On the site of a wattle alehouse, it is thought that Sean’s Bar dates back to 900. This is officially the oldest pub in Ireland and in fact the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Although most of the evidence found during excavations is now housed at the National Museum of Ireland, some of the self-minted coins from the original establishment can be seen in cases on the walls of the pub.

I’ve been to Sean’s Bar in Athlone — great craic! Craic, you say? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craic. Only 9 more to go…

While coffee and tea are both sources of caffeine, the amounts of caffeine in any single serving of these beverages varies significantly. An average serving of coffee contains the most caffeine, yet the same serving size of tea provides only 1/2 to 1/3 as much.(Ref.: Caffeine by The Institute of Food Technologists’ Expert Panel on Food Safety & Nutrition.) One of the more confusing aspects of caffeine content is the fact that coffee contains less caffeine than tea when measured in its dry form. The caffeine content of a prepared cup of coffee is significantly higher than the caffeine content of a prepared cup of tea.

Stash ‘Super Irish Breakfast Black Tea’ is helping me overcome my caffeine addiction without killing someone…

In Israel, ethnicity, race and religion is a factor in a profile, as well as general appearance and behavior and wherever that profile is being made, no matter which country,  it is being made by Israelis.

The ISA (Israeli Security Agency) calls it  “human factor.” Some part of that human factor would cause Al Sharpton to show up to picket the Airport if it was practiced in the US. Ethnic profiling of passengers plays a central role in Israel’s multi-level  approach.

All passengers travelling to and from Israel are questioned by security staff. For Jewish Israelis, the process takes a couple of minutes at most, with passengers being asked whether they packed their luggage alone, and whether anyone had access to the luggage once it was packed. Jewish tourists also usually pass through security within a few minutes, particularly if they can speak a bit of Hebrew or are frequent visitors to the Holy Land.

When my family entered the El Al terminal at Newark Airport, we were met by someone who innocently asked us where we came from and where were going. Then when we got into the terminal and were on the line to check in and get our boarding pass, an El Al employee in a jacket and tie nicely asked my 12 year old son (out of my ear’s range) why we were going to Israel. He asked if we were Jewish and when my son answered yes he asked the name of our Synagogue and our Rabbi’s name. But while he was asking questions I could feel his eyes gauging my reaction to my kid’s interrogation. The whole “interrogation” took no longer than thirty seconds.  When he was done with my son, he came to me and asked the same questions (plus the typical who packed your luggage-type queries)  once again gauging my reaction very closely.

In short? They’re smart enough to use racial profiling. You can follow the ‘via’ link above to go to the source and read the rest of the article if you’d like to dig a little deeper…

Muslim Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453, cutting off the land trade routes from Europe to India and China, so Europeans sought new routes. During Portugal’s golden age of sea power, Columbus sailed south along the African coast and then north to Iceland. He heard stories of Irish monk St. Brendan sailing in 530 AD to “The Land of the Promised Saints which God will give us on the last day” and of Leif Erickson’s voyage in 1000 AD to Vinland. Columbus read 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy’s Guide to Geography, which described a spherical earth with one ocean connecting Europe and Asia. Columbus corresponded with Florentine physician Toscanelli, who suggested China was 5,000 miles west of Portugal. On OCTOBER 12, 1492, Columbus sighted what he thought was India. He imagined Haiti was Japan and Cuba was the tip of China. Naming the first island “San Salvador” for the Holy Savior, Columbus wrote of the inhabitants “So that they might be well-disposed towards us, for I knew that they were a people to be…converted to our Holy Faith rather by love than by force, I gave to some red caps and to others glass beads…They became so entirely our friends that…I believe that they would easily be made Christians.”

David Howell Evans, more commonly known as The Edge, was born in London, to Welsh parents. Garvin and Gwenda Evans moved to Malahide in Dublin when The Edge was aged 1. Adam Clayton, U2‘s bassist, was born in Oxfordshire, England. His family moved to Malahide in Dublin when he was 5, and he soon became friends with The Edge.

You can follow the ‘via’ link above to go to the source and read the rest of the article if you’re interested in learning more…

You can follow the ‘via’ link above to go to the source and read t he rest of the article if you’re interested…

It’s about bloody time!