Global
Dear Activist Friends,
The Battle in Seattle film starring Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, Ray Liota and 50,000 Seattle WTO protest activists will open in select cities September 19. Ohio cities are not on the list…..yet!
Here's the deal: Corporate America does not want the real story of the outrage of corporate globalization, the WTO or how motivated activists won against impossible odds to tell their story. The Hollywood studios loved the script - written by actor Stuart Towsend after three years of research - but refused to make the film even as they complimented the script as entertaining and compelling. Townsend persevered. Six years in the making, once complete the movie got rave reviews at film festivals, but there were no distribution offers from major film companies.
As Stuart noted in a recent interview: "None of the corporations wanted to buy. It's a movie with stars. It's a movie they normally would buy in a heartbeat. Not to get too conspiratorial, but it hasn't been an easy ride making a movie like this."
So ultimately, Townsend decided to distribute the film independently.
The Battle in Seattle film starring Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, Ray Liota and 50,000 Seattle WTO protest activists will open in select cities September 19. Ohio cities are not on the list…..yet!
Here's the deal: Corporate America does not want the real story of the outrage of corporate globalization, the WTO or how motivated activists won against impossible odds to tell their story. The Hollywood studios loved the script - written by actor Stuart Towsend after three years of research - but refused to make the film even as they complimented the script as entertaining and compelling. Townsend persevered. Six years in the making, once complete the movie got rave reviews at film festivals, but there were no distribution offers from major film companies.
As Stuart noted in a recent interview: "None of the corporations wanted to buy. It's a movie with stars. It's a movie they normally would buy in a heartbeat. Not to get too conspiratorial, but it hasn't been an easy ride making a movie like this."
So ultimately, Townsend decided to distribute the film independently.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- The world's newest international fugitive from arrest is a wealthy, square-faced man with a PhD. in criminal justice from a university in Texas, and a former hand-holding ally of U.S. President George W. Bush.
But Thailand's ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a bloodless September 2006 coup, blithely strolled the streets of Surrey, England, shopping with his family this week after dodging Bangkok's supreme court.
Seeing Thaksin and his family in Surrey, prompted a local Web site, getsurrey.co.uk, to stress he "is not the first wanted international leader" to appear in their neighborhood.
"Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet holed-up in a mansion near Egham as he awaited extradition to his home country, to answer human rights abuse charges," it said.
Bangkok's attorney general, meanwhile, was considering a seizure of Thaksin's frozen assets -- worth an estimated two billion U.S. dollars.
Thaksin's enemies suspect he and his wife will apply for asylum in England where he owns Manchester City Football Club.
That could complicate a possible future extradition request.
But Thailand's ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a bloodless September 2006 coup, blithely strolled the streets of Surrey, England, shopping with his family this week after dodging Bangkok's supreme court.
Seeing Thaksin and his family in Surrey, prompted a local Web site, getsurrey.co.uk, to stress he "is not the first wanted international leader" to appear in their neighborhood.
"Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet holed-up in a mansion near Egham as he awaited extradition to his home country, to answer human rights abuse charges," it said.
Bangkok's attorney general, meanwhile, was considering a seizure of Thaksin's frozen assets -- worth an estimated two billion U.S. dollars.
Thaksin's enemies suspect he and his wife will apply for asylum in England where he owns Manchester City Football Club.
That could complicate a possible future extradition request.
While eastern Canada suffers unseasonable rains, the west enjoys its average warm/hot summer. In the Middle East however, the heat is rising in the geo-political field.
I noticed an article in the local paper (The Province, Friday, August 15, p. A41) concerning Prime Minister Harper and his claim that Russia is returning to a Soviet-era mentality. That may well be true, but it is only because the Americans adopted their own unilateral, interventionist, first-strike, supreme military "full spectrum dominance" ethos that has proven so disastrous around the world, but specifically in military terms in the Middle East.
I noticed an article in the local paper (The Province, Friday, August 15, p. A41) concerning Prime Minister Harper and his claim that Russia is returning to a Soviet-era mentality. That may well be true, but it is only because the Americans adopted their own unilateral, interventionist, first-strike, supreme military "full spectrum dominance" ethos that has proven so disastrous around the world, but specifically in military terms in the Middle East.
Peace is no more — and no less — than the audacity of sanity, reaching past the dubious geopolitics of national self-interest and standing, as Hank Brusselback did, underneath the ancient bridge in Esfahan, Iran, listening to the men who had gathered to sing.
It's called civilian diplomacy, and it is one way we will create the peace our leaders don't believe we're ready for.
It's called civilian diplomacy, and it is one way we will create the peace our leaders don't believe we're ready for.
Columbus Dispatch articles explaining the 2004 election irregularities all embrace the same formula: ignore the more than 1000 signed affidavits and sworn testimonies of disenfranchised voters; rely only on the word of OSU Law Professor Dan Tokaji who has no background in statistical analysis and who always tells the Dispatch whatever they want to hear; and then apologize for former Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell and fail to mention what is routinely reported in every other major newspaper in the state of Ohio.
We can't just think we voted and hope we voted. We have to know we voted. And, under present circumstances, most people have no clue as to whether they voted or not. –Journalist Lynn Landes, in STEALING AMERICA
The most difficult part of making a quilt takes place inside the creator's imagination, before she ever picks up her scissors. Every step is meticulously planned; each thread, scrap, color, design, and texture has a specific role to play in the overall scheme. The skill of the quilter emerges in how well the overall design holds together, and how it connects the disparate elements into a unique and aesthetic whole.
STEALING AMERICA is just such a quilt and Dorothy Fadiman is the master artisan. She pieces together an incredible number of details to give us a stunning new perspective on what has been happening to our elections. What we might have originally thought were random events are, in fact, critical parts of an almost invisible but comprehensive plan to subvert democracy by systematically disenfranchising millions of us voters.
The most difficult part of making a quilt takes place inside the creator's imagination, before she ever picks up her scissors. Every step is meticulously planned; each thread, scrap, color, design, and texture has a specific role to play in the overall scheme. The skill of the quilter emerges in how well the overall design holds together, and how it connects the disparate elements into a unique and aesthetic whole.
STEALING AMERICA is just such a quilt and Dorothy Fadiman is the master artisan. She pieces together an incredible number of details to give us a stunning new perspective on what has been happening to our elections. What we might have originally thought were random events are, in fact, critical parts of an almost invisible but comprehensive plan to subvert democracy by systematically disenfranchising millions of us voters.
I am often asked about the people in history that I revere or otherwise hold
in high esteem. Today's column is an attempt to answer that question. Bear
in mind, this list is by no means complete. I know I am omitting several
people that should truly be included. However, time and space limitations
require me to condense my list. So, here goes.
I'll begin with Old Testament history. David, Nehemiah, and Elijah are my heroes here. Despite his one moral lapse, David's heart and character are unsurpassed. Along with Abraham and Moses, David is one of the three greatest men of the Old Testament. And he is my personal favorite.
Nehemiah is the personification of leadership. The Book of Nehemiah is the quintessential textbook on leadership. Nothing written since equals it. Elijah is the personification of courage. He faced down 850 false prophets. His like was not seen until the arrival of John the Baptist.
A lesser-known Old Testament man by the name of Jehonadab is probably the greatest father in the Bible. His children and grandchildren, for many generations, remained loyal to his instruction. His familial example has never been equaled.
I'll begin with Old Testament history. David, Nehemiah, and Elijah are my heroes here. Despite his one moral lapse, David's heart and character are unsurpassed. Along with Abraham and Moses, David is one of the three greatest men of the Old Testament. And he is my personal favorite.
Nehemiah is the personification of leadership. The Book of Nehemiah is the quintessential textbook on leadership. Nothing written since equals it. Elijah is the personification of courage. He faced down 850 false prophets. His like was not seen until the arrival of John the Baptist.
A lesser-known Old Testament man by the name of Jehonadab is probably the greatest father in the Bible. His children and grandchildren, for many generations, remained loyal to his instruction. His familial example has never been equaled.