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In certain circles, it is popular to talk about the name Lao Tzu (or Laozi) having the dual meaning of "Old Master" and "Ancient Child." ...Another MeaningIn spoken Chinese, the two characters lao tzu can have another meaning when used in another context, but it's like absolutely nothing imagined by Western academics. In this other context, the tzu character looks the same but is pronounced in a different pitch. An English speaker probably won't be able to tell the difference. When pronounced this way, the meaning is 1) father and 2) a rude and crude way to refer to oneself....

I've been reading and studying the Tao Te Ching for more than 30 years. I've always found little nuggets of truth buried inside. Something made me dig this out the other day, and I found Chapter 75. To make certain I wasn't losing something in the translation, I looked at several translations, which I have listed below. Lao Tzu, which translates as "Old Master," was right on the money here, when this was written about 400 BC. When rulers take grain so that they may feast, Their people become hungry; When rulers take action to serve their own interests, Their...

Legend has it the so-called Pearl of Allah was created as a symbol of peace 2,500 years ago in ancient China. To Victor Barbish, the 14-pound gem has been nothing but a big headache. The football-sized grayish lump has been tied to enough greed, drama and intrigue to rival any Agatha Christie mystery, including two contract killings and a court fight that ended with one of the largest jury awards of its type in Colorado history. "It draws the wrong type of people," said Barbish, the pearl's majority owner who lives in Colorado Springs. "It's only a pearl. It has...

The Gathering Storm, circa 2002 S. Jacobs 30 Mars 2002 A fitting glove for the UN's appeasers, apologists, and anti-Semites: "War Solves Nothing" --Neville Chamberlain, prime minister of Great Britain "You Cannot Win" --General Petain, decorated French general "Ministers Can Iron This Out Without War" --Joachim von Ribbentrop, German foreign minister A code for Israel: "Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival." --Winston Churchill, British statesman To paraphrase George W. Bush, President of the United States, address to a joint session...