Naval Rivalries in the Indian Ocean

Yahoo carried a story, authored by Gavin Rabinowitz, titled India, China ships compete in Indian Ocean on June 8, 2008, describing a rivalry between Asian giants China and India for influence over vital shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean. The life blood of modern economies- oil- is shipped through these lanes and most of the needs of both China and India as well as another Asian giant- Japan- comes aboard tankers traveling from Middle Eastern sources through the Indian Ocean.

No longer is the U.S Navy the sole power in these waters. There is much riding on secure passage of ships for the fast growing economies of Asia. Sri Lanka is strategically located in the region and important to naval developments for that reason. It stands to gain economic windfalls as a result of the attentions of their larger neighbors.

The United States has become a supplier to India. Indian participation in naval exercises with U.S., Japan, Singapore and Australia last year was of concern to China. The world is changing militarily as it changes economically.

'Titus: A Comrade of the Cross'- A Review

Titus: A Comrade of the Cross, which was authored by Florence Morse Kingsley and published by Lamplighter Publishing, is a superb work of historic fiction. It takes place during the time Jesus Christ lived in the Holy Land and the story includes his crucifixion. Stephen, the New Testament martyr, is one of the book's major characters as is Titus; thought by Stephen to be his brother. The author infuses life into the characters while similtaneously maintaining the historic integrity of the story.

Jesus Christ was a first century celebrity in that region of the world. His cures and miracles attracted the attention of, not just the sick but, of common people and religious and governmental leaders as well. That point was effortlessly impressed on me in ways that good artists are adept at doing. Kudos for any author able to use art to further truth. At the end of the book is this short poem:

But warm, sweet, tender, even yet
A present help is he;
And faith has yet its Olivet,
And love its Galilee.

The healing of the seamless dress
Is by our beds of pain;
We touch him in life's throng and press,
And we are whole again.

Titus: A Comrade of the Cross conveys the honesty and purity of spirit, by which Christ and his first century Christian followers lived. It emboldens believers and attracts those who do not yet know God.