Stan and I really wanted to go to Charleston, SC last Tuesday for the 150th anniversary of the first shot fired that started the War of Northern Aggression. But he had to work. We were so disappointed. But I found these photos on the Internet and used them to make a scrapbook layout of the Civil War Sesquitennial.

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I'm sure you've heard the term, "carpetbagger" but do you know where it came from and what it means?



Before "recycling" was cool, it was a necessity. Carpetbags were cheap luggage during the Reconstruction Era (after the War of Northern Aggression). It was recycled carpet made into bags. But the term, "carpetbaggers", came from Southerners who used the term to describe the opportunists from the North.

After the War of Northern Aggression, the devastated South was enemy occupied territory. Northern armies occupied the southern states and our state governments were forcibly changed. All of this was done, not for the betterment of former slaves or mankind, but for unscupulous people to take opportunity to make money off of us. Carpetbaggers saw money in the process and came down here to make their fortune off of us. It was used as a derogatory term, suggesting opportunism and exploitation by the outsiders. The relocated northerners often formed alliances with freed slaves and southern whites who were Republicans, who were nicknamed scalawags. Together they are said to have politically manipulated and controlled former Confederate states for varying periods for their own financial and power gains. The term carpetbaggers was also used to describe the white Northern Republican political appointees who came South, arriving with their travel carpetbags. They had no knowledge of, connections to or sympathy for the Southern area they were placed in charge of. And they had no intention of listening or cooperating. Southerners considered these Northern appointees ready to loot and plunder the defeated South and they generally did.

This term did not refer to abolitionists, reformers, missionaries and schoolteachers who really came South to try to help people. Most of the freed blacks had not had any education or experience in leadership so what could you expect but that they were led by the nose by the more sophisticated Northern carpetbaggers. But carpetbaggers were both white and black. The black carpetbaggers were, at the best, naive and easily led, and, at the worst, greedy as their white colleagues. To make money off of misery is the lowest of the low. Whether you make it off the backs of the poor slaves or you make it off the backs of the poor and defeated white Southerners. It shows that greed, selfishness, cruelty and evil are no respecter of persons.

The backlash of the Reconstruction Era corruption and carpetbagging politics came in the form of white supremacy groups like the infamous KKK. After the South somewhat stabilized then these groups began to form as the suppressed anger boiled to a boiling point. Wrath was taken out on those who were probably lowest on the totem pole... blacks. We had lost the Civil War and had no ability to start it up again so whites reached out against those they could get to... the blacks in their own communities.

A typical human response is misplaced anger. For instance, you get dumped on by your boss but you can't complain and yell at him so you come home and yell at your wife. If you yell at your boss, you get fired. The price is too high. But if you yell at your wife, she has to take it. So that's what you do. Whites couldn't retaliate against the U.S. government again so they jumped on the blacks who had no advocates or power.

All of it was so wrong, wrong, wrong. Slavery was wrong, mistreatment and abuse of slaves was wrong, trying to dominate the Southern states to the enrichment of Northerners was wrong, Abraham Lincoln starting the War of Northern Aggression was wrong, the politics and corruption of Reconstruction was wrong, the greed of carpetbaggers was wrong, white supremacy groups were wrong, civil rights abuses for whites or blacks are wrong. It just kept escalating like a snowball effect and so many have paid the price for it over several hundreds of years. Innocent people, whites and blacks, families, have paid dearly for these terrible injustices.

We are very blessed to live in a more enlightened time but don't ever think that we are more civilized today. Greed is still a great sin. Pride and power still drives. Selfishness runs rampant. Corruption is still practised. And we are doomed to repeat the vices of our forefathers unless we realize that all are sinners. We all sin and come short of the glory of God. None of us are good. We all have the potential for evil and we are born with an evil human nature.

What is the answer? Jesus Christ! He is the only way to be forgiven and saved. As long as we live we will have to contend with our human nature but once we are saved we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which works within us to grow our new spirit. If we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us then we can be better people. If we listen to God, we can do good things instead of bad. If we follow His Ways, we can do the right thing instead of the wrong thing.

Romans 8:6-13 (Contemporary English Version)
If our minds are ruled by our desires, we will die. But if our minds are ruled by the Spirit, we will have life and peace.
Our desires fight against God, because they do not and cannot obey God's laws.
If we follow our desires, we cannot please God.
You are no longer ruled by your desires, but by God's Spirit, who lives in you. People who don't have the Spirit of Christ in them don't belong to him.
But Christ lives in you. So you are alive because God has accepted you, even though your bodies must die because of your sins.
Yet God raised Jesus to life! God's Spirit now lives in you, and he will raise you to life by his Spirit.
My dear friends, we must not live to satisfy our desires.
If you do, you will die. But you will live, if by the help of God's Spirit you say "No" to your desires.
Only those people who are led by God's Spirit are his children.

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The giant skeleton was excavated in the little-known part of the desert in India.

The Giants appear in the legends of Australia, Belgium, Chad, Chile, China, Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, Laos, Morocco leather, the Netherlands, Nova Scotia, Pakistan, Patagonia, the Philippines, Poland, Rwanda, Russia , Scotland, Sicily, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Wales, Zanzibar.

The first message appeared on the Internet, reporting that the skeleton was found somewhere in the deserts of western India.

The Indian government raided the area of the Indian Army and did not allow anyone except a special National Geographic excavation team.

Indian mythology tells of giants, namely: Rakshasas ( Monster ), who reigned over the forests.

Learn more interesting stuffs HERE

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Gabriele Niccolai, an engineering model maker from Florence, Italy, stands next to one of the models he's created from the original drawings of renaissance master mind Leonardo Di Vinci at the Sydney preview of the DA VINCI SECRETS - 'Anatomy to Robots' exhibition.

A display copy of the Codex Atlanticus from which a number of Da Vinci's machines have been recreated by Gabriele Niccolai, from Florence, Italy.

Besides his skills as an engineer, Niccolai was further aided in his tasks by being able to read Da Vinci's handwriting on the original documents dating from the 1500s

The models created by Gabriele Niccolai from the original drawings from the renaissance master show Da Vinci's amazing understanding for mechanics.

A model of Da Vinci's famous flying wing created as part of the travelling exhibition.

The Florentine team behind the show's exhibits are Elena Sardelli, who created the anatomical models, Gabriele Niccolai, responsible for the engineering models and Fresco artist Antonio de Vito at the opening address for the DA VINCI SECRETS - 'Anatomy to Robots' exhibition.

Detail of the chest pullies inside Robot - Complete Mechanism, created from the original drawings found in the Da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus F579r and reproduced by Gabriele Niccolai.

A model shows the discoveries Da Vinci made about the structure of the human body and documented through his detailed sketches and drawings.

Was Da Vinci's Robot - Motion of the Arms, recreated from drawings in the Codex Atlanticus F579r, really the inspiration for the YouTube classic?

Detail of the Robot Motion of the Arms created by engineer Gabriele Niccolai from drawings in the Codex Atlanticus F579r.

Detail of the Robot Drummer created by engineer Gabriele Niccolai from the original sketches.

Detail of the Robot Drummer. The tempo of the drum beats can be altered by changing the grooves the pin runs down as the mechanical handle is turned.

Detail of the Robot Drummer (from the Codex Atlanticus 55r) created by Gabriele Niccolai.

Detail of the study for mechanical foot (from the Codex Madrid) created by Gabriele Niccolai.

What makes this machine unique is that Da Vinci has copied the walking motion of an animal rather than human.

Fresco artist Antonio de Vito's copy of Da Vinci's famous Last Supper.

Another section of the final fresco is completed at every location the exhibition travels to.

A model of a device for breathing underwater on show at DA VINCI SECRETS - 'Anatomy to Robots' exhibition at the Lower Level of Sydney Town Hall, which runs from May 20 - August 2, 2010.

Detail of the Robot - Complete Mechanism, created from the original drawings found in the Da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus F579r and reproduced by engineer Gabriele Niccolai.

A guest looks at a model of 'Robot - complete mechanism' at the DA VINCI SECRETS - 'Anatomy to Robots' exhibition at the Lower Level of Sydney Town Hall

Fresco artist Antonio de Vito works on a copy of Da Vinci's famous Last Supper at DA VINCI SECRETS - 'Anatomy to Robots' exhibition at the Lower Level of Sydney Town.

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Classic freak art, painted 100 years ago, but available to hang on your wall today!

Apper chimps, Chewbacca lookalikes called Lionel and the monstrous ‘Homme Poisson’ (Fish-man). That’s what the Victorians used to have to amuse themselves with – this was, after all, long before the invention of reality TV shows.

These beautifully-painted images were used to advertise freakshows and circuses between about 1880 and 1930 (although mainly in the first decade of the 20th Century), and come from the collection of the late Jaap Best, the Dutch king of this sort of thing.

Some of the freaks are famous – the Jade Goodies of their day. Lionel, for instance was highly regarded as both a raconteur and wit who could speak five languages and as a very hairy man who was called Lionel and looked a bit like a lion. Others, like L’Homme Poisson, may have been acclaimed as “The greatest wonder in the world” at the time, but have since proved themselves to be as memorable as Saskia or Sandy.

Other bodily dysmorphic megastars have been lost entirely in the mists of history, leaving only feverish and absinthe-addled artists’ impressions. Did the spider lady (opposite page) really look like that? Was “Princess Elizabeth” really smaller than a cockatoo? We may never care.

It’s interesting how the obsessions of the time reflect those of today. Look at the fat people! Hang on, this woman is too thin! Hey, is that a well-dressed chimp or what?! Okay maybe not the last one. But still, freak art… Le freak, c’est chic.

To see more freak art and to buy posters of any of these, go to Circusmuseum.nl

These freaky posters is now available on the above website .. Wanna try !!! ;)

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China formally kicked off mass celebrations of 60 years of communist rule on Thursday with a 60-gun salute that rung out across Beijing's historic Tienanmen Square.

The National Day marks the start of one of the two Golden Weeks in the PRC. However, there have been some recent controversies over whether Golden Weeks should be kept.

China will glorify the nation's six-decade revival as a global power with a tightly choreographed display of mass patriotism including a military parade and spectacular pageant depicting the Communist Party-led rebirth.

The National Day is celebrated throughout mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau with a variety of government-organized festivities, including fireworks and concerts. Public places, such as Tienanmen Square in Beijing, are decorated in a festive theme. Portraits of revered leaders, such as Sun Yat-sen, are publicly displayed.

President Hu Jintao, who reviewed troops from an open limousine, was to deliver a speech at the historic square to an invitation-only audience of spectators and foreign dignitaries, with security air-tight across the city.

China typically holds grand celebrations every 10 years to commemorate revolutionary leader Mao Zedong's proclamation of the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949.

But this year's festivities promise to top those staged in the past, with estimates of 200,000 people taking part in an extravaganza that officials say will outdo even last year's lavish opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics.

The authorities want to send a clear message: that China has re-emerged as an undeniable force in the world.

Underlining this confidence, Premier Wen Jiabao predicted further Chinese greatness in a speech to a 60th anniversary reception on the eve of the gala.

"In another 40 years, the 100th anniversary of our nation's founding will come. At that time, a prosperous, powerful, democratic, civilized, harmonious and advanced socialist nation will tower over the East," he said Wednesday.

China will add teeth to those projections with a parade expected to feature nuclear missiles and other high-tech, Chinese-developed weaponry meant to convey the message that a nation once bullied by foreign powers is a pushover no more.

But the apparent insecurity of the ruling Communists has been just as clearly on display -- authorities have imposed draconian security in a seeming bid to prevent an array of perceived threats from spoiling the party.

These include seething tensions in ethnic minority regions such as Xinjiang and Tibet, and widespread social discontent over a widening wealth gap, official corruption and horrific environmental degradation.

As a result, Beijing's 17 million citizens will be relegated to watching the festivities in their
hometown on television like the rest of the nation.

Lu Haishi, 23, traveled all the way from Shanghai to watch the festivities with friends -- on TV.

"I came to Beijing for the National Day from Shanghai for the atmosphere. We've rented a room to see the parade on television in a hotel near the route, to get the atmosphere," he said.

Police have for weeks been checking traffic entering the capital, residents along the parade route were ordered not to open their windows during the event, and even the city's airport will shut for the parade's three-hour duration.

Beggars and the homeless have been cleared out and knife sales temporarily banned in some stores after two recent stabbings near Tiananmen Square, while even the flying of pigeons and kites has been ruled out.

The Mao-led 1949 communist takeover ended years of foreign domination and war, while three decades of economic reforms initiated by late leader Deng Xiaoping enriched China and propelled it back into the ranks of world powers.

China's state-controlled media has for months unleashed a continuous barrage of content extolling the nation's Communist Party-led re-emergence that culminates with Thursday's patriotic gala.

History of China's National Day

On October 1st in 1949 the Chinese people, under the leadership of Communist Party of China, declared victory in War of Liberation against the Nationalist forces of Chiang Kai Shek. The grand ceremony for the founding of People's Republic of China was held on this day in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Central People's Government, solemnly declared the founding of P.R.C. at the ceremony and raised the first national flag of China himself. 300,000 soldiers and people gathered on the square for the grand parade and procession.

Interesting Feature:

When the anniversary is a multiple of five (e.g. the 50th, 55th, or 60th), large-scale official celebrations may be held, including an inspection of troops on Tiananmen Square. More notable of these events included Deng Xiaoping's inspection in 1984 and Jiang Zemin's inspection in 1999 and Hu Jintao's inspection in 2009.

In past times, the day was marked by large political gatherings and speeches, military parades, state banquets and the like. Since 2000, as China's economy developed, the national holiday lasts seven days and most workers are given time off to visit relatives and take time for traveling.

National Day Decorations:

The Flower Bed in Tiananmen Square:

The National Day Flower Bed festival is found in the main squares of many cities during National Day. The Flower Bed in Tiananmen Square is of course the grandest and most beautiful. The highlight of the Tiananmen Square Flower Bed this National Day is a 9.9meter-high palace lantern. It is the highest palace Lantern in Beijing. It is made of delicately carved high quality wood. It is decorated with Chinese paintings of peony as well as the Great Wall and topped with life-like dragons' heads. 200,000 potted flowers are used to form the flower bed and sure to fill Beijing with festive ambiance.

Hanging Red Chinese Lanterns:

During China's National Day, red lanterns are seen everywhere, especially hanging at the gates of government office buildings as well as all kinds of stores and shops. The red lantern is a symbol of festivity, luck and happiness.

Fireworks Show:

Fireworks displays are usually held nationwide in all cities during China's National Day, one of the grandest and most famous being The Hong Kong National Day Fireworks Display held since 1997 in Victoria Harbor.

The 2008 Hong Kong National Day Fireworks Display is to kick off at nine o'clock October 1st in Victorian Harbor. There will be 23,000 fireworks exploding above the sky of Victorian Harbor and over 100,000 people getting together to celebrate the 59th birthday of the People's Republic of China.

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"No turning of the seasons can diminish the pain and the loss of that day," This was uttered by Mr Obama at a memorial to victims who perished when a hijacked airliner crashed into the Pentagon military headquarters eight years ago.

Well, this is (9/11) really a black day for America or it is better to say that a BLACK day for humanity, mankind.We can forfeit the material loss of that day but we can't forfeit..the loss of those people who lost their life in that incident.And the the loss of their family...!

"No passage of time, no dark skies can ever dull the meaning of this moment." - Mr. Barack Obama;

Terrorism has no face or any identity on which we find them and destroy them for the Global peace..It has several name in several country but they has only one identity to recognize themselves, that is- TERRORISM...

We can easily kill a terrorist, if we try to do so but it is impossible for us to finish the terrorism ...why? That is the million dollar question which still needs to be answered !!

We haven't forgotten any thing, but It seems that World has forgotten many things which still leave a impact in the pages of History...

Still History can remember the horrible day of Hiroshima (6 th August) and Nagasaki (9 th August)
A victim of the attack on Hiroshima with an Atomic Bomb...Does any one tell me the reason of his death ? What we call this..War or Terrorism ??

It is a great view of Hiroshima's 'Ground Zero'. It is also a nude image of terrorism..!

I don't say that this is a beginning, but it certainly has some role to evokes the fire of terrorism. I don't know whether you agree with me or not..! But it is true my friends.

Now the whole World is shivering in the pandemic wave of terrorism...

..people have to pay a big price for it !

We can remember them, we can convey our heartiest feeling for them..but we can't do anything better than that..
Man and mankind has to think again in this issue..from where the problem arise and the exact reason behind that. By this process we can actually solve the problem of terrorism..!
This is very symbolic but still there are some patches on the white pigeon..Lot more ways to come and lot more ways...Still to go ! Are we ready for that ?


But we are still hopeful towards Global peace..

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