Book Reviewed: Target Tehran: How Israel Is Using Sabotage, Cyberwarfare, Assassination – and Secret Diplomacy by Yonah Jeremy Bob and Ilan Evyatar

Mossad’s promise Iran has two major goals; to become a nuclear-weapon state and seek the destruction of Israel. These are essential requirements of ayatollahs for their belief in an Islamic ideology and national glory in the Islamic world. Israel's elite spy agency Mossad have made foiling Iran's nuclear program a top priority of their organization. It has led them to measures that includes sabotage operations on nuclear installations, assassinations of its scientists, diplomatic overtures to nations in the region, and the spectacular theft of its nuclear archive in 2018 from an Iranian site. Yossi Cohen, the head of the Mossad from 2016 to 2021, responsible for these operations is the main focus of this book. He describes the hybrid operations, infiltrations into Iranian territory, cyberattacks and drones to sabotage Iran's nuclear sites, and working with the United States in the killing of Iranian military commanders. The diplomatic success of Mossad and Israeli government led to the establishment of the Abraham Accords that normalized relations between Israel and several Arab countries like the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and finally Sudan, a country that was extremely hostile to Israel. The authors also describe Iran's reactions to hit back against Israel, including terrorist attacks on Israeli targets, cyber strikes, and the use of its proxies. The Iranian strategy has been to surround Israel with a ring of fire. Israel's goal has been to prevent that ring from closing around it. Iran arms Hezbollah with precision-guided missiles, and arm Hamas, it destabilized Lebanon, Syria, and parts of Iraq. The biggest highlight of this book is the fascinating account of how a team of Mossad agents pulled off one of the most spectacular exploits in the history of espionage on the eve of January 31, 2018. After months of meticulous planning, endless hours of sophisticated electronic surveillance, and the risky infiltration of Israeli agents into Iran, the agents broke into the secret warehouse where Iran's nuclear archive containing the full record of its efforts. The heist was one of the most sensational of many Israeli operations against Iran. This operation provided vital intelligence for the Mossad in planning future strikes at the heart of Tehran's nuclear program. The archive's contents revealed that Iran had been lying for years to the international community about its nuclear program. This is the biggest embarrassment for a Muslim country and a victory for the Jewish state. This book describes all challenges Israel has faced being surrounded by the Arab world that are united in its hatred of Isarel. This is a full account of the covert operations conducted by the Mossad. The account here does not shy away from anything to show Mossad's tactical successes in achieving a strategic victory. As of April 2023, when this book was completed, over twenty years had passed since experts predicted that Iran was close to making nuclear warheads, but they are still farther away according to Mossad. This long delay represents a significant success for Israel's elite spy agency. Mossad declares that Iran will never have nuclear weapons, and that is Mossad's promise to Israel.

Book Reviewed: A City on Mars: Can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through? by Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith

The race to build human civilization on Mars What is the likelihood of building a lasting human civilization on Mars? The questions are limitless, and the resolutions are extremely limited. The authors have chosen a humorous way to explain the challenges to space exploration. What else they can do? Find some sort of humor in describing the ambitious plans of the entrepreneurs when risks far outweigh the benefits. Elon Musk said that humans will land on Mars in 2029, and a million-person city is possible by twenty or thirty years later. Is he for real? The science, technology, the legal and judiciary, geopolitics, and sociology issues may require long and careful research. The space settlements should be a project of centuries, and not decades. We should wait for big developments in science, technology, and international law rather than move settlers in two or three decades as Elon Musk likes to think. There is a good likelihood that science may not assure us the long-term existential risk doesn’t occur. Elon Musk and the late Stephen Hawking observed that going to a planet like Mars will help humanity overall, but it will create more problems which we never confronted. The move into space creates at least two forms of existential peril: the risk of nuclear conflict on Earth, and the risk of human-made heavy objects falling on Earth, and not to mention tremendous amount of human made trash in space. What rights do humans have to trash the interplanetary space? in 2015, the United States passed a law specifically codifying the idea that Americans can exploit space resources without limit which includes mining asteroids, the moon, and other planetary systems in solar system. Mining the Moon for natural resources like Helium-3 and rare metals adds significant value for many countries, but the US laws are unilateral and harm long term relationships with other nations. This book is divided into several sections; about how space travel and living outside this planet negatively impacts human bodies and minds. How do we place humans on Mars, Moon, or another solar satellite where surface conditions are too different? Plans to prevent humans do not perish all at the same time. How does the judicial and legals system change to protect the rights of everyone involved? The final section discusses sociology and population behavior. The authors did not treat the matter of space travel and space colonies responsibly.

Book Review: The Bible in India by Louis Jacolliot

The Hindu teachings and the Bible The author is a French scholar who studied Hindu scriptures in mid-19th century, translated several texts from Sanskrit into French, and became a believer of Hindu philosophy and admired the beauty and superiority of Vedic wisdom. He observes that the narratives of Old and New Testaments lacks metaphysics, and the beauty of Vedic ideals about cosmos and life. This book was first published in 1869 when strong efforts were undertaken to translate the Sanskrit scriptures into English by the British scholars. While the British research and literary work was focused on understanding Hinduism, but they were also looking for ways to undermine the theological, spiritual, and metaphysical elements in the Hindu texts; Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, the epics; Mahabharata and Ramayana, Manu Smriti, and the six schools of Hindu philosophy to a justify the English colonization of India. Some British scholars exclusively focused on the Aryan (Indo-Germanic race) invasion theory to deny credit to immense amount of early thoughts on life and cosmos in the ancient world. Many studies were designed to question the authenticity of the sacred books or assign them an origin posterior to that of Moses and early texts of Judaism. This book focuses largely on the influence of Hindu religious thoughts on the teachings of Bible, specifically, how it influenced the ministry of Jesus Christ. A number of events which surround the birth of Christ is related to Krishna's legends. Jesus did not have the wisdom, and he did not study in ancient Israel that raised himself above his compatriots as to play the founder of a new religious movement. He was probably in Egypt in his early years and later went to India to study theology and metaphysics. From the age of 12 to 30, there is no account of Jesus in the New Testament. Krishna is the Hindu Redeemer, and Christ is the Christian Redeemer, similar sounding names. The mothers of the two redeemers were conceived by divine intervention. Lord Krishna states in Bhagavad-Gita 18.61, that “The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart.” And this compares to the “One God and Father of all, who [is] above all, and through all, and in you all,” in the book of Ephesians 4:6. This verse emphasizes the unity and Oneness of the creator that spotlights the teachings of Upanishads and Bhagavadgita. Judaism has twelve castes (tribes), eight more than Hinduism, and of this twelve, the tribe of Levi were designated as the priestly class. They were the interpreters of the sacred texts of Judaism and the guardians of Jewish temples. The portrayal of Christian Holy Trinity, The God the Father, His only son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit is based on the Hindu ideas Vedic trinity. Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Shiva; Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the preserver of the universe, and Shiva mediates the end of the cosmos and its reconstitution. The role of the trinity in the New Testament is similar, and possibly borrowed from Hindu belief system. Moses obtained the ideas of Genesis, patriarchal and others, from the sacred books of Egypt to which he had access to, and likely be the rescripts of the teachings of Vedas that may have found their way from India. The Greek and Roman division of time into four ages, the golden age, the silver age, the bronze age, and the iron age are similar to the four yugas (ages of the life and the world). The author briefly touches on the politics and heavy-handedness of Bishops in early Christian history who came out boldly to undermine the rightful place for early Hindu religious texts. They condemned and destroyed them that did not agree with synoptic gospels, and they also destroyed numerous gnostic gospels that included the gospel of Mary (Mary Magdalene). The gospel of Mary departs from the traditional teachings of canons and sounds similar to the teachings of the early Hindu beliefs. Louis Jacolliot’s translation of the Manu Smriti into French is known to have influenced many French scholars, and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

Book Reviewed: Our Moon: How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are by Rebecca Boyle

The science and myths of moon Since the beginning of the solar system, the Moon has helped create life on earth, and evolved to advanced species. The Earth-Sun-Moon-Jupiter functions as a unit in this corner of the cosmos where the life was not only created but evolved that required a suitable cosmic environment for sustained evolution. This partly explains why there is no evidence of sustained evolution elsewhere in the solar system despite the fact that some of moons of Jupiter and Saturn show promising geological features for the birth of life. The Moon stabilizes Earth's tilt toward the Sun, making the Moon the captain of our seasons, and the consistency of this tilt stabilizes life and provides a habitat for a sustainable biological evolution. The Moon's unusually large size, one quarter of the size of earth, and its distance from Earth are ideal for sustained life with Jupiter watching out for mother earth from harmful collisions with cosmic bodies like comets and asteroids. And the sun providing the energy needed for life including the bountiful of water in liquid form. As the first civilizations arose in Indus Valley in India, and other parts of the Middle East, Moon took on importance as more than a marker of time. It became a recorder of events; a predictor of fates; an instrument of might. The Moon laid the foundations of philosophy and religion and set the course of history. Recent studies have demonstrated that certain aspects of mental health and the general well-being of a person are affected by the moon. The Vedic astrology and the deities of Navagraha have also been implicated to have impacts on the life of a human being. This book is a disorganized jumble of news, science and human culture associated with the moon. The writing is not focused, and readers may find the book boring.

Book Reviewed: The Divine World of the Alvars by Pravrajika Shuddhatmamata

The Tamil saints who championed bhakti yoga The Alvars were the Tamil poet-saints of South India who espoused bhakti and intense devotion to Lord Vishnu and his avatars in their songs of longing, ecstasy, and service. They were completely immersed in their devotion to Vishnu as the Ultimate Reality who were known to have lived between the 6th and 9th century CE. According to the legends the Alvars lived much earlier, between 4200 BCE and 2700 BCE. There were twelve Alvars including one female named Andal. Their hymns compiled as the Naalayira Divya Prabandham contained four-thousand verses, and 108 temples are revered in their hymns, which are called Divya Desams. The songs of the Prabandham are sung daily, and during many festivals in the Vishnu temples of South India. This is the first time in India where the devotees of God were establishing a human relationship with God; a relationship of a servant to a Master, of a friend to a Friend, of a mother to her Child, and of a lover to the Beloved. Though the Lord was transcendent and beyond all comprehension, He was also the Lord who resided in the nearby temple, Divya Desam. The poetry of the Alvars expresses ecstasy embodies the depth of feeling and the felicity of expressions. This form of worship was revolutionary for Hindu religion since this is the first time the Vedic traditions of performing rituals were sidelined. Hinduism was being transformed to a different level, the practice of bhakti as the only path for true freedom from the cycle of life, birth, death, and rebirth. According to the teachings of Bhagavadgita, the practice of Bhakti yoga is one of the principal methods to reach unity with Lord Krishna, one of the avatars of Vishnu. What was Alvars philosophy? It was pure ecstatic love of God, and they were not philosophers, but theologians, men and women from all classes and castes. During these historic times, the southern part of the country saw the 'folk' religion emerging more strongly than the rituals of the Vedic traditions. Part of this historical “uprising” may also be due to the challenges Hinduism faced as a religion from Buddhism and Jainism. These two faiths did not admit to the existence of a Personal God; however, they were very influential in South India during the first to the fifth centuries CE. Kanchipuram alone had three great Buddhist scholars; Dignaga, Bodhidharma, and Dharmapala. The relationships among followers of the three faiths were initially cordial, but as the kingdoms began to favor and patronize one religion over the others, rivalries emerged. Hinduism is a theistic religion that believes in God, and its followers longed for a God who symbolized love. The temples became the center of life for people in a literal sense. For instance, the whole city of Madurai was built around the Minakshi temple, and other places such as Srirangan and Tirupati became the cities of bhakti and for the ecstatic love of God. The emphasis is given to prapatti (self-surrender), unlike the Gaudiya Vaishnavas whose worship centers almost exclusively on Krishna, the Alvars worship Vishnu and his avatars. The Periyalvar and Andal's works remind of the love of gopis for Krishna in Vrindavan described in the Srimad Bhagavatam. It is likely that much of this material was adapted from Alvar songs. Srimad Bhagavatam is known to have been written in about the 10th century CE. Andal describes a ritual similar to one described in the Bhagavatam, where the gopis' vow to worship Goddess Katyayani to wed Krishna. Andal's poetry has a similar purpose to wed Lord of Srirangam and it was in his image that she is said to have merged. This is a short book of 127 pages that significantly condenses the extensive work of Alvars. The temples and the deities that so inspired Alvar poets should have been printed in the book so that the reader could connect with Alvar’s manifestation of ecstatic love for Lord Vishnu.

Book Reviewed: Breaking Twitter: Elon Musk and the Most Controversial Corporate Takeover in History by Ben Mezrich

The power and fragilities of Twitter takeover Author Ben Mezrich calls his work a dramatic narrative of the aftermath of the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk, one of the wealthiest persons in the world. Much of the story you read in this book is not factual but reimagined on author’s speculation. This is not an honest appraisal of the enormous challenges Elon Musk faced when he bought the social media giant to restore free speech. The legacy of Jack Dorsey and his aides had heavy leftist bias that imposed censorship targeting conservative users of Twitter while giving a free hand to Islamists and antisemites to express their hatred of Israel and India. Musk believed in moderation of Twitter led by Yoel Roth's team, but he also believed that it should be done without limiting "legal" free speech. He wanted to expand Twitter's user base-giving more people the opportunity to join in on the conversation. The Twitter Files, a series of tweet-threads filled with data, messages, emails, and dramatic postulation, all derived from Twitter's internal communication channels were curated, and posted by respected journalists like Matt Taibbi, Bari Weiss, and others. The files focused on controversial bans, shadow bans, and account suspensions, the deliberations that resulted in silencing of the New York Post's Hunter Biden Laptop story, and the ban of President Donald Trump. The Twitter Files revealed the platform's relationship with national intelligence agencies such as FBI and individual political heavyweights. They pressured Twitter or made requests for information, account bans, and the elimination of individual tweets. Most leading news media like ABCNews, NBC News, CBS News, NYTimes and Washington Post never reacted to these stunning revelations. It was simple, they were the main actors of the foul play of promoting misinformation during the Jack Dorsey legacy. Another important story that developed but not covered in this book is Elon Musk’s X sued the State of California challenging the constitutionality of a state law establishing new transparency requirements for social media companies, including how they police disinformation. X said the law, known as Assembly Bill 587, violates its free speech rights under the US constitution’s first amendment and California’s state constitution. Musk who supported Obama administration and had moderate leanings came to realize the existence of leftist bias in major news media and prompted him to fight for free speech harder. He is a fearless manager who dares to act against unfair practices and the employees at X who dared to impose their own leftist bias clearly ignoring the corporate policies. This book is largely based on the imagination of a leftist journalist who likes to see Elon Musk fail. All Musk is doing is to fight the misinformation produced and printed by the NYTimes, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Times, and others. As you read the book, you will realize how hard it is to fight for free speech in a polarized world that promotes wokism and leftist bias.

Book Reviewed: The Origins of Early Christian Literature by Robyn Faith Walsh

Synoptic composition The voice of Jesus has been obscured for over two millennia, and his vision skewed by gospel writers who transmitted his message to serve their own goals. Numerous academics and scholars, over centuries, have examined the historical events to assess if the gospel narratives are real or fictious. The essence of the problem is that the four canonical gospels, Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John were composed within the Roman Empire between 70 and 110 CE as biographies of Jesus of Nazareth. Mark is supposed to have been written around 70 CE, later, Mathew, and Luke in that order, and finally John around 105 CE. The fact that the very first gospel was written 40 years after the death of Jesus calls into question, the veracity, and the integrity of the sources, and the so called “oral traditions” whereby the event narratives were passed on by a small community of people over 40 years. In fact, the Christian communities in the first century were scant, sparsely populated, and lived in different parts of ancient Israel. Jesus’s acts and sayings were remembered more as biographical and historical events than as a religious doctrine. The most significant event in the scholarship and the hermeneutics of gospels is the founding of “Jesus Seminar” by a group of biblical scholars led by Robert Funk in 1985 under the auspices of the Westar Institute. The seminar actively investigated the teachings of Jesus, which is illustrated by about thirty-three parables in the first three gospels, also known as synoptic gospels, because they include same stories, often in a similar sequence and wording. They are contrasting to the gospel of John whose narratives and the tone are different. The current opinion among scholars is that gospels are based on two sources, the Marcan priority that proposes the gospel of Mark was used as a source by the other two (Matthew and Luke). And the second is the oral gospel traditions (also referred to as sayings traditions or the Q source) In this work, the author takes a fresher look at the writers of the synoptic gospels in which she suggests that the writers were literate spokespersons for their communities. They were documenting intragroup "oral traditions" and preserving their perspectives of the fellow Christ-followers like the Markan, Matthean, Lukan, Nazarenes, and other Judeo-Christian communities of the first century. It is observed that these are educated peers who specialized in biographical work. Some of them did not understand of being "in Christ." A study of ancient biographies of historical figures, and novels, this study demonstrates that the gospels are creative literature of the first century. These ideas of the author are largely speculative and do not provide convincing evidence to show that Mark was an intellectual figure. The book is written in academic style which may help divinity school students, and other readers interested in the study of the first century synoptic gospels. The take-home message from this work is that the gospels are the work of few authors who documented the life of Jesus as a biography, and not as a religious message.