BERLIN OPERA'S "IDOMENEO" CANCELLED

A Berlin opera house recently cancelled a production of Mozart's "Idomeneo", originally mounted in 2003 and scheduled for their 2006-2007 season, after being warned by security officials there that a particular scene posed certain risks to both the public and employees and recommended that they either cut the scene or cancel the production. Though they were not ordered to do either, per se, the company decided to cancel the production after the director and other artists involved refused to cut the scene. The scene in question, which is part of director Hans Neufels staging and not the original, has King Idomeneo presenting the severed heads of Poseidon, Mohammed, Jesus and the Buddha.

Can you guess which religion precipated the decision to cancel? Berlin security officials felt that in light of the reaction (over-reaction in my mind) to the Danish cartoons they did not wish to risk fanning the flames once again. And we know how easily that can happen!

Frankly anyone's severed head, and particularly those of religious figures, is rather offensive, but I will always defend the right to free speech.

AFGHANI WOMEN'S ADVOCATE MURDERED

Safia Ahmed-jan, the provincial director of Afghanistan's Ministry of Women's Affairs, was murdered on her way to work on September 25th, 2006. Retribution for her efforts to educate women.

I found the following on Wikinews:

"Safia Ahmed-jan taught at a girls' school and was a high-school principal in
Khandahar prior to the Taliban's 1996 rise to power in Afghanistan. When the
Taliban regime banned education for girls and forbade women from working outside
the home, she ran an underground school for girls at her home, said her son
Naqibullah, speaking to the Associated Press.
After the Taliban government
was overthrown in 2001, Ahmed-jan became the provincial chief for women's
affairs in 2002, when the ministry was established and has since then held that
position, worked for women's rights and particularly, championed the cause of
educating girls. Her secretary, Abdullah Khan told Associated Press that among
her most successful projects were the vocational training schools she opened in
Khandahar, where almost 1000 women were taught baking, tailoring and other
skills.
Ahmed-jan has also been fiercely critical of the repression of women
during the Taliban rule, in a region that has remained conservative and emerged
as a hotbed of the Taliban's insurgent activity. Her requests for personal
security guards and transport went unheeded by the government, according to
local media reports, though her nephew, Muhammad Asif told the New York Times
that Ahmed-jan preferred to keep a low profile and used a taxi or public
transport even though her office maintained cars and drivers."

A truly courageous woman!

How can you respect a religion that holds no regard, whatsoever, for their women? And that applies to any religion or religious sect that represses women. I certainly don't!

PIZZA DELIVERY DRIVERS UNIONIZED!

Domino Pizza drivers in Pensacola, Florida formed a Union.

Not very Republican, I know, (see my profile) but I'm a proud member of SAG (Screen Actors Guild), AEA (Actors Equity Association) and AFTRA (American Federation of TV and Radio Artists). Without our unions we would probably be working 24 hour days for no pay. And yes, it can happen. I worked a 22 hour day on a commercial shoot once. However, thanks to SAG, we were well compensated when you factored in all the penalties and overtime payments. If it had been a non-union shoot the actors would have been paid a flat rate, no matter how many hours they worked.

The actor unions are there to make sure that we work in safe and sanitary conditions, and that we are compensated fairly for our time. The SAG website includes a section that explains the history of how actors became unionized.

That said, the idea of a Pizza Delivery person's Union seems downright crazy. Granted Jim Pohl, the guy who was instrumental in 'organizing' his fellow pizza delivery guys at this particular Domino's Pizza in Pensacola, Florida , was compelled to do so when the drivers were "declared as tipped employees" and were therefore not eligible, any longer, to be paid Florida's minimum wage of $6.40 an hour. I probably would have been angry, as well. $6.40 isn't much to begin with, although the 37 year old Pohl had obviously been happy working there for that amount of money for the 12 off and on years he was with the company. Who knows what they were offering as a base salary and how much do you tip a pizza delivery guy? But, a Pizza Delivery Union? What are they going to negotiate? Seems like overkill to me, but we now have... drum roll....
The American Union of Pizza Delivery Drivers! The first in the nation.

Some Unions are worthwhile, like ours, others are useless, like the Union for secretaries I was forced to join when I got a job at a Film Studio in Los Angeles when I lived there decades ago. They collected their dues from each paycheck and that was it.

WAR ON TERROR

This is an interesting interactive global map that shows you all the terror attacks (by Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups) that have occurred since 1993. It also lists the major players in Al-Qaida, both living and deceased, and you have the option of viewing the events by group or individuals. It also lists those who are dead. They've been pretty busy over the years!!

"GOD" REFERENCES CENSORED FROM NBC CHILDREN'S PROGRAM

"Veggie Tales", an animated children's show that airs on NBC Saturday mornings, apparently has had certain references to "God" edited out of the program.

Originally produced as a collection of stories with a moral bent based on Christian principles, it started airing on NBC several weeks ago, with certain references to God edited out.

According to NBC spokeswoman, Rebecca Marks, they were edited out, "... to reach as broad an audience as possible with these positive messages while being careful not to advocate any one religious point of view." Since when is the word "God" exclusively Christian??

In the original format two of the characters, Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato, ended each episode with, "Remember kids, God made you special and he loves you very much," supposedly this is no longer the case. Do only Christians tell their children that God loves them? I think not. Perhaps if the word "Christ" was used instead of "God" then I could understand NBC's logic, but "God" is a universal concept and part of most world religions, yes, even Islam, so it shouldn't offend anyone other than an atheist. And I can't imagine atheists watching a faith-based programme, anyway, so they don't count.

How sad that the word "God" has been relegated to the cutting room floor and yet there are numerous prime-time shows with content that is so totally inappropriate for that time slot. It seems that God has become a victim of p.c.-ness. Makes me shudder.

CHAVEZ vs BUSH

Great cartoon, by Gary Varvel, of Chavez. It says it all.

CHAVEZ HEARING VOICES?

At an event at a church in Harlem yesterday, where idiot Danny Glover introduced Hugo Chavez to the crowd, Chavez once again used his "Bush is the devil" reference. (Pot calling kettle black?). He went on to say: "They told me that I should be careful after I called him the devil and I think he is the devil because he might kill me". Sounds like the man is hearing voices. Who are "they"?

An then he had the gall to say, "But, I place myself in the hands of God". I'd like to know whose GOD he is referring to?

So many of the world's leaders seem to be delusional, and paranoid among other things: Chavez, Iran's Ahmadinejad, North Korea's Kim Jun Il. If some of these people were institutionalized, perhaps we'd have a safer world.

IDIOT DANNY GLOVER EMBRACES HUGO CHAVEZ

I didn't actually witness the scene but my Dad, who is a die-hard Democrat, did. Thankfully he isn't as hoodwinked by the left as some people, so he is in agreement that Chavez is an idiot, along with all the other idiots that have embraced him, both literally and figuratively. Let's see, Cindy Sheehan, Harry Belafonte to name a few.

What surprised me most was that 2 other idiots actually defended our President:
both Charlie Rangel and Nancy Pelosi actually defended Bush calling Chavez a "thug". Nice to see that they were able to set partisan politics aside and react as Americans not Democrats.

But going back to Danny Glover, a fellow actor, it just re-affirms my belief that actors, on the whole, are total idiots. I, obviously, do not include myself in that assessment, but for the most part we are. Although actors will delve into researching a part, when it comes to politics etc. they can't be bothered. Or don't have the brain resources to see the Truth. Not sure which. But.... it's hard to believe that there are leaders in this world like Chavez (in Venezuela) and Ahmadinejad (in Iran) that some people actually respect.

There's a great blog on Chavez from Venezuela. Check it out for everything you want to know about Chavez. Caracas Chronicles, there are posts both in English and Spanish.

TALENT AGENT, ARI EMANUEL, FUNDRAISING FOR THE DEMS

Ari Emanuel (head honcho at Endeavour Talent Agent) has apparently turned fundraising maven for the "Red to Blue Program"!

Ari Emanuel's brother, Democratic Rep. Rahm Emanuel from Chicago, is part of a group called 'Red to Blue' which is, as its title implies, trying to regain control of the house. Ari is kindly helping his bro with fundraising. Now that's fine, as long as you don't mix work and politics. However, as one of the founders of Endeavour Talent (one of the top Hollywood Talent Agencies) he is calling upon his staff and clients to donate money to the 'cause', and they have..........generously. Most of them, willingly, I'm sure.... considering the political bent of the majority of those Hollywood types, but what about those who might not be so liberal? What happens to them?

So, you get an invitation from your high-powered Hollywood Agent to donate to the Democratic Party but you're a Republican, and no-one knows it, what do you do? Odds are there aren't many, but what if you are just apolitical, or Libertarian, or Socialist or whatever? Is it fair to place people in a position of having to turn down your request? This is just an insidious form of coercion.

This is what would go through my mind: "If I don't give money, will I lose my job?" Or if I was a client: "Will they stop submitting me for projects if I don't donate?" I was asked to make a donation to a theatre once. A place I had not worked in a while and I wondered the same thing. If I don't donate would they ever use me again. I opted not to give them any money and I haven't worked there since. But that's neither here nor there. If Ari is so politically motivated how would he react to a client or employee who was not of his 'political persuasion"?

This is why we keep our mouths shut!

To give credit where due, though, Ari was one of those 84 high profile Hollywood personalities who placed an ad in the L.A. Times denouncing terrorism back in August, 2006. Some of the names listed are those who have had the courage to openly embrace their Republican identity, then again, they are celebrities and can well afford to. The rest are liberals, but it's good to see that at least they have some sense.

So, Rosie O'Donnell thinks that "radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam...".

Of course, radical, fundamentalist Christians force their women to hide under tent-like clothing (I'd like to see Ms O'Donnell in a Burqa!). They groom their children as suicide bombers and arbitrarily bomb innocent men, women and children. They kidnap and behead people they consider to be 'enemies' of Christianity. Okay, so there have been a few wackos who have bombed churches and abortion clinics in this country, something I have always condemned, but "as threatening"? To the extent that radical Islam is a threat?

Oh please, Rosie! In what way, "as threatening"?? Please explain this to us.

Why don't people think before they speak?!

POPE SORRY FOR HIS COMMENTS

Once again the Islamic community, and not merely the radical contingency, has overreacted to something with extreme violence. This time it was a quote from a 14th-century Byzantine emperor (Manuel II Palaeologus) that the Pope used as a "starting point" in a speech he made at the University of Regensburg in Germany, on 9/12/2006. It was entitled:

"Faith, Reason and the University
Memories and Reflections"

In his lecture, the Pope talks about a series of 'dialogues' dating back to the 1390s between Palaeologus and an educated Persian on the subject of Islam and Christianity:

"In the seventh conversation (διάλεξις - controversy) edited by Professor Khoury, the emperor touches on the theme of
the holy war. The emperor must have known that surah 2, 256 reads: "There is no compulsion in religion". According to some of the experts, this is probably one of the suras of the early period, when Mohammed was still powerless and under threat. But naturally the emperor also knew the instructions, developed later and recorded in the Qur'an, concerning holy
war. Without descending to details, such as the difference in
treatment accorded to those who have the "Book" and the "infidels", he addresses his interlocutor with a startling brusqueness, a brusqueness that we find unacceptable, on the central question about the relationship between religion
and violence in general, saying: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.” The emperor, after having expressed himself so forcefully, goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. "God", he says, "is not pleased by blood - and not acting reasonably (σὺν λόγω) is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats... To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death..."

The quotes in red are Palaeologus' words and the reference to Islam being "evil and inhuman" is what sparked Islamic outrage, and yet, clearly, the violence that ensued has shown that Islam is exactly what it was criticized for being: 'evil and inhuman.'
Since Pope Benedict XVI made his comment they have been burning down churches in Palestine and in Mogadishu, Somalia a 65 year old Italian Catholic nun was shot and killed, execution style, outside the hospital where she worked. This was someone helping that community; an innocent, elderly woman violently gunned down, from behind, no less. How savage and inhuman can you get? And cowardly. And with her last breath Sister Leonella had the grace to forgive her killers.

If you are still unable to see the larger picture read the following:

"Al-Qaida in Iraq warned Pope Benedict XVI on Monday that its war against
Christianity and the West will go on until Islam takes over the world, and
Iran’s supreme leader called for more protests over the pontiff’s remarks on
Islam."

You can read the whole story on MSNBC.

The Pope actually apologized for his comments, though in my humble opinion none was owed.

It still baffles me how people continue to be blinded to the Truth. What more do you need?

Wake up people!!

AL-QAIDA JOINS ALGERIANS AGAINST FRANCE

AP News by John Leicester and Omar Sinan

Well, isn't this interesting. According to a Paris AP news article, Al-Qaida announced the joining of forces (for the first time) with an Algerian insurgent group (Salafist Group for Call and Combat) which will now target France, in addition to the U.S.

Ayman al-Zawahri (the 2nd in command of Al-Qaida) blessed the union.

So, even though France did not participate in any way, shape or form in the Iraq War, they are still being targeted!! What does this tell you about the intent of Radical Islam, or whatever you want to call it?

When is the world going to wake up?

"THE PATH TO 9/11"

I watched the "The Path to 9/11" and then the clips that were supposedly cut and I'm not sure that anything actually was cut, but I may be wrong.

It was a very compelling show and thankfully commercial free. For once the bottom line did not prevail, although I heard somewhere that this was more a result of the inability to get anyone to advertise rather than consideration for the subject matter.

Anyway, it was heartbreaking to witness what 'inaction' eventually led to. Frankly it wasn't favorable to either the Clinton or Bush administration, but the fact that the process started with the Clinton administration's inaction, in my mind, firmly places most of the blame on Clinton.

So you have all these people claiming that much of the information in the film was fabricated, and on the other hand you have people claiming that what happened was true. A former Clinton aide who served as his military attache' (Ret. Air Force Lt. Col. Buzz Patterson) claims that Clinton did have several chances at nabbing Bin Laden but backed down each time. The following is an interesting article:

Former Clinton Aide Critical of Attempts to Shut Down ABC's 9/11

Special By Chad
Groening AgapePress September 13, 2006
(AgapePress) -- A national defense
analyst who served as a military attaché to President Bill Clinton says the controversial ABC miniseries that has been lambasted by the former Chief Executive and his advisers was, in fact, very accurate.
On Monday evening, ABC presented the second three-hour segment of "The Path to 9/11," a docudrama about the struggle facing America's counter-terrorism experts between the 1993
bombing of the World Trade Center and the fatal attacks on September 11, 2001.
The bombing occurred slightly more than a month after Bill Clinton first took office; George W. Bush had been in the Oval Office less than eight months when the two hijacked airliners smashed into the twin towers.
Drawn from detailed information contained in the 9/11 Commission Report and other sources, the six-hour miniseries promised to "take viewers on an unforgettable journey through the events that presaged that fateful day" so they could "understand what went right and wrong, and what can be learned from [the] crucial eight-year
period" between the two events.

Sunday's three-hour segment, however, created a furor with Clinton and members of his former administration, who wanted the entire program shelved. They accused the filmmakers of including "fictitious" and "false and defamatory" scenes of how they responded to the terror threat. But retired Air Force Lt. Col. Buzz Patterson says his former boss had several chances to nab terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden. "In fact, Clinton did sign the presidential
finding saying that we needed to either kidnap him or kill him," Patterson recalls. "But just signing a piece of paper didn't result in any kind of action, because every time it came down to it and we had a chance to get bin Laden dead or alive, President Clinton chose not to."

Patterson is convinced several terrorist attacks would have been averted if Clinton had acted. "In the timeline of the movie and also [during] my time there, this was in early 1998 now," he
explains. "And if you'll recall, later in 1998 we had the two embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya that killed hundreds of people."
Those attacks and others, says Patterson, could have been prevented. "[W]e could have prevented the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole, we could have prevented 9/11, and we could have prevented the bombings of the embassies in Africa if President Clinton had taken one of these opportunities," he states. "We had eight chances at least to either
nab bin Laden or to kill him."
The former Clinton aide says the former president's desire to cover up the truth about his decisions related to bin Laden will not work. "I think President Bill Clinton is responsible for 9/11 and the war on terror, personally. That is his legacy," Patterson comments. "I think
he's trying to change that legacy, which is what [he was] trying to do by not having this series shown." Instead, he believes Clinton will go down in history as the nation's worst Commander-in-Chief.
Patterson says the producer of the miniseries asked him about the accuracy of the events in "The Path to 9/11," and the former presidential aide replied it was a very accurate portrayal of the
events.
Copyright © 2006 AgapePress -- All rights reserved

.
You can find more information on Ret. Lt. Col Patterson on his website. He has written some books about this subject matter.

So who do you believe: a former President who swore in front of the entire world that he "never had sexual relations with that woman" or a retired Lt. Col. I know which one I believe.

CARTER OPENS HIS BIG MOUTH AGAIN!

Well Carter is at it again!

Apparently he criticized Sen. Lieberrman support for the Iraq war, on Larry King Live, claiming, "He was one of the originators of public statements that misled the American people into believing that the Iraqi war was justified," adding, "He's joined in with the Republican spokespersons by saying that Democrats who disagree are really supporting terrorism, so for all these reasons, I've lost my confidence in Joe Lieberman and don't wish to see him re-elected." This, out of the mouth of one of the most truly inept Presidents of all time. And, frankly, who cares what Jimmy Carter thinks! I know I don't. This man needs to stick to building houses and stop opening his big mouth. Even though I'm a Republican, I am praying that Lieberman wins. It's disgraceful that the Democratic Party literally abandoned him because of his support for the war in Iraq. He has voted pretty much party line on everything else, over the years, but the Dems fail to acknowledge that. Thankfully, Lieberman has the sensitivity and intelligence to see the bigger picture, when it comes to the Middle East, and it matters not if he is elected as an Independent.

And while we are on the subject of Carter, I have a confession to make. I used to support Habitat For Humanity (Carter's charitable organization). For years, as I received their donation requests, I would send a check. Not much, because regional actors don't make loads of money, but it was usually $20 to $30.00 a pop. When you are making $250.00 a week (at some Theatres), that's a chunk 'o change. But I have always felt it was important to give what you can to charity and so I have always chosen very carefully the organizations I feel are worthy of my few pennies.

Admittedly, Habitat for Humanity does some wonderful things ... building houses, helping people, etc., but I finally reached a point where I felt I could not support an organization with Carter as its figurehead. So I sent them a letter asking to be removed from their list of donors, explaining the reasons why. It took several mailings before I stopped receiving their solicitations altogether, but I haven't received a thing for several years. Whether the decision was right or wrong, it's done, and I know the paltry amounts I sent are probably not missed, but thanks to Carter's verbal antics, they lost one supporter.

9/11- It's the 5th Anniversary of "9/11" and a day that will be etched in my mind forever. I remember exactly where I was, as I am sure most sentient, civilized people in this world will recall. I was out of town rehearsing a show and woke up at about 9:15 a.m., switched on the TV in my motel room and was an unwilling witness to what hatred and evil are capable of. I watched in horror and, initially, disbelief. My mind was still a little foggy, having just awakened, and I wasn't sure what I was watching. In college, I remember reading about Orson Welles' "The War of the World" radio broadcast that occurred on October 30th, 1938 where people actually thought the radio broadcast was real and that the world was being invaded by Martians. It created much panic and for a moment I wondered if perhaps I was watching some similar simulation. But as my mind cleared I realized that this wasn't some kind of theatrical manipulation but something that had just occurred and I began to cry. I picked up the phone and called anyone I could think of to share my feelings: my parents, a few of my fellow actors. All I knew was that I did not want to be alone with my thoughts.

We still held rehearsal later that day, but at one point in the evening we gathered some candles we had brought with us and went outside and held vigil, for a few minutes, and prayed together.

Here we are 5 years later and the 'hatred' responsible for such an horrific act continues to poison the fabric of western civilization. As politically incorrect as this sounds, Western Civilization is in a war against Islamic Fascism. The lines have been drawn and burying our heads in the proverbial sand is not going to change that fact, as the liberals seem to think.

GOD Bless the troops, our country and this poor, messed up world.

(If you want to read more about Orson Welles "The War of the World" click on the following URL: http://www.transparencynow.com/welles.htm )

Apparently ABC was cowed into cutting certain scenes from "The Path to 9/11" (airing tonight and Monday on ABC) by certain factions within the Democratic Party, including Mr. Clinton. The hypocrisy of the liberals in this world never fails to amaze me. This is censorship in its most virulent form. Although I have not had a chance to view the 'cut' scenes they are available on http://savethesoldiers.com/. Thank goodness for the internet!! I will certainly be watching the programme.