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      "permlink": "communistrevolutionof1949inchina-l3pzr2rnup",
      "title": "Communist Revolution of 1949 in China",
      "body": "[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"]\r\n<p>On October one, 1949, Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong declared the development of the people 's Republic of China (PRC). The announcement finished the full scale civil war between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as well as the Nationalist Party, or maybe Kuomintang (KMT), that broke out quickly following World War II and also had been preceded by on as well as off conflict between the 2 sides since the 1920's. The development of the PRC also conducted the very long practice of governmental upheaval in China begun by the Chinese Revolution of 1911. The \"fall\" of mainland China to communism in 1949 led the United States to suspend diplomatic connections with the PRC for many years.</p><p>The Chinese Communist Party, created in 1921 in Shanghai, initially been around as an analysis team operating within the confines of the very first United Front with the Nationalist Party. Chinese Communists joined with the Nationalist Army in the Northern Expedition of 1926-27 to rid the nation of the warlords which kept the development of a good central government. This collaboration continued until the \"White Terror\" of 1927, when the Nationalists switched on the Communists, killing them or perhaps purging them from the bash.</p><p>After the Japanese invaded Manchuria in 1931, the government of the Republic of China (ROC) experienced the triple threat of Warlord insurrections, Communist uprising, and Japanese invasion. Disappointed by the emphasis of the Nationalist leader Chiang Kai shek on internal threats rather than the Japanese assault, a team of generals abducted Chiang in 1937 and forced him to reconsider cooperation with the Communist army. As with the first attempt at cohesiveness between the Nationalist authorities and also the CCP, this Second United Front was short lived. The Nationalists expended needed materials on that contains the Communists, instead of focusing completely on Japan, even though the Communists worked to improve the influence of theirs in rural society.</p><p>During World War II, popular support for the Communists improved. U.S. officials in China noted a dictatorial suppression of dissent in Nationalist controlled areas. These undemocratic polices coupled with wartime crisis made the Republic of China Government weak to the Communist threat. The CCP, for the part of its, experienced success in the early efforts of its at land reform and was lauded by peasants for its unflagging initiatives to ward off the Japanese invaders.</p><p>Japanese surrender establish the point for the resurgence of civil war in China. Though just nominally democratic, the Nationalist Government of Chiang Kai shek continued to get U.S. support equally as its former battle ally and when the single choice for stopping Communist influence of China. U.S. forces flew a huge number of Nationalist Chinese troops into Japanese controlled territory and made it possible for them to take the Japanese surrender. The Soviet Union, meanwhile, occupied Manchuria and just pulled out when Chinese Communist forces had been in position in that territory.</p><p>In 1945, the forerunners of the Communist and nationalist parties, Chiang Kai shek and Mao Zedong, met for a number of talks on the development of a post war government. Both agreed on the value of democracy, a single army, and equality for those Chinese political parties. The truce was tenuous, nonetheless, as well as, in spite of repeated efforts by U.S. Overall George Marshall to agent an understanding, by 1946 the 2 sides had been fighting an all out civil war. Many years of mistrust between the 2 sides thwarted attempts to create a coalition government.</p><p>As the civil war continued from 1947 to 1949, eventual Communist victory appeared to be far more and more likely. Although the Communists didn't hold some major urban areas after World War II, they'd powerful grassroots support, outstanding army business as well as morale, and big stocks of weapons seized from Japanese resources in Manchuria. Many years of corruption as well as mismanagement had eroded popular support for the Nationalist Government. Earlier in 1947, the ROC Government was today wanting to the island province of Taiwan, off the coastline of Fujian Province, as a prospective point of retreat. Although officials in the Truman Administration weren't convinced of the strategic value to the United States of keeping associations with Nationalist China, without one in the U.S. Government needed to be charged with facilitating the \"loss\" of China to communism. Financial and military aid to the floundering Nationalists carried on, although not at the amount that Chiang Kai shek will have liked. In October of 1949, after a string of army victories, Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the PRC; Chiang as well as his forces fled to Taiwan to regroup as well as intend for their attempts to retake the mainland.</p><p>The capability of the United and the PRC States to look for common ground in the wake of the establishment of the brand new Chinese state was hampered by both domestic politics in addition to worldwide tensions. In August of 1949, the Truman administration printed the \"China White Paper,\" that explained earlier U.S. policy toward China based mostly upon the concept that only Chinese forces might determine the end result of the civil war of theirs. Unfortunately for Truman, this phase failed to protect the administration of his from costs of owning \"lost\" China. The incomplete dynamics of the revolution, making a broken and exiled and vocal Nationalist Army and Government in Taiwan, just heightened the feeling among U.S. anti-communists that the end result of the struggle might be turned around. The outbreak of the Korean War, that pitted the United and the PRC States on opposing sides of a worldwide conflict, ended some business opportunity for accommodation between the PRC and also the United States. Truman's drive to stop the Korean conflict from spreading south led to the U.S. policy of saving the Chiang Kai shek government on Taiwan.</p><p>For over 20 years after the Chinese revolution of 1949, there had been several contacts, limited change and absolutely no diplomatic connections between the 2 nations. Until the 1970s, the United States carried on to realize the Republic of China, put on Taiwan, as China's real authorities and supported that government 's holding the Chinese hold in the United Nations.</p>\r\n[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"] <br /><center><hr/><em>Posted from my blog: https://blog.paxeer.com/communist-revolution-of-1949-in-china/ </em><hr/></center>      ",
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      "parent_permlink": "busy",
      "author": "icelab",
      "permlink": "governmentsellingusasbonds-17ztdmkj5b",
      "title": "Government Selling Us As Bonds",
      "body": "[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"]\r\n<p>Recently I have been asked the same question, over and over again. What did you do? Why were you imprisoned? Why did you get prison time? Trust me, I have asked myself those same questions and up until now, I have not been able to come up with a truthful answer that makes sense. Hold on to your hat because it took a lot of legal research in short period of time for me to dig up the corrupt, unseen dirty little trillion dollar secret behind the United States Justice System.</p><p>First let me give you an overview of my case, after I set the foundation, only then will you be ready for this shocker! In 2006 I became a realestate investor. I applied for my builder license and invested several thousand dollars office space, office furniture and setting up a legal business entity. There was a real demand for buyer who wanted to purchase investment grade properties. I realized that I could turn my company into a profitable business. I had a built in network of builders and loan officer. I began to advertise for people who wanted to be real estate investors. People would come to my office and I would explain the process of becoming a real estate investor. I never handled the loans or assisted any buyers in filling out loan applications. The network of builders I worked with built homes with a price point of $90K to $105K. These price points made it possible for a person to rent the property at a fair rate, pay the mortgage and cash flow. I eventually established relationships with other builders. My business model changed from finding investors myself to marketing properties to those individuals or groups who already had investors. I negotiated percentage spreads with the builders. I would take a few points for myself, then pass the larger portion of that spread onto the entity. My agreement with the builder required that total payment be made to me after closing, so that I could secure my fee before allocating the remainder of funds. With this changed model of doing deals, I did not have to deal directly with buyers. My job had become being good at locating builders who were willing to negotiate with me. I became so grateful and appreciative of the business that I was in that I fought for it's longevity. I felt at the time that I had a real business, providing a real service. I did not like the exploiters of the business. At my trial, all of the buyers testified that I told them to make their payments. There was never any mention of fake buyers, agreements to act as a manager or inflated appraisals. It never occurred to me that I was defrauding the lender or attempting to do so because the lenders themselves would encourage these things. I absolutely never knew that providing the working capital to buyers was illegal. These things were common practice and not seen at all as illegal.</p><p>In 2006-2008 the deals were being approved and funded so fast. At that time, I didn't realize that the subprime notes were being securitized as mortgage backed securities with \"triple A\" ratings. I didn't realize that they were packaged by the thousands and these CDO's were sold to Fannie mae and Freddie mac, ultimately being sold to overseas investors. The lenders who are being described as victims now, are the same lenders who demanded that loans be sent to them by any means necessary. The supply to meet the demand was inadequate. It was not uncommon to see television ads offering loans to those with no job. Lenders promoted these 100% financing, no doc, no income verification loans aggressively. They did not have time to properly underwrite the loans, they didn't care. They didn't care because the loans were being packaged and sold anyway. This enormous demand is what caused the inflated values of these properties. When overseas investors stopped buying the toxic loans, it was the beginning of the financial crisis. At trial, the prosecutions witness Gail Andrich from MGIC was not completely honest about the underwriting procedures and how the underwriting process was oftentimes totally ignored all together. They deliberately processed loans at high speed without regard to quality. She did admit, however, that the fraud often took place with the mortgage originators. Lenders, mortgage originators and loan officers were the masterminds. Loan officers knew exactly what it took to get loans bought. Mortgage originators didn't care, as long as the file looked good enough to sell. Lenders simply wanted a complete file to sell. Lack of proper underwriting is largely the reason for the mortgage crises. If they had properly underwritten the loans, they would not have as many loans to sell. More loans, more fees for loan officers, mortgage originators, and lenders. We are talking millions of loans. It was an entire environment of unethical and sometimes illegal practices that promoted this method of business as being legal. I had no control over the demand that ultimately raised housing prices and I had no control over the market forces and changed economic circumstances. This market was created by the fraudulent \"triple A\" rating of a toxic security.</p><p>At the beginning of my trial, the prosecutor in his opening statements to the jury, stated that mail fraud was the prosecutions colt 45. His statement implies that mail fraud is a weapon that can be used to prosecute anyone. There has to be at least a thousand ways someone can commit the act of mail fraud or conspiracy to commit mail fraud without even knowing it. It is certainly not a one size fits all offense. My actions were not a measured intent to defraud.</p><p>In 2009 when the public started demanding answers for the failing economy Obama immediately put together a financial task force to target financial crimes. It was initially It was initially intended to target \"Wall Streeters\" responsible for this financial melt down. The Lehman Brothers, Country wide, Bank of America, just to name a few. None of these went to jail. You want to know why? Because they are corporations! Now here is the shocker I promised you! We are corporations also. Not really but when you receive mail from creditors or court systems, your name is always in all caps- JOHN DOE. This is your corporate fiction! They can only do business with you when your name is in all caps. It is not really you. It's a fiction. Why is that? Glad you asked.</p><p>In 1871 the United States incorporated in England and therefore became an English corporation under the rule of the Crown (Rothschild). As you see, corporations are not governments and can only rule by contracts through corporate copyrighted policy. How can a corporation ever have authority over you?* By contract! ONLY BY CONTRACT!</p><p>Today The United States is a District of Columbia corporation. In Volume 20: Corpus Juris, Sec. § 1785 we find \"The United States government is a foreign corporation with respect to a State\" (see: NY re: Merriam 36 N.E. 505 1441 S. 0.1973, 14 L. Ed. 287). Since a corporation is a fictitious \"person\" or entity (it cannot speak, see, touch, smell, etc.), it cannot, by itself, function in the real world. It needs a conduit, a transmitting utility, a liaison of some sort, to \"connect\" the fictional person, and fictional world in which it exists, to the real world.</p><p>I want to start out by saying that to win in court you have to know what goes on in court. What goes on in the court rooms go back to Edward the First - it's called Statute Merchant and what it is, is a Bond of Merchant or Bond of Record. The statutes themselves are the Bond and what they do is duplicate the statutes that they charge you under with what they call a Recognizance Bond and people sign the Recognizance Bond without reading what the Bond says. I brought this to Joe's attention when he signed his Bond... and what it says is, is that you agree to pay back the debt. When you go into court on a criminal charge, it's CIVIL NOT CRIMINAL.</p><p>There's a book out called the \"Jurisdiction and Practice of the Law of Admiralty\" by John E. Hall; it's based on \"Clerk's Praxis\". The Clerk's Praxis was a clerk of the court of registrar of the Court's Arches under the King's Bench. The Court of Arches is a court of Probate and John E. Hall is the one that wrote this book - this book was never intended for public viewing. If you want to understand how Admiralty works, this is the book you need to read and the reason being; read the case of \"Waring v. Clark\", it talks about \"Clerks Praxis\" in there and they used it in the Vice Admiralty Courts in the Colonies during the American Revolution. This book caused the American Revolution.</p><p>What their doing is all about Bonds. When you go into the courtroom after you're arrested they use two different sets of Bonds. What they do when your arrested they fill out a \"Bid Bond\". The United States District Court uses 273, 274 & 275. SF means \"Standard Form\". Standard Form 273, Standard Form 274 & Standard Form 275. This is the United States District court. There is another set of Bonds and they are all put out by GSA.; General Services Administration. I'm just talking off the top of my head because I have all of this stuff memorized. GSA Form SF24 is the \"Bid Bond\", everyone should have a copy of the Bid Bond. The \"Performance Bond\" is SF25. The \"Payment Bond\" is SF25A and put out by the General Services Administration which is abbreviated GSA. The GSA is under the \"Comptroller of the Currency\" which is under the GAO, the \"General Accounting Office\".</p><p>O.K. you have two sets of Bonds: SF24, SF25 & SF25A. At the Federal Level you have SF273, SF274 & SF275.</p><p>O.K. what are they doing with these Bonds? What's going on in the courtroom is that they are suing you for a debt collection. What it is, is an action of \"ASSUMPSIT\" The word \"PRESUME\" comes from the word \"Assumpsit\" which means \"I agree or I presume to do\". An act of \"Assumpsit\" which means \"I agree to a collection of a debt\". If you look at these Bonds... everyone of these Bonds: The \"Bid Bond\", \"Performance Bond\" & \"Payment Bond\" all have a \"PENAL SUM\" attached to it. The reason for the \"Penal Sum\" is if you don't pay the Debt, you go into \"Default Judgment\". That is what is going on in the courtroom.</p><p>That is why all of these guys are sitting in prison wondering what's going on. If you go in there and argue jurisdiction... Jack Smith is exactly correct in what he is saying about the HONOR & DISHONOR. If you go in and argue jurisdiction or refuse to answer questions that the judge or the court addresses to you, they will find you in contempt of court and they will put you in jail and if you read \"Clerks Praxis\" that's all they talk about is contempt. What they used to do back in Edward the 1st; if you owed a Debt they would send a Sheriff out with a Warrant to arrest you. This is ALL CIVIL, this is NOT CRIMINAL. It's just a smoke screen to cover up what they are doing with Mercantile Civil Law and what they used to do when they arrest people with a warrant and brought the person into court and made them sign a Bond to release until the civil suit commenced. It actually says \"Civil Suit\" in \"Clerks Praxis\".</p><p>Attorneys are there to cover up the smoke screen. What attorneys do, because no-one knows what's going on, they lead you into \"Dishonor\" or \"Default Judgment\" and then the court puts you into prison then they sell your \"Default Judgment\". Who do they sell it to?</p><p>Believe it or not, the U.S. District Court buys all of these State Court Judgments. Get on a search engine and type in U.S. Courts. I spent a whole 8 hours getting in there. After you get to the US Courts, go to the 11th Circuit Court of the United States... Circuit 1 through Circuit 11. Click on Circuit 7. That will take you into the various courts; Bankruptcy, District etc. Click on to the Northern Illinois District Court; that will take you to the Clerk's office - there's a box there, then scroll down and you'll see \"Administrative Offices\" where you'll see \"Financial Department\". It will talk about the \"Criminal Justice Act\" and \"Optional Bids\" and this is all spelled out and their not trying to hide it. I don't know why no-one has found this out before.</p><p>Go down to \"List of Sureties\"... now why do you suppose they have a list of \"Sureties\" in a Federal District Court? When you get into the \"List of Sureties\" it will have \"FMS.Treas.gov\", this is the Department of Treasury. O.K. when you get into the Department of Treasury you see on the left hand side of the screen you'll see \"Admitted Reinsure\" and underneath that will be a \"List of Sureties\" then under that, the word \"Forms\". From there you'll see about 300 \"reinsurance\" companies, their all 'insurance\" companies. I downloaded the whole thing I have a complete list. I also have a list of Surety Companies. There are two sets of companies: a list of \"Surety\" and \"Reinsurance\" companies. Under 750 of the Department of Treasury, they have to be certified so they can buy up these Bonds; these are the people that are buying these Bonds when you went into \"Default Judgment\" and they can't buy these Bonds unless they are Certified by the Secretary of the Treasury.</p><p>Next, click onto the word \"Forms\" and it will take you to the \"Miller Act\" reinsurance and will list 3 different kinds of Bonds. They don't use a \"Bid Bond\" in the District Court that's why I gave you \"Form 24\". All of these Forms come out of the GSA, the General Services Administration. Form 24, 25, 25A and 273, 274 & 275.</p><p>The 273, 274 & 275 Bond forms; the 273 is the Reinsurance with the United States. The 274 is the Miller Act reinsurance \"Performance Bond\". The 275 is your \"Payment Bond\", your Miller Act Reinsurance Payment Bond. What are they doing with these Bonds? They have regulations governing these Bonds; there's 2000 regulations governing these Bonds. We are going to make these available; its $50 for the discs. The disc has 2000 regulations on CD for people who want this. If you go into these regulations, what they are  telling you is, they are buying up commercial items; they use the word commercial items and in 2.01 of these regulations... these regulations are divided up into 50 parts. There's 1126 pages in volume I and 823 pages in volume II and their all on the disc and what they tell in there is 2.01 defines commercial items as non personal property. What is non personal property? Any property that is not real-estate - it means immovable, real-estate is not movable. Go into your Uniform Commercial Code and look up the word movable and immovables. If you go into... and I'll read it to you so you won't think I'm making this stuff up. \"Commercial Items are commercial paper.</p><p>I recommend everybody... this is the 8th Edition of Black's Law Dictionary; I doubt if anyone in the room has got one. This thing is really good... basically what it says is... \"Commercial Paper; Negotiable Instruments... anything you put your signature on is a Negotiable Instrument under the Uniform Commercial Code which is the Lex Mercantorium. Its Merchantile Civil Law and the reason they use Lex Merchantorium in the court room is because everyone of you are Merchant's at Law and Merchants at Law is anyone whom hold themselves out to be an expert because you use commercial paper; because you use commercial paper on a day to day schedule; you are considered to be an expert and this is why they are not telling you what is going on in the courtroom because you are presumed to know this because you hold yourself out to be an expert because you use commercial paper all the time.</p><p>Everytime you put your signature on a piece of paper, you are creating a Negotiable Instrument. Some are Non-Negotiable and some are Negotiable.</p><p>Everytime you endorse something your acting as an accommodation party or an accommodation maker under 3-419. An accommodation party is anyone who loans their signature to another party. Read UCC 3-419, it tells you what an accommodation maker is and what an accommodation party is. When you loan your signature to them they can re-write your signature on any document they want and that's what they are doing.</p><p>This is what is going on and what the Federal Courts are doing they are buying up these state court default judgments and these are called criminal cases, but are actually civil cases and call them criminal to cover up what they are doing. If you read \"Clerk's Praxis\" you find that what they call criminal is all civil, they just call it criminal to cover up what their doing. If you don't pay the debt you go to prison bottom line, the government is making trillions of dollars selling these bonds, the prisoners are the collateral.</p>\r\n[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"] <br /><center><hr/><em>Posted from my blog: https://blog.paxeer.com/government-selling-us-as-bonds/ </em><hr/></center>      ",
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{
  "trx_id": "5f1696ecdc81fe72599b859f23fe01910d50542c",
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      "permlink": "americanpooltables-ahistoryofpoolintheuk-pcso7fpc43",
      "title": "American Pool Tables - A History Of Pool In The UK",
      "body": "[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"]\r\n<p>Billiards has been popular for decades, in fact centuries. But it was a chap called John Thurston who really established the pastime as a mainstream activity for the well-to-do, way back in the late 1700's, and whom was responsible for the on-going development of various versions of the game ever since!</p><p>But what exactly is 'billiards'...didn't the British play snooker?. Many people in the UK think of billiards as the game of English Billiards which is played with a white, spot white and a red, where players get points for billiards (playing one ball off another or into the pocket) and straight pots. English Billiards is typically played on a 12ft snooker table with napped cloth and flat faced rubbers on the cushions.</p><p>However, the term 'billiards' can be used to describe hundreds of different ball games played on tables around the world. In effect it is a generic term for all forms of table games with balls and rubber cushions. And for reference, yes much of Britain became fanatical about snooker in the 1980's, but it wasn't until the mid 19th century that snooker was developed in the jewel of the British empire...India!</p><p>So, for the sake of this article, I'm going to be writing about 'American' style pool and 'UK' style pool and how they differ, what makes one game better than the other and so forth.</p><p>So let's get back to Mr Thurston and life in the 18th century!</p><p>Life in the 1700's must have been interesting to say the least...Napoleon was Emperor of France, the Industrial Revolution was just beginning to rock and good King George III was on the throne in England (and so began the rise to fame of one George Washington!).</p><p>The world was beginning to change - the 'New World' had been well and truly discovered and with steps forward in technology, Britain was leading the world in trade and industrial development. But of course, those with the new found wealth needed something to spend their money on, and new 'toys' to use up their spare time to entertain other rich people...step forward Mr Thurston.</p><p>It was thought that Thurston had been a cabinet maker with a certain Mr Gillow who was thought to have been the first person to produce a credible billiard table in the UK. However Gillow had teething problems relating to the logistics of getting his new products around the country - the earliest railway was still some 50 years away and his factory was based in Lancashire in the north-west of England, some 250 miles from the mega-money of London!</p><p>But come 1799, Thurston had cottoned on to the growing demand for quality leisure time products and established his own factory just off 'The Strand' in the heart of London. In those days, billiard tables didn't have slate beds, they had wooden beds that were of course susceptible to warping, cracking, shrinking and expanding...all in all, not a very good way to build a quality billiard table!</p><p>But if Thurston was to be remembered for anything, it would be his ingenuity. By the mid 1800's, Thurston had firmly set the standard for building billiard tables, having invented the use of slate beds, and vulcanized rubber and the construction techniques for building a frame substantial enough to support the weight of these new table designs.</p><p>But Thurston's tables weren't limited to the UK. His tables were very soon popping up (if that is the right term for a 1 1/2 ton game table!) all over the existing and revolutionized empire. In fact, a certain John Moses Brunswick happened across a rather beautiful Thurston billiard table that one of his carriage clients had just imported from the 'old world' during a party in Cincinnati one night in 1845. Brunswick's client had invited the Swiss immigrant to a party to celebrate his new toy and Brunswick was captivated by its unique beauty and construction. Little did he know that this was to be the catalyst for the biggest and most successful billiard company in the world...</p><p>As the Industrial Revolution drove the new economies, more and more people found the desire to own a billiard table. However at that time most forms of ball games on tables didn't involve the use of pockets. In fact the most popular game(or versions of) was carom where points were awarded for canons and billiards (playing one ball off another onto yet another ball) with the first person reaching a predetermined total, being the winner. In India, coloured balls were added to the red 'pool' balls that made up the triangle and pockets were added to make the game of snooker. But in America, balls with numbers began to popularise billiard rooms around the developed cities of America and various games of pool were slowly being developed.</p><p>As with the technological revolution of the late 20th century, for those who dared, or for those who knew the right people, the ability to make lots of money was relatively easy. And with money came the desire to show just how much money you had by displaying your wealth through large houses, fine furniture and billiard tables.</p><p>By this time in the UK, companies such as Burroughs and Watts and E J Riley had began to cultivate their fanbase, building extravagant solid wood snooker tables from exotic mahoganies and oak, with some tables even covered in gold leaf and shipped to the far corners of the empire. It was a scene that would last up until the 2nd world war. However, both snooker and pool were not to be confined to the rich...</p><p>Of course, your working man was not going to have the money to buy a hand carved, eight legged snooker table, but he was the type of person to frequent one of the growing number of public billiard rooms opening around either country. In the US (having now overcome the difficulties of its civil war), there are records of billiard rooms with more than 60 tables! The growing J M Brunswick Co now based in Chicago was looking to buy up its more significant competitors to make itself even bigger. The company already had its own lumber company shipping barge upon barge of hardwoods to manufacture tables and cues. The public billiard room was becoming an increasingly popular social meeting area.</p><p>However the 2nd world war was going to be the catalyst that was to change many industries including the billiard industry. With the Britain of the mid 1940's struggling to rebuild itself and even find enough food to feed everyone, the desire for people to go out and buy what in effect is a big boy's toy, was not top priority. The big companies thriving in the first part of the century were looking to survive. Highly regarded companies such as Thurston, Burroughs &amp; Watts, George Wright, Orme &amp; Sons would not see the end of the century as independent companies, they would either go out of business, or be taken over by the few remaining organisations strong enough to continue.</p><p>Snooker would continue in billiard rooms around the UK, but typically the style of room would appeal to those with a low disposable income, with many rooms shrouded in darkness, smelling of spilt beer and stale smoke. The hard times of the mid-seventies would not help the industry, but the development of capitalist ideals in a country just off the coast of communist China would allow a new group of entrepreneurial businesses to relight the desire for millions of Britains to start playing snooker again.</p><p>However, just as many of the country's billiard room owners were beginning to look for complementing sources of revenue such as juke boxes and cigarette machines, a new type of business was starting to develop, offering to site the very things that billiard room owners and publicans were looking for, for either a share of the profits or a weekly rental. It was the new 'Operator' that would have the biggest effect on snooker and pool in the UK over the years to come...</p><p>Back in the US, the 'coin-op' industry was in full swing, developing new products that could be 'operated by inserting coins' and a revenue share developed of the profits as was beginning to develop in the UK, however a group of pioneering companies had seen the opportunity to develop a coin-op billiard table that would be sited in pubs, community centres, clubs, canteens and many more other places that couldn't utilise a full size pool or snooker table. Even better... the tables had been designed as boxes that could be easily shipped to site and set-up in minutes as opposed to the hours that a regular table would take to set-up. This was the opportunity that companies like Alca and Valley had been looking for and it wasn't long before their reach extended beyond coastal USA.</p><p>By the end of the 1960's and start of the '70's, the coin-operated pool table was beginning to be more widely seen. It was never going to break house records in terms of revenue generation, but then again, it didn't have to be changed every six months like the amusement machines site owners were clamoring for. This meant that operators could easily site a pool table either in one place or many places for at least 5 years, whilst only having to periodically change the cloth and the balls as and when someone decided to pinch one of them!</p><p>Most of the tables were being shipped in from the US and as a consequence were rather expensive. It wasn't long before a company in a suburb of Manchester decided that they could actually build these tables in the UK - but with a twist...</p><p>Hazel Grove Music were about to set in motion a program that could have and should have enveloped the westernised world, but for reasons we will come onto later, eventually fell flat on its face.</p><p>Hazel Grove or HGM as we'll call them, decided that the big 2-1/4\" diameter balls that the Americans were using on effectively 7-1/2 ft tables, were far too big for the small roomed British public houses and so they developed 5-1/2ft and 6ft tables to better fit. However at the same time, they changed the way that the tables were sized and called these new tables 6ft and 7ft tables so that consumers would not feel as thought they were playing on kiddie sized equipment!</p><p>But they didn't stop there... They also reduced the ball size to a 2\" diameter object ball and a 1-7/8\" cue ball. However they weren't content with stopping there either! They also introduced napped snooker cloth onto the tables with flat faced rubbers. This was a major about-face to the way pool had been played. The American tables had heavy balls with wide pockets, perfectly suited to attacking pool. But the new HGM tables had tight pockets with smaller balls and a napped cloth - as such they were able to market it as a 'purer' form of billiards.</p><p>As with many things, just changing something is not enough - you have to have a 'killer-ap' that is going to knock everything else down, and Hazel Grove had it in the 'Superleague' concept!</p><p>Superleague pool tables would flood the markets of the UK, France, Channel Islands and Ireland. It was a classic idea - set the price of the item higher than you needed, then take a percentage of that profit to use as a prize fund to develop a 'closed competition'. If you wanted to be part of it... get a Superleague table!</p><p>There were hundreds of locations that would never be able to fit a snooker table, but there were literally thousands that could and would fit a UK pool table. Operators were over the moon. Buy a table for say GB750 and site it for GB15 per week. You make your money back in year one and almost everything after that is profit...it just sits there making money! Of course, get the right site and you could work a revenue sharing deal which could be worth GB 000's.</p><p>Pretty soon the small ball format had taken over and 'English pool' had developed with four major manufacturers establishing footholds in the industry, all located around the North West of England.</p><p>Billiard as a whole was riding a massive wave of popularity in the UK with snooker drawing millions of people via TV. Pool was able to ride on the coat tails of snooker with the public wanted to play some or any form of ball game on a table for entertainment. Some industry sources were to later estimate that at its peak, there were around 30,000 coin-operated pool tables sited in the UK!</p><p>But trouble was brewing for both disciplines - unless you were very capable with a cue, both games could be incredibly boring. For most normally talented soles, a single frame of snooker could last up to 2 hours! And the game of English pool had developed into a fudging match with either player trying to be the first to cover all the pockets (but without actually pocketing a ball).</p><p>Major competition in the manufacturing of these tables meant that it was getting increasingly more difficult for HGM to ask a premium price for their tables and it wasn't long before Hazel Grove, like the world famous companies that went before it... ended up as part of another company.</p><p>In the meantime, support (albeit small) was growing for a reinstatement of the bigger American tables because people wanted fun. The general public was not prepared to pay good money to be bored and the quicker, easier American game must appeal to the public more than the current version.</p><p>However, the English pool table industry was still huge in comparison and those that made the decision on which version would go into which chain of public houses would more often than not, go in the favour of the small ball game to protect vested interests. It would be the end of the 1990's before the big ball game would really see a pick up in support.</p><p>Surprisingly though, it wouldn't be an American company pushing hard to re-establish the big ball game in Britain. The rest of Europe had pretty much taken the American game as its own following the occupation of US forces during the 2nd World War. It would be a Spanish company called SAM Billares that would begin the demise of small ball pool not only in the UK, but everywhere else it had been established over the preceding 30 years!</p><p>Whilst SAM would establish a hold on the commercial pool sector, that famous old company Brunswick would not be far behind in taking over the consumer sector. Whilst the small ball game has not yet gone away, the PlayStation culture of the 21st century has determined that people are not prepared to mess about for hours on end - they are prepared to pay higher prices for a better experience and that experience is the big ball version of pool.</p>\r\n[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"] <br /><center><hr/><em>Posted from my blog: https://blog.paxeer.com/american-pool-tables-a-history-of-pool-in-the-uk/ </em><hr/></center>      ",
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      "title": "A Review of the Sandino Affair by Neill Macaulay",
      "body": "[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"]\r\n<p>A revolution is a struggle between the future and the past. Fidel Castro</p><p>Who better to author the account of the \"dirty little war\" which pitted the U.S. Marines and the guerrilla forces of Augusto Cesar Sandino than a man who is both a historian and a first-hand combatant revolutionary? Neill Macaulay's role as a lieutenant in Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement Army lends an authentic pen to illustrating the tactics, politics and international reaction to the native revolt of peasant, Indian and rural worker against both the U.S. involvement in the government and politics of Nicaragua.</p><p>To a reoccurring backdrop in Latin America, motivated individuals were drawn into insurgent rebellion against an installed government, stolen election and U.S. interference on foreign soil. These backwater combatants learned quickly the virtue of stealth, utilizing geographic complications and unconventional tactics to their advantage in the jungles and mountains of Nicaragua. The sum of these attributes was that the U.S. \"doctrines of war were useless.\" (Macaulay 174)</p><p>Sandino and his nationalist movement proved a hard target to hit under these tactics. American Minister Mathew Hanna expressed just this when he announced to the Department of State \"banditry cannot be eliminated and order restored by present means and methods.\" (Macaulay 178) What the U.S. soldiers faced was contrary to the forces that they had trained for on Paris Island, what they found success with in WWI and left them on uneasy, and unfamiliar ground.</p><p>Like other revolutionary movements in Latin America, Sandino's nationalist motivation was forged in response to a perceived foreign imperialist influence upon his country and the instillation of a president. Sandino led his army in an attempt to end both the U.S. interference in Nicaragua and against the conservative government that the U.S. backed in the civil war that ensued.</p><p>What is poignant in the tale of Augusto Sandino is the they echo similar aspects to other revolutionary movements in Latin America. Both Sandino and Zapata (Mexico) as historical figures were thrust into their roles due to legitimacy issues in politics and government. Both of these charismatic figureheads applied guerrilla tactics against larger, better-equipped armies...and succeeded in slowing the cogs of war against all odds. Zapata and Sandino shared the ideology of reform, liberal, progressive ideals for the population in general and sought nationalistic, patriotic goals for their respective countries. Further, both Zapata's and Sandino's downfall was precipitated by their disinclination to appeasement.</p><p>Both were unwilling to compromise the tenets of their movement-leading to friction with promising comrades and politicians who would have afforded both these characters political and actual security in ties to new governments and an end to aggression. Unfortunately, they share also the ill fate of being betrayed by politicians that gained from their exploits. Sandino and his Army in Defense of the National Sovereignty of Nicaragua aided Liberal rebel Commander General Jos&eacute; Mar&iacute;a Moncada in gaining the Presidency of Nicaragua. This done, Moncada distanced himself from the guerrillas as he made pacts with the U.S. military. Sandino vowed to continue to wage his war and found himself at the wrong end of Nicaraguan politics again, as he and his army were targeted by both national and foreign troops. Sandino declares Moncada's government unconstitutional and continues to fight. Like Zapata, Sandino finds himself on the outs with his compatriot as the other rises to power and does not stay true to the ideals fought over.</p><p>When Sandino pledged his loyalty to the new President Sacasa, a past liberal leader, and enters into agreement to de-mobilize his men, Sandino and his entourage were rounded up by Sacasa's men and executed...As Zapata was in Mexico. Each one believing that they were doing their patriotic duty, standing up for their ideals, their people and the general independence and equality of the peasant class subjugated under unconstitutional regimes.</p><p>The story of Augusto Cesar Sandino stands out as a Robin Hood tale, where a charismatic man and a band of outlaws stand up against the forces in the name of citizens, country and progressive pursuits. Macaulay's keen take on the quest for Nicaraguan liberalism, free of U.S. involvement is truly a testament to the character and virtue found in rebellion movements in the wake of imperialism and counterfeit governments.</p><p>Latin America has deep roots in popular revolution, past and present. The flowers of these roots are conspicuous against the travel of time, as imperial and political designs from outsiders and domestic would-be usurers of the populous will be repelled by men like Augusto Cesar Sandino, who advocate for liberty and the defense of common people against foreign interference and political elitism. Macaulay's book represents well both the historical facts, the details and decisions of a nationalist movement and insight into the mind of a guerrilla. As both a historian and a player in a rebellion himself, the trials of Sandino and the U.S. Marines are documented lyrically and with an awareness and acumen they deserve.</p>\r\n[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"] <br /><center><hr/><em>Posted from my blog: https://blog.paxeer.com/a-review-of-the-sandino-affair-by-neill-macaulay/ </em><hr/></center>      ",
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      "body": "This post has been upvoted for free by @millibot with 5%! \n Get better upvotes by bidding on me.\nMore profits? 100% Payout! Delegate some SteemPower to @millibot:  [1 SP](https://v2.steemconnect.com/sign/delegateVestingShares?delegator=&delegatee=millibot&vesting_shares=2049%20VESTS), [5 SP](https://v2.steemconnect.com/sign/delegateVestingShares?delegator=&delegatee=millibot&vesting_shares=10245%20VESTS), [10 SP](https://v2.steemconnect.com/sign/delegateVestingShares?delegator=&delegatee=millibot&vesting_shares=20489%20VESTS), [custom amount](https://steembottracker.com/delegation.html)\nYou like to bet and win 20x your bid? Have a look at @gtw and [this description](https://steemit.com/guessthewitness/@isnochys/guess-the-witness-steemdice-for-witnesses)!",
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      "permlink": "cityofsquares-cambridgemassachusetts-imxmigzv3p",
      "title": "City of Squares - Cambridge, Massachusetts",
      "body": "[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"]\r\n<p>  Located just two miles from Boston and joined by two bridges, you find Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Home to the world-renovated Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Lesley College, Cambridge is a vibrant and interesting city filled with history, art and academia. </p><p>  What you may not know about Cambridge is that it is often referred to as &quot;A City of Squares.&quot;  There are six squares in Cambridge, and here is some information about each one of them and where they are located in Cambridge: </p><p>  1. Central Square.  This is an area in Cambridge centered around the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street and Western Avenue.  Lafayette Square, formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Columbia Street, Sidney Street and Main Street, is also considered a part of the Central Square area. </p><p>  2. Inman Square.  This is a neighborhood in Cambridge.  It lies north of Central Square, at the junction of Cambridge, Hampshire, and Inman Streets near the Cambridge-Somerville border. </p><p>  3. Kendall Square.  This is a neighborhood in Cambridge, with the &quot;square&quot; itself at the intersection of Main Street, Broadway, Wadsworth Street, and Third Street.  It may also refer to the broad business district that is east of Portland Street, northwest of the Charles River, north of MIT and south of Benney Street. </p><p>  4. Harvard Square.  This is a large triangular area in the center of Cambridge, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and John F. Kennedy Street.  Adjacent to the historic heart of Harvard University, Harvard Yard, and the Square (as it is called locally) functions as a commercial center for Harvard students, as well as residents of western Cambridge and the inner western and northern suburbs of Boston. </p><p>  5. Porter Square.  This is a neighborhood of Cambridge located around the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Somerville Avenue, between Harvard and Davis Squares.  The Porter Square station serves both the MBTA Red Line, and the Commuter Rail.  The station is approximately 200 yards from the border with Somerville, so &quot;Porter Square&quot; inmates include residents of both cities. </p><p>  6. Lechmere Square.  (pronounced &quot;leech-meer&quot;) This square is located at the intersection of Cambridge St. Louis.  and First St.  in East Cambridge.  It was originally named for the Colonial-era landowner Richard Lechmere, a Loyalist who returned to England at the beginning of the American Revolution.  His lands were later closed by the new American government.  The shoreline is shown as &quot;Lechmere&#39;s Point&quot; on Revolutionary War maps, and was the landing point for British troops en route to the Battles of Lexington and Concord. </p><p>  Each square has its own unique personality, and you often find people are partial and loyal to one square.  They tend to socialize, shop and &quot;hang out&quot; in their favorite square.  However, when you visit Cambridge, Massachusetts, please feel free to take in the uniqueness of all its squares and what they have to offer.  They all have art, restaurants, music venues and, of course, interesting people milling about from all over the world.  Maybe you, too, will leave with your own favorite square in Cambridge! </p>\r\n[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"] <br /><center><hr/><em>Posted from my blog: https://blog.paxeer.com/city-of-squares-cambridge-massachusetts/ </em><hr/></center>      ",
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      "title": "A Short Interview With Ben Franklin",
      "body": "[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"]\r\n<p>The following is a fantasy interview with Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was one of the most interesting and amazing figures of the American colonial period.</p><p><strong>Host</strong> : Our guest today on The Program is Dr. Benjamin Franklin. Dr. Franklin is a native Bostonian, but his adopted cities are Philadelphia , London , and Paris . Dr. Franklin is an entrepreneur, inventor, journalist, publisher, and statesman.</p><p>As an inventor and a man of science he invented the Franklin stove, the bifocal glasses, the lightning rod, and he verified that electricity and lightning are one and the same. Dr. Franklin's many experiments with electricity were published in 4 languages and brought him international fame.</p><p>As an entrepreneur he founded the University of Pennsylvania , the first lending library in America , a fire department, a hospital, and an insurance company. He also owned several pieces of valuable property in central Philadelphia .</p><p>As a publisher he is famous for Poor Richard's Almanac, which published for 25 years, and he became wealthy as a journalist and the owner of the Pennsylvania Gazette.</p><p>As a statesman, Dr Franklin presided over the Constitutional Convention in 1776 and was one of five committee members who drafted the Declaration of Independence. During the Revolutionary War Dr. Franklin spent many years in Paris securing financial and military help for the war effort. At the end of the war he was appointed to negotiate the peace treaty with England .</p><p>Welcome to The Program, Dr. Franklin .</p><p><strong>Franklin</strong> : Thank you for the opportunity. As I once said, \"To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.\"</p><p><strong>Host:</strong> First of all, how important was your role in founding our country? The French Finance Minister, Jacques Turgot, said that you \"snatched the lightning from the skies and the scepter from tyrants.\"</p><p><strong>Franklin</strong> : I do not feel that I should take too much credit for America 's founding. The revolution was the work of many able and brave men, wherein it is sufficient honor for me if I am allowed a small share.</p><p><strong>Host</strong>: That's very humble.</p><p><strong>Franklin</strong> : As I once said, \"Humility makes great men twice honorable.\"</p><p><strong>Host </strong>: Tell us something about your role in drafting the Declaration of Independence.</p><p><strong>Franklin </strong>: I was the oldest member of the committee of five who were assigned to draft the Declaration. John Adams seemed the most likely candidate to draft the document, since he had the most experience with writing such documents. But I liked young Jefferson 's style the best, and in the end we decided to let him write the draft. Later in June of 1776, while I was at home recovering from the boils and gout, Thomas Jefferson asked for my advice about his draft of the Declaration. He invited me to read it and to suggest any changes that I thought necessary. I only made a few changes, though I did strike out the words \"sacred and undeniable\" and replaced them with \"self-evident,\" as in, \"We hold these truths to be self-evident.\"</p><p><strong>Host</strong>: Tell us a little bit about your experiments with electricity. They made you famous, but I'm not sure that I know the whole story about your kite experiment.</p><p><strong>Franklin</strong> : For several years I had been fascinated by electricity. Our Library Company had received an electricity machine from one of my friends in England . My friends and I devised numerous ingenious experiments involving observation and measurement which we described in letters sent to the Royal Society of London. Those letters were later collected into book form and translated into other languages. I actually had to invent many of the terms that are now commonly used with electricity in order to describe my experiments. Some of the words I coined are battery, charge, condenser, conductor, positively, negatively, and armature.</p><p>In 1752 it had occurred to me that lightning was an electrical fire discharge between one body with an overquantity to a body with an underquantity which equalized the difference between the two. I wanted to do an experiment with the spire of Christ Church in Philadelphia but I became impatient waiting for them to build the spire. It occurred to me that a kite could get closer to the thunderstorm than the spire ever could, so I devised a plan to launch a kite during a storm to see if I could detect electricity emanating from the storm.</p><p>Weather being what it is in Philadelphia , it didn't take long before storm clouds approached and my opportunity to test my idea was given. My son William, who was 21 at the time, was the only one who assisted me with raising the kite because I didn't want too many people knowing about what I was doing. A nearby field had a convenient shed where I could sit during the storm and wait for a suitable cloud to approach. A considerable time passed before any promising clouds appeared and all of them proved to be wasted effort. Finally, one good cloud caused the loose threads on the hemp kite string to move and stand up. I touched my knuckle to the key that was within reach and felt the electric spark for myself. This confirmed my belief that lightning was a form of electricity.</p><p><strong>Host</strong>: Wow, that lightning stroke was a stroke of good fortune.</p><p><strong>Franklin</strong> : Good fortune, maybe, but maybe good planning. As I once said, \"He who waits upon fortune is never sure of dinner.\"</p><p>H<strong>ost</strong>: The story about how you met your wife is a funny story. Can you tell us about that?</p><p><strong>Franklin</strong> : Certainly, and this is a story that you can find in my book, Autobiography, which you can find at Amazon.com and local bookstores everywhere. I remember the day well. It was a Sunday, October 6, 17 23 . I was just a young man of 17 and I had not been having much luck in gaining reputable and sufficient employment. I had left Boston in favor of New York , but when nothing seemed providential in New York I went to Philadelphia to become a printer.</p><p>On my very first day in Philadelphia , and with only a few coins in my pocket, I stopped at a bakery and for three pennies received three great puffy rolls. I had one loaf under each arm and was munching on the third while I walked up Market Street . As I approached the residence of the Read family their daughter, Deborah, saw me from their front door. I was a frightful sight. As Deborah later remarked, I made a most awkward ridiculous appearance. But seven years later we formed a common-law marriage. We had to do it that way because Deborah had become married while I was in England during the intervening years and then her husband deserted her and completely disappeared. Deborah and I were happily married for 44 years and we raised two sons and a daughter.</p><p><strong>Host</strong>: Dr. Franklin, we want to thank you for coming on our show today. But before we part I want to ask you one last question if I may. Did you really say, \"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy?\"</p><p><strong>Franklin </strong>: I'm glad you asked that, because I've been misquoted on that for many years. What I really said was in a letter to my friend Andre Morellet in 1779. Here's what I wrote: \" We hear of the conversion of water into wine at the marriage in Cana as of a miracle. But this conversion is, through the goodness of God, made every day before our eyes. Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards; there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.\"</p><p>With that parting bit of wisdom I wish you and your listeners and readers a gracious good day.</p><p><strong>Host</strong>: Thank you Dr. Franklin. It's been a pleasure having you on The Program.</p>\r\n[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"] <br /><center><hr/><em>Posted from my blog: https://blog.paxeer.com/a-short-interview-with-ben-franklin/ </em><hr/></center>      ",
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      "author": "icelab",
      "permlink": "attemptstoendslavery-africanamericanhistory-americanhistory-scjuve586i",
      "title": "Attempts to End Slavery - African American History - American History",
      "body": "[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"]\r\n<p>One of the greatest outcomes of the Revolutionary Era was a growing movement in opposition to slavery. As a result of mechanization and farming, slavery became dominant and very important to the economy, particularly in the south. Many white people began to question the morality of slavery, noticing the injustice in denying people of their liberties. Soon, antislavery societies were becoming common, and the north gradually provided for the abolition of slavery while the south still considered it a            \"positive good\". The antislavery movement, which eventually developed into the abolition movement became radicalized during the early 1830's.</p><p>The beginnings of the antislavery movement were evident right after the revolution. Every state except for Georgia and South Carolina had outlawed the slave trade. Then, in 1782 Virginia passed a law that stated that owners must free their slaves. Consequently, by 1790, over ten thousand slaves had been set free. Ten years later, antislavery societies were forming from states ranging from Virginia to Massachusetts. Gradually, other northern states had followed, providing for the abolition of slavery. However, after the cotton gin was introduced to the economy, instead of eliminating the need for slavery, it actually had the opposite effect--the south now needed slavery more than ever. In addition, before Missouri joined the union, many northerners opposed the idea of Missouri becoming a state because it would allow the expansion of slavery and also give them an advantage in the senate. In the Missouri Compromise of 1820, Henry Clay proposed to let Missouri enter the union as a slave state, and Maine as a free state. It was accepted since it preserved the balance between slave states and free states. With the passage of the Missouri Compromise, slavery became a national issue.</p><p>Soon the abolitionist movement arose, a crusade based on the idea that slavery was an unjust and immoral evil that needed to be eliminated as soon as possible. Since religion was the underlying motive for most abolitionists, Protestant churches usually became the common-ground for their activities. In 1831, William Lloyd Garrison started to publish a newspaper called the Liberator. His determination to abolish slavery was the basis for this theory to call for immediate freedom for all blacks, rather than gradual emancipation. With the help of his followers, in 1832, he established the American Anti-Slavery Society. Along with Garrison, Theodore Dwight Weld wrote a famous novel condemning slavery. During 1935, he traveled around Ohio and western New York preaching abolitionism. Even though he and his associates faced angry mobs, they did convince thousands of people to become abolitionists and form new societies. Those two people were a few of the most radical of the abolitionist leaders. As more antislavery organizations were being founded, many abolitionist leaders began to emerge as well.</p><p>Furthermore, in New York City, the Tappan brothers, Lewis and Arthur, were two successful merchants who used their wealth to finance antislavery activities. They supported a huge effort to give out antislavery pamphlets and distribute them to the U.S.. Unfortunately, since many people considered them dangerous radicals, they made relatively few converts in 1835. Also, it was the antislavery movement that had given woman an important chance to become involved in politics and the government. Two of the very first women that were given a right to speak publicly about the immorality of slavery were the sisters Angelina and Sarah Grimke. They argued that if a great moral reform of American society was to occur, that women had to have equality in dealing with the issue. Later on, more women such as Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton took a stance against slavery.</p><p>These abolitionists constituted one of the most controversial movements in American history. From the first, their aim was to transform the conscience of each white American, Northerner and Southerner, by preaching against the sin of slavery.  They believed that through such agitation it was possible to convince slaveholders to show repentance by releasing their slaves. This in turn, caused numerous problems and the issue would continue to divide the nation, ultimately leading the U.S. into a period of bitter turmoil and eventually, war.</p>\r\n[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"] <br /><center><hr/><em>Posted from my blog: https://blog.paxeer.com/attempts-to-end-slavery-african-american-history-american-history/ </em><hr/></center>      ",
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      "author": "icelab",
      "permlink": "safetybootsorsneakers-jointherevolutioninsafetyfootwear-3p9ou49pxt",
      "title": "Safety Boots or Sneakers? - Join the Revolution in Safety Footwear",
      "body": "[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"]\r\n<p>Gone are the days when safety boots and shoes were heavy, clumpy and uncomfortable. The steel toecap and mid-sole present in many 'old fashioned' safety boots and shoes are now a thing of the past.</p><p>The future is here with the next generation of 'sneaker' style safety shoes and boots using space age lightweight materials to replace the heavy steel toe caps and mid-sole reinforcements used in the past.</p><p>The American term 'sneakers' is a synonym for athletic shoes. The original 'sneakers' referred to footwear made of flexible material, featuring a sole made of rubber and an upper part made of leather or canvas. Sneakers were originally a sporting shoe or boot style of footwear, with 'high tops' covering the ankle and 'low tops' finishing below ankle height. Sneakers today are worn much more widely as casual footwear and have been made famous by Michael Jordan with the Air Jordan brand and Converse.</p><p>Redbrick Safety Sneakers use high tech materials such as Kevlar midsoles and ultra-lightweight composite toecaps so the wearer gets an extremely lightweight boot or shoe that will be far more comfortable over a full working day than any steel toe capped footwear.</p><p>Safety is not compromised as this new generation of new safety boots and shoes meet all European footwear test standards.</p><p>Redbrick Safety Sneakers break with the traditional safety boot or shoe design and introduce a new style and comfort for work shoes and work boots that was unobtainable in the past.</p><p>This innovatively designed safety footwear is unsurprisingly manufactured to a high standard in a modern facility in Europe, which as we all know is famous for its designers of high fashion footwear.</p><p>Several styles of Redbrick Safety Sneakers are available to suit your personal taste and you will be delighted with the attention to detail on each shoe or boot that gives the wearer a whole new experience in wearing safety shoes or safety boots.</p><p>For those working in an industrial environment where toe and sole protection is required, or mandatory, they now have a radical new choice of safety boot or shoe, one that provides high levels of safety and would not look out of place on the dance floor.</p><p>Watch out in your workplace for these revolutionary boots and shoes because they will be making an appearance shortly. At several major footwear shows demand has been high and they are available in the UK now.</p>\r\n[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"] <br /><center><hr/><em>Posted from my blog: https://blog.paxeer.com/safety-boots-or-sneakers-join-the-revolution-in-safety-footwear/ </em><hr/></center>      ",
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      "title": "What are the oldest Cities in America?",
      "body": "[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"]\r\n<p>  North American Indians were on the North American continent from as early as 11,000 BCE.  But these early colonizers did not live in permanent settlements and left little in the way of permanent buildings.  The Anasazi built towns such as Chetro Ketl, and the great complex of abandoned towns in Chaco Canyon, in what is now New Mexico.  Mesa Verde is another ancient city that is over a thousand years old and was built by the Pueblo Indians.  However, almost all of these ancient pueblos were abandoned and now stand as ruins rather than vibrant cities.  The one exception being Acoma listed below. </p><p>  Mexico City is probably the oldest city in North America, as a continuation of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán, founded in about 1325.  John&#39;s, Newfoundland, Canada was settled in 1528, and claims to be the oldest European-settled city in North America.  St.  John&#39;s earned its name when the explorer John Cabot became the first European to sail into its harbor on the Feast of St. John.  John, June 24, 1497. It&#39;s also the easternmost city on the North American continent. </p><p>  The oldest continuously occupied cities in the United States: </p><p>  Acoma, New Mexico: Forty minutes drive east of Grants, New Mexico, lies the Pueblo (village) of Acoma, built on a sandstone mesa 367-feet above a valley and approximately 7,000 feet above sea level.  The pueblo was built on a mesa for defensive purposes, keeping rival raiding tribes at bay.  Native verbal history says Acoma was first inhabited about 700 AD although modern archeological evidence suggests it has been continuously occupied from 1150, making it America&#39;s oldest continuously inhabited city.  It is currently owned by a small population of Keresan-speaking Native Americans. </p><p>  St.  Augustine, Florida: Founded in 1565, St.  Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the United States.  Twenty-one years before the first English Settlement at Roanoke, Virginia and 42 years before the foundation of Jamestown, the Spanish established St. Louis.  Augustine. </p><p>  Spanish explorer Don Juan Ponce de Leon had landed in mainland America in 1513 and claimed the land for Spain and named it La Florida, meaning &quot;Land of Flowers&quot;.  Between 1513 and 1563 the Spanish tried to settle Florida but all their settlements failed. </p><p>  Finally, in 1565, the Spanish destroyed a French garrison on the St..  Johns River, Florida and defeated the French fleet.  Near the destroyed French fort, San Agustín was founded by the Spanish admiral, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, on August 28, 1565, the feast day of St. Francis.  Augustine of Hippo. </p><p>  Parts of the original Spanish colonial settlement from the late sixteenth century remains today in St. Louis.  Augustine in the layout of the town and in the narrow streets and balanced houses.  Thirty-six buildings of colonial origin remain and another 40 that are reconstructed models of colonial buildings also contribute to the atmosphere of the town. </p><p>  Jamestown, Virginia: In May 1607, English explorers with the Virginia Company landed on Jamestown Island, 60 miles from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.  Almost immediately the colonists were attacked by Algonquian natives, who would continue with their attacks for years, and the newcomers were forced to build a wooden fort.  Endemic corruption in the Virginia Company in England convinced King James 1 that he should revoke the company&#39;s charter and the Jamestown fort became a crown colony in 1624. The fort remained intact until the 1620s, but disappeared as a town sprang up around the old wooden battlements .  Jamestown was named the capital of Virginia until the statehouse burned down in 1698 and the capital moved to Williamsburg.  The town effectively became a ghost town with only a few occupants until a military post was located at Jamestown during the American Revolution, and in 1861 the island was occupied by Confederate soldiers who built an earth fort impede a Union advance up the James River.  Little further attention was paid to Jamestown until preservation was established in the twentieth century. </p><p>  Santa Fe, New Mexico: Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the US and also the oldest European city west of the Mississippi.  Santa Fe also features the oldest public building in America, the Palace of the Governors. </p><p>  The first Spanish Governor-General of New Mexico established his capital in 1598 at San Juan Pueblo, 25 miles north of modern day Santa Fe.  The second Governor-General moved his capital south to Santa Fe in 1607 and the city has remained a capital ever since.  The city was the capital for the Spanish &quot;Kingdom of New Mexico,&quot; and then the Mexican province of Nuevo Mexico, the American territory of New Mexico (which contained modern Arizona and New Mexico) and since 1912 the US state of New Mexico. </p><p>  Santa Fe was originally occupied by Pueblo Indians from 1050 to 1607. The conquistador Don Francisco Vasques de Coronado described the Indian settlement in 1540, 67 years before the founding of the city of Santa Fe. </p><p>  Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts.  On December 21, 1620, 102 disillusioned English puritans sailing on the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock on the eastern shore of Cape Cod Bay in what is now southeast Massachusetts.  By the end of that winter, half of the pilgrims were dead, including their leader John Carver.  The colony continued for a number of decades often close to collapse.  The Plymouth colony was historically surpassed in population and wealth by the nearby Massachusetts Bay Colony, centered in modern Boston, In 1691, Plymouth was joined by the Boston colony primarily as Plymouth as a separate colony.  The city of Plymouth, Massachusetts claims a city charter dating back to 1620. </p><p>  Hampton, Virginia: Located at the tip of the Virginia peninsula on Chesapeake Bay, Hampton, Virginia is the oldest continuously settled English community in the United States.  The Indian village of Kecoughtan, had been visited by English colonists before they sailed up the James River to settle in Jamestown.  In 1610, the English returned to the Indian village and began the construction of Fort Henry and Fort Charles at the mouth of Hampton Creek.  In 1619, the settlers chose an English name for the community, Elizabeth City.  The settlement became known as Hampton in 1680, and in 1705, Hampton was recognized as a town. </p><p>  Newport News, Virginia: This port of entry city in southeast Virginia lies on the north side of Hampton Roads at the mouth of the James River.  Along with Portsmouth, Hampton, and Norfolk, it compates the Port of Hampton Roads.  The actual date of settlement and how it got its name is disputed.  It is estimated to have been settled as early as 1611, but official records only begin in 1621 when 50 colonists arrived from Ireland.  The origin of the place-name is obscure but is traditionally associated with Captain Christopher Newport, and Sir William New, who came from Ireland in 1621. </p><p>  Albany, New York: The area was visited in 1609 by English navigator Henry Hudson during his exploration of the river that was later named for him.  The area was first settled in 1614 when Fort Nassau was created by Dutch traders.  Ten years later a group of Belgian Walloons built Fort Orange nearby.  The settlement that grew around Fort Orange was made independent in 1652 and renamed Beverwyck, or &quot;town of the beaver.&quot;  Following the surrender of Fort Orange to the British in 1664, the city&#39;s name was changed to honor the Duke of York and Albany. </p><p>  Ten Oldest continuously occupied US Cities: </p><p>  1) Acoma, New Mexico c 1150 </p><p>  2) St.  Augustine, Florida, 1565 </p><p>  3) Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1609 </p><p>  4) Hampton, Virginia, 1610 </p><p>  5) Newport News, Virginia, 1611/21 </p><p>  6) Albany, New York, 1614/24 </p><p>  7) New York, New York, 1624 </p><p>  8) Quincy, Massachusetts, 1625 </p><p>  9) Salem, Massachusetts, 1626 </p><p>  10) Jersey City, New Jersey, 1629 </p>\r\n[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"] <br /><center><hr/><em>Posted from my blog: https://blog.paxeer.com/what-are-the-oldest-cities-in-america/ </em><hr/></center>      ",
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      "author": "icelab",
      "permlink": "theiranianrevolutionandtheislamicrenaissance-iranthepillarofthemiddleeastpowerplay-mdxbn8xh6o",
      "title": "The Iranian Revolution and the Islamic Renaissance - Iran, the Pillar of the Middle East Power Play",
      "body": "[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"]\r\n<p>The recent surge in Islamic fundamentalism has been a source of worry and discomfort not only to the Western powers but nearly to all the regimes in the Middle East. This has been particularly true in the case of countries which have vital interests in the area and whose technological development and daily life heavily depends on the availability of energy derived from petroleum. These vast oil resources are controlled in the Middle East by Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has the largest petroleum reserves followed by Iran and Iraq. Iran possesses the second largest gas reserves in the world, estimated to last for 1,200 years under the present level of global consumption. It has the most literate (82.3 percent adult population) and highly educated population of 71.2 million, much exceeding those of all the others combined. Its remarkable Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 286 billion with an impressive 6.9 percent (2002-2006) annual growth rate of real GDP, despite all international economic sanctions against it. [The Economist, Pocket World in Figures, 2910 Edition, p. 263.]</p><p>Iran is also a large country (1,648,000 sq km) most strategically located in the Middle East, having an extended border with the countries of ex-Soviet Union in the north, with Iraq and Turkey in the west, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east, and the Persian Gulf and sea of Oman in the south with control over all northern shores of both. Consequently, Iran considers itself the legitimate authority as the guardian of the Persian Gulf and views the presence of foreign powers as an infringement on its legitimate right. Iran believes that the Persian Gulf should be governed by the countries bordering it, the major authority being vested on Iran because of some 40 percent of shores and Straight of Hormuz, the only exit from the Gulf, under its control. During the last decade, Iran has been in the process of developing political and ideological influence among all countries bordering it plus those of Central Asia.</p><p>This unique strategic position of Iran has always attracted the attention of great Western powers such as Great Britain, France, Germany, the old Russia and then theSoviet Union, and for the last four decades, the United States. Presently both Russia and China have established friendly relations with Iran. France, England and Germany are trying to recover their pre-Revolution positions, though not their influence. The point is that there cannot be any plan to stabilize the region with the exclusion of Iran. This country has been and is the pillar of the Middle East diplomacy. It is a country that has kept its independence for nearly 3,000 years and by high cultural and intellectual heritage has been able to assimilate temporary conquerors into its culture and transform them. It has always resented outside influence and reacted until it is eliminated. Here are two recent examples: The nationalization of oil industries, controlled for over four decades by British interests and ousting them in the late 1940s. Ousting of Americans by the Islamic Revolution of 1979, who had come to the position of influence in 1953 by ousting the democratic government of Prime Minister Dr. Mossaddegh and reestablishing the dictatorial regime of Mohammad Reza Shah.</p><p>The point is that in any policy affecting Middle East, the position of Iran must be given central and prime consideration. Presently, Iran is governed by theologians who place importance in following the teachings of the Islamic religion. Islam is rich in this regard since it is not only a set of religious principles but a way of life encompassing from individual self development and purification to social interactions extending to the process of government. Islam in essence is a system of democratic socialism in which there is no religious hierarchy similar to those in Christianity. It is based on the individual's own relation with the Creator, where human beings have important individual value yet are parts from the community and responsible for its well being.</p><p>Any kind of government that fits these characteristics of Islam is welcome by the Muslim society where individuals find the government and its policies in harmony with their own religious directions and beliefs. They feel at home and comfortable. This has been the secret of endurance of the Islamic regime in Iran despite its autocratic leadership. The support for the regime comes mainly from the farmers, lower and middle class, which altogether constitute some 85 percent of the electorate. The system is comforting to Iranians to see that their rulers do not live in castles with luxuries and privileges, but live like any other middle class citizens in a modest house and among them. There are no apparent corruption among these theocratic leaders in sharp contrast with those under the previous regime of the Shah.</p><p>A regime guided by Islamic fundamentalism is also strongly against foreign influence in internal affairs of the nation. This policy is very strongly supported by overwhelming majority of the population. These elements plus other fundamental principles of general welfare such as free education, national health care, anti-poverty programs, all together make the Islamic Republic quite attractive to ordinary citizens in Iran and understandably in any other Muslim society.</p><p>The successful Iranian Revolution and establishment of an Islamic republic has caused an Islamic Renaissance all over the Muslim world from Philippine Islands, Indonesia to the whole Middle East and Africa. It has resulted in a surge of activities in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia, Algeria, Turkey and Central Asian countries. So far Islamic fundamentalists have succeeded in democratic elections in Algeria then outlawed and deprived from taking over the government; they have also succeeded and rule in Turkey despite the imposition of some restrictions imposed by military and conservative forces.</p><p>Accordingly, the Islamic world will not be the same and apparently with increased rigor will resent to be influenced or controlled by the Western powers, the United States in particular. As a result of its mistaken policies, the United States is considered the worst enemy of Islam by many Muslim societies, if not by their government. Even the new friendly approach by President Obama, proclaimed by his recent speech in Egypt may not affect this adverse feeling until strongly supported by action on the ground, for example, in Arab-Israeli conflict. In any policy affecting any Muslim nation this intention of solid support of the Muslim interests must be taken into consideration.</p><p>It is a grave mistake to think that any Islamic fundamentalist regime that may succeed in establishing itself in any country will be under the influence of, or even be friendly with Iran. Islamic fundamentalism is an ideology based on Islamic principles. It does not belong to, or favor any Islamic society. It is similar to representative democracy applied in many countries of western Europe and the United States. Yet, none is under the influence or control of any other, Each has a specific national interests and its policies are made to accomplish them. Each country is free to oppose others if there is any conflict in policy. The same will apply to the countries with Islamic fundamentalist regimes. On this ground, it is a mistake to think that if Iraq is ruled by the Iraqi Shi'its it will fall under the influence of Iran. Iraqi Shi'its are Arab with different culture and historical background and quite devoted to the independence of their country and its national interests. However, after Iraq is stabilized, it is likely that it will tend to establish friendly relations with Iran, Syria and Turkey. Nothing better than this could happen for the stability of the Middle East. If the autocratic unelected theocratic rulers, such as the Supreme Leader and his entourage, are eliminated, the Iranian Islamic Republic system is the best socialist-democratic model not only for Muslim societies but for all other developing countries as well. Iranians are not happy by being ruled by a non-elected ruler which makes their long fought democratic system look ridiculous. As evidenced in the past, a new movement is on the way to remove this obstacle from the regime. It may take a while, it may be quite bloody, but it will succeed. [ Iran in turmoil: The Beginning of the End, The Economist, January 2, 2010, pp. 8-9.] When the Supreme Leader and his instruments of control are eliminated, the regime will restore its democratic nature and substance. President will be the highest authority sharing power with the parliament and individuals like President Ahmedinejad will not have chance to rule. So, the term Islamic Republic refers to a government without an autocratic ruler on its summit.</p><p>It needs to be noted that it is unduly baseless any concern about Iran's modernized and sizable military force. Iran had a devastating experience with the invasion by Iraq and ensuing eight years of war which made Iran conscious of its military weakness. The present modernization and expansion of its military forces, considering its size, long borders with different countries, extended seashores, and large population, seems quite nominal compared to neighboring countries like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Any thought that Iran may invade its neighbors is groundless. Iran with its rich humanistic cultural heritage has shown no desire to invade another country. Its history of the last two centuries is the best evidence. During this period it has never invaded any country while has almost continually been forced to defend itself against invasions by Russia, Ottoman Empire, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, United States and recently Iraq.</p><p>Accordingly, Iran has created a much more effective force than military or nuclear weapon working in its favor with no cost or danger to its people. It is the success story of the concept of Islamic Republic and the birth of the Islamic Renaissance. So far, Iran has not even attempted to export it to other countries. Many groups in different countries, taking Iran as a vivid example of an Islamic republic, are proceeding on their own. The Islamic Renaissance has taken root and will continue to grow all over the Muslim world and beyond because of attractiveness of the Islamic republic system its democratic nature and welfare programs, to developing countries enmeshed in poverty and ruled by autocratic regimes.</p><p>A wise foreign policy by any advanced country including the United States has to consider this inevitable transformation rather than oppose or disregard it. It is an enormous force moving unavoidably, toward political domination. Regarding Iran, the American government needs to remember the grave mistake it made, in 1953, by overthrowing Dr. Mossaddegh's democratic and pro-western government and returning Mohammad Reza Shah to throne. It deprived Iranians from continuation of their newly gained democracy and subjected them to 25 years of harsh dictatorship costing tens of thousands of lives. The Shah was finally ousted by a general strike and mass uprisings of the people resulting in the 1979 Revolution with total exclusion of the United States from the Iranian scene and an accumulated hatred toward its government.</p><p>Because of its highly appealing components to the people in developing and poor countries, the idea of Islamic renaissance is expanding inevitably among the Muslim societies. It would be impossible for the Western powers or dictatorial regimes to stop or suppress it. It is a political phenomenon deeply attached to socio-cultural values of Islam that others must cope with. Countries like Germany, France, and Russia with long experience in the region have already understood the importance of this movement and have been forerunners in establishing good relations with Iran. To this list one may add also China. Islamic renaissance movement has been developing in countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, Algeria, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Azerbaijan and nearly all the Central Asian countries.</p><p>More likely, as mentioned above, Iraq, after becoming stabilized, will tend to have friendly relations with Iran. This is essential to the stability in the whole region. Iran, Iraq and Syria can form the pillars of the regional stability. The Western powers and the United States should not spend so much time and efforts in trying to deprive Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran is in a position to have such weapons sooner or later and enormous time and efforts devoted to this matter will go waste. Two centuries historical background of Iran clearly shows that Iran has never attacked any country but has been repeatedly attacked by other countries including the United States. It needs to prepare itself for defense The vital importance of the alliance of these three countries becomes further clear when one perceives the likelihood of near future instability in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The developing trend of Islamic renaissance in these countries clearly points out to unavoidable future political turmoil and transformation.</p><p>From a global viewpoint, it is a serious mistake to underestimate the importance and effect of the Islamic Renaissance exemplified by Iran. According to statistics, Islam is the most rapidly growing religions in the world. For every one person being converted to Christianity, seven accept Islam. Being a socialistic, equalitarian and democratic religion, Islam has become highly attractive to depressed, suppressed, deprived and poor which comprise nearly 80 percent of the world population. Islamic revitalization is in progress now with dynamic forces behind it, The present consciousness is induced by historical facts of an advanced religion which created a great civilization with the most scientific and artistic achievements for seven centuries; a civilization that extended from Spain, North Africa eastward to the Middle East, Central Asia, India to Indonesia. This consciousness is also enlighten and fortified by the success of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in establishing a socialistic and democratic Islamic republic. Islam is also an international religion with no central power and authority, based on equality of societies and brotherhood, and officially recognizing the validity of all major religions with a holy book.</p><p>In conclusion, the point to be stressed by all these developments is that the Western powers must take into consideration Islam, its influence, its revitalization by the Islamic renaissance, Iran as its main actor in international arena, with its super strategic position, military and economic resources and its ever increasing political influence in Islamic world. This seems to be the only policy direction if the purpose is to create an stable, harmonious, balanced and peaceful situation in the region. Now, is a perfect time for the Western powers to reevaluate their national interests in the light of the realities in the region along with their long range objectives. Dictatorial Islamic systems like Saudi Arabia and Egypt and brutally aggressive country against Muslims like Israel are walking into shaky grounds.</p><p>Dr. Reza Rezazadeh</p>\r\n[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"] <br /><center><hr/><em>Posted from my blog: https://blog.paxeer.com/the-iranian-revolution-and-the-islamic-renaissance-iran-the-pillar-of-the-middle-east-power-play/ </em><hr/></center>      ",
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      "permlink": "revolutionradio-greendayisbackbutisitarevolutionoranothermusicalflop-9y94ck38gw",
      "title": "Revolution Radio - Green Day Is Back, But Is It a Revolution or Another Musical Flop?",
      "body": "[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"]\r\n<p>Green Day's 'Revolution Radio' dropped on October 7th, the follow up album to the flop that was the tri album release '¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tres!' of 2012, but did this album succeed in what its predecessor did not; bringing Green Day back into the spotlight?</p><p>The opening track 'Somewhere Now' sounds as if it belonged on 'American Idiot' as opposed to its follow up 5 albums later, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. Especially considering the latter album hit number 5 on 2005's global album chart amongst winning them many awards in the process. In fact the song is very strong, although risky to open up their 'comeback' album with a slow beginning, the switch to the homely feel of guitars, drums, bass and harmonies that every Green Day fan across the globe is used to is a one of a kind feeling. But its more than just an opening song to another Green Day album, it's a statement, and it screams \"We are back, and the revolution is on.\"</p><p>'Somewhere Now' is abruptly followed by a scorcher of a single, and in fact the first single from the album; 'Bang Bang'. The opening line samples a news segment on executions. If that doesn't get your attention immediately, the punk riff ripping through your ear drums sure will, and any veteran Green Day fan will gleam ear to ear when the nostalgia of '39/Smoothed Out', 'Kerplunk' and 'Dookie' kicks in with every punk-esque guitar strum and smashing drum beat ripples from your speakers. I say speakers, as earphones will not do this song justice. It's message - it's a Green Day song, of course there's a message - I hear you ask? Stop gun culture in America. Holy c*ap. Using this album to try and pull back any relevance they have left before they just have to give up is suddenly no longer seeming to be such a plausible excuse for its release. They're making a stand, and using the excuse of it being an attempt to regain relevance as a mirage to cover their revolution.</p><p>The title track comes 3rd on the track list, and ultimately falls under the influence of semi-successful album '21st Century Breakdown'. With a euphoric sounding vocal line, the song is a master class in teaching sceptics that Billie Joe Armstrong can still sing. The guitar still rips through all sound barriers, really forming an opinion that this is the world's best rock band back at its finest. The following track 'Say Goodbye' almost excitedly parades an influence from the likes of 'The Black Keys' with its bluesy feel and multiple breaks, with a strong vocal line from BJ Armstrong again, this one is definitely set to be a fan favourite as the album ages.</p><p>'Outlaws', the next track on the album, is another tease at maybe an acoustic song throughout its intro, though yet again we are refused another masterpiece like 'Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)'. Although that isn't to say that yet again this album has produced a high quality song. Its slower than the previous tracks, and again falls into more of a rock-opera genre than the punk feel that 'Bang Bang' menacingly hinted at. Then, out of nowhere, appears 'Bouncing Off the Walls'. It strikes like a golden snake, catching you almost dozing after the dreamy sounds of 'outlaws' before it. Punk is back in question, you can hear each power chord played and BJ's voice crackles like it did back in 'Dookie's finest songs. What a time to be a Green Day fan, what a song and what great listing choices by the boys to place this belter of a tune straight after the slow melodic vibes previous to it.</p><p>'Still Breathing' again teases at an acoustic song at first, though there is yet again little disappointment in what follows the vocal led intro. The bridge and chorus of this song represent what Green Day have always been; amazing musicians and talented people all round. You seriously don't have to be a Green Day fan to enjoy this track. Tt appears some mystic pop music demons have been summoned to give this track a real good aura and for that I think this song may be one of the greatest on the album. It feels catchy and has a foot taping vibe that will get even the biggest music snob humming along.</p><p>'Youngblood' is a classic Green Day song, a seemingly depressing song by its open line \"She's a loner\" displayed with upbeat drums and guitar creates a Green Day sound we are all very used too. It's a love song at its heart, take 'Give Me Novocaine' from 'American Idiot' and mix it with the upbeat instrumental of 'Dookie's 'basket case' and you're halfway to this songs ear shaking sound. The problem with 'Too Dumb to Die' is that there is little new about it, it sounds like a weird concoction of all the previous songs, and it isn't a great one. It still is good, it's not ear bleeding awful, but it isn't exactly 'butterflies in the stomach' great, unlike some of the previous songs on this album. Which unfortunately makes this the albums one and only pitfall.</p><p>The next track 'Troubled times' is another slower paced track, with Tres Cools drums providing the clear lead throughout. The chorus picks up pace and a glorious guitar riff catches the mind of any listener and again screams \"We're Back\". 'Forever Now' is a real pop-punk anthem, with the typical chords and strum patterns mixed with overlaid vocals, breaks and catchy lyrics - a long with a couple ad libs - this song is a great showing of all the members talents, including Mike Dirnts typically fantastic bass playing skills.</p><p>Finally! We have an acoustic performance from Billie Joe Armstrong, and my god, its spectacular. His voice sounds clearer and better than it ever has, and it snatches the title of the bands greatest acoustic song straight from the hands of the previously mentioned 'Good Riddance (Time of Your Life0' without little thought for its predecessor. This will definitely be a crowd pleaser across arenas the world over. It has a guitar line that is impossible not to sway side to side to. This song is Green Day at their very best, which I know is harsh to say when BJ is the only member of the band involved, but still, every time I listen to it it's like the first time. That is so hard to capture in a song, but it's everything that should have been expected from this album, and all the intros that hinted at it along the way through the albums track listing created a hype that the song truly lived up to.</p><p>It is almost unimaginable that it is autumn 2016, and Billie Joe Armstrong, Tres Cool, Mike Dirnt and Jason White have hit the headlines yet again after the release of one their greatest albums ever. Don't just imagine it, believe it. The mix of their many different albums and the displaying of their musical range throughout each track is an incredible feat, and despite 'Too Dumb to Die' sounding a little bit samey, the album as whole is incredibly strong, and is not only a triumphant return from the ageing rockers but is also a statement on the current state of the U.S. and it hasn't even mention the current election.</p><p>The revolution is truly on, and Green Day have fronted the Revolt.</p>\r\n[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"] <br /><center><hr/><em>Posted from my blog: https://blog.paxeer.com/revolution-radio-green-day-is-back-but-is-it-a-revolution-or-another-musical-flop/ </em><hr/></center>      ",
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      "body": "[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"]\r\n<p>The world is steadily shrinking. It's time we started thinking globally. So let's begin by brushing up on our world trivia knowledge. I've put together about 20 questions with the answers for you to use.</p><p>Find out how much world trivia your family and friends know. You can print out the test and use a felt tip pen to mark out the answers, or simply copy and paste the questions and answers into any form you wish. Then print them out and have a trivia party!</p><p>World Trivia</p><p>What mammal do fishermen in China train to help them increase their catch?\r<br>A: The otter; The Chinese train otters to chase fish under large nets, which are then dropped and pulled in.</p><p>Where in the world is Spa, the resort town that gave its name to mineral springs everywhere?\r<br>A: In Belgium.</p><p>In 1512 why did Franc's King Louis XII order the removal of all the garbage that for years had been routinely tossed over the walls surrounding the city of Paris?\r<br>A: He feared invaders would climb the mounds of garbage and scale the walls.</p><p>What daily exercise routine did seventeenth-century French statesman Cardinal Richelieu perform to stay in shape?\r<br>A: He jumped over furniture.</p><p>How did the Caribbean island of Curacao get its name?\r<br>A: From the word cure--for the cure for scurvy it unexpectedly provided to Portuguese sailors set ashore with the disease. When they were later picked up, all were in good health--having partaken of the island's abundant crop of citrus fruit.</p><p>What was the name of the space vehicle in which Yuri Gagarin, the Soviet Union's first cosmonaut, orbited Earth on April 12, 1961?\r<br>A: Vostok I.</p><p>What nation was the first to be represented on both U.S and Russian space missions?\r<br>A: France. It had representatives aboard a Soviet space flight in June 1982 and on an American flight in June 1985?</p><p>What was the cost of a first-class ticket on the first and only around-the-world flight by an airship, made by the Graf Zeppelin in 1929?\r<br>A: The ticket for the 20,000 miles, 21-day trip was $9,000.</p><p>What South American country is named for an Italian city?\r<br>A: Venezuela--which, translated, means \"Little Venice.\"</p><p>How long did King Edward VIII sit on the English throne before he abdicated for the woman he loved?\r<br>A: Eleven months, from January 20 to December 10, 1936.</p><p>What are the citizens of Rio de Janeiro, Brail, called?\r<br>A: Cariocas.</p><p>For what country did Florentine explorer Giovanni da Verrazano sail to the New World?\r<br>A: France.</p><p>What would world-famous family changed its name from Wettin early in this century?\r<br>A: England's royal family. Wettin--the family name of Queen Victoria's German husband--was changed to Windsor when Great Britain was fighting Germany during World War I.</p><p>What country's highest mountain is named for Thaddeus Kosciusko, the Polish general who fought in the American Revolution?\r<br>A: Australia.</p><p>What was Pago Pago, the administrative capital of American Samoa, formerly known as?\r<br>A: Pango Pango, which is how Pago Pago is pronounced in the Samoan language, with \"g\" pronounced \"ng.\"</p><p>What was 18-year-old Queen Victoria's first act after her coronation in 1838?\r<br>A: She had her bed moved from her mother's room to the very first room of her own.</p><p>In what country can you find Europe's last remaining herd of bison?\r<br>A: In Poland, in the Bialowieza Forest.</p><p>What natural phenomenon did the ancient Egyptians use to mark the start of their New Year?\r<br>A: The annual flooding of the Nile River.</p><p>Shang-tu in China was the summer palace of a great ruler. What name do we know it by?\r<br>A: Xanadu, the \"stately pleasure-dome\" of Kubla Khan in the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.</p><p>Where did the umbrella originate?\r<br>A: In Mesopotamia, in 1400 B.C. It was used for shade, which is why its name is derived from the Latin word for a shade, umbra.</p><p>Who made it fashionable to leave undone the bottom button in the vest of a man's three piece suit?\r<br>A: The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), at the turn of the century--because he was too portly to button his bottom button.</p>\r\n[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"] <br /><center><hr/><em>Posted from my blog: https://blog.paxeer.com/test-your-world-trivia-knowledge-twenty-world-trivia-questions/ </em><hr/></center>      ",
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      "permlink": "holdyourbreathherecomesabridge-historyofthefastenerindustry-ih448om8tj",
      "title": "Hold Your Breath, Here Comes a Bridge - History of the Fastener Industry",
      "body": "[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"]\r\n<p><strong>Ever hold your breath while you were crossing a bridge.</strong> If you have, you're not alone. Either when you were a kid or now watching your own children - seeing if you could hold your breath all the way across the span of a bridge is a common challenge. However, if it weren't for the fastener industry, we might all be holding our breath for a different reason - fear - and not fun. The same holds true for taking a plane to Grandma's house, or tossing the car keys to your daughter. The excellence of fasteners (nuts, bolts, screws, rivets, etc.), used in manufacturing today, allow us to take much for granted.</p><p><strong>From the Industrial Revolution to 2 World Wars:</strong> It was a long and bumpy road to the levels of standardization and quality that we enjoy today. The Industrial Revolution saw the end of the crude fasteners that had been around since early civilizations when they were employed in carts and agricultural equipment. After hundreds of years of fairly static technological improvement preceding the Industrial Revolution, this new era saw large numbers of screws and bolts produced in a relatively short amount of time, with more consistency, and more precision. By the mid 1700's, the Wyatt brothers in England were manufacturing 150,000 wooden screws a week. By the late 1700's, across the pond in America, companies were also making fasteners.</p><p>However, expansion of the industry was difficult due to a lack of standards. Size, thread density, and other factors varied greatly among businesses. Two Connecticut firms established in the 1840's - The Rugg &amp; Barnes Company and the A.P. Plant Company - were the first large American manufacturers to focus solely on making fasteners. Then, as often happens, a large historical event motivated growth and innovation - such an event was the <strong>American Civil War</strong>. It brought with it a huge demand for machinery - machinery held together by screws, nuts, and bolts. With it came the need for developing an American thread standard. William Sellers entered the picture in 1864. He proposed a uniform system of screw threads which differed from the British (Whitworth) standard in that the tops and bottoms of the threads were rounded rather than flattened. Ultimately, this standard proved to be a superior one, as rounded threads better withstood stress and resisted cracking and breaking compared to the flattened threads of the Whitworth standard. Standards are not always adopted quickly, though, and it would be another twenty years before his system was accepted as the American standard.</p><p>Differing American and British standards did cause some problems during the world wars of the 20th century. Field repairs were made difficult by the inconsistencies, but cooperation and temporary measures saw them through. In 1964 the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), announced two universal thread systems:<strong> ISO Inch</strong> and <strong>ISO Metric</strong>. The United States is the only country still tied to the inch system.</p><p><strong>The center of the industry - American moves west: </strong>As the country expanded toward the west, so did the center for fastener manufacturing. Cleveland, Ohio, which was close to the expanding railroads and steel and iron production, became the capital of the fastener industry in America. The industry saw steady growth throughout the 20th century. By 1969 there were 450 companies, 600 plants, and more than 50,000 people employed in fastener production. Nuts, bolts, screws and rivets put meat and potatoes on the dinner tables of many a family. However, the next twenty years would bring steady decline. The increasing availability of less expensive product from overseas cut into demand for American product.</p><p><strong>\"Bogus Bolts\":</strong> In 1985, a controversy surfaced with reports of equipment failure and even the loss of life due to faulty, substandard bolts. A U.S. House subcommittee spent 18 months on an investigation and ultimately determined that the faulty and counterfeit bolts were largely foreign-made. This led to the passage in 1990 of the FQA - Fastener Quality Act. This reignited demand for American made fasteners. By 2007, the fastener industry in the U.S. was a $14 billion part of the economy. Competition from foreign manufacturers continues, however, the U.S. maintains its leadership by responding to the need for technologically sophisticated products. The aerospace industry, the medical and food industries, energy producers, and the semiconductor industry all have a requirement for special materials such as A286, Inconel 718, PVDF, or MP35N, as well as for uncompromising quality and strength. The U.S. fastener industry continues to respond to these needs with unsurpassed excellence.</p>\r\n[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"] <br /><center><hr/><em>Posted from my blog: https://blog.paxeer.com/hold-your-breath-here-comes-a-bridge-history-of-the-fastener-industry/ </em><hr/></center>      ",
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      "permlink": "celebratingtheemancipationofwomen-vvi3g5748t",
      "title": "Celebrating the Emancipation of Women",
      "body": "[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"]\r\n<p>If you are wondering where the term <em>woman </em>came from, let me help you with that. It came from an Old English word <em>wifmann</em> which means <em>the wife-half of man</em>. Today, we're almost always called the better half yet centuries before, women were considered inferior in so many ways.</p><p>The Ancient code of Manu was wondering whether females should be kept in slavery and kept subjects unto their husbands. The Romans were no different. Under their law, a husband has the right to execute his wife, and a father his daughter should they be found guilty of adultery.</p><p>As if the publication of the infamous <I>Magna Carta </I>would make a difference yet centuries after it has been circulated, a woman still could not legally accuse any man of murder. Even the <em>enlightened </em>Jean Jacques Rousseau foretold the freedom of men but he never went beyond that vision to include the other half of humanity. According to him, women are there as a means to please men. He also believed that the female species was incapable of judging for themselves (ouch); and since this is so, they must abide by the judgment done by their husbands or fathers.</p><p>Before the Revolution, American women were forbidden to speak in public. Imagine living in an environment where you are imprisoned or fined for opening your mouth. It was not until the <em>Mothers </em>of Revolution that, somehow, coerced the <em>Fathers </em>to see past their skirts and gentleness.</p><p>Abigail Adams, wife to John Adams (then sitting in the Continental Congress), reminded her spouse to remember the ladies and for him to be more big-hearted and sympathetic than the forefathers had been. She added that <em>if attention is not given </em>then women would be pushed to revolt. 'Such bravery! 'Such dedication to the welfare of her own kind! Abigail Adams had her foot in the door and women were ready to enjoy equality.</p><p>There were moments in history when men were no less than half-brutes yet strong women such as Theodora and Cleopatra showed iron will. Authoring stories, back in the day, was confined to the pens of men. Creative minds such as the Brontë sisters (Charlotte, Emily and Anne) all had pen names to veil their true gender. Known as Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell (notice how they kept their initials), these women proved later on that women have what it takes to conquer the world just as much as men.</p><p>Women have been empowered to a great degree, many thanks to the fearless ones who struggled against the unseen shackles. There are still many places all over the world where women have no choice but to nod their head when a man says his final word. Only time can tell how long they will still suffer but there are more <em>heroines </em>now who are fighting for them so the future looks pretty bright.</p>\r\n[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"] <br /><center><hr/><em>Posted from my blog: https://blog.paxeer.com/celebrating-the-emancipation-of-women/ </em><hr/></center>      ",
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      "title": "What Goes Into a Georgia-Themed Gift Basket?",
      "body": "[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"]\r\n<p>In the south, the state of Georgia has a deep history that showcases some of the most influential changes that the United States has undergone throughout the years. As one of the Thirteen Colonies that played a role in the revolt against British rule during the American Revolution, Georgia was the last state to become established as a colony. Later, Georgia would become the fourth state to ratify the Constitution in 1788. Over time, the location known as the \"Peach State,\" gained quite the reputation for becoming one of the fastest growing states in the U.S. To truly present state appeal in your gift basket adventures, you will need to brainstorm some of the well known and lesser-known aspects of this grand destination.</p><p>A gift basket filled with ripe peaches doesn't leave much to the imagination, but an in-depth celebration of the tasty fruit is sure to please consumers. Satisfying selections to decorate a Georgia-themed gift basket include peach preserves, jellies, jams, and 100% fruit spreads. Additional edible treats include peach syrup and peach cobbler mix. Peach tea is also a desirable addition, which can help cool down the balmy night feeling of a state that features summer temperatures ranging from the high 70s to the mid-80s/ low-90s. The peach theme doesn't always have to include things to eat; bath and body gift baskets may include peach scented lotions, body sprays, and scrubs.</p><p>The economy of Georgia includes a wide-range of agricultural selections that make worthy gift basket themes. While stationary baskets easily satisfy the paper-product production associated with the city, can you imagine the kinds of arrangements you can create with pecans and peanuts, which are also popular Georgia exports? A host of well-known businesses are also situated within the state that could generate a reasonable response in gift basket sales.</p><p>In Georgia, an assortment of military installations can be found, including Fort Benning, Moody Air Force Base, Fort Stewart, and Fort Gillum. Obviously, when it comes to appealing to the locals and visitors to these bases, themes of Americana, stars and stripes, and the 4th of July are rather profitable turns for the gift basket business. As for the education department, Georgia is home to a host of historically black colleges, such as Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Savannah State University. To attract this particular crop of potential buyers, you may want to incorporate the colors and symbols associated with the area fraternities and sororities, including the pink and green scheme of the AKA's.</p><p>When you wish to attract the sports enthusiast of the Peach State, you should turn your attention to the MLB team, Atlanta Braves; the NFL team, Atlanta Falcons; and the NBA team, the Atlanta Hawks. At least two out of three teams allow birds to open up the theme of a mascot-related gift basket, whereas all three teams utilize the colors of red and black to make ribbon and accent options much easier to deal with.</p>\r\n[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"] <br /><center><hr/><em>Posted from my blog: https://blog.paxeer.com/what-goes-into-a-georgia-themed-gift-basket/ </em><hr/></center>      ",
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      "body": "[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"]\r\n<p>People first began drinking tea over 5000 years ago. Not tea as we know it, but as a medicine. Drinking tea, as a beverage, is relatively new, having been around for only about a 1000 years. In this period of time, tea has played a major role in the history of the world including being the spark that set off the American Revolution.</p><p>The Japanese hold tea in such high esteem that they have created an elaborate ceremony around drinking it. The reason for the respect the Japanese give to tea is their understanding of the benefits it provides to the human body. And although tea does contain caffeine the benefits from tea are not due to the caffeine content but to its many other chemical components, the chief among them being an amino acid L Theanine, or Ultra Theanine that is found in green tea. Although discovered in 1949, it is only now that its importance as a dietary supplement is being understood. Although the benefits of Theanine consumption are manifold, there are a few significant ones that are worth looking at in details.</p><p><b>Theanine and memory loss and depression</b></p><p>Loss of memory is usually associated with advancing age (\"having a senior moment\") or with diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. However, studies have shown that depression and stress are contributory factors to memory loss. Although both are mental states, they do cause changes in the body's chemistry which affects the functioning of the brain. Stress and depression cause the release of a stress hormone which changes the chemical balance of the brain and affects both memory and mood. The effectiveness of drugs to control mood swings is affected by this hormone. Even worse, an excess of this stress hormone can actually cause the brain to shrink in size.</p><p>Drugs that block the stress hormone have been considered as a form of medication to treat depression. Theanine, a natural amino acid has been found to have the same effect in blocking the stress hormone.</p><p>Research shows that glutamate, a natural chemical present in the brain, is associated with depression. Studies show that the glutamate levels in people who are suffering from depression are out of balance. Initial research indicates that blocking glutamate activated brain signals may reduce the depression a person is suffering. Theanine may be able to fill this role.</p><p>Glutamate activation of brain signals does not only affect the mood, they also impact the brains memory and learning ability, both of which involve similar biochemical processes. To put it simply, if you can't remember, you can't learn. Alzheimer's, strokes and alcohol are all connected to glutamate related signals in the brain that impair the ability to store and retrieve information. If Theanine is present in the body, the area affected by a stroke will be significantly reduced. Additionally, extensive studies in China reveal that drinking tea reduces the chances of getting a stroke by 40 %. It is obvious that maintaining healthy levels of theanine in the body can prevent memory loss and reduce both the chances of and affects of a stroke.</p><p><b>Theanine and weight loss</b></p><p>Everyone knows the way to lose weight is through burning up calories. The problem lies in getting the motivation to get up and exercise. Research in the UK on mountain climbers has shown that drinking hot tea improved their energy and motivational levels. Finnish researcher made a similar discovery when they found that none of the people in a study who drank five or more cups of tea a day suffered from depression. Caffeine does increase the metabolic rate marginally, but not enough to account for the difference. Also excessive caffeine consumption can leave a person nervous and irritable. Japanese researchers found the answer when, studying the various components of green tea, they discovered that theanine, along with some other compounds, suppressed weight gain and also reduced triglyceride levels. So it is not just the caffeine but the presence to theanine in tea that promotes weight loss.</p><p><b>Theanine and alcohol</b></p><p>Theanine has been proven to be effective in counter the adverse affects of alcohol on the body. When alcohol enters the body, it is converted to a chemical even more toxic that the original alcohol. Theanine has been found to accelerate the breakdown of this toxic chemical and also block the formation of harmful free radicals.</p><p>The liver produces glutathione, an all purpose anti oxidant and detoxifier. Alcohol suppresses this production. If this continues long enough the liver breaks down, affecting the rest of the body. Theanine counters the alcohol caused loss of glutathione.</p><p><b>Theanine and Cancer</b></p><p>Glutathione deficiency is not just for drinkers to worry about. It is a major concern for oncologists. Chemotherapy may reduce levels of glutathione in muscles like the heart may lead to toxicity resulting in the inability to use certain drugs that would otherwise have helped to fight the cancer. Research has found that adding theanine to chemotherapy treatments counteracts the drug related glutathione loss in vital organs. Even more, it actually blocks tumors from receiving glutathione thus making them more responsive to the chemotherapy.</p><p>Additionally, animal tests with theanine have found that it inhibits tumors from secreting some anti cancer medication they have absorbed and by retaining these medications in the tumor, increases their effectiveness. Theanine also has been found to have antioxidant properties that reduces some of the side effects of the anti cancer drugs. Further, it appears that theanine restricts the passage of the anti cancer drugs to healthy cells.</p><p><b>Theanine and sleep</b></p><p>Although tea can have as much, if not more, caffeine as coffee the theanine in it counteract the negative jagged effect of caffeine without affecting its mental stimulation and fat burning advantages. A person trying to sleep will be advised to listen to soothing music or engage in some relaxing activity. EEG studies reveal that the presence of theanine has the same effect as these on smoothing out the brain waves, indicating that it has a similar relaxing effect.</p><p>Another effect theanine has on sleep was demonstrated by research on a test group who were given theanine daily and whose sleep patterns were then recorded. The study showed that while they did not sleep longer, the quality of sleep was better, with a better recovery of energy and a refreshed feeling when they awoke. Those who took theanine felt as if they had slept longer than they actually did. This is good news for people are unable to get enough sleep.</p><p><b>Theanine and blood pressure and cholesterol</b></p><p>Testing on animals has found that theanine has the effect of both lowering blood pressure as well as inhibiting LDL (bad) cholesterol.</p>\r\n[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"] <br /><center><hr/><em>Posted from my blog: https://blog.paxeer.com/ultra-theanine/ </em><hr/></center>      ",
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      "author": "icelab",
      "permlink": "whowasquotelpipilaquot-famousmexicanindependencehero-0nm37oddus",
      "title": "Who Was "El Pipila" - Famous Mexican Independence Hero?",
      "body": "[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"]\r\n<p>The territory embracing what is now known as M&eacute;xico was once one of the richest and most important colonies of Spain's Kingdom. Under the name of the \"New Spain\" it was the main source of gold and silver for the Kingdom during the 400 years of Spaniard domination of this territory, contributing highly to the emergence of Spain as the great power of its time.</p><p>But things were not going very well for the locals in the colony, many of whom were treated as slaves, mainly the Indian and African population; and many others as \"second class\" and even \"third class\" citizens of an empire that at the beginning of the XIX century was a decadent shadow of its past greatness.</p><p>The new ideas of the French Illustration and the American Revolution had influenced a number of intellectuals and progressive personalities of the colony making them think about gaining independence from Spain and implement a number of  reforms that would make the territory a new country under many of the values proclaimed by the Illustration.</p><p>Among the people thinking seriously about gaining Independence from Spain, gains great notoriety the figure of  Miguel Hidalgo, a non-traditional catholic priest that had been living in the town of \"Dolores\" in what is now the Mexican state of Guanajuato. He had contributed to the betterment of the native population, making him very popular, by teaching them a number of crafts and to some, even how to write and read. Many of these crafts have survived until our current days; for example, the world famous \"Talavera\" ceramic pieces that you can find in what is now known as the town of  \"Dolores Hidalgo\". Besides his popularity he was also the lider of the local conspiration against Spain's rule.</p><p>It was the year 1810 when the conspiration against Spain was finally mature enough to be implemented. It was in the month of September when, accelerated by the sudden discovery of the conspiration by \"Realist authorities\", the struggle for Independence  was initiated. It was the night of September 15 when Hidalgo and others decided to go ahead and gather the people of Dolores to constitute the first army that would march against Spaniard positions.</p><p>The long column of peasants and the few trained officials constituting the \"Insurgent Army\" marched during a number of days through the region gathering more people and  resources. Once they felt strong enough they aimed to the biggest Spaniard post in the zone. The world famous mining town of Guanajuato.</p><p>And it's during this episode that the figure of \"El Pipila\" comes to scene during the first battle of the Independence struggle. Insurgents had put an old grain storage building under siege. All Spaniards had gone into this big building and were using it as a fortress to resist the \"Insurgent Army\" until some reinforcements could come from the capital or some other post.\r<br>Insurgents were desperate. The building seemed to be inexpugnable and they were losing many men trying to approach one of the two doors or climbing the walls. Besides, \"Realist\" reinforcements could be approaching and they were stuck at that position.</p><p>Hidalgo and other officials had come to the conclusion that only by destroying one of the doors they could hope for a victory. But who would do it? Who would dare to approach the door, dodging  bullets and put it on fire?...It seemed there was no one willing to take such a high risk to his life. Until \"El Pipila\" appeared from among the peasants. He approached Hidalgo and told him he was willing to go ahead and burn the door. He had been thinking how to approach the door and he had come to the conclusion he would use a piece of thick stone laced to his back as protection against bullets and then crawl to the door.</p><p>And that's how he did it. With the heavy piece of stone on his back and a torch in his hand he slowly crawled under enemy fire until he finally reached the door and with his last forces set fire to the door made of wood allowing the Insurgent Army to enter the building and claiming the first victory of the struggle for independence of the country that is now known as Mexico.</p><p>Very few things are known of what happened to 'El Pipila\" after this historic episode.</p>\r\n[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"] <br /><center><hr/><em>Posted from my blog: https://blog.paxeer.com/who-was-el-pipila-famous-mexican-independence-hero/ </em><hr/></center>      ",
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  "trx_id": "37035ecd53b66076aabb136ebeccac2d17cfb03c",
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      "author": "icelab",
      "permlink": "uniformeducationaneducationrevolutionintamilnadu-isux5ezdy7",
      "title": "Uniform Education an Education Revolution in Tamil Nadu",
      "body": "[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"]\r\n<p>  Introduction: <br>  Education can act as a powerful tool for reducing poverty and unemployment and achieving a sustained human development.  When we compared our country education with other developed / developing country, the education in our country is not suitable to the current situation / practical life.  All over the world governments are strictly following the procedure of generating libraries along with schools, colleges etc.  because the emperor Napoleon said the &quot;Build up libraries otherwise we would build up prisons&quot;. </p><p>  Generally in all the countries are understand the importance of higher education.  In 1980s American president Ronald Regan take several steps to improve the higher educations.  In a survey, among the 10 world&#39;s best universities, 9 universities are located in America.  Most of the countries are including the basic education as a human right.  In our India itself the education quality in corporation schools and private institutions are having huge differences.  For instance the education system in institutions like IIM, IIT is differenting from other institution.  IIM an IIT institutions students are having more future benefits like employment, salary etc.  rather than the other institutions.  The syllabus difference between Tamilnadu and Kerala.  We can give much more examples to prove in equality in our education system. </p><p>  According to human resource development department report in our India only 77% of the students pursuing their higher secondary studies.  In which 61.6% of the students stop their studies in between higher secondary.  The total no.  of schools, colleges is increased slightly when compared to previous years but the education quality is down fall.  Even though the students are educated they can not able to get a job because of non practical syllabus in many education institutions.  It is the right time to introduce the &quot;education revolution&quot; through uniform education. </p><p>  Uniform education: </p><p>  In current situation only the richest students are able to get quality education in metric and private schools.  The government of Tamil Nadu going to introduce uniform education system in eliminates the in equality in education.  In 1960&#39;s Gothari commission insist government of India to introduce uniform education in every states and also the committee stressed to increased the allocation of finance to the education with that committee&#39;s recommendations the government of India introduced &quot;Sharva Shiksha Abiyan&quot;.  But the result is not up to the level.  The Government of Tamilnadu comes forward to introduce the uniform education with the recommendation of Muthu kumaran committee.  Uniform education will reduce the burden of the school children through reducing the no.  of books and notes and also.  It will make pull stop to the indirect collection of amount from the children by way of using text books.  It is the good thing in one side but in other side the quality of government school not up to the mark of private schools. </p><p>  Uniform education&#39;s other important content is crating or building near by schools to children&#39;s.  But the government of Tamil Nadu does not give any matters regarding the nearest school systems.  The Government of Tamil Nadu also failed to include the medium of instructions as Tamil.  Because Mr.Muthukumaran committee is strongly stressed about providing of education in the mother tongue.  The education minister also failed to include the very important content of uniform education is appointing sufficient no.  of teachers to each children in the Government Schools. </p><p>  Recommendation: </p><p>  From the point of view of us and also from the point of view of experts, we wished to suggest.  Some recommendation and we expect something from the Tamil Nadu education minister to develop the rural children education rate. </p><p>  1. The Government must develop the infrastructure facilities.  The Government schools are not enough infrastructure facilities like in private schools. </p><p>  2. It most of the rural schools the teacher student ration in too low (5 classes: 2 teachers).  Merely introducing common syllabus we can not expect uniform education development in all schools.  The state Government should have come forward to allocate more finance to the education development. </p><p>  3. Most of the politicians like PMK leader Ramadoss expect the State Government should come forward to provide LKG &amp; UKG education to all the rural students.  Because, all the urban area students are going in the Ist standard after completing these courses.  But most of the rural students are joined with out these courses.  So far four committee are arranged to analyze Indians education position.  All these committees are highly recommended one thing that is &quot;nearby schools with mother tongue common schools&quot;. </p><p>  4.A childe should get its education with out going long distance.  For that Government should construct more no.  of schools in rural areas.  So for the Government did not explain about the nearby schools construction. </p><p>  5. Government school teachers are getting more salary than the private school teachers.  But the pass percent is too lower than the private schools.  Government did not give more attention to praise the teachers and also punishment then when they are mislead. </p><p>  6. Every year Chennai Municipality receives Rs.  70 crores as education tax.  As per I April 2009 situation the idle amount is Rs.  120 crores with his amount the Chennai municipality can improve the 250 corporate schools to star category.  Government should concentrate on spending collected amount towards school education development. </p><p>  7. Even though the Government schools are giving free lunch, no fees, free uniforms and free text books, still most of middle a low class classes are interested to get the appoint form the private schools.  The Government should give been attentive towards these actions it should find the reason. </p><p>  8. Most of the rural students are stopped their education in between (nearly 70% of the students stop their education with in 10th STD) classes.  The reason is poverty and also the schools infrastructure education plan, test formation and also job opportunity from the education.  The Government should try to change the education system of our state.  The every student should be assured with job opportunity. </p><p>  9. According to latest report from 1000 students only 50-60 students are having the ability of getting jobs.  It arises due to non job relevancy syllabus and also lack of library facilities in our schools.  So the Government should increase the library facilities in each &amp; every schools. </p><p>  Conclusion: </p><p>  Uniform education system may create an education revolution in Tamil Nadu and it will scatter over all the states.  The Government also will make keen attention towards the education system in our country.  We hope the uniform education syllabus will reduce the imbalance between the rural student&#39;s knowledge and urban student&#39;s knowledge.  It is the time to create education revolution in our country.  We believe our state forward its first foot step to wards education revolution.  In uniform education, common syllabus is one of the foot step, still there are many foot steps are inform of us we have to cross them in order to get a quality education and also to provide quality education to our state students.  Government may do and God will help them. </p>\r\n[youtube_channel channel=UCarWN8DBIEinOczeYg_Apow resource=0 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=hqdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=none goto_txt=\"Visit our YouTube channel\"] <br /><center><hr/><em>Posted from my blog: https://blog.paxeer.com/uniform-education-an-education-revolution-in-tamil-nadu/ </em><hr/></center>      ",
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