I am grieved over that. It is a wake-up call to the falleness of the world. My heart goes out to those who have lost family members by terrorist activities. I listened to some of the BS commentary from "experts" at CNN International I don't think anyone here understands what it means... I turn off the TV and wonder What is the future going to be like?Indu Shanmugam

My niece shared with me this piece written by a friend of a friend, Srinivasa Addepalli ("Srini"), and he has kindly given me permission to post it here. Many thanks, Srini!: Third Person No Longer... The veil has been shattered. We have watched terror attacks on TV, read analyses on websites and discussed 911, 267, London and Madrid over coffee. Bad things were happening out there and we were shocked, sorry and commisserating. But it was always out there and them that got affected. It was always terror in third person. Last night changed it. The attacks were at locations…

Asian Indians continues to top the list of foreign student in American universities. During the academic year 2007-2008, there are 94,563 Indian students enrolled in American campuses which constitute 15 percent of total foreign enrollement. This is highest we have ever seen in a year!  I have cited more data and information on this in the Coconut Book. Also get latest research report called Open Doors from the Institute of International Education. See also American going to India for higher education. Here is a news report in Times of India. Interest in American education and everything else that comes with…

US President-elect Barack Obama has reportedly been skipping church services.According to media reports, Obama has been spending his free time working out at a Chicago gym.Obama's media managers have put out a reason for his skipping church. He is not attending church because his family members are concerned that their large entourage could affect other parishioners.“Because they have a great deal of respect for places of worship, they do not want to draw unwelcome or inappropriate attention to a church not used to the attention their attendance would draw,” Politico. com quoted the source as saying.Both George W Bush and…

I have always wondered why we don’t find any reflection of what we believe in. All we find is restatements - mostly denominational and/or cultural.  I have been reading the book, ‘ God is not Great: How Religion poisons everything’ and I thought Chris Hitchens possibly gives us a clue. We may not agree with everything he says but this one demands our attention. Christopher Hitchens ( a fierce critic of religion) writes: ” Religion spoke its last intelligible or noble or inspiring words a long time ago. either that is mutated into an admirable but nebulous humanism, as did…

Too much TV causes teens to engage in sex. A new research study from a professor at University of Wisconsin. No brainers right, especially after seeing some of the high sex television and racy movies that hollywood makes these days. See the Reuters ReportThe Too much television, low self-esteem, disappointing grades and poor family relationships can be a formula that adds up to early teenage sex, according to the study. And among all of them the best predictors for early teen sex is television viewing. TV often does not portray the negative consequences of sex, such as unexpected pregnancy or sexually…

When it comes to studying versus partying, the choice is obvious. What else am I going to remember 20 years from now? I can always find time for studying, work and other things at a later time (without procrastination of course). Somehow I manage to get everything done. Monday night was fun at the guys house. We had thanksgiving with the college group. The guys got a free turkey and wanted to cook it. Matt did the main cooking and the rest of us helped. I always have a good time with these people. Then, I spend one day on…

The Mumbai Violence - Muslim Terrorism A Direct Consequence Of Incompetent Government and Hindu Terrorism The terrible events in Mumbai over the last day and more will have consequences not only for the individuals and families directly affected but also for the whole country. My heart goes out to the families of those killed and hurt, and I pray for solace and healing for them. But my heart goes out even more for our country as a whole. At a time when the global economic crisis is already causing problems for our country, this event will add further economic challenges.…

Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) expresses deep grief at and strongly condemns the terror attacks which left over 90 people, including 11  police officials dead and 200 injured today (November 26). India's financial capital Mumbai came under an unprecedented night attack as terrorists used heavy machine guns, including AK-47s, and grenades to strike over 10 landmarks across the city including targets -- busy CST (formerly VT) rail terminus; the landmark Taj Hotel at the Gateway and the luxury Oberoi Trident at Nariman Point; the domestic airport at Santa Cruz; the Cama and GT hospitals near CST; the Metro Adlabs multiplex…

The attacks began in south Mumbai around 9:30 as the business district wound up for the day, and hotels and restaurants were filled with guests - a sharp contrast to the serial blast in local trains in July 2006, as targeted passengers during rush hour commuting hours of work. Terrorists sprayed bullets from automatic weapons and hurled grenades at several nearly simultaneous strikes on more than a dozen spots around the city, including five-star Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, Victoria Terminus, vile parle, Santa Cruz, Worli and Leopold Cafe in Colaba. A little known Equipment ~ "Deccan Mujahideen" ~ claimed…

Now that the Morgan Stanley index shows a worldwide loss of equity value of some $32 trillion, shares have corrected the entire 21st century rally which should never have taken place. As I am one of the very few (perhaps the only one?) to have predicted oil at $50 when it was 130 and headed to nearly 150 (and the Russian view was that it was going to go to 250!), I am being asked: are we at or near the bottom? Well, the S&P 500 of US stocks has crashed to its lowest in 11 years. London's Financial Times…

Mr. President In case you have wondered why the economic crisis continues to get worse in spite of all the medicine in the world from the best experts in the world, the reason is simple: we have the wrong diagnosis (that this is a liquidity crisis) and we are therefore administering the wrong medicine. You will not only be tempted to put the interests of the USA first, you may well consider it your duty to do so. However, from your Administration, a fresh impetus towards open markets would be most welcome. The alternative to free trade is protectionism, which…

Technology tools are helping families stay in touch with each other and improving relationships. This is the finding from the latest study on family by Pew Internet Research. See BBC report. Mobile phones and the net are helping them maintain social ties, when modern lives are so time and energy starved. Traditionalist worry that new technologies are hurting family togetherness, but this study found that technology allows for new kinds of connectedness built around cell phones and the internet never possible before. In the past people gathered around dinner table at the end of the day to eat, unwind and…

1. i've come to the conclusion that there is a difference between honoring and obeying one's parents. God commands us to honor, it is assumed for life. but the command to obey was directed at children. when you're a child, honor and obedience mean practically the same thing. but there comes a time in life when that changes... there's more to be said on that but i'll tread with caution. 2. i've been looking for an apartment to rent in toronto. i've never had to look for a place to stay before so this is new for me. if anyone…

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to everyone. I hope everyone has a good thanksgiving with lots of food, time with others and blessings.Except for Monday, I have a week off college and work for Thanksgiving. I look forward to spend time with family, friends and most favorite people in the world and eat lots of food. I watched Mom make the turkey last year. It takes all day. I wanted to try it but I don't think anyone would trust me with the turkey. I'm looking forward to it.I am mastering the art of baking. I like baking pies, cakes and other desserts.…

Average age of first marriage has gone up by a year. Official numbers are out for the year. It is 28 for men and 26 for women. It is up by a year for both men and women from last year. Americans are waiting longer to get married. See the report in USA Today of the study by NFI & University of Texas. Once people married their childhood sweethearts; then they met their future mate at college campuses and now life partners are found at workplaces. With rising educational needs to survive in a competitive market place, 20 something are…

Today I occupied myself by taking the "Finding Your Spiritual Gifts" questionaire by C. Peter Wagner. According to it, my dominant gifts at this point in life are Administration and Voluntary Poverty (yeah I wanted to laugh at myself on that one too). Administration wasn't a surprise. Voluntary poverty, on the other hand, was sort of a surprise because I didn't know it was a "gift". To be honest, the idea isn't new to me, it's something I discovered about myself this year while serving in India, and it's something I've wrestled with in thinking about the future--of course I…