World Events

If you take the word “merry” and trace its roots, you might find it implies not only joy and happiness but it also alludes to being a bit tipsy or drunk. I, for one, have no problem with that at all — and so I wish you all the Merriest of Christmases!

May the New Year bring us all better fortunes and more love than the year we are leaving behind. Let’s all make an honest attempt to be even just slightly better than the person we have been and contribute to the betterment of our world one by one.

Commit an act of random kindness. Offer a smile and a helping hand to somebody you don’t even know. Make a point to be nice whenever you’re feeling grumpy. Remember that we’re all in this together.

Cheers and peace to you all.

According to a BBC News report, France has convicted the Church of Scientology on fraud charges in the country and is seeking to ban the organization from operating there.

The French government refuses to recognize the Church of Scientology as a real religion and instead classifies it as a sect. The allegation is the the organization is only a commercial venture designed to fleece vulnernable victims of as much money as possible.

This stance has drawn some flak on the French government with accusations of violations of France’s constitutional guarantees on religious freedom as well as the European Convention on Human Rights. (more…)

I don’t live in Los Angeles County – in fact I don’t even live in California – but it’s hard not to get a little bit interested in their seasonal wildfires. They seem to be very frequent and create significant media buzz. These fires scorch hundreds of thousands of acres of forest land in Califormia each year. (more…)

So, I was driving to work and a few things occurred to me about the subject matter and authors of stories in the bible.

Firstly, there was no separation between politics and religion in ancient times. They were one and the same. Governments, ethnic groups, tribes, etc all were governed by the laws of their religions. Therefore, isn’t it a reasonable assumption that motivation for the stories and traditions set forth in the bible were political in nature?

Politics: The art or science of government or governing, especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs.

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Every single day the headlines deliver more news about the stock market “plummeting” based on investor panic, investor disappointment in some thing or another or lack of investor confidence. What a load of bullshit.

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