While the peak of protests at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago is not until tonight, the effort last night was peaceful.  Today, a lot more out there, but surprisingly enough for me, there are not only the large pro-Palestinian group, but also pro-Israel, climate change, abortion rights, racial equality and other interests.  Not as angry and trouble-making as those Vietnam War protesters of 1968, which focused on doing something newsworthy ( left ). Time  magazine  this morning indicated the following: The Democratic Party National Convention kicks off in Chicago tonight. ... former President Donald Trump entered the Republican National Convention   a month ago , with the betting odds in his favor and leading the polls by a comfortable margin . Now, Kamala Harris is favored. Harris is ahead of Trump by 49-45 percent among registered voters and 51-45 percent among likely voters in a two-way race, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll. I...

Have you noticed that films these days don't say  The End  at the the end?  This  turnover happened  in the 1970's.  Now, there is a rolling credit list for grips, gaffers, etc.  One annoyance I have, though, is that all those production companies want to feature themselves at the beginning, taking up so much time.  Also, have you noticed how many producers there are on each movie? Then there is the end to your life.  For many, this termination is just the beginning of a better existence in Heaven, or the equivalent.  And, boy, do Muslim male martyrs have a surprise coming:   not 72 virgins, but 72 sweet white raisins .  Not to say that other religions also will not be disappointed.  What you are promised has not actually been verified. For me, the end will be nothingness or total blackness or utter gloom.  Now and then I convince myself that it will be eternal peace.  The plus side going for people of faith...

Chances are that a lot more people in the world believe that God had some role in the creation of Humanity than the scientific version, which begins with the Big Bang.  As such, then, God is the most popular choice for First Contact, or interaction with an extraterrestrial.  Actually, he has no competition in this vote because no intelligent life form has yet ever made contact, as confirmed by any reliable source. This might well be my shortest posting, for what would be the point of confirming or refuting the title?  Well, this gives me another opportunity to compare religion with science. I start with  Global Religion 2023 , a 26-country Global Advisor survey by Ipsos. These countries were all reasonably developed, with 46% of the respondents believing in some form of Christianity.  Only 7% Buddhist, 6% Muslim, mostly Sunni, and 4% Hindu.  Interestingly enough, 29% with no religion or not religious. India, Turkey, Japan and Thailand were surveyed, but the...