Malaysia first hosted an Asia-Pacific Regional Scout Conference as far back in 1964, when it organised the 4th Far East Scout Conference from 6th December to 12th December 1964 at the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur. The Persekutuan Pengakap Malaysia ( The Scouts Association of Malaysia) at that time was headed by the Chief Scout, Y.B. Tun Hj. Sardon bin Hj. Zubir who was also the then Education Minister of Malaysia.

The National Chief Commissioner was Y.B. Datuk Esa bin Alwee. The said Conference was officialy opened by the late Y.T.M. Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia.

After 45 years, the Perseketuan Pengakap Malaysia (The Scout Association of Malaysia) has again been given the honour of hosting The 23rd Asia-Pacific Regional Conference in October 2009. This is a proud moment for the Perseketuan Pengakap Malaysia and all the Malaysian Scouts.

Malaysia takes pleasure in welcoming all the Scouters, Scout Leaders and participants from the Asia-Pacific Region and as well as from other regions to attend the 23rd Asia-Pacific Regional Scout Conference in the vibrant city of Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia.

Participants can be assured of the best of service, facilities and the well known Malaysian hospitality during their stay in our lovely country.

Source: PPM

KENINGAU Seramai 51 ahli pengakap muda dan remaja daerah Keningau menyertai Kursus Penyesuaian Diri dan Ikhtiar Hidup selama dua hari di Taman Bandukan Bingkor dekat sini baru-baru ini. Kursus berkenaan dianjurkan oleh Unit Latihan Pengurusan Pengakap Daerah Keningau.

Pengerusi penganjur, Andrew Charles berkata, sepanjang kursus itu peserta di tempatkan di kawasan hutan iaitu kira-kira satu kilometer dari taman tersebut

''Mereka ada dibekalkan dengan kelengkapan asas serta makanan. Mereka juga diberikan tugasan seperti membina pondok ringkas tanpa khemah untuk berteduh dan membina tempat tidur," katanya di sini.

Andrew berkata, kursus itu bertujuan mendidik ahli-ahli pengakap menguasai kemahiran berdikari di samping menerapkan kekuatan mental dalam diri mereka.

''Gaya hidup moden juga menjadi faktor pengakap-pengakap pada masa kini kurang menguasai ilmu pengakap terutamanya ilmu ikhtiar hidup dan kekuatan mental yang amat diperlukan," ujarnya.

Source: Utusan Malaysia

Excerpts from: MY ADVENTURES AS A SPY BY LIEUT.-GEN. SIR ROBERT BADEN-POWELL, K.C.B., Illustrated by the Author's Own Sketches, LONDON, C. ARTHUR PEARSON, LTD, HENRIETTA STREET, W.C., 1915.

Tactical Agents

In addition to finding out military details about a country, such as its preparedness in men, supplies, efficiency, and so on, these agents have to study the tactical features of hills and plains, roads and railways, rivers and woods, and even the probable battlefields and their artillery positions, and so on.

The Germans in the present war have been using the huge guns whose shells, owing to their black, smoky explosions, have been nicknamed "Black Marias" or "Jack Johnsons." These guns require strong concrete foundations for them to stand upon before they can be fired. But the Germans foresaw this long before the war, and laid their plans accordingly.

They examined all the country over which they were likely to fight, both in Belgium and in France, and wherever they saw good positions for guns they built foundations and emplacements for them. This was done in the time of peace, and therefore had to be done secretly. In order to divert suspicion, a German would buy or rent a farm on which it was desired to build an emplacement. Then he would put down foundations for a new barn or farm building, or—if near a town—for a factory, and when these were complete, he would erect some lightly constructed building upon it.

There was nothing to attract attention or suspicion about this, and numbers of these emplacements are said to have been made before war began. When war broke out and the troops arrived on the ground, the buildings were hastily pulled down and there were the emplacements all ready for the guns.

Some years ago a report came to the War Office that a foreign Power was making gun emplacements in a position which had not before been suspected of being of military value, and they were evidently going to use it for strategical purposes.

I was sent to see whether the report was true. Of course, it would not do to go as an officer—suspicions would be aroused, one would be allowed to see nothing, and would probably be arrested as a spy. I therefore went to stay with a friendly farmer in the neighbourhood, and went out shooting every day among the partridges and snipe which abounded there. The first thing I did was to look at the country generally, and try to think which points would be most valuable as positions for artillery.

Then I went to look for partridges (and other things!) on the hills which I had noticed, and I very soon found what I wanted.

Officers were there, taking angles and measurements, accompanied by workmen, who were driving pegs into the ground and marking off lines with tapes between them.

As I passed with my gun in my hand, bag on shoulder, and dog at heel, they paid no attention to me, and from the neighbouring hills I was able to watch their proceedings.

When they went away to their meals or returned to their quarters, I went shooting over the ground they had left, and if I did not get a big bag of game, at any rate I made a good collection of drawings and measurements of the plans of the forts and emplacements which they had traced out on the ground.

So that within a few days of their starting to make them we had the plans of them all in our possession. Although they afterwards planted trees all over the sites to conceal the forts within them, and put up buildings in other places to hide them, we knew perfectly well where the emplacements were and what were their shapes and sizes.

This planting of trees to hide such defence works occasionally has the other effect, and shows one where they are. This was notably the case at Tsingtau, captured by the Japanese and British forces from the Germans. As there were not any natural woods there, I had little difficulty in finding where the forts were by reason of the plantations of recent growth in the neighbourhood of the place.

Catching A Spy

Spy-catching was once one of my duties, and is perhaps the best form of education towards successful spying. I had been lucky enough to nail three and was complimented by one of the senior officers on the Commander-in-Chief's staff. We were riding home together from a big review at the time that he was talking about it, and he remarked, "How do you set about catching a spy?" I told him of our methods and added that also luck very often came in and helped one.

Just in front of us, in the crowd of vehicles returning from the review-ground, was an open hired Victoria in which sat a foreign-looking gentleman. I remarked that as an instance this was the sort of man I should keep an eye upon, and I should quietly follow him till I found where he lodged and then put a detective on to report his moves.

From our position on horseback close behind him we were able to see that our foreigner was reading a guide book and was studying a map of the fortifications through which we were passing. Suddenly he called to the driver to stop for a moment while he lit a match for his cigarette. The driver pulled up, and so did we. The stranger glanced up to see that the man was not looking round, and then quickly slipped a camera from under the rug which was lying on the seat in front of him, and taking aim at the entrance shaft of a new ammunition store which had just been made for our Navy, he took a snapshot.

Then hurriedly covering up the camera again he proceeded to strike matches and to light his cigarette. Then he gave the word to drive on again.

We followed close behind till we came to where a policeman was regulating the traffic. I rode ahead and gave him his instructions so that the carriage was stopped, and the man was asked to show his permit to take photographs. He had none. The camera was taken into custody and the name and address of the owner taken "with a view to further proceedings."

Unfortunately at that time—it was many years ago—we were badly handicapped by our laws in the matter of arresting and punishing spies. By-laws allowed us to confiscate and smash unauthorised cameras, and that was all.

"Further proceedings," had they been possible, in this case would have been unnecessary, for the suspected gentleman took himself off to the Continent by the very next boat.

But it took a good deal to persuade my staff-officer friend that the whole episode was not one faked up for his special edification.

It is only human to hate to be outwitted by one more clever than yourself, and perhaps that accounts for people disliking spies with a more deadly hatred than that which they bestow on a man who drops bombs from an aeroplane indiscriminately on women and children, or who bombards cathedrals with infernal engines of war.

A Secret Message

These hieroglyphics contain a secret message which can be easily read by those who know the semaphore signalling code. This signalling consists of swinging two arms in different positions, either singly or together. The dots indicate where the letters join. For example: The semaphore sign for N consists of both arms pointing downwards at an angle of 90 degrees ^. The letter I is shown by both arms pointing to the left at the same angle >. The next N is shown again, and the letter E is a single arm pointing upwards on the right at an angle of 45 degrees /.

In each word you start at the top of the signs and read downwards.

This form of secret message was frequently used in the South African War.

Concealing A Fort in a Moth's Head

Another example of this method of making secret plans is shown here.

This sketch was made, giving all the particulars that I wanted. I then decided to bury it in such a way that it could not be recognised as a fortress plan if I were caught by the military authorities. One idea which occurred to me was to make it into the doorway of a cathedral or church, but I finally decided on the sketch of the moth's head. Underneath in my note-book I wrote the following words:—

"Head of Dula moth as seen through a magnifying glass. Caught 19.5.12. Magnified about six times size of life." (Meaning scale of 6 inches to the mile.)

Fooling A German Sentry

On another occasion I wanted to ascertain what value there was in the musketry training of a foreign infantry. Also it had been reported that they had recently acquired a new form of machine gun which was a particularly rapid firer and very accurate in its effects. Its calibre was known, and its general pattern (from photographs), but its actual capabilities were still a matter of conjecture.

On this occasion I thought the simplest way would be to go undisguised. Without any concealment I went to stay in garrison towns where I happened to know one or two officers. I obtained introductions to other officers, and gradually became their companion at meals and at their evening entertainments. They mounted me on their horses, I rode with them on their rounds of duty, and I came to be an attendant at their field days and manoeuvres; but whenever we approached the rifle ranges I was always politely but firmly requested to go no further, but to await their return, since the practice was absolutely confidential. I could gain no information from them as to what went on within the enclosure where the rifle range was hidden.

Two of my English friends one day incautiously stopped at the entrance gate to one of the ranges, and were promptly arrested and kept in the guard-room for some hours, and finally requested to leave the place, without getting much satisfaction out of it. So I saw that caution was necessary. Little by little, especially after some very cheerful evenings, I elicited a certain amount of information from my friends as to what the new machine gun did and was likely to do, and how their soldiers could of course never hit a running target, since it was with the greatest difficulty they hit the standing one at all. But more than this it was impossible to get.

However, I moved on to another military station, where as a stranger I tried another tack. The rifle ranges were surrounded by a belt of trees, outside of which was an unclimbable fence guarded by two sentries, one on either side. It seemed impossible to get into or even near the range without considerable difficulty.

One day I sauntered carelessly down in the direction of the range at a point far away from the entrance gate, and here I lay down on the grass as if to sleep, but in reality to listen and take the rate of the shooting from the sound and also the amount of success by the sound of the hits on the iron target. Having gained a certain amount of data in this way, I approached more nearly in the hope of getting a sight of what was going on.

While the sentry's back was turned I made a rush for the fence, and though I could not get over, I found a loose plank through which I was able to get a good view of what was happening.

While engaged at this, to my horror the sentry suddenly turned on his tracks and came back towards me. But I had been prepared against such eventualities, and jamming back the plank into its place, I produced from my pocket a bottle of brandy which I had brought for the purpose. Half of it had been already sprinkled over my clothes, so that when the man approached he found me in a state of drunkenness, smelling vilely of spirits, and profuse in my offers to him to share the bottle.

He could make nothing of me, and therefore gently but firmly conducted me to the end of his beat and thrust me forth and advised me to go home, which I did in great content....

A Spy is Suspicious

The practice of spying has one unfortunate tendency: it teaches one to trust no one, not even a would-be benefactor. A foreign country had recently manufactured a new form of field gun which was undergoing extensive secret trials, which were being conducted in one of her colonies in order to avoid being watched. I was sent to find out particulars of this gun. On arrival in the colony I found that a battery of new guns was carrying out experiments at a distant point along the railway.

The place was by all description merely a roadside station, with not even a village near it, so it would be difficult to go and stay there without being noticed at once. The timetable, however, showed that the ordinary day train stopped there for half an hour for change of engines, so I resolved to see what I could do in the space of time allowed.

We jogged along in the local train happily enough and stopped at every little station as we went. At one of these a Colonial farmer entered my carriage, and though apparently ill and doleful, we got into conversation on the subject of the country and the crops.

At length we drew up at the station where the guns were said to be. Eagerly looking from the window, my delight may be imagined when I saw immediately outside the station yard the whole battery of guns standing parked.

Everybody left the train to stretch their legs, and I did not lose a moment in hurrying through the station and walking out to have a closer look at what I had come to see.

The sentry on the guns was on the further side from me, and therefore I was able to have a pretty close look at the breech action and various other items before he could come round to my side. But he very quickly noticed my presence, and not only came himself, but shouted to another man whom I had not so far seen behind a corner of the station wall.

This was the corporal of the guard, who rushed at me and began abusing me with every name he could lay his tongue to for being here without permit. I tried to explain that I was merely a harmless passenger by the train coming out to stretch my legs, and had never noticed his rotten old guns? But he quickly shoo'd me back into the station.

I betook myself once more to the carriage, got out my field glasses, and continued my investigations from the inside of the carriage, where I had quite a good view of the guns outside the station, and was able to note a good deal of information painted on them as to their weight, calibre, etc. Suddenly in the midst of my observations I found the view was obscured, and looking up, I found the face of the corporal peering in at me; he had caught me in the act. But nothing more came of it at the moment.

My farmer friend presently returned to his place, the whistle sounded, and the train lumbered on.

When I resumed conversation with the Colonist I remarked on his invalid appearance and enquired about his health. The poor man, with tears running down his cheeks, then confessed to me it was not illness of body, but worry of the mind that was preying upon him.

He had utterly failed in his attempt at making a successful farm, and had entered the train with the idea of cutting his throat, and would have done so had I not been there to prevent him. Life was over for him, and he did not know what to do. I got him to talk about his losses, and offered suggestions to him based on the experiences of a friend of mine who was also a farmer in that country, and who for ten years had failed until the right method came to him in the eleventh year, and he was now making his business a huge success.

This put hope at once into my volatile companion. He bucked up and became cheerful and confidential. Finally he said:

"You have done me a good turn. I will do something for you. I know that you are a German spy, and I know that you are going to be arrested at the station where this train stops for the night. You were spotted by a non-commissioned officer at the last station, and while I was in the telegraph office he came in and sent a telegram to the Commandant of the terminal station, reporting that a German spy had been examining the guns and was travelling by this train in this carriage."

I at once laughed genially at the mistake made, and explained to him that I was not a German at all. He replied that that would not avail me—I should be arrested all the same if I went on to the end of the journey.

"But," he suggested, "I shall be getting out myself at the very next station to go back to my farm, and my advice to you is to get out there also. You will find a good inn where you can put up for the night, and to-morrow morning the early train will take you on clean through that very station where the military commandant will be on the look-out for you to-night."

I replied that, as an Englishman, I had nothing to fear, and I should go on.

At the next station accordingly he got out, and after an affectionate farewell, I went on. But there was yet another station between this and the night stop, and on arrival there I took the hint of my friend and got out and spent the night at the little inn of the place. Following his advice still further, I took the early train next morning and ran through the place where they had been looking out for me. I had not got out when he invited me to at his station lest his invitation might merely have been a trap to test whether I was a spy; had I accepted it, no doubt he might have had friends at hand to arrange my arrest. As it was, I came away scot free with all the information I wanted about the new gun.

Source: Excerpts & Extracts

The World Scout Bureau has released a report titled “Scouting’s Gifts for Peace“. The Gifts for Peace report contains truly inspirational projects from over 110 National Scout Organizations, as well as beautiful photos of many of the projects. In case you have no idea what the Scouting’s Gift for Peace Project is, here you go:

Scouts worldwide celebrated 100 years of Scouting in 2007 by presenting their Gifts for Peace, locally, nationally and internationally. The aim of this global program is to inspire young people to tackle issues in their communities, build peace and bring people together.

Building bridges between people has been a central focus of Scouting since its founding when Baden Powell brought together boys from different social backgrounds. In 1920 young people from countries which had been at war with each other gathered at the first World Scout Jamboree, a celebration of cultures, fun and friendship.

The Gifts for Peace projects have given renewed emphasis to the active promotion of peace throughout the world. The Gifts for Peace reported here are projects undertaken by 110 national Scout organizations for their impact in terms of education, understanding, tolerance and respect for others. Countless more Gifts for Peace are being carried out by local Scout groups. Some projects have concluded and others continue.

Through the Gifts for Peace, Scouts worldwide are:

• Managing conflict without violence: conflict resolution, problem solving, negotiation, mediation and anger management.
• Challenging prejudices and stereotypes such as racism, religious intolerance, bullying and gender discrimination.
• Encouraging greater solidarity: with refugees, internally displaced people, asylum seekers, street children and ethnic minority groups.
• Working at national and local levels on issues including child soldiers, child labor, street violence and gangs, health education and human rights.

The Gifts for Peace program and projects described in this report show how Scouts worldwide are taking action to make a difference. Millions of Scouts, in over 110 countries, are working to create a better world!
I’d encourage you to at least glance through the report and see how Scouts around the world are promoting peace in their country. If you are just curious about what the Boy Scouts of America has listed, there is a description of the “Good Turn for America“, as well as a story about Hurricane Katrina cleanup, titled “Rebuilding Communities, Rebuilding Trust”.

Here is the United State’s listing, you’ll have to download the report to view the “Rebuilding Communities, Rebuilding Trust” story. 

Good Turn for America

Scouts are giving their time and energy to provide food and shelter for those in need and to teach their peers about healthy living. Service is a core value of Scouting and the Boy Scouts of America have been helping communities since their creation. They decided to focus on food and shelter issues because 17.8 percent of children in the United States live in poverty, and because their living conditions affect their performance in school.

Scouts, through their Good Turn for America program, are focusing on supporting issues connected to food, shelter and good health habits. Scouts can record their service hours and to inform people of what they have done on the project’s website. As of early 2008, more than 6.9 million service hours had been given by Scouts to their community. They have teamed up with the most respected governmental and non-governmental organizations, including the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and the Department of Health and Human Services, to help people in need.

One extraordinary example of the type of service is the cleaning up of houses affected by hurricane Katrina. Many had been flooded and filled with mud and debris. Scouts were trusted by the population, at a time when looting was widespread, and were able to provide hope and help rebuild trust in a community which badly needed it.

Besides the “Scouting’s Gifts for Peace“, there is also a Gifts for Peace website. A project database and website have been developed to share the Gifts for Peace online. The web pages also contain links to educational resources and to information gathered from long-standing peace projects in the ‘Learning from Projects’ area.

It’s a good read and very inspirational.

Source: Scouting News & WOSM

England's one of the oldest Scout groups in the country celebrated its centenary with a visit from the grandson of the founder of the Scout movement Lord Baden-Powell. Dursley 1st Scouts was founded in 1908, just one year after the Scout movement was started by Robert Baden-Powell and as part of their celebrations grandson Michael Baden-Powell visited the Scout hut.

Belinda Holley, Beaver-Scout leader, said: "Meeting Michael was a really exciting way for all of us in 1st Dursley Scouts to celebrate our own centenary, after celebrating the centenary of Scouting last year.

"He was great to speak to and such a wonderful ambassador for the Scout movement."

Mr Baden-Powell, who lives with his family in Australia and is active in the Scout movement in Victoria, gave a speech to the Scouts and Beavers in which he recalled lunching in Dursley as a guest of the Board of Directors of R A Listers as a small boy with his father. He was offered a job with the company later on but chose to seek his fortune in Australia instead.

He then invested 10 new Beavers and took the promises of four boys moving up to Cubs and four boys moving up to Scouts.

Mrs Holley said: "I really hope that the boys who gave Michael their scouting promises will remember such a special day for the rest of their lives - I know that I will.

"I was a Venture Scout when I was younger. It changed my life and I had the most brilliant time taking part in things like camping, hill walking, sailing, canoeing, climbing and parascending.

"Becoming a Beaver Scout leader now that I have children of my own is a way of giving something back to the Scout movement and being able to say thank you for so much to a real Baden-Powell is very humbling."

Source: Gazette Series

The Scouts of the World Partnership is part of the tools to develop the Scouts of the World Award, it is a network of National Scout Organizations (NSOs) willing to help each other in implementing the Scouts of the World Award. The Scouts of the World Partnership is a concrete opportunity to involve young adults in the development of society and provide them with real social responsibilities.

More concretely, Scouts are working with NSOs in other countries or Regions in order to facilitate youth exchanges and open opportunities for young people to commit themselves in international cooperation projects. This is a fantastic field of action for young adults preparing for the Scouts of the World Award or having received the SW Award.

More and more countries have developed and implemented this global initiative within their programme for the Rover section. Here is some news from all corners of the global about this international cooperation:

Uruguay – Argentina
Nicolas Revetria, a 17 year old Rover from Uruguay, proposed to the National Rover Forum the implementation of the Scouts of the World Award in his country. After being adopted by all his peers, young people and adults are working together in Uruguay to implement the Scouts of the World Award.

They started working with the aim to explore the international dimension of the Scouts of the World Award and how to collaborate with other NSOs. They contacted the National SW Award coordinator in Argentina to learn of their experiences on this. The Scouts in Argentina invited a delegation from Uruguay to visit Buenos Aires and worked together in order to share ideas and experiences. Thanks to this collaboration the Scouts of Uruguay will launch their first Scout of the World Base in November 2008.

As Pablo Menese (National SW Award coordinator in Uruguay) described: “When I think of the great opportunity that was working with another country, I can see the infinite educational richness of the work in different projects by thousands of young people in different countries. The Scouts of the World Networks and Partnerships are incredibly useful experiences for young people to become citizens of the world.”

Costa Rica - France
Clothilde Chaussat, a 18 year old member of 'Scouts et Guides de France', is currently working in Costa Rica with the aim to support the developing of the Scouts of the World Award and sharing her experience with other young people.

She has already obtained the Scouts of the World Award by working on building a library in Benin (Africa), and has said “By doing the Scouts of the World Award I have obtained a lot of personal satisfaction and now I will focus on making the project grow further”.

This is an excellent example of international cooperation. The Association of Guides and Scouts of Costa Rica and 'Scouts et Guides de France' are working together on international exchanges to build a better world.

Singapore – Thailand
The National Scout Organization of Thailand invited the Scouts of the World Award team of Singapore to run a workshop on the SW Award during their National Scout Jamboree, hundreds of young people learnt from the Singapore Scouts about the SW Award projects and how working together with other young people can make have a positive effect on society.

Through the theme 'Rovers serve the Globe', both NSOs worked together with Greenpeace, providing them with a great opportunity during the Jamboree to show how the SW Award should be complemented by the experience of other organisations.

For more information on how to obtain the Scouts of the World Award visit Scout of the World

Please share your Scouts of the World activities with the World Scout Bureau by emailing Andres Morales, Unit Manager Adolescents & Young Adults.

Source: WOSM

For the first time, the Scout Association of Macau (SAM) hosted two major regional events: the Regional Scout Committee meeting and the Committee NSO Visit. Both meetings were held at the national headquarters situated in Fortaleza de Taipa, a historical place in Macau overlooking China.

The Regional Scout Committee meeting was held from 18th to 19th October 2008 finalizing the matters related to the 23rd Regional Scout Conference and the APR Summit both will be held in 2009.

Right after the meeting, a fast track two-day meeting between the Regional Scout Committee and the Scout Association of Macau (SAM) followed from 19th to 20th October 2008.

Chairman Jejomar Binay co-presided the meeting with SAM Chief Commissioner Mr Leong Sio Pui, Deputy Chief Commissioner Ms Lynda Chow, International Commissioner Ms Francisca Vong, Programme Commissioner Mr Francisco Chan and other SAM leaders.

Accompanying Chairman Binay were RSC Vice-President Mohammed Ali Khalid, Members Prakorb Mukura, Mukhyuddin Bin Sarwani, Chairman of Young Adult Members Group Manabu Hiratsuka. The regional office was represented by Regional Director Abdullah Rasheed and Director S Prassanna.

Key leaders of SAM participated in the discussions of key performance areas. Substantial conclusions and observations were captured in the final recommendations paper agreed upon at the session finale.

Also in this CNV mission, the regional team had the opportunity to meet with the young people.

Source: WOSM

If you think the word 'scout' is generic, think carefully before coining your group using the word 'scout' or you might end up in trouble just like this Mountain View dad in US.

A Mountain View father lost a bid in federal court in San Francisco on Tuesday to use the name "Youthscouts" for a youth activities group he founded for his daughter. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White ruled that the Boy Scouts of America has a trademark right to exclusive use of the word "scouts" in an organizational name.

White also said the Boy Scouts, founded in 1910, had additional protection from a special charter passed by Congress in 1916 giving the group rights over the word.

Mountain View resident Gregory Wrenn, a Silicon Valley attorney, founded Youthscouts in 2002 after his daughter Emma was asked to stop attending meetings of her twin brother's Cub Scouts pack.

Youthscouts was intended to be nondiscriminatory and open to all members and staff regardless of gender, sexual orientation or religion. Wrenn, who sued the Boy Scouts in 2003 after the organization initiated trademark enforcement proceedings, argued that the terms "scouts" and "scouting" were generic and should not be subject to trademark protection.

But White wrote in a 15-page ruling that the terms as used by the Boy Scouts "have achieved and been accorded significant conceptual and commercial strength." He said there was a likelihood of public confusion between the Boy Scouts and Youthscouts.

Wrenn and Boy Scouts of America were not immediately available for comment on the decision, which could be appealed.

In several other cases during the past decade, the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts have ruled that Boy Scouts of America is entitled to exclude girls, homosexuals and atheists because it is a private organization.

Source: MVV

At the inauguration ceremony of the 6th South Asia Foundation Scout Friendship Camp, Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed, Chief Adviser of the Government of the Republic of Bangladesh urged Scouts to work together in promoting peace and prosperity in the SAARC Region.

Md Abul Kalam Azad, Chief National Commissioner of Bangladesh Scouts, welcomed the 258 participants from Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh who have gathered together from 12th to 18th October 2008 at the National Training Center of Bangladesh Scouts, located in Mouchak, Gazipur, Bangladesh.

Participants enjoyed doing the nine challenges. All-time favorite activities were hiking, community service, backwoodsman, cooking and rowing.

To foster youth involvement in the area of decision-making, a 'Youth Forum' was organized empowering them to make decisions on the issues that directly affected them. The Youth Forum culminated with a simulated parliament, where young people stood as Chief Commissioners.

They deliberated on a proposed bill looking into ways on how they can achieve the Millennium Development Goals. A young female leader from the host national Scout organization, Bangladesh Scouts, chaired the parliament. The deliberation was carried out in the presence of the representative from the Office of the President of the Republic of Bangladesh.

Cultural exchange and understanding was evident for every country where they had the opportunity to present their culture and other demographic information of their respective.

Bangladesh hosts Chief Commissioners meeting
On 13th October 2008, the Chief Commissioners of South Asia met for their annual gathering at the Jamuna Resort in Tangail District, Bangladesh for this year's Chief Commissioner’s Meeting.

Attended the meeting were Mr L.M. Jain of the Bharat Scouts and Guides (India), Mr Ahmed Ali Maniku of the Scout Association of Maldives, Mr Shree Ram Lamichhane of Nepal Scouts, Mr Ghazanfar Mashkoor of Pakistan Boy Scouts Association, Mr Bernard C. Batuwangala of Sri Lanka Scouts Association and Mr Md Abul Kalam Azad of Bangladesh Scouts.

At the meeting, Pakistan turned-over the chairmanship of the sub-region to Bangladesh and each country was given an opportunity to present an update of their national Scout organization's achievements and challenges in the previous year.

Source: WOSM

Autumn is upon us, and already one of our grandsons has coerced us into purchasing a large tin or two of popcorn to benefit his Cub Scout pack. But we are highly coerceable, since we know that the Scouting movement, for almost a century now, has proven to be one of the finest molders of American youth.

It s been about 60 years since I joined the Cub Scouts, when I was in the third or fourth grade. I have clear recollections of the three Cub Scout books Wolf, Bear, and Lion with their vivid accounts of the fun and excitement that Scouting could offer a boy. Among other appeals to young boys was the sense of accomplishment that went along with the completion of various requirements that led to the Scouting awards. From an adult perspective, one can see that the people who devised the Scouting program were well aware of the value of learning discipline at an early age. The tasks Cub Scouts are expected to complete are not onerous, but they lead a boy to develop a sense of responsibility as a member of a family. And that s an important value.

Another, possibly unplanned, value of Scouting, but certainly one that has been demonstrated time and again during the past century is that it has become a family project. Cub Scout activities are centered around the family, but as a boy grows older and moves into the Boy Scouting organizations, he is no less a son or brother than he used to be. And very likely, if he has enjoyed his association with Scouting, he will pass on to his own children an interest in and a love for the adventures and the values that Scouting offers.

I suppose I am a case in point. My father was a Boy Scout back in the 1930s, when he was growing up in Columbus during the Great Depression. And some 15 years later, he saw to it that I had the same opportunities. I had the good fortune to have not only his encouragement as I progressed through the Scouting ranks but also the guidance of adult leaders who had a clear idea of what the Scouting experience could be and do for a boy. One of my fondest memories is that of attending the World Boy Scout Jamboree at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, back in 1955.

And then I had the pleasure of introducing my own son to Scouting when he became old enough to join the Cubs. I don t think I ve ever seen a kid take to Scouting with the enthusiasm and commitment that Christopher did! For a while during his Cub days, I was a den mother, meeting with a group of six or eight boys at our house each week. Among other responsibilities to them, I felt that I needed to inspire them to recognize that if they planned carefully, they could accomplish just about anything they set their minds to. As one of our projects, we worked together to build a large model of a suspension bridge. (It was a complex undertaking, and the result was about four feet long and maybe 18 inches high.)

When these boys moved on into Boy Scouting, I helped out as a Merit Badge counselor, meeting with a group to help them learn about the U. S. Constitution and our form of government, or whatever else they were working on. As you might imagine, it was a source of pride for me, in time, to pin onto Christopher s shirt the Eagle Scout award that I myself had received about 35 years earlier.

Christopher is seriously committed to Scouting. For several years in a row he went up to northern Minnesota in the summers and worked as a canoe guide at a Boy Scout High Adventure Camp in the North Woods. His first job out of college was as a District Executive for the Boy Scouts. And now he is a Cub leader, setting an example of service and community involvement for his own two sons as well as for others.

Indeed, Scouting s values make it a family affair.

Source: Thomaston Times