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Showing posts from December, 2020

Santa Claus is coming to town

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Each of us probably believed in Santa Claus until we were 7 years old and realized it was too good to be true or our parents had come up with another crafty lie. But it wasn't a new lie, it had been passed on down the generations and fooled everyone.  The name Santa Claus has evolved from the Dutch words Sint Klaas which meant Saint Nicholas. He was a monk born in a city near Turkey and was known for his magnanimity. He distributed his inheritance and dedicated his life to the poor. One of his famous legends tells us about his generosity wherein he delivered 3 bags of gold to a despairing, indebted father as the dowry for his 3 daughters, and saved them from prostitution.  For scores of years, children received their presents from St. Nicholas.  But in the 15th century the Protestants argued against the veneration of priests and saints, his popularity diminished. Now the children had no one to give them their annual gifts, so the onus fell on Jesus. Though modern-day rese...

Blyatman

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Imagine, having the power to destroy your enemy just by pressing a button but choosing not to, even when 2 of your companions are resolved to do so. This is a true act of courage, integrity, and humanity. Vasili Alexandrovich Arkihpov went through the same situation and came out as batman the man who saved the world from the brink of eternal destruction. His spontaneous decision of choosing not to launch a nuclear weapon on the US saved mankind and the whole world should be thankful to him.  Vasili was aboard a submarine during the Cuban missile crisis during which the Soviets had deployed some nuclear weapons in Cuba, as a counter to the nukes placed in Italy and Turkey by the USA. The American weapons were directed at Moscow during the Cold War. While the Soviets and the Cubans argued that the sole purpose of the missiles was defense, the Kennedy government readied itself for Nuclear war. The American military raised itself to DEFCON 2, which is the second-highest level of milit...