A Bridge Too Far As North and South Korea Are Riven Apart

In 1953 an armistice was signed by the USA and its allies and the communist north along with China and a border was defined at the 38th parallel. This is known as the DMZ or demilitarized zone that is monitored by UN observers. On both sides, troops are amassed with the US having 28000 soldiers on the border. There is a lone bridge that joins the two Koreas and after I visited it, a thought crossed my mind that it is a bridge too far and in reality divides the two nations who have the same religion and are from the same racial stock.

Who is responsible? It's not an easy answer as the lines of division are so deep that the North, if threatened, can resort to a nuclear attack as well.The South leadership is to be faulted for dancing to the American tunes and allowing an escalation of tension by letting the US army install the THAAD missile system.

The USA is selective in choosing enemies and if they are big and strong then compromise and others? just bulldoze. If you don't have the means to defend yourself then you go to to the world of Hades like Saddam and Gaddafi. So there is a legitimate reason for the North led by Kim Jong-Un to have weapons for retaliation. My word ! if he didn't have a deterrent he would be giving company to Saddam and Gaddafi in Hades.

The future? It's a long and tough road and the key is with the US. I wonder they are planning a strike against the North and in the bargain, Korean Peninsula will be wiped out. That doesn't matter for the US president who in a private conversation is reported to have said; if there is a war it's THEY who will die and not the US. Strange logic.

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I am Tickled to have a Viewership of 2.6 million on Wikinut.com

Something to Remember
 Yesterday my secretary came to me and told me that she had checked and I had crossed a viewership of 2.6 million on Wikinut.  There are no payments now, fine, but this achievement is by itself a source of great satisfaction. I have loved 3 things in my life in no particular order, women, cars, and writing. The first two dovetail into the last and has led to my novel" Romance of the Frontier". I started writing on Wikinut a few years back and slowly but surely the views from a trickle grew up. Now even when I write seldom on this site, yet I still garner over 1200 views a day.  Wikinut is a fine site and one sincerely hopes it does not pack up. I think it could, however, take a learning lesson from some new sites like Blastingnews.com

  Fond memories
 Great writers came and some went away.One man who is missing, who wrote prodigiously earlier is V Paulose. I wonder where he is? Steve Kinsmen is another whose name along with Carolina must be mentioned. There has hardly been a moderation and I am thankful that an article on the painter Coubert with his painting was published on this site. It's been great innings all through.
  Last Word 

Life moves on and Khalil Gibran wrote" the moving finger writes and life goes on, never to come back" is so very true. The years with Wikinut is something that will be a part of my life. It is a great pleasure to interact with the writers, many of who are still writing on this site. But one does wish that the writing site thinks ahead and tunes up. It cant go on and  become moribund. It has a great base and maybe a bright spark may still come. 

Message of the Imam of Al Aqsa Mosque to Immigrants

Exhortations of the Imams

In the harem

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The reason for this shortage of labor is the low birthrate of the European women, which means a declining younger population. They were soon at their wits end as they were flummoxed by the magnitude of the exodus. and had to down shutters.The exodus was also given a religious twist and this appealed to younger Muslim men.

The Imam of the Al Aksa mosque in Jerusalem broadcast in his sermons the need of the Muslim men to fertilize the European women as the Christians had failed to do so. He pointed to the low birth rate of the European women and exhorted his followers to spread Islam by fertilizing them. Many Muslim felt this was an excellent method to spread Islam. In any case, the Koran looks favorably on migration as a means to spread Islam.

The European Dilemma regarding Immigrants

Women in Islam.

Arab women

Islam is an insular religion that has global appeal. Many Muslims have been taken in by this rhetoric and felt European women are easy game. This came to the fore in Germany, where on New Year eve many German women were assaulted. Basically it's a clash of cultures as in Islam women are subservient to men and Muslim personal Law as codified in the Sharia gives hardly any rights to women. In addition, for centuries, the Arab Sheiks have always coveted pure blonde European women, particularly from the Slav countries, for their harems.

This was the genesis of the white slave trade, carried on by the Berbers and others. The problem has no easy solution as Europe does need cheap labor and cannot turn away all the migrants. How will they strike the middle line i.e balance the migrants with the needs of labor? 

"The Last Post" ode to the dead Soldier.

ALL have heard the haunting song, 'The Last Post.'

It's the song that gives us the lump in our throats and usually tears in our eyes.

But, do you know the story behind the song?

If not, I think you will be interested to find out about its humble beginnings.

Reportedly, it all began in 1862 during the American Civil War, when Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison's Landing in Virginia .. The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land.

During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moans of a soldier who lay severely wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, the Captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention. Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the Captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment.

When the Captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead..

The Captain lit a lantern and suddenly caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier.. It was his own son. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, the boy enlisted in the Confederate Army.

The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son a full military burial, despite his enemy status. His request was only partially granted.

The Captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge for his son at the funeral.

The request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate.

But, out of respect for the father, they did say they could give him only one musician.

The Captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead youth's uniform.

This wish was granted.

The haunting melody, we now know as 'The Last Post' used at military funerals was born.

The words are:

Day is done. 

Gone the sun.. 

From the lakes 

From the hills. 

From the sky. 

All is well. 

Safely rest. 

God is nigh.

Fading light. 

Dims the sight. 

And a star. 

Gems the sky. 

Gleaming bright. 

From afar.. 

Drawing nigh. 

Falls the night..

Thanks and praise. 

For our days. 

Neath the sun 

Neath the stars. 

Neath the sky 

As we go. 

This we know. 

God is nigh

I too have felt the chills while listening to 'The Last Post'

But I have never seen all the words to the song until now.

I didn't even know there was more than one verse .. 

I also never knew the story behind the song and I didn't know if

I now have an even deeper respect for the song than I did before

Loving younger and more youthful women

I want to state an obvious fact that most men like me, covet and seek out younger attractive women for a relationship. Why? I really have no answer but maybe after all it’s a simple answer. As far as I am concerned I do seek company of younger women and I guess the answer is in one word biology. One reason is that for men the biological clock is different. I recollect reading somewhere that Anthony Quinn the Hollywood star had a child at 82. Not possible for a woman.

0Despite some people sneering at older men and younger women in a relationship, the fact is many younger women marry older men it’s again a biological need.
Frankly as I am not a woman, I can’t write from the women’s angle. But I suppose all relationships can only take place if there is mutual attraction, and sexual desire. So at the end of the day the woman must like the man and that is the bottom line.

Fatima Sana Sheikh is trolled for wearing a swimsuit during Ramadan

Sana Shiekh was the star of "dangal". She has now published her photos on Instagram in a black swimwear. She looks sexy but some have castigated her for wearing swim costume during the month of Ramadan. 

Sana has done well so far. By posting her photos in a black swimming costume she has set the ball rolling. Her fairness is accentuated with the black costume and shows that she is a modern Muslim girl. Many girls including Muslims see her as a role model for oppressed Muslim women. Many of them are coerced to drape their body and wear the Burkha.

People are waiting to see how Sana performs in Amir's new film. Her role is so far not announced. One hopes she will be a success.