>> The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
>> Identity Thief
>> Gangster Squad
>> Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away
>> Lincoln
>> Zero Dark Thirty
>> Hitchcock
>> The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
>> Hyde Park on Hudson
>> Safety Not Guaranteed

Opening 5.10.13
>> The Great Gatsby (PG-13) [trailer]
>> Peeples (PG-13) [trailer]
>> Aftershock (Limited) (R) [trailer]
>> And Now a Word From Our Sponsor (Limited) (NR) [trailer]
>> Erased (Limited) (R) [trailer]
>> Sightseers (Limited) (NR) [trailer]
>> Venus and Serena (Limited) (PG-13) [trailer]

Coming To DVD/Blu-Ray 5.7.13
>> Safe Haven (2013) [buy]
>> Fringe: The Complete Fifth Season [buy]
>> Jack Reacher [buy]
>> Mama [buy]
>> Superman: Unbound [buy]

Las Vegas: Satan Vacations Here
by Victoria Alexander
October 27, 2008

Islam is the Light, Movie This Week: “W”, Magic & Medicine, Alchemy Conference: Pradheep Chhalliyill and Archdruid John Michael Greer, China’s major assets, and more...

“In short, I believe that aging is bad for you because it shortens your life!”

Islam is the Light. Mattel is defending its Islamic proselytizing doll. Mattel insists the doll does not say "Islam is the Light”. Is it a cooing baby doll or a toy with a religious message? The Mattel doll, called Little Mommy Cuddle 'n Coo doll, which giggles, gurgles and coos, is also said to be mumbling "Islam is the light." The doll, which is made in China, has only one scripted word - "mama". The toy, which retails for $19.99 and is meant for ages 2 and up, makes one sound that "may resemble something close to the word 'night,' 'right' or 'light’. I want one!

Movie Review for This Week. “W”. Brilliant, engrossing, and terrifying. Brolin is a revelation. Oliver Stone’s brilliant “W” begins with George W. Bush’s fraternity initiation. There’s male bonding, nudity, and a lot of drinking. This sets the tone for W’s early life and reckless behavior. However, his father, George H.W., also was a member of a fraternity. Father and son were members of Yale’s Skull & Bones secret society. John F. Kennedy was a member of the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity. Bill Clinton was a member of the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity. What were the initiations like for Kennedy and Clinton? Or did their initiations involve quoting passages from the New Testament and handing out blankets to the homeless?

The way our culture is going, future presidents will have to admit to sex tapes, using ecstasy and smoking pot, and baby mamas.

Is Oliver Stone’s film “The Passion of the “W”? Does he crucify George W. Bush? Absolutely not. In fact, Josh Brolin’s portrayal is riveting. His “W” is incredibly charismatic, psychologically transparent, and fascinating.

And “W” confirms my opinion that the only way George W. could best his father was to topple a dictator, destroy a country, and kill thousands of people by Munchausen’s Syndrome. Adolf Hitler never personally killed anyone. He never even toured an extermination camp. Yet, he was responsible and no matter how many countries or people were “desk executioners”, it was Hitler’s Final Solution.

It is clear that the Iraq war’s architects played on “W”’s deep-rooted need to step on his father’s legacy. “W” needed to make a historical name for himself. Becoming president wasn’t enough. His father did that already. Let’s face it. He succeeded. He has changed the world. We now have a firm presence in the oil-rich Middle East. It’s 21st century colonialism.

If only the French (one such example, French Guiana), the British Empire, the Belgian Congo, Germany’s ownership in Sub-Saharan Africa (Tanzania, Namibia, Togo, and Cameroon) had insisted their domination of other people’s lands were for their own democratic good instead of pure self-interest!

“W” got even with us for electing his father and making his life miserable under his family’s prestigious background. Then, based on his father’s damn legacy, we voted for him! The Iraq war was payback.

There are more than 70 countries ruled by dictators who exercise absolute authority over their citizens. These tyrants commit torture, execute opponents and starve their own people. Omar al-Bashir of the Sudan tops the list of the world’s worst dictators. Is al-Bashir the next U.S. target so the Sudanese can experience democracy?

“W” goes back and forth in time. After seeing George W’s (Josh Brolin) randy college life filled with drinking, arrests, and an unwanted, politically-inappropriate pregnancy, we go directly to the Oval Office.

“W” is holding a cabinet meeting with his think tank of puppet masters: Dick Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss), Condoleezza Rice (Thandie Newton), Donald Rumsfeld (Scott Glenn), and Colin Powell (Jeffrey Wright). The casting is perfect, especially Newton! It is fascinating that as shown here, they all defer to “W”. But it is Cheney who explains exactly what the invasion of Iraq was and is all about. They have oil. We want it. We will never leave the Middle East now that we are there.

Back to the George W.’s youth. “W” is floundering. He fails at everything he attempts. He has to contend with his father, George Sr. (James Cromwell), who is building his political career and openly disappointed in “W”. And, of course, there is another brother who can do no wrong.

George Sr. becomes president and “W” decides to go into the family business. But his father favors Jeb, the baby brother. “W” does a few things right. He marries a nice girl, Laura (Elizabeth Banks), finds redemption at Church, and surrounds himself with capable men who steer his political career.

We know politicians are coached, have speechwriters, and ghost writers for their books, and create themselves according to polls. It’s another thing to actually see “W” with his handler, Karl Rove (Toby Jones), running lines with him.

Yet, we see how the Oval Office gang used ‘W”’s trust in them to go the WMD route and lie to the American people and the world. “W” is furious, but what can he do? The Oval Office Gang? They throw the blame on each other and bow their heads. Hey, they don’t have to make any speeches or visit wounded soldiers in VA hospitals.

Brolin is amazing. He shows off what must have rode “W” to the presidency. An easy-going joy, a lust for life, and a person who only could see the broadest strokes. It is “W”’s cronies who are responsible for his shame. This is what makes “W” a sympathetic character.

But, on the bright side, the Rumsfeld-Cheney-Rove Axis of True Evil achieved their sole agenda. We have a dead center presence smack in the middle of the Middle East!

Dreyfuss, who usually over-acts, is reigned in by Stone. He is scary as manipulator Cheney. Scott Glenn is a shadowy Rumsfeld. Knowing how cranky Rumsfeld is, did Stone get a phone call? And Newton? She’s got a real acting career now. Brolin and Newton are on my list for Academy Award nominations. Brolin is now my Best Actor front-runner.

Meet Your New Leaders. FHM British Edition. FHM numerically lists 11 items about China. No. 4 is very interesting. Here are a few:

(1) They have the people. 20% of the entire human race is Chinese; (4) They have the money. “There’s a weird rumour doing the rounds: that the US Treasury is happy to let the dollar slide in value, as they borrowed the entire funding for the Iraq war (some $550bn) from Chinese banks – and now want bargain repayment rates. It could well be true: despite China’s efforts to reduce the amount of foreign cash lying around in their vaults, it’s growing at the rate of $100 million per hour this year, to a record $1.76 trillion. That’s enough to pay for a year-and-a-half’s-worth of imports”; and (7) They’re eating the world. Only last year the government announced it had acquired rights to mine all the copper in the Congo – over 7,200 miles away – in exchange for building railways, roads and mines worth $12 billion. That’s three times Congo’s annual national budget. It’s also gobbling up gas, coal and oil everywhere from Canada to Kazakhstan.”

Shining Path Back in Peru. What will this mean for Peru’s Ayahuasca Tourism? Maoist insurgents killed a dozen soldiers and two civilians during an ambush in southeastern Peru last week. The military blamed "narco-terrorists" of the Shining Path for the attack in Tayacaja. The region is where most of the country's coca leaf and cocaine are produced. "The military reacted immediately, engaging in a clash that lasted several hours," the statement said. "This unfortunate act shows that the narco-terrorist organization Sendero Luminoso [Shining Path] is continuing in its bloodthirsty actions ... without discriminating among women and children."

The Shining Path and the smaller Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement are blamed for the deaths of thousands of Peruvians. The rebels have been targets of a fierce government crackdown in the mountainous region of Peru.

Magic and Medicine. Coming November 6-9th, friend, magician and alchemist Jeff McBride, and Eugene Burger are pleased to offer a special seminar for medical practitioners of all sorts: physicians, nurses, therapists, holistic practitioners, and other professionals who wish to understand how to apply the powerful skills of performance magic to enhance the healing relationship.

In this four day event, experts will lead the participants through exercises that will transform their practices and themselves. They will examine the value of ritual, theater and the performance of magic, and learn how practitioners of many cultures have incorporated these potent skills into their medical traditions. Through examples drawn from the worldwide experience of the instructors, participants will learn how to prevent and remedy hazards to establishing the therapeutic relationship. Tuition: $1000.00. For more information contact: Jeff McBride, (702) 433-3881. jeff@mcbridemagic.com

International Alchemy Conference at Palace Station. On October 10 to 12, 2008, the International Alchemy Conference was held. I was expecting a different kind of weird. Going to so many UFO Conferences have left me jaded.

As advised by a TDH reader, I wore gold. Apparently I was the only one who got that memo.

Not only are alchemists not weird, they are – at least the ones I spoke to – highly educated. Nearly all the speakers had Ph.D’s. I brought books, took notes, and have decided to start planting radioactive vegetables (for immortality). Now the hard part is finding all those “alchemical” accoutrements necessary for success. It’s not easy getting pitchblende! And it’s expensive!

There were 250 attendees and the next IA Conference promises to be even bigger. Get on their mailing list for news and updates. www.AlchemyConference.com.

Indian Alchemy: Alchemy in Vedic Culture. Featured this week are two speakers, Dr. Pradheep Chhalliyill and Grand Archdruid John Michael Greer. Biochemist and Vedic alchemist Dr. Pradheep Chhalliyil revealed the deepest secrets of Indian alchemy in this fascinating presentation. This perennial theme throws light on the truth behind supposedly non-material spiritual experiences, which otherwise are considered as mystic or even superstitious phenomena. This presentation highlights this greater Truth, which is common to both modern science and traditional spiritual disciplines. This new perspective bridges and unites the two opposing cultures of religion and science.

Pradheep is a biochemist and a senior scientist at Genetic-ID Inc. (and a Nobel Prize nominee, to boot!), which develops ways to detect genetically modified organisms in food. He received his doctoral degree in cancer biology, and is known for identifying a novel anti-cancer compound from the plant Cleistanthus collinus. Dr. Chhalliyil received the Anna Gold Award for the best cancer research in India. He is also the founder of the prestigious Sakthi Foundation (www.RightAwareness.com). Pradheep lectures on consciousness studies and focuses on combining both ancient and modern scientific knowledge.

Alchemy and Elemental Medicine. Renowned Hermeticist and author John Michael Greer presented a re-interpretation of the ancient four-element Galenic healing system. John is one of the world’s leading Hermeticists and author of more than a dozen books on the Western mystery traditions.

He began studying with the Golden Dawn in his teens and followed the "golden thread" of esoteric teachings into a wide range of subjects from martial arts and Asian mystical traditions to environmental science and sacred geometry.

John graduated magna cum laude from the University of Washington with a degree in the Comparative History of Ideas. Believing that many modern esoteric groups had lost contact with sacred Nature, he began studying in the Druid tradition and is now the Grand Archdruid of the Ancient Order of Druids in America. He is also a practicing geomancer and devout student of sacred geometry. http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/

John said there are no bad foods only bad people. All foods have to be balanced according to your temperament. There are tour cardinal temperaments. This is why diets do not work. No diet is suited for everyone.

If you would like to contact me about this column, or be included on my private distribution list for a weekly reminder, just email me at Masauu@aol.com.

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