Star Trek, Jackie Chan, Manny Ramirez

The new Star Trek movie is out and is doing very well. I always like the original series, and enjoyed most of the movies that featured the original cast. I said most, not all. I’ve seen the new film and mostly like it. It is respectful of the original’s “continuity”, as the say in the comic book world, and adds its own flavors. . But I just can’t get over the naked hunger for money that pervades the entire world of entertainment. The re-launch of Superman, Batman, etc. have been mostly good, but let’s face it, no one is breaking new ground here. It’s just a re-packaging of a once popular product for the purpose of making money. Same goes for Br oadway & revivals. I’m as much of a capitalist as anyone, but isn’t anyone interested in creating new characters? Or new story lines? Yes, Star Trek: Nemesis was bad, but is that enough of a reason to stop trying new things? Maybe next we can expect a re-launch of the Jaws franchise.

Why do so many people throughout history act against their best interests? Actor Jackie Chan recently said something to the effect of “maybe freedom isn’t the right thing, I think we Chinese need to be controlled”. Can you believe this? Actually asking for authoritarianism? Mind numbing. Another example of acting against interest that astounds me, is the Norwegians, Danes, French and Bosnian Muslim who actually enlisted in, and fought for the Nazi SS. If the Nazis had won WWII, or had even been left standing with a negotiated peace, these men would have been purged from the SS, and murdered like everyone else the SS considered “untermenschen”. (sub-human). And how about the American minorities who keep on voting for Democrats, despite the deleterious effect Democratic social programs have had on minority, especially African-American societies. There is none so blind as he who will not see.

Manny Ramirez has taken the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox into another steroid embarassment. It is getting old. Stop all this nonsense about the integrity of the game, and the sacredness of the statistics. It is all gone. Gone like the sushi restaurants in Hiroshima.. Ban these players for life, everyone of them, and erase their statistics and any records they have set from the books. Maris still holds the single season HR record, Aaron still holds the career HR record. Bud Selig has been asleep at the wheel. Don Fehr doesn’t care a bit for baseball. He’s just interested in preserving his phony-baloney jobs, and the jobs of all his cheating union members.

Atheists claim, with metaphysical certainty yet, that God does not exist. But how can they know this? In order to know God doesn’t exist, one would have to be everywhere in all of being – at the same time.
I believe there is only One who can do that.

I have always felt that it is to America’s shame that we have not clandestinely supported the dissidents that exist in Iran. Iranian type repressive revolutions don’t hold on forever. Iran’s revolution is 30 years on. Their economy is a very sick patient, and they rule through terror. I really have never understood what is so frightening about confronting these despots, that has cowed every American administration since Carter into inaction. I know helping the mujahdeen in Afghanistan led to the Taliban, but that was because the US provided no follow-up after the Soviets were beaten. I think Iran would collapse much faster with a well supported dissident movement.

Speaking of Iran, and I am, how nervous are they about Israel launching an air strike? Well you can always tell a frightened target who cannot flee when they yell as loud as the can about their overwhelming retaliation. And that about sums up Ahmadinejad and his lunatic ravings about the Iranian eradication of Israel. God bless Israel and her people.

I was really disappointed when I learned that the Koran teaches that for Muslims, lying to infidels is an acceptable practice. I know several devout Muslims with whom I have mutually respectful relationships. And I can not say that anyone of them has ever told me an untruth. But knowing their piety, and learning of this teaching, it does make me wonder if the time should ever come, that any one of them may have no compunction about employing this teaching toward me.