Violence in Ecuador

Well, have you heard? The police in Ecuador went on strike and even jostled the President of the country because they were angry at some benefits they were about to lose. They were angered by a law passed by Congress on Wednesday that would end the practice of giving members of Ecuador's military and police medals and bonuses with each promotion. It would also extend from five to seven years the usual period required for a subsequent promotion. The funny thing was that  - unlike the French and Grecians - it was the guys in authority who rioted, not the common people. Really.

Teachers

Here we go again, blaming teachers for the poor performance of students. Education is not about teaching, it's about learning. The learning comes from the student, not the teacher. That's logical. If you fill a classroom with bad, lousy students, you will get bad results. It's like making a pizza with bad ingredients. It's that simple. Really. Does anyone know where bad students come from?

Balls

Have you ever wondered: There are some people who are so gifted that they find doing difficult things rather easy. Musical child prodigies for instance. There are also people who are not so talented or smart or well-educated who nevertheless, achieve grand schemes, whether good or bad. Those we call politicians. We also call them warlords. What makes a person so ambitious that he would want to lead an entire country or an army of criminals?

Cuban freedom

NPR ran a story about Cuban economic reforms. Although it provides many basic services for its citizens free of charge, Cuba actually has trouble feeding itself. A Cuban farmer made a statement that went something like this, he said: "If we all become intellectuals, we will soon have nothing to eat." True enough. I have long believed that the economic future of most nations lies in agriculture. It is such a simple solution to so many problems. If only Mexico would try it. Of course, there are people who would like to keep production low so as to keep prices high. What a shame!!!!

China again

From a story on Reuters: "BEIJING – China told the United States not to interfere in a regional dispute over claims to the South China Sea, saying it would only complicate the matter.  China has been increasingly strident in asserting its territorial claims, especially maritime ones. "We express great concern about any possible South China Sea announcement made by the United States and the ASEAN countries," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular news briefing. ASEAN is the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. "We resolutely oppose any country which has no connection to the South China Sea getting involved in the dispute, and we oppose the internationalization, multilateralization or expansion of the issue. It cannot solve the problem, but make it more complicated," she said.

Leningrad Siege

On this day began the famous German siege of Leningrad (1941) during World War Two. Read about it in Russia Today. The Russians never surrendered. In fact, when Hitler insisted on taking Moscow that same year, the final defeat of the German Army began after it was repudiated by several Russian Army Divisions secretly held in reserve by Stalin, just as they (the Germans) were on the outskirts of Moscow - December 6, 1941. The German war machine never recovered from that defeat.

The Main Problem

On June 10, 1963, John F. Kennedy said: "No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings." A few months later he was dead. I truly think one of the most fundamental problems with humanity is believing that it can really solve its problems apart from God. Please. Let's not kid ourselves. Things can only get worse. Really.

Even within a single nation, the problems confronting the general population are, at best, addressed by stop-gap measures which politicians dream up. Most people, as long as their daily lives remain relatively normal go on about their business until the day they die, seeking not so much permanent solutions to their dozens of problems as mere distractions from them - alcohol, drugs, entertainment, you-name-it. Were this not the case, we would be living in a man-made Utopia, no?

Dilemma

It appears Stephen Hawking, the British theoretical physicist, has said in his latest book that God is really not necessary in order to explain Creation. He brashly states that it is theoretically possible for something to spontaneously come from nothing. This statement is, of course, absurd. The very first words in the Bible state: "In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth." I can either believe God or I can believe Hawking. I think I'll stick with God. Hawking is hallucinating again. Please. By the way, the painting posted here was created by me. It did not come from nothing.

Intelius

There is an Intelius banner on this page. I have no clue what it's doing there but I believe it's like a phone book - an electronic phone book. The picture on the left is a painting of an Aquarium - rather abstract. You can see it at Came Art.