Dear All: Some of you may remember two posts I published earlier this year on possible links between the ancient culture in India and the civilisations in Latin America and Egypt. Several weeks ago, I stumbled on this remarkable post by Jayasree on links between the Saraswati-Sindhu civlisation and the cultures of South West Americas. Jayasree has drawn on a vast amount of (admittedly circumstantial) evidence to suggest the case for linkages and contacts between these 2 ancient cultures…Below are some excerpts that you will find fascinating..Read on.
*** Excerpts from …

Courtesy an article by Ronen Bergman, titled “Gilad Shalit and the Rising Price of an Israeli Life“ from the New York Times last week, please read these excerpts that deal with Israel’s stance in hostage situations since the time of Entebbe – which was memorably captured in a book and later a film too (emphasis added):
…During the secret discussions prior to the Entebbe operation, Rabin, who agreed to the mission after much persuasion by intelligence and ministry planners, effectively established the principle that is still followed by all Israeli leaders facing hostage situations: …

Dear All: It is my pleasure to publish this remarkable essay by Bibhu on the Krishna worship, the Rath Yatra festival and the Gods of ancient Egypt. Please do read and share (emphasis added)…
*** Krishna worhsip and Rathayatra festival in Ancient Egypt? by Bibhu Dev Misra ***
An interesting piece of information caught my attention during my journey across the sacred sites of Egypt during early 2010. During the light and sound show in the magnificent temple complex of Karnak, I heard a voice booming over the loudspeakers: “I am Amon-Ra…The …

From George Friedman at Stratfor, comes this thought-provoking excerpt on “Germany and the Failure of Multiculturalism” (emphasis added):
German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared at an Oct. 16 meeting of young members of her party, the Christian Democratic Union, that multiculturalism, or Multikulti, as the Germans put it, “has failed totally.” Horst Seehofer, minister-president of Bavaria and the chairman of a sister party to the Christian Democrats, said at the same meeting that the two parties were “committed to a dominant German culture and opposed to a multicultural one.”
…The statements were …

Thought-provoking and Insightful. Excerpts from Scholar says West should treat radical Islam the way Byzantine generals did the Huns:
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…”The Romans had fought approximately 80 different foes in the process of [their] imperial expansion,” Luttwak said from Washington this week, on the eve of attending the Creative Innovation conference in Melbourne. “And then came one more: the Huns. They had such superior weapons, such superior agility on the battlefield and rapid mobility across vast spaces . . . The Romans were completely outclassed.”
But the Byzantines in their surviving …

This weekend, some thought-provoking readings on Indonesia with special reference to radical Islam and Indonesia’s Hindu & Buddhist past and traditions.
Why Indonesia? Because events that are unfolding in this country – home to the world’s largest population of Muslims – are likely to have serious and long-term implications for us in India. Read on to find out why.
First, excerpts from Indonesian lessons for secular India by Sadanand Dhume(emphasis added)
If you had to pick the place in the Muslim world least susceptible to any …