News

A survey of Salvation Army youth programs in more than 80 cities shows more than eight in 10 programs saw increased demand from children and families in the past year as unemployment and funding cuts strained charities.
The survey released to The Associated Press found 56 percent of the charity’s youth programs — including camps, preschools, daycare and after-school programs — are operating at or beyond their capacity.

The report, “Growing Up in a Downturn,’’ also examined the Great Recession’s effect on youth programs since 2008. Since then, 41 percent of the programs have had to cut back services or close their doors because of insufficient funding. Sites in Los Angeles, Rockford, Ill., and Memphis, Tenn., were among those forced to scale back.

Salvation Army Commissioner William Roberts, the charity’s national commander, wrote in the report that the increasing demand shows parents across the country are facing daily questions about how to provide for their children when even social service programs have to make cuts.
“Should they spend their latest pay check on food or rent?’’ he wrote. “How can they spend time with their children while working two jobs?’’
In raw numbers since 2008, attendance at Salvation Army daycare programs increased by more than 40,000 children. Overall, the charity has seen an increase in need across all of its programs. In 2010, it provided assistance to 30.2 million people in the U.S., compared with 28.9 million in 2007.

 Source : http://articles.boston.com

News Weapons

A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility and tactical offensive and defensive capabilities. Firepower is normally provided by a large-calibre main gun in a rotating turret and secondary machine guns, while heavy armour and all-terrain mobility provide protection for the tank and its crew, allowing it to perform all primary tasks of the armoured troops on the battlefield.^[1]

Tanks in World War I were developed separately and simultaneously by Great Britain and France as a means to break the deadlock of trench warfare. Their first use in combat was by the British Army on September 15, 1916 at Flers-Courcelette, during the Battle of the Somme. The name "tank" was adopted in Great Britain during the early stages of their development, as a security measure to conceal their purpose (see Etymology).

Tanks of the interwar period evolved into the designs of World War II. Important concepts of armoured warfare were developed; the Soviet Union launched the first mass tank/air attack at Khalkhin Gol (Nomonhan) in August 1939^[2], which later resulted in the T-34, a predecessor of the main battle tank; this was quickly followed up by Germany on a larger scale when they introduced blitzkrieg ('lightning war') less than two weeks later; a technique which made use of massed concentrations of tanks supported by artillery and air power to break through the enemy front and cause a complete collapse in enemy resistance and morale.

Tanks in the Cold War advanced to counter greater battlefield threats. Tanks became larger and their armour became thicker and much more effective. Advances in manufacturing late in the war allowed the mass production of composite armor. Aspects of gun technology changed significantly as well, with advances in shell design.

During the 20th century, main battle tanks were considered a key component of modern armies.^[3] In the 21st century, with the increasing role of asymetrical warfare and the end of the Cold War, that also contributed to the increase of cost-effective Russian anti-tank weapons worldwide, the importance of tanks has waned. Modern tanks seldom operate alone, as they are organized into armoured units which involve the support of infantry, who may accompany the tanks in infantry fighting vehicles. They are also usually supported by reconnaissance or ground-attack aircraft.^[4]

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank

video of the tank :

panzerfaust vs T 34 

Cats in Tanks

War Article

The American Civil War (1861–1865) was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ("the Confederacy"); the other 25 states supported the federal government ("the Union"). After four years of warfare, mostly within the Southern states, the Confederacy surrendered and slavery was outlawed everywhere in the nation. Issues that led to war were partially resolved in the Reconstruction Era that followed, though others remained unresolved.
In the presidential election of 1860, the Republican Party, led by Abraham Lincoln, had campaigned against expanding slavery beyond the states in which it already existed. The Republicans strongly advocated nationalism, and in their 1860 platform they denounced threats of disunion as avowals of treason. After a Republican victory, but before the new administration took office on March 4, 1861, seven cotton states declared their secession and joined to form the Confederate States of America. Both the outgoing administration of President James Buchanan and the incoming administration rejected the legality of secession, considering it rebellion. The other eight slave states rejected calls for secession at this point. No country in the world recognized the Confederacy.
Hostilities began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces attacked a U.S. military installation at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Lincoln responded by calling for a volunteer army from each state to recapture federal property, which led to declarations of secession by four more slave states. Both sides raised armies as the Union seized control of the border states early in the war and established a naval blockade. Land warfare in the East was inconclusive in 1861–62, as the Confederacy beat back Union efforts to capture its capital, Richmond, Virginia, notably during the Peninsular Campaign. In September 1862, the confederate campaign in Maryland ended in defeat at the Battle of Antietam, which dissuaded the British from intervening.^[2] Days after that battle, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which made ending slavery a war goal.^[3]
In 1863, confederate general Robert E. Lee's northward advance ended in defeat at the Battle of Gettysburg. To the west, the Union gained control of the Mississippi River after the Battle of Shiloh and Siege of Vicksburg, splitting the Confederacy in two and destroying much of their western army. Due to his western successes, Ulysses S. Grant was given command of the eastern army in 1864, and organized the armies of William Tecumseh Sherman, Philip Sheridan and others to attack the Confederacy from all directions, increasing the North's advantage in manpower. Grant restructured the union army, and put other generals in command of divisions of the army that were to support his push into Virginia. He led the Overland Campaign to seize Richmond, though in the face of fierce resistance he altered his plans and led the Siege of Petersburg which nearly finished off the rest of Lee's army. Meanwhile, Sherman captured Atlanta and marched to the sea, destroying Confederate infrastructure along the way. When the Confederate attempt to defend Petersburg failed, the Confederate army retreated but was pursued and defeated, which resulted in Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.
The American Civil War was one of the earliest true industrial wars. Railroads, the telegraph, steamships, and mass-produced weapons were employed extensively. The practices of total war, developed by Sherman in Georgia, and of trench warfare around Petersburg foreshadowed World War I in Europe. It remains the deadliest war in American history, resulting in the deaths of 620,000 soldiers and an undetermined number of civilian casualties. Historian John Huddleston estimates the death toll at ten percent of all Northern males 20–45 years old, and 30 percent of all Southern white males aged 18–40.^[4] Victory for the North meant the end of the Confederacy and of slavery in the United States, and strengthened the role of the federal government. The social, political, economic and racial issues of the war decisively shaped the reconstruction era that lasted to 1877.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War

Army Gun

The long range land attack projectile (LRLAP), designed for the DDG 1000 Advanced Gun System, successfully completed two live-fire tests at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the Navy announced Sept. 22.

The mission, conducted Aug. 30, was the first live-fire test to successfully demonstrate LRLAP effectiveness against targets.

LRLAP is a 155 millimeter rocket-assisted guided projectile designed to support land-attack and naval surface fire support operations in conjunction with the Advanced Gun System on DDG 1000-class destroyers.

source : asdnews