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Note: The following text is a quote: Officials Plan Cross-cultural Competence Training By Gerry J. Gilmore American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Aug. 12, 2009 – Defense Department officials are developing a new training program that will teach military members and civilians how to be culturally competent and aware when interacting with people from different lands, a senior official told reporters here today. Cross-cultural competence is “something that we want to bring to the department as a critical piece of training that we think needs to be incorporated into our overall training establishment,” Gail H. McGinn, deputy undersecretary of defense for...

There are endless ideologies - political and religious - that have developed and have dominated the human race since the Babel dispersion 4,200 years ago (Genesis 10, 11:1-9). These ideologies are all rooted in the fallen humanity (i.e., inherent depravity) of man, and are ruled by his sensual nature (i.e., the five senses that govern fallen man in this physical world).

Surprise and even shock were among the reactions to my recent column about how elite members of the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, were considering a proposal for a new global television network to usher in a state of "global governance." It sounded authoritarian, even totalitarian, to some. Here are more of the troubling details. The media proposal, which was included in "The Global Agenda 2009" report, is to create "a new global network" with "the capacity to connect the world, bridging cultures and peoples, and telling us who we are and what we mean to each...

There were many reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire. Each one intertwined with the next. Many even blame the introduction of Christianity for the decline. Christianity made many Roman citizens into pacifists, making it more difficult to defend against the barbarian attackers. Also money used to build churches could have been used to maintain the empire. Although some argue that Christianity may have provided some morals and values for a declining civilization and therefore may have actually prolonged the imperial era. Decline in Morals and Values Those morals and values that kept together the Roman legions and thus...

A man whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism. "Very few people were true Nazis "he said," but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had...

Marine helps bridge gap between Arabic, American cultures Dec. 27, 2007; Submitted on: 12/27/2007 08:56:35 AM ; Story ID#: 2007122785635 By Cpl. Andrew Kalwitz, 2nd Marine Logistics Group KABANI, Iraq (Dec. 19, 2007) – Muqtar Ismail Mohmood Hamad and 1st Lt. Matthew A. Thompson discuss projects that will take place in the near future, such as the installation of a new water treatment plant. Thompson is the executive officer for Battery K, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, and a Presho, S.D., native. SIN ADH DHIBBAN, Iraq (Dec. 20, 2007) – Capt. James H. Brady mingles with an Iraqi soldier. The...

Source: University Of California - Berkeley Date: October 9, 2007 Pleasant Odors Perceived The Same By Different Cultures Science Daily — Chinese, Africans and Indians may differ in what odors they find yummy, but they all perceive pleasantness in the same way, according to the findings of neurobiologists from the University of California, Berkeley, and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. A research subject hooked up to an olfactometer that delivers a whiff of scent to the subject's nose. (Credit: Rehan Khan/UC Berkeley) The findings shed light on a long-standing philosophical as well as scientific question: Is the...

The reader could never guess it: this writer was recruited to cover the central and eastern part of Europe. Therefore, it might seem odd that the author regularly dissects another topic. The motive is the frightening crumble of the resolve to prevail of economically advanced and politically democratic entities that were, when the geographic term still applied, referred to as the “West”. It is warranted to concentrate on the politically-economically advanced communities and their relationship to the state-based or supranational forces that plot their destruction. Whether the forces of oppression – once represented by the Nazis, more recently by the...

BE HERE, OR BE NOWHERE!

Marital sex single greatest HIV risk for women around the world. For a growing number of women in rural Mexico – and around the world – marital sex represents their single greatest risk for HIV infection. According to a new Mailman School of Public Health Study, because marital infidelity by men is so deeply ingrained across many cultures, existing HIV prevention programs are putting a growing number of women at risk of developing the HIV virus. The findings, indicating that globally, prevention programs that take a "just say no” approach and encourage men to be monogamous are unlikely to be...

Racist Hate Mail Against Poulsbo Festival Backfires http://www.komotv.com/news/story.asp?ID=43345 May 9, 2006 By Tracy Vedder POULSBO - The words are ugly and vicious, and they sent a chill through a local festival. Racist hate mail sent to Poulsbo is directed at a young African-American woman who is "Miss Viking Fest". But the hate mail has sparked an outpouring of love. "Little girls," says Jasmine Campbell, " I think they recognize me when I have my crown on. They're like 'Wow!' It feels really good to say hi to them." Campbell loves being this year's Miss Viking Fest. The yearly Poulsbo festival...

AR RAMADI, Iraq (Dec. 9, 2005) -- One of the many tasks assigned the Marines of 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, is to work with the Iraqi Army and help them become a self-sufficient force able to serve the needs of the fledgling democracy of Iraq. One Marine, Lance Cpl. Cameron Tillman, a rifleman with Company I, recently conducted a patrol alongside the IA and was impressed by how far they’ve come in the few months the battalion has been in Iraq. “We conducted a basic security patrol to help train the IA,” said the 18-year-old Munce, Mont., native. “This...

San Francisco (based on Associated Press report) At least 6 researchers at the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Center (nb: located over a mile away from the hospital proper) were potentially exposed to Anthrax,after a supplier's order of "killed" Anthrax bacteria turned out to be very much alive ! The researchers were working on a grant-funded research project whose goal was to develop a safe and effective antidote,suitable for children.They had completed one part of their research,which involved injecting test mice with killed Anthrax,and had ordered a second batch from the same supplier:specifying that the bacteria were to be killed by...

PICKING YOUR BATTLESby Timothy Rollins, Editor and Publisher March 5, 2002 If there has ever been a time to pick sides, that time is now – and that applies to every aspect of your life imaginable. Six months ago, I may not have said that publicly (though I have privately practiced that philosophy my entire adult life), but since the events of 9-11, all bets are off. In every area of our lives, we are called upon to make choices, and those choices we make will affect other areas of our lives – as such, we need to choose carefully...

The multiculturalists have it wrong. According to them, it does not matter if a culture is based on equality of justice, the impulse of a malevolent dictator, or the oppression of religious fundamentalists; all societies are equal. That is as intellectually dishonest as saying that a society that condones slavery is as good as a free society. I personally like the fact that the United States is built on the premise that all people are created equal and, as such, are endowed “with certain unalienable Rights”. You know the rest: the right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness....

Contact: Phoebe Dey phoebe.dey@ualberta.ca 780-492-0437 University of Alberta Early Andean cultures part of intensive silver industry New evidence suggests major metallurgy took place earlier than originally believed The examination of sediments from the Bolivian Andes suggests that ores were actively smelted earlier than originally thought--providing evidence for a major pre-Incan silver industry, says a University of Alberta professor, part of a team which conducted the research. The U of A's Dr. Alexander Wolfe, from the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and Dr. Mark Abbott from the University of Pittsburgh, took samples from lake sediments deposited near the major silver...

The unidentified sisters, aged 20 and 27, were killed with axes in the capital Amman on Monday, according to a report in the Jordan Times newspaper. Officials told the paper the three brothers - who are in detention - admitted that they carried out the killing for reasons of "family honour". On Sunday Jordan's parliament rejected a bill imposing harsher penalties for such killings, which are often carried out by brothers and fathers against women deemed to have soiled the family's reputation. Getting off lightly The 27-year-old left her family home nearly two years ago to marry a man without...

* More Good News About Welfare Reform * Gun Crazy * The Real Reason for New York’s Budget Wreck * Not All Cultures Are Equal * What’s a Cop’s Life Worth?Health-Care Demagoguery Real Public Housing Reform good reading

The standard by which both Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein stand condemned. Susan Sontag, in her classic exchange with Andrew Sullivan on 9/11, repeated that oft-quoted line that "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." And if you had asked her for the source of this supposed truth, it is quite probable that she would have alluded to the principle of cultural relativism. And the same argument may be seen behind those anti-war protestors who argue that we should respect the autonomy of Saddam Hussein's Iraq, however abhorrent the conduct of this regime may appear to our own parochial...

If I were a movie star or a media liberal, and therefore been invited to deliver a college commencement address, this is what I would have said: My dear college graduates, here are seven ideas for life... See rest of article here