A friend of mine Jess Miller wrote a book called “We’re all in this together“. In the book he spoke about Stress, Tension, Loneliness and Depression (STLD). I have been trough two serious bouts of depression first in at the end of 1999 and into 2000 and then to a lesser extend in 2001. These days the depression is mild but I feel it from time to time. My thoughts are like those thoughts I had back then. Life is to much, everything is so complicated, I wish I could start all over again. It is in such times turning to God is much better then any therapist. Talking to God, talking to yourself, healing yourself. For some people this can seem self-centres but Jess told me once if I didn’t look after myself, FIRST, I wouldn’t be able to look out for or after my loved ones i.e. my mother, my sister, my brother and my father. The world we live is interactive, it is also interdependant. We cannot isolate ourselves like the ancient masters. When Buddha left his kingdom and meditated for so many years under the Bodi Trea it was a enourmous act of self-sacrifice. Many people depended on him but he let go of everything. So I think to myself, Ramon, are you read to let go of everything yet? And the answer is always “not yet”. So when I discovered the real issue is not letting go but rather letting things happen without trying to control and with trying to stop them, or bypass them, I realised there is still hope. Hope of a better future, hope of new found love, hope of making a difference and contributing to humanity as a creative benefactor. But before there is hope you have to start with desire. The desire to change for the better.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Superman, the archetypical comic book superhero was born in the early 1930’s depression era America. The brainchild of writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster Superman was initially a villain but soon became the greats hero known to mankind. The myth of Superman is essentially that he was born on the planet Krypton with a red sun. Before the planet was destroyed his parents, Jor-El & Lara, sent him off to Earth. The only survivor from his home planet he became an American icon helping fight World War II, saving FDR and much more. In the early 1990s Superman was killed in by Doomsday. He was resurrected (sound familiar) and his powers temporarily changed but was soon reversed to the original set of powers.

Christopher Reeve became famous overnight when he starred in the first Superman (1978) movie. He reprised the role 3 more times although the last movie, Superman 4: The Quest for Peace (1987) was pretty lame compared to the sequels. The first two are rated as the best and the third starring Richard Pryor is a bit of a comic farce in the vain of Batman Forever (with Jim Carrey). My personal favourite is #2 with the 3 baddies from Krypton. After suffering severe injuries from a horse riding accident Christopher Reeve was paralyzed. He still continued to do work behind the camera. He also petitioned Hollywood to make more social conscious movies at the 1996 Oscars. Although he will best remembered as the Man of Steel, he has made an enormous contribution to the cause of the disabled, and was in particular outspoken about Stem Cell Research.

What is your favourite Christopher Reeve moment? Please comment on this post and share it with me.

Popularity: 10% [?]

The Iraq war is a farce and we all know it. The United States of America led by George (Dubya) Bush had invaded a sovereign country that was not a threat to America. For the last 18 months we’ve been bombarded with an assortment of lies. Even the once respectable Colin Powell, LIED in front of the United Nations when he called for a special resolution (READ permission to go to war). George W Bush is a liar, an idiot and viciously protecting the interest of American special interest groups in the defence and oil industries (READ Halliburton, Boeing, etc). A couple of weeks ago I watched Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11. How obvious it must be now to see that Dubya stole the election from Al Gore. Bush’s family was involved in all aspects from the Fox News reports which declared him the winner in Florida, to his brother Jeb Bush, the governor of Florida. The American media continuous not to show the reality of the Iraq and it’s consequences for there own soldiers who are dying every week. Moore interviews a very patriotic mother of a soldier in Iraq. Only when he dies and his body is sent home for burial does she start to question the reason why he went in the first place. Moore probes the relationship American relationship with Saudia Arabia, and I conclude that it is incestuous in nature. You have to wonder who the parasite is and who the prey between them is. Does taking Iraq’s oil riches make America less dependant on Saudi oil, or are really a cover up for something deeper? And why did other Arab nations not stand up for Iraq?!After watching another documentary, The World According to Bush on SABC3, rebroadcast this past Sunday I’m even more convinced that we are all ignorant and have allowed this farce to continue long enough. The difference with these two excellent documentaries is that The World According to Bush was produced in France, and it starts out with a linking Bush to the neo conservative Christian right wing in America. This is a very powerful lobby group that is Israel’s staunches supporters. It’s like there’s an implicit agreement between them on America’s foreign policy. You have to ask yourself why the hell America keep interferes in other countries. Doesn’t if have enough problems internally to keep it busy? The world is not a better place because America tries to police it. Case in point it creates its own enemies like Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Ladan but wants to get rid of them when they are no longer needed as is currently the case. Some of the obvious facts that was omitted and ignored by most people are as follows:

• Dubya’s grand father Prescott Bush was the secret banker for Adolph Hitler in World War 2
• In the 1980s Donald Rumsfeld visited Iraq and recommended that the USA support them against Iran
• Osama Bin Laden was a CIA trained spy in Afghanistan fighting the Russians
• The Carlyle Group had Shafik Bin Laden, Osama’s half-brother as a major shareholder
• Prince Bandar, Saudi Arabia ambassador to the USA organised that all Bin Laden’s relatives in the USA and other Saudi’s be flown back to Saudi Arabia on September 12, 2001 when no other plains were allowed to fly in the USA

There’s an endless stream of evidence that Bush & Co. planned to get rid of Saddam Hussein before 9/11. Both documentaries prove this beyond a doubt. So what can we do about this? We can encourage President Thabo Mbeki to more outspoken about the USA & Britain withdrawing from Iraq. Innocent women and children are being killed in the crossfire. Saddam cannot be tried by any courts that has anything to do with the USA because the have an inherent bias against him. Send emails to Thabo Mbeki president@gov.za and tell him to tell the USA to get the hell out of Iraq (and Afghanistan). While you at it email George W Bush president@whitehouse.gov and tell him as well where to shove it. Never before has there been a more arrogant and stupid president in the USA. I implore everyone to go and watch the funny yet poignant documentary Fahrenheit 9/11.

Popularity: 11% [?]

The Apprentice is a new reality show on SABC3 on Wednesdays from 19h30 to 20h30. It replaced the long running 2nd season of the Weakest Link, in which I starred on 12 August 2004. This show is great fun, entertainment and can teach you business savvy from one of the most succesful real estate entrepreurs in the world. Donald Trump is the executive producer of the show and the star. He appeared on the cover of the 10 May edition of Fortune magazine with the success of his new reality show. The 2004 Forbest magazine ranks him as the 74th richest American with nett worth of approximately $2.6 billion from real estate and casino’s. Also checkout NBC’s The Apprentice website if you want a sneak preview of the winner.

Popularity: 19% [?]