Hell's Angel is a 1994 BBC television documentary about Mother Theresa by Christopher Hitchens, a precursor to his book, The Missionary Position. The film claims that she urged the poor to accept their fate, while the rich are portrayed as being favored by God. Hitchens and Tariq Ali wrote the show's script.
IMDb User Theo Robertson Comment:
If you've never heard of Christopher Hitchens let me explain he's the only person in the world who makes Professor Richard Dawkins look like a happy clappy vicar . He's a radical atheist who is openly hostile of religion . Dawkins uses scientific arguments to illustrate his belief that there is no god . Hitchens on the other hand is not a scientist but his cynicism towards religion makes him far more accessible to a mass audience , and over the years this expose by Hitchens on Mother Teresa has taken on legendary status . Such a pity that it's difficult to track down , but all you have to do is type in to any search engine " Hitchins Hells Angel " and you might be presently surprised how easy it is to find
Hitchens does not for a moment pretend this is going to be objective - It's a hatchet job on someone who is somewhat regarded even amongst secularists as someone who has brought hope and joy to the destitute and needy in the slums of Calcutta . Early on we're shown a clip from a 1969 documentary by ( in )famous Christian Malcolm Muggeridge who started the Teresa myth by proclaiming that a miracle had happened , but this so called miracle involving light is easily explained by the cameraman going in to details as to how it's all down to the film in the camera . Strange to say that despite all the publicity and donations she has received her hospice has not changed one bit 25 years later . People still lie on stretcher beds with their heads shaved and the image to quote one former nurse who worked there " resembles Belsen ...where the dying and stricken are given nothing stronger than aspirin as a painkiller ... and where dirty needles are washed in cold water to be used again "
Abortion and Teresa's attitude to it is next in Hitchens sights . We're shown footage of her stating that " The greatest destroyer of world peace today is the cry of the unborn child being murdered in her mother's womb " then footage of a rally in Ireland where she states her dogma against abortion and birth control . It's at this point journalist Mihir Bose points out that she's a crusader for reactionary hardline Catholic dogma and why so many leaders of western democracies admire her so much
But perhaps it's not so much western leaders she should be remembered for meeting according to Hitchens " She may not comfort the afflicted but has never been known to afflict the comfortable " . she shakes hands with Ronald Reagan , a sponsor of right wing death squads in Central America , Haitian despot Papa Doc Duvalier and laying a wreath on the tomb of Stalinist dictator of Albania Enva Hoxa . Hitchens poses the question that why is she renowned as being " Mother Teresa Of Calcutta " when in fact she seemed to spend most of her life preferring to shake hands with the ( not ) great and ( far from ) good
If I have any problem with HELLS ANGEL it's that might have pulled his punches just a little bit . It's a well known fact that whenever Mother Teresa fell ill she would go to America to be treated by the world's leading and most expensive doctors . Apparently what was good enough for dying penniless beggars in the Indian subcontinent wasn't good enough for her , and I don't think Hitchens hammered this point home enough in this documentary though to be fair Hitchens has certainly made up for it in articles over the years . But still it's a very well argued documentary which should be seen by anyone who's sitting on the fence where religion and its hypocrisy is concerned
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Super High Me
Super High Me es un documental acerca de los efectos de consumir marihuana sin parar por 30 días. Su protagonista es el comediante Doug Benson. El nombre del documental es basado en el de Super Size Me. Super High Me muestra a Benson sin consumir marihuana por 30 días y luego consumiendo cannabis todos los días por 30 días seguidos. Benson afirma que Super High Me es como "Super Size Me con marihuana en vez de McDonalds". Para que el alcohol no afectara los resultados, tampoco consumió alcohol en los dos meses en los que se filmó la cinta. La película también incluye entrevistas con activistas a favor de la marihuana, dueños de dispensarios, políticos y pacientes que utilizan la marihuana de forma medicinal. Benson afirma que con este documental le dice a los niños que "no fumen marihuana hasta convertirse en comediantes profesionales". El DVD fue lanzado en abril 20 de 2008.
Nota: Después de 72 minutos el video se corta, lo mejor es descargarlo, en el propio reproductor viene la opción de download.
Nota: Después de 72 minutos el video se corta, lo mejor es descargarlo, en el propio reproductor viene la opción de download.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Notes On Breakcore - A Statement Video -
What is Breakcore? (baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more) Breakcore is the bastard hate child of jungle, happy hardcore, gabba, speedcore, drum 'n' bass, techno, electronica, IDM, acid house, ragga, electro, dub, industrial, noise, grindcore, hardcore, metal and punk. This is a statementvideo/documentry on one of the most progressive music scenes. (german/english | color | stereo | 30 min. | Austria) (c) 2006 Bertram Koenighofer & David Kleinl
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Super Rich : The Greed Game
As the credit crunch bites and a global economic crisis threatens, Robert Peston reveals how the super-rich have made their fortunes, and the rest of us are picking up the bill.
Pedigree Dogs Exposed
A pug gasps for breath, his face so flat he damages his eyes if he bumps into things; a cavalier King Charles spaniel writhes in agony and must be put to sleep to end its pain; a distraught owner holds his beloved boxer who is fitting uncontrollably...
Two years in the making, Pedigree Dogs Exposed lifts the lid on the true extent of health and welfare problems in pedigree dogs in the UK.
Seventy-five per cent of the seven million dogs in the UK are pedigrees, and they cost their owners over £10m in vet fees every week.
This in-depth investigation suggests they are in serious trouble, plagued by genetic disease due to decades of inbreeding.
They are also suffering acute problems because of the showring's emphasis on looks over and above function and health.
Some physical traits required by the Kennel Club's breed standards have inherent health problems (short faces, wrinkling, screw-tails, dwarfism) while other problems occur because of exaggerations bred into dogs by breeders trying to win rosettes.
Deliberate mating of dogs that are close relatives is common practice and the Kennel Club continues to register dogs bred from mother-to-son and brother-to-sister matings.
Scientists at Imperial College, London, recently found that pugs in the UK are so inbred that, although there are 10,000 of them, it is the equivalent of just 50 distinct individuals – making them more genetically compromised than the giant panda.
Steve Jones, Professor of Genetics, UCL, says: "People are carrying out breeding which would be, first of all, be entirely illegal in humans and secondly is absolutely insane from the point of view of the health of the animals."
He adds: "In some breeds they are paying a terrible, terrible price in genetic disease."
The film exposes the devastating consequences of such genetic disease for dogs and the distress it causes their owners.
Disturbing footage is shown of a cavalier King Charles spaniel writhing in agony due to syringomyelia, estimated to affect up to a third of the breed.
They have been bred with skulls too small for their brains, explains veterinary neurologist Clare Rusbridge: "The cavalier's brain is like a size 10 foot that has been shoved into a size six shoe – it doesn't fit."
Boxers suffer from several life-threatening health issues – including heart disease and a very high rate of cancer, especially brain tumours.
There are no official figures to say how many boxers suffer from epilepsy but in some breeds it is 20 times the rate found in humans. Two-year-old Zak is filmed while fitting and the distress the disease causes for him and his owners is obvious.
The film also demonstrates how some breeders produce dogs with pronounced physical attributes – "exaggerations" – in their efforts to attract a dog show judge's eye.
The breed standards are set by the Kennel Club but are open to interpretation and the film shows how, as fashion changes, so do the dogs, leading to serious health and welfare problems in some breeds.
Bulldogs, for example, have been bred to be such an unnatural shape that most can no longer mate or give birth unassisted.
The RSPCA's Chief Vet Mark Evans says: "The show world is about an obsession, about beauty, and there is a ridiculous concept that that is how we should judge dogs…
"It takes no account of your temperament, your fitness for purpose potentially as a pet animal – and that to me just makes absolutely no sense at all."
The film also exposes famous show champions that continue to father puppies despite having serious inherited disease, and demonstrates that some breeders cull perfectly healthy puppies on purely cosmetic grounds.
As the filmmaker Jemima becomes increasingly concerned with what she uncovers, she challenges the Kennel Club.
The Kennel Club, however, robustly defends its position as the guardian of dog health, pointing out the initiatives it has taken to improve pedigree dog health – including their accredited breeder scheme which sets a code of conduct for breeders and asks them to make use of health screening schemes.
It also insists that "the vast majority of dog breeds are healthy".
Ultimately, the film concludes that far from enough is being done.
As Professor Jones says: "If the dog breeders insist on going further down that road, I can say with confidence really that there is a universe of suffering waiting for many of these breeds – and many if not most of these breeds will not survive.
"They will get so inbred that they will be unable to reproduce and their genes will come to a dead end."
Two years in the making, Pedigree Dogs Exposed lifts the lid on the true extent of health and welfare problems in pedigree dogs in the UK.
Seventy-five per cent of the seven million dogs in the UK are pedigrees, and they cost their owners over £10m in vet fees every week.
This in-depth investigation suggests they are in serious trouble, plagued by genetic disease due to decades of inbreeding.
They are also suffering acute problems because of the showring's emphasis on looks over and above function and health.
Some physical traits required by the Kennel Club's breed standards have inherent health problems (short faces, wrinkling, screw-tails, dwarfism) while other problems occur because of exaggerations bred into dogs by breeders trying to win rosettes.
Deliberate mating of dogs that are close relatives is common practice and the Kennel Club continues to register dogs bred from mother-to-son and brother-to-sister matings.
Scientists at Imperial College, London, recently found that pugs in the UK are so inbred that, although there are 10,000 of them, it is the equivalent of just 50 distinct individuals – making them more genetically compromised than the giant panda.
Steve Jones, Professor of Genetics, UCL, says: "People are carrying out breeding which would be, first of all, be entirely illegal in humans and secondly is absolutely insane from the point of view of the health of the animals."
He adds: "In some breeds they are paying a terrible, terrible price in genetic disease."
The film exposes the devastating consequences of such genetic disease for dogs and the distress it causes their owners.
Disturbing footage is shown of a cavalier King Charles spaniel writhing in agony due to syringomyelia, estimated to affect up to a third of the breed.
They have been bred with skulls too small for their brains, explains veterinary neurologist Clare Rusbridge: "The cavalier's brain is like a size 10 foot that has been shoved into a size six shoe – it doesn't fit."
Boxers suffer from several life-threatening health issues – including heart disease and a very high rate of cancer, especially brain tumours.
There are no official figures to say how many boxers suffer from epilepsy but in some breeds it is 20 times the rate found in humans. Two-year-old Zak is filmed while fitting and the distress the disease causes for him and his owners is obvious.
The film also demonstrates how some breeders produce dogs with pronounced physical attributes – "exaggerations" – in their efforts to attract a dog show judge's eye.
The breed standards are set by the Kennel Club but are open to interpretation and the film shows how, as fashion changes, so do the dogs, leading to serious health and welfare problems in some breeds.
Bulldogs, for example, have been bred to be such an unnatural shape that most can no longer mate or give birth unassisted.
The RSPCA's Chief Vet Mark Evans says: "The show world is about an obsession, about beauty, and there is a ridiculous concept that that is how we should judge dogs…
"It takes no account of your temperament, your fitness for purpose potentially as a pet animal – and that to me just makes absolutely no sense at all."
The film also exposes famous show champions that continue to father puppies despite having serious inherited disease, and demonstrates that some breeders cull perfectly healthy puppies on purely cosmetic grounds.
As the filmmaker Jemima becomes increasingly concerned with what she uncovers, she challenges the Kennel Club.
The Kennel Club, however, robustly defends its position as the guardian of dog health, pointing out the initiatives it has taken to improve pedigree dog health – including their accredited breeder scheme which sets a code of conduct for breeders and asks them to make use of health screening schemes.
It also insists that "the vast majority of dog breeds are healthy".
Ultimately, the film concludes that far from enough is being done.
As Professor Jones says: "If the dog breeders insist on going further down that road, I can say with confidence really that there is a universe of suffering waiting for many of these breeds – and many if not most of these breeds will not survive.
"They will get so inbred that they will be unable to reproduce and their genes will come to a dead end."
Thursday, September 17, 2009
1984 de George Orwell
Mil novecientos ochenta y cuatro (más conocida como 1984) (en inglés Nineteen Eighty-Four) es el título de una novela de política ficción distópica escrita por George Orwell en 1948 y editada en 1949. En la novela el estado omnipresente obliga a cumplir las leyes y normas a los miembros del partido totalitario mediante el adoctrinamiento, la propaganda, el miedo y el castigo despiadado. La novela introdujo los conceptos del siempre presente y vigilante Gran Hermano, de la notoria habitación 101, de la ubicua policía del pensamiento y de la neolengua, adaptación del inglés en la que se reduce y se transforma el léxico -lo que no está en la lengua, no puede ser pensado-. Muchos comentaristas detectan paralelismos entre la sociedad actual y el mundo de 1984, sugiriendo que estamos comenzando a vivir en lo que se ha conocido como sociedad Orwelliana. El término Orwelliano se ha convertido en sinónimo de las sociedades u organizaciones que reproducen actitudes totalitarias y represoras como las representadas en la novela. La novela fue un éxito en términos de ventas y se ha convertido en uno de los más influyentes libros del siglo XX
Monday, September 14, 2009
Fahrenheit 9/11
Fahrenheit 9/11 is an award-winning and controversial 2004 documentary film by American filmmaker Michael Moore. The film takes a critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the War on Terrorism, and its coverage in the American news media. The film holds the record for highest box office receipts by a general release political film.
In the film, Moore contends that American corporate media were "cheerleaders" for the 2003 invasion of Iraq and did not provide an accurate and objective analysis of the rationale for the war or the resulting casualties there. The film's attack on the Bush administration generated much controversy around the time of the film's release, including disputes over its accuracy. Moore has attempted to respond by documenting his sources.
The film debuted at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival in the documentary film category and received a 20 minute standing ovation (the longest standing ovation in the festival's history). The film was also awarded the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm), the festival's highest award.
The film had a general release in the United States and Canada on June 23, 2004. It has since been released in 42 more countries. As of January 2005, the film had grossed nearly $120 million in U.S. box office and over $220 million worldwide, an unprecedented amount for a political film. Sony reported first-day DVD sales of two million copies, again a new record for the genre.
The title of the film alludes to Ray Bradbury's 1953 novel Fahrenheit 451, a dystopian view of the future United States, conflating the supposed autoignition temperature of paper with the date of the September 11 attacks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_9/11
In the film, Moore contends that American corporate media were "cheerleaders" for the 2003 invasion of Iraq and did not provide an accurate and objective analysis of the rationale for the war or the resulting casualties there. The film's attack on the Bush administration generated much controversy around the time of the film's release, including disputes over its accuracy. Moore has attempted to respond by documenting his sources.
The film debuted at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival in the documentary film category and received a 20 minute standing ovation (the longest standing ovation in the festival's history). The film was also awarded the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm), the festival's highest award.
The film had a general release in the United States and Canada on June 23, 2004. It has since been released in 42 more countries. As of January 2005, the film had grossed nearly $120 million in U.S. box office and over $220 million worldwide, an unprecedented amount for a political film. Sony reported first-day DVD sales of two million copies, again a new record for the genre.
The title of the film alludes to Ray Bradbury's 1953 novel Fahrenheit 451, a dystopian view of the future United States, conflating the supposed autoignition temperature of paper with the date of the September 11 attacks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_9/11
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