Assess Life!

Writen by Christopher Jon Luke Dowgin

Assess? The Sufis believe you must evaluate one’s ability for knowledge. The Masons follow an initiatory process towards truth. Oxford teaches a process to evaluate ones learning style for linguistics to develop a style of interpreting a language to people so they may learn. But the Sufi’s go far enough back to actual teach you how to learn, with always the knowledge that there is still is much more for them to teach.

How is one to live by the golden rule if they did not learn how to develop self esteem for themselves? How do you love another if you do not know how to love yourself? How are you to answer someone when they ask you what you want if no one ever taught you how to express your opinions openly? What some people take for granted as common sense, brings them up short trying to communicate with others. Before you teach you must gage ones readiness to learn. Most collegiate school systems will not offer graduate classes to undergrads for a reason. Another mistake is to believe that something you learned as a child is so rudimentary that every one else must of learned these things as they learned to walk and talk. For you will be mistaken.

For not all parents know what to teach their children. Because silly, it has not been taught to them. So how would they be able to pass on what they do not know. Or for that fact even know that one day they must learn it themselves.

So if I ask you to follow the Golden Rule, and you have been ignored all your life, you will in turn ignore me and expect no different. If no one ever gave you a hand up, you will never give a hand out to any one else.

Most of the solid foundation to access future knowledge is laid in your childhood years. What is everyday experiences becomes the norm. In these years is what is called the developmental matrixes. First you have comfort that is started in the womb. At birth existence and separation is experienced. Soon afterwards instinctual thinking is developed.

In the first three years your sensual and emotional thinking is sown. Followed by your logical thinking from five to twelve. Your basic core personality is hammered out by four and it is soon socialized right after in school. In this socialization process the identity you gained at four is tempered by society. What works stays, what does not is left behind for good for better. But it is precarious time, for what is beneficial may be given up due to pressure from your peers. It is the Nietzsche years, what does not kill you makes you stronger. Like why do we need an excuse to have children to have stuffed animals in the house.

In olden days they would be made out of wood and called idols and avatars. Granted you should not carry one around as a safety blanket. But ever wonder why we give a small bear effigy to our young children and rabbits at Easter? But pacifiers are right out, they screw up your teeth; what harm does the teddy bear do? These are the years of intra-dependce. Your ego is in part controlled by your elders.

“You must walk before you run, for if not you will be running all your life.”

Then comes puberty. In ancient societies we had initiation rights. Muslims had circumcision. Aborigines of Australia have scarification. The Catholics still slap their youth lightly on the cheek during confirmation. We still have these rituals in the form of the police raiding and abusing teenagers hang outs. Another method that still exist is the no skateboarding signs in our public thoroughfares. But the worst is the sending of our youth to fight each other in wars. These are acts by those who are getting too old and infirm. These men did not follow their myths to open up society for the new to enter. Granted some kids need a little shock to be socialized into a society where they respect others rights as well as their own. But there was more important rites than these.

In Paleolithic ages men worshiped in caves. Here the youths were passed through narrow dark cramped tunnel like passages that had to be navigated on your belly. These tunnels opened up onto large expansive caves that held the tribes secrets on what is expected of every male in the tribe. Here the men germinated the seeds they were going to give birth to. For when the youth exited the caves, they were men now. Women upon their menstruation just become women though. The Jews had a red tent in which the women would kibitz with each other. Here they would pass their secrets on to one another during the weeks of their menstrual flow. Native Americans would drop a youth into a pit in the woods for a month or two feeding them some bread and water every couple days or so. Here the kids seen visions telling them what their new name was and what they were going to do in the tribe for the rest of their life. Were they to be a hunter, medicine man, mule skinner, or leader?

Along with these physical rites there was the subtle stories told around the campfires that had new meaning every time at a different point in life they are heard. Most of them just did not tell some simple moral tale as in Aesop fables, but had layers upon layers of meaning. Like an onion. As a child they entertain. As a teen they bore. As a parent they teach you that you should of listened to them as a teen. As an old man they help you impart knowledge so others do not make your mistakes or feel left alone in the pitfalls of life.

Some took the test, some failed, some played Hooky, and others was denied the chance. What is the test? One for all and all for one. It is the acquisition of your own ego. It is what every hero adventure was about in the old world. The stories of Joseph Campbell. It is the time that is most affected by the fifth chakra and the stage of Solutio in alchemy. But what are the obstacles faced in this matrix that make up this test? First there is giving up naked for nude; which entails comfort and enjoyment in your body. Next comes your potential for creating life and its responsibility. Once more you Toss the pacifier but keep the Teddy bear. Always giving up good for better.

One of the most important steps is learning Self reliance and independence. With this you get to choose what rules and morals are you parents or societies and which are greater truths endeavored by the Holy Spirit or the collective unconsciousness. Jefferson’s dilemma, he wrote all men are created equal but kept black slaves because of societies standards. But then bore many Africans as his own children. Abolitionists went against their parents and struggled for the realization of his words. Self rule, self retribution, and self redemption are very important to bring change in our lives. Also we must leave the world of the mother for that of the father.

For only then may we confront our fathers and take responsibility of our self’s needs by gaining a trade or fixing society where it needs mending. To do so we learn to be Self motivated. As well we temper our sensual appetites but never deny them. Embrace our animal nature but civilize it a bit. Then before we find a healthy mate we must incorporate a healthy sex opposite in your psyche and bring balance to our nature. Then it is for us to Create and teach our children and community. This is the individualization process, the philosopher’s stone, the holy Grail.

Stories from Star Wars with Luke confronting Darth Vader and the empire to the Dorothy melting the witch to save Oz, these stories are about this important time and the lessons we must learn to become adults. Some of us are forty and still have not grown up. Any stage of your development that is missed must be made up at some point.

There was once this Drag racer back in the fifties. He was the quickest thing in the quarter mile straight away. Some corporate sponsors thought he would do great in the big league on the circle tracks. So in his first Nascar race, as the checker flag fell, he was into his third curve. Miles ahead of the pack. He lapped them all ,three, four, no five times before his car came to a dead stop. He just sat there dumbstruck as the others passed him three, four, no five times. His problem was that no one told him he had to take pit stops from time to time to fuel up; never less change the tires or plugs. We get far in life and career and feel like this racer when it all starts to crumble around us because we were not told something as stupid as to fuel up our cars. Some learn that much and believe that is all and never learn to change their plugs or tires.

Either like my Russian friend we remove ourselves from our parents during our teen years and loose what they have to offer to teach us; or they do not know what it is they need to pass on to us. He thought his parents were to Russian so he avoided them when he was a teen in America during the cold war. Other parents abuse us in various ways in which their parents abused them. Some just never cut the strings and dictate our lives to us.

In the Rudolph Story, Herbie wanted to be a dentist and all the other elves laughed at him. He was not given any reassurance from others and validation to his voice and aspirations. When a parent does this to their children, they limit their potential for success and happiness. A Doctor friend of mine had said that his colleagues who were forced into the profession by their parents collapse upon their deaths. The parents die and it is now thirty years to late for these people to think for themselves. That is why they picked the mates that could order them around. If they married the only person they could control, they are in real trouble. You can not lie to yourself forever.

In some stories as Cinderella and the Wizard of Oz, the mother character gets split into two different people. What is called the borderline mother is loving one minute and without reason cruel the next. These mothers get split in the fairy tales to illustrate the challenge children have to come to terms with this dichotomy in their mother. There is the Fairy Godmother who nurtures them and often needs saving and then the evil witch or Step-Mom that needs to be killed. Unfortunately the myths up to today do not integrate the negative half into the good and bring peace to the whole. It is brought force and it is threatens so it fights to stay on creating greater harm that only resurfaces time and time again.

The Same is what happens for men when they kill the dragon or when Luke confronts Darth Vader. Actually Darth saves Luke from destruction by returning the Anakin half of his personality back in control of his ego. The Father saves himself to save his son. This is a story stemming from how it went wrong in the Garden of Eden, through the Nibelungenlied to Tolkien, from Perceval to Star Wars. It is the story called the Hero’s adventure and is told by what the Naskapi Indians call the Great Man or Jung calls the Two Million Year Old Man of the collective unconsciousness. These are stories written by people who have been there and done it before. They noticed they were not the only ones who had certain pitfalls before them, so they wrote the map for us to avoid them.

Christopher Jon Luke Dowgin is propietor of Docspond Life Coach Services providing Individual Counseling, Group facilitation, and key note addresses that speak to the heart of the mission while delivering the bottom line finacial growth. Helping millions find their bliss and return meaning to success! Guaranteed 20% improvement in your quality of life after the first meeting!

Also is the propietor and designer at Norgeforge Illumination Studios that will SEO illuminated design giving Aesthetics to traffic driven sales. So get out of the cold and get Norgeforged!

Art of Living and You

Writen by Alevoor Rajagopal

Hi all. So what if I don’t know to blog? I have come on the block. Oh! No, this is not me telling. You know I was pushed into blogging when I just became aware of the word. And the words above are the generous advice of that pusher. He is a friend of long standing. If I have to blame him, I have to blame for reasons that are countless. You know he is such an affable fella and a friendly devil kinda guy that you can’t blame him even when you want to. Secretly I confessed to the fact that for many things I am today, he is the person that can take credit.

After all why should he do it to me or is he just kind to me alone? He is a couple of years older than I. he was a form ahead of me in school too. He, as I know was the most bubly and chirpy guy as a school boy. Oh! My…he was talking from anything to every thing though the topics naturally were limited to our age bound world. The games, dresses he had purchased from his pocket money and that blue skirt of our teacher. I did really enjoy the moments he used to narrate all these in his inimitable style, sometimes exaggerating sometiimes in an emotional voice. I don’t remember disliking or objecting to anything except for that one day when he described the length of his teacher’s legs. I was a bit frieghtened as I protested. He laughed at me first and then just switched over.

He was not like it as I knew. This thing bugged me all night long. I can’t express what exactly I should call the thoghts that crawled my mind. But it is also true that appreciation for him surfaced strongly. But it never occured to me that he was growing up. Or was he grown up already?

More than anything else what brought me to adore him was his integrity. For some reason or the other I could not go to school or play without him. With him by my side, I felt safer always. He made fun off me, ragged me. But as always, his pranks showed me I had to grow more.

Now, in retrospect I think of him. He is coming back to our town after 32 years. They moved south after he finished high school. Later he called me to tell he had to give up further schooling for pursuing some job. He married a southerner taller than his own self. He built a home there and grew mango trees all around. This brings an incidence back to memory. In the mango season, while returning from school, we had to pass by a mangrove. And there was a hefty watchman gaurduing it. But my friend was all too clever for him. He used to yell and coo standing infront of the gate as if somebody else was trying to thieve mangoes and he wanted to alert the watchman. My friend was so quick to sense if the watchman wasn’t around when he didn’t turn up immediately. He would dash in, in big strides and whew.. would pluck a few mangoes. Always more for him and one or two for me. I didn’t dare ask why.

He is coming to me. To see me. He couldn’t even attend my marriage. He just sent a condolence letter when my dad expired. This had disturbed me deeply as I needed him besides me when I thought the world was getting washed away from under my feet. When he called up to tell he is coming here, it relieved me. I didn’t ask any more questions.

I recieved him at the airport. My wife was all curious about him as she just knew him through my narrations. he was looking more aged than he actually was.A very thin grey patch on his pate. He just grinned to me but still I could sense the affection unaltered.

Back home, he gave a shocker. He had blood cancer in the advanced stage. Over many coffees he narrated his story. He had lost hopes. His only daughter refused to see him for long time now for just he did not like her fiance. The boy belonged to a rich family. For once, he appeared to be seeking my suggestion. His days were numbered. He had built a big estate that he didn’t just want to give it to his daughter or waste it. Even at his lurking death, it filled me with gratitude coz he was asking me for suggestion. My wife was watching him, tears filled in her eyes, as he shoved the registration papers of his estate. He made all properties in my name.

He didn’t give me any chance to refuse it. For nth time it reminded me why I adored him. He had all the faith in me. He had calculated everything in advance. He familiarised me with his properties, business dealings, and the charity that he started of late and requested me to continue. He didn’t want to do all these at his death bed. I could not stop revering him for all that he is. A friend, a philosopher, a guide, and a brother. I am jumping into blogging (I hope this is not blogging) just because my thoughts can be understood by some soul just like him, on the net.

The author Rajgopal has been writing on technical matters and in this avtar he gave up tags that confine to particular genre of writing. Rajgopal is a mechanical engineer and served the pharmaceutical industry. Of late he has been putting his efforts in to creative art and healthcare writing. Here he looks in to the nostalgic aspect of humanity. He can be contacted at http://alevoorrajgopal.blogspot.com He is also writing at: http://vitamineh.blogspot.com

International Terrorism Must Be Defined, Confronted and Culled When Found

Writen by Lance Winslow

If we are to beat international terrorism and rid this evil from the planet then we need to have a more clear definition of what international terrorism really is. Then and only then can we confront it and make a resolution of all nations of the world that international terrorism on civilian populations is unacceptable and it will not be tolerated.

We know that international terrorism often as nation state sponsors. For instance; Iran sponsors Hezbollah and Hamas. This is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated and yet the United Nations and the Security Council will not agree to do anything about, while innocent people are killed by suicide murderous bombers and its this goes on week after week.

Either the United Nations and all countries around the world stand up against international terrorism and confront it or the United Nations began to those nations that sponsor international terrorism and those nations, which sit by and let it happen live in the greatest hypocrisy of the present period. We owe it to ourselves not to allow this sham of humanity to thrust itself into future periods.

If we fail to address international terrorism, to define international terrorism and to confront international terrorism, then we have failed humanity. We must wipe out to international terrorism once and for all, has no human being to live in fear or fear of their family being killed for some crazy radical fundamentalist religious cause.

Either we respect human life or we’re living a lie. It is time for the United Nations and all nations of the world to prevent international terrorist attacks against humanity. Consider this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

The Chinese American Without a Chinese Name

Writen by Jenny Parker

I walked up to the customs agent’s counter in Beijing International airport, and mindlessly handed the customs agent my passport. He then mindlessly did his thing with my passport. It was supposed to be a quiet transaction, but he broke the silence when he looked up and asked if I still use my Chinese name in America. With a blank look on my face, I began to consider supplying him with an answer he might like to hear, but he didn’t give me enough time to think and he answered for me that that I must not use my Chinese name anymore. My passport was handed back to me with a smile. He then wished me a pleasant journey and pointed me to the three long security checkpoints reserved for US bound passengers. While standing in line, I thought about my long-lost Chinese name and how unattached I am to my Chinese name….

Born in 1969 in communist China, my parents promptly decided to name me after something that had something to do with Chairman Mao. Not that they thought of him as a great leader, but rather out of fear. They picked a little known poem by Mao, which allowed them to show enough dedication to Mao without being reminded too much of him. My name was the first character of the three character title of this poem. (They actually needed to have three children to qualify for Mao’s poem, but they stopped at two. My sister’s name was the second character of the title, but her character is better known.) They clearly went too far with their quest, not only did most people fail to associate my name properly with Chairman Mao, but most people simply don’t know the character that is my name.

As a young child in China, it always surprised me if someone could pronounce my name correctly without being told first. I regarded anyone who knew my name as certainly the most learned and intelligent. They would often ask anyway how I got such a little known character as a name and I would politely repeat the origin of my name, including that I only have one sibling and that I don’t actually know the poem itself, just the title. I also endured numerous longer and more colorful dialogs about my name between my mother and other curious people. Once in a while, my parents would apologetically explain that my name was selected to protect me, but I am certain that my name had not once protected me when I got myself in trouble.

I came to America just in time to start 8th grade, and by then my Chinese name had been loosely “translated” phonetically into English. Now it really sounds nothing like my name, even when I say it. On quite a few occasions, I was completely oblivious when someone was calling for me. One day, my grandmother suggested to me that since I live in America now, it would be easier to have an English name. I thought this was an excellent idea. The very first name she suggested was “Jenny,” and I said okay. Finally, I had a name that is simple, modest, and best of all, does not call attention to itself.

When I got married, since my husband isn’t Chinese, I realized that I would lose part of my ethnic identity if I changed my last name but I decided to change my last name anyway. The logic was simple: I wanted to have the same last name as my future children so that no one would mistake me for their nanny. I kept my maiden name as my middle name. I like my last name by birth. Most of the time a middle name is not required, so, on paper, my name does not suggest that I am Chinese American.

In real life, I am a Chinese Americana proud one, I might add. I am fluent in spoken and written Chinese. My favorite carb is rice, in fact, it is pretty much the only carb I like. I am also an avid green tea drinker, and rarely miss an opportunity to order stinky bean curd if my dining partner can tolerate if not share it. After I had children of my own, it became even more important to embrace being Chinese. I wanted to pass down the great Chinese heritage and values to my children. They are taught to be respectful and obedient to their teachers in school, and that being smart and getting good grades is a great source of pride, and yes! math and science is more important than liberal arts.

I also made great efforts to teach my children to be fluent in Mandarin Chinese in our predominately English speaking household. We were fortunate to afford the neat trick of hiring a full time Chinese speaking nanny for our children for 6 years. I read Chinese children books to my children almost religiously every night. Both of my kids were given Chinese names (ones that I like) in addition to English ones and we use their Chinese names at home. We celebrate each major Chinese holiday, and for Chinese New Year, I even stage a celebration that can sort of rival Christmas. They get all dressed up in their beautiful silk Chinese outfits on New Year’s day, I arrange nice display of treats on our table for the kids to enjoy, and instead of the more traditional treats, I disguise mine with gold-wrapped Chocolate coins, and snacks that they like. After all, one has to enjoy the treats to appreciate the holiday. And of course, the red envelops, which they grow to appreciate more and more each year. One day, I think they might like it better than the presents during Christmas. I just have to be very generous with their red envelops. But the most festive part of our Chinese New Year celebration is our annul pilgrimage to my parent’s house. Where they learn that Chinese New Year is a great family celebration mixed with a lot of eating, and more red envelops for the children. I tell them that they are lucky to have more holiday celebrations than most of their friends, because they are Chinese.

And I am lucky to be an Chinese American too. Because I fully embrace the benefits from two great cultures. Even without a Chinese name.

Stagecoach Drivers and Their Whips

Writen by Alton Pryor

Not everyone could manage a stagecoach. The stagecoach driver was held in higher esteem when on the summit of the Sierra than was the millionaire statesman who might be riding beside him.

While most stage drivers were sober, at least while on duty, nearly all were fond of an occasional “eye opener.” A good driver was the captain of his craft. He was feared by his timid passengers, awed by stable boys, and was the trusty agent of his employer.

The seat next to the driver, weather permitting, was the preferred seat of the men passengers. But this was one seat that was reserved, and it was not gotten by simply being the first to hop on the left front wheel rim and climbing into the box.

If the driver didn’t want the person who took the seat there, he would firmly order him down, and then enjoy the passenger’s discomfiture for the next ten miles.

To sit in the driver’s seat, one proceeded very much in the manner of securing an appointment to a high office. He went to the source of authorityabove the driver himselfto the superintendent and even to the president of the company.

Charlie Parkhurst was one of the more skillful stagecoach drivers, not only in California, but throughout the west. He was variously called “One-eyed” or “Cockeyed” Charlie, because he had lost an eye when kicked by a horse. For 20 years, he drove stagecoach in California. Twice Charlie was held up. The first time, he was forced to throw down his strongbox because he was unarmed. The second time, he was prepared.

When a road agent ordered the stage to stop and commanded Charlie to throw down its strongbox, Parkhurst leveled a shotgun blast into the chest of the outlaw, whipped his horses into a full gallop, and left the bandit in the road.

One-eyed Charlie was known as one of the toughest, roughest, and the most daring of stagecoach drivers. Like most drivers, he was proud of his skill in the extremely difficult job as “whip.” Proper handling of the horses and the great coaches was an art that required much practice, experience, and not the least, courage.

Whips received high salaries for the times, sometimes as much as $125 a month, plus room and board.

“How in the world can you see your way through this dust?” one passenger asked Charlie.

“Smell it. Fact is,” Charlie replied, “I’ve traveled over these mountains so often I can tell where the road is by the sound of the wheels. When they rattle, I’m on hard ground; when they don’t rattle I gen’r'lly look over the side to see where she’s agoing.”

Yet, little was really known about Charlie Parkhurst before or after he came to California. It wasn’t until his body was prepared for burial that his true secret was discovered.

Charlotte “Charlie” Parkhurst was a woman. One doctor claimed that at some point in her life, she had been a mother.

Unknowingly, Parkhurst could claim a national first. After voting on Election Day, November 3, 1868, Charlie was probably the first woman to cast a ballot in any election. It wasn’t until 52 years later that the right to vote was guaranteed to women by the nineteenth amendment.

All stagecoach drivers, including Charlie, considered their whips worth their weight in gold. Drivers considered their whips a badge of honor.

Some drivers would as soon be caught without their pants as without their whips. Many of the whips used by the stage drivers were fine works of art, generally ornamented with handcrafted silver ferules girdling a handle made of hickory. Many of these whips are prized museum pieces today.

Whips were never sold, loaned, borrowed, or traded. In his book, “Stagecoach Days in Santa Barbara County, Walker A. Tompkins wrote, “Whips were considered a part of the driver, who kept the lashes well-oiled and as pliable as “a snake in the sun.”

Most stagecoach whips had buckskin lashes, usually from 11 to 12 feet in length, attached to a five-foot hickory shaft. The lashes were 10 feet too short to reach the lead team, which was controlled by reining.

Some rare drivers did carry a “six-horse whip” with a 22-foot lash, but these were mainly for circus and rodeo appearances, and considered too unwieldy for practical use.

The driver took his whip with him when off duty, and always hung it up. He never rested it in a corner for fear of warping the stock. Neither did he wrap the lash around the handle for fear of curling the thongs.

Stagecoach drivers were scornful of the way they were depicted in the movies. The top-grade stagecoach drivers used cracking of the whip sparingly. These drivers were concerned that the “pistol-shot” sounds made by the whips would only startle their passengers out of their naps or, worse yet, spook their teams.

Roads had to be built at public expense before stagecoaches were given a route. Some were little more than ox-cart tracks linking the various ranchos. Even the El Camino Real, the storied “King’s Highway”, was little more than a foot trail.

A tale is told about stage driver Whispering George Cooper. He got his name because of his loud bellow, which was said could be heard for miles, even against a wind, while he pushed his team up a treacherous pass.

At one point, Whispering George needed to repair a broken single tree that had developed a bad split. He scoured the stage for a bit of rope or a scrap of baling wire, to make the repair.

At that moment, a rattlesnake slithering across the road in front of them spooked his team. George killed the snake, which measured five feet or more in length. A passenger commented how much the snake resembled a rope.

“By gawd, that’s what I’ll use it for!” exclaimed George. He wrapped the dead snake around the single tree and knotted it into place. It worked, holding the damaged single tree together until it reached a relay station.

The term “stagecoach” came about in medieval Europe, when public coach travel was the only way one could get from one point to another without walking.

Trips were generally made in easy stages because of bad roads and the lack of overnight lodgings along the way. Hence, the term “stage” coach.

Alton Pryor has been a writer for magazines, newspapers, and wire services. He worked for United Press International in their Sacramento Bureau, handling both printed press as well as radio news. He traveled the state as a field editor for California Farmer Magazine for 27 years. He is now the author of 10 books, primarily on California and western history. His books can be seen at www.stagecoachpublishing.com Readers can email him at stagecoach@surewest.net.

Non-Combat Branches in the American Civil War

Writen by Michael Russell

Most of an army is made up not of fighters, but of units whose job is to support the fighters. Modern armies and Civil War armies are a part of modern warfare, consume enormous amounts of everything. Whether in camp or in the field, armies consume tons of food and water every day; not just people do all this consuming, either. The tens of thousands of animals that provided mobility for the cavalry and artillery needed to be fed as well. Anyone who has ever had to feed even one horse or cow knows how much forage it takes every day to keep them happy. In battle, an army consumes ammunition at incredible rates; consequently, men are killed or wounded at very high rates.

In the general mess that is war, someone has to haul every bite of food and every bullet and cannon ball fired. Someone has to provide clothes, shoes (for horses and men), equipment and repair or replace whatever is broken. Someone has to make sure supply stocks are maintained, so that no shortages occur. Someone has to deal with the sick, dead and wounded. Someone has to house the troops when they go into camp. Someone has to build the bridges and rail lines to supply the army. You get the idea.

The quartermaster (called a logistician today) had the unromantic but all-important job of providing everything an army needs to fight. The quartermaster supervised the supply trains (the long train of wagons) that followed the army on the march. In the Union army, the standard was 25 wagons for every thousand men. The medical corps treated casualties (the sick, dead and wounded), taking them from the battlefield, burying the dead and evacuating the wounded or sick to the rear for treatment and (the all too rare) recovery.

Orders for the movement of armies and combat information were passed through the signal troops, who maintained the critical lines of communication for the army. In the Civil War these troops used signal flags, mirrors, torches, balloons, couriers and the telegraph to pass orders and instructions. Throughout the war, both sides established a highly organized system of communication that went from the national leaders to the armies in the field and down to the company level - and back up again. For the first time in the history of warfare, the telegraph became an indispensable means of almost instantaneous communication. It allowed Presidents Davis and Lincoln an unprecedented opportunity to maintain contact with generals in the field. The telegraph also allowed them at times to meddle in their generals’ affairs. The armchair strategists in Richmond and Washington also enjoyed using the telegraph to provide field generals with commentary and criticism. Civil War leaders were the first to discover what people today know all too well: Communications technology can be both a blessing and a curse.

Engineers planned and built fortifications both temporary and permanent, built roads and bridges (both temporary and permanent) and made terrain maps (probably temporary and permanent, too). As the war went on, the skills of engineers became of increasing importance when both armies began to use entrenchments and breastworks, using sandbags and logs covered with earth to protect their forces while having a clear shot at the attacking enemy. Both Richmond and Washington were protected by extensive fortifications.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Civil War

Copper Keels and Red Ochre

Writen by Robert Baird

Copper Keels:

Nature provides varying resources in different parts of the world. In Ireland the use of leather in boat-building made sense. Leather craft going underwater led to glass or other submersibles to reach sunken ships in the time of Alexander and the designs some people think are alien craft on the Lascaux Caves are most likely leather submersibles. The hardwoods of Central and South America allowed for some truly fantastic big ships to be hollowed out of very large trees. Ironwood is heavier than concrete and it is even possible that they used concrete on ship hulls or to build ships with the geopolymerized technology that Pliny reports, and scholars did not understand, so the scholars failed to properly translate his writing. If 9,000 years ago the people of the Aleutians and the copper route were able to use ivory bearings in two or four man crafts that cut a catamaran type wake which Scientific American says exceeds our present technology, then you can imagine almost anything.

The use of copper sheeting on hulls and keels extended the life of wooden crafts in warm waters where boring beetles destroy any wooden craft. This allowed the Phoenicians or those who built ships that could travel the whole world a great advantage. They also had above deck windlass type technology to keep planked hulls intact during storms. These two things made larger ships more durable and feasible. The Murrhine vases for turning salt water potable would have been a huge advantage. It is not lost on me that the very name of these vases includes the name Mu just as Troy’s real name does.

RED OCHRE:

The supposed worship of the Sun in many ancient cultures was also a worship of the ‘Son’ of God which we all can actualize. Thomas Huxley argued the position of science well in his confrontations with the churchian Wilberforce and I admire the Huxley clan. In many ways Aldous Huxley was a groundbreaking observer of real science rather than the Kuhn constructs Fuller prefers anarchy over. I love to read how Aldous was excited to get the first hand accounts of Joseph Campbell walking on the healing fire of the Japanese shamanistic Shinto priests. There are many Eranos attendees like Jung and Campbell who are excellent scholars and well respected authors including Eliade and Daisetz Suzuki.

“I remember Aldous Huxley talking to me through a long evening, and his white hands held into the fire, saying, ‘This is what transforms. These are the legends that show it. Above all, the legend that the Phoenix is reborn in the fire, and lives over and over again in generation after generation.’ Fire is the image of youth and blood, the symbolic colour is the ruby and cinnabar {From which the alchemist got Mercury.}, and in ochre and hematite with which men paint themselves ceremonially.” (14)

But was it just ceremonial? No! Hematite is still important to the art of crystal therapy. It is naturally able to generate energy in tune with the Earth Energy Grid that we all are impacted by even though we can’t see it. Ochre is found on the bones of the far older modern human (by at least 20,000 years) called the Mungo Man. It may actually be cinnabar but archaeologists are not alchemists and usually don’t believe in the Philosopher’s Stone which required cinnabar.

The Beothuk painted themselves with the ochre they received in payment from Phoenicians involved in the Old Copper Route to Lake Superior’s unique and pure ore deposits before the advent of widespread smelting. L’Anse Amour is an archaeological site that shows where they were in the 5th Millennium B.C. They had moved when the water flow changed after years of the earth adjusting to the miles of glacial ice that had been on top of it. The Beothuk had a unique watercraft most like the northern Europeans such as the Irish. They were as tall as the Adena who came from the Poverty Point location of the Keltic Phoenician Red Heads who are like the Red Headed Mummies of Urumchi. But they were called ‘redskins’ before the Canadian Government or other authorities put a bounty on their heads and the 19th Century saw their demise just as the Kelts of Easter Island and New Zealand were eradicated. Earlier than that it was far worse for the remnants of the Brotherhood of Man whose leaders understood the nature of the Solar Deity as a mere representation of a science average people were unwilling to devote the time required to grasp. It wasn’t just libraries that were burned at the stake. I hope you can see that if no other scholar has written about red ochre in this way and few point out the massive advantages the copper keel would provide, that it is a reflection on academia and the nature of those who keep secrets.

Author of Diverse Druids, Columnist for The ES Press Magazine, Guest ‘expert’ at World-Mysteries.com

Presidente Vincent Fox of Mexico Wishes to Legalize All Drugs in the Country?

Writen by Lance Winslow

Drugs have always been a huge problem in Mexico and many understand that much of the secret police and military are also involved in the drug cartels, both retired and active duty in Mexico. The corruption is so deep it is almost impossible to do anything but start over from scratch? Well in the current scheme of things and political climate there is indeed a fat chance of that happening anytime soon in Mexico.

This issue recently came up in an online think tank, when one member, Swift from Montana stated; “I have a great deal of difficulty with the idea that Vincente Fox would even consider doing this, especially looking at the violence drug cartels are exhibiting all over that country and particularly at our northern border. It is even more important that the US separate our selves from the nation of Mexico, when they behave badly.”

Indeed if Mexico legalizes drugs then they will be available right over the border and this will attract “Drug Tourists” from the United States to border towns in Mexico and thus will be very problematic for our enforcement agencies to stop cross border drug traffic or US citizen consumption once they cross the border. It is unfortunate to say the least that Mexico is considering this at all. Unbelievable in fact and it sure will cause problems with American Citizens and drug use at a time when we are busy spending taxpayers monies for rehabilitation, enforcement and education to stop drugs. Consider all this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

The Democracy Monument, Bangkok - the Silent Sentinel of Freedom

Writen by Eric Lim

The Democracy Monument in Ratchadamnoen Avenue was erected in 1939 to commemorate the 24 June 1932 coup. That was the year when the People’s Party led by Pridi Banomyong and the military faction under Phibun Songkhram staged a coup that changed the face of Thai politics for years to come.

The 150-year-old absolute monarchy came to an end and Thailand changed to a constitutional government.

It was an Italian artist and sculptor, Corrado Feroci who designed the Democracy Monument with a symbolism to capture the spirit of the occasion.

The monument has four curved columns arching inwards. Each column is 24 m in height to signify 24 June, the date of the revolution.

There is a protective ring of 75 cannons at the base of the Democracy Monument to symbolize the Buddhist year of the revolution 2475. The original 1932 constitution is kept in a pedestal at the center of the four columns.

Owing to its emotional appeal, the Democracy Monument has been a natural rallying point for democracy movements and demonstrations throughout Thai political history.

In October 1973, one such demonstration took place before the Democracy Monument. It was a massive groundswell of public protest against the military dictatorship of Field Marshall Thanom Kittikachorn and to demand the release of 13 students arrested by the military.

Organized by students of Thammasat University with tremendous public support, the demonstrators numbered almost 200,000, the biggest in Thai history.

In the days that followed, tensions soared. On 14 October 1973, the military moved in to disperse the demonstrators forcibly with tragic consequences. As a result, the government collapsed and Field Marshall Thanom had to leave the country.

The traumatic impact of 14 October 1973 on Thai society is vividly described in Salisa Pinkayan’s historical novel, Chalida. It’s also no coincidence that there are hardly any books giving an account of what actually happened.

Further along Ratchadamnoen Avenue is the 14 October 1973 Memorial, a monument dedicated to those who made the supreme sacrifice, brave young men and women who stood up and died for a cause.

Unfortunately, Field Marshall Thanom returned to Thailand three years later and in that ill-fated month of October, history was to repeat itself.

On 6 October 1976, the military stormed Thammasat University where students were gathered to protest the return of the Field Marshall. In the brutal crackdown that ensued, more lives were lost.

Later in May 1992, the Democracy Monument and Ratchadamnoen Avenue were to witness further carnage. General Suchinda Kraprayoon, who seized power through a coup a year earlier, reneged on a promise not to be Prime Minister.

Widespread protests mounted, the demonstrators rallied again and another disaster was impending. In what became known as Black May 1992, another tragedy was added to Thai political history. General Suchinda left office after a royal rebuke televised live nation wide.

At the height of the military crackdown, several demonstrators fled for their lives and sought refuge in a nearby hotel in Ratchadamnoen Avenue near Sanam Luang, the Royal Field. The hotel hid them, fed them and gave them staff uniforms and passes to get past the military checkpoints the next day.

That magnanimous act was to save their lives and the hotel where they sought refuge, the Royal Hotel, won the hearts of the democracy movement and took its place in history.

In the two decades from 1973 - 1992, the area around the Democracy Monument has witnessed three major upheavals resulting in bloodshed. It is hoped that there would be no more.

Today, the Democracy Monument stands in a peaceful Ratchadamnoen Avenue, a silent sentinel of freedom, in the Land of the Free.

For more on the coups in Bangkok.

The Democracy Monument, first appeared in Tour Bangkok Legacies, a historical travel site on people, places and events that shaped the landscape of Bangkok. The author Eric Lim, a free-lance writer, lives in Bangkok Thailand.

Tarot Cards Demystified: The Suit of Cups

Writen by Sherry Sims

There are many ways to interpret the symbolism found in Tarot Cards. There are varying points of view that exist about what each card means or represents. This is just one way of interpreting them. When you understand this method you will find it to be extremely accurate.

Tarot Cards have a lot in common with Regular Playing Cards. Both types of cards have four suits. However, the Tarot also has some additional cards that a Regular Playing Card Deck does not have. A Tarot Card Deck has seventy-eight cards.

The suit of Cups is similar to Hearts in a deck of regular playing cards.

The Element for the suit of Cups is Water.

Some of the qualities and meanings for the suit of Cups are:

* Water

* Emotions

* Feelings

* Feminine

* Love

* Beauty

* Hearts (Regular Playing Cards)

* Hearts (Romance, Affection)

* Subconscious Mind

* Passion

* Caring

* Instincts

* Intuition

* Empathy

* Emotional

* Deeply Sensitive

* Ruled by the Heart

Read over this list several times while trying to get a sense of the type of energies associated with the suit of Cups.

Generally, when there are many Cups cards in a reading, or Cups cards appear in important key placements within a spread of tarot cards, love or relationship situations are probably emphasized in that particular reading.

In the Rider - Waite Tarot deck the Cup resembles a large Chalice or Loving Cup.

Cups symbolize love and romance. Cups are symbols for the heart and therefore represent anything that has to do with emotions, love, caring, relationships, good-will, joy, desire, truth, honesty, giving, sharing, trust, commitment, romance, marriage and partnerships of all types.

Cups represent anything on the emotional plane, but can also represent the physical heart. Cups represent feelings, which can be both positive and negative. An example of positive feelings are love, joy and happiness while negative feelings could be depression, sadness, instability and vulnerability.

Cups also can indicate someone who is “sensitive” as in psychic, intuitive or impressionable.

Most musicians and artists will tend to have quite a few Cups in their reading due to their usually sensitive nature.

Copyright © 2005 Sherry Sims

Sherry Sims has spent the last 20 years assisting people as a professional psychic, intuitive counselor, energy healer and teacher. Helping people to resolve personal and relationship issues has been at the core of her work. She gently assists her clients to accept their true power which allows them to begin taking control of their lives through healing, awareness, and self-love.

To learn more about creating happiness and fulfillment in your life you will want to sign up for her free newsletter: SIMPLE MAGIC - Creating the Life You Want

For more about Tarot Cards and Tarot Readings, or for more articles by Sherry Sims please visit http://Mystic-Hearts.com