2011

Timeless Value

A young man learns what's most important in life from the guy next door...........

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and was working on his future... nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday."

Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

"Jack, did you hear me?"

"Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.

"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd recall the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.

"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.

"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said.

"He's the one who taught me carpentry," Jack said.

"I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important...Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown.

Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped to see the old house next door one more time.

Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time.

The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture....Jack stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked.

"The box is gone," he said. "What box? " Mom asked.

"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside.

All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it. "Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said.

"I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox.

"Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.

Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago.

The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention.

"Mr. Harold Belser" it read.

Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package.

There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.

"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life."

A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box.

There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.

Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved:

"Jack, Thanks for your time! Harold Belser."

"The thing he valued most...was...my time."

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days.

"Why?" Janet, his assistant asked.

"I need some time to spend with my son," he said. "Oh, by the way, Janet...thanks for your time!"

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away,"

Think about this on the NEW YEAR.

There are many people who would like to spend some time with you.

WISHING YOU A GREAT YEAR OF GOOD HEALTH , PROSPERITY , PEACE , HAPPINESS AND GRACE ,

Love,

Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil

About just a $1M book deal

Wikilkeaks founder Julian Assange says he's being forced into writing an autobiography to keep his organization afloat. On Monday, New York publishing house's Alfred A. Knopf confirmed that it had struck a deal with the Australian to bring out his autobiography, whose publication date has yet not been determined.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Assange said the deal would bring in more than $1 million, with $800,000 from Knopf and another 325,000 pounds ($500,000) from U.K. publisher Canongate. But he said he only agreed to it because he was under financial pressure.

"I don't want to write this book, but I have to," he said. "I have already spent 200,000 pounds for legal costs and I need to defend myself and to keep WikiLeaks afloat."

Assange shot to worldwide prominence after the publication of a series of spectacular leaks of classified U.S. material, including the ongoing publication of some 250,000 classified State Department cables.

But with the international attention came international legal issues. The UK- bound activist is currently fighting extradition to Sweden, where he faces sex crime allegations, and has said he fears moves to indict him in the United States on espionage charges. He's previously said that most of his organization's money goes to the fighting of legal and technical attacks.

Knopf spokesman Paul Bogaards declined to comment on the specific figures mentioned by Assange, but confirmed that a deal had been in place since "prior to the holidays."

Bogaards said Assange was due to deliver his manuscript sometime in 2011. The autobiography's title hasn't been made public. (Knopf is an imprint of Random House Inc)

Again, Assange believes he could withstand solitary confinement in a U.S. prison if the American government manages to extradite him, but he fears he would likely be killed in "Jack Ruby-style" if held with others inside the U.S.

Assange told British Guardian newspaper in an interview that the final determination as to whether he can be sent from the U.K. to Sweden or to the United States would be made by British Prime Minister David Cameron, but that he believed it would be "politically impossible" for Cameron to do it.

"Legally the U.K. has the right not to extradite for political crimes," Assange said. "Espionage is the classic case of political crimes. It is at the discretion of the U.K. government as to whether to apply to that exception."

The U.S. government has not filed any charges against Assange, but Attorney General Eric Holder has said "there's a predicate for us to believe that crimes have been committed here and we are in the process of investigating those crimes."

It's been suggested that the U.S. government is trying to find a way to name the WikiLeaks founder as a co-conspirator in its case against the Army Analyst, suspected of providing the classified U.S. documents to WikiLeaks. In the meantime, U.N. has ordered an investigation into his treatment in the prison.

"Solitary confinement is very difficult," Assange said, reflecting on the nine days he's already spent in a London prison on a Swedish warrant for questioning in a sexual misconduct case brought by two women in that country.

"But I know that I can withstand it, provided there is some opportunity for correspondence. I'm mentally robust,". He added, "Of course, it would mean the end of my life in the conventional sense."

If he was to be held in a U.S. prison, however, Assange speculated there was a "high chance" he'd be killed in the Jack Ruby style, the man who killed alleged JFK shooter, Lee Harvey Oswald two days after he was arrested.

Assange claimed the legal fees incurred by WikiLeaks already had added to about $770,000. He said the decision by several large U.S. financial companies (reportedly under political pressure from U.S. lawmakers) to halt payments to WikiLeaks had deprived his group of its $655,000 'war chest'

Days would be better in 2011..so hang on..

Thanks,

Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil

An appendage to my previous Christmas Message:

Its NOT for NOTHING that the U.N. has ordered 'special

rapporteur on torture' to start an immediate probe to find

whether the brutal solitary confinement of Bradley Manning

amounts to torture. Manning stated on December 19th that

his blankets are similar in weight and heft to lead aprons used

in X-ray laboratories and similar in texture to coarse and stiff

carpet. He stated explicitly that the blankets are not soft in the

least and expressed concern that he had to lie very still at night

to avoid receiving carpet burns. The problem of carpet burns

was exacerbated, he related, by the stipulation that he must sleep

only in his boxer shorts as part of the longstanding POI

(Prevention of Injury) order. Manning added that hallway-mounted

lights shine through his window at night. This constant illumination

is consistent with reports from attorney David Coombs’ blog that

marines must visually inspect Manning as he sleeps.

Manning has also said hat he is able to exercise only if walking in

chains is a form of exercise... He is suffering Extreme Isolation

Prison Torture- is suffering inhumane isolation in prison-

that numerous experts say is real torture...

This is the reason why I clamored for his immediate release along

with many other champions of human freedom. I'm not sure what

America feels about itself.. but America is known in Asia, Europe

and Africa for its torture and inhuman activities, its very symbol

being Guantánamo Bay- the military prison that has time and again

drawn criticism from human rights organizations.

Amnesty International has called the situation 'a human rights scandal'

in a series of reports.

And if Manning leaked the atrocities of American soldiers for the world

to know, to be a corrective force against American helicopters bombing

Iraqi civilians and again bombing rescuers attempting to save the injured,

then he is a hero by all means and not just a leaker.. he ranks with high

prophets and world leaders who have stood against authoritarianism

tyranny and oligarchy, putting their own lives at stake.

And not yet time to heave in comfort.. Wikileaks has more in store,

for it has given out only about 0.5% of the total documents amounting

to more than 250,000 in its custody, including the documents on

America's financial powerhouse, Bank Of America which will hit

news in early January, they say...

Manning needs to be considered for Nobel Prize along with Julian Assange,

for being the Courageous Whistleblower he is...

Thank you and enjoy the rest of your week-end

Love,

Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil

( The foregoing is the text of my contention in an ongoing dialogue in Facebook...

Thought to share it with you since freedom from bondage is a very strong Christmas message to me.)

On a Christmas-eve

I Love You, My Son

After a few of the usual Sunday hymns, the priest stood up,

walked over to the pulpit and before giving his sermon,

briefly introduced a guest-minister who came in for the service.


In his introduction, the pastor told the congregation that the guest- minister was

one of his dearest childhood mentors and that he wanted him to take a few moments

to greet the congregation and share whatever he felt would be appropriate..

With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak.

He started,

"A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the Pacific coast,

when a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to the shore.

The waves roared high, and though the father was an experienced sailor,

the boat turned down and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized"

The old man hesitated for a moment,

making eye contact with two teenagers who were

found to be interested in his story for the first time since the service began .

He continued his story,

"Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life:

to which boy would he throw the other end of the life line?

He had only very few seconds to take the decision.

The father knew his son was a believer. And he knew that his son's friend was not.

The agony of his decision could never be matched by the raging of the waves...

And as the father yelled out,

'I love you, my son',

he threw out the life line to his son's friend.

By the time the father pulled his son's friend back to the capsized boat,

his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the deep abyss of gloom.

His body was never recovered."

The two teenagers were now sitting straight up in the pew, waiting for the next words.

"The father," he continued, "knew his son would step into eternity

but could not bear the thought of his son's friend losing an ever-lasting life.

Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save the son's friend."

The old man now turned and sat down in his chair as silence engulfed the room.
********************************

The priest now walked slowly to the pulpit and delivered a brief sermon.

Within minutes after the close of service, the two teenagers

were at the old man's side.

"That was a nice story," politely stated one of them,

"but I don't think it was any realistic for a father to give up his

only son's life hoping that the other boy would become a believer.'

"Well, you've got a point there," the old man replied,

glancing down at his worn Bible.

A big smile broadened his narrow, wrinkled face.

He once again looked up at the boys and his lips moved,

"it sure isn't very realistic, is it?"

"But,

You see...
I was that father and your priest is my son's friend."

How's that?

Does this ring an echo?

I was skeptic too.. but oftentimes truth is stranger than fiction...

Christmas reminds us of the Heavenly Father who sacrificed

his

only begotten Son so that we would be saved.

Christmas is the message of joy, love, peace, freedom & sacrifice.

With these values as the guiding force,

I wish you & all yours -

no matter whether you be a christian, non-christian, believer, stoic, skeptic,

fatalist, pantheist, atheist or whatever -

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

&

A REWARDING, HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Thank you and enjoy the rest of your week-end.

Love,

Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil

Free thought: A politically correct Christmas Wish to you all...

My warm wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most joyous traditions of the religious persuasion of my choice, but with respect for the religious persuasion of others who choose to practice their own religion and their festivals as well as those who choose not to practice any religion at all;

and additionally,

a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted calendar year 2011, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions have helped make our society great, without regard to the race, creed, color, religious, or sexual preferences of the wishes.

Thank you and enjoy the rest of your week.

Love,

Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil

Your legacy?

It must have been about a hundred years ago...

To be exact, one hundred and fifteen years ago...

The man looked at the morning newspaper to find his name in the obituary column.

The news papers had reported the death of the wrong person...

of course a mistake, but a big one.

His name was entered in the place of somebody else who died that day.

His first response was shock.

He squeezed his hands to make sure he was alive.

"Am I here or there?"

When he regained his composure, his second thought was to find out

what people had remarked about him.

Comments read,

"Dynamite King Dies"..... "He was the merchant of death" and so on.

This man was the inventor of dynamite and when he read the words

"merchant of death," he asked himself a question,

"Is this how I am going to be remembered?"

He did not want to be known thus after his death...

No, this was not the way he wanted to be remembered at all..

From that day onwards, he started working toward peace;

not for destruction by means of dynamite.

You identify him now, right?

His name was Alfred Nobel and is best remembered for the great Nobel Prize.


Just as Alfred Nobel got in touch with his feelings and redefined his values,

we need to step back and do the same.

So, what is your legacy?

How would you like to be remembered?.... merchant of what?


Would the following words describe you -


commitment, courage, compassion, love, justice, motivation, passion,

determination, humility, honesty, integrity, sensitivity, sincerity, serenity, wisdom...?

Will you be remembered with love and respect when you are gone?

And, will you be fondly missed?

The question is for you to answer..now...

As you are aware....

The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian

committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advancements. The will

of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established

the prizes in 1895. The prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine,

Literature, and Peace were first awarded in 1901.

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel

was instituted by Sveriges Riksbank in1968 and was first awarded in 1969.

Although technically not a Nobel Prize, its announcements and presentations

are made along with the other prizes, with the exception of the Peace Prize

which is awarded in Oslo, Norway. Each Nobel Prize is regarded as the most

prestigious award in its field.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awards the Nobel Prize in Physics,

the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic

Sciences. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet awards the Nobel

Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The Swedish Academy grants the Nobel

Prize in Literature. The Nobel Peace Prize is not awarded by a Swedish

organisation but by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Thank you and enjoy the rest of your weekend..

Love,

Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil

**************************************************************************************************************************
Bonhomie, Luv Ya, Peace!
Feel free to visit my web site at http://www.alexodikandathil.blogspot.com
This transmission is strictly confidential and privileged. If you are not the intended recipient or have received this communication in error, please delete it from your inbox, notify the sender immediately and shall not disclose its contents to any other person, use them for any purpose or store/ copy them in any medium. Unauthorized interception of this e-mail is a violation of the Federal Criminal Law.
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Thanking you,
Prof. Alex Abraham Odikandathil Ph.D.
Ranni 689676
Ph:960 553 5101
or
Chengannur 689122
Cell: 949 773 1912

alternative email ids:
odikandathil@verizon.net & abrahax@verizon.net & dr.odikandathil@yahoo.in

Watergate then, Condomgate now.

Today I happened to hear the speaker assert in a Christian College talk hosted by the Social Sciences Departments that Assange does not deserve protection under the 'free press rules' but his act is one of espionage and not journalism, kind o' repeating Lieberman. And I am prompted to send this around for your perusal.

As government officials around the world decry Julian Assange's Wikileaks, the story around his Swedish sex charges gets increasingly murky. He was accused of rape by two women during a conference last August, and is wanted by the Swedish government for “rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion.” But as new reports emerge, spouting his alleged crimes “sex by surprise,” it's unclear whether, under Sweden's sex laws, the charges refer to forcible rape, or sex without a condom––and whether that's a crime if the woman does not consent to unprotected sex.

The press is, almost across the board, parroting the statement of an Australian lawyer he retained in October, which sarcastically dismisses the women's claims and accuses Swedish lawmakers of becoming a laughingstock.

Apparently having consensual sex in Sweden without a condom is punishable by a term of imprisonment for a minimum of two years, the same as for rape. That is the basis for a reinstitution of rape charges against WikiLeaks figurehead Julian Assange that is destined to make Sweden and its justice system the laughing stock of the world and dramatically damage its reputation as a model of modernity.

Sweden’s Public Prosecutor’s Office was embarrassed in August this year when it leaked to the media that it was seeking to arrest Assange for rape, then on the same day withdrew the arrest warrant because in its own words there was “no evidence”. The damage to Assange’s reputation is incalculable. More than three quarters of internet references to his name refer to rape. Now, three months gone and three prosecutors later, the Swedes seem to be clear on their basis to proceed. Consensual sex that started out with a condom but ended up without one, ergo, the sex was not consensual.

Whether or not the condom laws are obscure, the fact remains that when the condom broke, the second accuser says she told him to stop, and he did not. That's a pretty clear statement for a court case in most countries.

AOL says: The woman and Assange also reportedly had sex. According to the Daily Mail account, Assange did not use a condom at least one time during their sexual activity. The New York Times today quoted accounts given by the women to police and friends as saying Assange "did not comply with her appeals to stop when (the condom) was no longer in use."

Still, conspiracy theories abound.

True, one of Assange's accusers sounds tailor-made for those who think Assange is being set up in Sweden by dark CIA-backed operatives who want him smeared or silenced for his document-dumping with WikiLeaks. She's a 31-year-old blond academic and member of the Social Democratic Party who's known for her radical feminist views, once wrote a treatise on how to take revenge against men and was once thrown out of Cuba for subversive activities.

But others say Assange, who denies any wrongdoing and says the sex was consensual, may have just run afoul of Sweden's unusual rape laws, which are considered pro-feminist because of the consideration given to issues of consent when it comes to sexual activity -- including even the issue of whether a condom was used.

In fact, the current prosecutor, Marianne Ny, who re-opened the case against Assange, has been active in the proposed reforms of Swedish rape laws that would, if passed, involve an investigation of whether an imbalance in power between two people could void one person's insistence that the sex was consensual.

But back in August, Assange's first accuser told the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that her claims were “not orchestrated by the Pentagon” but prompted by “a man who has a twisted attitude towards women and having a problem to take no for an answer.”

It follows that sex crime charges are not going to cause him much damages, the reason why Lieberman and the said speaker have turned to hang on to espionage charges..

Now, give yourself a thought... as to where the world is heading to...

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Love,

Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil

Where did the year go?

Suddenly it's November.. and now early December ..once again and we realize that with giant strides we started out January and within the blink of an eye, 2010 is out! for ever!! A big 'Thank You' to each and every one of you, for the impact you had on my life during the past year.. Especially, for all your moral support and those wonderful e-mails Without you, I'm sure that 2010 would have been extremely boring. On my part, I wish you all a Magical Festive Season filled with Loving Wishes and ever-beautiful thoughts. May 2011 mark the beginning of a tidal wave of love, happiness and a bright future, to you- one and all. And to those who need someone special, may you find that true love, To those who need money, may your finances overflow, To those who need care, may you find a good heart, To those who need friends, may you meet lovely people, To those who need life, may you find GOD. Thank you and enjoy your week-end. Love, Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil

***********************************************************
Bonhomie, Luv Ya, Peace!

Don't shoot the messenger...

Folks, are we on the same page about how the world plutarchy shudders under free speech?

Here are the 9 craziest facets of the international uproar surrounding WikiLeaks and Julian Assange.

The release of the US embassy cables has thus far been one of the most... interesting moments in recent US (and World) history, impacting global politics in a way that is unprecedented. Nestled amid the outrage and debate are some truly weird aspects that make the brouhaha seem like a lost installment in the Jason Bourne chronicles (or Catch Me If You Can). More important than the drama and gossip, WikiLeaks is a tentpost in the information age, a milestone potentially heralding a new era of internet transparency. As world governments balk at the exposure of their secrets -- and scramble to suppress the information -- Assange and his crew are expressing the fundamental right to free speech and facilitating the public's fundamental right to know exactly what their leaders are up to, particularly when it entails wars, torture, and secret military action. Here are the 8 craziest facets of the international uproar surrounding WikiLeaks and Julian Assange.

1. Hackers on the Offensive.

A group of hackers have pledged to wage war against companies that have "censored" WikiLeaks. Yesterday morning Operation Payback targetedPayPal in a DDoS attack (the company no longer lets people donate to WikiLeaks through its service). Later in the day they launched a successful attack on PostFinance, the bank that froze the assets of the Julian Assange Defense Fund. As of last night, the PostFinance site was still down.

2. Julian Assange Has Not Broken Any Laws ... Yet Our Government and Others Treat Him Like He Has.

A Canadian advisor called for Assange's assassination, Joe Lieberman pressured Amazon to hypocritically tear down the cables, and officials and media repeat accusations that he is a terrorist despite the fact that the Wikileaks' actions have resulted in no physical harm to anyone -- unlike, say, certain governments. But amid all this, it is important to note that neither Julian Assange nor WikiLeaks have broken any laws, whether American or Australian, in releasing the leaked documents. And yet some lawmakers are so hysterical, such as GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch O'Connell, they are suggesting the US invent new laws, solely for the purpose of bringing Assange to trial. Meanwhile, the government continues to intimidate companies who host the cables, with no actual legal ground whatsoever. As Glenn Greenwald points out:

People often have a hard time believing that the terms "authoritarian" and "tyranny" apply to their own government, but that's because those who meekly stay in line and remain unthreatening are never targeted by such forces. The face of authoritarianism and tyranny reveals itself with how it responds to those who meaningfully dissent from and effectively challenge its authority: do they act within the law or solely through the use of unconstrained force?

The Swiss government has also frozen his legal defense fund, so even if someone does invent a way to nab him legally, his right to a fair trial is compromised.

3. Julian Assange Preps “Poison Pill” in Case He’s Killed or Arrested.

As established, Wikileaks leader Assange is not wrong in assuming at some point he may be arrested (Interpol’s on the hunt) or killed (world leaders want his head). Or that WikiLeaks will be shut down. And so, like anyone who knows he's a walking target, he has put out a little bit of insurance on himself and WikiLeaks. Today he announced that, should anyone attempt to harm (or incarcerate) a hair on his head, he’ll pull the trigger on a “poison pill” that would allegedly expose even more explosive information, including some documents about BP, Bank of America and Guantanamo Bay. According to the Daily Mail, an encrypted file sent out to various fellow hackers contains the information, and can be disseminated all across the internet if he decides to give them the key -- an uncrackable password consisting of 256 digits. Mark Stephens, Assange’s lawyer in Britain, has said the information is tantamount to a “thermonuclear device,” consisting of “doomsday files.” Another lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, claims she’s been receiving intimidatingletters from Washington.

Ms Robinson references a letter from a state department legal adviser addressed to both herself and Mr Assange - appearing to suggest that Wikileaks and its lawyers were one and the same.

She said: 'By eliding client and lawyer, that was a very inappropriate attempt to implicate me. That is really inappropriate to come from the state department of all places; they understand very well the rules on attorney-client protocol.'

Meanwhile, the lawyers have claimed they’re being watched by strange men in dark cars parked outside their homes. Reading newspapers. Probably about their client.

4. But You Can’t Really Arrest Julian Assange.

A great novelist once wrote, “Sometimes a man retreats so far inward he mistakes isolation for dominion.” In this case, though, Assange’s essential MIA-ness (he’s supposedly in England) is pretty close to dominion. He is acting like a man without a country, and this is his armor against the world. AsAOL notes, “The international nature of his organization makes questions of jurisdiction nearly impossible to answer.” And because he is not a US citizen, he can’t be tried for treason, a technicality apparently lost on some leaders and journalists. While the US could technically arrest him for spying, the best bet for those searching for his hide is if Sweden could extradite him for charges related to alleged rape. That is, if Sweden managed to get it together... their first attempt at extradition was foiled by bungled paperwork -- extradition papers filed with Great Britain did not state the maximum sentence for his charges, a small but important requirement for extradition. Meanwhile, Assange’s native Australia has upped the ante, promising him consular help if he’s arrested by a foreign government, even while condemning the leaks -- meaning he might be able to, simply, return home Down Under.

5. Columbia Students Warned Against Linking to Wikileaks ... then Columbia Decides Linking to Wikileaks is okay.

Last week, Columbia University’s School of International and Political Affairs told its students not to link to or Tweet anything having to do with WikiLeaks, warning their curiosity could endanger their chances of ever being employed by the government. The school’s employment office sent out an email to the students, many aspiring diplomats, saying an alumni from the State Department gave them a heads up about seeking Wiki info, noting that even posting comments about the leaks "would call into question your ability to deal with confidential information." The directive scared a lot of grad students for quite a few days. That is, until yesterday, when SIPA Dean John H. Coatsworth decided to err on the side of free speech, clarifying the Columbia email that was initially seen as a scare tactic. In a subsequent email to students, Coatsworth wrote:

“Freedom of information and expression is a core value of our institution. Thus, SIPA’s position is that students have a right to discuss and debate any information in the public arena that they deem relevant to their studies or to their roles as global citizens, and to do so without fear of adverse consequences.”

Furthermore, another SIPA Professor told Wired.com that students would be remiss if they didn’t seek out the Wikileaks cables. “If anyone is a master’s student in international relations and they haven’t heard of WikiLeaks and gone looking for the documents that relate to their area of study,“ said Middle East expert Gary Sick, “then they don’t deserve to be a graduate student in international relations.” The First Amendment prevails. Also... touche.

6. “Sex by Surprise?"

The charges against Assange in Sweden have now been characterized as “sex by surprise” -- and no one seems to know exactly what that even means.

Assange's London attorney, Mark Stephens, told AOL News today that Swedish prosecutors told him that Assange is wanted not for allegations of rape, as previously reported, but for something called "sex by surprise," which he said involves a fine of 5,000 kronor or about $715. "Whatever 'sex by surprise' is, it's only a offense in Sweden -- not in the U.K. or the U.S. or even Ibiza," Stephens said. "I feel as if I'm in a surreal Swedish movie being threatened by bizarre trolls. The prosecutor has not asked to see Julian, never asked to interview him, and he hasn't been charged with anything. He's been told he's wanted for questioning, but he doesn't know the nature of the allegations against him."

The charges have something to do with condoms, and their lack of use, or breakage, although it’s largely unclear exactly what. The women accusing Assange have stood behind their accounts, but he believes the Swedish government's seemingly wishy-washy actions are part of a larger conspiracy to nab him for WikiLeaks. The New York Times:

According to accounts the women gave to the police and friends, they each had consensual sexual encounters with Mr. Assange that became nonconsensual. One woman said that Mr. Assange had ignored her appeals to stop after a condom broke. The other woman said that she and Mr. Assange had begun a sexual encounter using a condom, but that Mr. Assange did not comply with her appeals to stop when it was no longer in use. Mr. Assange has denied any wrongdoing and has questioned the veracity of those accounts.

Yesterday, new warrants were issued for Assange and he is presently making arrangements to meet with Scotland Yard. The premise for the warrants has not been revealed.

7. Future Cables Reference UFOs.

So maybe this is more like the X-Files. In a rare interview with the Guardian last week, in which Assange answered reader-submitted questions, he confirmed that not-yet-published documents reference unidentified flying objects. And lest you think he is jumping any sort of shark, it should be known that his information was vetted with journalistic rigor, just like every other piece of info he’s published. The full question and answer:

Mr Assange,
Have there ever been documents forwarded to you which deal with the topic of UFOs or extraterrestrials?

Assange: Many weirdos email us about UFOs or how they discovered that they were the anti-christ whilst talking with their ex-wife at a garden party over a pot-plant. However, as yet they have not satisfied two of our publishing rules.
1) that the documents not be self-authored;
2) that they be original.
However, it is worth noting that in yet-to-be-published parts of the cablegate archive there are indeed references to UFOs.

Of course, it’s not exactly proof of the existence of aliens (or even alien-like bacteria here on earth), but it is a fascinating bit that not only intrigues, but illustrates the breadth of information Assange is sitting on.

8. Feds Go Nuts to Prevent Soldiers from Seeing Wikleaks.

Soldiers in Iraq attempting to read the leaked cables -- or even read articles about them -- get a redirect notice on their government network saying they’re on the verge of breaking the law. The redirect has affected virtually every major news website, clearly, since not one has refrained from covering Wikileaks (despite their mass condemnation of the stuff). But as Gawker points out, “Many of those soldiers receiving the warnings have security clearances that would have granted them access to the State Department cables before they were leaked.” One presumes the same goes for some of the government employees, who were issued a similar warning about reading the documents.

9. Iran Accuses US of Leaking Wikileaks.

An ironic conspiracy theory when one considers the outrage Cablegate has sparked among everyone from Hillary Clinton to Mike Huckabee, although our Secretary of State exercised quite a bit more restraint than the gun-happy Huckabee. But considering what the leaks revealed -- that countries all across the Middle East have urged the US to strike against Iran -- it’s an understandable conclusion. The leaks prompted an Israeli paper to express triumphant joy in feeling solidarity for its extreme stance on Iran -- an op-ed was titled The World Thinks Like Us–and Ahmadinejad stated his view on the matter explicitly, asserting the American government made the cables ”organized to be released on a regular basis and they are pursuing political goals.” Meanwhile, cables that stated Iranian dissidents had some involvement with the Israeli Mossad would not only strengthen current powers but undermine the dissident movement itself -- endangering the lives of Iranians critical of Ahmadinejad’s policies.

The Daily Beast:

“New and harmful” was how Freilich described the WikilLeaks revelation that Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, consulted with Washington about working with Iran's students and ethnic minorities to topple Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime in Iran.

So, what's your take?

Enjoy the rest of your week,
love,
Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil

Guide Holy Light!

Dancing With God When I meditated on the word Guidance, I kept seeing 'dance' at the end of the word. I realized that doing God's will is a lot like dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing becomes right. The movement doesn't merge with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. When one person realizes it and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to ebb and flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge on the back or by drawing lightly in one direction or another. It's as if two blends in one body, moving beautifully. The dance takes surrender, smile and willingness, and needs care and love from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other. My eyes went back to the word Guidance. When I saw 'G', I thought of God, followed by 'u' and 'i'. Hey, 'God', 'u' and 'i' dance. That is, God, you, and I dance. As I lowered my head, I felt as willing to trust so that I would get guidance in my life. Once again, I was willing to let God lead. My prayer for you today is that God's blessings and mercy are upon you today and everyday. May you abide in God, as God abide in you. Dance together with God, trusting God will lead and guide you through each season in your life. God has done so many things for you, May share this message with others. No cost but rewards wait... And I Hope You Dance! HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY Enjoy the rest of your week-end, love, Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil