this still makes me laugh…

GMA 7’s I-Witness once featured the mother of all mothers, gandang lola Ricky Reyes and while this is something for all the vaklas to watch, it’s also worth sharing to everyone (to “straights”???) who needs to be informed. mother had something to let out in the open… go mother!

then Howie Severino started asking questions….

HOWIE: Are gays born or made?

MOTHER RICKY: Howie (pause)… sasabihin ko sayo… ang bading ay bading.

HOWIE: So from babyhood?

MOTHER RICKY: Ang bading (pause) maski gilingin mo yan ang kalalabasan nyan baklang hamburger… ang bading hindi mo mababago.

c”,

baklang meatballs?
baklang shanghai?
baklang durog… gilingin ba mother??? kaloka!

…..

eto pa… kumukuda… ayaw paawat

“Huwag nyong hayaan na kayo ay maging public amusement because you are humiliating yourself… hinihiya mo ang sarili mo… (autotranslate si mother!)”
 
“Hayaan mong irespeto ka ng tao sa gagawin mo… ayoko nung para kang matsing na tinitingnan sa hawla… pinagtatawanan.” — MOTHER

c”,

in fairness naman…

On my way to the city center mall I saw these 3 Chinese workers laying granite tiles, the one seated is yelling to the other two workers I wonder if he is the supervisor.

We are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth’s climate.

The stakes are high for us and our children. Everyone should take part in the effort, and HOME has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being.

For this purpose, HOME needs to be free. A patron, the PPR Group, made this possible. EuropaCorp, the distributor, also pledged not to make any profit because Home is a non-profit film.

HOME has been made for you : share it! And act for the planet.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand

HOME official website
http://www.home-2009.com

PPR is proud to support HOME
http://www.ppr.com

HOME is a carbon offset movie
http://www.actioncarbone.org

More information about the Planet
http://www.goodplanet.info

spotlinks.wordpress.com

IMDB link  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1217603/

IMDB ratings  8.5/10   18 votes

Release Date : 2007

Genre : Documentary | War

Plot : Filmmakers Gary Weimberg and Catherine Ryan take an extensive look at the conscientious objector experience as related to the war in Iraq in this documentary that gives American soldiers from all walks of life the opportunity to speak openly and honestly about their moral concerns regarding their military duties. In the United States, every citizen has the right to abstain from armed combat on the grounds by citing religious or ethical conflict. But these aren’t the only people who wrestle with their conscience over killing, because as Weimberg and Ryan reveal, even the soldiers sent to fight on the battlefield often fail to follow through on their orders when the time comes to pull the trigger. By examining extensive footage of military boot camp training techniques and listening to conversations with military personnel, the viewer becomes aware of the methods implemented by the armed forces to strip soldiers of their confidence in favor of building a more effective military. West Point graduates, experienced drill sergeants, Abu Ghraib interrogators, and low-ranking reservists alike all weight in with their deepest moral concerns regarding the duties that the military expects them to perform when deployed to the front lines.

Direct Download Links

2shared.com

http://www.2shared.com/file/9458970/68253235/Soldiers_Of_ConscienceBy-Paran.html

depositfiles.com

http://depositfiles.com/en/files/ifw281bqz

uploading.com

http://uploading.com/files/3m462593/Soldiers%252520Of%252520Conscience.By-Parana.www.therebels.biz.rar/

Documentaire troublant sur les conséquences psychologiques de la guerre. Pour l’exorciser, quoi de mieux que d’y jouer le plus souvent possible!?

Dans les ruines de l’hôtel Orlando, au coeur de la superbe Dubrovnik, de vieux compagnons d’armes se retrouvent pour mieux oublier le terrible conflit qui, de 1991 à 1992, plongea la cité croate dans le chaos. Troquant leur Kalachnikov pour une carabine à pression, armés de projectiles de peinture, ils jouent au paintball!

Réalisation : Jelena Popovic, 2007, 50 min 21 s

A voir en ligne et gratuitement. Pour plus d’infos, voir le site du film

The Sunnah in Performing “Ablution”

1.  Mentioning the name of Allah-In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful [saying: bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim]

2.  Washing the hands thrice.

3.  [Starting by] Rinsing the mouth and nose before washing the face.

4.  Rinsing the nose by one’s left hand. This is because it is mentioned in the hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “washed his hands thrice, then he rinsed his mouth and washed his nose with water by putting water in it and blowing it out, and he washed his face thrice…) [Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim].

5.  Exaggerating in rinsing one’s mouth and nose if not fasting by moving water around the mouth and snuffing water to the end of one’s nose. This is because of the hadith, “…and snuff with water well except when you are fasting”. [Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawoud, ibn Maja and An-Nasa'i].

6.  Rinsing one’s mouth and nose with the same handful of water. This is because of the hadith, “He [the Prophet] put his hand [into the vessel containing water] rinsed his mouth and his nose”. [Bukhari and Muslim].

7.  Using tooth stick [Ar. Siwak] before rinsing one’s mouth. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him says, “Had I not thought it difficult for my Ummah, I would have commanded them to use the Siwak (tooth-stick) before every Prayer.”[Narrated by Ahmed and An-Nasa'i].

8.  Running one’s wet finger through the beard upon washing the face. It is mentioned in the hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him used to run his wet finger through his beard while performing ablution. [Al-Thirmithi].

9.  Wiping over one’s head. This is performed as follows: passing one’s wet hands over the head from front to back and so forth. As for obligatory wiping over one’s head, it is to wipe over one’s head in any way. It is narrated that the Messenger of Allah used to pass his hands over his head [in ablution] from the front to the back. [Bukhari and Muslim].

10.     Running wet fingers between the fingers and toes. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Perform your ablution perfectly and let water to run between the fingers [and toes]“.

11.     Washing the right [limb] before the left. It is narrated in the hadith that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): “Used to start from the right side on wearing shoes, combing his hair, cleaning or washing himself and on doing anything else” [Bukhari and Muslim].

12.     Performing the actions thrice when washing the face, hands and foot.

13.     Saying the two testifications of faith [Ar.Shahadatan] after finishing ablution. Meaning, to says, “I testify that there is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger”. It is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ” If anyone amongst you performs the ablution perfectly and then says: I testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger, the eight gates of Paradise would be opened for him and he may enter by whichever of them he wishes”. [Muslim]

14.     Performing ablution in one’s house. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever purifies in his house and walks to the mosque to perform obligatory prayer, his steps are counted as one expiates a sin and the other raises his rank” [Muslim]

15.       Passing one’s hand over the limb while or after washing.

16.     Using little amount of water. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to use little amount of water in ablution. [Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim]

17.     Washing above the limits of the four limbs [hands and foot]. It is narrated that Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) performed ablution, he washed his arm up to the elbows and his feet up to the ankles and said: this is how the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed ablution”. [Muslim]

18.     Performing two rak’ahs [Eng. Units of prayer] after ablution. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ” He who performs ablution like this of mine and then stood up (for prayer) and offered two rak’ahs of prayer without allowing his thoughts to be distracted, all his previous sins are expiated” [Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim]

In a report by Muslim through ‘Uqba ibn ‘Amir: “He will be rewarded by nothing except Paradise”.

19.     Perfecting one’s ablution: washing each part perfectly. Muslims vary in times of performing ablution during the day, and everyone has to observe these Sunan in every time he performs ablution.

   Virtue of observing the above Sunan:

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “He who performed ablution perfectly, his sins would come out from his body, even coming out from under his nails.” [Muslim].

At first i really wanted to know what the local population felt about foreign invasions past and present, us being here now, the brits and others having colonised… The Indian people i have met are always very polite and loathe to be critical. But i now i realise that for so many, the present is such a struggle, that they could not give a damn about the past, it’s the last thing on their mind… Have also met many “anglo indians”, does not matter how many generations back the British ancestor may be, the line of anglo indians continues. People refer to themselves that way and for them generally english is their first language.

J who works for care and share, tells me when they go into the slums of Vijayawada (which they do regularly to look for abandoned children), that everyone there knows that the cars are from a charity so they know they are there to help, so they don’t ask for money and just get on with their lives. They want to be photographed because they know this might help their situation (but then pretty much everyone here wants to have their photo taken so i guess its just a local trait). Apparently many of the kids here in the orphanage come either from this slum or the train station. Care and Share have people who patrol these areas daily/nightly looking for homeless kids. They have to approach them very cautiously and it takes a long time to gain their trust, initially a lot of the kids don’t want to leave their old lifestyle and they are not forced to by the charity, they have to come of their own volition. Some kids run away when they get here, so the charity goes looking for them and tries to persuade them to come back, they say that no matter how many times a child runs away, they always leave a door open for them to come back.

Photos requested by subject: (first time from a tractor) They spotted me from far off, parked at a junction and waited for the photo. The women in the back then went all giggly, but they asked me!

Music biographies mesmerized me when I was a kid. Whether it was Glenn Miller or Elvis Presley, it was always the same fascinating formula: talent and tenacity leading to the precipice of success, with the artist always searching for that one elusive element to define his signature sound, to breakthrough. With Miller it was the addition of trombones. The proceedings always put me on the edge of my seat and the breakthroughs set me reeling. I guess it was in my blood.

It persists. Last night I watched two great documentary-style bios on TV, one on Johnny Cash, another on Willie Nelson. Willie, as many of his fans may not realize, was actually a Nashville songwriter, penning such classics as “Crazy,” which Patsy Cline etched into the music lexicon. Despite his pre-eminent status as a writer, Willie couldn’t get arrested as an artist in Music City. His quirky phrasing was way too off beat for the 60’s sound, which was infused with sweet strings and pop arrangements.

At the age of 40, Willie returned home to Texas. Such a move would have meant a life sentence selling insurance had history not intervened. As fate would have it, Woodstock Nation had opened the doors to multiple music movements by the early 70s, and Willie realized that Austin clubs were ready for a new kind of country artist. He enlisted his buddy Waylon Jennings, among others, and set about launching a novel sound to a new audience. His ultimate success turned country music, and the music establishment at large, on its head. Ultimately, he was responsible for redefining music, establishing its “outlaw” class, creating the Austin revolution and worldwide social activism that persists to this day.

Despite his huge outsider success, Nashville rejected this giant yet again. By the 1980s, you couldn’t find a Willie song on mainstream country radio, and forget about a major label deal.

Okay, let’s get right down to the hard part. Cash was just another music god to be tumbled unceremoniously from Olympus. By the 80s, he, too, was cast out like so much trash. His popularity was dwindling, and he was struggling to find an audience and make a living.

So these outlaw outcasts banded together, literally, forming the country supergroup The Highwaymen, along with Waylon and Kris Kristofferson. Talk about a Mount Rushmore of talent. They had taken fate into their own hands and, once again, set out to redefine the music scene, outside the establishment, all on their own.

A Bronx boy, I was still getting my country legs under me, when I hit Nashville in the late 80s. At the time, I couldn’t understand why the likes of Willie and Johnny weren’t getting mainstream air play, why I could eat lunch with Emmylou Harris but couldn’t hear her songs on country radio, why Nanci Griffith was considered a darling in all the clubs, to all the execs, but couldn’t get the chart toppers and eventually carped about it in interviews.

I was just getting introduced to the hard truth of the music industry: bitterness. Griffith was bitter, my friend Artie Traum (from back home in Woodstock) — one of the sweetest guys to ever grace the business — was expressing a degree of bitterness, too, in interviews of the day. I was just learning.

The songwriting trade in Nashville was rough. By year two, I was saying you had to learn to live on a diet of stones. Rejection was the blue-plate special everyday. It took me two years to get my first major song contract and more to get my first staff writing job and my first cut. Everyone who stuck with it had war stories: the song on hold that never happened, the artist cut that got dropped by the label or never got released as a single or didn’t make it above 20 on the charts. But, despite eventual successes and even industry support, I left after a decade to pursue to a career as an artist, packing scars and wisdom, love and hate.

But back to Johnny Cash. One of the greatest artists to “walk the line,” he faced the pure pain of artistry more deeply, more movingly than anyone before him. Late in his career, with the help of producer Rick Rubin, Johnny faced his inner darkness, his demons, his truth, his soul. With such albums as “American Recordings” and “Unchained,” he found a vast and vital new audience, just years before his death. His new material was so raw that family members had a tough time listening. They told him it sounded like he was saying goodbye. He told them he was.

Pure Johnny Cash

In the Cash bio, artists such as Sheryl Crow, John Mellencamp and Vince Gill expressed the true painful tumble that all artists must face. Mellencamp himself recently penned a telling if rambling article on the biz in HuffPost, a blog post that established a wellspring of conversation in the social media sector.

So, this little Bronx boy, who reeled from the Glenn Miller story and cut and broke his teeth on Music Row, finally came to understand bitterness and the role it plays in any music career. No one is exempt. It may be (excuse me) a bitter pill to swallow, but I recommend downing it to develop a good artist-immune system. Another words, one has to learn to deal with it, to embrace it, pain and all, and find a way to move on, carry it on your back, in your suitcase, in your heart, on your skin — the rose tattoo of the music artist.

Fecha: 1 Diciembre 2009
Hora: 21 hs
Lugar: Sala El Cachorro, c/Procurador Sevilla (Triana)

Hard Core Logo is one of those films that I only saw recently and that make me wonder how I managed to miss them all this time. The film is from 1996, so I actually managed to miss it for 13 years! Go me.

Indeed

To sum it up since it’s, sadly, not very well known and chances are you haven’t seen it: The film is about an aging Canadian Punk band (Hard Core Logo) that used to be quite successful in the underground scene but broke up years ago when the two band leaders where faced with the fact that they wanted to pursue two totally different lives. On the one hand is Joe Dick (Hugh Dillon), the singer/songwriter and consummate Punk who does everything to ensure the band never sells out – going so far as pissing in a big-label producer’s drink so he wouldn’t pick them up, keeping their music “authentic”. Just to make a statement, of course.
On the other hand is Billy Tallent (Callum Keith Rennie), the guitarist who wants to go to the next level and find success (and money) with his music, leaving the band to play with Jenifur, a band from, of course, LA.
Hard Core Logo is completed by Pipefitter (Bernie Coulson), the drummer, and John Oxenberger (John Pyper-Ferguson), the bass player/songwriter/backup vocalist.

They get together after five years apart for a benefit concert for Bucky Haight (Julian Richings), a Canadian Punk legend who was shot and, subsequently, has lost his legs. Following the concert, the band goes on a limited five-city tour, apparently coming together once again. Only the tour doesn’t go as planned and the differences between the band members are as big and vast as the shots of Canada’s landscape that we see as they go from one venue to the next. Performing on stage is the only place where the band does come together. Other than that, the band members are just as far removed from each other and as far away from being able to communicate as the wide landscapes imply, which leads to an inevitable and disastrous end. All of which is filmed by Bruce McDonald in a mockumentary style which gives the film an immediate and ironically realistic quality like few others.

Introducing: Billy Tallent, Pipefitter, Joe Dick, and John Oxenburger.

Despite loving mockumentaries (there are too few!) and films about bands or anything music related (except for musicals), something really struck me about the film and made me watch it at least six times in about three weeks. The acting is incredible, as is the way it’s filmed and, though not a fan of hardcore Punk, the band is old-school Punk enough despite their name so I like the music as well. But I guess what makes the film grab me are two issues I’ll single out that it deals with (amongst a ton of others, but I’ll focus on these two): One, the fake documentary format and two, the exploration of the great fiction that is the so-called rock‘n’roll or Punk lifestyle. Or any “genuine artist’s” lifestyle, really.

I’ll start with the second as, let’s face it, there’s something undeniably attractive to the much purported rock’n’roll lifestyle – sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll. And money. And fame. And… anything you want. Only the film shows that there is something sadly pathetic to that ideal after a certain point. As Billy Tallent says in the film – “I’m 35 years old next week. If I play this club one more time, I’m gonna fucking shoot myself.” It’s all a bit like Jay Gatsby. Attractive and enviable when looked at from the outside, but truly sad and lonely when you actually do take a closer look. It’s a never-ending party, only the guest of honour never shows, so after a while, it’s beyond infantile and sad.

Rock’n’roll seems to be for the young, since trying to maintain that rock star image becomes silly when you’re 40. You either die young and leave a good-looking corpse (alluded to in the film when Joe talks about Lennon and “… rock’n'roll assassination” and which is the crux of the film’s Bucky Haight subplot), or you transcend the make-believe stage persona and truly do become a rock star, a feat only a few bands and artists have managed (just consider the 27 Club). Which makes the basic difference between the two main characters so compelling and which is the ultimate tragedy of Joe Dick. His story is the inability to let go of that Punk ideal (though aware of it all) and the film portrays his efforts to try to hold on to some nostalgic version of what once was, while Billy has moved on.

Though in an ironic twist, one could argue that Billy is “more Punk” than Joe in that he just goes his way and does what he wants despite what anyone may think. Unlike Joe, who is hopelessly stuck in the rock’n’roll/Punk lifestyle where the moment you find actual success in what you’re doing automatically means it’s all doomed and you’re selling out unless you fight tooth and nails against any sort of mainstream recognition, perpetually dooming yourself to a life of what ifs. Which isn’t limited to Punk music but is the constant problem any artistic endeavour has to face eventually. It’s all about the age-old issue of authenticity.

Which is doubly ironic at that within the filmic text, since both Billy and Joe are incredibly conscious of their public personas and are as far removed from authentic as you can get. Both are hyper aware of their personas and constantly perform their respective roles when they know Bruce is filming them. You can see the carefully crafted characters at work throughout most of the film – performing on stage, performing during interviews to the camera, performing for the other band members or, when about to lose control of their act, aggressively asking for the camera to stop rolling (Billy does it at least twice in the film, Joe at least once).
All leading to the inevitable end: the final, grandest performative act of them all by Joe Dick.

Joe Dick vs. Billy Tallent: "Billy wants the models and limousines, while I'm happy with hookers and taxicabs. "

Only during the few unguarded moments when they aren’t aware that the camera is rolling (a transgression on Bruce’s part which ties into point #1 talked about below) do we get a glimpse of the real persons behind the charade they act out. These are the moments when we actually get a sense of their real concerns and problems, when we get hints of the true story of the band and the reasons why these two bandleaders, who clearly love each other, are unable to be with each other. John Oxenberger is an interesting exception to that. Having suffered a nervous breakdown on a previous tour, he loses his prescription meds and descends into a schizophrenic character as the film progresses, blabbing out details about the band’s history that may or may not be true, but always hint at the true story Joe Dick and Billy Tallent do their best to keep secret.

And the fact that we actually get to see these unguarded moments is what leads me to point one, the way the film treats documentary filmmaking.

The persistent ideal of documentaries being objective is faulty at best and Hard Core Logo completely unmasks and utterly destroys it. The set-up is sketchy from the beginning. The fact that the film’s director Bruce McDonald casts himself as the fictional documentary filmmaker who is also called Bruce is our first hint.
The film does start off as a prototypical rockumentary – footage of the band’s performances are intercut with interviews and impressions of life “on the road”. Only about halfway through, the tone shifts and we become increasingly aware that fictional Bruce has an agenda (just like any other character in the film). This is when the lines between a passive observer and active participant begin to blur. The moment Bruce realizes he’s been played, he’s part of an elaborate plan by Joe Dick and not as in control of his film as he thinks, is the moment he begins to take active influence on how events unfold – to disastrous  consequences. He becomes, in other words, a film director. Shaping events and set-ups and characters like it is a fictional film, completely abandoning the ways we think a “real” documentary filmmaker should act. The actual director casts himself as the force that destroys everything while trying to create something, the perpetual dilemma we face when trying to produce something original. In the end, he’s more Alfred Hitchcock filming “Vertigo” than Frederick Wiseman creating a cinema verité documentary as he set out to do. Only to be bested once again by Joe Dick in the final moment, who, single-handedly, does turn the film back into a documentary in the truest sense of the word.

And this is where Hard Core Logo is so powerful to me. The film totally unmasks the constructed nature of any band or documentary film and dispels any notion of authentic originality or the truly objective observer. What it all comes down to, in the end, is to producing a narrative. Which is what rock’n’roll is about even though it doesn’t want to be and also what documentaries are about despite trying to maintain it isn’t a consciously constructed tale told by the documentary filmmaker.

To add to the irony, the film has it’s own MySpace site which is set up like it belongs to the actual band: http://www.myspace.com/hardcorelogoband

I recently had the opportunity to perform and produce an arrangement of, “Hard Times Come Again No More,” by Stephen C. Foster, for a PBS Documentary Television Series.

Written in 1854, this gorgeous piece of music is timeless. It’s truly amazing how particular songs/compositions have a longevity and pertinence that can sustain for decades.

While recording the vocals I found myself becoming immersed in the poetry of the piece. With very little thought, the music simply took over. Nothing was forced and the emotions needed to help drive the arrangement and convey the message of the documentary fell into place.

“Hard Times Come Again No More”

Continuing on from yesterday, part of the situation of working in media is that it is a collaborative industry and so you don’t always have to worry about your own balancing act.

sometimes it’s others that can bring things to a crashing halt. Not through any real fault of their own, other then their life got in the way. There was an imbalance. This has happened to several projects I have been involved with in the past few years. sometimes its me, sometimes its not, but most times the project comes to a crashing halt.

Occasionally, if lucky, we are able to dust ourselves and it down and pick it up again/ start again. sometimes even with what feels like a great idea we are not.

Im going through that a bit at the moment and wanted to talk about one particular example. Whilst developing an idea on Youth Activism, with a student of mine, Olie Martin, we had the opportunity to film and later interview a Student Union representative from Belgium on the subject of Student Prostitution. In the following months Olie and I would discuss that topic and what we could do about it. the more we researched it the more we wanted others to know about it.

Olie isn’t a ‘typical student’ in many regards, what ever that actually means. Acutely politically aware, with a strong belief in socialism and a desire to achieve his best it was interesting to approach a project not  as lecturer/ student but as equals.

To discuss the merits and our joint desire to bring light to this issue.

However

This has to be done whilst we both find our balance. And so with us both being in college we agreed to meet Thursdays to  discuss things. Even if we hadn’t achieved anything. The right decision was to meet anyway, so that it stays part of our conversation, even micro achievements better then not meeting at all. Because it is very easy for one week to become two and then a month and then you cant remember when you last met to discuss the project.

Media is a collaborative medium and sometimes the collaboration is just staying the course.

I hope you enjoy these photos and the flavor,these are taken during my travels outside of Dhaka.

Al Jazeera English – Empire – Europe: A fast-track superpower?
Video | Info

Europe has finally adopted a new treaty to strengthen its union, and chosen a president and foreign minister to speak with one voice for the continent.

Twenty-seven countries, with more than 500 million people, a combined economy bigger than the US and almost two million soldiers under arms, the European Union is to all intents and purposes, a superpower.

However, Europeans remain divided on central issues. Its cheerleaders, and foremost the dominating Franco German alliance, are celebrating the supranational Union they expect to lead globally, just as its detractors warn of a giant leap toward a federalist Europe that looks to compromise their national sovereignties and weakens their democracies…

The video is about 45min long.

The film alternates between a fierce critique of the status quo, personal portraits of the suffering caused by the recent economic crisis, and comical social satire. Moore starts the film with a series of security footages of bank robberies (one of the robbers was even on crutch). Moore then uses an Encyclopædia Britannica archive video to compare the modern-day America with Roman Empire. The film then depicts home videos of families being evicted from their own houses, as well as the “Condo Vultures”, a Florida real estate agent whose business flourished with the increasing number of foreclosures.

The film then cuts back to the past “golden days” of American capitalism following World War II, and a “bummer” speech by President Jimmy Carter warning Americans of the dangers of “worship(ping) self-indulgence and consumption”. In the following Reagan years where the policies of Don Regan “turn the bull loose” for free enterprises, corporations gained more political power, unions were weakened, and socioeconomic gaps were widened. The film then cuts to the Luzerne County court scandal, Captain Sullenberger’s congressional testimony regarding airline pilots’ poor treatment, and the expose of “dead peasant insurance” policies that have companies profiting from the deaths of their employees. Moore then interviews several Catholic priests, including Bishop Thomas Gumbleton (Archdiocese of Detroit), all of whom considered capitalism against the teaching of Christianity. The film then presents a mockery of what would happen if Jesus was a capitalist who supports to “maximize profits”, “deregulate the banking industry” and the sick to “pay out of pocket” for their “pre-existing condition”. The film then features the internal Citigroup memo happily declaring the United States a “plutonomy” (a society “where economic growth is powered by and largely consumed by the wealthy few”), with the top 1% of the population controlling more financial wealth than the bottom 95% combined. The same report also raises the concern of “societies demanding a more ‘equitable’ share of wealth”. Moore then interviews columnist Stephen Moore, who believes “capitalism is a lot more important than democracy”. The film then cuts to Wisconsin, where an engineering company is run democratically by its employees. Additionally, the film contrasts the present economic reality in America with long-lost archival footage of US president Franklin D. Roosevelt calling for a Second Bill of Rights that would guarantee all Americans “a useful job, a decent home, adequate health care, and a good education.”[1] He points to systems of codetermination, or workplace democracy, as alternative models to capitalism. Moore also discusses his own spiritual beliefs as a Catholic, and questions whether Jesus would belong to a hedge fund or sell short. His conclusion, which he elaborated on in more detail after the film’s release, is that “you can’t call yourself a capitalist and a Christian, because you cannot love your money and love your neighbor.”[2] The documentary also features a number of positive portrayals, which include bailout watchdog Elizabeth Warren, Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans, who put forth a moratorium on home evictions, and Ohio Representative Marcy Kaptur, who on the floor of the US Congress encouraged Americans to be “squatters” in their own homes, and refuse to vacate.[1] [edit]

[ Full Screen ]

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Riding Giants is more than another blissfulsurfing movie. It's an outstanding documentary about one era in American alternative lifestyles, when surfing was well-suited to a radical culture of social dropouts. Using an amazing array of amateur film clips, shot for the most part in Hawaii and California from the late 1950s and early '60s, director Stacy Peralta traces the rise of surfing's appeal to young men looking to test themselves in an unorthodox (and sexy) milieu–of "living life to the fullest," as former surfer-turned-screenwriter John Milius ( Big Wednesday) puts it at one point. Lengthy chapters on the glories of Oahu's Makaha and the "superstition and dread" that accompanied the big-wave challenge of Waimea Bay are riveting and sometimes heroic, particularly told through the memories of surf legend Greg Noll. Great material, too, about the deadly wonders of surfing Mavericks, California, where the rocks will get one if the violent tides don't. –Tom Keogh Stills from Riding Giants (Click for larger image) More info »

Last updated: November 26, 2009, 10:15 am

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Author: Glenda Bixler
Source: ezinearticles.com

The, Find Email, Untold Story of the Mount Hood Tragedy, Holding Fast, encompasses many issues beyond sharing the background and events surrounding the loss of three mountain climbers during a major storm that was worse than had been seen in a decade. Written by Karen James, wife of mountain climber, Kelly James, it is both a tribute to her husband Kelly, as well as a significant documentary, Find Email, , Find Email, of actual events, which includes pictures that were taken by James during their climb.

For those who participate in mountain climbing activities, the pictures are beautiful illustrations, Find Email, of why someone chooses to climb. For Kelly James, he, Find Email, quickly would highlight that, for him, climbing onto mountain summits brought him closer to God than any other place. Karen shares how early in their relationship, she did go on a climbing trip. Indeed Kelly proposed marriage to Karen while they were high on a mountain! But after that, Karen normally chose to stay home while Kelly would travel with other climbers who had become close friends.

Holding Fast is also a fascinating, Find Email, tale of the search and rescue process. One telling point was after Karen and the family were already home. Karen called to wish, Find Email, the Sheriff who had led the rescue activities a merry Christmas. He had been feeling like he had failed the families because none of the climbers were rescued; however, Karen and everybody else were quite willing to gratefully compliment and thank all of those who worked long and hard, trying to find the three men.

But most, Find Email, of all, Holding Fast shares God’s love and attendance before, during, and after the “Mount Hood Tragedy.” Kelly James had been a guy’s guy, but he had no problem sharing his love and faith in God. During the rescue activities, his brother, who is a minister, was the spokesman, Find Email, for the families and was constantly leading everyone in prayer, including placing hands of prayer on the helicopters and praying for men who were, Find Email, doing the search.

Kelly had been Karen’s best friend. When he was gone, she, Find Email, found that instead of talking to Kelly about God, she started talking directly to Him and began a much more, Find Email, closer relationship than she had ever experienced before. Small heartwarming “incidents” occurred that would be little miracles of everlasting love and worked to heal Karen’s pain.

Karen also shares several poems and emails from Kelly to her and shares intimate thoughts and feelings as she reread these over and over and faced and worked through her personal grief as well as that of the family.

Holding Fast is a personal testimony of families who place their faith in God. There, Find Email, is still the pain, Find Email, of loss that all of us must go through. But when confronted with fear and frustration and the potential loss of loved ones, there was no question in anybody’s mind: God was a part of their daily lives and present as they waited and, finally, felt the pain of losing, Find Email, their loved ones…for a time.

Turn to this book when you, Find Email, need to see courage and faith in action. It will help you…hold fast… too! Thank you, Karen James, for giving us Holding Fast! ..Holding Fast: The Untold Story

By Karen James

Thomas Nelson

ISBN: 9781595551757

225 Pages

G. A. Bixler is co-owner of an online review site of Independent Professional Book Reviewers. She has over 40 years experience in educational administration and publishing. New or well-known, self-published, or small press authors are all welcomed! Compare our prices to other professional book review sites!

http://www.Bookreviewers.org

I like posting this prayer I wrote every year around this time. ..I hope you like!

Thanksgiving Day ~ Every Day Prayer~

Thank you for my head, my heart,

my hands, my feet.

Thank you for my shelter and food to eat.

Thank you for my eyes, my nose, my ears,  my voice…

Thank you for my freedom…my freedom of choice!

by Bethann Shannon

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Thanksgiving Day Prayer

“100 Strangers Praying”

“Thanksgiving Everyday Prayer”

Copyright Bethann Shannon

www.flickr.com/theartangel/

I hear if you’re a fan, you might not want to watch the documentary.

Side note: According to producers – Although this film was started with Mr. Carter’s blessing, when filming finished and the first cut was screened he withdrew his support and no longer endorses this film.

more info

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Part 1

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Part 2

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