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Ron Howard Versus The Catholic League

Ron Howard Defends His 'Demons' From Catholic League
PopEater
posted: 2 MINUTES AGOcomments: 293filed under: Fight!, Gut Reactions, Highbrow, Movie NewsPrintShareText SizeAAA'

Angels & Demons' director Ron Howard has taken the fight back to Catholic League head honcho William "Bill" Donohue, who is accusing the Hollywood star and author Dan Brown of "smearing" the Vatican "with fabulously bogus tales" in the upcoming 'Da Vinci Code' prequel. In recent weeks, Donohue has released a series of Op-Eds and press releases slamming Howard and the film, which follows Robert Langdon (played by Tom Hanks) as he teams up with the Church to thwart an attack against the Vatican. In a piece for the Huffington Post, Howard asks "What, exactly, is anti-Catholic about that?" Donohue attacks Brown for incorporating well-known conspiracy theories in his books, such as in 'Demons' where it is said the Catholic Church massacred members of the Illuminati -- a short-lived secret society composed of the power elite -- in the 1600s. In reality, the group did not exist until 1776. "It would be a lie if we had ever suggested our movie is anything other than a work of fiction (if it were a documentary, our talk of massacres would have referenced the Inquisition or the Crusades)," Howard responds.
"And if fictional movies could never take liberties with reality, then there would have been no 'Ben-Hur,' no 'Barabbas,' 'The Robe,' 'Gone With The Wind,' or 'Titanic.' Not to mention 'Splash!'" In a press release on the Catholic League's Web site, Donohue takes a bite out of Hanks as well. "Were it not for savaging Catholicism, few would care about the duplicity of Brown and Hanks. But they are obviously not content to spin mysterious tales absent an anti-Catholic animus." Howard finds one thing that he and Donohue have in common: "we both like to create fictional tales, as he has done with his silly and mean-spirited work of propaganda." "Since Mr. Donohue has, in effect, smeared me by claiming I am smearing his Church, I want him to know this: I have respect for Catholics and their Church, and know they accomplish many good works throughout the world." "And I believe Angels & Demons treats the Church with respect -- even a degree of reverence -- for its traditions and beliefs." The film hits theaters on May 15.

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2009-04-21 09:13:42

And we should get this worked up over a work of fiction because? Granted anti-Catholic bigotry exists in the world---mostly in the thoughts and ideas of Reformed Fundamentalist Protestants and Independent Fundamentalist Baptists and other fundamentalist groups because of their anti-ecumenical stance and/or what early Protestants said. Shouldn't we as Christians be more concerned with these more real and concrete examples of anti-Catholicism then? Examples such as by: King James Onlyists like Jack Chick, Peter Ruckman, Gail Riplinger, etc. And Fungelicals like John MacArthur and John Hagee, etc.

Israel Considering Saudi Peace Deal

Israel Considering Saudi Peace Deal
By ARON HELLER, AP
posted: 23 HOURS 28 MINUTES AGOcomments: 252filed under: World News(Oct. 19) -

Israeli leaders are seriously considering a dormant Saudi plan offering a comprehensive peace between Israel and the Arab world in exchange for lands captured during the 1967 war, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday.
Barak said it may be time to pursue an overall peace deal for the region because individual negotiations with Syria and the Palestinians have made little progress.

Barak said he has discussed the Saudi plan with Prime Minister-designate Tzipi Livni, who is in the process of forming a new government, and that Israel is considering a response. Barak, who leads the Labor party, is expected to play a senior role in the next government.
Livni's office refused to comment on her talks with Barak.
Saudi Arabia first proposed the peace initiative in 2002, offering pan-Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for Israel's withdrawal from Arab lands captured in 1967 — the West Bank, Gaza Strip, east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The 22-member Arab League endorsed the plan last year.
Israel has said the plan is a good basis for discussion, but expressed some reservations.
"There is definitely room to introduce a comprehensive Israeli plan to counter the Saudi plan that would be the basis for a discussion on overall regional peace," Barak told Israel's Army Radio.
He noted the "deep, joint interest" with moderate Arab leaders in containing Iran's nuclear ambitions and limiting the influence of the radical Islamic Hezbollah movement in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
Analyst Ghassan Khatib, a former minister in the Palestinian Cabinet, said interest in the plan was "a little bit late" but welcome.

"I strongly believe that the Arab initiative is the best approach to peace between the Arabs and the Israelis," he said. "It fulfills all the legitimate objectives of Israel and those of the Palestinians and at the same time it has this regional dimension and it reflects one of the rare issues on which Arabs have consensus."
While Israel's outgoing prime minister, Ehud Olmert, has welcomed the Saudi plan, he and other leaders want to keep small parts of the territories captured in 1967. Israel also objects to language that appears to endorse a large-scale return of Palestinian refugees to lands inside Israel. Israel says a massive influx of Palestinians would destroy the country's Jewish character.
Yuval Steinitz, an Israeli lawmaker from the conservative opposition Likud Party and a member of parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said that for Israel, the Saudi plan is a nonstarter and called Barak's remarks "an empty political gesture."
"It doesn't recognize Israel's right to defensible borders ... (and) demands Palestinian refugees settle in the Jewish state as well as the Palestinian state, which is totally unacceptable," he said.
Israel's ceremonial president, Shimon Peres, proposed putting Israel's various peace talks on one track last month at the United Nations, calling on Saudi King Abdullah to "further his initiative." He has since been pushing the idea in meetings with Israeli, Arab and Western officials, his office said.
While Peres has no formal role in Israeli foreign policy, he is a Nobel peace laureate and well respected in the international community.

In Sunday's interview, Barak said he was in full agreement with Peres.
"I had the impression that there is indeed an openness to explore any path, including this one," he said of his talks with Livni.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat noted that pursuing the Saudi peace initiative did not necessarily undermine the direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians and he encouraged Israel to pursue this track.
"I think Israel should have done this since 2002. It is the most strategic initiative that came from the Arab world since 1948," he said. "I urge them to revisit this initiative and to go with it because it will shorten the way to peace."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that he would meet with Olmert on Oct. 27. The two leaders have been meeting regularly this year, to assess progress in peace talks.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-10-19 13:38:29

Perhaps this will be a step forward for progress in the Middle East. Peace is achievable if both parties are willing to set aside their differences and start pursuing commonalities. I can already hear Fungelical Zionists like Tim LaHaye impede this progress with conspiracy theories about a One World Government/Religion and a literal Anti-Christ figure (instead of figurative anti-christs as the only references to any type of anti-Christ are in I and II John, one of which is in a plural case) though.

See also: Obsession "Stars" Have Lectured at U.S. Military Colleges; U.S. Navy Uses Film, Tim LaHaye says Allah is not God, Fundaresentalism, Did Tim LaHaye Just Call Israelis "Not-To-Be-Trusted Yids?", http://www.cc-vw.org/articles/ivp.html, Christian Zionism---an even handed overview, Professor Mark Chmiel on Christian Zionism and Allies for Armageddon: The Rise of Christian Zionism.