PWG Writers Archive

Thursday, February 27, 2014

The Forgotten Record of the Indian Army in China

India and China were never adjacent countries as there were two impregnable barriers between them. The first was the buffer state of Tibet and then there were the lofty Himalayas. Thus people to people contact between Chinese and Indian civilizations was minimal. But from the 19th century onward unknown to most of the world there is an Indian connection with China. This is the forgotten association of the Indian soldiery notably the Sikhs with China. The Boxer rebellion where the rebels, mainly young Chinese farmers and workers, kept more than 400 foreigners holed up in Beijing’s Foreign Legation Quarter is one of the more dramatic cases of the involvement of Indian troops. This was a period when a wave of anti west and anti Christian thought spread in China. Though the boxer rebellion is well documented, what is not so well known is that Indian troops played a significant part in its crushing. The British shipped Indian troops from India to crush the boxer rebellion. The Indian regiments made their way to the foreign quarter in hand to hand fighting on Aug 04, 1900. Some troops made use of the Imperial sewage canals to reach the foreign quarter. The siege was lifted by the Indian relief force that numbered 3000 soldiers, composed mainly of the Sikh and Punjab regiments. After the lifting of the siege Indian troops were also used to guard the churches and foreign missionaries who were the main target of the Boxer uprising. By all accounts the Punjab and Sikh soldiers acquitted themselves honorably in these battles and duties. The British Indian army also looted a large bell from Peking’s Temple of Heaven and took it to India. The same bell was returned by the Indian army to China in 1994.

(http://static.ibnlive.in.com/ibnlive/pix/sitepix/05_2012/indian-army-artillery-guns.jpg) Much earlier in 1842 the British who were then the rulers of India sent Indian troops to crush the Chinese in the Opium wars. The Indian troops returned after China agreed to the British terms in the treaty of Nanking in 1842. The British also employed Sikh soldiers as policemen in Shanghai. Many photos of the Sikhs as Shanghai policemen are available in the Beijing Museum. It is now known that the Sikhs with their beards and imposing turbans were feared by the Chinese and most of them patrolled Shanghai without arms because of the fear and awe they inspired. The British had also garrisoned Hongkong with Sikh and Punjabi troops. In the battle of Hongkong the Japanese launched violent attacks and it is on record that 558 Indian soldiers (Mostly Sikhs) died fighting the Japanese. There names are still remembered in Hongkong war cemeteries. But in the present age the involvement of Indian troops in suppression of the Boxer rebellion and the policing of Hongkong are down played for political reasons as it shows that Indian fought fought at the behest of the British against the Chinese. But facts of history cannot be brushed under the carpet. Read more: http://www.bukisa.com/articles/666761_ 12320

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

To Our Valued Advertising Affiliates

We welcome our valued advertising affiliates to Preferred Writers! Compliance with various carrier network policies across many platforms to ensure the integrity and protection of our advertisers is important to us. Having said this, our first priority will always be to our writers and our readers.

We are a community of writers/publishers that share quality content across a wide range of sites, blogs and social media networks to provide our readers with news, updates, creatives, art and reviews. We speak freely here and voice our opinions on a wide variety of topics and issues. We understand this may not always mesh with the policies of the carrier network you utilize to promote your ads.

A very small percentage of what we earn via our many monetized platforms comes from advertising here on our home community site. In truth, advertisers earn more from partnering with us than we do from them. In exchange, our Preferred Writers Staff reserve the right to our freedom of expression, opinion and speech.

Sincerely,
Preferred Writers
preferredwriters.blogspot.com

Why The U.S. Cares About Uninhabited Islands in the East China Sea

Image courtesy of Wikimedia via Creative
Commons License, Jackopoid

Yesterday, Eric Posner wrote a compelling and helpful article on Slate about the simmering conflict between China and Japan over the Senkaku Islands (or Diaoyu Islands from the Chinese perspective). In his analysis Japan has the stronger claim by International Law, but also concedes that such norms men little to China, and that much of geopolitics is still might makes right.

While friction between China and Japan warrants international attention, both diplomatic and otherwise, why strategically, should the Unites States care? The primary reason is that the first major crisis to test the “pivot to Asia” that President Obama has initiated may not happen in North Korea, but in the East China Sea.

The islands aren’t just the subject of a dispute between staunch U.S. ally Japan and longtime “frenemy” China, but are also hugely symbolically important to Taiwan and its international status. These islands are 170 km off the coast of Taiwan. China’s claims to the islands rest on the islands being part of the breakaway province of Taiwan. Taiwan of course still considers itself the rightful government of all of China in exile, in its official rhetoric, but popular opinion favors a Taiwan as an independent country. Taiwan also thinks the islands belong to it.

While the U.S. recognizes Beijing as the official government of China, the Taiwan straight has long been a line in the sea that the U.S. does not want Beijing to cross. Conflict between any of these actors would bring the U.S. into conflict with China as a result of treaty obligations and strategic interest. The situation is not completely dissimilar to the global web of alliances that helped bring about World War I.

The islands are used as fishing grounds and may have a variety of oil and natural gas deposits, but mostly they are symbolic of global and regional strength. China is still trying to overcome its epoch of humiliation when Japan and the Western powers exploited a weak and corrupt government.

Whatever happens here, the strength of the U.S.’s commitment to its pivot to Asia will be tested.

Another excellent article about this conflict can be found at the National Geographic website.
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Jason McBride is the creator of the Intellectual Ninja and the Scourge of Scoundrels series. He is also the author of Watch Out For Sneaker Waves. He is currently hard at work on his first book of fiction, available Spring 2014.

He is the proud father of four amazing children and the happy husband of one wife. He aspires to be an extreme sleeper.

Ukraine May Test Limits of U.S. Relationship With Russia

Image courtesy of Wikimedia and United Nations Cartography Division

The recent political crisis in Ukraine is likely to test the limits of the U.S.’s relationship with Russia. Signs of mounting tension surfaced when earlier this week CNN reported earlier that Secretary of State Kerry asked the Russians to refrain from using military force in Ukraine.

The last time a major political crisis erupted in a former Soviet republic with a large Russian speaking population, Russia rolled out the tanks to “protect” Russians in the South Ossetia region of Georgia. There was a lot of international diplomatic hand wringing back in 2008, but six years later the Russian military is still present in South Ossetia, although it is authorized through a bi-lateral agreement. Not that Georgia had a lot of bargaining power during the treaty negotiations.

Today the AP and Reuters are reporting that Putin is putting the Russian military forces in western and central Russia on alert.

Ukraine is a physical buffer between Eastern Europe and Russia. It is also a political and cultural buffer. The western half of Ukraine looks to Europe and yearns to integrate and share in its economic success. The Ukrainian-speaking majority considers their homeland traditionally part of Europe. The eastern half of Ukraine is predominantly Russian speaking and looks to Russia with a nostalgia for empire. Ukraine has been in the Russian orbit for most of the past 300 years.

The cool eyes of Vladimir Putin match the gaze of the Ukrainian Russians and share their nostalgia for empire. Former Ukrainian president, Viktor Yushchenko, recently forced from power, was Putin’s man. Putin does not trust the pro-European forces sure to take over Ukraine, and he seems to have a special dislike for previously jailed, but recently freed, opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.

The worry of many in Europe and the United States is that Russia will use the turmoil in its neighbor to intervene and force a split between the Russian and Ukrainian halves of the country. Russia could either absorb the Russian speaking provinces of Ukraine into Russia, or set up a puppet state, harkening back to the Cold War. Either way the Russians would be able to move its military forces closer to Europe.

What is not known is how much influence the U.S, has or is willing to exert in the crisis. The U.S. has to balance its need for Russian cooperation in Syria, Iran and North Korea with its other strategic objections to wider expansion of Russian power into Europe.

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He is the proud father of four amazing children and the happy husband of one wife. He aspires to be an extreme sleeper.

Anchor Brandy Cream Will Turn Your Coffee into a Liqueur

Photo credit: Denise Larkin

Do you like coffee liqueurs? I do.

Check out more about this product at the following link:

Anchor Brandy Cream Will Turn Your Coffee into a Liqueur

Sex - An Effective Way to Deal with Migraines?

My daughter has severe migraines. She has had them since she was five years old. I have worked on various ways to help her ease them through the years. For a time the herbal supplement Fever Few helped, and still does, provided she alternates it with other things, so that she does not build a resistance to it. For a brief period, a mild neurologist prescribed anti-depressant helped. It still helps sometimes when I simply "send her all of my healing energies"...though I often wind up with one myself afterward.

Unfortunately, the best cure I have yet to find, I hesitate to share with my daughter. She is only seventeen. You see, the best cure for me has always been sex!

Some will agree with me here, while other will not, I am sure. I'd love to start a discussion about it!
Read more in the article I wrote elsewhere a while back, which also links to what little I could find on the web about it...

http://fullofknowledge.com/2013/10/now-honey-please-ive-got-a-headache/

Image Credit : Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

PWG: Writers Groups, Cronyism and Playing Favorites

A few years ago, I was invited to join a "Buddies" writers group on Facebook by a FB friend who was the admin. I joined and posted a few links and clicked on a few links. It was similar to the other reciprocal groups which I usually shy away from. What happened next cemented my idea that these groups usually fall into cronyism and favoritism.

After seeing others sharing info about a variety of writing sites, I shared some info on one where I was starting to have some success. This was in my early days writing for Seekyt.com, so I shared the link to the site -- it wasn't even my referral link, but the next thing I knew the admin said, "My friend Suzy Q has already posted about it, and I am sure she would love to have any referrals."It was obviously time to back off from that group.

About a year later, I started writing for another site which was a sister site to Seekyt. The Seekyt admin was trying a fresh approach and asked us to invite friends to try it out. I had learned my lesson and knew better than to share it in a writers group, so I sent a private group email to about 15 of my writer friends including the gal who was admin for the other writers group inviting them to check out the new site. Imagine my surprise when my "friend" replied to all MY friends via the Facebook message that her friend Suzy Q had already told her about the new site, and that Suzy Q would love the referrals!

A year passed and out of the blue I received an invitation to join the Preferred Writers Group. I am not even sure who invited me, and I will never know what made me check it out, because by then I had sworn off writers groups for good! But I decided to just take a quick look... and I was impressed by the vision, by the idea of a co-op of writers that goes past the reciprocal link and "I'll like yours if you like mine" philosophy of other writers groups. The idea of real networking, sharing ideas, reading the posts that look interesting and Tweeting here, commenting there, G+ another, etc. was appealing beyond just the same group of friends liking and commenting on each other's posts all the time. And the idea of sharing in the profits was a definite plus!

As the quality has improved here, I have grown more excited about what we are building. I got a little fired up. My confidence in writers groups and networking as a whole returned, so I paid a visit to the old writers group. I knew several of them write occasionally for Seekyt, and I wanted to share my VigLink article with them. Really, the idea besides getting some page views was to HELP them understand how sign up and use VigLink! Wouldn't you know, as soon as I posted the link to my Seekyt VigLink article, the admin posted: "Have you talked to Suzy Q? She writes there," and she obligingly hyperlinked to Suzy Q.

I called her on it in a private message and asked her to remove me from the group. I could have removed myself, but I wanted to make a point. There really is no place for cronyism and favoritism in a professional writers group. If you are going to invite people to join, you should treat them ALL fairly: one, because it's the right thing to do and two, because it has been proven that repeated reciprocal linking, liking and commenting among the same small group of people is doomed to fail. Google catches on. Their bots notice patterns. You really do have to network outside of any writers group or circle of friends to succeed.

There is always room for friendships, and some people are going to hit it off more than others, but I have been impressed with how Laurie and Eden have handled the early days of this group. In fact, I don't think I knew ANY of you before joining this group, and I get the idea a lot of you have known each other for some time, yet everyone has made me feel like a part of the network right off the bat. Thank you for that. I hope we will all work together to keep a professional approach to networking and not just support and promote our special friends.

Related:

Thank you for reading and thank you for sharing the link to this article with others. This article is © Kathryn Darden, all rights reserved, and is not available to repost on websites, blogs, discussion boards, Facebook, or to translate and post elsewhere without written permission.

Post ID KD214

The True Emotional Tale Of The Cohen Family And Where We Were Then And Where We Are Now And If You Would Like To Help My Family

My Compelling story of how difficult life was for my Family, and how ones inner abilities comes out, despite much turmoil. This post is a true story, and is very over whelming on my inner abilities, the turmoil, that my family has gone thru, and what led me to this point. Once again, this is a true story, and I would love to get your feelings on this post, and if you can think in your mind, would you like to help my family. If You Truly Want To Help, There Is A Personal Email Address to Write To,
at the end of this story.

I wanted to tell you my story, to show you what we have been thru from 5 years ago. It is a compelling story, to show how turmoil was accepted, and what we are doing about recovering from heartshaped emotions. Let me tell you how it began, and to reflect how hard it was for my family. It began when we were living in Jacksonville Florida 5 years ago in Mandarin, and paying $1050.00 per month in rent. Now I was disabled with Parkinson Disease since 2007 on a fixed income, coming into our bank account on a fixed income of $2,000 a month, with $40,000 in debt, which included bills from Medical occurence from when my wife was in the hospital with double pnumonia in both lungs, 105 temperature, and an oxygen level of only 82%.

This is how it went . We were living in a 3/2 home for 4 years and never being late, when we ended up with a double whammy to my family. It started when we heard that my father was not going to make it thru the night back in March 2011. I took my family and rushed down to south floorida, to see him before he was going to die. We missed it by 20 minutes, and I was so upset and crying. I had to deal with it, and went to the funeral, and drive back to jacksonville, where we were living. It seemed my wife Elizabeth wasen't feeling well, and wanted to wait until the next day to go to the doctor. Well it seemed at 2:00 AM, she was going down hill fast, and I had to rush her to the hospital with 105 degree temperature.When we got her in the emergency room, the dotor told me after some tests, that I was lucky to bring her in that morning, because if I waited 5 more hours, she would of not been alive. It seemed her oxygen level dipped to only 82% in her blood, and her vitals were going down hill. We caught it just in time. She was in the hospital with oxygen for 2 weeks. Now mind you I was never late on my rent all those times, and I called my landlord to ask for some help. He said either I come up with the rent in 24 hours or I have to leave. How heartless can somebody be. I told my neighbors, and they were real upset. Well we were evicted, as he didn't care about what we were going thru, let alone my wife was not 100% yet. What we had to do, is move all our stuff into storage, and moved to a small city called Live Oak into a 2 bedroom 1 bath mobile only paying $500 a month. Well after living there for 5 months, we were averaging a electric bill of $525 a month. Something was wrong. So I had Fpl which was the electric company we had, to do an audit on the utility. We found out, that the landlord was tapping into our electric, and when we confronted him, he said move out. This was all coming back to us on our heart ache, as we were not recovered from the previous move, as dishonest person, really effected us with no money, other then having enough for putting our stuff in storage. My son was going to a special school in Lake city, where we are living now, but not at our home, where we are. We had to be around ,where my son was going to school. We then became homeless, and was living in the car for 4 months. We didn't have enough money to move to a location that was safe. We kept on getting food from catholic charities, and washed ourselfs off in a wallmart bathroom, and went to a laundry place to clean our clothes. We were struggling to just to live. If things couldn't get any worse, our car died and the transmission went. We didn't have any money, we didn't have a vehicle to take my son to school, and I had an anxiety attack, and went to the emergency room. I was lucky, as it disapated over night. We called all around and no success. But a light was at the end of the tunnel. We had our laptops still, and while my son was at school, which where we had to walk to from where our car was, we went to a starbucks, as we had $3.00 left to have a coffee, and use our lap-tops by using the wireless connection. I made over 100 calls, and 70 emails, and we got a call at 7:00 pm at night, from a Jewish federation organization in New york. They were going to fund us to live in a hotel for 2 months, so we can recover and save some money, to find a more suitable living environment. It was nice, as they had breakfast every morning, and ice cream for my son at night, and catholic charities delivered food to us in our room. Well one day, I saw an add in the paper for a nice 2 bedroom and 1 bath mobile, right outside of town. The landlord felt bad for us, on what we have gone thru, that he helped us to move into the home for $495 which was the rent, and he had storage on the premises. He moved all my stuff into the mobile, and it is a little cramped, but was a real nice place to live. At this point, we were not happy with our son's school, and decided to move into a public school, where a bus would pick him up right in front of our door, and dropped him off in the afternoon. We were starting to feel a little btter.Well I had to hitch into town for groceries, and at times with the wagon walked home, which was about 5 miles. Well after doing this for 5 months, our son made friends with ANOTHER boy, whos father was working on a project car, and said , he got it working, and gave us the car, and didn't want anything for it. We just needed a car to take him to the doctor, and go for groceries. I started to cry, as it was getting a little better for us. We are now at that time, in the residence we are about 1 year. We knew we still had serious financial problems to correct. So in June of 2011 we ended up getting a pro-bono attorney to help us go bankrupt chapter 7. We were discharged in October 2012. And a load was off our chest. We were beginning to make strides in our journey to get back up from all the turmoil we went thru. We had our car, we were living in a nice place, and we were beginning to feel better about life. At this time 1 year passed and it was June of 2013. We were making very good strides from our bankruptcy discharge. From scores of 495,515,510 to scores averaging 581,578, 584. We were making a good name for our selves. Just a few months ago, our car died, but not before I was able to get it to a car dealer in Jacksonville, they helped us get a newer vehicle of a chrysler pacifica Suv with only 63,000 miles a 2008 model, and payments of only $311.88. Things were doing a lot better, so after 7 months, I decided to rfinance our vehicle, it lowered our monthly payment to $284 a month, and we didn't have to make a payment for 45 days. We finally had a little nest egg of $300. Well we had to use it so we could buy our son clothes. He is Autistic/Adhd as well. It has been 7 years from when I was deemed 100% disabled from Parkinson Disease, and we get now monthly of a net of $2100 a month, and paying our bills on time, with 2 credit cards, and a rent of $510 a month. We been here going on 3 years, managing our income, and hoping for some help to buy a home of a 3/2 home with 1650 sq footage, and a 2 acre area, so we can grow our own food, and save more. My housing is at this point of only 25% of net income coming in, and we are managing well, with all accounts.

I can afford monthly amount of $475.00 per month. I don't want a mansion, just a decent place to live as I can have my family safe. We are reaching out for help as we don't have any family to help. We are also 1st time buyers. please try to help. We want a place we can call home.We are a disabled family, which consist of myself David = Parkinson Disease, Elizabeth wife= 2 herniated discs, and was on Oxygen therapy, and jacob son= autistic/adhd. PLEASE HELP MY FAMILY

My ceiling on a property is between 55,000 - 75,000 (living in my means now on) . 3/2 or 4/2 min 1800 sq feet and 3+ acres. $450-$485 PER MONTH
A prespective seller or investor should be impressed on how I am grasping my credit for the future. I think I am in a very good position to approach owning a home. We don't have any savings being on a fixed income, but our credit is much improved. I did all corrections on my own. I can't afford any credit correction service. But if we can have a chance, we are doing things right for the last several years, and have finally learned our lesson on credit. We are picking Lake city or Ocala as my main locations,or Colorado. Ceiling on a property is between 55,000 - 75,000 (living in my means now on) . 3/2 or 4/2 min 1800 sq feet and 3+ acres.

A lot of people are amazed on how I use a directive, and focus on my hobby which is writing. I am being recognized as one of the fastest writers around to take the internet by storm. The months ahead I am going to post many direct posts to show you the truth in how we all have to accept. I never will fluff a story to appease anyone. I am me, very direct and honest. I will never be afraid to post what reality is in our lives, and you will see a measure of my Intuitive approach in stories, I will write. I joined Bubblews to share thru Social Media how I write and to reflect empathy and sincerness on writing from my heart. My pen name is "Mollie Strongbloom"

The Truth In My Heart Can Only Be Cared For, If You Can Reach Out To Help

Personal Email Address
dogula46@gmail.com

My Published Articles
dogula46.wordpress.com

Thank You
David Cohen ("Mollie Strongbloom")

+please help
+turmoil
+homeless
+Charities
+donations

Three Things I Intend To Do With My PWG Earnings

Coming up with a great new business model isn't very difficult especially when you know the direction everyone else is headed. Too often we find new business models are nothing more than the cookie cutter corporate model with some sprinkles on top to make it appear new and exciting. From the outside they seem to be the next big thing. But from within, you get exactly what you expected. One could say that PWG are among those like-minded individuals fed up with being fed the same old stale cookies. Our great ideas are based on what we would like to have in existing models.

Social Media
"I wish Zuck would let me decide for myself who I wish to be friends with."
The world is long overdue for a viable Facebook alternative with an intuitive self regulated review system for finding and making new friends. God forbid the users utilize Facebook to earn a few dollars without Zuck getting his cut. Barring obvious malware links, users should be able to make their earning avenues available in their posts and profiles.

Online Content
"I wish I could speak freely and write my world."
Let's face the facts, writers have it damn hard in this world. If they work for a news agency or publication they are little more than mouth pieces for corporate fat-cats unable string together a compelling sentence on their own. Their voices are highly regulated. And if they wish to keep earning that $0.0001 cents per view they will write what 'big-boy corp' tells them to write! We need an across the board sea-change in journalism in general. This work is NOT easy and writers deserve every $0.0001 we earn. For the integrity of the news and information being put out into the world, no one should be allowed to earn from another writer's work. Corporate ownership of a writer's thoughts is criminal. As a PWG writer, I will write whatever I damn well please and speak my mind openly as long as I cite my sources and backup my facts. If that offends your advertisers, they can sell their baby wipes somewhere else for a penny per 10,000 page views.

Multimedia
“Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money.” - Moliere. Some call me a whore and perhaps there is some truth to the accusation. But at Youtube, you can't find anything without wading through the raw sewage of spam, scams and poorly produced power-point presentations with garbage techno playing in the background. After an hour of searching Youtube for something remotely relevant I typically give up and go take a shower to wash the filth off my skin. Like writing, information presented in video format should be held to the same standards as everyone else that must ensure the integrity of their work.

So there you have it. Three things I intend to do with my earnings as a preferred writer at PWG. Feel free to take these ideas and make your own millions/billions. It may be a while before I get around to it anyway.

Source:
Image: Image from DHD Money Gallery http://www.hd.org/Damon/photos/money/archive-7.HTM, use permitted.
Views expressed are my own.

Bitcoin Trading We Saw This Coming

Bitcoin is designed to be a decentralized digital currency, or digital coins that represent a value of real currency in which one can exchange for goods and services on the Internet.

Their are some marked advantages of Bitcoin. They can be transferred directly from person to person online without a bank which drastically reduces any fees associated with withdrawals and transactions. Also, Bitcoin can be used in any country, accounts cannot be frozen and there are no arbitrary limits (Youtube - What is Bitcoin).

Where Bitcoin gets complicated is in the emerging exchange market. Recently Mt Gox, a major hub of buying and selling Bitcoin on the Internet, simply disappeared leaving the users who had invested their Bitcoin unable to get their money out. There is currently no regulation in place ensuring the security of your investments. Depending on the value of a unit of Bitcoin at any given time, when your Bitcoin vanishes so does your real money investment. Some have invested hundreds of thousands in this exchange market (CNBC).

Also, because there are no regulations, there are literally countless scam sites popping up urging Bitcoin investors to buy and trade their Bitcoin with them. They amass high yields of investors' Bitcoin then vanish with their investments stealing a net worth of hundreds of thousands in real world currency. If this occurred involving an investment firm for actual currency, the practice would easily earn the perpetrator a minimum sentence of 30 years in prison anywhere in the world.

There are those that staunchly oppose any regulations being placed on the Bitcoin exchange markets. However, in light of recent events there are those now calling for governments to put regulations in place. Investors have lost thousands, even hundreds of thousands due to the Mt Gox closure. Some would say they should have seen it coming. With no regulation, no penalties for unethical business practices and no accountability, the end result should come as no surprise.

Source:
What is Bitcoin - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um63OQz3bjo
Bitcoin's Mt.Gox disappears, insolvency feared - http://www.cnbc.com/id/101442439
Image:
By Isokivi (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Post ID: 10197