Posted By richards on September 21, 2012
President Obama Marks Jewish American Heritage Month May 30, 2012
This video is in the Public Domain.From:presidentialvidsViews:4 0ratingsTime:04:46More inNews Politics
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President Obama Marks Jewish American Heritage Month May 30, 2012 - Video
Posted By richards on September 20, 2012
This week's featured events Spider Pavilion Watch spiders spin magnificent webs when the Spider Pavilion opens Sunday, continuing through Nov. 4, at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles. The attraction is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through Nov. 4, with the last tickets sold at 4:30 p.m. Tickets: $1-$3 and available at any museum admissions desk or in the Spider Pavilion; free for members. For more information, visit http://www.nhm.org/spider or call 213-763-3466.
Halloween Horror Nights The sickest minds in horror entertainment have created another living, breathing world of bloodthirsty creatures on the backlot at Universal Studios Hollywood, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City. From scare maze "The Walking Dead: Dead Inside," based on the Emmy Award- winning TV series, to the Terror Tram, from killer clowns to Revenge of the Mummy -- The Ride you're in for a terrifying night of adventure. "Halloween Horror Nights" kicks off tonight and runs on 19 select nights through Oct. 31. Start time is 7 p.m. Tickets: $41-$199. To purchase, go to www. halloweenhorrornights.com.
10th annual Ventura Hillsides Music Festival Blues Traveler, Dr. John and The Lower 911, and Elvin Bishop headline this fund-raising concert for the Ventura Hillsides Conservancy, whose mission
How Sweet the Sound: A search for the best gospel choir in America, 7:30 tonight. Tickets $10-$20. Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles. 800-745-3000. http://www.ticketmaster.com
War: 7:30 tonight. Tickets $19.50-$75. Los Angeles County Fair, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona. 800-745-3000. http://www.ticketmaster.com
Maximo Park: With the Neighborhood and Zambri, 8 tonight. Tickets $20. El Rey Theatre, 5515 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. 800-745-3000. http://www.ticketmaster.com
Bob Mintzer: With Larry Goldings and Roy McCurdy, 8 tonight. Tickets $25-$50. Vitello's Jazz and Supper Club, 4349 Tujunga Ave., Studio City. http://www.ticketweb.com. 818-769-0905.
Lila Downs: 8 tonight. Tickets $27.50-$49.50. City National Grove of Anaheim, 2200 E. Katella Ave.; also, 8 p.m. Saturday. $25-$55. Luckman Fine Arts Complex, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles. 800-745-3000. http://www.ticketmaster.com
Jazz Around the World: Local jazz musicians perform, 8 tonight. Tickets $19. Lancaster Performing Arts Center, 750 W. Lancaster Blvd. 661-723-5950. http://www.lpac.org
Karrin Allyson: 8:30 tonight, 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets $25-$27. Catalina Bar and Grill, 6725 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. 323-466-2210. http://www.ticketweb.com
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What's new to do in the San Fernando Valley, greater Los Angeles and surrounding areas for the week beginning Friday ...
Posted By richards on September 20, 2012
Some of you might remember my nephew Stuart. Ive written about him a time or two or six. Well, he got married three Sundays ago. The wedding was not just a joyous and joyful occasion. It was moving and uplifting too. It was a great reminder of how much has changed for the better in this country over the last 50 years, and how much people can change for the better. In these times of turmoil, intolerance and hate, I was reminded that hope is not a wasted emotion. With commitment, work and a lot of patience, it can move mountains.
For those of us looking on, personal change sometimes seems to come slowest. So, it was with Stuart. Engaging, funny and smart, he had us adults writhing in frustration as he frittered through college until he dropped out after losing his academic scholarship and spent his time rhyming verse with the goal of becoming a rap star. Yes, you read that right.
Some of you have followed Stuarts road to maturity through my columns. Remember when I told you he showed up at a check-cashing place with grills on his teeth trying to cash a birthday check my sister had sent him? Grills or grillz are the removable jewelry a lot of hip hop artists and their followers wear. During this summers Olympics, gold-medal winning swimmer Ryan Lochte wore a grill with stones in the design of an American flag.
You might also remember that I referred to Stuart earlier this year when I wrote about discrimination against gays. I noted my disappointment that Stuart in 2004, finally at legal age to vote, voted in my home-state of Georgia for an amendment recognizing as marriage only the union of man and woman.
Stuarts unfortunate vote of eight years ago makes even more poignant what happened at his wedding earlier this month. He and his wife Meredith were married by a lesbian Lutheran minister.
That was just one of the heart-warming and heart-tugging parts of this wedding.
Stuarts mom Joyce died when he was 16. Shed had a heart transplant in the mid-1990s but about five years later the heart gave out. Yet on Stuarts wedding day, she was very much present in a poem she had written specifically for him.
As poignant was this: Stuart and Meredith didnt just join lives when they married, they joined cultures. Their wedding was a celebration of that.
In a nod to Stuarts African American heritage, a gospel group sang at intervals during the ceremony and a wrist-wrapping ceremony, traditional in some African cultures, was included. Merediths father is Jewish and her stepfather Asian. The ceremony included the Jewish tradition of stomping on a glass at the weddings end, and a shout from guests of mazel tov in congratulation. The reception included the traditional lifting and carrying of the bride and groom in chairs and a boisterous rendition of the Hebrew song Hava Nagila as guests joined hands in dance. As the evenings festivities ended, we all lit Chinese lanterns that drifted skyward in moving, visual cacophony.
Our now big-tent family is not so unusual today. Census figures show 8.4 percent of all marriages in the United States are interracial, and about 15 percent of all new marriages are so. Interracial marriages are not new to my family.
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Change often comes slowly but it does come
Posted By simmons on September 20, 2012
20-09-2012 09:43 RT talks to Uzi Rubin, who was in charge of Israel's missile defence about how serious Israeli threats are against Iran over the country's nuclear research activities. RT LIVE Subscribe to RT! Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Google+ RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 500 million YouTube views benchmark.
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'Israel missile defence protects military, not people' - Video
Posted By simmons on September 20, 2012
20-09-2012 02:22 Israeli has carried out a surprise military drill in the Golan Heights close to the border with Syria. It was the Israeli Defense Forces' largest exercise of its kind in years Tens of thousands of soldiers took part, including service personnel from the artillery and air force. The drill ended with troops firing live rounds in Golan, which it captured from Syria in 1967.
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Israel carries out snap military drill in Golan Heights - Video
Posted By simmons on September 19, 2012
19-09-2012 11:01 Jane Monzures gets a chance to catch up with Chicago Bear Israel Idonije, about his upcoming fundraiser at Benny's Chop House, and to talk about The Israel Idonije Foundation.
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Blast from the Past: Israel Idonije - Video
Posted By richards on September 19, 2012
The stars came out to pay tribute to the late American composer and conductor Marvin Hamlisch who passed away last month aged 68, with Barbara Streisand, Aretha Franklin and Liza Minelli appearing at a memorial service in tribute to the great music writer.
The BBC reports that the invite-only service was held at New Yorks Juilliard School and saw Minelli perform If You Really Knew Me from the musical Theyre Playing My Song whilst Franklin sung James Bond theme Nobody Does It Better. It was a fitting tribute to someone who won three Academy Awards, a Tony, four Grammys , four Emmys and a Pultizer Prize during their career. The event was arranged by Streisand and she commented on Hamlisch's life by saying "Without explaining why or how, we understood each others anxieties," in reference to their shared Jewish heritage.
An audience that included Michael Douglas and Sarah Jessica Parker were treated to performances not just by three women who are among the finest voices in popular music history, but also three of Hamlischs closest friends, making it a wholly fitting evening. Minelli said that shed known him since they were in their teens, whilst Franklin performed a version of the spiritual ballad Deep River in homage. The tribute also featured While I Still Have The Time - a song from his final musical, The Nutty Professor, which premiered in Nashville in August.
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Stars Come Out To Pay Tribute To Marvin Hamlisch
Posted By simmons on September 18, 2012
18-09-2012 06:48 A major international armada of naval power has massed off the Iranian coast for what's believed to be the biggest military exercise ever seen in the region. The American and British-led show of force near the strategic Strait of Hormuz comes as Israel has ramped up its warmongering rhetoric against Tehran. And as Sara Firth explains, there are further indications that a showdown with Iran may be on the cards
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US
Posted By richards on September 18, 2012
The 46-year-old from Newton Mearns is taking part in a charity, white-collar boxing match in Glasgow next month to raise money for the Royal Hospital for Sick Children (Yorkhill) and the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre .
One of the most accomplished boxers Scotland has ever produced, Jacobs won British, Commonwealth and European titles and challenged American superstar Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker for his WBC world title in 1994 when Whitaker was the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, losing by decision.
On Saturday, October 6, he will face Craig Millard from Edinburgh at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow as part of the Fortune Favours the Bold event, organised by SK Boxing Promotions.
Jacobs, known as "The Kid", said: "I've not pulled the gloves on since 1997. I was tempted after going along to an SK Boxing Promotions fight night and seeing all these up-and-coming young boxers.
"Gyms are so different now to the spit-and-sawdust places I trained in and the young guys these days are very well looked after. If my name on the card can attract some people along and maybe get some new people into boxing, then that will be great.
"I also want to raise money for Yorkhill and the Beatson. My wife Linda had breast cancer last year. She is fine now but I wanted to do something for the Beatson."
Jacobs is also promoting his forthcoming autobiography which will be in the shops by Christmas.
"My book will tell all about my career and the ups and down I've experienced since I retired," he says.
"I got involved in some silly things when I retired but I came back from it and I think I have an interesting story to tell.
"I think it's great that you can put your life story in a book and not too many people have had a life which would allow them to do that.
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Gary 'The Kid' Jacobs in comeback for charity
Posted By richards on September 17, 2012
There are many indications that this could just be the beginning. On Friday, Islamists in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, attacked the German Embassy. Out of fear of further violence, the German government has closed its embassies in a number of Islamic countries. The Americans have pulled out staff from some of its diplomatic missions and deployed guided-missile destroyers off the coast of Libya.
Political Damage
The political damage is enormous: The fragile governments of the Arab Spring countries remain extremely unsteady. The West is now losing much of the credit that it gained from its opposition to dictators such as Libya's Gadhafi and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak.
And there doesn't appear to be a solution to this conflict, which is fueled by the following differences: For the secular states of the West, but also for secular Muslims, freedom is vital -- freedom of expression, freedom of art and freedom of religion. In some Islamic countries, however, there is a blurring of the differences between religion and politics. And many people in the slums of Cairo, Sana'a and Khartoum have little that they can be proud of, aside from their religion.
It is easy to use blasphemy to mortally offend less educated people, and it has become even easier since the advent of the Internet. In fact, it is so easy that an Islamophobe somewhere in America need only upload a video to YouTube to spark violence on the other side of the globe. This new clash of cultures is led by extremists on both sides who stir up hatred against each other -- extremists like Sam Bacile.
This is the name used by someone who posted an English version of the video on YouTube back in July. Nothing happened for weeks. Ten days ago, an Arabic version was uploaded as well. Now, the virulently anti-Muslim video has gone viral and the people of the Middle East have understood the intended message involving Muhammad, the donkey and the young girl.
'Islam Is A Cancer'
After the protests began, sources leaked a phone number to the Associated Press news agency. When reporters dialed the number, a man answered who claimed to be Sam Bacile, the film's director. "Islam is a cancer," he said, adding that he was an Israeli Jew who wanted to spread the truth about Islam. Some 100 Jews had donated money to the project, he said, supposedly to the tune of $5 million. Anyone who says something like that is not only willing to accept a few deaths; he is, at least in the eyes of many Muslims, also getting the state of Israel involved.
The journalists felt that there was something about his story that didn't add up. They found the address that corresponds to the man's cell phone number. The man who came to the door in a cul-de-sac in Cerritos near Los Angeles denied being Bacile. He said that he was only responsible for managing the film team's logistics, and showed them his driver's license, but covered his middle name with one of his fingers. The journalists were able to read Nakoula Nakoula -- and the rest was research. They found out that Nakoula was convicted of federal bank fraud charges in 2010. He was given a 21-month prison sentence and ordered to pay $790,000 (600,000) in restitution.
Now, the reporters knew that his real name was Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a Coptic Christian from Egypt with U.S. citizenship. According to police records, he maintains at least 14 aliases. "Basseley" sounds almost like "Bacile". U.S. investigators believe that Sam Bacile, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula and the director are one and the same person.
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Tolerating Hate - Muslim Protests Show Limits Of Free Speech
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