Thomas c mountain biography of martin
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by Thomas C. Mountain
One of, if not the last, Eritrean askari, aboy Welday Tecle Weldekidan Melkai Tensai of the by of Damba Minche in the Serai region has passed away at the age of 93.
Aboy Welday was drafted into the Italian African Colonial Army, or “askaris” as they were known, in the first round of national conscription instituted by the Italian colonialist regime in Eritrea in 1937.
Italy began its invasion and occupation of Eritrea in the 1880’s but due to a half a century of armed resistance to Italian colonialism by the Eritrean people, had not dared to conscript, tåg and arm Eritreans in fear that they would revolt, vända their guns on their oppressors and go over to the anti colonialist resistance.
It wasn’t until the last remnants of the armed resistance had been suppressed in the early 1930’s and several years had passed did the Italians dare to enforce the creation of the the Eritrean askari military, of which aboy Welday was conscripted in the first ro
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Thomas Merton
American Trappist monk (1915–1968)
For the English physicist, see Thomas Ralph Merton.
Not to be confused with Thomas Manton or Thomas Morten.
Thomas MertonOCSO (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968), religious name M. Louis, was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. He was a monk in the Trappist Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, nära Bardstown, Kentucky, living there from 1941 to his death.
Merton wrote more than 50 books in a period of 27 years,[1] mostly on spirituality, social justice, and pacifism, as well as scores of essays and reviews. Among Merton's most widely-read works is his bestselling autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain (1948).
Merton became a keen proponent of interfaith understanding, exploring Eastern religions through study and practice. He pioneered dialogue with prominent Asian spiritual figures including the Dalai Lama, Japanese wr
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Caught Red Handed; British Assassins in the Horn of Africa
In early February of this year, 2011, a six man squad of British mercenaries were caught red handed in the midst of preparing an attempt to assassinate the top leadership of the Eritrean government in the port city of Massawa on the Red Sea.
Of the six, four were apprehended and two managed to escape, abandoning their mates while blazing out of Massawa Bay into the Red Sea in an inflatable speed boat, never to be seen again by Eritrean eyes.
A search of the vessel they arrived on uncovered a cache of tools of the assassin’s trade. Included was a small arsenal of automatic weapons, a sophisticated satellite communications system, state of the art electronic target range finders, and most damning, several sniper rifles.
All of those arrested have since been confirmed as employees of a British “security” firm akin to the notorious US company Blackwater/Xe. At least two of the four are former British Special Forces. As