There are a lot of things to look forward to in the New Year. Some phones have generated more interest than others. The phones have been particularly talked about because their features that have set them apart from other possible phones. Here’s a list of some of the phones and their corresponding features that have been generating a lot of interest amongst mobile enthusiasts and experts.
1. Samsung Galaxy S2

Expected Features of Samsung Galaxy S2:

• Operating system: Gingerbread Android 2.3
• Camera : 8 Megapixels, 720p and 1080p full HD video recording, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection
• Display : 4.3-inch Super AMOLED touch screen display, Gorilla Glass display, 16M colors
• Dimensions : 9mm thickness
• Processor : 2 GHz
• Internal/External Memory : 32GB flash storage, 16 GB storage, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of ROM
• Battery : Standard battery, Li-Ion
• Colors : Black
• Officially launched believed to be in February at the MWC 2011 in Barcelona

2. Motorola ATRIX


Expected Features of Motorola ATRIX:

• Operating system: Android OS, v2.2 (Froyo)
• Camera : 5 Megapixels, 2592х1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, Geo-tagging, image stabilization
• Display : TFT capacitive touch screen, 16M colors, Gorilla Glass display, Multi-touch input method, Biometric fingerprint reader
• Dimensions : 117.8 x 63.5 x 10.1 mm, 135 grams
• Processor : 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 AP20H Dual Core processor
• Internal/External Memory : 16 GB storage, 1 GB RAM, microSD, up to 32GB
• Battery : Standard battery, Lithium 1930 mAh
• Standby Time : Up to 264 h (2G) / Up to 250 h (3G)
• Talk Time : Up to 8 h 40 min (2G) / Up to 9 h (3G)
• Colors : Black
• Official launch believed to be in first half of 2011

3. Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc



Expected Features of Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc:

• Operating system: Android OS, v2.3 (Gingerbread).
• Camera : 8 Megapixels, 3264×2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, Touch focus, image stabilization, geo-tagging, face and smile detection.
• Display : LED-backlit LCD, capacitive touch screen, 16M colors, Scratch-resistant surface, Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate, Multi-touch input method, Proximity sensor for auto turn-off, Timescape UI.
• Dimensions : 125 x 63 x 8.7 mm, 117 grams.
• Processor : Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon 1 GHz processor; Adreno 205 GPU.
• Internal/External Memory : 512 MB RAM, microSD, up to 32GB, 8 GB included.
• Battery : Standard battery, Lithium 1500 mAh.
• Standby Time : Up to 430 h (2G) / Up to 400 h (3G).
• Talk Time : Up to 7 h (2G) / Up to 7 h (3G).
• Colors : Midnight Blue, Misty Silver.
• Official launch believed to be in first quarter of 2011.

4. Apple iPhone 5


Expected Features of Apple iPhone 5:

• Camera : 10.2 megapixel.
• Display : OLED screen, Scratch proof and shatter proof screen.
• Dimensions : 9.3 mm thick.
• Processor : may have A8 Processor, Qualcomm Radio Chip.
• Internal/External Memory : 32G and 64G memory.
• Battery : Extended and new age battery life.
• Standby Time : 600 hours.
• Talk Time : 14 hours talk time on 3G and 7 hours on 4G.
• Official launch believed to be in second quarter of 2011.

5. HTC 7 Pro

Expected Features of HTC 7 Pro

• Operating system: Microsoft Windows Phone 7.
• Camera : 5 Megapixels, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, Geo-tagging, face detection.
• Display : Capacitive touch screen, Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate, Proximity sensor for auto turn-off, Multi-touch input method, QWERTY keyboard.
• Dimensions : 117.5 x 59 x 15.5 mm, 185 grams.
• Processor : Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1 GHz processor.
• Internal/External Memory : 8/16 GB storage, 448 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM.
• Battery : Standard battery, Li-Ion 1500 mAh.
• Standby Time : Up to 360 h (2G) / Up to 420 h (3G).
• Talk Time : Up to 5 h 30 min (2G) / Up to 7 h (3G).
• Colors : Black.
• Official launch believed to be in first quarter of 2011.

6. Nokia E7


Expected Features of Nokia E7

• Operating system: Symbian^3 OS.
• Camera : 8 Megapixels, 3264×2448 pixels, fixed focus, dual-LED flash, Geo-tagging, face detection.
• Display : AMOLED capacitive touchscreen,16M colors, Nokia ClearBlack display, QWERTY keyboard, Multi-touch input method, Proximity sensor for auto turn-off, Scratch resistant Gorilla glass display.
• Dimensions  : 123.7 x 62.4 x 13.6 mm, 104.9 cc, 176 grams.
• Processor : ARM 11 680 MHz processor, 3D Graphics HW accelerator.
• Internal/External Memory : 16 GB storage, 256 MB RAM, 1 GB ROM.
• Battery : Standard battery, Li-Ion 1200 mAh (BL-4D).
• Standby Time : Up to 432 h (2G) / Up to 480 h (3G).
• Talk Time : Up to 9 h (2G) / Up to 5 h (3G).
• Colors : Dark Grey, Silver White, Green, Blue, Orange.
• Officially launched believed to be in first quarter of 2011.

7. LG Optimus Black


Expected Features of LG Optimum Black:

• Operating system: Android OS, v2.2 Froyo, upgradable to v2.3.
• Camera : 2Megapixels front-facing camera, Geo-tagging.
• Display : Capacitive touch screen, 16M colors, Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate, Optimus UI 2.0, Proximity sensor for auto turn-off.
• Dimensions : 121 x 63.5 x 9.2 mm, 109 grams.
• Processor : TI OMAP 3630, 1 GHz.
• Internal/External Memory : 2 GB, microSD, up to 32GB.
• Battery : Standard battery, Lithium 1500 mAh.
• Colors : Black.
• Official launch believed to be in first half of 2011.

8. Sony Ericsson Xperia Play


Expected Features of Sony Ericsson Xperia Play:

• Operating system: Android OS, v2.3 (Gingerbread).
• Camera : 5 Megapixels, 2592х1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash.
• Display : LED-backlit LCD, capacitive touch screen, 16M colors, Touch sensitive gaming controls, PSP like gaming buttons, Proximity sensor for auto turn-off, Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate.
• Processor : 1 GHz processor.
• Internal/External Memory : 315 MB, 378 MB RAM, microSD, up to 32GB.
• Battery : Standard battery, Li-Ion 1500 mAh (BST-41).
• Colors : Black.
• Official launch believed to be in Feb – March of 2011.

9. Samsung Galaxy Ace


Expected Features of Samsung Galaxy Ace:

• Operating System: Android 2.2.1 Froyo.
• Camera: 5-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash.
• Display: 3.5-inch HVGA TFT display.
• Processor : 800MHz processor.
• Social Hub, TouchWiz interface, Swype; document viewer/editor.
• Connection : Quad-band GSM, HSDPA, A-GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi.
• Official launch believed to be in first half of 2011.

10. Nokia N9

Image credit: Baidu
Expected Features of Nokia N9:

• Operating system: MeeGo OS
• Camera : 12 Megapixels, autofocus, dual-LED flash, Geo-tagging, face detection
• Display : 4.0 inches super AMOLED capacitive touch screen with 16M colors. Sliding FULL QWERTY Keyboard, multi-touch input method and scratch-resistant surface
• Dimensions  : 160 grams
• Processor : Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1 GHz
• Internal/External Memory : 64 GB storage, 512 MB RAM, 1 GB ROM
• Battery : Standard battery, Li-Ion 1320 mAh
• Standby Time : 430 hours
• Talk Time : 540 mins
• Colors : Black, Silver, Blue
• Officially launched believed to be in February at the MWC 2011 in Barcelona

50 years had passed. Another 100 will pass and there is always going to be someone who is wondering what is that mark standing for. It started life as the emblem of the British anti-nuclear movement but it has become an international sign for peace, and arguably the most widely used protest symbol in the world. It has also been adapted, attacked and commercialised.Many people have speculated on just what the symbol represents; some religious zealots even claim it signifies Christ on the cross with arms broken, or a Teutonic rune representing death and despair. But the truth is not so mysterious.

What does it mean?

One of the most widely known symbols in the world, in Britain it is recognised as standing for nuclear disarmament —and in particular as the logo of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). It was designed from the naval code of semaphore, and the symbol represents the code letters for ND which means Nuclear Disarmament.The circle, representing the concept of total or complete, surrounds the N and D signifying total or complete nuclear disarmament.
In the United States and much of the rest of the world it is known more broadly as the peace symbol. It was designed in 1958 by Gerald Holtom, a professional designer and artist and a graduate of the Royal College of Arts. He showed his preliminary sketches to a small group of people in the Peace News office in North London and to the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War, one of several smaller organisations that came together to set up CND.
The Direct Action Committee had already planned what was to be the first major anti-nuclear march, from London to Aldermaston, where British nuclear weapons were and still are manufactured. It was on that march, over the 1958 Easter weekend that the symbol first appeared in public. Five hundred cardboard lollipops on sticks were produced. Half were black on white and half white on green. Just as the church’s liturgical colours change over Easter, so the colours were to change, “from Winter to Spring, from Death to Life.” Black and white would be displayed on Good Friday and Saturday, green and white on Easter Sunday and Monday.
The first badges were made by Eric Austin of Kensington CND using white clay with the symbol painted black. Again there was a conscious symbolism. They were distributed with a note explaining that in the event of a nuclear war, these fired pottery badges would be among the few human artifacts to survive the nuclear inferno. These early ceramic badges can still be found and one, lent by CND, was included in the Imperial War Museum’s 1999/2000 exhibition ”From the Bomb to the Beatles”.

Later, in a letter, Holtom also admitted that the symbol reflected his mood at the time. “I was in despair,” he wrote. “Deep despair. I drew myself: the representative of an individual in despair, with hands palm outstretched outwards and downwards in the manner of Goya’s peasant before the firing squad. I formalized the drawing into a line and put a circle around it.”
American journalist and playwright Herb Greer adds support for the Holtom explanation. He reported, “I was actually there on and before the first Aldermaston march for which it was created. I visited Holtom, I saw the original sketches and discussed it with him.”
Ken Kolsbun, author of the book Peace: The Biography of a Symbol, reported that Holtom expressed regret in not designing the peace symbol with the joyful lifting of arms towards the sky. For most of Holtom’s life he would draw only the upright peace symbol. Holtom requested that the upright peace symbol be placed on his tombstone in Kent, England. If we take a look on  the picture of his tombstone, we’ll see that  his wish was unfortunately ignored.

While it appears reasonable that the modern day peace symbol comes from Gerald Holtom, this logic fails to address the fact that the symbol has been used for evil both in modern times and for thousands of years.
This same symbol was used by Hitler’s 3rd Panzer Division from 1941 to 1945.  The image on the left is the regimental 3rd Panzer Division symbol. Soviet, Polish, and Hungarian citizens, having suffered from the Nazi massacres, undoubtedly struggled with Holtom’s use of the symbol as a thoughtful way to communicate peace. The symbol can also be found on some of Hitler’s SS soldiers’ tombstones.
Another flaw in the Holtom creation story is the use of the symbol as an anti-Christian symbol by the Saracens as early as 711 A.D.For the Saracens, the image placed on their shields symbolized the breaking of the Christian cross. For some the broken cross was equated to a satanic symbol known as the raven’s craw or witch’s foot. While Holtom may not have known the historical meaning of the peace symbol, Bertrand Russell was a historian and member of the Fabian Society. A 1970 article in the American Opinion magazine claimed Russell knew the historical occult meaning and intentionally selected an “anti-Christian design long associated with Satanism.”
The fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Nero (born Lucius Domitius Ahenabarbus 37 – 68 AD), is remembered in history for persecuting Christians. Nero’s rule was so wicked he even had his mother executed. The First Roman-Jewish War (66 – 70 AD) started during his reign and today the term “Nero Cross” is the symbol of the “broken Jew” or “broken cross.” The most famous person believed to be crucified by Nero was the Apostle Peter. To symbolize humility and unworthiness in comparison to Christ, Peter requested that he be crucified with his head toward the ground. As a result of Peter’s death the upside down cross was used by early Christians as a positive symbol for peace.

The symbol of the upside down cross changes its meaning when the person on the upside down cross is no longer Peter but Jesus. Anti-religious and satanic groups use the “Nero Cross” or inverted “Latin Cross” to symbolize everything opposite of Christianity. Today this is clearly illustrated by “black metal” or heavy metal music lyrics and imagery that communicate anti-Christian sentiments.  In addition to musicians, film makers have reinforced the notion that the upside down cross is an anti-Christian symbol as illustrated by The Omen in 1976 and The Exorcism of Emily Rose in 2005.
The symbol has also been used to communicate support for communism. Bertrand Russell once said: “There is no hope in anything but the Soviet way.” Governments–both those who supported communism and those opposed to it–have perceived benefits in aligning the peace symbol with communist ideology. For people like Bertrand Russell, the author of the 1927 essay Why I Am Not Christian, the symbol represented not only a pro-communism meaning but peace without God.

CND has never registered the sign as a trademark, arguing that “a symbol of freedom, it is free for all”. It has now appeared on millions of mugs, T-shirts, rings and nose-studs. Bizarrely, it has also made an appearance on packets of Lucky Strike cigarettes.A decade ago, the sign was chosen during a public vote to appear on a US commemorative postage stamp saluting the 1960s.The symbol that helped define a generation of baby boomers may not be as widely used today as in the past. It is in danger of becoming to many people a retro fashion item, although the Iraq war has seen it re-emerge with something like its original purpose.
“It is still the dominant peace sign,” argues Lawrence Wittner, an expert on peace movements at the University at Albany in New York.”Part of that is down to its simplicity. It can be used as a shorthand for many causes because it can be reproduced really quickly – on walls on floors, which is important, in say, repressive societies.”
And can its success be measured? Fifty years on, wars have continued to be waged and the list of nuclear-armed states has steadily lengthened.But the cup is half-full as well as half empty.
“There are many ways in which nuclear war has been prevented,” says Mr Wittner. “The hawks say that the reason nuclear weapons have not been used is because of the deterrent. But I believe popular pressure has restrained powers from using them and helped curbed the arms race.And the symbol of and inspiration for that popular pressure, says Mr Wittner, is Mr Holtom’s graphic.

“Today because many people carry the symbol without understanding the history, we miss an opportunity to address historical uses and move forward to reclaim the symbol for good.When you see the peace symbol, I encourage you to see the person displaying it as communicating a message of love.If you display the peace symbol, my recommendation is point the arms of the peace symbol toward the sky to honor Holtom’s wish, address historical objections, and communicate love of all people.”Dave Dionisi, Teach Peace Foundation

Because English is such a complex language, it is fraught with traps that we all frequently fall into. With this list I hope to clear up at least a few of the confusing words we use every day. This is a list of some of the more common errors people make with English.




1. Practice / Practise
In US English, practice is used as either a verb (doing word), or noun (naming word). Hence, a doctor has a practice, and a person practices the violin. In UK english, practice is a noun, and practise is a verb. A doctor has a practice, but his daughter practises the piano.


2. Bought / Brought
Bought relates to buying something. Brought relates to bringing something. For example, I bought a bottle of wine which had been brought over from France. The easy way to remember which is which is that bring start with ‘br’ and brought also does. Buy and bought start with ‘b’ only. This is one of those difficult ones that a spelling checker won’t catch.


3. Your / You’re
Your means “belonging to you”. You’re means “you are”. The simplest way to work out the correct one to use is to read out your sentence. For example, if you say “you’re jeans look nice” expand the apostrophe. The expanded sentence would read “you are jeans look nice” – obviously nonsensical. Remember, in English, the apostrophe often denotes an abbreviation.


4. Its / It’s
As in the case above, the apostrophe denotes an abbreviation: it’s = it is. Its means “belongs to it”. The confusion arises here because we also use an apostrophe in English to denote possession – except in this case; if you want to say “the cat’s bag” you say “its bag” not “it’s bag”. “It’s” always means “it is” or “it has”. “It’s a hot day.” “it’s been fun seeing you.”


5. Two / To / Too
With a ‘w’ it means the number 2. With one ‘o’ it refers to direction: ‘to France’. With two ‘o’s it means “also” or refers to quantity – for example: “There is too much money”. A good way to remember this one is that too has two ‘o’s – ie, it has more ‘o’s than ‘to’ – therefore it refers to quantity.


6. Desert / Dessert
This is a confusing one because in English an ‘s’ on its own is frequently pronounced like a ‘z’ and two ‘s’s are usually pronounced as a n ‘s’ (for example: prise, prissy). In this case, desert follow the rule – it means a large stretch of sand. However, dessert is pronounced “dez-urt” with the emphasis on the second syllable – ie, something we eat as part of our meal. To make matters worse, when a person leaves the army without permission, it is spelt desert. So, let’s sum up:
desert (pronounced dez’-it): dry land
desert (pronounced dez-urt’): abandon
dessert (pronounced dez-urt’): yum yum! – remember, two ‘s’s because you want second helpings!
Oh – one more thing – another very common mistake is using the word dessert (two ‘s’s) to mean pudding – pudding is a sweet course, often consisting of some kind of cake or icecream. Dessert is fruit or cheese – normally taken after the pudding course.


7. Dryer / Drier
If your clothes are wet, put them in a clothes dryer. That will make them drier. A hair dryer also makes hair drier.



8. Chose / Choose
This is actually quite an easy one to remember – in English we generally pronounce ‘oo’ as it is written – such as “moo”. The same rule applies here: choose is pronounced as it is written (with a ‘z’ sound for the ‘s’) – and chose is said like “nose”. Therefore, if you had to choose to visit Timbuktu, chances are you chose to fly there. Chose is the past tense, choose is the present tense.


9. Lose / Loose
This one is confusing. In this case, contrary to normal rules of English, the single ‘s’ in loose is pronounced like an ‘s’ – as in wearing trousers that are too loose. Lose on the other hand, relates to loss – for example: “I hope we don’t lose this game”. A good way to remember this is that in the word “lose” you have lost the second ‘o’ from loose. If you can’t remember a rule that simple, you are a loser!


10. Literally
This one is not only often used in error, it is incredibly annoying when it is used in the wrong way. Literally means “it really happened” – therefore, unless you live on a parallel universe with different rules of physics, you can not say “he literally flew out the door”. Saying someone “flew out the door” is speaking figuratively – you could say “he figuratively flew out the door” but figuratively is generally implied when you describe something impossible. Literally can only be used in the case of facts – for example: he literally exploded after swallowing the grenade. If he did, indeed, swallow the grenade and explode – that last sentence is perfectly correct. It would not be correct to say “she annoyed him and he literally exploded” unless she is Wonder Woman and her anger can cause people to blow up.


I have to add this one as a bonus because it is one I especially hate. When you say “I could care less” you are saying “I care a little so I could care less”. Most people when using this horrific sentence mean to say “I couldn’t care less” which means “I care so little I could not care less”.


Isn’t it ironic? Actually, no, most of the time it is not. Irony, in its true form, is when you state something to a person who does not understand what you truly mean, but another person does. Essentially, it makes the hearer the brunt of the joke without their being aware of it. This is called dramatic or tragic irony because it originated on the stage where the audience knew what was happening but the victim on stage did not. The most sustained example of dramatic irony is undoubtedly Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, in which Oedipus searches to find the murderer of the former king of Thebes, only to discover that it is himself, a fact the audience has known all along.
Another form of irony is Socratic irony, in which the person pretends to be ignorant of a subject in order to truly show the ignorance of the person with whom he is arguing.
Unfortunately, poor Alanis Morissette had no clue when she said “it’s a free ride when you’ve already paid” or “it’s like rain on your wedding day”. This is not irony – it is misfortune or coincidence.
To sum it up, basically Irony is a figure of speech in which what is stated is not what is meant. Sarcasm can be a type of Irony.

Source: http://listverse.com/2007/09/19/10-common-english-language-errors/

Whereas most of the training regimens of militaries around the world are designed to teach, Russia’s Special Purpose Regiments, equivalent to the U. S. Green Berets, endure punishment daily throughout their training. They may quit anytime they want. The Spetsnaz want only the best, pain-hardened, battle-loving killers.
They spar with the express goal of injuring each other, breaking ribs, fingers, vertebrae, healing only long enough to get back on their feet and complete the training. They are typically deployed for reconnaissance or house-to-house close quarters combat, but are also employed as extremely formidable bodyguards for high-ranking politicians.
They claim that they are not taught to ignore pain, since that is impossible. They are instead taught to enjoy it.


They call themselves “berets verts,” or “green berets,” and consist of 6 units: Hubert, Trepel, de Montfort, de Penfentenyo, Jaubert, and Kieffer. Each unit is trained for special tasks, whether combat diving, close quarters sea combat, exfiltration, canine units, or long range fire support, including snipers and missile launchers. They were established much at the behest of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who was a naval officer in WWII.


Currently, only men are allowed to try out for the U. S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command. It’s primary missions are typically special reconnaissance, direct action, and internal defense within foreign nations.
Their training regimen is comprised of 4 phases, increasing in strenuousness. Phase 1 is SERE training, survival, evasion, resistance, escape. They are trained to make fire by friction, fire by mirrors, even fire by ice, depending on the location to which they are deployed. You mold the ice with the heat of your hands into the shape of a lens, which works just like a magnifying glass.
Of course, they take matches and Zippos with them. After this, they begin physical fitness training, and hand-to-hand combat, practicing a hybrid of the most functional martial arts: Jeet Kune Do, Wing Chun, Karate, Jiu-Jitsu, even Pankration. Then, Sayoc Kali, which is Filipino knife fighting.
This is just phase 1. Phase 2 is marksmanship, amphibious demolitions, reconnaissance. Phase 3 is a contrinuation of 2, but with the addition of field radioes and satellite data-uplink systems. Phase 4 is “irregular warfare” instruction, which is a euphemism for “anything goes.” This phase consists primarily of the Derna Bridge operation, which forces the recruits to use all skills acquired during the course.


The closest thing to James Bond can be found in the personnel of the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service, or Security Service, section 6. It works in close partnership with section 5 (MI-5), the latter which is more of a pure spy agency, dedicated to counter-intelligence and counter-espionage.
MI-6, however, is the unit which deploys its agents all over the world to detect international intelligence threats and “neutralize” them before they become truly dangerous. Their headquarters is at Vauxhall Cross, London, and they will be quick to tell you there that there is no James Bond among them, and that their assignments and missions are quite boring.
They do, however, have an agent very similar to “Q,” who is in charge of all equipment and weaponry deployed for each operation. They also have indoor firing ranges, dojos, and a gym.


After basic Army training, voluntary enlistment into the 75th Ranger Regiment will train the recruit for the HALO parachute jump, SERE, languages, elite combatives expert, mountain warfare, combat diving, in addition to all the weapons qualification training.
After nine weeks of this, they enroll in Advanced Individual Training, to become masters of their chosen fields, then immediately enroll in the Army Airborne School, then in Ranger Indoctrination or Orientation Programs.
By the time they’ve graduated, they’re so well trained that members have reported waking up screaming from nightmares about Ranger school to be relieved that they are only in Vietnam.
But then, they lose a few points for an incident a Ranger told me about: he was the captain of a tank regiment on maneuvers in the Amazon jungle. Just an exercise, but because of the sweltering heat, they had to open their tank hatches. This captain, who shall remain nameless, heard a thump behind him, and turned to see a Goliath Bird-eating Spider crawling toward him, raising its front legs and hissing.
He admits to screaming like a girl, knifing the tarantula, jumping out of the tank and running off into the jungle for a mile and a half. His buddies still rib him about it.





That’s their nickname. Technically they are the U. S. Army Special Forces, as opposed to the special forces of other countries, many of which also wear green berets.
Typically, the Green Berets are trained to administer “unconventional warfare,” which entails infiltrating a hostile area in anticipation of a large-scale military engagement, and training the local resistance populations to fight back against the enemy. This was done in South Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, among others.
In the event that there is no local resistance to the enemy, the Green Berets infiltrate and soften up the enemy by “neutralizing” as many of its officers as possible. This usually involved sniping and throat cutting.
Training is very extensive and begins with the Army’s assessment of the recruit’s possession of 12 attributes: intelligence, physical fitness, motivation, trustworthiness, accountability, maturity, stability, judgment, decisiveness, teamwork, influence, and communications. 40% of applicants satisfy the Army that they have these attributes.
Final training consists of various endurance courses, carrying heavy backpacks over 40 miles of rugged terrain, with nothing but a live chicken and a knife, day and night. If the recruit can make a fire, he can eat the chicken cooked. He is not given matches or a lighter. He is allowed only a compass and his own hand-drawn map, completed from earlier reconnaissance courses.


The only official United States counter-terrorism unit, dedicated to hostage rescues, counter-insurgency, and general counter-terrorism. They’re full name is 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, managed by the Army. Selection is done according to a physical fitness test: situps, pushups, followed by a 3-mile run, in an undisclosed time limit.
Then an all-night, 18-mile hike over mountainous terrain with a 35 lb backpack and a compass, no map. This finally culminated with a 40-mile hike with a 45 lb backpack, in a shorter time limit.
Then psychologists conduct a grueling battery of mental exams on the recruit to try to break him into confusion. If he passes this, he actually gets to begin Delta Force training, for 6 months. Firearms, heavy weaponry, elite hand-to-hand training.


The name means “Flotilla 13,” and their official motto is the same as the Israeli military: “Never Again,” in reference to the Holocaust. Their unofficial motto, as they like to joke, is “When the going gets tough, the Jews get pissed.”
They are 1 of the 3 most elite Israeli special forces units, but Shayetet 13 is the unit most similar to the Delta Force. They specialize in hostage rescue and counter-terrorism, and because they live so close to a host of nations that seem bent on eradicating them, they are at all times ready in an instant to travel abroad and kill. They are very secretive, but of their missions publicized, the most notable include Operation Spring of Youth, in which they hunted down members of Black September in Beirut Lebanon and killed them, in revenge for the 1972 Munich massacre.
Apart from their firearms and heavy weapons training, they train extensively in Krav Maga, the national martial art of Israel, to which they endearingly refer as “Jew-jitsu.” It’s philosophy is based on the principle that in a real street fight no quarter will be asked or given. Fight to kill. Groin strikes are quite prevalent.


You might think there are a lot of them, given the number of action movies dedicated to the plot device of an invincible warrior, but there are only about 2,000 of them. They are the Unites States’s most elite special warfare combatants. They are trained in all the fields in which the other U. S. special forces are trained, but to an even higher degree of competency.
SEAL training lasts over a year, and requires an age of between 17 and 28 years, male, incorrect vision no worse than 20/200 in either eye, and correctable to 20/20, and the physical screening test, which is beyond belief.
500 yd (460 m) swim using breast or combat sidestroke in under 12:30 with a competitive time of under 10:30.
At least 42 push-ups in 2 minutes with a competitive count of 79 or more.
At least 50 sit-ups in 2 minutes with a competitive count of 79 or more.
At least 6 pull-ups from a dead hang (no time limit) with a competitive count of 11 or more.
Run 1.5 mi (2.4 km) in boots and trousers in under 11:30 with a competitive time of 10:20 or less.
Then training begins. Physical conditioning, diving, land warfare, for 24 weeks, then 26 more weeks of SEAL qualification training. Then specialization in whatever fields a SEAL team needs expertise in: anything from sniper to language specialist, rope climbing, diving, jumpmaster, surreptitious entry, dynamic entry (door breacher), etc.


The Special Air Service is trained to perform equally well in all the fields listed for the SEALs, but is also trained by MI-5 and MI-6 for in-depth counter-espionage, more so than the SEALs. Physical competency must be of equal stature to the SEALs, to the degree that both special forces work closely together when necessary (Iraq and Afghanistan) and have good camaraderie.
They wear a tan beret, just as the U. S. Army Rangers, and both the SAS and SEALs are trained in knife fighting by experts in Apache Indian knife techniques, as well as Sayoc Kali, Krav Maga, Jeet Kune Do, and for the last 3 years or so, the Keysi Fighting Method, made famous by the Chris Nolan “Batman” films.
They have the distinction of being the model on which almost all national commando units are based today, including every other entry on this list.

by FlameHorse, Source:  http://listverse.com/2010/01/11/top-10-badasses-of-the-worlds-special-forces/