Hollywood and the War Machine/Click the link to watch video/Notice also the Julian Assange interview to the right..... ....cal
War is hell, but for Hollywood it has been a Godsend, providing the perfect dramatic setting against which courageous heroes win the hearts and minds of the movie going public.
The Pentagon recognises the power of these celluloid dreams and encourages Hollywood to create heroic myths; to rewrite history to suit its own strategy and as a recruiting tool to provide a steady flow of willing young patriots for its wars.
Hollywood  | ||||
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What does Hollywood get out of this 'deal with the devil'? Access to billions of dollars worth of military kit, from helicopters to aircraft carriers, enabling filmmakers to make bigger and more spectacular battle scenes, which in turn generate more box office revenue. Providing they accept the Pentagon's advice, even toe the party line and show the US military in a positive light.
So is it a case of art imitating life, or a sinister force using art to influence life and death - and the public perception of both?
Empire will examine Hollywood, the Pentagon, and war.
Joining us as guests: Oliver Stone, the eight times Academy Award-winning filmmaker; Michael Moore, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker; and Christopher Hedges, an author and the former Middle East bureau chief of the New York Times.
Our interviewees this week are: Phil Strub, US Department of Defense Film Liaison Unit; Julian Barnes, Pentagon correspondent, LA Times; David Robb, the author of Operation Hollywood; Prof Klaus Dodds, the author of Screening Terror; Matthew Alford, the author of Reel Power; Prof Melani McAlister, the author of Culture, Media, and US Interests in the Middle East.
This episode of Empire can be seen from Wednesday, December 22 at the follwing times GMT: Wednesday: 1900; Thursday: 1400; Friday: 0300; Saturday: 1900.
http://english.pravda.ru/history/24-12-2010/116349-christmas_past-0/
Christmas past and present
The history of Christmas Day and the celebrations around the world is very much a case of before, during and after....what? Good question. For a start Christ was not born in the year zero, neither did Christmas start with Christ. And Father Christmas? Yes, he did exist and he's Russian...
Before
Think about it. In the northern hemisphere it makes sense to have a festive season around now. After all, the agricultural year died on November 1, after its death was announced by the bad spirits on Hallowe'en (the evening before the halos = Saints) on October 31. This was the first of the many Festivals of Light held in agricultural villages throughout the winter season, bringing people together, sharing resources and thus regulating the community.It is also the time when the weather is colder, so it makes sense to slaughter and hang up the fattened pig, it is cold enough to wash the intestines in the river, cut up and season the meat for the sausages without interference from flies and it makes sense to use the chimney to smoke the sausages and salted hams. It also made sense to slaughter the animals at a time when there was less for them to eat. It was a time when salt played an important part in the family's survival (hence the word salary, part of the wage being paid in salt) to place the rest of the dismembered pig in layers in a chest full of salt.
Apart from the weather, it is also the time when the new wine and beer is ready for consumption after fermentation, so it all comes together. The need to preserve the community during the inclement weather, the need to preserve the food for the forthcoming year, and a reduced workload outside in the fields.
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Therefore it comes as no surprise to learn that thousands of years ago, people were celebrating the Winter Solstice (the shortest day on December 21). Yule (from the Celtic word hweol, wheel, indicating a change of seasons) was a 12-day festival celebrated from December 21, when large logs were lit in the center of the village and the people would feast until the fire died out (usually after twelve days). They would hit the logs with sticks and the sparks that flew out represented the cattle that would be born the next year.
When the Roman civilization spread throughout Europe, forming the first European Union (yes, it disintegrated), the Roman festival Saturnalia, in honour of the God Saturn, the God of Agriculture, was celebrated, this beginning the week before December 21 and lasting for a month, again a time of eating and drinking for the same reasons.
New Year was not celebrated at this time, however. It was a period of darkness when agricultural activities were at a minimum and during which agricultural societies had to regulate themselves, coming together at regular intervals to check on how things were going. New Year was a fertility festival celebrated during the planting season, the resurrection of new life (Easter, after the Pagan Goddess of Fertility, Eostre), Carnival (Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras) being a transition festival between the Festivals of Light in the winter and the forthcoming sowing and planting season.
Curiously, the sign of the "cuckold", or "evil eye", also used by Heavy Metal fans, the "Devil's sign", where the indicator and little fingers are raised from a clenched fist to indicate that the person to whom it is being shown is a cuckold, arises from these ancient fertility festivals. It was not an insult at all. The fingers represented the first and last quarters of the Moon (the waxing and waning quarters) when it was believed the females were more fertile, phases which dictated agricultural practices, such as planting and sowing on the first (growing) quarter and pruning/cutting on the last (waning) quarter.
During
Now we come to the birth of Jesus (real name Yehosua in Hebrew or Yesua in Hebrew-Aramaic, meaning Yahweh delivers, or rescues) Christ (from the Greek Kristos, the anointed by God). It was not in the year zero. If King Herod of Judea had ordered the slaughter of males two years old and younger, alerted by the Wise Men (Magi) that a Messiah (leader of the Jewish people) had been born, and if King Herod died shortly after the lunar eclipse of March 13, 4BC, then the earliest Jesus could have been born was 4 BC.
As for the Wise Men and the Star of Bethlehem, it is quite possible that there were more than three and they were not kings, but Zoroastrian astronomers from Persia, who spent their lives studying and interpreting the stars and who would have taken any sign from the Heavens very seriously. There are a number of contenders for the Star, namely Halley's Comet (12 BC), another unnamed comet in 5BC, the conjunctions between Jupiter and Regulus between 3BC and 2 BC and Jupiter and Venus on June 17, 2BC. However, Herod was by then dead.
It was the Wise Men who told Herod that they had seen a sign, which they interpreted as the advent of a Messiah. Whatever happened back then had to survive centuries of indoctrination from the Catholic Church, and since the early Christian Church was afraid that astronomy and astrology was a threat, it would have made sense to transform he "magi" (astronomers) into "Kings" and probably reduce a group of twenty or thirty to three, giving them names ad mentioning the gifts they brought to Jesus to justify the story.
If Jesus himself was giving lessons in the Temples when he was a small boy, it would appear that he was no poor son of a simple carpenter, specially since the Gospels of Matthew and Luke both trace his lineage back to King David. His trade, "tekton" in Greek, means simply "craftsman", be this of stone or wood or metal, and "carpenter" may have meant a simple artisan or the owner of a business empire importing or exporting construction materials from the entire region - certainly wood would have been the most valuable of commodities at the time. Whether or not he was the father of Jesus is unclear; one version states that Mary became pregnant while they were engaged and he married her anyway, despite knowing the child was not his. His being a simple carpenter does not explain how Mary later in life had a house in what is Turkey today.
After
Early Christianity implanted itself in Pagan areas through a fusion of symbology. For example, the Pagan tradition of worshipping the fir tree was transformed into the Christmas tree representing the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost; the Pagan Winter Festivals were then tailored by the early Church to represent the Festival of the Nativity (hence the Nativity Scene). Pope Saint Julius I (Pope from February 6, 337 to April 12, 352) chose December 25 as the Nativity Day (birth of Christ) although some texts refer to his birth around Easter time (April), which would also have suited the Resurrection/New Life symbolising the birth of the new (agricultural) year.
December 25 would have been near enough to the Winter Solstice to have the same result, namely educating the Pagans towards Christianity, exchanging the cause but not the effect. The date also coincided with the Cult of Saint Nicholas (SAiNT niCHoLAS = Santa Claus), hugely popular in the East by the time of his death on December 6, 343 AD (December 19 in the Julian calendar).
Saint Nicholas was born into a wealthy family in the village of Patara and from a young age, his Christian values taught him to live a life of austerity, using his wealth to care for the poor. So many were his actions helping people by distributing wealth that he became famous through the East while still young and was appointed Bishop of Myra. Therefore the transition from Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus.
But who was this bearded gentleman? Why, Saint Nicholas merged with the traditional white-bearded Russian figure who distributes presents at this time of year, Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost), accompanied by his grand-daughter Snegoroushka. Oh, and the Coca-Cola campaign of 1931, dressing him in the company colours, red and white.
Truly, we can conclude that the festivity and the figure are international and global values of goodwill and doing good, helping the poor (charity) and having good thoughts at a time when people are vulnerable. The very best of the human spirit.
The Pravda.Ru editorial team takes this opportunity to wish all of our readers and their families all the best for this Christmas Season and for the New Year, hoping that 2011 brings you all the very best of what you wish for, the fulfilment of your dreams, or at least the foundations for these to come true.
Whatever our differences of opinion throughout the year, however hot our debates and discussions, remember we are all brothers living around a common lake, the sea.
Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey
Pravda.Ru
http://www.themass.org/novena/life.htm
http://www.themass.org/novena/life.htm
The Life of Saint Ann
By Father Peter Grace, C.P.
"The Revelation of James"
Christians, from the earliest times had an interest in knowing more about Jesus' family, especially about his mother and his grandmother. Ann is the name of the Jewish woman who was Jesus' grandmother. Ann is the virgin Mary's mother. We know nothing about Ann from the Bible. A third century greek manuscript called "the revelation of James" tells a fictional story about Mary and her parents Joachim and Ann. The story was probably written around the year 160 a.d. by a non-Jewish Christian.
Simple Way of Life
Since history has not passed on anything extraordinary about the life
of Saint Ann it is safe to assume that she led the life of a typical Jewish
woman of her time. What we see in many present day third world countries
perhaps gives us some insight into the simple way of life of the woman
known today as Saint Ann.
I myself suppose that she spent much of her time with household chores
and the needs of her family. I spent a number of years in Africa and in
India, and I noticed that even today in those countries women are very
busy from morning to night. You see them early in the morning walking to
get water from a river, a well, or some other water supply. You can see
them washing their infants, combing a daughter's hair, gathering wood and
sticks to make a fire for cooking. During the day, women will gather food
from their gardens and go to the town market to buy and sell vegetables,
fruits, and dried fish. They assemble at grinding mills with bags of corn
or kernels of wheat to have them ground into flour. Often they will
perform their daily routine with a child perched on their backs and a
few more children at their side. Usually you see women walking along in
a small procession of relatives or neighbors. They will prepare an
afternoon meal and sometimes bring it to their husbands at work in the
fields. They will help raise the chickens, rabbits and goats, will milk
the cow, and in the late afternoon when it is cool will go out into the
fields along with their husbands to spade and hoe the land, plant seeds,
and pick the corn or harvest the rice. When passing a friend or neighbor's
house, they'll often stop for tea, or buttermilk, or enjoy some home-made
beer or alcoholic beverage.
Jewish Heritage
This daily routine is spiced with moments of great enjoyment and great
sadness. There are celebrations for births and marriage, and sad
gatherings for times of sickness and death. Nature brings days of hot sun
and nights with cool breezes. There are seasons of torrential rain that
make the land rich and green and then seemingly endless periods of drought
that turn the whole earth into a parched, barren brown wasteland. There are
no phones, no TV's, there is a lot of time to sit around as a family, walk
over to your neighbor, tell stories, sing songs, and to pray to the God of
earth and sky.
We must also remember that St Ann was thoroughly Jewish and enjoyed
all the cultural, political, and religious customs of Israel. She was a
wife and mother and became the proud grandmother of the most beautiful
grandson the world has ever known.
Ancient Story
According to the ancient story called the "Gospel of James", Ann the
mother of Mary, was born in Bethlehem, where, years later, Jesus would
be born. She married Joachim from Nazareth in Galilee. Their marriage was
blessed in many ways. They loved each other very much and over the years
their love only grew stronger. The couple prospered when they moved to
Jerusalem. Joachim, a shepherd who owned a large herd of sheep, was
given the task of supplying the temple in Jerusalem with sheep for its
sacrifices from his flocks, which grazed in the hills nearby the city.
Unfortunately, after twenty years of marriage Ann and Joachim had no
children. They prayed and prayed, and even vowed to dedicate to God
any child they would have. Year after year they entered the Temple
to plead with God for help. But no child came.
Once, when Joachim went to the Temple for the feast of Dedication,
he overheard someone ridiculing him for not being able to father a
child. Stung by the remark, he went out into the hill country near
Jerusalem where shepherds tended his flocks and cried to God over
his disappointment of so many years.
Angel's Message
After many days there alone, pouring out the sadness in his heart
before God, an angel appeared to Joachim in dazzling light. The vision
frightened him, but the angel said:
"Don't be afraid. I have come to tell you the Lord has heard
your prayers. He knows how good you are and he knows your many
years of sorrow for having no child. God will give your wife
a child just as he did Sarah, the wife of Abraham, and Anna,
the mother of Samuel. Your wife Ann will bear you a daughter.
You shall call her Mary and dedicate her to God, for she will
be filled with the Holy Spirit from her mother's womb."
"I will give you a sign", the angel continued. "Go back to
Jerusalem. You will meet your wife at the Golden Gate, and your
sorrow will be turned into joy."
Meanwhile, Ann, not knowing where her husband had gone, grew anxious
and afraid. She, too, was hurt that she had no children and felt as though
she were being punished by God. Going into the garden, she noticed some
sparrows building a nest in a laurel tree, for it was springtime, and she
began to cry:
"Why was I born, O Lord? The birds build nests for their young
yet I have no child of my own. The animals of the earth, the
fish of the sea are fruitful, yet I have nothing. The land
produces fruit in due season, but I have no infant to hold in
my arms."
Suddenly, the angel of the Lord came to her and said, "Ann, the Lord
has heard your prayer. You shall conceive a child whom the whole world
will praise. Go to the Golden Gate in Jerusalem and meet your husband
there." So she quickly went to the city gate. The two met there and embraced,
and joyfully shared the news the angel had given them. Returning home, Ann
conceived and bore a daughter, and called her Mary. Mary was a common name
for Jewish women of the time. The name is derived from Miriam, who was the
sister of Moses. Perhaps the Jewish people then, longing for someone like
Moses to lead them from their long slavery to foreigners like the Greeks
and the Romans, chose that name for so many of their daughters, hoping that
a new Moses would come and find another Miriam at his side.
Dedication in the Temple
When Mary was three years old, her parents presented her in the Temple
in Jerusalem as a gift to the Lord. Their family then lived close by
that great center of Jewish life. Even from her first days, Mary as a
child seemed to know that her life was to serve God. The temple of God
so near her home was a place she loved and there was nowhere else she
would rather be. So as a little girl just three years old, her parents
watched her ascend the fifteen great steps to the temple courtyard and
approach the altar of sacrifice. God was there and she wished to be near
him. And that is what her parents, Ann and Joachim wished, that their
daughter be near her God. The early story says that mary spent most of
her childhood in that holy place.
Mary's Marriage to Joseph
When Mary was 14, the age Jewish girls married at that time, she wondered
what her future would be. Her parents knew their child had a special place
in God's plan, but what it was they did not know. They began to arrange
for her marriage, as customary in those days, and sought advice from the
Jewish high priest himself. After praying for guidance, the high priest
called every unmarried man from the tribe of David to come to the temple
with a branch from the fields and lay it on the altar. The one whose branch
flowered, he decided, would marry Mary.
Joseph was among those who came at the high priest's call, but he brought
no branch with him. Yet God pointed him out as the one who should be Mary's
husband. When Joseph finally placed a branch on the altar, it immediately
flowered. The two were betrothed in marriage and Mary returned to her
parent's home at Nazareth to wait some months and to prepare for the
wedding. While she was there, the angel Gabriel appeared to her and
announced that she was to be the mother of Jesus. By the power of the
Holy Spirit she conceived the Child. After Jesus was born, Mary and
Joseph returned to Nazareth where they would live and bring up their
young son. Ann and Joachim visited them there and helped to care for
the child. They told Jesus many stories about Adam and Eve, David
and Goliath, Moses and the ten commandments. They watched Jesus play and
walk, they fed him his favorite meals, bathed him, and gently rocked him
to sleep. When Ann and Joachim died, or where, we do not know, none of
the ancient stories tell us. But a later tradition says, and we can
believe that it is true, that Jesus was with Ann and Joachim when they
passed away.
The story of Jesus' mother and grandmother as written in the
Gospel of James was very popular among early Christians. It had
a great influence on Christian worship, art and devotion. Around
the year 550 a church in honor of Saint Ann was built in Jerusalem
near the temple area on the site where Ann, Joachim and their
daughter Mary were believed to have lived. In the 6th century the
churches in the East celebrated two Feasts honoring Mary based on
the story: Mary's birth and her presentation in the Temple. Since
the 7th century the Greek and Russian Churches have celebrated
feasts in honor of Saint Joachim and Ann, the conception of Saint Ann,
and the feast of Saint Ann. The western churches have celebrated the
feast of Saint Ann since the 16th century.
Devotion to Saint Ann
Devotion to Saint Ann grew in Europe through a popular French
tradition. The French believed that Mary Magdalene, Lazarus, Martha,
and other friends of Jesus crossed the Mediterranean Sea and landed at
the southern French city of Marseilles where they spread the news about
Jesus' death and resurrection. According to this tradition Mary
Magdalene's group brought with them the remains of Saint Ann.
According to the legend, the bishop, St Auspice, buried the body of
St Ann in a cave under the church of St Mary in Apt. When barbarians
invaded that area, the cave was filled with debris, almost to be
forgotten until it was dug out by miners 600 years later during the
reign of Charlemagne. The Sailors and miners of the region around
Marseilles were very devoted to Saint Ann and their devotion spread
to other parts of Europe and eventually to the New World. The ancient
shrines of St. Ann in Jerusalem and in Apt, France still exist. Saint
Ann is the patroness of Britanny in France, a land of sailors. The
great shrine of Sainte Anne d'Auray, founded in the 17th century, is
one of the largest pilgrimage centers in Europe and is especially popular
with the Bretons of France. Settlers from that region brought their
devotion to Canada where they established the shrine of Sainte Anne de
Beaupre near Quebec in 1658. In 1905 American Passionist Priests and
Brothers built a monastery in the mining center of Scranton,
Pennsylvania and dedicated their foundation to Saint Ann.
The monastery was built over a coal mine.
On August 15, 1911 the monastery shook, cracked and split due to a
severe mine subsidence. The community of priests moved out. But they
had complete confidence that they would be able to come back again. In
their words, "Saint Ann will take care of her own." In a short time,
with repairs, all was safe and the Passionists returned.
Again on July 28, 1913, an even more menacing disturbance took place.
A gigantic "squeeze" threatened to slide the whole monastery and church
down the hill. Immediately the Passionists and the neighbors prayed for
help through the intercession of Saint Ann. The next morning, on an
inspection of the mines that run under the monastery, it was found
that the slide had suddenly stopped, turned back and settled solidly
under the monastery.
So started the history of devotion to Saint Ann at Saint Ann's Shrine
in Scranton. The magnificent structure which is now Saint Ann's Monastery
Church was dedicated on April 2nd, 1929. Here, the weekly Saint Ann's
Novena has continued every Monday throughout the years. More than 10,000
people per day attend the annual ten day Saint Ann's Solemn Novena which
begins July 17th and ends on July 26th, the feast of Saint Ann.
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