The problem with information overload

Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party (Documentary; 2016)

Director, Screenwriter: Dinesh D'Souza, Bruce Schooley


Even though this partisan documentary did such a fantastic job criticising the Democratic Party and probably aided the victory of Donald Trump and his Republican Party, it received a flurry of negative reviews in the mainstream media. Despite having the honour of being one of highest grosser of all time, the film was nominated and made a killing at the Raspberry Awards for the worst Director, Film and Actor.

The presentation starts with D'Souza starting his jail sentence for misuse of political funds (when he did his first film, 2016: Obama's America). As he mingles with the hardcore criminals in prison, he realises that the modus operandi of the gangs that control the jail is the same as the crooks that control politics in America, especially that of the Democratic Party. Just like the design laid out by a schemer who was a fellow inmate, the design is the same - plan, pitch, take and deny.

The premise of the whole show is to portray Obama, Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party of America as conniving psychopaths who are out to cheat Americans citizens blind just to build their own empire without giving two hoots about is the right things to do and what is just. D"Souza accuse them of being the bad guys who steal, collude with the Russians, build personal funds (like the Clinton Foundation) to profit themselves and their conspirators and act in subversive manners.

Predecessors of the Democratic Party, starting with Andrew Johnson have been unapologetic slave owners who were hellbent on keeping slavery very much alive. They were the chief opposers of slave abolition and Indian Bill. They resisted equal rights to women and blacks. At one time, they even delved in eugenics to maintain a pure white bloodline. The Ku Klux Klan is alleged to be the military arm of the Party. The Second Amendment, to bear arms has racial connotations as at what time black could not own guns. The racial rant apparently continued during Woodrow Wilson and FDR's eras.

The second part of the film takes a major swipe at Hillary Clinton and Clinton Foundation. Improving on Saul Alinsky's socialist and radical ideologies, Hillary masterminded to put Bill Clinton despite knowing about his extramarital habits. Bill was just the right figure who was charismatic enough to garner votes and move into the White House. Later, with her liaison in Foreign Affairs, the Clinton Foundation used their non-profit NGO image to source funds to fatten their pockets and their cronies. They used their influence to obtain uranium mining projects in Azerbaijan. They are the reason why the Russians own two-thirds of uranium mines in the USA. They even used Haiti Earthquake funds to finance their contributors to repair textile factory instead of helping victims of the catastrophe.

D'Souza asserts that the Democratic Party did not, as it is commonly believed, that they underwent a switch. It did not become progressive, and the Southern racists did not flock into the Republican Party. The Democratic Party is master of disguise. They have perfected the art of divide-and-rule, saying one thing to one audience and another to the other to stay in power.

This must be the effect of infobesity and information overload in the post-truth era. Nobody knows what is right anymore. For every new piece of information, there is always a counter fact which sounds equally convincing. History can be manipulated to serve one's secret activities. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

USA: promoter of entrepreneurial capitalism?

America: Imagine the World Without Her (2014, Documentary)

Director, Written: Dinesh D'Souza, John Sullivan

At a time in our country when leaders from the ruling party tell non-dominant races of the nation, the so-called 'newcomers', not to comment on the political running of the country but to just continue paying the tax without raising an eyebrow on the turn of events, I thought this documentary was an eye-opener.

Only in America an immigrant who still remembers his time in his original country and after 30 years of residence in his newfound country writes and makes documentaries about the greatness of his new home but condemns the opposition to the concept of America. He further goes to prison for hurting the people in power. This is Dinesh D'Souza, the filmmaker known for making political documentaries and of one of the highest grosser in the history of USA. His previous flick, 2016: Obama's America (produced 2012) remains the second highest grossing political documentary of all time after 'The Inconvenient Truth'.

Most non-Americans view the Democratic Party as the liberal party sympathetic to the plight of minority, immigrants and the economically challenged whereas the Republican portray a gung-ho nationalist group hellbent on allowing gun usage and spreading xenophobic attitudes. Unfortunately, life is not so simplistic. After all, Abraham Lincoln was a Republican when he fought for the abolition of slavery.

From the turn of the 20th century onwards, USA has always been painted as the good guys fighting for the greater good of things against the evil fascists and communists. When the Berlin Wall collapsed when everybody thought there would be peace on Earth, nothing like that happened. Instead, what we have is the tarnished image of the USA who is viewed as the epitome of everything evil, from being a theft of lands to the manipulator of world regimes among others.

D'Souza disagrees. He feels that America is the land of free where dreams come true. It allows individuals to write their own script of life, to live their dreams and be free. He gives himself as an example, becoming successful as a writer and a filmmaker, which he would have never dreamt of being if his parents had decided to stay back in India some 30 years previously.

He goes on to dispute many of the firmly held beliefs around the world. To conquer and dominate had been going in human history in time immemorial; the Huns, the Egyptians, the Persians, the Europeans, they all did it. Even before Columbus landed in the New World, various Native American tribes were already killing and displacing each other.

He takes the famous historian, Howard Zinn, someone often mentioned in the mainstream media and Hollywood, to the task. The Mexicans still long for the day when the part of Texas and California that they lost to the USA which they fondly named 'The Lost Providences' can be reclaimed. Surprisingly, no Mexicans who migrated to the USA wants to return, and more are yearning to leave Mexico for greener pastures. The 'Lost Providences' had undoubtedly prospered under America. Imagine what would have happened if they had still been under the mafia-controlling, corruption-plagued, unsafe Mexico.

CJ Walker 1867-1919
American first female self-made millionaire.

America promotes entrepreneurship. This virtue seems to be better than being a slave, a slave-owner or living life looting (off other people's hard-earned earnings). Slaves lack the motivation to progress in life as they see the future bleak. Their owners, on the other hand, become lazy and unimaginative.

D'Souza looks at the time when America had slaves as something which was the norm for that era. Many labour intensive industries all over the world relied on slaves and indentured labourers for survival. The only difference is that America fought a war to abolish it. In fact, in the 1800s, it is recorded that even freed black slaves (e.g. William Allison) became slave-owners themselves as it was lucrative. Then there was a Mdm CJ Walker who, through her own effort became a millionaire, a philanthropist and a political activist.

To the accusers of the USA being a conqueror of small nations and puppet master of corrupt regimes, he has this to say. America's brand of entrepreneurial capitalism creates wealth, not pilfering. Without US' creation of wealth, the world would be engaged in wars over wars as they had been doing all the time in the history of humanity.

The most scathing accusation that the author makes is in the radical stance of the Democratic Party. They appear to be liberal, but it is all a facade. He alleges Hillary Clinton to be influenced, in her formative years, by a communist sympathiser, Saul Alinsky. Alinsky drew his inspiration from the mobster Frank Netti and, believe it or not, Lucifer. He goes on to demonise Obama and denounce his plan to develop America as robbing from the US coffers to impoverish the country and destroy the fundamental of which the country was built.

This documentary was not received cordially by the media people. Many nasty reviews have been written. After all, the media is supposed to be liberal as the Democratic Party does make themselves to be, and D'Souza tries to dispute. 

Fate is fluid, destiny is in the hand of Man!

The Man in the High Castle (Seasons 1 and 2)

They say that there is no entity as time. It is just a construct made by Man. Life works just fine when the purpose of your living is laid bare for you to follow, and Nature does not put obstacles in your path. It may work just fine if you live in a utopia, a paradise, a land of make-believe! In reality, Nature had to be tamed. The element of predictability needs to be made clear to avert eventualities. This is where time comes in handy, to put a perspective on the cyclical nature of things. Everything in Nature has a mathematic equation to put them in place and time is a denominator.

We have heard of Manzanar, the concentration camp built to place American-Japanese after Pearl Harbour. And the American-German Bund movement which existed before WW2 to promote Nazi in a favourable light. That was it! After World War 2 ended, they were passé.

Imagine an alternative universe where the Germans and the Japanese won World War 2! Well, that is the premise of this miniseries set at around 1962. There is no JFK and no Cuban Missile crisis. Washington, DC had been bombed with a nuclear bomb. The Nazi Army had taken control of the Eastern part of North America and renamed it as Greater Nazi Reich with New York as their administrative capital. The Japanese have carved the Eastern part of US to name it the Japanese Pacific States, to rule it with an iron fist in a delicate balance of power realm between the Empire, Kempeitai and Yakuza. Bordering these two areas is a lawless state in the spine of the continent referred to the Neutral Zone.

Amidst all these, there is the Resistance Army whose freedom fighters try to purge the invaders from American soil.

Embroiled in all this imbroglio are - an Aikido exponent whose sister is killed by the Japanese Military police, her boyfriend, a Nazi agent, an SS officer and his family, a Japanese inspector and an impressive deeply spiritual Japanese minister who could time-travel. The Minister, sometimes, during some unspecified moments, could venture into an alternative universe of what would have been with their own President and the Cold War. The mainstay of the Resistance's activity seems to procure and send reels of films which carry coded messages. Sneak peek into the films which are actually newsreels shows a different narrative to the life that they were leading.

And a senile Adolf Hitler is still alive, perched up in a castle in the mountains, he stays aloof to his surroundings, watching runs and re-runs of old films! There is a power struggle brewing to oust the dictator.

The second season had just ended and the third should more interesting as the plot thickens...

There will come a day when all men must bear the weight of their responsibility!
Fate is fluid, Destiny is in the hand of man.

N.B. There are ports within our plane of existence where we can teleport ourselves into different timelines. Apparently, this is how sages communicate with their gurus to get advice on the further plan of action or inaction. Clairvoyants are also able to communicate with the departed through this loophole. Hey, this is time travel!
Looking at the title of miniseries, one wonders whether the man in the high castle actually refers to Hitler as he is the one in his own world in villa up in the Alps. Alas, it refers to the man who distributes reels of film which show an alternate universe to what they are trapped in!

What is what anymore!

First, they said, "Seeing is believing. Don't believe anything until and unless you see it with your very own eyes!" Then it was, "Don't believe everything that you see! The mind can play tricks on you!" They showed two arrows of the same length with one everted ends and the other with inverted ones to prove their point of view. Remember the pool of water when you are stranded on a desert only to realise that you have plunged yourself into a sand dune when you thought you had reached a wadi, an oasis. You knew he meant more than what you heard him say the world is a mirage, a Maya, a smokescreen coordinated by the puppet master.

Then they said that a responsible and noble band of brothers wants to set the record straight. They want to record news as it is, from the field as it happens unbiased. You were promised truth right from the horses' mouth. They wanted history to be written as it should be. You thought you knew everything and you were happy.

Then someone thought that a lie oft repeated becomes the truth. They succeeded in hoodwinking a whole nation to toe the line. Then it was exposed. You thought the truth will always prevail. Goodness is superior to the dark forces of lie and falsity. How naïve you were!

Surprise surprise. The news that you have been ingesting, that you thought not to be anything else but the gospel truth, starts receiving brickbats. People say that their news is skewed to fulfil their paymasters' political agendas. It turns out to be lopsidedly favouring one party over the other. They say their news is fake!

Then yet party decided to churn out news which they claim to be the honest truth only to be debunked by their opponents who claim that the news to trash the fake news to also fake as it turns out. You, as a consumer, stay confused, deciding to mind your business and convince yourself that you are in the age of propaganda. And you are let as confused, not any wiser or smarter than you were before! You only know what others want you to know.

A divine duty?

W. (2008)

George W. Bush had the unenviable record of being the US President with the lowest rating ever, at the end of his second term. His tenure marked the making the world a hostile world to live in and the unleashing of the genie of destruction from the Middle East.

Somehow I could not help but compare W as a President to Truman. Truman was not the first choice for Vice President but was chosen over the left leaning pacifist Henry Wallace. W was made President after a controversial election. When FDR died four months into his VPship, Truman was left asking himself, whether he was man enough to be the President? Like Truman, W had a disturbing past. Harry Truman grew up as a recluse and a nerd for being small, book-wormish and with thick glasses. Because of this complex, probably, Truman turned out to be a 'gung-ho' leader who threatened the whole world, especially the Soviet Union, with his new found toy, the Nuclear Bombs. W had always grown under the shadow of his brother Jeb and had always wanted to do something to win his father George Senior's heart. The Presidentship must have been W's way to prove that he won the sibling rivalry.

Both Truman and W left the world, after their leadership in a chaotic state. Truman with the Cold War and the world of Red Army versus the capitalists and W with his crusade against the unknown enemies to nuke them out of their foxholes as well dividing the world into two simplistic halves, with the US and against them.

This film starts showing a reckless George W Bush just wasting his time getting drunk, involving himself in failed ventures and living a life of disappointment to his father, George Sr. At the age of  40, he finds faith in God, gets his life in order, becomes a teetotaler and gets a heading in life. After becoming Governor of Texas, he gets the delusion that he is the God-appointed representative to lead the world's biggest Christian nation.

At the end of the day, the film did not reveal anything that most of us did not already know. Well, this film did not explore anything that we all did not know. All through, we noticed that W and his father never really saw eye to eye in many of the ways of ruling the nation and controlling the affairs of the world. Just like Truman, W also ended his tenure with the lowest rating ever in the history of USA.

Traitor or Saviour?

Snowden (2016)

The Federalist Papers were a series of 85 letters penned by the founding fathers, John Jay, James Madison and Andrew Hamilton under the pseudonym of Publius to cajole the American public to ratify the American constitution. The essays are said to be very foresighted in its outlook. It admits that man, being man, can never be unbiased. He is forever swayed by emotions, lust, greed, power, control and all the traits that makes him human. Hence, he cannot be entrusted to be a just leader. Checks and balances had to be put to ensure continuity of the sovereignty of the nation. They suggested that the fall of great empires in the past due to it absence and placing of too much power on the elite few. The common man too had a duty to partake in the running of his country.

Maybe the placing of too much of emphasis on the idea of nation and less on humanity, some 'well meaning' group of people or vested individuals took the concept of nation security and fear of losing out to the enemy of the state to a different level.

The American way of life and their interference in affairs of others must have ruffled a few feathers here and there. The affluence comes with a price, national security. Living in a porous world, creating mischief has never been easier. Keeping peace, law and order is getting harder by the day. Surveillance too has become high-tech. The enemy remains unseen. So what do the law enforcers do? They spy upon their citizen, hence, denying them of privacy permitted under the Constitution. This forms the basis of the movie based on NSA's world-famous whistleblower, Edward Snowden.

Snowden, as an employee of the America's sensitive branches of law enforcement, CIA and NSA, found too many wrongdoings against his fellow citizen under the cloak of national security. This is his story, starting with his legendary clandestine interview in Hotel Mira in Hong Kong. It flashes back early into his career,  various news snippets of the time and his final internet interview to an American TV station from an undisclosed location in Russian after his passport was revoked by the USA.

The question that remained unanswered is whether what Snowden did is treason for exposing sensitive national security information or a saviour for preventing the continued dupe of the general public of their rights?

Future, Who writes it? You or the stars?

The birthplace of Jane and Benjamin Franklin.
Jane would live here for most of her life while
Benjamin would leave to pursue his apprenticeship.
(brainpickings.org)

Heard a podcast recently on one of the American founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin. As is well known, he emerged from a humble beginning, of a son of a poor candle and soap maker, to propel himself away from the clutches of poverty, to pull himself up with his boots strap even though he could not afford boots. Benjamin, a polymath, later became a printer, a master inventor, a diplomat, established the mail service and had a hand in drafting the Declaration of Independence.

He was self-taught. Together with his favourite sister, Jenny (out of 16 other siblings), they used to teach each other. Then, Benjamin left his home to work in a printing press run by his brother by a twist of fate. One thing led to another, and he left the job. He later managed to establish himself as a printer. In his printing company, he took many government contracts, including printing notes. In those days, paper was made from rags. Franklin used to advertise in his newspaper for rags for his mill. The rags eventually were made into money, enriching him tremendously. This ultimately coined the phrase 'rag to riches', which we still use today.

Jenny was not as lucky as her brother. Married at 15 to an older man who was a slave to the bottle and an underachiever, her world revolved around being her nanny to the result of her 22 pregnancies, keeping the family afloat amidst her husband's numerous failed business ventures. Nevertheless, Jenny and Benny continued corresponding over the years.

Two siblings started on the same footing, but both ended up in different ends of society. In one of the letters, Jenny mentioned, many things in life are beyond our control. Things just happen.

We may think we have it all covered. Nothing can go wrong. There are Plan B and even Plan C. Just when you think it is going to be alright, bam, it hit you. Things beyond your control hit you in your face, catching you off-guard. Murphy's law shows your fallibility and puts you in your rightful place. Embark Peter's Law, find your right footing.

A different perspective of US history

The Untold History of the United States (2012, Documentary)
Written, Directed and Narrated by Oliver Stone

In essence life on Earth never changed. The animalistic yearn for power, blood and control never left us even though we left our nomadic ways, our parchments and dressed in 'modern attires'. This documentary, coming from a controversial filmmaker, Oliver Stone, is a must watch for history buffs who believe that history is not just a dead subject about dead people. After all, history is supposed to regularly discussed, dissected, analysed and argued with the understanding that history repeats itself. One who does not appreciate the follies of history is bound to repeat its indiscretion.

This set of documentary comprise 10 regular one-hour episodes and two prequels which cover almost a century of the rise of the United States of America after it had tamed the Wild West and its southern neighbours in the late 19th century to hail as the only remaining reigning Empire after the fall of the Russian, Hungarian-Prussian and British Empires in the 20th century. That is until now. There lurking in the horizon is the Chinese Red Army hard-headed to rule the world, so they say.

The story of the beginning of the United States of America started after it completed its local conquest. The country 'tamed' the Wild West, the 'bandits' from the South and hailed over its 'savage' neighbours. If that was not good enough, the then President in 1898, William McKinley said, "Let's make America great." If that sounds familiar, you are right. It was the battle cry of an individual aspiring Presidential candidate.

An overheated boiler aboard USS Maine sank while travelling in the Caribbeans. The Spaniards were falsely accused of gunning down the US vessel and justified the Americo-Spanish War which the Americans won. Their booty from the war was Cuba and the Philippines. The American businesses started prospering from Cuba. That must have been the beginning of relocation by American companies.

With the gunning of a British ocean liner, RMS Lusitania, in American waters carrying its citizens, by a German U-boat on the accusation that it was carrying ammunition, together with the Zimmerman telegram later, gave the US a justification to pull themselves into the World War 1. The accolades that they received after the war gave them the idea that war was indeed big business. They made it their divine calling to meddle in affairs of other countries in the name of liberty, freedom and social justice.

Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin

Napoleon Bonaparte was quoted to have said that history is a pack of lies agreed upon. This series of documentaries gives another perspective of history that was told to us. It highlights the many blunders or purposeful grave disservices done by the US government to the people of the world. The storyteller posits that the real villains of the world are not the Communist Russians but, surprise, surprise, the Americans. The Russians are portrayed as the unsung heroes. Just like how they rose to defend themselves against the advancing Napoleonic army, the Russians, with no help from the rest of the world, singlehandedly held forts in Leningrad and Stalingrad against the Nazis. In fact, they were instrumental in ending the Second World War. The Russian Army is the one who advanced to the Fuhrer-bunker. Their soldiers in the Eastern front crippled Japan, and the Japanese were asking for mercy and unconditional surrender even before Hiroshima and Nagasaki mushroom clouds! The Russians had the highest fatality of the war at 27 million. The understaffed British did not win the Blitz due to their tenacity and patriotism but because the German resources were stuck in fighting the Russians.

The author paints a very favourable view of FDR, the unprecedented 4-times US President. FDR, a visionist,  with his reforms took the US out of Depression which was an after-effect of the euphoria of the Roaring Twenties to put things right again. He was also instrumental in getting Britain's foe and Communist leader Josef Stalin to the negotiation table to end WW2.

Henry Wallace

FDR's Secretary of Agriculture, Henry Wallace, his promising successor who revolutionised crop cultivation during the Post-Depression era, was bowled over at the National Conference as the Vice President. Wallace gave the aura of being a pacifist and yearning for Man to live in harmony. Of course, that was bad for business. War was good business! FDR had to give in to the 'powers that be' to endorse Harry Truman. Truman would later prove to be a thorn who would rock the world peace at large. His finger was at the trigger to launch Fat Boy and Little Man. Probably the world would have a different path if Wallace had been President. A disgruntled Wallace with his left-leaning sentiments never got much attention even after he stood as a candidate in a different party, The Progressive Party.

WW1 boosted the image of the US as a force to reckon after this 'Johnny come lately' entered fashionably late. The fantastic demigod reception that it received in the post-war celebrations convinced the politicians and businessmen that war was indeed a necessary evil. Businesses prospered. FDR with his state-funded mammoth projects scaled the country into dizzying heights with its leaps in engineering feats. Businesses of various sorts expanded briskly to other shores. American influence on other countries' political direction as well as their citizens' affluence snowballed.

In the Spanish Civil War, rebels fighting a democratically elected government were armed, thanks to the Americans. Even when the Germans were busy attacking their neighbours, building their armamentarium and sending Jews to go to the gas chambers, it was business as usual. The bankers, the oil merchants and the industries continued their transactions with Germany.

To please his ailing ally, Britain, Truman painted a bleak picture of the Soviet Union as the evil dark atheistic power out for world domination. The distrust against the Communist Russian arose from their vicious opposition to Capitalism and that their thinking was considered Oriental, hence, inferior due to their geographical location.

The post-war rebuilding exercise was basically a US gesture to appease its allies. The Russian were portrayed as the Devil and an enemy to the world order. The stories of Stalin's brutal punishment of his toes just proved their point. The rebuilding of the collapsed economy of Europe was aided by US-appointed banks through World Bank and IMF whose only priority is the safeguard US' interests and ensure a constant flow of moolah back for continuity of the good life for the Americans. Marshall's plan for a devasted Europe was just that - build Europe, build businesses and US businesses and the US would prosper. The war puckered Britain had to pass the baton of world hegemony to the US, and they became their defacto lap dog.

With the help of world media and the lingua franca of the world, the Americans were painted with the consistently favourable stroke of monochromatic paintwork. The US could do no wrong, they were the good guys, they fought just wars and God was on their side!

Vasili Arkhipov

World domination continued with the threat of nuclear war as their bargaining chip. That was until the Soviet Union and China followed suit. Before that, irreparable damage had already been done to world peace. Meddling in almost all the countries in the world became like second nature to the US. Practically no state had been immune to their interference - Cuba, Guatemala, El Salvador, Chile, Panama and the rest of Latin America; Algeria, Congo, Egypt and many newly independent post-colonial African states; Iran, Iraq, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia; Spain, Portugal, Greece and many European countries as well.

The Cold War which started after the division of spoils amongst the victors of WW2 slowly evolved into an arms race and space race. The climax of the chase to arms supremacy must surely be the Cuba missile crisis in 1962 which almost sparked the third World War if not for the mindful inactivity of a Russian officer, Vasili Arkhipov. A Russian submarine carrying missile warheads was shot at by Americans. Not knowing that they were warning shots and their telecommunication services were down, the crew had to put to the vote whether to launch the nuclear bomb. The decisive vote by Arkhipov averted Armageddon!

The US continued their self-appointed 'policeman of the World' duty by meddling into other countries affairs. Whenever a popular leader passes a decree which appears detrimental to the American interest, specifically business ventures, the US would support and finance rebel groups in that country to create mayhem. When pandemonium finally ensues, the Americans would march in like saviours to save the day on their terms.

Is it coincidence or is mere divine mirth? Whenever a US leader who shows preponderance for peace and brotherly cohabitants, his tenure seem short lived. It has been too many times in the case of Henry Wallace, JFK and his brother Robert. There seem to be an 'invincible hand' that seem to steer the world to destruction. The trail of blood and misery left by the military actions of the Yankees can best be described as inhumane with the usage of herbicides, poison gases, biological agents and radiating substances. The loss of human lives is pale in comparison to the environmental degradation.

Oliver Stone

With the rise of the USA as the lone superpower of the world spells danger. The peaceful world as we knew in the 19th century is now a denuded planet with its equally restless population unable to stomach the effects of American hegemony. Presidents after Presidents have come and gone, promising new dawn which never materialised. Peace is a forgotten word. The rich become more prosperous and the poor remain impoverished. The American way of life has permeated all layers of society.

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Revenge is the hands of the Gods!

Revenant (2015)


This brutally graphic movie reminds me a lot of 1971’s ‘Deliverance’ where the American wilds were the backdrop. Only, this time, it is the freezing sub-zero outdoors, and survival is not only from the harsh, brutal forces of Nature, but danger lurks from barbaric acts of Man.

Set in the turbulent times of America when nature is raped, wildlife is pushed to the brink to extinction and the serene lifestyle of the Native-Americans is disturbed as the Western frontier is conquered, a group of poachers who trade in pelts is attacked by a band of Natives.

Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), an excellent trekker, is part of the hunting group. He has a half-breed son with a Pawnee woman, who we later discover had died before the beginning of the story.

While fleeing from his attackers, Glass is severely mauled by a bear and is seriously wounded. As he was slowing down the party, in the harsh weather and it seem sure that Glass would die, the Captain appointed (and paid) three of his men to stay back and give him a proper burial when he died. The elder of the men, Fitzgerald, kills Glass’ son and influences the third man to bury Glass alive and return to camp.

What follows next is the story is sheer survival in the wild and the friendship between a white man and a native who comes to his rescue. With his new found vigour, Glass seeks revenge for the murder of his son. Along the way, the viewers would be faced with unbelievable death-defying science-defying scenes. One should not be too bothered to ask how a man, mauled to the brink of death with soil contaminated open wounds and compound fractures survive his ordeal! He springs into health just with pure emotion as his panacea. A convalescing man falls off a cliff with the impact cushioned by the branches of a pine tree but still survives the bone-chilling hypothermia. Did I mention the protagonist floating around in the icy cold river and thrown off a waterfall? It yearns a total rethink of our approach to a polytrauma patient and the need to prevent tetanus and zoonotic diseases.

A recurring theme pops up quite so often as a Native-American prophesies is ‘Revenge is in God’s hand’! That seem to the talking point that interest me the most. In fact, my friend and I were recently involved in a discussion about justice on Earth, whether a man should be subjected to the man-made flawed legal system or leave it to the higher justice when he is confronted with his Maker! Are our policing and penal systems only based on wanting to punish the perpetrator with the concept of ‘eye-for-eye’, ’tit-for-tat’ not to correct? In wanting for a better system, we are stuck this system where a life lost with spur another life to be lost and another to avenge in honour of bloodlines. 

That all men are equal?

Shadows (1959)
Director: John Cassevetes

Another John Cassevetes' direction. This is his early effort at an independent un-main stream production. This is actually a remake of his own film which he had earlier made in 1957 which was unscripted and did poorly at the box office. The remake, however, became a legend.
On the exterior, it appears that the US of A, the land of opportunity is the land of dream where everyman is born equal and free. They have a legislation to prove the effect to. In practice, however, the issue of race is not so black or white. The problem which reared its ugly head and let the nation into a gruesome civil war fail to settle the score even today.
It is evident from the the turn of events when a certain whiter than white lady, Rachael Dolezal, was exposed recently to be passing off as a black to head an association to help coloured people in America.

Racheal Dolezal

So when this issue came to fore, the usually issue frenzy US media stations went a spree to discuss the issue. Even Obama's name came up. Many half blacks are categorised as blacks to benefit from the affirmative actions to uplift the black.

Coming back to the story of 'Shadows'...

It is set in among the Beat Generation in the 50s who were shunning materialism and were engaged in literary and spiritual enlightenment. Lelia is a 20 year old girl who could pass out a white walking aimlessly through her life. She has three other elder brothers. Two of them were struggling musicians. and one is still trying to find his grapple in life.
Lelia meets an interesting guy to bring her home. Sparks flare up when he discovers that Lelia is actually black when he sees her brothers. After that it is self discovery and finally, from the way the movie went, they must have hooked up again.
The different way the director approaches the story is interesting. It lets the story flow without creating much melodrama, climax or resolution.

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The unknown attack on US soil

A Japanese balloon bomb (Fu-Go) 

photographed in New York, 

July 2, 1945. Associated Press

I always thought that American soil was infiltrated only once by the Japanese, in 1941 at Pearl Harbour. And the second, of course was 9/11. No, wrong. That was indeed another successful bombardment of USA, not in the fringes of the country but at its belly! It fact it was kept hush hush for many years.

After the 1942 humiliation of the Japanese by the US bombers led by Colonel Doolittle who flew past the royal palace, the Japanese wanted to get even with the Yankees. They wanted to get even with their foes.
In spring of 1945, a pastor went on a picnic with his pregnant wife and 5 lads. While emptying the luggage, before he could alert his family an explosion killed all 6. They had been fascinated by a balloon contraption. Many similar devices were seen all over Oregon.
Panic set in the local community. They were fearing for the worse. Like 9/11. they thought enemy had infiltrated the American soil. The US army managed to keep it under wraps with the agreement of the press.

From other balloon contraptions which failed to explode, investigators found that they were balloon were made of silk carrying sandbags and explosives. The only clue that revealed the identity of the bomb was the sand. Forensic examination of the type of sand, its content, mineral composition, absence and presence of lifeforms, insects, bugs and molluscs zeroed the sand to have originated from a particular beach in Honshu Island, Japan!
Children from a particular village in Japan were assigned to make these balloons, all in about 9,000 to 10,000 of them between 1942 and 1945. The Japanese engineers identified a particular altitude level in the sky that had a stream of wind that could take all these hostile 'lanterns' across the Pacific Ocean. To accommodate the drop in altitude during the night because of contraction of hydrogen air in the balloon, sandbags were automatically dropped from them to lighten them!

The blanket rule to silence the press on the discovery of the thousands of these Fu-Go balloon bombs averted panic in USA. The Japanese Army thought that their endeavour was a futile attempt and did not proceed further with their plans. The knowledge of its success could have spurred them to proceed with further deathlier attacks using biological agents or more sinister substances. Its hush also could have hastened the eventual end of the war.

What is it like to be a leader?

Selma (2014)

This movie did not garner much publicity even though it earned many accolades to its belt probably because it is a black movie made by blacks about something close to the blacks. 

It tells about a tumultuous time in America which they have not come in terms with. The relationship between the slaves and the slave-owners which had gone through many rough patches, again and again, all through the civil war, black rights movement and even to date with the rampant cases of police racial profiling as in Ferguson incident.

In 1964, the right to vote in the southern states was made extremely difficult by the Little Napoleons of the civil service.

Without the right to vote, the blacks do not get a right to stand as jury in court, and without that, a black convict is not deemed to get a fair trial.

Martin Luther King Jr, a Nobel prize winner in 1964 for Peace, argues with President LB Johnson and Governor Wallace of Louisiana towards this end. As a political statement, people organised a peaceful march from the town of Selma to Montgomery, the capital.

A touching movie which gives a 3-dimensional feel of a leader giving him the very qualities that make him a mortal. He too has his uncertainties of what to do when his helpless followers demand from his the next course of action when the plan is derailed. As if he has all the answers! And the leaders have to take all the brickbats for all his shortcomings.

There was a scene at Selma when things were getting ugly - the marchers and the hostile patrolmen and onlookers. As if to gain guidance from the divine forces, the good reverend knelt, prayed and commanded the marchers to retread much to the chagrin of the blacks. By doing so, he had, in fact, averted much bloodshed. Interestingly, up to a third of his marchers were whites and religious leaders of different faiths.

The actor who acted in the role of MLKJr, David Oyelowo, did an excellent job of mimicking MLKJr's style of speaking so well that the speeches sounded like voice-overs. The film ends with another one of his heart-wrenchingly and neatly crafted speech.

Critics of the film complained that LBJ had been painted as a conniving two-faced racist politician who made things difficult for MLKJr. Historically, LBJ, being a Southerner, had been praised for being a champion for civil rights' movement. However, in this film, he is portrayed as a reluctant leader who partnered FBI chief Hoover, to give hell to King, his family and his followers.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

We need to be led

The Birth of a Nation (1915)

Yes, this silent film is 100 years old. It is the oldest movie that I have seen to date. It a 3hour long movie which drew a lot of flak from those who disagreed with some of the historical facts depicted here, especially as Ku Klux Klan is shown in a favourable light. It shows the most important single event that affected what would eventually transform into the biggest nation in the world one day - the Civil War and the aftermath.

It is an intense saga of brethren of a nation who are divided by their need to use slaves but united by their Aryan roots.

The first half of the movie dwells into the nation engulfed in Civil War. Two families are torn apart as collateral damage of the war. Brothers are fighting each other and are held as war criminals. The real drama starts after Abraham Lincoln is assassinated when his post-war plans are hijacked by carpetbaggers and profiteers. This is the time of Reconstruction after the war.

The black slaves, who all these while have quite contended with their simple servant life were suddenly told that they were free after the Civil War - all men were equal and free. They need not slave in the fields but can enjoy life instead, dancing and boozing.
The majority of the South, the blacks, are happy with such an arrangement. They are coerced to vote in their own people to Congress. Slowly the slaves become the masters. They demand equal rights, like walking shoulder to shoulder with their masters. They create a mockery of the legislative system with their inexperience. A black militia group also comes to fore to mete out justice. Even the jury is predominantly made up of former slaves. It appears like the slaves are on a rampage to avenge years of oppression.

Many injustices happen. The whites feel intimidated. It appears that the slaves do not know how to handle their new found freedom.
So all legal avenues fail to provide justice, what do people do? They recoil into religion and race!

In rolls Ku Klux Klan as a reactionary group to combat the menace of the growing black militia. In the turn of events, the Southern whites also found their Northern whites helping to protect against the blacks through their common Aryan roots!

And everything is put back in place. The whites become the ruling force in the next election while the KKK ensures that the blacks do not vote!

Now you understand why this movie kicked up a lot of dirt after its release. Just like in India after the release of Aamir Khan's PK, people in major town in the USA rioted in 1915. The demonstrators were mainly coloured as the flick glorified KKK as saviours of the South and portrayed blacks as uncultured, uncouth and highly sexed scoundrels. Anyway, as the censor board members were mainly white, nothing really happened.

My take-home message: Men are violent creatures. They regularly suppress their fellow kind for power and control. The 1% per cent will always control the masses and that is the status quo. The shift of power to the masses cannot sustain. In order to ensure law and order, there must be leaders and followers. The race has not reached a level where it can function unaided. Just my thought...

Old Historic photos

Thanks SK for invaluable contribution.

The earliest photo of Abraham Lincoln. [1840]

The first photo of The Beatles with Ringo Starr as the drummer. [August 22, 1962]

The first McDonald'srestaurant in San Bernardino. [1948]

The first public Jewish religious service in Germany since the advent of Hitler held by American troops during the battle of Aachen. [1944]

Jimi Hendrix burning his guitar for the first time. [1967]

Jim Henson creating his first Kermit puppet. [1950s]

The Wright brothers' first flight. The photo was taken so that people would believe them. [1903]

Glenn Burkes and Dusty Baker, of the LA Dodgers, perform what it believed to be the first high-five. [2 October, 1977]

Henry Ford poses on the first car he built, the Ford Quadricycle. [1896]

Hannah Stilley, born 1746, photographed in 1840. She is the earliest born individual captured on film.

Leola N. King, America's first female traffic cop. [1918]

The world's first underwater photo. [1893]

Sally Halterman, the first woman granted a license to operate a motorcycle in Washington, D.C. [1937]

The first photo taken from space. A V2 rocket was launched straight up, with the film protected in a steel case. [1946]

Howard Carter flanked by assistants as they view the sarcophagus of Egyptian King Tutankhamen for the first time in thousands of years, Egypt. [3 January, 1924]

The first known photograph of a Presidential inauguration, taken in 1857 at the swearing in of James Buchanan.

Recipient of the world's first human heart transplant, Louis Washkansky, in Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, three days after the surgery. [6 December 1967]

Minneapolis women lining up to vote for the first time in a presidential election. [1920]

The first and only picture taken from the surface of Venus. [1982]

The first team photo in baseball history. [1858]

Madam C.J. Walker. The first woman in America to become a millionaire by her own endeavors in "black" cosmetics.

The first photograph ever taken. It shows the view outside of a window in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, France. [1826]

Photographs of the first modern Olympic Games, Athens. [1896]

The first public showing of the bikini, Paris. [1946]

Otto Lilienthal becoming the first person to make a successful glider flight. [1894]

Annie Edson Taylor, the first person to survive going over the Niagara Falls in a barrel on her 63rd birthday. [1901]

Construction of the worlds first Ferris wheel for the Chicago world's fair. [1893]

ENIAC, the worlds first computer. [1940]

Installing the first neon sign on the Las Vegas Strip. [1941]

Sputnik 1, the first satellite, being launched into orbit by the Soviet Union. [1957]

The first riders of New York City's first subway. [1904]

Bertha Benz, with the help of her two sons, became the first person to drive an automobile over a long distance - 66 miles. [5 August, 1888]

Queen Elizabeth II giving her first televised Christmas address. [1957]

Ruby Bridges becomes the first African American to attend an all-white elementary school in the South. She was followed everywhere by US Marshals because of threats on her life. [1960]

The very first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. [1931]

The first bananas arrive in Norway. [1905]

The first wheelie ever photographed. [1936]