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Riveting WWII Documentary: D-Day Minus One DVD (1945)

D-Day Minus One is a tremendous documentary that reveals the role of the lesser known Airborne Divisions the day before D-Day - when paratroops, gliders, and troop carriers landed in France behind enemy lines to prepare for the invasion of Normandy. A patriotic film that never falls into the usual traps of racism and jingoism, the film illuminates how these brave men engaged in heroic operations that prepared the way for, or worked in concert with, the epic invasion that next day. The footage of these troops being dropped behind enemy lines is excellent, and the narration stirring and moving. This vital exposure to the military experience in World War II is a fascinating walk through a momentous event in history. D-Day Minus One is unquestionably one of the best vintage World War II films ever made.

Lively Event: Participants at the launch of the innovative educational toolkit in Brussels. © UNHCR/N.Ral

BRUSSELS, Belgium, March 26 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency and its partner, the International Organization for Migration, on Thursday launched an innovative educational toolkit designed to inform young people about the main migration and asylum issues in the European Union (EU).

The "Not Just Numbers" toolkit, developed by the two agencies and supported by the European Commission (EC), was unveiled at a lively event in Brussels attended by young people. It will be rolled out in other European countries in the coming weeks.

"We hope the toolkit will encourage informed discussion and debate among young people,'' said Judith Kumin, director of UNHCR's European Union Liaison Office. "The kit provides a resource for teachers and other educators to help them respond to the issues and questions they often face in the classroom."

Aimed at 12-18-year-olds in Europe, the kit will contribute to the efforts of UNHCR, the IOM and the EC to promote public understanding of the situation of asylum seekers and migrants and to combat discrimination and prejudice.

Many young people in Europe have concerns about immigration and asylum that are based on misperception and misinformation – the toolkit aims to counter this. UNHCR and IOM believe education is the key to forging a healthy relationship between host communities and immigrants.

Seventeen-year-old Yacine, a Belgian of Congolese and Moroccan origin, told participants at the launch that he often received strange reactions from children at school and people in the street because of the colour of his skin. "These reactions, which range from fear to distrust or violence, make me sad because they often they come from ignorance and incomprehension."

By means of short films and a simple teacher's manual, the toolkit provides lesson plans, learning activities and other educational resources that can be used inside and outside the classroom. The kit is currently available in English, but there will soon be versions in 20 European languages on the UNHCR and IOM websites.

The toolkit was welcomed by IOM's Brussels-based representative. "While migration to the EU is often portrayed in terms of anonymous statistics, the context and causes of migration are diverse and individual," Bernd Hemingway said. "Young people often lack the wider knowledge and the tools they need to be able to analyze and develop informed views on migration and asylum," he added.

Migration and asylum are at the top of the EU policy agenda. The reasons for migration to Europe are increasingly diversified, and so are the categories of migrants, with refugees and asylum seekers accounting for a small portion.

But public opinion in some European countries often calls for more restrictive policies and measures, without distinguishing between refugees and other categories of migrants.

Racism, xenophobia and discrimination exist in all EU member states and have an impact on refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants, who are often unfairly associated with crime and other anti-social behaviour. The situation is being exacerbated by the current economic crisis.

Against this backdrop, there is an urgent need for reliable and accessible information on migration and asylum in the EU. Critical issues such as the causes of refugee flight and economic migration, human trafficking, the particular situation of migrant and refugee children, the human rights dimension, and many other issues need to be addressed.

By Vanessa Saenen in Brussels, Belgium

Right ... where do I start ... I thought it would be a good idea to come back off a night shift last night, change clothes, make a flask of coffee, grab my D300S, 1.4x TC, 80-200mm f/2.8, a camo coat, my tripod and the hide and get out before dawn to try once again to look for a Kingfisher.

So by 0745 this morning I was in the hide, camera on tripod, searching the canal bank (different location from yesterday backed up with a bit better research !!) for life. I waited until 1030hrs and thought well if a Kingfisher was about I'm sure I'd have seen it by now as I'm led to believe they are most active in mornings. So ... I after seeing many Squirrels, Mallards and a lone Common Egret, I decided to abandon my plan - proposterous idea that it was - should have just gone to sleep !! I ended up headed for Cwm Clydach RSPB Reserve (which I had found the night previously during my local Kingfisher resarch) a few miles up the road. I arrived at the reserve expecting hides etc ... but no a long path .... with no birds !!!! There was no life apart from a single solitary Common Buzzard, I was hoping for Dippers, Jays, Sparrowhawks but no. However it is a very very beautiful wood, which brings me on to lesson number 2 ... if I had brought a wider lens, my ND's or even just caps for the TC so I could have removed it. I did see some fabulous fungus specimens there which I have included below. It was a very damp and mossy wood, really beautiful with water running everywhere. So anyway, after walking 5 miles I returned to the car with my tail between my legs feeling quite tired from the lack of sleep. It was now 1400hrs. So driving home I thought, I'll just walk up the other side of the canal motivating myself to last a little longer. I walked a mile, and thought I'll walk to the next lock, set the hide up and see what turns up hoping for Mink or maybe even an Otter or at least some water birds. It was now 1600 and I was really feeling tired, so got out the hide, packed it up and then - woooosh a flash of blue NOOOOOO !!! I turned around and there was the Kingfisher perched about 5 m away .... gutted, he then spotted me and flew off into the sun perching a little further down river. But there we go ... I saw one ... that was the main thing ... but I should have gone to bed ... as it is now 1740 and I am back in work at 2200 !

There we go ... I did take the best shots of a Robin I had ever taken on the way back to the car, and saw a magnificent landscape scene of ivy trailing down from the tree canopy into the canal against a bridge in the golden light of sunset, but couldn't get a decent enough shutter speed to hand hold the 80-200mm !!! Did like the backlit holly to the side of the scene and managed to snap that at f/2.8 for some circular bokeh ... but the 80-200 does give a lot of chromatic aberration at f/2.8 in high contrast situations - is this normal ?

So next time I will at least have a wide angle, be it my Tamron or Tokina, with at least an ND4, and I certainly won't go shooting after a night shift into a night shift with no bed !

Ah well ... at least I know where I can find Kingfishers now ... watch this space ... beautiful creatures that they are ... I feel so privileged to have seen one.

I don't think it is "right" to geotag the image sorry ladies and gents ....

More than 250 lesson plans written by teachers for teachers!
This newest addition to the best-selling GIANT Encyclopedia series expands the scope of the series by offering complete lesson plans. Written and created by teachers, The GIANT Encyclopedia of Lesson Plans has more than 250 complete lesson plans that cover topics from colors and numbers to seasons and nursery rhymes.
Each lesson plan is complete with:
A learning objective
A circle or group time activity
Book suggestions
Snack ideas
Five learning center activities
Assessment strategies
Related songs, poems, and fingerplays