounds of the years 1992 – 96 have not healed yet. We would like to emphatically ask the UN to send its effective peace keeping force into the country before the Northern Alliance can repeat the unforgettable crimes they committed in the said years.”

But from 2001 onward , another game started in Afghanistan. That was the dirty game as usual of Pakistan against Afghanistan. Only USA had given 25 billion dollars to Pakistan to fight against Al Qaeda and Taliban. But Pakistan started double cross game. Pakistan with a part of that money provided the training camps to Taliban fighters and Alqaeda in Pakistan to reorganize themselves for the terrorist activities in Afghanistan. For the leadership of Taliban Pakistan organized Quetta shura in Quetta  Balochistan, Pakistan.

Due to a lot of causalities of the innocent people of Afghanistan , anti-American anger started boiling over.

With the help of Pakistan army and ISI , Taliban had made a hell on earth for the men and women of Afghanistan during their tenure. But Pakistan wanted to continue the support of Taliban even after the Taliban government was toppled.

Those militants have been attacking the , Afghan , US and NATO forces. They have also been targeting the peaceful innocent population of Afghanistan till to date.

According to Human Rights Watch report, after the invasion of Afghanistan by NATO , US and its allies , “ up to 60 percent of deputies in the lower house of parliament were directly or indirectly connected to the current and past human rights abusers.

But slowly and gradually Afghanistan dropped off the media’s screen once the main event in Iraq was launched. But the dirty game of Pakistan continued.

US and NATO forces started  bombing the people to save them . Even cluster bombs were dropped and the innocent children, women , elders were killed.

The New York Times Nicholas Kristof wrote that : One of the uncomfortable realities of the war on terrorism is that we Americans have killed many more people in Afghanistan than died in the attack on the World Trade Center. Innocent civilians were killed by the US to save the lives of others.

Since 2001 , hundreds of men , women and even some boys designated as “ enemy combatants” for the Taliban or al-Qaeda , had been arrested by the U.S., imprisoned , tortured , and in a few cases killed. Several hundreds were sent to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Though , the exporting of prisoners to other countries that are known to have atrocious human rights records is called “ extraordinary rendition”.

One Afghan villager said : “ The foreign troops gave me medicine and also Radio and corn seed. He asked if we needed anything . I said ,” We don’t need anything. Don’t humiliate us. Don’t rob our country. Don’t commit crimes. We don’t need anything.”

According to BBC report that life in Afghanistan is not good , people are dissatisfied . There is growing frustration and 40 percent of the populations is hungry. The Taliban and other militants , backed by Pakistan , were using this situation for the justification of their own terrorist activities in Afghanistan.

As the “ war on terror” occupied the headlines , the newspapers failed to scrutinize either the past and current empowerment of fundamentalists or the manipulation of Afghan “democracy” by U.S.players for U. S.benefit. On the eve of the Pentagon’s “ Operation Enduring Freedom” in October 2001 , women’s rights were touted as a reason to fight the Taliban , and most Americans sympathetically supported a “ war to liberate women.” But what is the role of USA in helping destroy women’s rights in Afghanistan through the support of fundamentalists? What about the continued oppression of Afghan women in the Post-Taliban Afghanistan?

As a result Afghanistan is still a very dangerous place for the ordinary people who live there. With the help of Pakistan , Taliban have intensified their attacks to kill the innocent people.

As always the Afghan people pay the price for decisions made by the Pakistan , US and its allies, and are now caught between the agendas of Islamic fundamentalism ( Taliban, al-Qaeda) and Western imperialism ( U.S. , NATO)

Immediately after the fall of Taliban in 2001 , the U.S. and international community had an opportunity to fill the military vacuum in the country with the peace keeping forces to help civil society recover from decades of war. However this window of opportunity was lost as the US prevented an expansion of the United Nation – led ISAF ( International Security Assistance Force) outside Kabul and instead focused tens of thousand of troops to hunt and kill Taliban , Al Qaeda remnants. This tactic has clrearly failed to bring about security in Afghanistan.

Zakia , a student activist at Kabul university , said :

“ America knew that Afghan people are very powerful and very brave. So they even destroyed the bravery of Afghan people. They had such bad policies in Afghanistan , such bad things happened in Afghanistan , that all people are now not brave , they are just beggars…. That’s why they need American troops.”

Disarm the Warlords and help Bring Them to justice.

During to a survey of Human Rights research , 88 percent Afghans wanted the government to do more to reduce the powers of commanders, with 65 % saying that disarmament was the most important step toward improved security in Afghansitan.

Mariam , a middle aged woman living in Farah province said ,” She thought of the U.S. policies of bombings Afghanistan from Air and supporting the warlords on the ground is not the solution of the problem. Don’t kill these fundamentalists and Taliban- we only say , don’t send them rifles , you should disarm them.

The countries like Pakistan which sponsors and supply arms to them must be punished like Cambodia in Vietnam war,

Internally in Afghanistan , the disarming process is the best thing to bring peace in Afghanistan. If disarming takes place there will be justice in Afghanistan , there will be a good constitution and law in Afghanistan , then after that the Afghans can do a lot of economic projects for Afghanistan. It is important to disarm warlords first to enable justice – that will then improve the economic and financial part of the country and the society will progress day by day.

Nader Nadery , the spokesman for AIHRC said:

The Afghans want to get rid of warlords. But if they will be reappointed at the same positions, then the people will realize no change. If they will be in power , the system will not be able to achieve a democratic Afghanistan in future. These perpetrators must be brought to justice and remove them from office rather than provide political support for these people to be in power.

In the non-existence of the above scenario , Afghan see the U.S. as more a problem that a solution.

Today Afghanistan is known as the “ sick man” of Asia . The statistics on health , literacy , employment and lifespan , especially for women have changed little since the fall of Taliban

But several years later, little attention is paid to Afghanistan globally or in the United States. Polls reveal that today Americans are less interested in Afghanistan.

Due to the hostile policy of Pakistan towards Afghanistan , Afghans are at war for the last 35 years any way. Pakistan is not ready to quit this dirty game of intervention in the internal affairs of Afghanistan. Pakistan demanded to its puppet Taliban government to recognize the disputed , imaginary line , Durand line , as an international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, because non of the government in Afghanistan has recognized this line as the international border and claim the territory from Durand line to Indus Rive is Afghan territory, occupied by Pakistan. Each and every person in Afghanistan is not ready to recognize this line and are dreaming to take back its territory back from Pakistan.

Conclusion : So now the only solution is , “that all Afghans , the army and the civilians   , must join hand to fight a final war against Pakistan and take its territory from Durand line to Indus river back. Former King of Afghanistan , Dost Mohammad Khan had also been begging the British Empire to give him back his territory, but he got nothing. Now only and only the Afghans can take back its own occupied territory from Pakistan like Bengali did in 1971. At that time also the West were using unspeakable words against the Indra Gandhi, because they didnt want to disintegrate Pakistan. But it happend and more than half of Pakistan became Bangladehs. But if Afghans are not prepared for that then they must know that  for the last 35 years Afghanistan is bleeding and will be bleeding until and unless Pakistan will be disintegrated and make a part of history.

Mashal Khan Takkar
Editor In Chief

Reference books:
What we won  ,  Bleeding Afghanistan

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Structure of the atmosphere

Information on the various layers of the atmosphere

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Structure of the atmosphere
The atmosphere is made up of four
layers, the Troposphere, the
Stratosphere, the Mesosphere and
the Thermosphere.
Troposphere: The troposphere is the
lowest layer of the Earth's
atmosphere and is also the layer in
which clouds form. The average depth
of the troposphere is around 8km
deep at the poles and 17km deep
within the tropics. There is a decrease
in temperature as you ascend within
the troposphere at approximately
6.5C per km. At the top of this
boundary there is the Tropopause.
This is the layer between the
troposphere and stratosphere that
acts as a temperature inversion which
forms a 'ceiling' for the Earth's weather system containing it at this level. Within the
troposphere vertical convection currents disturb the atmosphere and the air masses flow
horizontally from one latitude to another.
Stratosphere: The stratosphere extends to approximately 50km above the Earth's surface.
Within this layer there is an increase in temperature as height increases. The stratosphere is
free of clouds and dust, and here is where ozone absorbs and filters out ultraviolet radiation.
This warming is greater over the Polar Regions and the temperature differences between
the tropics and the Polar Regions cause strong horizontal air movements at great heights.
The transition boundary which separates the stratosphere from the mesosphere is called the
Mesosphere: The mesosphere extends from the Stratopause to about 85 km above the
earth. The gases continue to become thinner and thinner with height. As such, the effect of
the warming by ultraviolet radiation also becomes less, leading to a decrease in temperature
with height. On average, temperature decreases is from about -15°C to as low as -120°C at
the Mesopause. The gases in the mesosphere are still thick enough to slow down
meteorites hurtling into the atmosphere, where they burn up, leaving fiery trails in the night
sky. The transition zone between the mesosphere and the thermosphere is called the
Thermosphere: The thermosphere extends from the Mesopause to 690 km above the earth.
The gases of the thermosphere are thinner than in the mesosphere. This means incoming
high energy ultraviolet and x-ray radiation from the sun, absorbed by the molecules in this
layer, causes a large temperature increase. Because of this absorption, the temperature
increases with height and can reach as high as 2,000°C near the top of this layer; however,
despite the high temperature, this layer of the atmosphere would still feel very cold to our
skin because of the extremely thin air.

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Through a photograph you can capture a sense of place, or a moment in time. Technical information: Use natural light to give your pictures a sense of place. Please turn off the flash when taking pictures. When sending portraits, the head should usually fill most of the frame. When taking photographs indoors without a flash, it's sometimes helpful to rest the camera on something solid, like a tabletop, before taking the picture. You may send us a photograph of anything. Here are some ideas to get you started. Please send us photographs that tell us about how you see and feel about the world. Send us portraits of your family, friends, or strangers. If there's a beautiful garden or tree in your neighborhood, take a picture of that and send it to us. Capture action, like sports, or traffic, or a rushing wave. Send us pictures of cities, the lights at night, the stores where you shop. Please send us photographs of nature: a lovely flower, clouds scuttling across the sky, snowdrifts, a stream. Use your imagination. You can also set up scenes from stories using Playmobile, or Legos, or stuffed animals, or using your friends as actors to create a scene form a book, something from  your imagination, or form a movie.

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History of the Dallas Cowboys Essay example

1539 Words 7 Pages
Clint Murchison, Jr. and Bedford Wynne were awarded a National Football League (NFL) expansion franchise on January 28, 1960, located in Dallas, TX. At the annual meeting, they purchased the team for $600,000 (Bohls 1). They were given the status of a “swing team” meaning that they would play every other team in the league their first season of play. They were displaced in the Western Division Standings. Murchison’s and Wynne’s next moved was to high their front office personnel which were: Tex Schramm (General Manager), Gil Brandt (Director of Player Personnel), and Tom Landry as Head Coach. In the beginning there were called the Dallas Steers, then after a couple of weeks the name was changed and there were called the Dallas Rangers. …show more content…
In 1966, a tradition was born as the first Thanksgiving Day was played, with is a ritual now that the Cowboys play on Thanksgiving (Dallas Cowboys 3). The first game was played and won against the Cleveland Browns (26-14). This win put Dallas in the driver’s seat for playoff positioning for the first time in franchise history. Dallas went on to finish the year with a record of 10-3-1, the Eastern Conference Championship, and first post-season action. They would eventually lose in the Playoff Bowl on January 9, 1967 to the Baltimore Colts (Fleming 1).

In 1967, they Cowboys put together back-to-back winning seasons, and earned the Capitol Division title (Fleming 1). This season the Cowboys won their first playoff game, but eventually lost to the Green Bay Packers. The Packers won the NFL title game with a score of 21-17, which is now classically known as the “Ice Bowl” (Prinalgin 1).

The next couple of season ended in disappointment as the Cowboys made the playoffs but were embarrassed in 1968 and 1969. There was a shining light in 1969 when quarterback Roger Staubach returned from his military assignment--he had been drafted in 1964. The quarterback initially had to split playing time with the incumbent quarterback Craig Morton (Fleming 2).

In 1970, the Dallas Cowboys started off the season sluggish, with a record of 5-4 midway through the season. The Cowboys won the final five games, won the NFC East title and…


How do you overcome results oriented thinking from a client?

2017-03-20 23:29:38

I am working with a client on a special project that I am going to obfuscate in this question. Basically, I'm trying to overcome some short-term, results-oriented thinking from my client.

Let's say you have a model to forecast the performance of a racehorse. Your model tells your client to sell racehorse X because the probability of its performance is low (<10%). The horse is sold and said racehorse goes on to win 3 races. Your client says, "See, we should have never let go of that racehorse! The model is wrong!"

As data scientist we can understand that anomalies happen and that this horse may have also lost some races - we were just on the wrong side of probability this time. But how do you overcome those objections with the client? How do you turn short-term thinking into a long-term outlook of predictive modeling?


During the 80s until 2000, Peru lived through an armed conflict between two radical leftist movements, Sendero Luminoso and the Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Movement Amaru (MRTA), also in confrontation with the government and large parts of the population, unleashing one of the most violent periods in modern Peruvian history. These movements were eventually defeated, disarmed and imprisoned, but at a high cost in human lives. The process included violence by militant groups led by the Peruvian state. Today, almost 10 years after the end of violence, the museum commemorating the memory of the victims of years of violence for the the of national reconciliation, Lugar de la Memoria del Perú, has not yet been finalized.

Memora was born out of the fill this gap for new generations who don’t know this violent history. The site, still in construction, captures information about key events from the early 1980’s until the 1990’s. Users have several options for exploring the history, including map, timelines and narratives. The Modo Historia (History Mode) is an excellent example of the use of timelines for historical narratives. Un Día en la Memoria (A day in the memory) is a collaboration with artist Mauricio Delgado C. to remember events through the use of posters commemorating specific dates.

Link: http://memora.pe/

Selected by: Alex Gil

Text by: Alex Gil


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Archive for Media Literacy

Week in Review: Art in the Classroom

           Friday Dialogue from

                                      Your Two Favorite Educators

As Emily and Aubrey look back over the week they use their razor sharp wit to discuss whether or not art belongs in the English classroom.

1.)  Is there a particular artistic movement that you feel is best associated with literature as a whole?  Impressionism?  Dadaism?  Cubism?Is Aubrey right?

Aubrey: I really like the idea of Impressionism as being indicative of literature.  Up close everything is very purposeful, very tightly constructed. It is distance however that offers perspective, story, overarching purpose and emotional attachment.  Hmmm.  That feels both cliche and deep at the same time.   Read more

How to Use Art in the Classroom

Before students can begin connecting the artwork to literature they have to have a thorough knowledge of the image itself.  An easy way to do this is to ask them to apply the SMEARS acronym profiled on Tuesday.  Depending on the ability level of the students and the difficulty of the image, students might need to work in groups or answer questions to help them complete the acronym.  Then, after they have a firm understanding of the image, you can incorporate the texts suggested yesterdayRead more

Art to Pair with Literature

Exquisite Corpse

Acronym to Analyze Images

English teachers love acronyms.  TP-CASTT.  SOAPSTone.  DIDLS.  They are useful and practical tools to help students navigate their way from low-level understanding to critical analysis.  However, in such a visual-era, classrooms are infusing more and more images for their students to read and interpret.
Visual texts appear as an easy source of interpretation, yet, many students struggle to reach the really critical level of interpretation that is necessary.  Most students hover around summarizing the image or merely stating the main idea of the image, not the argument.

After sitting through multiple surface-level interpretations of images, I started to notice the error many students were making: they weren’t closely examining the minute details of the visual.  Typically, they were focusing on the image as a whole, not how the parts (or lack thereof) contributed to the whole.

Much like a traditional text, it is imperative for students to consider alternatives to the image and what could have been included but wasn’t.  They also need to recognize the relationship between elements/aspects within the image.   To help students get to a more meaningful evaluation of an image, I, in true English teacher fashion, devised the following acronym that I encourage my students to consider when evaluating a visual.  When it comes to image analysis, I ask them to SMEARS it:

What are the significant elements (i.e. people/groups) within the image? Strong images have multiple sections.  Determine the various sections within the image.

What is missing from the image?  Oftentimes when a person makes a prediction about how the text (or in this case images) could be altered, the person comes away with a greater understanding of what the image is actually conveying.  What is missing from this image and why?  How would the inclusion of this aspect alter the meaning of the image?

What emotion is derived from the image (either from the elements within the images or from your own response as a viewer of the image)?  Did the artist intentionally try to draw out this emotion?  How does it affect the viewing of the image?  How does it alter your interpretation of the image?

What argument is being made in the image?  (Hint: even the barest images can still be providing a striking argument).  This will be a step beyond subject matter.  What is the artist arguing about the subject matter?

How do the different elements (people/groups/setting) play off of one another?  Closely examine the various significant elements interact with one another. How are they related?  In what way? What does it signify about the argument?

What is the subject matter of the image?  The more specific you are the better.  Avoid the literal or generic.  Consider what is really at stake in the image.

After following the above acronym when viewing Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother, the students are able to construct a paragraph synthesizing their answers into a fluid interpretation.  When utilizing SMEARS, students have independently recognized the fact that a father or male figure is missing and that we don’t see the children’s faces.  They are able to identify that the mother, the dominant segment in the image, is conveying more emotion because she is looking in the distance instead of directly into the camera.  Likewise, they are able to glean that she is sheltering and hiding the faces of the children, as opposed to the children merely turning away from the photographer.  This leads them to stronger support for their interpretation of the mother and a deeper understanding than “it is a mom who is alone with her kids and she is sad because she is homeless,” which is what I was receiving in the past.

When incorporating art into the classroom considering beginning by asking students to evaluate the image through the above acronym, which will hopefully save you from painful image presentations.

Art in the Classroom: Overview

When Jeff Jarvis published What Would Google Do? it was a wake-up call to all of us.  We found ourselves agreeing and, when faced with a challenge, think how Google would handle it.  With the invention of Google our lives have been completely changed.  I can’t even fathom what life was like before Google.  Google, both a noun and a verb, has changed the face of our lives today, especially as educators.

So, when Google announced last week that the Google Art Project, one of Google’s pet projects,  had expanded to include 151 museums from 40 different countries, it got me thinking about the importance of Google and all this uber-company has brought to the classroom.

This particular project is impressive.  It’s like Google Earth meets an art museum.  Students can select a museum and essentially walk through it like they would on a Google map in street view.  While “walking” through the museum students are able to zoom into particular pieces of art or rotate and examine the setting in which the art is held.  They are able to truly experience a museum from their home.  This weekend, while “visiting”  the Musee d’Orsay, I kept finding pieces that related to literature my students had been studying.

Heralded by many as a way to engage students in critical thinking, art certainly has a place in the English classroom.  Analyzing an image is similar to analyzing a text:  students have to think about how the elements within the “text” help to support the form, purpose, and argument.  If anything, it is harder because they don’t have literal words to rely on for analysis.

We’ve focused a lot over the last few months about the importance of visual literacy, typically through photographs and primary sources.  However, with such great resources, like Google Art Project, English teachers also have a lot at their disposable to incorporate paintings, sculptures, and architecture in their classroom.  This week we will partnering heavy hitters like Shakespeare, Salinger, and Fitzgerald with Picasso, Monet, and da Vinci and helping you bring art into your classroom.

Brain Pickings: Week in Review

           Friday Dialogue from

                                      Your Two Favorite Educators

As Emily and Aubrey look back over the week they use their razor sharp wit discuss the need to supplement student reading and Lohan, Madonna and Costner.  Oh my!

1.  What type of reading would like your students to be able to do?  You cannot answer, “Any kind of reading would be nice seeing as how it’s February and nobody seems to reading.”

What does Emily say?Emily:  I think the most important thing is for them to be able to think while reading.  I think it is imperative they are able to read material that relates to their life and be able to make sense of it.  Realistically, in 10 years only a small percentage of our students will be reading the classics.  So they need to be able to read common, every day material but be able to see the larger importance of it, not merely dismiss it as something simple and therefore insignificant.

Aubrey: I would really like them to read complex and well written texts thatIs Aubrey right? interest and challenge.  I worry that often we want them to read only “great” literature.  Great literature has to be the anchor.  I want to teach future engineers who want to read Popular Science.  IT professionals who read WIRED and doctors who read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.  Asking them to read meaningful texts should require us to redefine meaningful.

2.  Why is it so important to supplement classroom lesson plans with a variety of texts?

What does Emily say?Emily:  This is important because so many students cannot identify with the canonical texts we are required or choose to teach them.  And, realistically, these aren’t the pieces that students will choose to read on their own.  Supplementing the works allows students to see that reading takes place in a variety of arenas and helps them to find genres or types of  literature that is of interest to them.

Aubrey: They do need to understand that everything, regardless of format, requires an implicit reading.  Blogs, videos and “unconventional” texts often get them to rethink.  They require them to stretch their understanding.

3.  If everything is an argument, what argument is made by any or all of the following: Lindsay Lohan hosting Saturday Night Live in March, Madonna’s new single “Give Me All Your Luvin” wherein she calls herself a “girl,” or Kevin Costner at Whitney Houston’s funeral.

Emily:  I think one idea that links all of them is the pursuit of seeking attention and fame at all costs, even if that means losing respect for yourself.  Can Lohan really survive a “live” taping of a show?  That new Madonna song is toxic.  And Costner’s 4-hour speech was a really just a display of his vanity.

Aubrey:  I would go so far as to call all of it vulgar.  Lohan shouldn’t be in theIs Aubrey right? public eye.  Madonna hasn’t been a girl since 1968.  Kevin Costner is a blowhard.  I long for something interesting to capture public interest.  But I worry that might include something about Rhianna and Chris Brown.  That I don’t think I can stand. Let February before over quickly so we can move more compelling news.

Brain Pickings: Posts with Video

What draws me to online resources for the classroom like Brain Pickings is the multimedia experience a single post can offer students.  While it’s true that video cannot be the only way we teach students to interact with the world, short, meaningful videos can help enrich the social commentary that student construct within their writing and discussion.

Part of asking students to become digital citizens means requiring them to consider how video, text and images overlap within writing online.  Brain Pickings offers a thoughtful way to incorporate this skill into a humanities style classroom.  The examples below are just a starting point and are meant to offer you some choices in teaching rhetoric, texts or moral/ethical debates.  You can easily find posts that better serve your needs depending on your curriculum simply by subscribing to the weekly newsletter or searching the archives.

Michael Pollan’s Food Rules Animated in Stop Motion

This post is an appropriate supplement to Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser or The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.  There are several other Brain Pickings posts referenced, as well.  Consider having student explore/research the topic via these hyperlinks.  The video is a wonderful argument about food via food.  Consider the questions below for written response or discussion.

  1. What elements of the video are the most engaging or clever?  Explain your reasoning.
  2. What necessity is there for a visual representation of this nature?  Why not simply use both audio and video from Michael Pollan?
  3. Identify Pollan’s argument via the narration.  Identify the video’s argument via its content.

You may even consider including the Brain Pickings post entitled “The Information Diet: A Case for Conscious Consumption.”

Six Vintage Inspired Animations on Critical Thinking

Teaching logical fallacies can be difficult.  Students struggle to understand where/when they exist because they are inexperience and often believe most information is true.  This particular post includes a series of animated videos that teach logic and logical fallacies.  The non-sequitur and straw man videos are especially clear in teaching and could easily be posted for students to watch.

Straw Man

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

This post is a convergence of teaching the importance of empathy, action/volunteerism, entrepreneurship, global citizenship and literacy.  Use this multimedia post to teach students about the importance of literacy and personal action.  Questions below consider all aspects of the post.

  1. Why adapt this type of story from a memoir and turn it into an illustrated children’s book?
  2. What argument is to be found in the actual images assembled in the Brain Pickings post
  3. What argument is made within the post about this type of entrepreneurship and literacy?  Discuss the type or responsibility being advocated.
  4. View the video.  Discuss the mixed media is relies upon.  What is the effect of using the books illustrations, interviews and real video?
  5. Discuss the purpose of the video.  Does it accomplish that goal?

Encourage students to explore the We Give Books website.  Much like Free Rice, students, teacher, parents, etc. can read books online and then have books donated for no personal cost to several charities.

Brain Pickings: Posts about Authors

One of the things that draws me to Brain Pickings is the website’s constant focus on authors.  Each week, posts examine unusual and unexpected aspects of those writers that I “spend” much of my time teaching.  Featured in letters, illustrations, stop motion, book reviews, etc., these posts enrich and supplement daily lessons.

Calling upon text, images and video, these posts do more than merely disseminate information.  They are miniature pieces of “clickable” art.  They can serve to simply improve the daily grind of being a classroom teacher and brighten some of your more difficult days.  However, it is easy for students to see literature as simply a number of chapters due on any given day.  These posts remind both teacher and student that literature is something more than reading quiz followed by class discussion.

Consider using Brain Pickings in two ways: as an extension or supplement to a lesson on a specific text or literary term and as a way to have students write/discuss how we view the writers.  Below I’ve highlighted one post to show how to implement written response, classroom discussion and small group collaboration.

Writer’s Houses Illustrated

Questions to consider after reading/exploring:

  1. Why are we fascinated with where “creators create?”  What about their homes and personal lives would be of interest to us?
  2. Why would this project start with these authors’ homes?  What argument is made by illustrating these homes?
  3. What value is there is a project of this type.

Small Group Project: After examining this project, have students create an author driven project that they will pursue.  Encourage them to highlight at least 2-3 of the authors you studied thus far.  Ask that students work in small groups and create a working proposal that they “pitch” to you before they proceed.  Consider this to be part research paper, part cross-curricular learning and part creative presentation.  Steer clear of PowerPoint, Posters or other expected/tired assignment formats.  Give them guidelines but also challenge them to construct an outcome unlike their peers.

The project should identify the following:

  • An argument about writers in popular culture both past and present
  • A creative means via technology, art, social media, etc. to display this project.

Two other posts that can serve as powerful resources for discussing writer’s on their own craft are “From Mark Twain to Ray Bradbury Iconic Writers on Truth vs. Fiction” and “Advice on Writing From Modernity’s Greatest Writers.” Consider using the author statements in these posts as the basis for creating essay prompts.

Brain Pickings: Weekly Newsletter

Subscribe to Brain Pickings Weekly Newsletter

Brain Pickings, the cultural website curated by Maria Popova, is a trove of valuable and engaging classroom resources.  With several posts each day, the breadth and depth is remarkable.  One of the best things you can do is subscribe to the weekly newsletter.  An overview of the best stories from the week with added bonuses, it can help guide your reading and your students’ research depending on how you choose to implement this resource.

Because most Brain Pickings posts are complex conversations, you may want to pick and choose some of the videos, images, text, etc.   You can always have your students research the weekly newsletter itself and have them choose a post for themselves.  As with anything, I would recommend the use of SOAPSTone and/or précis paragraph writing in an attempt to have them look for argument/bias in all forms of writing.

Since there also exists a Weekly Newsletter Archive , you can quickly review the past several months of posts, too.  While I’ll spend the next two days highlighting specific posts, let me suggest one of my favorite newsletters.  A majority of the highlighted posts are easily accessible and incorporate video/photos to help students examine argument via different media and formats.   See ideas for incorporating the entirety of the newsletter into class discussion/writing below.

Weekly Newsletter-10/30/2011 – 5 Unsung Heroes Who Shaped Modern Life, a Pixar animator reimagines Hindu deities, and more

1. Have students read the “5 Unsung Heroes” post.  Ask that they, based on knowledge solely from the posts, construct an argument for or against the order in which the heroes are listed.

  • Have them examine the Henrietta Lacks section specifically.  Consider asking them to assess how video and multiple images make her seem a more convincing choice for number 1 of 5 most important.

2. Have students examine “The Phantom Tollbooth at 50” post and watch the accompanying short documentary.  Ask that they determine what, if any, the importance is between storyteller and illustrator.

3.  Have students examine the images included in “Visual Storytelling.”  Read and assess Popova’s argument about the book and images included.  Then have students parse the images discussing the following:

  • Image argument
  • Role of data
  • Role of aesthetics
  • Need for this type of visual storytelling in today’s culture

4.  Have students read/examine the post detailing “The Little Book of Hindu Deities.” Next, instead of giving them the essential questions have them create them.

  • Ask that they do more than just identify aspects of the post/images.  Ask that they also include moral/ethical debate questions that focus on the overlap popular culture and religion.

Week in Review: Radiolab

      Friday Dialogue from Your Two                                                        Favorite Educators

As Emily and Aubrey look back over the week they use their razor sharp wit to assess their innermost feelings about Radiolab, podcasts and Heathers.

1.  Do you think that Aubrey has an NPR problem?

Emily: Yes, but it is a healthy problem to have.  It’s a lot better than being addicted to TMZ and Arby’s.  NPR is great, don’t get me wrong.  I do enjoy some programs (This American Life?  Hello..fantastic.  Wait, Wait…I wait all week for it).  But, let’s be honest, NPR is kind of like Heathers, minus the murder and Christian Slater.  It has a cult folllowing.  No one just likes NPR.  If they like it, they LOVE it.

Aubrey: First,  Christian Slater is all over NPR.  Second, so is murder.  Third, with a weekly audience to NPR stations at 34 million I’m not sure “cult” is the right word.  You mean a large group of enthusiastic and incredibly loyal followers.  Yes, I’m sure that’s what you mean. Read more


understand tachycardia

understand tachycardia

What is Tachycardia? - Find more information and articles related to Tachycardia at onlymyhealth.com

Health Articles
Understand Tachycardia
  • What is Tachycardia?

    What is Tachycardia?

    Tachycardia refers to a condition in which the heart beats at the rate of 60 to 100 times per minutes and the pulse is in congruence with the heart’s two powerful lower chambers or ventricles. Know about its causes, symotoms, treatment methods, diagnosis and duration.

Total Articles on Understand Tachycardia :1


by Andrew Pacholyk MS L.Ac ~

Sacred geometry ascribes symbolic and sacred meanings to certain geometric shapes and certain geometric proportions. The geometry used in the design and construction of religious structures such as churches, temples, mosques, religious monuments, altars, and tabernacles has sometimes been considered sacred. The concept applies also to sacred spaces such as temenoi, sacred groves, village greens and holy wells, and the creation of religious art.

The following shapes and colors have a Universal meaning, yet in almost every religion, culture and part of the world, they have their own specific meaning to go along side these definitions.

These shapes are Universally recognized and play a part of our subconscious mind in one way or another. Place candles in these configurations with motivation and your true intention, in order to help you achieve your goals. You can place candles in these shapes on the floor and meditate within them, as well.

Diamond: Because of its perfect symmetry, the diamond vibrates toward harmony. This makes it an excellent shape for meditation gardens or those used for culinary purposes. As this shape also vibrates toward the solidity of Earth, it?s a good bet for magical gardens involving prosperity and abundance, and issues of the family, home, and hearth.

Hearts: generally, hearts represent love, but may also indicate a romantic disposition. True love, happiness, financial gain, lasting love, and love for others.

Octagon: Eight denotes the intermediary region between earth and heaven or, microcosm, between body and spirit; and the octagon is a symbol of the “best” part of psychic substance that is the vehicle of spiritual light. The octagon expresses the nearness to heaven of the psychic elements in question, and by being almost circular in form it expresses their all but spiritual nature.

Oval: This voluptuous and feminine shape not only represents completeness, but is also a symbol of the infinite. It conjures up the idea of wisdom and the power of longevity and for all eternity.

Rectangle: The rectangle symbolizes the female form. Intelligence; Protector; Divine contemplation. The rectangle also symbolizes the equilibrium of the fourfold forces.

Square: The square represents the physical world. Like the quartered circle, it points pagans to the four compass directions: north, east, south and west.

Learn more about the power of candles…


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What are you made up of? What are you made up of? Cells make up all living things, including your own body. This picture shows a typical group of cells. But not all cells look alike. Cells can differ in shape and sizes. And the different shapes usually means different functions.
Know Molecular & Cell Biology | Metabolism & Catabolism

Cells are basic units of structure and function for all living organisms and the structural order in cells forms the basis for properties of life including interaction with environment, movement, energy processing, growth, reproduction and evolution.

Some organisms such as amoebas and most bacteria are single cells while plants and animals are multi-cellular. Humans have an estimated 100 trillion cells and each cell can carry out specialized functions with its own set of instructions stored within the cell for carrying out various activities.

There are two types of cells: eukaryotic and prokaryotic. Prokaryotic cells are usually independent, while eukaryotic cells are usually found in multicellular organisms. Prokaryotes are distinguished from eukaryotes on the basis of nuclear organization, specifically their lack of a nuclear membrane. Nucleus which houses the cell’s chromosomes and is the place where almost all DNA replication and RNA synthesis occurs, gives the eukaryote its name, which means "true nucleus".

Prokaryotes also lack most of the intracellular organelles and structures such as mitochondria, chloroplasts and the Golgi apparatus that are characteristic of eukaryotic cells. All cells have a membrane that envelops the cell, separates its interior from its environment, regulates what moves in and out (selectively permeable) and maintains the electric potential of the cell. All cells possess DNA, the hereditary material of genes; RNA containing the information necessary to build various proteins; and enzymes the cell’s primary machinery. Cells also have a set of "little organs", called organelles, that are adapted and/or specialized for carrying out one or more vital functions. Mitochondria are self–replicating organelles which play a critical role in generating energy in the cell by the process of respiration.

Cell metabolism is the process by which individual cells process nutrient molecules. Metabolism has two distinct divisions: catabolism, in which the cell breaks down complex molecules to produce energy and anabolism in which the cell uses energy to construct complex molecules and perform other biological functions. Cells are capable of synthesizing new proteins, which are essential for the modulation and maintenance of cellular activities. This process involves the formation of new protein molecules from amino acid building blocks based on information encoded in DNA/RNA.

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Social Sustainability Adventure Curriculum

Lunchtime circle

In this educational adventure, we explore the Social Sciences through hands-on, interactive lessons in relevant social matters that students care about.  We see three main spheres of Social Sustainability for our students: family,  school, and larger community (city, nation, planet). Each of us is a member of a family, a member of a school or workplace, and a citizen in a city and a nation. In addition, in this era of instant communication across the globe, we are also each global citizens helping to create a global culture.

Social Sustainability encompasses a set of values and practices that build healthy relationships and a healthy culture. It is based on an understanding that if we don’t learn to honor our differences, trust in our friendships, express our feelings peacefully, and collaborate effectively, we can’t co-create healthy persons or a healthy environment. If includes familiar concepts such as trust building and effective teamwork, and extends out to non-violent communication, community service, forms of governance, and more.


Pronunciation of Millionaire

English Meaning

One whose wealth is counted by millions of francs, dollars, or pounds; a very rich person; a person worth a million or more.

Malayalam Meaning

 Transliteration ON/OFF | Not Correct/Proper?

× ദശലക്ഷാധിപതി - Dhashalakshaadhipathi | Dhashalakshadhipathi
× മഹാധനികന് - Mahaadhanikan | Mahadhanikan
× ചാമ - Chaama | Chama
× തിന - Thina
× ലക്ഷാധിപതി - Lakshaadhipathi | Lakshadhipathi

Found Wrong Meaning for Millionaire?

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Manchester Art Gallery

Take notice

Engage with art, mindfully

Manchester Art Gallery
Tuesday 5 September 2017, 12.15pm–12.45pm

Sit, relax and learn to Take notice with Louise Thompson, our health and wellbeing manager.

First timers and more experienced meditators welcome.


Special Series: Remake Learning

In September 2016, 90.5 WESA, Pittsburgh's NPR news station launched a 2-year initiative known as “Remake Learning.” Made possible through a grant from the Grable Foundation, the project focuses on Pittsburgh’s leadership in the international movement to “remake learning” and create educational opportunities designed for our times.

Remake Learning focuses on the Pittsburgh region’s need to prepare its young people for college and the work force by building on the basics and connecting students with hands-on learning experiences that develop relevant skills.

Sarah Schneider / 90.5 WESA

One school of thought in adapting to a new generation of learners is to take students out of traditional classrooms where desks point toward an instructor.

To do that, educators create a maker space where students can explore and question content.

Libraries use maker spaces, the Carnegie Science Center has a new digital fabrication lab, and Mayor Bill Peduto held a roundtable discussion on the importance of them. Entrepreneurs use them to collaborate and have access to materials they otherwise couldn’t afford on their own.

How Playing A Game Can Help Kids Navigate Trauma

Jul 29, 2015
Ryan Loew / 90.5 WESA

At first glance, the mobile app "Triangle of Life" looks like any other video game. Fun music, animals and prizes are won as the lead character moves through the game.

But it isn’t just about jumping and scoring points or making it to a complicated finale — although that happens, too. Instead of coins, gamers collect experiences. The goal is to give kids who have experienced trauma and are in therapy a fun tool to navigate their emotions and make healthy choices.

Rebecca Devereaux / 90.5 WESA

This week, game designers, developers and educators gathered at Carnegie Mellon University for the Serious Play Conference, where the focus was on "serious” gaming, or games used for training and teaching.

Pittsburgh-based game designer Jesse Schell, CEO of Schell Games, demonstrated his company’s award-winning game "Water Bears."

Baby Theater: Pacifiers And Teething Toys Welcome

May 22, 2015
Ryan Loew / 90.5 WESA

And some are sucking on pacifiers.

This is entertainment for the very young — baby theater.

Erika Beras / 90.5 WESA

In Jim Seagriff’s classroom at Taylor Allderdice High School, there are a half dozen furnaces and boilers. A small closet area is set up the way a basement would be. Goggle-clad teenagers adjust knobs on mock refrigerators.

These are HVAC students in the Career and Technical Education program.

Ryan Loew / 90.5 WESA

At a lab in Carnegie Mellon University's Field Robotics Center, dozens of goggle-clad teenage girls are drilling, hammering and writing code.

They’re the Girls of Steel, and the goal is to build the mind and body of a robot in the next few weeks. Then the girls — and their robot — will enter robotics competitions.

"We picked a general overall design to really hashing out the details," said Sophia Lee, a junior at North Allegheny High School, who was drilling two pieces of wood together for an early prototype of the robot. "We know that we want to do this, but how exactly are we going to do, so what mechanisms are we going to use, like what kind of metal are we going to use what kind of parts are we going to use, is it going to actually work so this is basically the practice before we build the actual robot."

Ryan Loew / 90.5 WESA

At Beaver Falls High School, Tim Liller teaches technology education, or the class typically thought of as "shop."

Once a staple of high school education, shop class has fallen by the wayside with the decline of American manufacturing. But here, Liller's students still learn the basics, including how to wire a home and fix small engines. And more recently, they've also been learning how to make solar panels and build hydro and wind generators.

These are skills Liller hopes they can build on when they graduate.

"There are jobs out there, and I don’t know where, but I’m sure kids gain the knowledge here, and if they are interested in it they could probably find a job doing it because they have some base knowledge in how things work," Liller said.

Ryan Loew / 90.5 WESA

On a recent Thursday morning at the Environmental Charter School at Frick Park, eighth graders Tori Hogue and Riley Wolynn are hacking web pages.

It's not "hacking" in the sense that often dominates headlines. The students are using a web program to inspect and manipulate websites, and in the process, learn HTML.

"The thing is it's only for our eyes to see, so it's not illegal or anything," explains Wolynn, as she shows off her new coding and programming skills.

Erika Beras / 90.5 WESA

Ryan Loew / 90.5 WESA

It’s a Thursday morning and a small group, including several child development specialists, is gathered around a table at the South Side offices of The Fred Rogers Company.

They are dissecting a script of an upcoming episode of "Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood." Everything is scrutinized: Are certain phrases under copyright? Would a 4-year-old use that word on their own? How much assistance should a character with physical disabilities receive?

They’re making sure the show aligns with Fred Rogers' vision to grow children into competent and caring beings and that every scene and line is age appropriate and holds meaning.

"Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood" is an animated PBS show. It’s based on characters from the Neighborhood of Make-Believe from the beloved "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" that ran for 33 years on public television.

Ryan Loew / 90.5 WESA

90.5 WESA

Ryan Loew / 90.5 WESA

Ryan Loew / 90.5 WESA

Three-year-old Aubreaune stands behind an easel showing off her painting of a T-Rex.

“It’s green and purple," she says. "It eats people. Roar!”

She’s among a group of preschool-aged kids and childcare providers who gathered at the Homewood Early Learning Hub for play time on a recent Tuesday. Besides activities for the kids, providers and families use the center to find resources, and share best practices.


Harris' Heroes: Prince George's students participate in robot competition

The sweet sound of success resonated through the halls of Walker Mill Middle School in Capitol Heights, as students participated in a robot competition.

“I feel excited! I'm looking forward to testing it out,” said eighth grader Zachariah Hunter, who was part of a team participating in the school’s robotics club Lego competition.

As part of the competition, each student has a highly specialized task as a programmer and builder, while also learning how to “tinker” with things.

The experience is provided to the students by the Patriots Technology Training Center, an after-school program aimed at increasing the number of students studying science and technology

“It’s a wonderful experience. To see the kids interact with each other getting excited about something that's outside of the classroom,” said Jon Vermerris, a math teacher at the school.

Principal Gorman Brown said that the robotics team is laying the foundation for the future leaders of America.

“We had kids who had no idea what they wanted to do and now they are the burgeoning young engineers and scientists and mathematicians and it's all based on this little thing we had going on here with robotics,” Brown said.

Deanne Adams, who has two sons in the program, said the initiative has changed her children. “My second son hated math. but since joining the patriots he realizes doing math well will allow him to do some of these things that's been his focus and he's actually getting A's in math this year,” she said.

The program, which is student-run, even has a student-led board. Bryan Royster, a high school senior and the president of the club, says that he learned that the program is invaluable.

“There are no limits. You can do anything to accomplish any goal,” he said.


Fahrenheit 451

name three specific symbols from the novel and outline their importance

throughtout the novel

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Last updated by jill d #170087
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Blood appears throughout the novel as a symbol of a human being’s repressed soul or primal, instinctive self. Montag often “feels” his most revolutionary thoughts welling and circulating in his blood. Mildred, whose primal self has been irretrievably lost, remains unchanged when her poisoned blood is replaced with fresh, mechanically administered blood by the Electric-Eyed Snake machine. The symbol of blood is intimately related to the Snake machine. Bradbury uses the electronic device to reveal Mildred’s corrupted insides and the thick sediment of delusion, misery, and self-hatred within her. The Snake has explored “the layer upon layer of night and stone and stagnant spring water,” but its replacement of her blood could not rejuvenate her soul. Her poisoned, replaceable blood signifies the empty lifelessness of Mildred and the countless others like her.

“The Hearth and the Salamander”

Bradbury uses this conjunction of images as the title of the first part of Fahrenheit 451. The hearth, or fireplace, is a traditional symbol of the home; the salamander is one of the official symbols of the firemen, as well as the name they give to their fire trucks. Both of these symbols have to do with fire, the dominant image of Montag’s life—the hearth because it contains the fire that heats a home, and the salamander because of ancient beliefs that it lives in fire and is unaffected by flames.

“The Sieve and the Sand”

The title of the second part of Fahrenheit 451, “The Sieve and the Sand,” is taken from Montag’s childhood memory of trying to fill a sieve with sand on the beach to get a dime from a mischievous cousin and crying at the futility of the task. He compares this memory to his attempt to read the whole Bible as quickly as possible on the subway in the hope that, if he reads fast enough, some of the material will stay in his memory.

Simply put, the sand is a symbol of the tangible truth Montag seeks, and the sieve the human mind seeking a truth that remains elusive and, the metaphor suggests, impossible to grasp in any permanent way.

The Phoenix

At the very end of the novel, Granger says they must build a mirror factory to take a long look at themselves; this remark recalls Montag’s description of Clarisse as a mirror in “The Hearth and the Salamander.” Mirrors here are symbols of self-understanding, of seeing oneself clearly.


U.S. debt-concerns continue to pressure the shiny metal higher

Gold inclined today, extending the gains recorded in the past sessions, and setting a new historical all-time record, affected by the spread wave of pessimism in the market, which dominated investors and kept the appeal for gold unchanged as a haven, while the world's largest economy, law markers have failed to reach an agreement regarding the steps required by the president to raise the debt-ceiling before August 2.

Spot gold surged today after the opening in the Asian session at $1619.05 per ounce, recording the high of $1625.41 and the low of $1617.90, and is currently trading around $1623.50 per ounce.

Gold inclined yesterday after heavy fluctuations and volatility controlled the metal's movement during the day, and extended the gains today to set a new historical record.

Demand for gold as a safe haven is stable at the current time and is trading near its peak, while all eyes are focused on the world's largest economy, which may loose the triple A's credit rating in case lawmakers fail to find a way to avert the potential debt-crisis.

In the U.S., President, Barrack Obama, has warned lawmakers in the country from a deep economic crisis calling on them to solve the debt-ceiling issue quickly before the deadline on August 2, where by that date the U.S. could start to default its obligations and commitments. The president has also warned lawmakers to use his authority Veto against their plans in case no agreement was found.

Moreover, rating agencies threatened the U.S. from losing the top credit rating, in case lawmakers did not agree on the debt-ceiling, which could lead the country to default. This fear is keeping the metal to the upside and a final deal on the debt limit will surely pressure the metal lower to start the downside correction for the records seen.

Among other precious metals, silver is trading within narrow levels today, and was a little changed since the opening of $40.85 per ounce, to currently trade around $41.02 after recording the high of $41.19 and the low of $40.67 per ounce.

However, platinum inclined today after the opening of $1791.00 per ounce, recording the high of $1812.00 and the low of $1790.00, and is currently trading around $1808.00 per ounce.