Yes-- the initial revolution, like in Russia, was plotted by Western powers-- but they lost control of them in time-- Stalin's purges & shift toward a Nationalist platform is similar to Mao's-- both rediscovered "national sovereignty" & represent Napoleonic counter-revolution.

THREAD: Meditations on marriage metaphors in Ruth

The book of Ruth is, of course, a story about a beautiful marriage. But even before the courtship and the wedding and the important genealogy at the end, we find interesting language that is strikingly reminiscent of Genesis 2:24

That important verse reads:

'Therefore a man shall leave [יַֽעֲזָב] his father and his mother and hold fast [וְדָבַ֣ק] to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.'

The verb עזב can be quite strong in force. For example, Joseph leaves behind [וַיַּעֲזֹ֤ב] his garment as he flees from Pharaoh's wife's sexual advances. Countless times, Israel is depicted abandoning the LORD, for example in Judg 2:12 [וַיַּעַזְב֞וּ], and going after other gods.

Likewise, the verb דבק is rather striking. Lot is mortified of disaster overtaking him [תִּדְבָּקַ֥נִי] as he flees from Sodom. Israel is commanded in Deut 10:20 to cling fast [תִדְבָּ֔ק] to the LORD and serve him and swear by his name.

Together they illustrate how radical God designed marriage to be. Marriage is a real severing of family relations in order to form a new, permanent bond with another human being.

Something very similar to this takes places in Ruth's life.

So I have a funny story about Governor General Jules Leger. I was working in the gardens on the grounds as a summer student in 1972 (might have been 1973, I can't quite remember, but it was the first year that women were hired as labourers by the NCC).1/

One of the things that we had to do was rake The pebble gravel on the paths and that was my task this particular day. I was out raking when I saw a Columbo type man dressed in a fedora and a crumpled raincoat approach me.2/

At that time the grounds were open to the public so it wasn't particularly surprising to have someone wander up and we chatted. I realized that he had recently had a stroke and that his English, while fluent, was a little slow. 3/

Anyway, we had a very nice chat and the next time I saw him in the garden, I showed him some baby rabbits that had a nest in the front rotundra. He thought they were pretty adorable.4/

I was able to pick one up for him to hold, but it was difficult for him because one of his hands was quite paralyzed. Anyway, he thought this was very lovely and our regular chats continued.4/

#THREAD
1.Meenakshi Amman Temple(472ft High)also called as Meenakshi Sundareswarar is a famous Hindu temple located on the southern bank of Vaigai River in temple city of Madurai, #TamilNadu.It is dedicated to Parvati(Meenakshi)& her consort Shiva(Sundareswarar). @LostTemple7

2.Madurai Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple was built by King Kulasekara Pandya (1190-1216 CE).This popular temple visits over 15000 visitors daily & around 25000 on #Friday !Friday sees the most number of devotees visit the temple with the number going as high as +25,000.

3.Meenakshi Temple also hosts an annual festival called Meenakshi Thirukalayanam that is held in April. A celestial wedding of the god and goddess marks the end of the festival. About 1 million devotees visit the temple during this festival.

4.the temple has been tagged as one of the seven wonders of India along with stunning Architecture.The temple is built using Dravidian South Indian style of architecture, and is one of the most impressive temple structures in South India.

5.The principle deity here is MEENAKSHI, a form of Goddess Parvati. The idol of the goddess is carved in emerald hued stone. The Meenakshi idol has 3 breasts as Meenakshi was born with three breasts and was blessed that the 3rd breast would vanish once meets right man of her life

A brief thread on the life, religion, and language of Omar ibn Sa’id, author of the only known Arabic-language autobiography of an enslaved person in the United States.

Omar ibn Sa’id was a Fula man from what is now Senegal. He studied Islamic sciences and mathematics under prominent scholars before his enslavement in 1807 at age 37.

In his autobiography, he writes that he was taken “to a place called Charleston in the Christian language.”

He escaped from his first enslaver, but was recaptured and jailed. He wrote in Arabic on the walls of his cell, attracting the attention of the Governor of North Carolina and his brother, who took Omar to their home, where he remained until his death in 1864.

He continued to write short Arabic theological and philosophical texts through his life - his autobiography in 1831, letters, annotations in his Bible, and passages from the Qur’an.

He converted to Christianity in 1820, but his relationship to Christianity was always ambiguous

He writes more about Jesus after his conversion, but the language he uses is consistent with Islamic views of Jesus - المسيح (Messiah) and سيدنا (our master), but not ربنا, our Lord

There was no stigma around 1982 coup; Kenya was already sliding to the abyss. My fourth thread on Railaphobia in Kikuyuland. LONG THREAD, FREE TO DISCARD

As alluded to in a previous thread, Moi was very popular when he inherited the power from Jomo. He played an important historical role in dismantling Kikuyu hegemony that peaked at Kenyatta’s death. The whole nation supported him thinking it was all driven by national interest

Just that time he was very popular, he made a lot of decisions that laid the ground for his future dictatorship which he was cunningly planning for. Like civil servants’ union and university staff union were proscribed. This time, President's word was law and Moi took advantage

To compensate lack of charisma, Moi resorted to populist roadside decrees that would make people happy. In the process, he was making so many policy decisions at the spur of the moment. Some were so expensive to the country economically and politically

Among such decisions was to ban traditional liquor. The implications were enormous to this day – the gvt spends so much time and resources following up people and pouring liquors. It was a prime opportunity for gvt agencies to meddle in peoples social and economic lives