Eighth Grade Bloggerinos
This eighth grade class is using the most modern medium and transferring our writing skills from the classroom to a public forum- the blog. They've created blogs that are based in topics that they have chosen, and are given a weekly prompt designed to view their subject in a new and unique way.
Article posted November 5, 2008 at 02:55 PM GMT0 •
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My blog, as you well know, is about the topic of war. I know it doesn't seem like something to share or collaborate on, but I tried to make it accessible to everyone. I wanted people to come read my blog and offer constructive criticism on my blog on how to improve it and make it better. That's why I left my blog URL on every person's blog I visited, so that they would come to my blog and collaborate with me. I also try to offer advice on their blogs and help to improve their blog as well.
When I tried to share my blog with everyone, first I visited other people's blogs and offered comments that helped them with their work. After I did this, they would come to my blog and collaborate with me and share ideas for my work. So, I made my blog accessible to everyone who wanted to see my blog.This is one way I made themes of sharing and collaboration part of my blog. By openly inviting people to come and participate in offering advice on my blog, I was also integrating a participation theme into my blog as well.
I hope you like my blog and I also hope you will continue to collaborate with me and continue to offer constructive comments on my work.
Article posted November 3, 2008 at 03:17 PM GMT0 •
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We all know what war is: the use of force to achieve some greater goal. But do we know how war is formally declared or what happens in the government for a war to be declared?
The last formally declared war was the Second World War, when Congress officially declared that our country had hostile intentions to the Axis. All of the engagement that followed were not wars, but merely confrontations between armed forces that have hostile intentions to each other. What we called wars, such as the Korean and Vietnam Wars, were just confrontations that hadn't been formally declared as a war by Congress because to be considered a war, a conflict has to be called a war by Congress. Congress has the power to do this, the President does not. This is common mistake made by many people, including me. The President has power over the armed forces and can mobilize them for up to 60 days without Congress officially declaring war, but he/she cannot declare war on another country.
In Congress, there must be a majority vote in both houses of legislature for a war to be declared. When this is done, the President can mobilize the armed forces "legally", because if the President acted before this, it would have been an "illegal" war. This changed in the 70's, when a bill was passed in legislature that allowed the President to mobilize troops for up to 60 days without the official sanction of Congress. After this, the President had to withdraw forces until Congress officially declared war. Often, deciding whether or not to wage war took days, as it was a weighty decision. War can have many, many consequences. So, as you can see, declaring war, at least in the the US, is a lengthy process that has to be passed by almost every branch of government.
If you would like to read about how President Bush was able to send troops to the Middle East without this confrontation being sanctioned by Congress and the process of declaring war as shown in the Constitution , click here.
Here is a video that was made in the early '90s of why President Bush Sr. declared war on Iraq in the Gulf War(not in the official sense of Congress declaring war, but in the sense of actually sending troops to Iraq.)
Now I think the picture I had was really cool. It's Franklin Delano Roosevelt signing a declaration of war, which started US involvement in WW2. Courtesy of http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/images/decwars.jpg
Article posted October 28, 2008 at 03:26 PM GMT0 •
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10) Pakistan
The Pakistani Army has around 600,000 active soldiers and 500,000 reserve troops. They also have around five thousand tanks and a few thousand APCs. Their special forces group is highly trained, much like the US Green Berets. The Pakistani Armed Forces also has 30 nukes in possession.
9) Israel
The Israeli Army has 120,000 soldiers in active duty and they can field around 500,000 more.Their armaments included 3,750 battle tanks and their air force has 90,000 personnel, including reserve forces. Israeli armed forces also are believed to have around 100 nukes in possession as well.
8) Italy
The Italian Army has around 115,000 active duty personnel, 1000 Leopard battle tanks, and 1800 APCs. The Italian Navy and Air Force each have strengths of 35,000 personnel and 45,000 personnel respectively. In addition to this, Italian troops are highly trained. The Italian armed forces also have the eight largest military expenditure in the world. They spend this money on new frigates and destroyers for the Navy and for helicopters and combat aircraft for the Air Force. This means they have a large fleet of aircraft and naval units.
7) United Kingdom
The U.K armed forces numbers around 225,000 soldiers, with about half of this number in the Army. Their Air Force has 45,000 personnel and the Navy has around 35,000 personnel. The British armed forces are the second largest military expenditure in the world. They also have the second largest navy on the world, with around 90 ships. They fact that they posses 380 nukes also greatly augment their strength.
6) Russia
The Russian Army has over 22 thousand tanks at their command and also over 36 thousand APCs. Their Air Force has 2500 planes such as fighters or bombers or just transport planes. They also posses 3000 helicopters ranging from attack helicopters to troop transports. Their Navy has a strength of 42 ships and 310 submarines, one of the largest fleets in the world. They also possess a single aircraft carrier. This may surprise you. The Russian armed forces also possess 8,000 nuclear weapons! This is the largest arsenal of nukes in the world after the US and China. The Russian armed forces however, is said to be plagued by problems such as lack of funding and equipments.
5) France
The French armed forces have a combined strength of about 780,000 personnel, around 120,000 of these personnel being the part of the French Army. They also have around 5000 APCs and around 1000 tanks or heavy armored vehicles. The French armed forces have the third greatest military expenditure in the world, and this money that they use goes in to research of new weapons systems and such. The French also posses the fourth greatest nuclear arsenal in the world as well, with around 500 nukes in their possession.
4) India
The Indian military has the third strongest armed forces in the world, in terms of manpower, with 1.33 million personnel total. Half of this number serves in the Indian Army while 170 thousand and 61 thousand personnel serve in the Navy and Air Force respectively. The Indian Army possesses 13 thousand tanks and 21 thousand APCs. Their Air Force has 1080 planes and 1155 helicopters and their Navy has 27 ships and 200 submarines as well. The Indian armed forces also have around 70 nuclear weapons at their disposal.
3) North Korea
The North Korean armed forces have 1.11 million personnel total, all of these active personnel from their Army, Navy, and Air Force. They have a seven million reserve force comprised of civilians militia as well. They posses around nine thousand tanks and around 13 thousand armored personnel carriers as well. The North Korean military have a majority of their force in their Army, about 75 percent of them. The North Korean Armed Forces also are believed to possess 15-20 nukes.
2) United States of America
The US armed forces possess an army of 1.41 million personnel, with 500,000 of these being land based units. The Army also has around 26 thousand tanks and 44 thousand APCs, making the American heavy armor the biggest in the world. The Air Force has 2800 planes and around 3800 helicopters in service. The Navy has 92 ships in service and 281 submarines in service as well. the Americans have 12 aircraft carriers that can hold up to forty fighters jets each, which means they have the greatest amount of aircraft carriers as Russia has a single one and India has one in construction. The American armed forces have the second largest nuclear stockpile in the world, with around 10,000 nukes.
1) China
The Chinese military is the largest in the world in terms of manpower, with 2.3 million personnel total, 1.6 million of them part of the Army. They also have 800 thousand reserve personnel in case of emergency. They have 19 thousand tanks and over 30 thousand armored personnel carriers. The Chinese also have the third largest sea fleet in the world, a force of 86 sips and 300 submarines, right behind the US and the UK. Believe it or not, the Chinese claim they have over 20,000 nuclear weapons! Unfortunately, this is enough to destroy our planet several times over.
Well, that concludes the countdown. Please note that the figures for the amount of nuclear weapons may be wrong as nobody actually knows the real number any country possess. Also note, I did not add Iran in the top ten because, although that country has over 12 million personnel in its armed forces, making it the largest military in the world in terms of manpower, only 3 million of these are actually combat-fit, and this figure includes untrained reserves.
For more information on the 5 strongest armies in the world, click here.
This video shows a bit of the armies of the world that the creator of this video thought was the best. It shows the discipline of the armies and the rigorous training the soldiers have to go throughout the world. The music may get annoying at times though.
Article posted October 26, 2008 at 01:52 AM GMT0 •
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This is a really cool gadget! Every day, it shows a new picture of a soldier in the US Army. It is a reminder of the sacrifices the soldiers made for their country and we all honor that sacrifice.
Article posted October 26, 2008 at 01:52 AM GMT0 •
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Article posted October 22, 2008 at 03:06 PM GMT0 •
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Today, I learned to create a voice blog. For my first voice blog, I decided to do a review on the United States Marines, a highly respected fighting force. Gabcast! Rezac's Collaborations #8
Article posted October 22, 2008 at 03:06 PM GMT0 •
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Article posted October 16, 2008 at 10:02 PM GMT0 •
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The global economy has been slowing for some time now, and has affected things such as the movie industry and the restaurant business. But war seems like an untouchable thing to the slowing global economy. It doesn't matter if we don't have enough money to buy guns, we'll continue fighting for the causes we believe in with sticks and stones. But that is mistaken. War is affected by the economy.
The war in Iraq and Afghanistan has been going on for seven years now, and it has had many effects, some of them positive, some of them negative. I'll be talking about the negative though, unfortunately. It has dramatically increased petroleum and crude oil prices as both of those countries were a major provider of those products.This constrainment on oil and gasoline sources affects us in our home countries by the inflation in gas prices, but it also affects our troops wherever they are in the world.
Army ground combat vehicles are a big guzzler of gas, most of them getting around 5 mpg on average, which is very, very bad. The United States military, for example, is the largest single consumer of gasoline and diesel in the world. According to http://www.treehugger.com/, the US military uses about 340,000 barrels of oil per day for its various vehicles. If the US Department of Defense was its own country, it would be ranked 38th in oil consumption, right behind the Philippines, a country of 90 million people. The Abrams combat tank, for example, gets around 0.6 miles per gallon. With fuel efficiency that bad, and gas prices so high, the Army has to find alternative fuel sources fast. This also goes for all world militaries. There is only a limited amount of fuel left, so new fuels must be found. This especially applies to countries with a large military. Providing fuel for large armies is difficult when fuel costs so much.
The US dollar has been experiencing a drop in value lately in world markets. This leads to the price inflation in everyday objects as well as guns because more dollars must be used to pay for a product. Subsequently, the US armed forces must pay more for everything from toothbrushes for their soldiers to sub machine guns. This devalue of the dollar will place a more tight spending limit on the armed forces as they only have a limited amount of money.
The soldiers of the armed forces anywhere in the world are not famous for being millionaires. A US Army recruit, for example, according to http://www.jobbankusa.com, receives one thousand dollars per month as a salary, which is a paltry amount. This low salary, coupled with the fall of the dollar, will discourage many people from joining the armed forces as they find themselves struggling to pay for daily household objects. They probably have other jobs, but these jobs probably don't give much pay. Mind you, there are benefits for joining the army if you stay for more than two years, such as a healthcare plan or something of the sort.
War is affected by the slowing economy in many ways. By the examples I used, it is affected by the drop in the value of currency, the low salary of a soldier, and the inflated gas prices caused by the Iraq war.
Please comment if I have missed something or if you have some ideas to share as I am not an expert on economics or war.
Article posted September 29, 2008 at 11:40 PM GMT0 •
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The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities … in support of the National Security and Defense Strategies."
It is the largest and oldest established branch of the armed forces of the United States. Like all armies, its primary responsibility was for land-based military operations. The modern Army has its roots in the Continental Army which was formed on June 14, 1775, before the establishment of the United States, to meet the demands of the Revolutionary War. Congress created the United States Army on June 14,1784 after the end of the war to replace the disbanded Continental Army.
As of July 31st, 2008, the Regular Army reported a strength of 538,128 soldiers, the Army National Guard(ARNG) reported 350,000 and the United States Army Reserve (USAR) reported 189,000, putting the approximate combined total at around 1,077,000 soldiers.
The training in the US Army is basically 9 weeks for Basic Combat Training, but if you wish to specialize in one category, such as being an Army Ranger, training is extended as needed. Soldiers are primarily equipped with the M16 series assault rifle or the M4 carbine, and they can attach the M203 grenade launcher for extra fire power and the M9 bayonet for close quarters combat. In addition to these, there are many other firearms for specialized units.
The Army was formed to protect the rights of the people and that can be seen in their rigorous disciplinary measures. It also shows itself in their code of honor
In the mid- to late 1990s, the Army officially adopted what have come to be known as "The 7 Army Core Values." The Army began to teach these values as basic traits of soldiers. The seven Army Core Values are as follows:
Loyalty - Bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit, and fellow Soldiers.
Duty - Fulfill your obligations.
Respect - Treat others as they should be treated.
Selfless Service - Put the welfare of the nation, the Army, and your subordinates before your own.
Honor - Live the Army Values.
Integrity - Do what's right, both legally and morally.
Personal Courage - Face fear, danger, or adversity, both physical and moral.
The US Army was formed to protect the people and it is run by the people and always will be. Its troops are well trained to protect the oppressed and they uphold strict codes of discipline. Just look at their motto. "This We'll Defend."
For a video on the Army's basic training process, click here.
Article posted September 25, 2008 at 03:23 PM GMT0 •
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Often, when war comes to your mind, you see images of bloody soldiers vanquishing the enemy. You think war is like those video games that try to portray war as a game. If you die, you can come back to life at the last checkpoint. But that is not how it is. Not by a long shot.
Teens think that war is all about glory; they think it is like a game that can be replayed whenever you want to. Some teens that have actually heard of or read about the atrocities of war realize that war is not all fun and games. They find that war is not as cool as they thought.
Some adults think as teens, but most of them have had relatives that have been in past wars and survived to tell the tale or are veterans themselves. They know or have experienced the horrors of war and they find that war is much different than the way it is portrayed in media.
This is an excerpt from an account of an attack on a US ship by the Japanese in WW2.
At 2207 hours, the LST 808's engine room was hit by a torpedo from a low flying plane. The enormous concussion opened a five-foot hole in the hull, instantly killing the five men in the engine room and filling the air with the smell of sulfur.
Most of the crew was off the ship by 0300, and the salvage officers began the task of removing everything valuable or secret. A security detail of five was on the ship when, at 1837 hours on May 20, a kamikaze from the 50th Shinbu Squadron at Chiran Air Base flew his Hayabusa fighter plane into the forward superstructure and crashed all the way down to the tank deck. None of the men on board the ship were badly hurt.
Just another day in paradise. The final toll was 17 dead and 11 wounded.
Just in this short excerpt, the horrors of war were described well. Just reading about the smell of sulfur as the ship was hit and the men who got blown to pieces gave me chills. Now you see that war is like a game to some people, but to others who have experienced it, war is hell.
Article posted September 25, 2008 at 03:23 PM GMT0 •
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Article posted September 17, 2008 at 11:26 PM GMT0 •
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file:///C:/DOCUME~1/josh/LOCALS~1/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List" />Hi. I am a student in the Midwest region of the United States. In this blog, which is my first one, I hope to inform you of war. This blog will have information on things such as past wars and the events and people who sparked them. It will also offer you information on the weapons and vehicles used in those wars. And, lastly, it will also inform you of the technology they used in that time period.
I think this information is important simply because you need to know of some of the most significant events in human history. This blog will inform you of the horrors of war, which I hope will discourage future wars. I know that will never happen and it is only wishful thinking, but still, one must try. I think once you see the atrocities of war, you will not want to take part in war. This, I think, is a huge benefit. So, I hope you will return to my blog many times to learn about war. Enjoy!
Article posted September 17, 2008 at 11:26 PM GMT0 •
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The global economy has been slowing for some time now, and has affected things such as the movie industry and the restaurant business. But war seems like an untouchable thing to the slowing global economy. It doesn't matter if we don't have enough money to buy guns, we'll continue fighting for the causes we believe in with sticks and stones. But that is mistaken. War is affected by the economy.