The father is able-bodied, and the son apparently
has multiple physical disabilities. The video follows the father and son participating in a triathlon. At every step of the
competition, the father has rigged a way to allow his son to compete with him, using various adapted wheelchairs and equipment.
In the swimming portion, the son is in an inflatable boat, and the father tows him along with the raft tethered to his foot.
The cinematography is active and attentive, keeping up with the action while capturing some touching moments of intimacy with
the camera. The following shot of the father carrying his son from the boat to the wheelchair for the bicycling portion of
the competition is especially memorable, as is the shot of the father in the midst of the marathon. He is obviously exhausted
and depleted, yet he keeps pushing his son--and himself--along.
I was relieved when the camera caught the son's
facial expressions. Sometimes, they reveal a quiet calmness, while in other moments, we see a hint of triumph and excitement.
The son, too, becomes a character, not just a prop. There were times when I thought, "Does the son really want to be doing
this?" The care and attention that the father shows toward his son dispel any fears that the father is an opportunist. Through
the video, we experience "a father's love for his son" as an extraordinary and meaningful relationship, journey, and commitment
This website, in conjunction with the 72-minute documentary
film
LEADING TO WAR
details how the Bush administration made its case to the American people for military action
against Saddam Hussein’s regime, leading to the Iraq War which began in 2003.
WEBSITE CORE CONTENT
On each page of the main part of the website is a menu of seven topics. These topics analyze
the wide-ranging strategies and rhetorical techniques used by the administration in marketing the idea of a war with Iraq,
in addition to examining the pre-war claims made by the Bush administration as presented in the film. The core of the analysis
is presented in six topics that provide a comprehensive examination of how the Bush administration led the United States to
war:
Tens of thousands of Iraqis protest the Status of Forces Agreement that has passed the U.S. controlled
Iraqi cabinet. The demonstration was organized but not attended by the Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr, who opposes any deal with
the U.S.
Under the forces agreement supported by incoming president Barack Obama, US troops will withdraw from
the streets of Iraqi towns and cities next year, with all 150,000 having left Iraq by the end of 2011. The agreement does
allow for permanent U.S. military installations in Iraq.
The peaceful crowds waved flags and chanted anti-American slogans in Firdous Square, the scene of the
toppling of a statue of Saddam Hussein, five years ago.
Exactley how creating more anti-American sentiment is supposed to bring democracy to Iraq and peace
and security to the world is a mystery politicians supporting the wars still cannot explain.
As of Friday, Dec. 26, 2008, at least 558
members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan
in late 2001, according to the Defense Department.
* * *
As
of Wednesday, December 24 2008 There have been
4,216 members of the US military
who have died in Iraq since the 2003 invasion
Members
of Congress were told they could face martial law if they didn't pass the bailout bill. This will not be the last time.Background:
the First Brigade of the Third Infantry Division, three to four thousand soldiers, has been deployed in the United States
as of October 1. Their stated mission is the form of crowd control they practiced in Iraq, subduing "unruly individuals,"
and the management of a national emergency. I am in Seattle and heard from the brother of one of the soldiers that they are
engaged in exercises now. Amy Goodman reported that an Army spokesperson confirmed that they will have access to lethal and
non lethal crowd control technologies and tanks.
George Bush struck down Posse Comitatus, thus making it legal for
military to patrol the U.S. He has also legally established that in the "War on Terror," the U.S. is at war around the globe
and thus the whole world is a battlefield. Thus the U.S. is also a battlefield....MORE HERE
Outside the Xcel Energy Center, thousands of people filled the streets of St. Paul for a rally and march organized by the
Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign. Rick Rowley of Big Noise Films reports. [includes rush transcript]
On November 10 2007 Cynthia McKinney told a Seattle audience "The reason I stand up here today as the former member of congress is because I dared to confront empire."
"People say the United States is a superpower. How in the world can you call yourself a superpower when your dropping
bombs on the most impoverished people in the world?"
This animated visual film short you are about
to see is a story of prophecy. The story of man going down the wrong path, with one day the possibility of finding the
path of peace and love. What we are seeing around the world with wars, genocide, diseases, climate change such as global warming,
and potential earth changes that have been foretold by many seers and indigenous peoples.
"I have come to believe that it is wrong to destroy life, that it is wrong to use war, that it is immoral, and I can
no longer go down this path." --Agustín Aguayo
