(RT) Nov. 14, 2011 - The City of Oakland paid for 1,000 paramilitary troops in this planned take down. Now police in occupied Oakland have cleared out a re-formed occupation after threatening Occupy demonstrators with more heavy handed violence.
Oakland PD and agents from other San Francisco Bay Area cities encircled the downtown encampment before dawn and moved in at about 6:00 am. They escorted handcuffed protesters away soon afterward to be imprisoned, strip searched, humiliated, and potentially violated further.
The police state action comes a day after police attacked hundreds of Occupy Wall Street-style demonstrators from encampments in Portland, Oregon arresting more than 50 people. Oakland officials insisted on an end to their city's encampment using the pretext that a man was fatally shot Thursday near the camp.
Berkeley (Occupy Cal), St. Louis, Salt Lake City, Eureka, Denver, Albany (NY), Riverside, Portland, and other camps have been attacked as part of an organized suppression campaign.
Occupy Wall Street and its offshoots have been catching flak for being so "white." Occupy Atlanta is no exception, getting off to a rough start...when a civil rights movement hero-turned-Congressman stopped by to offer his support, only to be waved off by the mostly white G.A.
Filmmaker Arthur Klein examines the philosophy and reality of yoga in a compelling documentary. After becoming a devotee of the ancient art in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks, Klein traveled the world to explore how yoga has affected others. From a charter school in South Central Los Angeles to wrestler Diamond Dallas Page's yoga class for American soldiers in Iraq, Klein reveals how this ancient practice continues to bring harmony to the world.
(ComeThailand) This documentary, made by David Grubin and narrated by Richard Gere, tells the story of the Buddha's life, a journey especially relevant to our own bewildering times of violent change and spiritual confusion. It features the work of some of the world's greatest artists and sculptors, who across two millennia have depicted the Buddha's life in art rich in beauty and complexity. Hear insights into this ancient narrative by contemporary Buddhists, including Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.S. Merwin and the 14th Dalai Lama.
(A2zme) Shock Doctrine by Alfonso Cuarón and Naomi Klein, directed by Jonás Cuarón.
"When I finished The Shock Doctrine, I sent it to Alfonso Cuarón because I adore his films and felt that the future he created for Children of Men was very close to the present I was seeing in disaster zones. I was hoping he would send me a quote for the book jacket and instead he pulled together this amazing team of artists -- including Jonás Cuarón who directed and edited -- to make The Shock Doctrine short film. It was one of those blessed projects where everything felt fated" (Naomi Klein).
(LA Times) In 2006, when director Chris Paine released "Who Killed the Electric Car?" the story of GM's short-lived, battery-powered EV-1, the villains were many, but consumer apathy played its role. With "Revenge of the Electric Car," Paine's entertaining follow-up, top GM exec Bob Lutz gives much credit for the company's 180 to consumer outrage. Wall Street might want to take notice of how quickly tides can change. "Revenge" follows the three-way race between GM, Nissan, and Silicon Valley rogues Tesla Motors to bring an electric model successfully to market... More
"The message we're getting, to be frank about it, is, 'Don't let the door hit you [on the @$$] on the way out,'" a senior military official said in a conversation on Sunday.
The Iraq War is rapidly winding down, and no one -- American or Iraqi -- seems inclined to talk about it.
The Iraq War began with Pentagon officials boasting about an initial offensive that would "shock and awe" the enemy, then-President George W. Bush flying a military plane to an aircraft carrier for a high-profile address to thousands of cheering troops, and round-the-clock coverage on the nation's TV networks. Eight and a half grueling years later, the deeply unpopular conflict is set to end with a whimper, not a bang.
[Notice the graph does not flatten out to zero troops but reveals a permanent presence as part of the US military-industrial empire, with its largest base in Mesopotamia. So the war will "end," but we will leave behind ~50,000 troops.]
Washington and Baghdad's failure to agree on a troop-extension deal means that virtually all of the 43,000 U.S. troops now in Iraq will stream out of the country over the next six weeks, bringing a quiet end to a conflict that began with so much bombast.
Radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has called for public rallies on Jan. 1 to celebrate the U.S. withdrawal, but the idea hasn't gained much traction with other Iraqi political leaders. For now, there are no formal ceremonies planned in Iraq to mark the end of the U.S.-led mission there or to commemorate the thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed in the conflict.
Iraqi officials have also rebuffed the U.S. officers at many individual bases who have proposed low-key events in which the American flag would be lowered and the Iraqi one raised to mark each facility's passage into Iraqi control. More
(Bozasonic) "The Corporation," full movie. Corporations are people? Corporations are not people. "They have no 'soul' to save, no body to incarcerate." They do have a profit motive.
"The Corporation" is a classic Canadian documentary exploring how we ended up with business entities that are legally bound to place "profits before people." How are we to assess a corporation's "personality"?
The documentary concentrates on North American corporations, particularly those from the United States.
The film was written by Joel Bakan and directed by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott. It is critical look at the modern-day "limited liability" corporation, considering its legal status as a class of PERSON. And it evaluates its behavior towards our society and the world at large the way a psychiatrist examines a patient.
The exploration goes through specific examples. It has been shown worldwide -- on TV, DVD, file sharing, and free downloading. Bakan wrote a book, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, during the filming of this documentary.
Showing the development of the contemporary business corporation, the movie follows the definition in court. Corporations went from legal entities that originated as government-chartered institutions engaged in public functions to commercial institutions entitled to most of the legal rights of a human being, US citizen, and now multinational body with no allegiance to the US.
They gained personhood as a result of an 1886 case in the US Supreme Court. Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite referred to corporations as "persons" having the same rights as human beings based on the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. The film's assessment is effected via the diagnostic criteria in psychology's Bible (DSM-IV).
FBI consultant and professor of psychology Robert Hare, Univ. of British Columbia, compares the profile of the contemporary profitable business corporation to that of a clinically-diagnosed PSYCHOPATH.
The film is in vignettes examining and criticizing corporate business practices. It establishes parallels between the way corporations are systematically compelled to behave and the DSM-IV's symptoms of psychopathy, i.e. callous disregard for the feelings of other people, the incapacity to maintain human relationships, reckless disregard for the safety of others, deceitfulness (continual lying to deceive for profit), the incapacity to experience guilt, and the failure to conform to social norms and respect for the law.
BOLLYWOOD, India - "Karma" is an off-beat, supernatural thriller set in the United States telling a story woven around Hindu mythology.
Padma (Jade Tailor) is an Indian American kid whose dad is killed in front of the temple by the temple priest when he questions the holy man about misusing temple donations for drug peddling.
Trailer (in Hindi)
Padma's mother (Bhanu Yanamandra) takes Padma away to settle in the remote city of Shamrock. While in her 20s, Padma loses her mother too.
Her friend Raj (Sher Ali) expresses his love for her, but she doesn't reciprocate. He nevertheless remains a friend she can turn to in her hour of need.
Dev and Sumati visit Padma, because Sumati was a very close friend of Padma's mother.
But how did they know that Padma's mother passed away? Padma lives in isolation, and no one relayed the news. That is only the first question that surprises Padma.
Dev simply says he just "knows" certain things before they happen. Padma is strangely drawn towards Dev. And as Dev and Padma get closer, Padma learns more and more... Why did Dev really come? Does he really have supernatural powers? Can Raj win over Padma?
The two most famous, or at least biggest selling, pieces of literature are biblical and Shakespearean. Both are frauds. The gods may have inspired the Bible over time, but men reworked, reframed, and redacted much of it. It is almost unrecognizable. Yet, God is still credited with it as if the Vatican had done nothing to conceal large portions of it.
But the King James Version is little better, and its Jewish roots are far from pure. They extend back to Sumerian tales. In fact, the mythology of the world has more in common than details (pronunciation of names, peoples, lands) to differentiate it. But religion is sacred. And no one can question it.
Shakespeare, on the other hand, can be questioned. And he did not write the works attributed to him. This has long been known by scholars. But it is such an unpopular position -- because, after all, they are great works -- that few get any mileage out of saying so. There are many accolades for crediting the gay, poorly educated commoner William. This obscures the real artist, likely an aristocrat banned from writing for the decadent theater of the Elizabethan Age.
"Anonymous" investigates the matter. Roland Emmerich directs this political thriller, a drama on drama, set in England during the reign of Elizabeth I. The plot is focused on the mystery surrounding the works of William Shakespeare and the alleged true author of the famous theatrical texts that have become the foundation of Western culture -- the Earl of Oxford Edward De Vere.
"Thrive" is an unconventional documentary that lifts the veil on what's REALLY going on in our world. It follows the money upstream -- uncovering the global consolidation of power in nearly every aspect of our lives. Weaving together breakthroughs in science, consciousness, and activism, "Thrive" offers real solutions, empowering us with bold and unprecedented strategies for reclaiming our lives and our future.
Interviews
Duane Elgin, Nassim Haramein, Steven Greer, Jack Kasher, Daniel Sheehan, Adam Trombly, Brian O'Leary, Vandana Shiva, John Gatto, John Robbins, Deepak Chopra, David Icke, Catherine Austin Fitts, G. Edward Griffin, Bill Still, John Perkins, Paul Hawken, Aqeela Sherrills, Evon Peter, Angel Kyodo Williams, Elisabet Sahtouris, Amy Goodman, and Barbara Marx Hubbard.
American Teacher chronicles four urban and rural teachers, following them as they reach career milestones, telling the deeper story of the profession in America asking, Can I afford to continue to teach? Directed by Academy Award-winning Vanessa Roth; produced by 826 National's Nínive Calegari and best-selling author Dave Eggers.
KPFK 90.7 FM PRESENTS A SPECIAL SCREENING
A definitive look at the state of teaching in America that offers a solution to the education crisis. Narrated by Matt Damon. Followed by a panel discussion with KPFK host Margaret Prescod and guests, including film makers and teachers featured in the movie.
" 'American Teacher' raises important questions about America's teachers. It should spark a much-needed conversation." - Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
China is plunged into strife as feuding warlords try to expand their power by warring over neighboring lands. Fueled by his success on the battlefield, young and arrogant Hao Jie sneers at Shaolin's Zen masters when he beats one of them in a duel.
When his family is wiped out by a rival warlord, Hao is forced to take refuge with the Buddhist monks. As the civil unrest spreads and the people suffer, Hao and the Shaolin masters are forced to take a fiery stand against the evil warlords. They launch a daring plan of rescue and escape.
Not since the legendary kung fu film "Shaolin Temple" stormed the world in the 1970's has a movie been given permission to film in the actual Shaolin Temple of legend. The honor was bestowed on this lavish modern production, starring Andy Lau and Jackie Chan. This movie is one of Asia's most eagerly anticipated film events.
"The Real Shaolin" a moving, poetic, action-packed documentary feature about two Chinese and two Westerners who journey to China's Shaolin Temple inspired by the legends portrayed in kung fu movies with Bruce Lee and Jet Li. In the course of excruciating martial arts training, their fantasies to become kung fu warriors collide with harsh reality. Shaolin Temple is the ultimate test for martial artists from all over the world. Will they achieve their goal of living the Shaolin dream?
Interview with Rebecca Keegan, author of The Futurist, The Life and Times of James Cameron
Rebecca Keegan spent seven years covering breaking news stories like 9/11, Osama bin Laden, and sex abuse within the Catholic Church for TIME Magazine before she built professional credibility with intimate profiles of entertainment A-listers Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Downey, Will Smith, and Penélope Cruz and covered premiere events like the Oscars, Sundance, and Comic-Con. Today, she is a staff film writer for the LA Times and continues to keep abreast of popular trends.
She originally met James Cameron while visiting the "Avatar" set for an assignment. In the introduction of his comprehensive biography she states, “I knew Cameron to be an innovator, but this was clearly his magnum opus as a future-minded filmmaker. As I watched the director work, I became curious about a man who seemed interested only in doing things that were hard, and in doing them perfectly, and I determined to follow his intriguing film’s progress more closely.” More
(One Lucky Elephant) What happens to a circus elephant when it comes time to retire? After 16 years in the spotlight, Flora, an African elephant living in St. Louis, must find a new home. And David, the circus producer who has cared for her all these years, must say goodbye. The road to Flora's retirement, however, is a difficult and emotional one. The bond between human and elephant is tested in unexpected ways. Ten years in the making, this touching, thought-provoking film deftly investigates the problems and mysteries posed by keeping wild animals in captivity while never losing sight of the delicate love story at its heart.
Brad Pitt stars in a new film from Terrence Malick -- the acclaimed director of Badlands, Days of Heaven, and The Thin Red Line. The Tree of Life is the impressionistic story of a Midwestern American family in the 1950's.
It follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack (played as an adult by Sean Penn), through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years. He tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt).
Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world: He is seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.
Through Malick's signature imagery, we see how both brute nature and spiritual grace shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to extend three key provisions of the Patriot Act until June 1, 2015. The Senate voted earlier in the day to approve the extension bill. The House vote was 250 in favor, with 153 opposed. Oppositions to the bill said it was an invasion of privacy and had hoped to add language providing for further oversight and audits of the activities the law permits. The three provisions are as follows: One would enable law enforcement officials to conduct surveillance on suspects without a warrant who switch communication devices, such as using disposable cellular phones. A second would let officials conduct warrant-less surveillance on suspects not currently linked to any known terrorist organization abroad. The third would enable officials access to suspects' business transactions without a warrant. Pres. Obama signed the bill using an auto pen machine from France. Source
Giving a whole new meaning to the Buddhist expression, "After the ecstasy, the laundry," 3-D pornography goes mainstream. But with mainland China imposing a ban, audiences must go to Hong Kong to see "Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy."
HONG KONG (AP) — A pioneering Hong Kong 3-D erotic comedy has powered ahead at the box office, bringing in $6.7 million globally.
As of Monday, "3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy" has earned $4.1 million in its home market, $1.75 million in Taiwan and $870,000 in Australia, where it has been screening in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney at movie theaters catering to ethnic Chinese communities, publicist Carmen Wong said Tuesday [May 3, 2011].
The $3.5 million production, which opened in Hong Kong on April 14, has drawn audiences with its novel mix of 3-D visuals and the moral tale of an ancient Chinese scholar who loses himself in a duke's harem.
In Hong Kong, it earned $360,000 on its opening day, shattering the territory's previous first-day box office record of $340,000 set by James Cameron's 2009 3-D sci-fi epic "Avatar."
Its $4.1 million take so far makes it the Hong Kong box office champion for the year. The previous champion is the Chinese New Year comedy "I Love Hong Kong," which earned $3.3 million. Ticket sales were boosted by tourists from mainland China, where the lack of a ratings system has ruled out a release, as well as by female-only screenings.
However, "Sex and Zen," a remake of a 1991 Hong Kong movie by the same name, still has a long way to go before beating the cumulative take of "Avatar," which raked in a record $23 million in Hong Kong and then another $400,000 with an extended version.
"Sex and Zen" is to be released in South Korea on May 12 and in France, India, and Italy in June.
What does it mean to say "We are all one"? A very spiritual girl I knew scoffed at the notion. Even after becoming an expert Buddhist meditator, she did not speak of nonduality, Oneness, or unity. She could see through the delusion of separation, yet she would not make the claim of all being one. She asked, "Do you think we're all one? What does that even mean?"
"Of course," I answered emphatically. "It's not even that hard to understand." One needn't be St. Francis or Thich Nhat Hanh (or "Nitch Natch Hans Christian Anderson" as we would refer to him, never being able to get our Vietnamese or Thai lessons to stick) to understand the unity (nonduality) concept.
It was not by direct mystical experience that I understood it. But there's almost no one I know who hasn't had intimations of sensing how we are all interconnected.
Official trailer for Tom Shadyac's film, "I AM" now in theaters: iamthedoc.com
On a subatomic level, we're all constantly exchanging ions (and not just the living beings, but rocks, streams, blades of grass...unseen emanations of energy).
On a social level, we're all going through the same thing -- even as we experience it differently according to our attention, intention, and habitual reaction patterns).
On a physiological level, we are all more or less the same: subject to the same follies, mortal, morbid (when we get a boo boo, we instinctively exclaim ouch).
On a psychological level, we have the same neurotic tendencies and stumble into the same thought traps.
On an emotional level, we can empathize with one another (by force of our mirror neurons being triggered before we're even consciously aware of it).
On a biological level, we're all built up out of DNA, cellular material, the Four Great Elements, subatomic particles, properties, name-and-form (nama-rupa)
On a spiritual level, we all have the same potential (enlightenment, buddhahood, basic goodness, Buddha Nature, humanity, self-actualization, altruism)
It might be better to ask, In what way are we actually different? Take a set of building blocks and build something. Everything tangible is the same. Everything intangible (the arrangement of all the tangible things) is within the potential of others.
When we're in love, we love connecting, merging, losing our burdensome ego (our sense of separateness or isolation). But even when we hate someone or something, we are bonding with it by our attention/intention, and so we run into it again and again. How great, then, to cleanse the heart of bias and partiality and accept everything with the same equanimity and peace of mind that still allows us to act and respond appropriately without getting snared and entangled.
Our main separation -- and our main problem -- is the delusion that we are apart, independent actors, isolated, alone, abandoned, forgotten, or left behind. We are not.
We are united (whether we like it or not at any given moment), we are together, we are in the same boat (Earth as our own Easter Island, and we all know what happened there -- and if not, we can all get on the same Network and find out), we are inter-dependent, we are All One in this sense and probably many others.
And it is possible to glimpse in a mystical/shamanic/DMT (the spirit molecule)-fueled state that this is literally true at all times and in all situations even though we now look back and feel we were alone a lot of the time. We were never alone. She agreed.
It's easy to forget this growing up in our competitive society watching "Survivor" and wondering why Donald Trump seems to get off firing people and feeding a scarcity mentality. But even Christians have an easy reference to this universal truth in theistic terms: There's that poster in the bathrooms of footprints in the sand; when we felt most alone and look back to prove it, we were actually being carried.
NEW YORK (April 27, 2011) “Karma to Nirvana,” the second installment in chef Vikas Khanna’s Holy Kitchens documentary series will premiere at the New York Indian Film Festival, the longest-running and most prestigious Indian film festival in the US, on May 7.
“At any given time somewhere on Earth, people are gathering to share food in the name of God. This is spiritual sustenance, meant to bring us closer together and closer to the Creator,” says Khanna, whose new Manhattanrestaurant, Junoon, recently received two stars in its New York Timesreview.
“This is the story of Holy Kitchens,” adds Khanna saying he was compelled to explore the symbiotic intersection of food and religion in his documentary series by Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy: “God comes to the hungry in the form of food.”
“Karma to Nirvana,” focuses specifically on Hinduism, Lord Krishna’s spiritual practices, and the principles of Karma and Nirvana as set forth in the Bhagavad-Gita. More
Karma: The New Revolution
A new film titled Karma: The New Revolution explains the role of Karma in golfer Tiger Woods’ apology. It explains the role karma played in the death of entertainment icon Michael Jackson and highlights how Karma Yoga has helped individuals overcome the credit crunch, cancer, and crime. Filmed in over a dozen countries, it is presented by Acharya Zen, who was reportedly quoted as saying: Karma and redemption go hand in hand and in Verse 173 of The Dhammapada, the Buddha states that "a person who makes amends for mistakes can light up the world like the Moon emerging from clouds." This suggests that Tiger Woods can redeem himself by following the Buddha’s last words "Be lamps unto yourselves" (Appo deepo bhava) or, as the film's tagline runs, “Take Charge of your Destiny!”
3D rou pu tuan zhi ji le bao jian Russell Edwards (new international release film review, April 18, 2011)
Translated from industry-speak into English by Wisdom Quarterly
Audiences get an eyeful of flesh, served with sadistic, spasmodic laughs, in "3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy," an attempt to revive the 1990s Hong Kong softcore-comedy franchise.
While this item is even less interested in spirituality than the original [films], its most notable difference, apart from its stereoscopic visuals, is a distinct mean streak.
[The new film in the series] made a robust $351,000 in Hong Kong on opening day alone, and [the box office take] will continue to be socko there, because China's strict censorship [akin to a Kansas state of mind] forces [Chinese] mainlanders to catch the film in Hong Kong. But in Oz [when no longer in Kansas], local theaters put on extra showings to meet demand.
While not always as coherent as its episodic 2D predecessors, "3D Sex and Zen" does its best to present a feature-length narrative based very loosely on the ancient Chinese text "The Carnal Prayer Mat."
Young Ming Dynasty scholar Yangsheng (Japanese thespian Hiro Hayama) falls in love with and marries beautiful Yuxiang (Leni Lan). The pair are happy, but due to a lack of stamina, among other shortcomings, the newlyweds' sex life is below par. [Ouch!] More
Camera (color, 3D), Jimmy Wong; editor, Azrael Chung; art director, Tony Yu; costume designer, Cindy Cheung; sound (Dolby); stunt coordinator, Lee Tat Chiu; associate producers, Mark Wu, Albert Lee. Reviewed at Xtremescreen 1, Hoyts Broadway, Sydney, April 14, 2011. Running time: 113 MIN
(RT) Nov. 14, 2011 - The City of Oakland paid for 1,000 paramilitary troops in this planned take down. Now police in occupied Oakland have cleared out a re-formed occupation after threatening Occupy demonstrators with more heavy handed violence.
A new film titled 