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Costa-Gavras and the Political Thriller
A short while ago I checked out from the library and watched Missing, a movie starring Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek. It’s an intense political thriller by director Costa-Gavras. I did not know anything of Costa-Gavras, so I decided to do a little research on him. Costa-Gavras is one of the most respected directors today, the creator of political thrillers that expose government corruption and deceit.
Here is some information on Costa-Gavras from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_Gavras). Constantinos Gavras was born on February 13, 1933 to a poor family in the village of Loutra Iraias, Greece. His father had been a member of the left-wing branch of the Greek Resistance during World War II, and was imprisoned after the war as a suspected communist. Costa-Gavras went to France to study of law in 1951, and in 1956 he studied film. In his early years he worked with the famed French directors Yves Allegret, Jean Giono and Rene Clair. He directed his first film in 1965.
Costa-Gavras is reknowned as a master of the political thriller. Michael Wood, a teacher of English and comparative literature in Princeton, wrote in the booklet accompanying the DVD of Missing:
Interesting, Intelligent Piece on Prop. 8
Gregg DesElms from California contacted Crossleft and asked that this be published on the site. It is interesting and thoughtful. Jim
At the Nationwide Protest Against Proposition 8
On the steps of City Hall in Napa, California
Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 10:30 AM PST
Peace and Blessings to you all. My name is Gregg DesElms. Though I live in Napa, I am a sworn Deputy Commissioner of Civil Ceremonies for Santa Clara County, down in San Jose. And let me just get this out of the way up front: It’s a character flaw, I realize, but I am proudly heterosexual. So, for the next few minutes, if it’s okay with all of you, I’d like to talk about how being party to the same-sex marriage experience in the way that I have has affected this particular heterosexual.
NCLR CONDEMNS BRUTAL HATE CRIME ON LONG ISLAND
Calling it "an outrageous and horrifying crime," Janet Murguía, President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, condemned the fatal beating of a Long Island man on Saturday night. Marcello Lucero, a 37-year-old man from Patchogue, Long Island, was the apparent victim of a hate crime by seven teenagers who were arraigned today for his murder. According to Newsday, Suffolk County police say that the defendants "simply wanted to beat up someone who looked Hispanic."
"While we are grateful that the authorities have taken swift action," Murguía said, "it is important for all Americans to understand that this is part of an alarming trend taking place nationwide." FBI hate crime statistics show that attacks against Latinos have been on the rise over the past four years. Similarly, the Southern Poverty Law Center has reported that the number of hate groups targeting Latinos and immigrants has also increased over the same period.
After Brutal Stabbing, Another Long Island Resident Reports Gang Attack
On November 8, 2008, Marcello Lucero was brutally stabbed to death by a group of teenagers because they thought he was Mexican. In response to the murder of Lucero, local authorities have encouraged others who have been victims of similar crimes in Long Island to come forward. Last night, WCBS-TV reported that a second Long Island resident, Carlos Orellana, alleged a similar gang attack. Orellana asserts that his assailants' attacks were coupled with racial slurs.
These race-related crimes are not anomalies in Long Island. The AP reports that "tensions" over immigration have been acute in Suffolk County for years now. A brief review of recent history reveals that:
Eight short years ago, two Mexican men were beaten in Farmingville by people who had offered them work. Farmingville is ten miles from where the stabbing of Lucero occurred.
On the Fourth of July in 2003, teens set fire to the Farmingville house of a Mexican family who barely escaped with their lives.
In 2005, four teens attacked two Mexican immigrants fishing in Long Island. Shouting racial slurs, the teens beat and stole both of the victims' money.
Blogger call on Suffolk Hate Killing- Agenda, Call in Info- please RSVP
Bloggers,
This Thursday (11/20) at 11am EST (8am PST), the Long Island Immigrant Alliance, the Workplace Project, the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) will be holding a call for bloggers on last week's Suffolk county hate killing. A man was killed last week because a couple of teenagers were looking to do some damage to a "Mexican". The action of these teens, all under 18, however, is only the latest expression of hate happening in Long Island and the nation as a whole. The tragic death of this man must be seen as an urgent warning and call to action. We will be holding a call to talk about this horrible crime in Long Island, as well as the broader national implications this Thursday, at 11am EST. To date, there has been some media coverage of this incident but there needs to be more. We are hoping to bring more attention to this issue through this call. What happened last week is an outrage and we need to have elected officials and local communities taking note and ensuring that another death is prevented before it's too late.
Please RSVP for this important event to kesquivel@nclr.org. Send any questions you have in anticipation of this call to kesquivel@nclr.org.
What: Blogger Call on Suffolk Hate Killing
When: Thursday, 11am EST
Where: Call in #: 712-432-1620; Access code: 540585 #
Catholic Thoughts About Proposition 8
Originally posted at Talk to Action.
The Catholic Right, Part Seventy-two
In the wake of the passage of California's Proposition 8, I was left wondering how such a forward-thinking state could simultaneously help propel an African-American to the White House while denying gay people the dignity of marriage equality. I was also left wondering about the misplaced priorities of a vocal and increasingly belligerent faction of the hierarchy, and how that faction and its allies are adversely affecting both American Catholicism and the greater society.
The hierarchy along with the prominent assistance of the Knights of Columbus did more than its share to roll back marriage equality in California. But among the reform minded Catholics that spoke out against Prop. 8, was the independent Catholic lay group Call to Action.
Pope Pius XI, Pope Pius XII and Two Different Responses to Hitler’s Anti-Jewish Laws
Recently I watched Amen, a Costa-Gavras film about an SS officer and a Jesuit priest trying to get the Vatican to denounce the Holocaust. It was very critical of the Pope for his feeble response to the atrocities being committed against millions of Jewish lives. How fair is that criticism? I decided to research the actions of the two popes during the 1930s and 1940s and see how they reacted to Adolph Hitler and his policy against the Jews. Pope Pius XI, the pope during most of the 1930s, was increasingly confrontational of Hitler and the Nazis as their actions began to affect more people. Pope Pius XII, the wartime pope, privately approved of sheltering Jewish refugees in church property, but he never publicly condemned the shipping of Jews in concentration camps and the killing of Jewish lives. The two different reactions of the two popes offers a microcosm of the way religion has dealt with authoritarian governments and atrocities against its citizens.
Obama's victory a milestone but there is still much work to be done!
I am a white male some might say because of my being white that I come from a position of privilege. Privilege in the sense that I do not have to deal with the many prejudices that exist in America today, I would agree with that assessment. I do not know what it's like to be pulled over by the police because of the color of my skin, I do not know what it's like for women to clinch their purses and pull their children closer to them when I walk by, to be arrested for simply asking people questions again because of the color of my skin, be denied loans, a promotion, a home...all because of the color of my skin.
... Privilege in that it is my responsibility as well as everyone like me to stop pretending or ignoring these issues and to actively speak out against the hatred that exist in America today. Caucasians, myself included, need to take more of an active role in trying to "amend our race relations" or we will never be able to move forward.
Obama's victory is wonderful and is a gigantic leap in the right direction, but let's not be naive we still have a lot of work to do as is evident in the following stories:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1117/p03s01-uspo.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kety-esquivel/threats-of-violence-persi_b_...
Guantánamo Bay and the issue of torture...
Attached is a link disucussing some of the tough calls President Elect Obama will face during some of the his intial days as President. Guantánamo Bay and torture are / should be among the issues at the top of his list... Torture should be banned altogether in the United States there isn't any acceptable reason for it and we as Christains should never give into the idea that it is needed...
Good reading:
IPC Facebook Cause
The Institute for Progressive Christianity (IPC), recently received its tax exempt status from the IRS (501c3 designation). This means that donations made, both past and present are tax deductible this year.
We've launched a facebook cause to support IPC and other Progressive Christian institutions.
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/49560?m=6bb60a8b&recruiter_id=2297088
In Conversation #2 ~ Continuing Podcast Experiment
Christians Against Proposition 8
Though I am opposed to Proposition 8, it bothers me to see antiMormon, antiCatholic and antiEvangelical signs among the protests that have occurred since the passage of the ballot measure. Many Christians from each denomination have quietly opposed this measure against gay marriage. Though the more conservative elements from each denomination have dominated the religious dialogue, there have been more progressive Christian voices who have fought for gay rights and gay marriage. I worry that in their anger over the support of Proposition 8 by Mormon, Catholic and Evangelical churches, it may create a prejudice among gay rights supporters against all Christians. The Christian community is more politically diverse than the Religious Right let on and many progressive Christians, among them Mormons, Catholics and Evangelicals, are struggling within their denominations to fight to change attitudes.
New Book Offers LGBT Believers a Bulletproof Faith
I would like to submit this blog by my friend Candace Chellew-Hodge, author of Bulletproof Faith.
I disagree with Candace regarding one issue on this work; This is a wonderful book with many insights and tools for all Christians regardless of orientation.
By: Candace Chellew-Hodge
First, let me offer an apology. I'm sorry there is even a need for my new book: Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians. I would have loved to have written a completely different book. Perhaps a feel-good self-help book, like the ones that have made Wayne Dyer a rich man, or perhaps one that celebrates the awe and wonder of being a follower of Christ - without having to distinguish between those followers based on something inconsequential to God, like their sexual orientation. But, because there is a faction of Christians who insist on making this distinction, there is a need for this book, and for that I'm sorry.
No Democratic Leadership Positions for Lieberman
Subject: Tell the Senate Democrats: Strip Joe Lieberman of his chairmanship.
Dear Friend,
Senator Lieberman has supported a war in Iraq that has, by nearly all accounts, weakened our security rather than strengthened it. He has stood idly by and allowed the Bush Administration to spy on Americans and torture innocent human beings.
I've had enough of Senator Lieberman squandering his power to aid the likes of President Bush - so I just signed a petition asking my senator to vote to strip Lieberman of his chairmanship. I hope you will, too.
http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/no_chair_for_lieberman/?r_by=-191927...
Please have a look and take action.
Thanks!
Jim Ramelis
Opus, An Appreciation
A few weeks ago Berke Breathed stopped doing his comic strip Opus. So this means from now on we won't be seeing the wonderful penguin that Berke Breathed created almost 30 years ago in his comic strip Bloom County and continued in his subsequent strips Outland and Opus. It's a loss for comic fans, as Opus was one of the funniest comic creations to ever grace the newspaper page. And it has been one of the most humorous commentators on the cultural and political landscape of America, continuing a tradition of social commentary in comic strips that includes Walt Kelly's Pogo, Al Capp's Lil Abner, and Gary Trudeau's Doonesbury.
Emergence of a race-neutral generation of African American leaders
Amongst the many reflections on the election of President-elect Obama, one really stood out in my mind. Jonetta Rose Barrus, a Washington, DC author and political analyst, wrote a piece in Sunday's Washington Post regarding "what a black president means for black America."
In it she notes the emergence of a new generation of black Americans, "the Millenial or race-neutral generation, which appreciates but isn't imprisoned by African American history." She contrasts it to the earlier generation "those who hew to the race-based politics advanced chiefly by the black power movement of the 70's and 80's". This older generation wants Mr. Obama to "acknowledge that injustice still confronts black Americans." These older freedom fighters wants "Obama to address the gap in health care between African Americans and whites. Poverty, support for small businesses, economic development, the three-strikes law and the 'incarceration crisis'", amongst many other issues. (All issues of great current importance to this community.)
The Millenial generation "says that there are important universal issues that must take priority: the global financial crisis, relief for homeowners, potential vacanies on the Supreme Court." Brooke Stephens, a New York City-based finance expert "believes that African Americans are forgetting that Obama 'is not just there for us.'"
Beyond Irony
I Am a Veteran
I am a Veteran.
I am white, black, brown, and red.
I am from the country, I am from the city.
I am from up North, down South, back East, and out West.
I am usually from the working class, sometimes poor, but rarely rich
Sometimes I joined up because I want to fight but usually I am a kid who wants to work, to get money for school, or to have an adventure
I don’t want pity, I just want what I earned and was promised.
If I am hurt in service, I deserve adequate health care, both in service, and when I am released.
I want the benefits promised me by the recruiter and the armed forces, not spin, not lies, not homelessness, not drug addiction, not alcoholism, and not years waiting for VA claims.
When on active duty service I don’t want to be put in harm’s way for greed or opportunity, or to control someone else’s country, but to defend my country.
Service members who sometimes disagree with current policies, aren’t “phony soldiers”, they are Americans expressing their right to free speech. If no one can speak up against a government policy they disagree with, then we aren’t the same country that the founding fathers envisioned in 1776. Freedom of speech is one of the rights we fight for, I get that right too.
I don’t make policy, please don’t confuse the war with the warrior.
A Podcast Experiment
Saddened my our collective failure of compassion and justice
As excited as I was to hold my breath and watch with the world as America elected Barrack Obama as our next President, I was saddened to watch Prop 8 get supported along with simliar initiatives in Florida and Arizona.
It saddens me to realize that Christians with good intent, can still be wholly confused as to the message of Jesus. It breaks my heart to think that through religious misunderstanding, discrimination and injustice are being supported in the name of God. The God of Love. The God of Grace. The God of Compassion.
We're told in 1 Corinthians 13 that "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."
So I ask myself, where is God in this, because, I know God is with us. I know that Jesus is walking with those protesting such oppression and injustice. And I'm led once again, to speak out and trust God.
