21 março 2017

The Pirate Queen of the South China Sea

The Red Flag Fleet under Ching Shih’s rule went undefeated, despite attempts by Qing dynasty officials, the Portuguese navy, and the East India Company to vanquish it. After three years of notoriety on the high seas, Ching Shih finally retired in 1810 by accepting an offer of amnesty from the Chinese government. Ching Shih died in 1844, at the ripe old age of 69.At the dawn of the 1800s, a former prostitute from a floating brothel in the city of Canton was wed to Cheng I, a fearsome pirate who operated in the South China Sea in the Qing dynasty. Though the name under which we now know her, Ching Shih, simply means “Cheng’s widow,” the legacy she left behind far exceeded that of her husband’s. Following his death, she succeeded him and commanded over 1,800 pirate ships, and an estimated 80,000 men.

Her husband, Ching I, was the formidable commander of the Red Flag Fleet of pirate ships. He married a 26-year-old Ching Shih in 1801. She quickly took to the pirate life and when Ching I died six years later, Ching Shih wasn’t going to let Ching I’s adopted son, Cheung Po Tsai take over.  Cheung Po Tsai, however, was more than just Ching Shih’s adopted son –-  the young man had also been Ching I’s lover.

Within weeks of Cheng I’s death, Ching Shih had taken Cheung Po as her lover as well, eventually solidifying the relationship through marriage. Soon, she managed to maneuver herself back into power, and obtained leadership of the Red Flag Fleet.

Ching Shih unified her enormous fleet of pirates using a code of laws. The code was strict, and stated that any pirate giving his own orders or disobeying those of a superior was to be beheaded on the spot. The code was particularly unusual in its laws regarding female captives. If a pirate raped a female captive, he would be put to death. If the sex between the two was consensual, both would be put to death. There are further accounts of Ching Shih’s code that state that if a pirate took a captive as his wife, he was required to be faithful to her (although others say that captains would have multiple wives). And historical accounts agree: the pirates, whatever they thought of Ching Shih, obeyed her code.

The Red Flag Fleet under Ching Shih’s rule went undefeated, despite attempts by Qing dynasty officials, the Portuguese navy, and the East India Company to vanquish it. After three years of notoriety on the high seas, Ching Shih finally retired in 1810 by accepting an offer of amnesty from the Chinese government. Ching Shih died in 1844, at the ripe old age of 69.

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March 21st 1960: Sharpeville massacreOn this day in 1960, police...





March 21st 1960: Sharpeville massacre

On this day in 1960, police opened fire on peaceful anti-apartheid protestors in the South African township of Sharpeville, killing 69. The over 5,000 strong crowd gathered at Sharpeville police station to protest the discriminatory pass laws, which they claimed were designed to limit their movement in designated white only areas. The laws required all black men and women to carry reference books with their name, tax code and employer details; those found without their book could be arrested and detained. The protest encouraged black South Africans to deliberately leave their pass books at home and present themselves at police stations for arrest, which would crowd prisons and lead to a labour shortage. Despite the protestors’ peaceful and non-violent intentions, police opened fire on the crowd. By the day’s end, 69 people were dead and 180 were wounded. A further 77 were arrested and questioned, though no police officer involved in the massacre was ever convicted as the government relieved all officials of any responsibility. The apartheid government responded to the massacre by banning public meetings, outlawing the African National Congress (ANC) and declaring a state of emergency. The incident convinced anti-apartheid leader and ANC member Nelson Mandela to abandon non-violence and organise paramilitary groups to fight the racist system of apartheid. In 1996, 36 years later, then President Mandela chose Sharpeville as the site at which he signed into law the country’s new post-apartheid constitution.

“People were running in all directions, some couldn’t believe that people had been shot, they thought they had heard firecrackers. Only when they saw the blood and dead people, did they see that the police meant business”
- Tom Petrus, eyewitness to the Sharpeville massacre

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March 20th 1852: Uncle Tom’s Cabin publishedOn this day in 1852,...





March 20th 1852: Uncle Tom’s Cabin published

On this day in 1852, American author Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published. Previously published as a serial in the anti-slavery periodical the National Era, Uncle Tom’s Cabin tells the story of a black slave and recounts the harsh reality of his enslavement. Stowe was an ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery, and wrote the novel in response to the passage of the controversial 1850 Fugitive Slave Act which was part of the Compromise of 1850. The Act ordered Northern citizens to assist in the return of runaway slaves from the South, thus forcing the generally anti-slavery North to become complicit in the continuance of the ‘peculiar institution’. The popular discontent over the slavery issue helped make Uncle Tom’s Cabin the best-selling novel of the nineteenth century and saw its translation into sixty languages. The novel helped keep the flames of anti-slavery sentiment alive, and is therefore sometimes attributed with helping start the American Civil War. While still hailed as a great anti-slavery work of its day, the novel falls short of modern expectations with its stereotypical portrayal of African-Americans.

“So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war”
- what, according to legend, Abraham Lincoln said upon meeting Stowe in 1862
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March 19th 1932: Sydney Harbour Bridge opensOn this day in 1932,...









March 19th 1932: Sydney Harbour Bridge opens

On this day in 1932, the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened. There had been discussions of building a bridge to connect the northern and southern shores of Sydney Harbour for years. In 1924, the contract for the bridge was given to English firm Dorman Long and Co. Ltd. and work began on the bridge; work was overseen by J.J.C. Bradfield. There were fears that the two sides of the arch would not align properly, but in August 1930 the two halves met perfectly. Sixteen workers died during construction, most from unsafe working practices. The opening ceremony took place on March 19th 1932, and though the Premier of New South Wales Jack Lang was supposed to cut the ribbon, he was interrupted by an intruder who slashed the ribbon with his sword and declared the bridge open. The man was Francis de Groot, a member of a right-wing paramilitary group who opposed Lang’s leftist policies and the fact that a member of the Royal Family had not been invited to open the bridge. The ribbon was retied and Lang officially opened the bridge. The festivities to mark the opening included floats and a procession across the bridge by members of the public. Thousands of people turned out to see the opening of Sydney Harbour Bridge - a triumph over Depression times.

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7 Brilliant Cartoons Introverts Will Love

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March 18th 1314: Jacques de Molay killedOn this day in 1314,...





March 18th 1314: Jacques de Molay killed

On this day in 1314, Jacques de Molay, the twenty-third and last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was burned at the stake. The Templar knights were a major fighting unit of the Crusades, aiming to preserve Christendom and regain control of the Holy Land. After control the Holy Land was lost to Muslim forces, support for the Knights Templar started to fade. King Philip IV of France began to mistrust the group and wanted to free himself of his debts to the Templar; he thus had many leading Knights burned at the stake. Pope Clement V disbanded the group in 1312, and the hunt continued for remaining members. The Knights were tortured until they confessed to a range of crimes, including heresy, obscene rituals, and idolatry. De Molay had been forced to make such a confession, and despite retracting the confession, he was charged with heresy and burned at the stake. Pope Clement died a month later and King Philip died that year. With their leader gone, the remaining Templars were arrested or removed from the group and the Knights Templar were no more.

“God knows who is wrong and has sinned. Soon a calamity will occur to those who have condemned us to death"
- De Molay’s words from the stake
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Conduct A Safari In Your Backyard

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Teddy Roosevelt is the youngest man to become President, at age 42, after the assassination of...

Teddy Roosevelt is the youngest man to become President, at age 42, after the assassination of William McKinley. John F Kennedy is the youngest man to be elected President, at age 43.

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Photographer Carla Thomas on a Supersonic Flight


“Armstrong Flight Research Center chief pilot Nils Larson and I were flying supersonic runs to note the handling qualities between the single seat and two seat F/A-18 aircraft for the Sonic Booms in Atmospheric Turbulence, or SonicBAT program," said Carla Thomas, one of NASA's two female in-flight photographers.

from NASA http://ift.tt/2n9LkkA
via IFTTT
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VISIT –> http://ift.tt/1eWNk1f for quality...



VISIT –> http://ift.tt/1eWNk1f for quality psychology information and resources.

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5 Simpatias para achar objetos – encontrar coisas perdidas urgente!

Se tem simpatia que as pessoas pedem e que realmente precisa ser rápido, fácil e urgente é achar objetos perdidos. E hoje nós estamos trazendo as 5 melhores simpatias para encontrar coisas perdidas e de maneira urgente.
As duas primeiras são da sabedoria popular, tem fama de dar certo, nós aqui já perdemos a conta de quantas vezes vimos alguém sugerir ela.

Simpatia para São Brito – achar objetos perdidos

Uma é pedir para São Brito, você pede para ele encontrar um coisa e promete três gritos: -São Brito! –São Brito! São Brito! Encontrado não esqueça de pagar a promessa.

Simpatia para São Longuinho – achar objetos perdidos

A outra com versão parecida seria pedir para São Longuinho (também é conhecido como é São Longinuo) pede ele lhe ajudar e prometa dar 3 pulinhos.
Para estes santos ajudar existem versões mais complexas como orações, novenas, mas desta vez não vamos passar. Já que a proposta é simpatias rápidas e que tem notável fama de dar certo. Estas apesar da simplicidade tem fama de notável êxito para encontrar coisas que você perdeu e de maneira bem rápida.

Simpatia da vela

Outra simpatia um pouco mais complexa, é da vela amarela. Acender uma vela amarela buscando ativar o seu intelecto e assim no ato de acender buscar inspiração e ficar cabeça no lugar para lembrar onde teria perdido o objeto, até para usando a cabeça para pensar melhor em possibilidade de encontrar.
Ás vezes, o objeto perdido está bem perto, ficou em baixo de uma coisa, caiu sem querer atrás de outra. Já vimos casos de alguém colocar o objeto perdido em cima do guarda-roupa, todo mundo revirar uma casa e estar o objeto perdido em cima do guarda-roupa! Ninguém enxerga ali, ninguém imaginava e estava ali. Chave de carro em baixo de um gato, já vimos até piada no facebook!
Mas muitas vezes a solução pode estar aí, concentrar e pensar nos melhores lugares para encontrar. Pois tem pessoas até que na procura por um objeto vão revirar em lugares que nunca estariam o objeto, no geral temos que colocar a cabeça no lugar ir procurando nos lugares de maior probabilidade e com toda a calma.

Quarta simpatia pedir para Nossa Senhora Aparecida e prometer depois uma vela

Parecida com a anterior, com a diferença que você pede para nossa Senhora Aparecida, ela que foi encontrada em um Rio e é a Padroeira do Brasil. Você deve fechar os olhos, se concentrar e  pedir para ela lhe ajudar a encontrar o objeto. Prometa depois acender uma vela branca, reze umas ave-marias, quanto mais difícil foi encontrar e mais importante era o objeto reze mais ave-marias. Se era algo pequeno reze uma, ser era algo difícil reze 3,  7, 9, 100 até se achar que foi um verdadeiro milagre. Não esqueça, neste caso é depois que encontrou o objeto e não antes.

Quinta simpatia para achar objetos perdidos urgentes

Santo Expedito, que é o santo das causas urgentes. É acender uma vela para ele, rezar um pai nosso e pedir para ele lhe ajudar a encontrar esse objeto que tanto você está procurando.
 Veja também:

Simpatia para encontrar objetos perdidos e São longuinho

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