The First World War was a dreadful waste of approximately 9 million young lives. With this loss comes a sadness and inability to understand simply, why? Two young poets of the day, Rupert Brooks and Wilfred Owen became victims of this war, but before they died they used their pens to leave some lasting testament of what went before. This article briefly describes how two gifted writers came from different worlds to ultimately meet the same fate.

On the 11th November 1918, in Shrewsbury England the bells rang out to celebrate the Armistice and end to the first world war, happiness rained throughout the county until a door knock was heard and a telegram passed, the smiles on Mr & Mrs Owen faces sank as they read how their poet son Wilfred Owen had been killed in battle at Sambre Canal. But Wilfred hadn’t even joined the armed forces in the April of 1915 when Rupert Brooke another famous war poet was killed and their worlds of poetry and life couldn’t have been more different before the carnage of “The Great Folly” brought them both into the world of needless death and slaughter.

Rupert, born in Rugby, England was a man of boyish good looks and charm which prompted the Irish poet William Butler Yeats to describe him as “the handsomest man in England”. After winning a scholarship to Kings College in Cambridge Rupert became an active member of many drama groups and writers clubs and soon became a man adored by many, some for his talent and some for his good looks, Virginia Wolfe once boasted to have gone skinny dipping with Rupert and his society was generally much sought after. He was however a man confused by his sexuality and took to travelling throughout parts of the United States and Canada writing travel dairies for the Westminster Gazette. On his way back to England via the long route he settled on a Tahitian Island where he fathered a daughter by to a local woman with whom it was said that he found his most complete emotional relationship, but still his wonder lust had him move on. Back in England he became romantically involved with a number of notable actresses of the time and when his writings turned to war poems he came to the attention of Winston Churchill who commissioned him into the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. At the age of 27 years, Rupert took part in the Royal Navy’s Antwerp expedition in October 1914 to be followed by a voyage with the British Mediterranean Expeditionary Force on 28th February 1915 but was bitten by a mosquito and the resultant sepsis infection resulted in his death on 23rd April 1915. His body was laid to rest in Skyros Greece at a site chosen by his friend and writer William Denis Browne who later wrote of Brooke’s death.

It was in the September of this same year of 1915 that Wilfred Owen, then a teacher in continental Europe took to visiting the wars wounded in a local army hospital and was deeply affected by their tales and condition. He was only 22 years old himself when he decided to enlist in the British Army and in a statement in September 1915 he said “I came out in order to help these boys, directly by leading them as well as an officer can; indirectly, by watching their sufferings that I may speak of them as well as a pleader can. I have done the first.” Owen was sent home injured in March 1917 but returned to the front lines in August 1918 where he was killed soon after. Rupert Brooke and Wilfred Owen both entered the first world war for their own reasons but their writings and poetry live on as a testament to their common dread of what was then thought as modern warfare.

I cannot pretend to be capable of writing anything as emotionally charged as their individual works and so recommend as a true ending to this piece you click on the internet to read the following two poems.

Rupert Brooks – The Soldier.

Wilfred Owen – Dulce et Decorum est ( the old lie ).

Point of note:

In Westminster Abbey, Poets Corner, stands a slate monument which commemorates 16 First World War poets which include Rupert Brooks and Wilfred Owen, whose work is also inscribed as follows:

“My subject is War, and the pity of War, The Poetry is in the pity.”

Author’s program note. I was restless that evening and so did what I almost never do, turning on the television for some light entertainment. This, however, was not destined to take place. Indeed, there was to be nothing light and no mirth at all for that day and the excruciatingly long day to come…

I saw the feature that so often distinguishes late night newscasts, video feed from a crime scene, the place usually being somewhere in the inner city no sensible person would ever go to, much less in dead of night. Sirens blared. The sharp reds and blues pierced the night. Police swaggered, made the kinds of adamant gestures which look so officious and ridiculous but which we card-carrying members of the middle class are glad at moments like this are on our side.

Yes, it was the usual late-night distraction that would be buried on page 8 or so in tomorrow’s paper. Nothing to do with me… not even the caption on the bottom of the screen: “MIT security officer killed.” But from then on, through the long night and the longer day that followed everything was direct, personal, everything to do with me.

The reporter noted the crime scene as Vassar Street, Cambridge while the on-screen video showed a great fortress-like structure that was a building well known to me. There the overflow of my pack-rat life is stored… copies of my books and articles, my father’s letters from the Pacific front in World War II, both sides of the voluminous correspondence when my mother and I were working out the rough patches in a relationship where loving each other did not keep us from saying the sharpest, often wounding of words, she in her copperplate hand, mine rushed and illegible.

Such things and so many others were the crucial artifacts of life, things to be stored in boxes now, to be considered at leisure, some day, I promise… It was all in the building behind the reporter. Life was about to change forever as the total war of our times swept me up, imperious, without thought of who I was, what I had been doing, no matter how important. My desires, wishes, priorities counted for nothing… and neither did yours.

“When Johnny Comes Marching Home.”

The lyrics to “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”‘ were written by the Irish-American band leader Patrick Gilmore. Its first sheet music publication was deposited in the Library of Congress in1863, with words and music credited to “Louis Lambert”, a pseudonym Gilmore unaccountably used instead of his own name. The copyright was retained by the publisher, Henry Tolman & Co., of Boston.

Determining who actually composed the music is much trickier. There is, for instance, a melodic resemblance to an earlier drinking song entitled “Johnny Fill Up the Bowl”. Someone named J. Durnal claimed credit for its arrangement, though not its composition. This in turn had a distinct melodic resemblance to a tune by Robert Burns, “John Anderson, my Jo”, which harked back to a tune of 1630 entitled “The Three Ravens,”… which harked back to… but you get the picture.

The important thing is how popular it became both with Confederate and Union troops. And no wonder… it’s a grand marching song… the music urging tired feet to go farther and never waver… while the lyrics remind them of the delights of home, theirs soon to savor and enjoy, just one more battle… just one. Before continuing, go to any search engine where you’ll find several fine versions. Listen carefully to lyrics which are now ironic and as far away as ancient Troy.

“The men will cheer and the boys will shout.”

This was how wars were fought in those days… and, until just the other day, in ours. We knew who the enemy was. We knew where he was. We knew what he was fighting for and we knew he had a martial code of honor which would (at least occasionally) cause him to think twice before doing the unspeakable. To be sure, it was a code more often honored in the breach… but it did exist, if only in one Geneva convention or another.

Thus did our much loved troops dress up in battle kit, self conscious about the last kiss to girlfriend or wife; these held back the tear that will surely fall when alone just minutes from now when the beloved is gone, perhaps forever. Fathers hugged the children they would not recognize when they returned; they grow so fast.

This was the war we knew… cheers on departure, certain victory for our cause was always right and our resort to warfare always reluctant and unwilling… then loud, sustained, enthusiastic cheers when Johnny comes marching home.

Now that kind of antediluvian warfare is only a thing of memory, resemblance, and wishful thinking… for now we do not go to war in full regalia, flags flying, the music brassy, suitable for the high affairs of the Great Republic. No indeed. For now we do not go to and return from the war. That war comes to us and confounds our lives more than even the greatest of battles… for we are all of us fully engaged in this new kind of undeclared, limitless war without any rules and procedures whatsoever, war where the first casualty may well be a child of 8, his life sundered and blown to bits by malefactors whose movements are secret, stealthy, and murderous, utterly without meaning, honor and the respect soldiers in the other wars might give their worthy opponents.

But this new kind of war is entirely different, insidious, taking prosaic objects and situations, turning them into the weapons of fear, anxiety and random death. This is a world where evil can lurk behind young and boyish faces and demeanor. Where there are no military helmets, but rather baseball caps, worn backwards in approved adolescent chic. This is a world where the element of deadly surprise always belongs to the attackers and thus can be wielded with merciless accuracy and acute precision.

This is a world where the elements for the bombs made to maim, dismember, and destroy are no further than your local hardware store, for amidst the waxes, sprays, paints and screws are the essential tools of pitiless catastrophe and the reverberating fear that paralyzes a great city whilst causing millions more worldwide to wonder if this could happen to them, knowing full well in their anxious hearts that these purveyors of death could already be about their cruel, selfish work; perhaps the surly young man who scowled when greeted today… worse, perhaps the handsome young man who smiled, offering a friendly quip or passing pleasantry. You see, the agent of mass pain and suffering can so easily wear the most amiable of faces.

These are the aspects of our new kind of war, the war, here now, here for the rest of our troubled, fretful lives.

“Stay in your house. Do not open your door.”

I had never received such a call before, but I feel sure I will get others like it in the years ahead. I had decided to go out and see what I could see. But I never got the chance because the Cambridge Police Department called to say I was to stay at home and to make sure I didn’t let any strangers in. They called this lock down; it turned me, and hundreds of thousands of others, into a legion of the interned…

And so all of us, surrounded as we are by a plethora of communications devices, used them to feed our anxiety and disbelief. On the firing line as we were, we listened intently for each piece of often inaccurate, incomplete, and alarming detail. Like any good journalist, we examined, reviewed, made deductions, listened to more suppositions and soon-to-be-discarded “facts”… veering first one way, then another as events unfolded; our attention rapt and disbelieving that so much was happening, so close, so unaccountable, in my city, my neighborhood and on my very doorstep.

It was surreal, unforgettable, riveting, frightening, the new reality of our challenged, jittery, insecure times. And it can all take place anywhere at any time against any of the peoples of this Earth, people whose race, creed, color or disposition are deemed unsuitable by some “superior” group whose first target is killing the very idea of diversity. For in a world which must necessarily value, strive for, and cherish the diverse; they aim for just one truth, theirs, and as such are willing to go to any length, destabilize any society, engage in any barbarity to secure their way. These are the absolutists of world politics… the lordly thugs who hold the rest of us and everything we value at risk… they offer hate, violence, an agenda of unmitigated evil and unrelenting malice.

Against such a litany of horrors all the good people of this planet must stand united for our credo, tolerance for all, acceptance, humanity, diversity, inclusion and always love, for without love there can be no lasting peace… and lasting peace is what we strive for. This way, the way of unity and community, is the only way. Otherwise random death and the awesome apparatus of response will be our portion… Thus to save our freedom we are forced to give up our freedom, losers whatever happens. We are already on this perilous road, right to be apprehensive and filled with grave foreboding and growing alarm.

“And let each one perform some part/To fill with joy the warrior’s heart/And we’ll all feel gay/ When Johnny comes marching home.”

Some players of game may experience game crashes after 20 turns into the campaign. Empire Total War crashes to the desktop and shows an error.

What should I do to fix this problem?

1. Reinstall the game and Steam

2. Fix Incorrect Registry Configurations

3. Update your Drivers

4. Change CPU Affinity

5. Set Higher Priority to the Game

6. Reinstall DirectX

7. Verify the Integrity of the Game Cache

Reinstall the Game and Steam

To fix the game crash, reinstall both the game and the Steam. To do so, click Start | Control Panel | Programs | Uninstall a Program.

Fix Incorrect Registry Configurations

This game stores its configurations and user statistics into the registry. Closing the game accidentally may result in crash due to incorrect or missing information. That is why you need to verify all these information and fix it as per the needs and requirements.

There are two options for you- Modify the registry manually, or otherwise, using a Registry Cleaner. Use a globally recognised and reputed Registry Cleaner and PC Optimizer.

Update your Drivers

Update your drivers for fixing game crashes. Visit the websites of the graphics card and sound card manufacturers and search for the latest version of an appropriate driver by your serial/ model number.

Change CPU Affinity

For the multi-core users, make sure that the CPU Affinity is set to both CPU 0 and CPU 1. It will better utilize the different cores and fix Empire Total War crash.

1. Minimize the game temporarily.

2. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete.

3. Select Start Task Manager.

4. Click Processes tab.

5. Right click the game and select Set Affinity.

6. Mark both the checkboxes (CPU 0 and CPU 1) as checked.

7. Click OK. Close Task Manager.

Set Higher Priority to the Game

Setting up the higher priority may solve the issue. Do below steps for doing so:

1. Minimize the game temporarily.

2. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete.

3. Select Start Task Manager.

4. Click Processes tab.

5. Right click the game and select Set Priority | High.

Reinstall DirectX

Empire Total War requires Microsoft DirectX to be installed for functioning properly. Corrupted installation of DirectX may cause Empire Total War crash. Reinstall the DirectX by downloading its setup from Microsoft website.

Verify the Integrity of the Game Cache

Using Steam, verify the game cache for missing or corrupted files. This may help fixing Empire Total War crash.

1. Close the game.

2. Open Steam.

3. Right click the game Empire Total War from My Games tab.

4. Select Properties option.

5. Click Local Files tab.

6. Click the button Verify Integrity of Game Cache to start the process.

Highly Recommended

We know from writings in the ancient Greek Iliad, the Bible and the Koran that the human perception of colour has been evolving. The language used to describe the colour of such things as the sea or sky, once compared with other common place objects, has changed. Up until recently our understanding of science argued that the evolutionary process was brought about by genetic inheritance. However, the idea that linguistic colour perception is generated by non-genetic forces associated with evolutionary development within a holographic universe has presented itself.

The recent creation of time crystals by American University researchers has demonstrated that our scientific, spiritual and political understanding about evolving reality is a primitive illusion. The functioning of time crystals has shown that our concept of science being governed by a supreme law demanding our extinction, is incorrect. The evolutionary process associated with a non-genetic linguistic colour perception process, therefore, warrants investigation.

Our science and social mores are governed by a carcinogenic dysfunctional informational system discovered by epidemiologists. It is a 3D global epidemic transmitted by modern day communication and information devices. In 2016 a linguistic colour perception antidote to this global epidemic was discovered and recognized by the World Fund for Arts in Russia. In 2017 this Russian Science-Art Organization set out to establish a research program to investigate the role that artistic linguistic colour perception will play in futuristic technologies. In 2017 American University researchers created time crystals embracing the antidote reality. They stated their intent to apply their new knowledge for the advancement of existing artificial quantum information technology. As that technology is an integral aspect of the epidemic, this would a serious mistake. If the Russian program follows the same logic and fuses the antidote information with infected artificial intelligence, the 3D global epidemic will interact with the holographic evolutionary process in ways we do not understand.

It is common knowledge that the use of artistic linguistic colour techniques to control the human mind for dysfunctional intent exists, for example, North Korea, is now of concern because of this. To a seemingly lesser extent we are being governed by a continual bombardment of non-stop commercial television mind control. In order to make a positive contribution to this situation the quantum biological antidote needed to develop healthy evolutionary technology should be made visible to the general public as soon as is possible.

The Philosopher, Plato, argued that aesthetic art appreciation was unethical, requiring an ethical spiritual wisdom through art in order to prevent the destructive property of unformed matter emerging from within the physical atom to destroy civilization. Later, in modern times, the philosopher, Immanuel Kant, agreeing with Plato, wrote that an asymmetrical electromagnetic field was evolving within the creative, artistic mind as the spiritual wisdom that Plato was searching for. Plato’s concept was that the physical world was an illusion, which is in accord with the idea of a holographic universe being an evolving illusion of reality.

We know that within a holographic universe artistic illusions can bring about neurological emotions open to manipulation by unethical dictatorial regimes. The antidote technology however, uses an alternative to the ‘Colour over Mind’ artistic rhetoric accompanied with artistic sound and colour to create a dysfunctional mindset. Within the holographic reality ‘Mind over Colour’ uses the physics concept that is the equal and opposite to unethical illusions.

Modern day artists are subconsciously painting stereoscopic images into their paintings. The artist Salvador Dali was convinced that this phenomenon existed for ethical purpose. His eccentric Freudian language together with scientists arguing for science, politics and social morality to break free of its dilemma embraced Immanuel Kant’s more ethical future. In 2002 stereoscopic asymmetrical electromagnetic glasses were patented. When used to view artwork of this century Dali’s conviction that paintings contained an invisible stereoscopic message became factual.

Paintings now exist depicting a stereoscopic multi-dimensional holographic picture echoing the painting’s descriptive text. This linguistic colour perception goes far beyond the scope of the mechanistic description of yesteryear’s concept of chromostereopsis, in which a visual illusion of depth is conveyed in two-dimensional color images. However, in present day artwork many planes of stereoscopic images merge with each other to bring about movement, which within a holographic reality are recognised by engineers as spiritual torque forces. These are the torque forces belonging to the asymmetrical electromagnetic spiritual technology of Chales Proteus Steinmetz. He wrote telling the world that such a spiritual technology would be far superior to the mechanistic asymmetrical electromagnetic global technology he helped to bring about as a principle figure in the electrification of America. Without the new spiritual mindset, civilization governed by the 3D epidemic of dysfunctional information will result in nuclear warfare.

Authorisation for this article belongs to a 1979 Australian National Television documentary entitled, The Scientists – Profiles of Discovery. A detailed explanation of these discoveries can be found in the paper, The Optical Nature of Artistic Genius, (April 2017) by Chris Degenhardt, published on academia.edu.

This epic component, part two of the Civil War trilogy by the author, deals with the Hazzard and Main families. It shows us how the war affects all of them and it is seen through the eyes of each member of these families. Attitudes evolved and the livelihoods of those involved were affected both negatively and in a positive way.

The war itself was fought for many different reasons. Chiefly, the slavery issue was the main one. Secondly, the war was fought to keep the union in tact though an imperfect arrangement at the time. For whatever reason, this conflict caused families to tear apart at the seams, with differing ideas and different alliances. Friendships were broken and neighbors fought other neighbors.

George Hazzard and Orry Main were very close friends although both were on opposing sides of the war. George was from PA and Orry from SC. George’s younger brother Billy was a union soldier and Orry’s cousin Charles Main was a confederate soldier. They had been friends at WestPoint but now they had taken sides and nothing would ever be the same. Brett Main had married Billy Hazzard but now this southern girl was living in the north with Billy’s kin. They were deeply in love but Billy was a union troop fighting her southern neighbors. Meanwhile, Orry Main, who had lost an arm in the Mexican War, was now fighting on the side of the confederacy.

Brett had to adjust to the attitudes of northerner who didn’t like her just because of her southern background. They knew who she was by her accent and how she dressed. The Hazzard family liked her a lot, however and knew she was a kind and sweet person. Brett’s attitude about slavery changed dramatically after she met former slaves and helped those fleeing her native south. She was learning to understand. She had grown up with slavery at her family plantation and didn’t see the harm that was being done since she was always good to the slave hands and treated them fairly. Now, she was beginning to see the injustice in the practice of bondage. Her husband Billy learned to be more compassionate after being captured and having spent time at Libby Prison. They were learning from their experiences in a positive way.

Stanley Hazzard was a war profiteer. He and his wife bought a footwear factory and made inferior boots to fill a contract he had obtained via his political cronies. Ashton Main and her husband invested in a ship with the help of her lover. The boat would sneak past enemy lines and bring in goods that they could sell for incredible profits. The war didn’t teach Stanley or Ashton much. It was something that fit right into their flawed personalities.

A villainous character, by the name of Elkanah Bent, was an upper classman of George and Orry back at West Point. He had an incredible hatred for them from their school days after they had pointed out his faults to others. Bent then spends his whole life trying to get back at Hazzard and Main any way that he can. He even seeks out the younger Billy Hazzard and Charles Main. Bent locates them all on several occasions throughout the story and his mischief and unusual behavior gets worse and worse as he tries to ruin their lives. His military career is not going well because of his extreme manner and ill thoughts in regards to soldiers that fall under his command. He seems to blame Main and Hazzard for all his misfortunes in reaching his goals. He always thinks of them negatively instead of considering his own poor actions to be the reason for his failure.

George gets a military post in the nation’s capital while Orry serves the confederacy. Orry is killed in battle and his love, Madeline tries to keep the family plantation running. The slaves are excited at Mount Royal as at other plantations in the south. The rebelling workers make the place hard to manage but she does a good job just the same. She is determined to care for his home as if he were still part of her life.

Everything was proceeding favorably until a former escaped slave, who held a grudge against Orry’s father, returns to the area just as the union army comes through and starts looting homes. When it is an opportune time, this angry slave attacks and sets fire to the Mount Royal. Many of the remaining slaves, who are loyal to Madeline, try to help. They stay and try to support and protect Madeline. Unfortunately, the main house was burned to the ground the way it had happened to other nearby homes.

This book shows how the Civil War had a profound effect on everyone regardless of their different personalities. It gives a clearer view through the lives of these two families from both sides of the war. Jakes creates some vivid characters that help to draw you in and keep you satisfied and interested.

There is a need for good historical work in Manipur. A civilization with 2000 years of history lacks accurate, genuine and well researched work to feel us proud. Though several attempts have been done in the past, it is not up to the expectations of readers and researchers. Most of the historical work lacks authentic, evidences and references to support the writings. Late Karam Manimohan Singh’s work on “NUPI LAL (Women’s War of Manipuri)” is the complete history of Nupi Lal in Manipur. This book tells us not only the event and its consequences from 1904 to 1939, but the factors leading to the great uprisings from 1851 onwards.

It is rightly said that interests and dedications to one’s pursuit is more significant than one’s choice of career. Though an English Lecturer, having obtained his Ph. D. in English from the Banaras Hindu University, Manimohan’s work on Manipur history is incredible. Present day historian cannot imagine writing such a grotesque work like Karam Manimohan Singh.

In this book, the author highlights the vice and abuses in the administration as were practiced by the reigning Rajas of Manipur. The British policy of “non intervention” in the internal management of the state no doubt enhanced the Raja’s undesirable habits and ruthless antipathy which were all the time manifested towards the poor and the downtrodden, to grow up with a boundless gigantic size.

The first Nupi Lan in 1904 was clearly the handiworks of Rajkumars who do not like the selection of Chura Chand Singh as Raja of Manipur. These Rajkumars were inciting the women folk to resist the British government.

The historical demonstration of the Manipuri women for their great dislike of the absolutist manner on the part of the British officials occurred in 1904 when Lt-Col. H St. P Maxwell issued an order to temporarily resuscitate the Lalup (a forced laborer where male between age of 17-60 would work freely for 10 days in every forty days duration) system for the purpose of making the inhabitants of the Imphal town to rebuild the Assistant Political Agent’s bungalow which was burnt down. Maxwell attributed the burning of the Imphal town, instigated by the Rajkumars of the late ruling clan, as a mark of showing their great dislike of Raja Chura Chand who was independently and by breaking the traditional lie of primogeniture appointed by the British.

The women were led by the simple thought that their husbands had refused to undergo the Lalup labor which now become an illegal one and thereby causing the hardships of punishment o the women’s lot.

On the historic day of 5th October, 1904, as soon as the political Agent returned from his morning walk he found some 3000 Manipuri women gathering in his compound, and in a very few minutes, another 2000 more had arrived all commenced shouting at once. Maxwell once wrote down a very sorry remark on this event as follows:

“It is very difficult to know how to treat a mob of wild cats like this, but I shall take care to disperse them next time before they become numerous.”

An important factor, which aroused the feelings of disgust to the Manipuri against the Marwari merchants, was that the latter were not allowed to export rice from Manipur with condition to stop it when the price of rice rose to Rs. 3 per mound. But certain Marwaris were granted the pass to export the rice to meet Government purposes even during the time of prohibition. The grievance was that many of the Marwari merchants, without at least considering the needs of the public had always tried to avoid the restriction under cover of the Red Pass.

The impact of the uprising was so great that it severely influence the state administration.

Mr E.F. Lydall remarked that,

“Coming on top of this loss of confidence, the Women’s war caused a breakdown of the Administration, manifested mainly by the inadequacy, both in numbers and efficiency of the State Police.”

Karam Manimohan Singh tells more deeply on the causes, the impacts and the reforms in the state. The war which was started as an agitation by the women of Imphal against the export of rice was gradually taken over by the Nikhil Manipuri Mahasabha, under the leadership of Hijan Irabot Singh and it is used as a tool for fermenting the agitation on the Congress lines.

The book is divided into thirteen chapters and a conclusion. The writer takes pain in adding few pages for additional information on Chronology of events, Glossary of words, 15 sets of appendixes and most importantly the photos of the brave women who lead the women’s war of 1939. Nupi Lan is a huge success work for the author who published earlier two more books on Manipur history – Hijam Irabot Singh and Political Movements in Manipur (1989) and History of the Christian Missions in Manipur and Other Neigbouring States (1991).

Nupi Lan, Karam Manimohan Singh

Published by K Premlata Devi

Hard and Bound cover, 331 pages

Price Rs 400

Business Strategy and capturing market share is somewhat similar in many regards to war strategy. How so you ask? Well below are the similarities listed for your consideration. And before I introduce them to you, I am not suggesting war is good or evil. I believe it is merely a formality of political impasse amongst humans and good or bad is irrelevant, as it just is.

Surely it would be best to have no wars and killing ones own species seems a bit problematic and nevertheless if you enemy is trying to kill you sometimes the defense of such leads to unfortunate circumstances.

Now then here are some parallels of business and war below and perhaps they will be of value to you for philosophical discussion?

1.) In war you have an opponent and your opponent wants what you have or you are trying to get what they have; market share.

2.) In war you fight many battles over the course of the war in many territories or markets.

3.) In war intelligence of your opponent is very important and in business you need to estimate you competitions next move.

4.) In war there are many aspect you need to control such as the air, ground and sea; in business you are also interested in controlling multiple market segments and servicing those customers better.

5.) In war you must be efficient with your supplies; such a fuel, food and such; in business efficiency means higher profits.

6.) In war you must hold the territories that you capture. In business you must maintain market share once you achieve it.

7.) In war you must defend your army and your country. In business you must defend your brand name and price points, by using many different methods.

Next time you are thinking about business strategy, winning markets and market share and then defending what you have achieved consider if you will the relationships to war strategy. In doing so you may see the game from another perspective and this may help your business. Think on this in 2006.

Children are often the first casualties of any armed conflict. Since the nineties, attention has been focused on Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Kosovo, Rwanda, Somalia, Liberia, Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia, Sudan, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Angola. All in all, active conflicts continue around the globe today.

Every armed conflict forces children to go through atrocious experiences as child soldiers, refugees or displaced children.

Child Soldiers

Both boys and girls are abducted and used as child soldiers in civil wars in some countries. The development of lighter weapons such as the AK-47 means that children as young as eight can be armed. Army chiefs actively use children because they are small and speedy, easy to intimidate and are less likely to rebel.

Once recruited, child soldiers serve as porters, cooks, guards, messengers, spies or are forced to provide sexual favours. Many are pressed into combat, where they may be forced to the front lines or sent into land-mines ahead of older troops.

Rehabilitation of child soldiers is a difficult process because they have been psychologically broken down and rebuilt as killing machines. In addition, many former child soldiers do not have access to educational programmes, vocational training, family reunification, or even the shelter they need to successfully rejoin civilian society. As a result, many end up on the street, become involved in crime, or are drawn back into armed conflict.

Refugees and Displaced Children

The waves of violence that have swept across the world have uprooted many children. Some are classified as ‘displaced’, having fled their homes to move elsewhere within their own country while others are ‘refugees’ who have crossed the border into neighbouring countries.

When forced into squalor and deprivation, the characteristic conditions of refugee camps, children are at particular risk. The lack of food, clean water and adequate health care in some overcrowded refugee camps exacts a terrible toll on child casualties of war who are often chronically ill, mutilated, blind or mentally disturbed.

Most modern-day conflicts last the length of a childhood. It is not only the children who are devastated by war but also the very resources that are needed to help them develop skills for their adult lives. Schools and hospitals are destroyed and often following a protracted civil war, many countries lack the resources to rebuild their infrastructure. As a result, at the very time when many children need physical and psychological healthcare and education, these resources are lacking.

The severe psychological wounds inflicted on children can scar them for life, crippling the very generations that must one day rebuild their devastated countries.

Children are suffering from direct consequences of war and they are unable to say or do anything to protect themselves.

A tribute is due to the volunteers, aid workers and organisations that respond to the needs of child soldiers, refugees and displaced children around the world: Thank you for taking the opportunity to help our children and our world.

Cass County’s illustrious 46th Indiana Volunteers carved out a place in northern Indiana lore for several reasons. It was the first regiment to occupy Camp Logan, which is marked with a monument later purchased by the regiment. The inscription reads, “Forty-sixth Indiana Volunteers Infantry, Organized and Encamped here from October to December, 1861”. A second reason was, of course, its stellar war record.

On September 20, 1861, authority was granted to raise and quarter a regiment at Logansport, Indiana. Immediately, several recruiting offices opened in the city as officers began to fill their companies. One of the companies was an Irish company. The recruiting site was at the store of Matthew Wilson, a true Irishman who boasted that the Irish company would use their “shelalas” and “pound the stuffins out of every rebel in the land”.

The large regiment being formed needed a campground on which to train and house the inexperienced soldiers. Camp Logan was created in a wooded grove on Barron’s Reserve. Many Logansport men worked to erect barracks, and the camp was ready by September 30, 1861. It quickly filled with Cass County boys, then those of neighboring counties.

The 46th, the pride of Logansport, could not go into battle without a flag, and a beautiful flag was purchased. It was made in Cincinnati and, unfortunately, the flag did not arrive until the regiment was actually at the depot, ready to depart for war. The presentation was made there, however, and suitable speeches were made. The flag was made of handsome silk with Forty-sixth Indiana Volunteers marked with silver cloth on the center stripe. The regiment’s color guard carried it proudly throughout the war.

Three months after the regiment was first formed, the 46th marched off to war. The farm boys had been drilled and instructed until they were a crack regiment of 1,000 men. Splendid in their new uniforms, arms, and newfound maturity, they stood at attention as the oath was administered by companies in the silence. Afterward, they marched through the vast crowd to the Wabash depot. Thousands of their families, neighbors, and supporters had come from miles around to wish them well in the difficult years that lay ahead. There must have been tears as mothers and sweethearts watched them leave; for many it would be the last time they saw their loved ones. It was a beautiful day, a fitting day for heroes to go to battle.

They were in active service for the remainder of the war. In March of 1862, the 46th traveled down the Mississippi River and was soon in the thick of battle. Attacks on New Madrid, Island No. 10, and Fort Pillow tested the men’s military skills.

By the 12th of April, 1863, they were in the rear of Vicksburg with General Grant. The great siege of Vicksburg was about to begin. They fought at Port Gibson, and then at Champion’s Hill where the 46th suffered severely, losing one-fourth of its men in vicious combat. The regiment was then in the trenches around Vicksburg for forty-four days, waiting for the inhabitants to starve out and surrender. The waiting game continued until July 4, when Southern General Pemberton asked for terms of surrender. Vicksburg was now in Union hands, and the Father of Waters was no longer a Southern supply highway.

The 46th was soon sent to Natchez and New Orleans where on March 4, 1864, they reenlisted as veterans. Their next battles took place at Sabine Cross Roads and at Mansfield on April 8, 1864, where 70 men of the 46th were captured and tortured for eight months in prison at Camp Ford and Camp Grace, Texas.

At last, the terrible war was over, and the 46th Indiana Volunteers could go home. They were mustered out in September 1865. 264 men never returned to their peaceful Indiana farms. 70 were killed or died of their wounds, and 194 died of disease. Many are buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery where a large, beautiful monument stands to honor the Cass County men who fought and died in the Civil War. None of these veterans ever forgot those years of war.

The 46th Indiana Volunteers made their county and their state proud. They were the first regiment to occupy the renowned Camp Logan, now marked by a monument purchased by the regiment after the war. Many of their battles became the stuff of legend: Champion’s Hill, Vicksburg, and Sabine Cross Roads, and 70 of their men suffered for months in Texas prison camps. 264 of Cass County’s finest never made it home from the brutal Civil War.

Ever heard about “The Romance of The Three Kingdoms”, the extraordinarily famous historical story of the Chinese? Why so famous? Some people claim that this nonfiction history has created abundance of success stories. How? The credible strategies used by the characters in this story are applicable in the recent business world. These strategies are generally called “Sun Tzu’s Art of War”. Lots of successful conglomerates claim that their successes are because of adopting and inspired by the Chinese strategies in Sun Tzu’s art of war. These strategies are the core content of Red cliff I & II.

These John Woo’s movies are about the war between dinasties for territorial domination in a period when the mainland China was divided into three kingdoms (Wei, Shu and Wu). This movie also explains the strategies about how a force of 50,000 caused a disaster to enemy’s force of 800,000 which was much stronger. There are three important aspects within this war: Wealth, Power and Women. Red Cliff is divided into two parts, the first part is focused on the acquaintance with the talented characters and the second part is about the strategies and its analysis and the war. The strategies are related to some factors which can affect the success or failure of a war, such as motivation, size of forces, aggression methods, leadership, weather etc. These strategies are considered useful not only in the war period, but also in the business field. The use of the right strategy at the right moment will give a great success. Otherwise, the wrong use or timing will cause a massive disaster.

This movie is a great and recommended movie for the executives, managerial consultants, investors, business owners, economic analysts and even military officers. Lots of recent strategies adopted by huge and successful companies are based on these Chinese traditional strategies. Of course the strategies are adjusted, adapted and applied based on the current condition and timing to achieve the satisfactory success.

Is Red Cliff a true story? Well, in an interview, Woo admitted that his movie is based on the official history “Chronicle of Three Kingdoms (San Guo Zhi). However, some effects have been added, deleted and edited in order to dramatize the story, as John Woo is an expert in dramatizing his movies. Do not worry about the story, because it is still analogous with the real one.

Overall, Red Cliff – I & II is a great movie that reflects the strategies of Chinese in war, the strategies which have inspired the creation of many successful stories in the recent business world.