National Poetry Month...with a wildlife twist

<span style="font-family: inherit;">April is National Poetry Month! From the Poets.org website: "Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools and poets around the country band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events."</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Poetry has held a place in many cultures for thousands of years.  The Japanese consider it an art, European authors have expressed political and cultural messages and feeling though poetry for centuries.  And, in America, many naturalists have used peotry to convey the beauty of the American landscape for generations.  Some examples include:</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Low-Anchored Cloud</em></span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em></em></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilY3-855Wwd2GvQAYQhkjxdap-hjAeG3PbzHbBZnok8HkMxRzJoFwya6Ahf9Qq-DjGRC3uB8bHEEmkRajNnfsP3cyWMDhfp0NU2grwSBYml6d6gDtociPy7kBBaKq7CYbXIsC247NUOIyD/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: right; height: 139px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 309px;"><img border="0" height="133" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilY3-855Wwd2GvQAYQhkjxdap-hjAeG3PbzHbBZnok8HkMxRzJoFwya6Ahf9Qq-DjGRC3uB8bHEEmkRajNnfsP3cyWMDhfp0NU2grwSBYml6d6gDtociPy7kBBaKq7CYbXIsC247NUOIyD/s200/images.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Low-anchored cloud, </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Newfoundland air, </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Fountain-head and source of rivers, </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Dew-cloth, dream-drapery, </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>And napkin spread by fays; </em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Drifting meadow of the air, </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Where bloom the daisied banks and violets, </em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>And in whose fenny labyrinth </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>The bittern booms and heron wades; </em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Spirit of lakes and seas and rivers, </em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Bear only perfumes and the scent </em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Of healing herbs to just men's fields!</em></span> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><strong><em>by Henry David Thoreau</em></strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><strong>The Dalliance of the Eagles</strong></em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em></em></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhgJO3DkRrqbr3CqaNwrVwYfM3tEeW05kthb2nuP1Pxp5cetvWEkHaahvlcXbhNGIfAyN81rol5B0IXVBmko8xmID66jISoS3e7kjd53HBLwehwAVva-shLEJh5k9-_-Q2N5HWC59yVV7/s1600/imagesCAE0M8C3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhgJO3DkRrqbr3CqaNwrVwYfM3tEeW05kthb2nuP1Pxp5cetvWEkHaahvlcXbhNGIfAyN81rol5B0IXVBmko8xmID66jISoS3e7kjd53HBLwehwAVva-shLEJh5k9-_-Q2N5HWC59yVV7/s200/imagesCAE0M8C3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Skirting the river road, (my forenoon walk, my rest,) </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Skyward in air a sudden muffled sound, the dalliance of the eagles, </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>The rushing amorous contact high in space together, </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>The clinching interlocking claws, a living, fierce, gyrating wheel, </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Four beating wings, two beaks, a swirling mass tight grappling, </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>In tumbling turning clustering loops, straight downward falling </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Till o'er the river pois'd, the twain yet one, a moment's lull, </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>A motionless still balance in the air, then parting, talons loosing, </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Upward again on slow-firm pinions slanting, their separate diverse flight, </em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>She hers, he his, pursuing. </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em>by Walt Whitman</em></strong></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><br /><br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Writing and poetry are fantastic ways to help kids learn more about nature and wildlife.  And, as you can see in the above examples, poetry allows for beauty and expressiveness that can often be left out of regular narrative writing.  </span></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">One exercise that we've often done with students and adults is the Project WILD activity Animal Poetry.  <em> </em>The objective of this activity is to help students recognize and experience the inspirational value of wildlife through poetry.  The students spend time outside and imagine themselves as animals, then write poems about that experience.  </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Some suggested poem formats include Haiku, which is a Japanese lyric verse form that has three unryhmed lines that have 5, 7 and 5 syllables.  Haiku traditionally and ideally presents a pair of contrasting images: one suggestive of time and place, the other a vivid but fleeting observation.  When they work together, the poem evokes mood and emotion.  An example follows: </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The hawk soared over</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Spirit bird in my living</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Guide to harmony</span></em></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDp7F4E-6ppjmI5cR7yZOHhlKTEN6P-4E2agb3n6cd6HkmDL7F0MUss24wzm0BM1b-Phi8VIM4q9Cn81GiDFdR0YrD7xfo4cqjIFHUYniKQwNLEPn0KJSdPsxoEUXOD8xg_DEjS9AgB6v-/s1600/imagesCASYON3N.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="146" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDp7F4E-6ppjmI5cR7yZOHhlKTEN6P-4E2agb3n6cd6HkmDL7F0MUss24wzm0BM1b-Phi8VIM4q9Cn81GiDFdR0YrD7xfo4cqjIFHUYniKQwNLEPn0KJSdPsxoEUXOD8xg_DEjS9AgB6v-/s200/imagesCASYON3N.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Any guesses on what species of hawk this is?</td></tr></tbody></table> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Another suggested format is Cinquain.  This is an American derived format that is comprised of five unrhyming lines of, respectively, two, four, six, eight and two syllables or words.  Each line has a purpose and number of syllables or words as follows: line 1 is a title of two syllables (words), line 2 is a description of the title in 4 syllables (words), line 3 is a descriptive action in 6 syllables (words), line 4 is a description of a feeling in 8 syllables (words) , and line 5 is another word for the title in two syllables or words.  An example follows:</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Bobcat</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Vital, quiet</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Moving swiftly to live</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Endangered by human patterns</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Near lost</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsEwQd7R-B8B241EpKD5QTEaQ5kEnOKDmXI5ntFA9S5amlx3CzTk8Bqf1ZR-JBpqKdUXqWd9HLJ0ltWAkslB7gR892zIP_lTaOgJEK-oI-eNH1uDtFDgMkd9sZl7pUDyEAJoy6NZZenx_V/s1600/imagesCA5XCJ7V.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsEwQd7R-B8B241EpKD5QTEaQ5kEnOKDmXI5ntFA9S5amlx3CzTk8Bqf1ZR-JBpqKdUXqWd9HLJ0ltWAkslB7gR892zIP_lTaOgJEK-oI-eNH1uDtFDgMkd9sZl7pUDyEAJoy6NZZenx_V/s200/imagesCA5XCJ7V.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">And finally, Diamante is a poem that can be used with students.  It is a poem shaped in the form of a diamond.  It can be used to show that words are related through shades of meaning from one extreme to an opposite extreme, following a pattern of parts of speech like this:</span><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-family: inherit;">noun</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: inherit;">adjective  adjective</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: inherit;">participle  participle  participle</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: inherit;">noun  noun  noun  noun</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: inherit;">participle  participle  participle</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: inherit;">adjective  adjective</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: inherit;">noun</span></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="left" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you are having trouble remembering what a participle is, it is word that functions as a verb, but ends in ing or ed.  So you might be "carrying" something, carrying is a participle.  An example of a Diamante follows:</span></div><div align="left" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">egg</span></em></div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">light bright</span></em></div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">living stretching growing</span></em></div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">bird beak wing flight</span></em></div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">soaring seeing seeking</span></em></div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">feathered fluid</span></em></div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">crow</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxatD1QXQ4HiiS-WiqZn7v3X5m8M97xW4_OtMkfmEYAYhqd9NBrHMeGXz3LOvCJGcDB2px-XckQg-Who-pol08H0R6Cr7QpNX3y9Kmf1i2UV7mzCQEhhi0hUcM507xmssgZcSRAzItcGt/s1600/imagesCAK1PMNO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxatD1QXQ4HiiS-WiqZn7v3X5m8M97xW4_OtMkfmEYAYhqd9NBrHMeGXz3LOvCJGcDB2px-XckQg-Who-pol08H0R6Cr7QpNX3y9Kmf1i2UV7mzCQEhhi0hUcM507xmssgZcSRAzItcGt/s200/imagesCAK1PMNO.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Students can take their completed poems and type them or print them neatly and then display them with their focus animal, either illustrated or with a photograph.  Some follow-up questions to ask the students after their lesson could be a discussion on why some people say they would not want to live in a world without animals, would they want to live in a world without animals, what kinds of wildlife would they want to see regularly, and why.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, enjoy April as National Poetry Month. And take your kids outside to find all that nature has to offer for inspiration.  There is no shortage no matter where you are.  You just have to look for it!</span></div><br /><em><br /></em><br /><em><br /></em><br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><br /></em></div><em><br /></em><br /><em><br /></em><br /><em><br /></em><br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><br /></em></div><em><br /></em>

National Poetry Month...with a wildlife twist

April is National Poetry Month! From the Poets.org website: "Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools and poets aroun…

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Have you thought about joining Microsoft's Partners in Learning Network?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Submitted by Fiona Beal</i><br />Currently I am busy running a course for teachers that includes four of the Microsoft Free tools, namely AutoCollage, Windows Live Movie Maker, Songsmith and Photostory 3. These tools are fantastic to use for technology integration and can be obtained free by  joining the Partners in Learning Network, and downloading them. Have you taken a look at the new Partners in Learning Network? It really is quite amazing and has a wealth of resources available for teachers. Some of the functionalities of the old network are not yet available such as creating a group, and uploading documents to the group folder, but I am sure they’ll be available in time. If you would like to take a look here are some screenshots to help you.   </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpAIWAtxAayK3wd_kBxtdKjuHixRnvWBSZE7z_mAMIJUYWfG4a3CNtOtery2w-lWwoQUVwwA1FtdJq2y92oByD6vyxgBxX5-bJTukJizP6h6EB0Xj07lgbw4SmMC_xkgIwDhSXqj8xCNM/s1600-h/image%25255B31%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fSYFc7UaK17gjC_6zJsKznR7hUUzVXZgYVQfvUoSiEl0CXgcSUpC75bEhQXXDtVpvWpUFLgmnrHWOuzRekb1_w5TTDbyaVgwluY_aJDq-EG-IjLnmgmzZjDlF_ilIylAdEAmlG35THg/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The address is <a href="http://www.pil-network.com/">http://www.pil-network.com/</a></span></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidIObJwMqsKQa9fJri_k-aM9igDdHXueZtN690qw3rdVkTCr6f6QbD8txbJoKfr4f1922rwT4DS4EOJgv_v3PgsKo19ncyMZIUq7DDhhVax5yNZFuW3kJbgdTNFPgbTEI37Y6d6lqNixo/s1600-h/image%25255B32%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ggRRaAPvYhfxIowAVZjF7xM4u98GjUaOOTPWMbQkk2q1YPV3HfoW47TlFUyMa77uVdXiOYuC7S7_pdL7usrJEw4N5gRyDsbLmJEB1B27fGWphVnPqAdTDS-GVrPbodSbY52ZWaCN3JE/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnQJrqk2Xdi7ScbSqeK56n-f5dZyBWXVujJ999MMQrsoRuKLXG2C-QK_xpuU5NgSTKlnsK7bnk4BwnwKhjSaQ903TRn4kD5b4b5B9pB92GZ90ZysFNM2m5yE-koAYlBF9eEhssVPmtTOY/s1600-h/image%25255B10%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi13URCivBjevV3ktq3AhT8nr6KLkuZndV-MJSXWoOu3EioAbcB_Ius2VyPvpn5zZPaHx9J8gOUvJ5AKHaUi_4ROjCGRCZoSHHc25QZ01uWjQAwJds0E6XtBww32Y3NAPlTB7t5AO_1sTE/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMSVbRFDnQy5_NxGLKAKd6PxrA-5WwRkqbWKv6GCFftByrdhT8CcPvNHSethQ20tJTYU3ccLgqXNRnL-KrYJfEgfvlsLrRSdXds2B7hqdSUdxSva6Tvo-0_bDf6sfXm8nHJGJzJhm6-Mg/s1600-h/image%25255B14%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSwzSKvkBN7sH_Nkt39g6EOLyqlujfQS1MVmPlqF5LlB5ZOFthvkJanc1xfBvOKKLGM-j3_a2GvaARHMSOsSY5iV_a8GyrIWc51GWG6Ru8oXLy5baOHmfkdvLb4QcZ8DAGRt2gpoqidSk/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Xqxi-Z6GmGvWVz3Rr6JgW4cgPaTTLePbXWhCU-acM9gVo17C-qPQXu7oE3Ab49yoRcDYsj_Qgui-Dkg3vC2lADuXavVfuRd3tbbEVtZ2mx60ca5z2-y4Cr_a5Cb0IFxnfgaqq2yQ6iQ/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-IHTt-FwWS8Gx_47o-6RmgGayE9tGdea8EBFNEWJ2ODOmb8uvXJOU0vP6YrTxJTn88qzdJm2FPfvLXKLViglwvtwMBOcnKtuvetIVojC4LjfYJX_GUQgkOJvFuIJEcGk6Ivftkc39COI/s1600-h/image%25255B30%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnNUGsYe9yUZ4OPbMB9YsQlMDCnwDNBfK6POhUex_0Dn34QfHjU08pJLjfMhwv45twp6FmjUrPzOOdoaULdBMC2vcTom_I6X8YPbgve9HFSYrDcy3yl41uIYBRFKYUZ4-HnmKVQ4Pzrsg/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Enjoy! I am going to take another good look around right now!</span></div></div>

Microsoft Have you thought about joining Microsoft's Partners in Learning Network?

Submitted by Fiona BealCurrently I am busy running a course for teachers that includes four of the Microsoft Free tools, namely AutoCollage, Windows Live Movie Maker, Songsmith and Photostory 3. These tools are fantastic to use for technology integra…

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SYRIA: FULL OUT PROPAGANDA WAR

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font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFcRpDuSpnWyDbqMqS4dpLgxfY-2zPK-8uKIR9E9O4zGxi07gN6sPoE8Erc0HUXqtxUA7lL_RHw1CNKVNThaojPF2I0I9HD4BBE1FUXn1A-1Mx3lKjWId-Y0xqFlV783dzIHX_E69FPeyN/s1600/4216812412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFcRpDuSpnWyDbqMqS4dpLgxfY-2zPK-8uKIR9E9O4zGxi07gN6sPoE8Erc0HUXqtxUA7lL_RHw1CNKVNThaojPF2I0I9HD4BBE1FUXn1A-1Mx3lKjWId-Y0xqFlV783dzIHX_E69FPeyN/s320/4216812412.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">EASTERN STANCE ON SYRIA versus </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">WESTERN STANCE </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">‘West uses Syria to hit China, Russia and Iran’</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Via RT</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;">Syria is nothing but a pawn in a global geopolitical game, set to be sacrificed in order to curb the expansion of China, Russia and Iran, political analyst Jamal Wakim tells RT.</span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;">­As the international community warily waits to see whether Kofi Annan’s ceasefire plan is going to work in Syria, Lebanese International University professor Jamal Wakim believes the West has still not given up its intention to topple President Bashar Al-Assad. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;">Reports on clashes between Syrian government troops and rebels on the Turkish border may signal that the Syrian opposition wants to discredit Annan’s initiative. This would allow Washington more freedom from the compromise on Syria it has struck with Moscow,  Wakim points out. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;">Furthermore, a conflict with Turkey would help bypass the UN Security Council, where Russia can block any attempt to intervene into Syria, he notes. NATO principles say that attacking one NATO member means attacking the whole bloc, and retaliation would be proportional to this rule. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;">But, according to Wakim, the Syrian conflict has more to it than just toppling another “dictator,” who has been running the country for twelve years. <br /><i><br /><em>“This is an attempt to take over all of the Middle East and block Russia, China and Iran inside the continent, denying them access to the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean,”</em></i></span><span style="font-size: large;"> Wakim told RT. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><em>“There is an alliance between so-called maritime powers: the US, the Western Europe and Turkey. They are trying to hold back Russia, China and Iran off international trade routes and thus get better bargaining positions. This would also hamper the economic growth of the three countries and affect their role in global politics,” </em>adds the professor.</span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;">With the Arab Spring advance, Moscow, Beijing and Tehran have lost their access to Mediterranean waters through Libya and Yemen and other places, says Wakim. <em>“Syria is all that is left for them. That is how the ferocity of the US attack on the country can be explained.”</em></span><br /><br /> <div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">WESTERN STANCE ON SYRIA </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">US weighs limited military action against Assad. Turkey may join</span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">via DEBKA<i>file</i> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Turkish air force choppers above Syria border</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Tuesday night, April 10, after Damascus skipped the truce laid down in the UN-Arab envoy Kofi Annan’s plan and escalated its attacks on the Syrian population, a change of tone was detected in the Obama administration.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">debkafile’s Washington sources report that, although President Barack Obama is still flat against broad US military intervention in Syria, administration circles feel America could no longer stay aloof from what is happening there. They are thinking in terms of limited military action to show Bashar Assad and the heads of his regime and army the first American red lines against his brutal crackdown. One plan under discussion is for a US air strike against an Assad regime and/or military target would be enough to dent morale in Damascus and demonstrate to his loyal troops and the Syrian opposition that the Syrian ruler is far from infallible.<br />This lesson might corner Assad into complying with Annan’s six-point peace plan, especially the ceasefire and withdrawal of armored troops from Syrian cities, which he ducked Tuesday.<br />The pretext Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem offered Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for missing the deadline, our Moscow sources report, was that when the soldiers are pulled out of the cities, rebel forces will move into the evacuated areas; the anti-Assad uprising would flare up again at full strength across Syria.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Moallem appealed to his host to persuade the Americans to continue to abstain from military action in Syria and defend the need for Syrian units to remain in the main cities, even against a complaint by Annan to the UN Security Council accusing Damascus of flouting an agreed plan.<br /> In consideration of this side play in Moscow, Annan was cautious in his comments to reporters on his visit to a Syrian refugee camp in southern Turkey, saying it was too soon to declare his plan a failure. He explained that the Syrian regime had not taken issue with a single one of his six proposals and the situation could improve once UN observers were on the ground. Annan offered Assad another two days up until Thursday, April 12, to implement the agreed ceasefire.<br />Talking to reporters In Moscow alongside Moallem, Lavrov proposed that UN observers move into Syria without delay. The team could be enlisted mainly from the UNDOF (United Nations Disengagement Observer Force) serving on the Syrian-Israeli Golan border. The Syrian minister was not in favor of the plan.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Tuesday night, the UN Security Council called on Bashar Assad to meet the Thursday deadline for a truce. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the council would meet Thursday to hear Annan’s report.<br />She spoke after consulting with Lavrov.<br />The Lavrov proposal would redeploy the main body of the Golan UN force, which maintains a liaison office in Damascus, in positions for enforcing the truce between Syrian and rebel forces in Syria’s main embattled cities, preferably by April 12. The UN 1,000-strong force has two battalions, one Austrian and one Philippine, and a small Croatian unit.<br />Our intelligence sources report that Assad objects to the plan because it would be tantamount to internationalizing the civil war raging in Syria and pave the way for rebels and protesters against his regime to gain UN protection.<br />Convinced that the Syrian ruler would never allow himself to be pushed into accepting UN intervention, the Americans continue to keep limited military intervention on the table.<br />They will let it simmer there until the Six-Power nuclear talks with Iran beginning Saturday, April 14, in Istanbul are well under way, so as not to give Tehran pretexts for toughening its bargaining position or pulling out of the negotiations.<br />Turkey too is moving closer than ever before to real military action, not just empty words. Armed Turkish assault helicopters flew Tuesday over the Syrian border. They were there to warn Damascus that if Syrian soldiers again fired across the border into Syrian refugee camps as they did Monday, April 9, they would be targeted by the Turkish gunships.<br />Sources in Ankara reminded local and Arab media of the existence of the mutual defense cooperation pact known as the “Adana agreement” which Turkey and Syria concluded in 1998.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Article 1 states that "Syria, on the basis of the principle of reciprocity, will not permit any activity that emanates from its territory aimed at jeopardizing the security and stability of Turkey."<br />Under this article, Ankara feels Turkish military intervention in Syria is legitimate. This reminder was offered the media, our military sources confirm, to provide the legal grounding for a potential Turkish military move across its border into Syria.</span></span></div>

SYRIA: FULL OUT PROPAGANDA WAR

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