THE ENTEBBE RAID

The Entebbe raid is perhaps the most successful hostage rescue operation carried out by the Israeli Defense forces IDF. June 27th 1976 and the drama unfolds....An Airbus 103 takes off from Telaviv Israel, destination Paris France. A stopover at Athens Greece would be the beginning of the mother of all woes.Palestinian terrorists hijack the plane, conveniently refueling in Benghazi before flying to Entebbe Uganda, a warm welcome awaits them from their semi-illiterate buffoon host Iddi Amin. Provided with full military cover, the terrorists freed all other hostages except 100 or so deemed to be Israeli or of Jewish descent. they demanded the release of their 'brothers' held in Israeli prisons. The hornets' nest had been stirred and what was to follow is to date narrated in lecture halls and around campfires.The Israeli Defense forces deployed 3 C131 planes and 200 troops backing 28 highly skilled commandos lead by Yohan Netanyahu ( brother to future prime minister). The operation is on, its about to get Warmer in East Africa.Two of the planes land like phantoms in Entebbe while the third one Engine still rearing awaits in neighboring Nairobi.The element of surprise stunned the Ugandan soldiers. They stood at attention as the now famous black Mercedes sped into the terminal. All this while they believed it was Iddi Amin himself. unknown to them, they had just laid a guard of honor for the enemy and the price of their stupidity would run any potent Black card into debt. it took the Israeli forces 38 minutes to free the hostages, that would be the average time it took Amin to construct a sentence in proper English.Within the hour, the IDF officers and Hostages were well on their way home. behind them in statistics were 7 terrorists, 20 Ugandan soldiers and several Ugandan air force jets....all dead! Colonel Netanyahu however was the only one who returned home cold, draped in the Israeli flag. He did not make it out but his legacy did and still remains unrivaled to date.

VALOUR OF THE CROWDS

oh raise the chariots,
of a war that fed on its king,
of the whimpering knights,
the darkness of their grace,
paints the arena of mercy,
laden with dust and webs,
for it never saw the great feast.

oh clamour in defeat,
and hide their shame in amour,
and lift silver chalices,
not in celebration of glory,
but to quench the thirst of shame,
that befell the mighty crusaders,
for they saw no battle but sun.

oh clutter the deafening jeer,
the mockery in chatter and giggle,
and soak the kingly robe,
in the strands of cowardly sweats,
in the rust of the swords in sheaths,
for the enemy combatant that never showed up.

US GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

The Republican-led House of Representatives insisted on delaying President Barack Obama's healthcare reform - dubbed Obamacare - as a condition for passing a bill. This has lead to the US federal government shutdown. In U.S. politics, a government shutdown is a situation in which Congress fails to pass authorization for sufficient funds for government operations. Typically, the government stops providing all but "essential" services at first, but since Congress must authorize all expenditures, there is no law protecting any government service from stoppage. Federal services that may continue for a time after a shutdown include the National Weather Service and its parent agencies, medical services at federal facilities, armed forces, air traffic management, and corrections (the penal system). The US government is facing a shutdown after congress failed to pass its latest budget.More than 700,000 federal employees face unpaid leave with no guarantee of back pay once the deadlock is over.It is the first shutdown in 17 years and the dollar fell early on Tuesday.Goldman Sachs estimates a three-week shutdown could shave as much as 0.9% from US GDP this quarter.On Tuesday, Mr Obama blamed the House of Representatives for the stalemate and said he would "keep working to get Congress to reopen the government [and] restart vital services".

"This shutdown was completely preventable. It should not have happened," he wrote in a letter to federal government employees."And the House of Representatives can end it as soon as it follows the Senate's lead, and funds your work in the United States Government without trying to attach highly controversial and partisan measures in the process."

On Monday, House Speaker John Boehner told reporters he hoped the Senate would agree to a committee between the two chambers known as a conference "so we can resolve this for the American people".

"The House has voted to keep the government open but we also want basic fairness for all Americans under Obamacare," he said.

But on Tuesday morning, the Senate voted 54-46 to reject the request for formal negotiations to end the impasse.

Effects of a government shutdown
As directed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the federal agencies now maintain contingency plans for dealing with government shutdowns. The emphasis of those plans is to determine which functions should continue. Most notably, the Department of Homeland Security and its Transportation Security Administration (TSA) did not exist in 1995 when the last long-term government shutdown took place. Due to the critical nature of their function, it is highly likely that the TSA would continue to function normally during a government shutdown.

Based on history, here is how a long-term government shutdown might impact some government-provided public services.

• Social Security: Benefit checks would probably keep coming, but no new applications would be accepted or processed.

• Income Tax: The IRS will probably stop processing paper tax returns and refunds.

• Border Patrol: Customs and Border Patrol functions will probably continue.

• Welfare: Again, the checks would probably continue, but new applications for Food Stamps might not be processed.

• Mail: The U.S. Postal Service supports itself, so mail deliveries would continue as usual.

• National Defense: All active duty members of all branches of all armed services would continue duty as usual, but might not get paid on time. More than half of the Defense Department's 860,000+ civilian employees would also work, the others sent home.

• Justice System: Federal courts should remain open. Criminals will still be chased, caught, prosecuted and thrown in federal prisons, which would still be operating.

• Farms/USDA: Food safety inspections will probably continue, but rural development, and farm credit and loan programs will probably close down.

• Transportation: Air traffic control, TSA security personnel, and the Coast Guard will remain on the job. Applications for passports and visas may not be processed.

• National Parks/Tourism: Parks and forests will probably close and visitors told to leave. Visitor and interpretive centers will be closed. Non-volunteer rescue and fire control services might be shut down. National monuments and most historic sites will probably be closed. Parks police will probably continue their patrols.

THE POEM OF A FLAME

Shoved to the stove,
the fire, smoke higher,
the fire's anger,
i smiled back.

Eat and bring me luck,
flapping with anger,
maybe from hunger,
i smiled back.

Raised up, charred,
then back with a soft putter,
crush! sweet ash,
i.....smiled back

OPERATION DESERT STORM

DESERT STORM!!!  Sound like a cool name the tough kids would throw around just before a high school hallway fight. It also sounds like the name of a fighter pit-bull....so what is/was DESERT STORM? listen to this old story. The year is 1990, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is flexing his muscles in the sandunes of middle east. His army has invaded Kuwait and is unleashing terror on the Civilians as he is seen on news networks all over the world wielding a gilded AK47 while wearing his trademark ‘evil’ mustache and a grin to match. Women are being raped, children slaughtered and men butchered. The world is not going to watch silently, the UN is disturbed and of course the big boy uncle Sam (read The USA) is not going to let it slide. January 1991 and Coalition forces with the US marine and naval forces in the forefront launch an operation to flush out Saddam. The morning of January the 16^th 1991 saw General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, USA Commander-in-Chief U.S. Central Command utter these words "Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines of the United States Central Command, this morning at 0300hrs, we launched Operation DESERT STORM, an offensive campaign that will enforce the United Nation's resolutions that Iraq must cease its rape and pillage of its weaker neighbor and withdraw its forces from Kuwait. My confidence in you is total. Our cause is just! Now you must be the thunder and lightning of Desert Storm. May God be with you, your loved ones at home, and our Country."  The coalition forces launched sea, land and air attacks pursuing Saddam to Baghdad. DESERT STORM began with a coordinated attack which included Tomahawk land attack missiles (TLAMs) launched from cruisers, destroyers and battleships in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. The TLAM launches opened a carefully crafted joint strategic air campaign. The initial barrage of over 100 TLAMs took out heavily defended targets in the vicinity of Baghdad and made a critical contribution to eliminating Iraqi air defenses and command and control capabilities. US had half of its military boots on the Gulf for ‘operation desert storm’. 100 hours later, a cease fire was called, the Deserts storm had settled, the Gulf war was over, Saddam’s boys had their tails between their hind legs. The man himself lived to fight another day, literally. Saddam Hussein was to face the US marines again in 2003 and this time he was beaten to pulp. He and whatever was left of his ego was found curled up like a field rat in a bunker...the Desert storm finally caught up with Saddam.

HOW TO QUIT SMOKING: Nicotine therapy

There are several methods that can be used to assist smokers to quit the habit

Nicotine replacement therapy offers alternative means of getting Nicotine into the body whilst avoiding the act of smoking (Maisto et al, 2011). This program offers the possibility of providing an individual’s body which is used to smoking with a source of nicotine in order to avoid getting it from Tobacco. The rationale behind this method is that it is easier to introduce the body to lesser and lesser amount of Nicotine in a progressive program than to completely cease cigarette smoking at once. Nicotine replacement therapy incorporates; Nicotine patches, ingestable tablets, chewing gum, lozenges and inhalable sprays. NRT helps to avoid the withdrawal symptoms that are associated with the cessation of smoking. Nicotine is still received by the body but as the program progresses, a step-down procedure is used to gradually reduce the amounts of Nicotine introduced into the blood stream. The trick here is first to avoid cigarettes then to slowly reduce the amounts of Nicotine given so as to avoid the adverse effect that withdrawal symptoms can have on someone who is trying to quit smoking. It is important to note that the Nicotine replacement is not the magic solution to stopping smoking but it is just an aid that helps addicts who have made a decision to quit and start a smoking cessation program (Maisto et al, 2011). NRT is the best program for addicts who are aiming to quit smoking because it offers a realistic approach by appreciating that self-will to stop is hard. This program therefore offers an option of continued provision of Nicotine in the blood temporary as the body slowly adapts to lower amounts of nicotine intake and finally to zero smoking.

1.Nicotine Gum (available in drug stores) is one of the replacement products that is used in the therapy. The gum contains some amount of Nicotine that is used as a source of the drug instead of smoking Tobacco (Brannon, 2010). The gum is not sold as a prescription drug and can be found both in drug stores or general retail stores. Smokers can chew from ten to thirty pieces of gum in a day to avoid the craving for cigarettes. The resultant effect then is that an individual will be able to refrain from smoking without feeling major withdrawal symptoms which is usually the major cause of relapse. The nicotine released is absorbed through the mucous membranes in the mouth and therefore swallowing the gum will not help because the drug will not be absorbed in the stomach. It is also important to avoid intake of acidic beverages during and before chewing because they reduce the rate of nicotine absorption. Once one has started chewing the gum, they should not smoke because the game would have already provided the gum that the body is craving for. In case of an urge to relapse to smoking after the use of gum has been withdrawn, it is advisable to go back to chewing which is much safer.

3.The other core NRT product is the Nicotine Patch (available in drug strore). This is a medical patch that contains nicotine. It is applied on the skin and the drug is released continuously into the blood stream (Brannon, 2010). The patch is also bought as an over-the-counter medication but much attention is pointed towards seeking the advise of a physician. There might be some instances where doctors will advise against the use of patches for example where an individual has a cardiovascular disease or is under other medications that may not go well with Nicotine patches. The Nicotine released from the patch eliminates the need for an addict to continue smoking. A smoker also needs to take the initiative of stopping the habit since even without the Nicotine craving, the tendency to smoke is also behavioral and may be done out of mere habit. The patches differ in strength and smokers start with the strong ones and it is advisable to reduce the strength as time goes by and craving wears out. Patches are applied daily to the skin with alterations being made on the spot attached. It is worthy to note that craving may not stop on the spot but the effects of withdrawal symptoms will be reduced therefore making it easier for smokers who have taken a personal decision to stop smoking (Brannon, 2010)

The first step towards stopping smoking is the contemplation stage where an addict begins to appreciate the need to stop smoking. Here the smoker is still a habitual consumer of nicotine but this stage makes the start of the psychological preparation to quit smoking. The preparation stage then follows where the smoker makes the initiative to set a specific time and date when they anticipate to start the cessation program (Stritzke et al 2009). By this time, the individual would have chosen a Nicotine replacement product that they will opt for their program. The preparation stage completes the psychological part where the addict is now fully aware of what is required during the process and the side effects they are likely to endure. Having prepared themselves, the person then undertakes the Action stage where Nicotine replacement actually starts. The addict will now use the patch, gum or the other NRT products while avoiding cigarettes. Maintenance and Termination are the last step which should also be continuous (Stritzke et al 2009). The use of the products is continued until one is confident that they can resist smoking, that is when one can terminate the therapy, it is however advisable to go back to the action stage in the case of the urge to relapse.

Smoking cessation is an initiative that comes from within the smokers themselves. Other stakeholders like health care providers and the community at large also come in to offer support in terms of professional advice and motivation. Support groups also play a big role in helping the addicts in the form of building psychological strength to continue with cessation programs. The state should also come into campaigns to stop smoking. This is not only by banning and imposing disincentives such as heavy taxation but also by establishing state funded smoking cessation programs to help addicts.

MARCUS GARVEY; who is this man?

You have probably heard his name uttered in the middle of half-coherent Jamaican Reggea chants. So who is/was he? allow me to educate you. Born Marcus Garvey in st Ann's bay Jamaica in 1887, Marcus was to become a champion of the campaign for the repatriation of black africans back to Africa. He fought for blacks' voting rights and combated racial discrimination in America. He founded 'The black cross navigation and trading company' with a fleet of ship christened BLACK STAR LINER with the vision of shipping blacks back to Africa. Marcus Garvey would die in London on 10th june 1940. sadly for him,  he was not able to achieve his dream of African repatriation...so next time you hear "blxghy hytik khona vcdhjr MARCUS GARVEY bhsaj byfsa wagwan dghh wolan bwoh!"  in a Jamaican song, then they are probably paying tribute to him.