I attended the preview of the movie “United 93” and one thing struck me: whatever our religion, whoever is the God we worship, in desperate times, our last recourse is prayer.
In the movie, United 93, reconstructing the drama inside the fourth hijacked plane on Sept. 11, 2001 there were many scenes showing both passengers and terrorists praying.
Their words were different but they were all directed to the Divine Being. The leader of the terrorist team was shown fervently praying before he moved to capture the cockpit. Surely, a positive answer to his prayer meant tragedy to the passengers. Many of the passengers, on the other hand, were praying to have the terrorist plan foiled.
None of the 40 passengers and four terrorists survived. But unlike American Airline Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, both from Boston bound for Los Angeles, which both crashed into the World Trade Center in New York and killed thousands, United Airline Flight 93 missed its target, the Capitol building in Washington D.C. (The third plane, American Airline Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon.)
“United 93”, which opens in Metro Manila theaters on July 5, re-enacts the less- than one hour-and-a half hour journey of the plane from its take off on at 8:42 a.m. of a bright, sunny day in Newark, New Jersey to its tragic dive in Shanksville, Pennsylvania at 10:03 a.m.
British film director and screenwriter Paul Greengrass (“Bourne Supremacy” and “Bloody Sunday”) pieced together materials gathered from over two dozen phone calls made by passengers to their loved one, 30 minutes of cockpit voice recordings, and over a hundred testimonies from victims’ of friends and families, air controllers, members of the 9/11 Congressional Commission, and soldiers and civilians who took part on that tragic day.
The result is a riveting and breathtaking film.
i can’t wait to see this film on the big screen.
Ellen’s narrative: The leader of the terrorist team was shown fervently praying before he moved to capture the cockpit. Surely, a positive answer to his prayer meant tragedy to the passengers. Many of the prayers, on the other hand, were praying to have the terrorist plan foiled.
FACT: The terrorist prayed and ACTED on his intentions . Others prayed and prayed … and prayed till kingdom come.
COMMENT; Prayer by itself is not enough. One must ACT on the prayer intentions for anything to happen. Prayer and action are two different things. These things are highly relevant to the current happenings in the country. The priests and bishops and the people can pray from morn til night, hoping that Gloria will step down. As far as Gloria is concerned, she is not stepping down no matter how much people pray. There must be ACTION to supplement the prayers – the people must rise to action and pry Gloria from her barnacle hold on the palace.Until then bansot will be enjoying her prosperity in paradise.
Alitaptap,
I like your suggestion. Its time to rise and make it be known to all that we are disgusted with the pretender in the palace. We must kick her out come hell or high water. Nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa.
Alitaptap,
One thing I am sure of is that these freedom fighters on the other side of the fence went on board those planes with their minds and hearts set at sacrificing their lives for their religion and their cause. Not being Moslem, I do not know how and what they usually pray for but it could have been that they were praying that they would not fail in their mission which was to blow up the plane to shock and shutter the Americans and those who help them in their fight against the Moslems that Bush and his men no doubt must have known likewise to stop but did not because they wanted to have a valid reason to continue the war in Iraq that his father started a decade or so before.
At least, the Moslems are not hypocrites to deny that they are ready to kill anyone who would have the nerve to insult their faith. Bush is different.
For me, he is the epitome of hypocrisy, even the anti-Christ who makes a mockery of his faith and literally spits on Christ, who told us in fact to “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (Matt 5:44) And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other.” (Matt. 5:39, Luke 6:29).
What the US soldiers are committing in Iraq for instance is beyond forgiveness even by Christian standard! Sodomizing young Iraqi boys and killing them falls in fact among the unpardonable sin, the sin against the Holy Ghost, which is the shedding of innocent blood.
God forgive us all for not doing enough to stop these acts of carnage, fornication, etc.
My dear Yuko,
I can clearly see your point of view. Only problem is that there are only 24 hours in a day, yet you set out problems to be solved for the next hundred years. Not even Hercules can achieve the goals you set. What I am saying is, get down to brass tacks and face problems locally. United Flight 93 happened to be involved in prayer and action. Prayer and Action is the main thrust of my commentary. Schumey articulated it well … nasa Dios ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa.
No, dear Alitaptap, I am not talking of a hundred years hence ala-Rizal. I am talking of now, and even the sad reality that countries like the USA for instance can be led by an evil man! I actually don’t see Bush as any different from Sadam!
Anyone who can sit there smirking and laughing na parang nakakaloko watching US soldiers massacre helpless children, women and elderly, and say “Get them all stupid Iraqis!” must be a real sick man!
Yes, Schumey is right, too, in a way, but let us not forget that when we cannot do it, God provides the way or even do the impossible for us if we do pray sincerely and with a CONTRITE heart even to prevent the shedding of innocent blood!
I have actually met some Palestinian mothers in some advocacy with Israeli mothers advocating the end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and these are women who are telling their children not to sacrifice their lives for their cause as in the case of the Palestinian women, many of whom have lost their husbands and children to the war, and the Israeli women who sympathize with their fellow members of the weaker sex on the other side of Israel’s “Berlin Wall” in this fight to end their war or wars.
I have not seen this movie yet, so I do not know how the director presented it, or whether it is to glorify Bush and his fellow butchers, or present the Iraqis as the oppressed and destitutes to garner similar sympathy the world had when they heard of the plight of the Jews under Hitler.
I’ll download the movie and give further comment on it when I see it.
I bet you that some kunyari loyal subjects of the USA, who are actually planted Malacanang provocateurs, will say this blog is dominated by US haters because of such comments as the above, but the truth is that what we see are the !I Robots” on both sides of the fence who have been indocrinated to live and die for their cause no matter what the consequences may be.
I cried in fact with members of our church for example when a member died in Iraq, a victim of his fellow US soldier, who ran a humvee over him and one or two of his companions!
Personally, like you perhaps, I ask, “Why do they have to waste precious lives, even their own no matter what the cause?”
Related topic. FYI:
THE young Iraqi woman was in the wrong place at the wrong time — in an insurgent-riddled town when a group of American soldiers happened to pass by on patrol, noticing her.
Then, says a US official, the soldiers returned to rape her and, in an apparent cover-up attempt, she and three members of her family were killed and her body set on fire.
Five US soldiers are being investigated, a US military official said. It is the fifth pending case involving alleged slayings of Iraqi civilians by US troops.
The suspects in the killing, which took place in March, were from the same platoon as two soldiers kidnapped and killed south of Baghdad last month, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The soldiers were abducted by insurgents near Youssifiyah, south-west of Baghdad.
The military has said one and possibly both of the soldiers were tortured and beheaded. The official said the mutilation of the slain soldiers stirred feelings of guilt and led at least one member of the platoon to reveal the rape and killing on June 22.
One soldier has been arrested after admitting his role in the alleged attack on the family.
An official said the rape and killings appeared to have been a “crime of opportunity”, noting that the soldiers had not been attacked by insurgents but had noticed the woman on previous patrols.
One of the family members they allegedly killed was a child.
Some of the suspects allegedly burned the woman’s body to cover up the attack.
In Baghdad, the US military issued a brief statement, saying only that Major-General James Thurman, commander of the 4th Infantry Division, ordered a criminal investigation into the alleged slaying of a family of four in Mahmoudiya, 30 kilometres south of Baghdad.
The alleged incident was first revealed by a soldier in a routine counselling-type session. The official said that soldier did not witness the incident but heard about it. A second soldier, who also was not involved, said he overhead soldiers conspiring to commit the crimes and later saw bloodstains on their clothes.
Before the soldier disclosed the alleged assault, senior officers had been aware of the family’s death but believed it was a result of sectarian violence.
One of the five suspects has already been discharged for unspecified charges unrelated to the killings and is believed to be in the US.
The others have had their weapons taken away and are confined to base.
The rape case is among the most serious against US soldiers allegedly involved in the deaths of Iraqi civilians. At least 14 US troops have been convicted.
Last week, seven marines and one navy medic were charged with premeditated murder in the shooting death of an Iraqi man near Fallujah, west of Baghdad. American officials are also investigating allegations that marines killed two dozen unarmed Iraqi civilians on November 19 in the western town of Haditha in a revenge attack after a fellow marine died in a roadside bombing.
*****
Just to show you why the Iraqis want the foreigners out of their country, and why the Moslems in general would turn suicidal in killing the ugly Americans and their allies!
I like Koizumi’s impersonation of Elvis. Singing, shaking and wiggling like da king, Koizumi with dubya showed that Iraq can be set aside in the meantime and act like mortals again. Iraq, as in all other wars in history, take their toll of human suffering and cannot be minimized by fleeting glance only. I would rather let Hercules tend to that and devote my 24 hours to finding a way to get bansot out of the “palace by the murky river”.
Alitaptap:
Did Koizumi do all those crazy things there? Missed seeing that on Japanese TV although I knew he loved Elvis.
Inggit si Bansot kay Koizumi sa palagay ko. Baka next time sasabihin niya doon sa bagong ambassador to the USA to ask Dubya to invite her, too, to Graceland and pretend to be an Elvis’ fan, too. Cheapie!
I understand it was Dubya’s farewell gesture to Koizumi as P.M. of Japan because he is stepping down in September.
If Bansot will tell Dubya, she’s leaving the palace by the murky river, baka ma-invite siya sa Bush rancho sa Texas!
Ano kaya sabihin natin kay Dubya iyon? On the other hand, huwag na lang kasi alam mo namang manloloko si Bansot at sinungaling. Lalansihin lang niya si Dubya dahil madaya nga!
Ellen:
I got a copy of United 93 that is not yet being shown in Japan, and I am presently watching it while I type this piece.
The impression I am getting is that for all that Bush has wanted to achieve by allowing this to happen given the warnings long before this happened and materials the Philippine police in fact discovered in 1995 with the Moslem fundamentalists moving freely in the Philippines then thinking perhaps that the Philippines was a safe haven for them terrorists with the Filipinos so corrupt that they could be their own mercenaries if the money was good, it ironically exposed the vulnerability of America to this kind of terrorism despite Bush’s claim of “America No. 1” especially with the Almighty withdrawing support from a people who worship God only with their mouths!
Oh yes, Angelina Jolie expressed her feelings on this in her interview with CNN! She said that she would prefer her government to concentrate more on giving aids and kindness to other people as they used to than waste money for buying guns and ammunition to kill other people to protect the USA! That was more acceptable to me as a matter of fact!
Even if Bin Laden with his small army cannot actually destroy the USA because of US military capacity being the only country loaded with nukes and other WMD aside from North Korea, what he cannot do nature can as when hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans in Lousiana. More I believe are to come with or without Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda!
God, forgive us all for our indifference!
Thanks, Ellen, for the lead on this movie. It proved everything that my friend at the IAC, etc, and I already know.
I feel sorry for all, both the victims of this carnage on both sides of the fence.
I have tried to understand the suicidal attitudes of the Moslems by reading parts of their Koran, and by so doing in fact, I have gained stronger testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ, who may be just a prophet to the Moslems but they in fact respect Him the way they respect Moses and Abraham, their ancestor likewise, unlike Christians who spit on their prophet, Mohammed!
I have befriended a lot of them likewise, especially those involved in resolving the present conflicts in the Middle East, and I can understand the dedication of these young men dying for their faith and country distorted though their ways maybe having seen a lot many Japanese committing suicides even in peace time.
For those who would like to know more on this tragedy, etc., please visit the ff sites:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info
http://www.iacenter.org
Where and when is the impersonation of Koizumi of Elvis? I’m sorry, i missed that one.
another thing that struck me watching the film was the folly of rigid bureauracy. People on the ground can’t do anything because of lack of clearance from above.
Ako din na-miss ko ang Elvis impersonation ni Koizumi although I knew he was a Presley fan.
Dati na akong galit kay Bush, but the movie made me angrier, for it was very obvious that they knew before hand about those terror plans of the Moslem fundamentalists that Bin Laden supported with his inheritance, and their willingness to sacrifice those innocent civilians as “collateral damages.”
I actually thought it funny why the US military did not move to prevent even the plane crash at Pentagon. Worse, iyong hindi tuminag si Dubya na ipinagpatuloy pa ang pagbabasa niya ng libro doon sa mga bata na akala mo naman tunay na concern siya doon sa mga batang kano na handa niyang ibalandra sa guerra pag laki nila samantalang siya duwag na nagpalusot na hindi maipadala sa Vietnam!
The movie in fact proved what we actually already knew. Sa nakita ko ang interview ng hepe ng pulis ng Maynila na nagsabing bakit pinabayaan ng FBI na makagawa ng ganoon ang mga Moslem fundamentalists e alam naman na nila ang balak ng mga iyon. Obvious talagang gusto lang ni Dubya na ipagpatuloy ang guerra ng tatay niya at sila ang mag-monopolize ng langis sa Middle East lalo na 2nd sa langis ang Iraq sa KSA.
Ito rin ang isang ulupong na dapat sinisipa pero hindi masipa! But all are I think for a purpose!
well, at least the passengers on flight 93 acted to foil the terrorists plot to slam the plane at the Capitol bldg.
John Marzan,
Wala namang survivor kaya di natin din alam ang tunay na pangyayari sa loob ng eroplanong iyon. Kathang isip lang ng nagsulat iyong mga conversation nila sa loob ng eroplano maliban doon sa usapan na narekord sa voice box na nasa cockpit ng piloto. Apparently, iyong nagpapaandar ng eroplano nang bumagsak ay binigkas ang Al Akbar (not sure of the spelling) bago bumagsak ang eroplano na ibinibigay na niya ang buhay niya sa Diyos. Baka naman patawarin siya ng Diyos dahil ang ginagawa naman nila ay bilang pagtatanggol sa simbahan nila at karangalan nila bilang miyembro ng religion nila. Ganoon din iyong mga Christian na tumawag sa Panginoon at sa bandang huli ay itinalaga na nila ang kanilang mga sarili sa kanilang magiging kapalaran.
Sa totoo lang, dalawang member ng simbahan namin ang namatay sa flight na iyan. Hindi ko lang matandaan kung iyong mga matatanda na depicted sa pelikula.
Nakakaawa rin kung iisipin. Dahil sa kasakiman, etc. ng tao sa mundo ay nagkakaganito sila. May all of them rest in peace.
Doon sa Twin Tower, may mga hapon na namatay din. All well accounted for dahil sa magandang registration system ng hapon, at saka inasikaso agad ng pamahalaan na hanapin kung sinu-sino silang pumunta doon nang araw na iyon.
Si Pandak, nagawa pang naglamyerda sa Japan sa totoo lang. Tandang-tanda ko iyon kasi sinabi ng mga kaibigan ko sa Immigration na suyang-suya kasi nagkakagulo na nga sila at isinara ang mga airport dahil nga baka gawin sa Japan, pero ang ungas nagpunta pa dito at nag-aksaya ng pera bagamat nakakolekta siya ng mga abuloy ng mga pilipino dito para sa kaniyang classroom project daw pero sa totoo lang ay para sa pangungurakoy niya at sa kandidatura niya noong 2004.
Sa totoo lang ang unang biktima ng terrorism na ito sa banda ng Pacific ay isang hapon na sakay ng eroplanong galing ba o papuntang Manila. Pumutok ang eroplano sa may gitna ng eroplano at noong una ay inakalang engine trouble lang. Mabuti na lang, hindi sumabog ang buong eroplano at nakababa nang mahusay na isa lang ang naging casualty na sa mismong ilalim ng upuan niya may sumabog na bomba. Malaking kaso ito ng Northwest noong bago ang 9/11. Alam ninyo ang kasong ito dahil nadyaryo ito noon.
BTW, ang sasakyan pala nina Pandak sa Europe ay chartered. Walandyu ha! Ang mahal niyan! Pinalibre kaya ni Lusu Tan?!
Ellen:
Lalong maiinggit si Bansot pag nalaman niyang binigyan ni Dubya si Koizumi ng isang genuine 1954 vintage jukebox na may 25 Elvis Presley records as a gift sa pagbaba ni Koizumi sa upuan niya sa September. Mahal na mahal ni Dubya si Koizumi na na-spoiled sa mga kano.
Marunong mag-ingles iyan kasi madalas iyan sa US base noong kabataan niya at nag-aral pa sa Amerika, pero kapag usapang masinsinan na hapon ang salita sa pamamagitan ng isang translator/interpreter.
In almost all presidential trips,(even during the time of Cory Aquino, Ramos and Estrada) the PAL plane is chartered because there is no presidential plane to speak of. The Philippine Air Force planes are all bulok.
Presidential visits cost millions and millions of pesos. The bigger the presidential party, the costlier it is. And Gloria’s presidential party is huge. Some 130 all in all, excluding media. Media are supposed to pay their way.
ellen, here’s a video and photos of koizumi singing “love me tender”
http://hotair.com/archives/the-blog/2006/06/30/mid-day-palate-cleanser-2/
here’s more videos of him channelling elvis
http://www.youtube.com/results?search=koizumi+elvis&search_type=search_videos&search=Search
article of the event here.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060630/ts_nm/japan_usa_dc
The Koizumi impersonation of Elvis was merely a sidelight of CNN news and other networks, perhaps not available internationally. Koizumi was wearing dark glasses and sung Love Me Tender, Teddy Bear, Fools Rush In, and did all the giddying motions of da king while singing. Dubya was grinning ear to ear in the meantime, watching. According to the tv announcer, only thing missing on the impersonation was Elvis leather jacket.
O, John Marzan … ’tis true the passengers ACTED to foil the terrorist plot … precisely my point. No matter how fervent you pray to god for a glass of water, you will die of thirst unless you get off your knees and get that glass of water yourself.
One thing sure is that no serious Japanese is proud of Koizumi acting like a young Elvis fan! But who cares? The guy is stepping down in September. He may remain a friend of Dubya forever, but once he’s out of the P.M.’s seat, he can no longer do what he has been doing these past 4 years–making silly decisions even against the will of the majority. If not for his finance minister, et al who have saved the day, and the economy floating, he won’t last a minute!
Ellen:
Walang pera ang Pilipinas, bakit pinapayagan ang ganitong pag-aaksaya ni Pandak ng pera? Ganyan din ang tatay niyan noon at galit na galit ang maraming tao kaya nga naboto si Marcos. Sabi ng mga pilipino noon, “DADONG, ALIS DIYAN!” Ngayon ang sigaw, “PANDAK, PATALSIKIN NA, NOW NA!”