Fire up the samovar and pour the vodka!

I am joined this week by Maya Vinogradova, naturalized US Citizen and native Russian, to talk about life in the Soviet Union and making the transition to life in the West.

Music this week includes clips from The Final Countdown by Europe; U.S.S.R. by Eddy Huntington; Moscow by Dschinghis Khan; and My Life by Kristina Orbakaite.

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Athens, Greece. The birthplace of Western democracy. Home to Socrates, Plato, Sophocles, and Aristotle. Today, we’re here to visit the Athens Acropolis.

Music is the traditional Greek children’s choral St. Basil’s Hymn, arranged for hammer dulcimer by Malcolm Dalglish and performed by Bill Flanagan

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Episode 005 of the World Traveler Jim Show.

I sample the La GLoria Cubana Serie R Maduro, while quaffing a fresh Stella Artois.

A quick look at on Cuban history, and the reason behind the US embargo.

One of my favorite podcast novelists is Phil Rossi. Find his work at http://www.crescentstation.net/.

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After a long wait, another episode of Small Places.

This time we visit Be’er Sheva, Israel, home to many of the Patriarchs and an important Biblical site.

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Episode 004 of the World Traveler Jim Show.

I sample Perdomo’s Habano Maduro, and sip from The Glenlivit.

Look ma, feedback! And a review!

And part two, the conclusion, of our discussion on the history of the graduated income tax.

If you are looking for some fun discussion on every conceivable issue, and can tolerate some strong language, be sure and check out Big C at Bear Crawling.

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Nothing to smoke this week, but we’ll visit a few of the offerings from Danish brewer Tuborg.

A brief discussion of some of my favorite, and least favorite, cities.

And since it is tax season in the US, what could be more simulating than a discussion on the history of the US Income Tax? This is part one of two.

References:

Baldwin, Simon E. “Harvard Law Review”. January, 1890.

Ridpath, John Clark. History of the World v8. Cincinnati: Jones Bros., 1910.

Taussig, F. W. The Tariff History of the United States. New York: G. P. Putnam Sons.

On American Law v2. New York: O. Halsted, 1827.

Locke, John. “Second Treatise on Government”. London, 1689.

Marx, Karl and Engles, Frederick. “The Communist Manifesto”. 1854.

Story, Joseph. A Familiar Exposition of the Constitution of the United States. New York: Harper, 1859.

Case Law Cited:

Adair v. United States, 208 U. S. 172 (1907).

Adkins v. Children’s Hospital, 261 U. S. 558 (1923).

Brushaber v. Union Pacific, 240 U. S. 1 (1915).

Butcher’s Union Co. v. Crescent City Co., 111 U. S. 746 (1884).

Carpenter v. United States, 495 F. 2d. 175.

Caterpillar Tractor Co. v. United States, 495 F. 2d. 1040.

Coppage v. State of Kansas, 236 U. S. 1 (1915).

Eisner v. Macomber, 252 U. S. 189 (1920).

Laureldale Cemetery Association v. Matthews, 47 Atl. 2d. 277 (1946).

National Railroad Passenger Corp. et. al. v. National Association of Railroad Passengers, 414 U. S. 453.

Oliver v. Halstead, 86 S. E. Rep. 2d. 858 (1955).

Pollock v. Farmer’s Loan and Trust , 158 U. S. 601 (1895).

Southern Pacific v. Lowe, 247 U. S. 330 (1918).

Stratton’s Independence v. Howbert, 231 U. S. 399 (1913).

Towne v. Eisner, 242 Fed. Rep. 704 (1919).

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The second episode!

This week’s cigar is the ominous CAO MX2, paired with Belhaven Scottish Ale.

Special thanks to Andy and Randy of 2 Guys 1 Brain for the jail tour!

I go into a short rant on having the courage of your convictions.

We discuss Karl Marx, and try to discern whether America is a Socialist country or not.

If you like a good, thrilling, well-produced audio drama then be sure and check out The Leviathan Chronicles from Christof Laputka and Nobi Nakanish.

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First episode of the World Traveler Jim Show!

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The Fortress Kale in beautiful Skopje, Macedonia. If you have never been to the Balkans, and especially Macedonia, do yourself a favor and go. Beautiful country, and wonderful people.

Our Macedonian Rom music, “Basal, basal kurtis” is from Balkanarama.

Photos of the Fortress can be found here. Additional photos of Skopje are available here.

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For me, ancient mosaics are one of the most beautiful forms of art going. This is one of my favorites, the 5th-Century Synagogue of Beth Alpha.

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Download the show.