2006RUS

To say Charlie Chaplin was popular is like the Pacific Ocean is wet.

It is difficult for us to even imagine the immense fame and celebrity he enjoyed in the 1920s and ’30s. Today we know the names of literally thousands of celebrities, personalities, sports stars and news-makers (Why do they call them “stars?” Because there are so many!) But at the dawn of the 20th century, mass media was just being created. Movies were brand new. Baseball was just becoming the national pastime. Radio was just taking its first tentative steps and TV was 50 years away.

Into this world strolled a genius at his art form. Charlie just had an innate understanding of comedy and how to make movies.

Fatty Arbuckle and Mary Pickford were the first major movie stars but Charlie Chaplin soon eclipsed them and everyone else. He literally had no competition. Even today, Arbuckle, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd are well-regarded, but Chaplin is still considered the all-time master at silent movie comedy and silent movies in general.

Unfortunately, Charlie’s leftist politics and less-than-puritan personal life (he had the unfortunate habit of marrying teenagers) finally started to eclipse even his movie fame during the cold-war era. Mixed with the fact that he could never regain his silent-movie fame in the talkies, he finally left America all-together in 1952. At the time he was being accused of being a Communist (untrue) and he had his visa revoked by the American government (he was a British citizen.)

He vowed never to return to the United States, saying “I have no further use for America. I wouldn’t go back there if Jesus Christ was president.”

Well, since Jesus never became president (at least as far as we know) he decided to return during the reign of the “other guy.” In 1972, during the presidency of Richard Nixon, Charlie made a triumphant return to accept a Lifetime Achievement Oscar at the Academy Awards.

I hope you enjoyed this bit of interesting history. If you want to really enjoy yourself tonight, why not grill out? And if you have a BroilMaster Gas Grill and you want to keep it working in tip top condition, visit our new site BroilMaster Grill Parts for information on the best deals and sources for all the parts and accessories you need. Visit http://broilmastergrillparts.org

The Battle of Rorkes Drift is without doubt one of the most famous battles during the background within the British army. It was around this little mission station along the border of Zululand and Natal where a few thousand Zulu warriors attacked a garrison of no more than 140 British soldiers. The soldiers fought for their lives through the night and by morning, the Zulu warriors had retired back to Zululand. The top award for gallantry while in the British Army is the Victoria Cross and the action at Rorkes Drift saw twelve VCs awarded, greater than in any other single action in the past.

The fight was portrayed in the Stanley Baker movie “Zulu” and one of several leading characters who acted heroically at Rorkes Drift, in the end didn’t get a Victoria Cross. Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne was instead awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal that is ranked 2nd behind the Victoria Cross. In addition, Bourne was also offered a commission but he declined. Being the eighth son in their household, there was no money available and this was a time when wealth was used to buy commissions for officers within the British Army.

Of course, Bourne became a career soldier and a good one as well. Immediately following South Africa, he was posted to India and Burma before finally earning his commission 11 years on from the Battle of Rorkes Drift. He finally retired from the British Army in 1907. Only 7 years later, The First World War broke out and Bourne re-enlisted in the army. By the conclusion of the Great War in 1918, he had risen to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and was made an OBE. Bourne left the military again, this time around forever.

Because of the actor who played the part of Bourne in the film Zulu, the majority of people presumed Frank Bourne to have been middle aged during the time of the Battle of Rorkes Drift however in truth he was merely 24 years old.

After the finish of The First World War, Bourne lived in retirement in Beckenham, South London and he was the last survivor of the battle to pass away at the age of 91 on 8th May 1945, the very day World War II in Europe came to an end.

Even though he didn’t receive the Victoria Cross, CSM Frank Bourne was one of the most famous men who saw action at Rorkes Drift.

There is one particular scene on one particular movie that I would like anyone who has ever voted Democratic to watch. The movie is a documentary about the cartel that runs the education system, specifically in New Jersey. The scene is about a lottery drawing for slots in a charter school showing the faces of children whose names have been drawn, and those who were not so lucky. Both are in tears, but are crying for different reasons. The scene focuses on a child weeping for her loss.

The scene was criticized by New York Times movie critic Jeannette Catsoulis as something that resulted from “emotional coercion,” as if the director had found an exceptionally gifted young actor who could cry on his signal instead of just being at the right place at the right time. The critic goes on to say that the movie was “a bludgeoning rant against a single state.”

I like to think that it would be unlikely for anyone without any personal or political stake in the cartel’s control over the education system to watch that particular scene without being moved. Although it is not something new for both students and teachers to fall victim to a system that does not allow teaching and learning to take place in many schools, the way the director presents his points seem like nobody has yet to act on the activities of the cartel. The sad fact is that these activities contribute to the increasing cases of students leaving school unprepared to work in the real world.

Since the movie came out, people have finally started making efforts to keep themselves informed about how more funding for public schools has helped in buttressing their failures. Shortly after publishing Jeannette Catsoulis’ review on the documentary, New York Times reported that a record number of residents of New Jersey rejected 58% of the budgets during the school-budget elections. They resented the teachers’ unions for not concurring to concessions and were angry about higher property taxes to compensate for lessened state aid. The residents have finally started stripping their apathy towards the corrupt system.

As depressing as it may sound, it seems that in New Jersey, education budgets are no longer held as something sacred anymore. Driven by that fact, Governor Christopher J. Christie took on the teachers’ unions as no previous New Jersey Governor has done before. Although it may seem like his efforts in fighting the education cartel pales in comparison to his devil-may-care approach on some of the other issues he is tackling.

It is worth to note that at the beginning of the film, the director’s credibility to tackle such a powerful issue is immediately established-after all, doesn’t being a local TV reporter in New Jersey carry more reliability in exposing the truth than any other profession?

The director also makes it easy for the audience to understand the flurry of statistics concerning education funding by the government, tax revenues, comparisons of New Jersey educational outcomes with other states and other countries, and so on.

The New Jersey teachers are in a panic now, as evidenced by this movie and the countless reports about how they are berating Governor Christie. Hopefully, the movie does not inspire only the cartel on education to act, but also those who have yet to do something about alleviating it. We owe the countless children who feel exactly the same as the weeping child in the movie that much.

Westfield Patch: The Cartel Movie comes to Westfield again. A film by Bob Bowdon.

There is definitely something wrong when a state has the resources to allocate at least $400,000 worth of funds to a single classroom yet the educational capability of its students is dismally low. Is it some sort of educational cartel? Seems like it.

The statistics themselves are enough to dishearten anyone… nearly 80% of graduates from high school who actually manage to take up further schooling in college need some form of remedial lessons. Students who enter college should already be capable enough already academically as long as their fundamentals are sound. If that was not bad enough, the current educational system is the main culprit for this shortcoming.

A saying goes that the youth are the hope of tomorrow. However, there is a small problem with this particular statement. How can there be a tomorrow if the youth aren’t well equipped enough to handle the challenges ahead because of sub-standard schooling? It makes for a very provocative thought indeed.

Take for example The New Jersey Education Association, whose responsibility it is to ensure quality education for the students of New Jersey. This group is a teachers union with lots of political clout and influence. Unfortunately, the union has gained a notorious reputation for merely enriching its members over properly educating the students under their care. Allegations of misusing state funds for personal enrichment is just one of the numerous problems attributed to this group. This is a group, which acts more like a cartel than a respectable body of educators.

What follows is a short detail of one of the recently discovered exposes involving one of its members. One school district secretary was found to have been making more than what she should be receiving. The sum amounts to a staggering $180,000 annually. How did this happen? It is quite simple. Closeness to the education cartel is to blame.

Sacrificing the minds and opportunities for growth of the students cannot be acceptable under any circumstance. It has reached the point that unqualified and underperforming teachers are still on the payroll because of their association with this education cartel. Those who are qualified and actually have the guts to speak out against the group find themselves in a very difficult position. Their very act of doing so can even cost them their careers.

Disheartening isn’t it? When educators who stand for what is right for the students are systematically removed what hope can there be for the existing educational system? It is a type of corruption that prioritizes personal profit over nation-building and improving lives.

However, not all is lost. There are charter schools whose mission is to uplift the quality of education and they have done a consistently good job in outperforming the state-run district schools. One would think they would be receiving better state or government support for their efforts but the sad case is the opposite. The very same educational bureaucrats make it hard for these charter schools to progress any further simply because they are a threat to their well-entrenched positions. At this rate, more young minds will continue to languish in substandard education unless the tax-paying public does something about this.

End propaganda by learning the truth check out Truth-It.net.

There seems to be a dilemma in the educational school system cartel in New Jersey as was presented in a documentary. This should be seen by many especially those living in the said state and are Democrat fans. In the movie, there was a draw lotting scene for places in the Charter School. There were two faces being shown. One is the faces of parents with their children who have won places in the school crying for joy and the other one is the faces of parents and kids who were not able to make it crying in despair.

This scene was heavily criticized as conspicuously offensive. The depiction was a quite outraging showing victims of an educational system that is flawed and at the same time an example of the filmmaker’s emotional duress to those who have acted on the movie .The camera should have concentrated on real life tragedy instead.

The state of New Jersey has made it of utmost importance to provide wages of its mentors and directors instead of prioritizing other more important undertakings. Every state dweller is conscious of the errors circling in the school cartel but remain complacent. Instead, they continue to offer more allocations to the general institute managed by the union of teachers who took advantage of the situation and make big money out of it.

People who do not know the extensive immorality of the New Jersey teacher’s coalition will find it difficult not to be affected when looking at the scenario. Mentors and students in sub-urban cities have always been sufferers of atrocities made by people who do not give importance to schooling and trainings. It was depicted in the film as something that is new and not even a part of the American society.

When people started to become cognizant of the situation, they are now eager to be informed on public allocation in education. More than 50% of the budget recommendations were discarded when the New Jersey residents had their school appropriations elections. They were infuriated with the high cost of tariffs for personal properties to patch up lowered support in bigger communities as was introduced by the governor.

After the state is economic downturn concurrent with the budget shortage, the school’s allocation is inviolate no more. The chief of the state was forced to scrutinize on the teacher’s coalition with the assistance of non-government units. However, his efforts may be reassuring to many it was seen as timid.

The motion picture began with the filmmaker making his assertions of his excellence in making such repugnant remarks. As a news anchor of a television company, he assures himself that he is capable to make those remarks. Other people would think otherwise but what matters that at the end of the debate, we come to terms that there are still media men who see things in its right perspective and not just trust on social needs and aspirations of a certain group or culture.

It was also vivid in the documentary the disordered data of revenues in taxes, educational allocation, and the different educational consequences compared to other communities. This film serves as a manifestation of how efficient movie making can be in showing the faults of a school system cartel and to make those who committed such offense stop and pay. A child now has every right to education without prejudice in order to be successful in their future endeavors.

Find the truth at Truth-It.net.

The education system in America is working right, says Bob Bowdon, however just for some — and those few surely aren’t the students. In his docudrama “The Cartel,” New Jersey TV news reporter Bowdon shines a light on the corruption and avarice that has resulted in the disappearing of so much taxpayer money in that state. The numbers divulge the tale: $17,000 spent per student, and at hand’s only a 39% reading proficiency rate, it’s unpleasant to argue that there’s a crisis afoot, but harder to agree on a solution.

The two sides of this struggle meet head-on in interviews throughout Bowdon’s film: there are the teachers union and school board members who have managed to allocate 90 cents of every taxpayer dollar into everything but teachers’ salaries — whilst some school administrators make upwards of $100,000. On the other side are the supporters of a charter education system, private schools in which parents can use tax vouchers to pay tuition and evade the public nightmare. In those unkept public schools, Bowdon points out, it’s practically unacceptable to fire an instructor — so even a bad one has a trade for life.

“The documentary examines lots of distinctive aspects of public education, tenure, funding, patronage drops, corruption –meaning theft — vouchers and charter schools,” says Bowdon. “And as such it sort of serves as a swift-moving primer on all of the hot topics amongst the education-reform effort.”

Bowdon’s documentary started touring the festival circuit in summer of 2009 and made its theatrical debut in April 2010. Hopefully it will get a boost, and not be overshadowed, by the more recently released documentary “Waiting for Superman,” by “An Inconvenient Truth” director Davis Guggenheim. Bowdon sees the two documentaries as taking different approaches to the equal predicament, “The Cartel” by examining public policy and “Superman” centering on the human interest aspects. “The two films make interchangeable conclusions,” Bowdon says.

The left-brained manner means arguments that watch the economics — money misspent, opportunities wasted. He follows the money to make conclusions around how crooked the Jersey school system is, but his film features moments of high emotion and heartbreak. A girl’s weeping upon hearing that she wasn’t selected to attend a charter school, that she’s stuck in her public school, represent the failure of a system as well as Bowdon’s charts and interviews.

It’s hard to catch a movie about corruption in Jersey and not think of the mob, but it’s also obvious that this is a national dilemma seen through a tight lens. Bowdon’s film illustrates a local predicament, but any watcher will realize the systems of system failure in their own state’s schools. Bowdon comes out in favor of the charter school plan, of taxpayers being able to select their own schools, to get out from under the state’s control. But “The Cartel” also shows us how hard it’s going to be to get that control back from those who’ve found it so profitable.

The Cartel Movie, by filmmaker Bob Bowdon.

The education method in America is working superbly, says Bob Bowdon, but only for a few — and those few surely aren’t the students. In his education docudrama “The Cartel,” Bowdon, a TV news reporter in New Jersey, paints a notable ugly impression of the institutional corruption that has resulted in very nearly incredible wastes of taxpayer money. It’s not toilsome for Bowdon to exemplify that something’s execrably amiss with a state that pays $17,000 per student but can only manage a 39% reading proficiency rate — that there’s a crisis is undeniable, how to deal with it is another question entirely.

The two sides of this struggle meet head-on in interviews throughout Bowdon’s film: there are the teachers union and school board members who have managed to set aside 90 cents of every taxpayer dollar into everything but teachers’ salaries — though a quantity of school administrators receive upwards of $100,000. On the other side are the supporters of charter schools — private schools that can work beyond the influence of what Bowdon calls The Cartel. One of Bowdon’s main criticisms is that a teacher, even a shoddy one, fundamentally can’t be fired — which provides zero incentive to do much literal instruction.

From the Heart and Mind

“The film examines lots of different aspects of public teaching, tenure, backing, patronage drops, corruption — meaning thievery — vouchers and charter schools,” says Bowdon. “The label education documentary might sound to some like dull squared, but in fact the movie itself betrays an fervent passion for the predicament of particularly inner-city children.”

The documentary first appeared on the festival circuit in summer 2009, appearing in theaters nationally a year later. Hopefully it will get a rise, and not be overshadowed, by the more recently released documental “Waiting for Superman,” by “An Inconvenient Truth” director Davis Guggenheim. Bowdon sees the two documentaries as taking alternative approaches to the equal problem, “The Cartel” by examining public policy and “Superman” focusing on the human-interest aspects. “My movie is the left-brained version, more analytical,” Bowdon says, “‘Waiting for Superman’ is more the right-brained treatment.”

Less Than the Sum of its Parts

And Bowdon’s movie is relentlessly critical, making a powerful case for the opinion that the amount of money spent is nowhere near as crucial as how it is spent. But that isn’t to say the movie is without heart. Bowdon makes sure his eye is at all times on the people affected, especially the inner-city students trapped in a shattered system. One girl, crying after learning she wasn’t selected in a lottery for a charter school, tells the story of What Went Wrong as well as Bowdon’s arguments.

And though there’s a satire in this kind of public depravation happening in a state notable for its organized crime, it’s unambiguous that this is not an isolated collapse. Any spectator will acknowledge the failings of their own state’s education system and the battle for control. The one he seems to be most behind is the charter schools, which take the reins from the unions and give them back to the taxpayer. But he also knows it’ll be an upward struggle to regain control from those who’ve worked so hard to make education very profitable for the very few.

The Cartel, a documentary by Bob Bowdon.

categories: documentaries,film,productions,movies,entertainment

Some years ago, when I came out, I started hearing the term gay blog. My mind was bombed with new suggestions;places where I thought intercourse was involved. I imagined, that some of these bloggers were looking for others. Quite amazing, this wasn’t what LGBT blogs turned out to be about.

To put it simple, a gay blog is designed to be used by homosexual people. Gay bashings and politics appear on some of these gay blogs. The variety of blogs out there for gay people are astonishing. Gay people may have the same sexual orientation, but they certainly don’t share the same range of interests. There are blogs online for people of each possible interest area, some are designed for heterosexuals, others for homosexuals.

Contrary to well-liked belief, not all LGBT blogs are about sex. Of course, some are, some straight blogs are about sex, but does that mean they all are? No. A blog is a blog and it’s created for a certain kind of individuals. The blog’sauthor could be homosexual, but this does not translate to being pervert. Several perverts are straight.

A popular gay blog, titled “Wicked Gay Weblog” is funny and also has news included in it. Most of the news on this website are about gay rights in The United States of America and around the world. The author of this blog has a wicked sense of humor and seems to enjoy using humor as much as possible. It doesn’t hurt, that he is a good copywriter and keeps everything light and entertaining. He also seems to have a never ending supply of ideas for new blog topics or just new pictures, that are so fun to peek at from time to time.

“Steve Charing Out spoken” is an additional example of a gay blog. This specific homosexual blog is all about politics, mainly within Maryland, but also around the US. It speaks out for the homosexual community and believes homosexual rights are a major concern of modern society. This blog is neither humorous, nor sexual; it is all concerning the facts and it’s triumphs and failures as it fights for gay rights.

David Hyde Pierce, also known as Niles Crane has a blog for expressing his anger over California repelling the right for gay marriage. He and his partner have been together for 25 years and in the short two weeks gay marriage was legal in California, the pair wed. Pierce is still angry about the state removing the law. He speaks out, but doesn’t want to draw the media’s attention.

Celebrities or the neighbor’s dog walker may additionally have a homosexual blog. The web provides you a voice to speak up or speak out. This is precisely what several LGBT blogs do. They may be for enjoyable, but they are also a way for the authors to express themselves and this holds truth for several different kinds of blogs, not just gay blogs.

Gay blogs aren’t exactly what they seem like, they’re blogs designed for the gay community. Blogs themselves haven’t yet developed sexual preferences. LGBT blogs don’t have to be about sex, they can be about any kind of subject, that the blogger chooses to write about. Politics is a popular issue, but gay clubs in New York or Cleveland may also be the subject of a gay blog, that’s floating around out there in cyber space. Go visit a gay blog and then decide what you think, but remember there’re thousands out there and some are hysterically funny, others are about more serious topics.

Different information and articles about gay tourism as well as LGBT issues and some of the hottest topics concerning the Gay community can be found by accessing gay Romania related website (English version of the gay blog at http://en.darkq.net) and then browsing for the category you`re interested in.

Even though there have been several advances in Romanian concerning the rights of homosexual citizens, the country as a whole nonetheless remains relatively conservative and therefore, unreceptive towards homosexuals. Since the begin of the new millennia, Romania has removed anti-gay legal guidelines, making homosexuality legal for the initial time in all venues. They have also passed laws to be able to prevent discrimination towards gay people and illegalize the occurrence of anti-gay hate crimes.

In 1864, homosexuality became illegal under the Romanian Penal Code. Although the law was not enforced for the entire period, the criminalization of gay people remained in place until 1936, when homosexuality was legalized except in the instances of rape. Article 431, which was enacted soon after, only made homosexuality illegal when the lifestyle created public disturbances or scandal. In 1996, it became legal for same sex individuals to engage in homosexual activity in the privacy of their own homes although public demonstrations were still considered criminal behavior. It also became permissible for individuals to undergo sex change surgery and change their sex on legal documents. It was not until 2000 that public homosexuality was made legal. Soon after, Michael Guest became the new Ambassador from the United States to Romania, a man who was completely open about his homosexuality.

Today, in Romania, there are no authorized guidelines against homosexuality. Instead, authorized guidelines have been enacted to protect the homosexual population. Nevertheless, gay people are still not permitted to be joined in marriage even though Romania is needed by the European Union to recognize gay relationships and unions that have taken location in other countries. In 2005, it was declared unconstitutional for any individual to be denied access to in vitro fertilization or IVF. This included all women, including lesbians. In one aspect, the military, Romania is even further accepting of homosexuality than the U.S. Homosexual people are able to openly serve in the military although many still strive to hide their sexual orientation for fear of being discriminated against.

In 2006, it was made illegal to discriminate against homosexuals in terms of employment, education, housing situations, and health care to name a few. In 2006, it was also made unlawful for people to have marches and give speeches denouncing homosexuals. This, nevertheless, is a law which has not been well enforced and several such events have proceeded with out repercussions. Similar to the United States, Romania does not permit homosexual males to donate blood because of the believed increased risk that the individual has been infected with sexually transmitted diseases.

To be able to make the gay community more visible, Bucharest celebrates the annual GayFest along with a Gay Film Nights festival which takes place in Cluj-Napoca. Despite this, the majority of rural Romania nonetheless remains anti-homosexual. Both GayFest and the Homosexual Film Nights festival are largely controversial and a number of social and political groups have spoken against their practice. For example, the March for Normality, an anti-homosexual parade, has been introduced on the same day as the Gay Fest parade by Noua Dreaptă, a very conservative social group.

For information about Romanian gay community, homosexuality and bisexuality, you can visit Kyle’s gay romania blog, with English version @ http://en.darkq.net

War movies are unlike any other type of film. They can be scary, fun, intense, uplifting, inspirational and filled with gore all at the same time. What other genre of films can you say that about? Over the years, there have been some absolutely sensational films covering the subject of war.

In my opinion, the following are some of the greatest war movies of all time. Forrest Gump does not count.

I have to include Braveheart on this list. Even though I cannot stand Mel Gibson any longer, I can’t let him get the best of me and ruin this film. It is just too good. An absolute masterpiece and a must see for anyone who likes epic films.

Also starring an actor that may not be my favorite person, but can surely deliver a role as good as anyone, is Russell Crowe as the role of Maximus in Gladiator. This may be Joaquin Phoenix’s best role as well as Commodus. This is an iconic villain if we have ever seen one.

Schindler’s List is probably the most upsetting movie I have ever seen. Spielberg delivers on all accounts with this film that plays out more like a documentary than an original work. If you are looking for a World War II-based film that will change your way of thinking, this is it.

How to pick from the myriad great movies regarding subject matter from the Vietnam War? My personal favorite movie regarding Vietnam is Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. I love everything about this movie, as it gives a terrifying look to the shock and trauma that Vietnam had on many of its soldiers.

When it comes to films about the Civil War, it does not get better than Glory. This film stars Denzel Washington in one of his greatest roles of all time. This is a character building film.

As it stands, these are the movies that I deemed worthy of making the list. A follow up article will be released soon with some other great ones.

Get more articles penned by this same writer about products such as chrome exhaust tips and truck exhaust stacks.

categories: movies,entertainment,reference,advice,education,awards,hobbies,leisure,recreation,social issues,politics,men’s interests,writing