juanpe

Interpol - Turn on the bright light (gosh, they're playing on Monday in Madrid... can't wait to see them! ;) )

I cannot agree more on this opinion posted on the website of American Leftist (http://amleft.blogspot.com/) The New Pope American Leftist, Tuesday, April 19, 2005 http://amleft.blogspot.com/ So they picked Ratzinger, and it's hard to imagine a worse choice. The guy's against women priests and against married priests. Not only is he against Catholic dissidents, he excommunicated Tissa Balasuriya, a leftist Sri Lankan theologian, for the crime of presenting Mary as the "author of the Magnificat with its fierce cry for social justice [and] the strong mother who stood as she witnessed the execution of her Son" and for promoting "'relativism' of all religions", to quote Gerard Sloyan. Ratzinger's not merely passingly anti-gay, he's the author of the Vatican's statement against gay marriage. He also condemned Buddhism, Hinduism and other Eastern religions as offering "false hope" through "auto-erotic spirituality". 1 Then there's the fact that he's kind of a former Nazi: 2 Unknown to many members of the church, however, Ratzinger's past includes brief membership of the Hitler Youth movement and wartime service with a German army anti-aircraft unit. [ ... ] In 1937 Ratzinger's father retired and the family moved to Traunstein, a staunchly Catholic town in Bavaria. Ratzinger joined the Hitler Youth aged 14, shortly after membership was made compulsory in 1941. He soon won a dispensation on account of his training at a seminary. "Ratzinger was only briefly a member of the Hitler Youth and not an enthusiastic one," said John Allen, his biographer. Two years later Ratzinger was enrolled in an anti-aircraft unit that protected a BMW factory making aircraft engines. The workforce included slave labour from the Dachau concentration camp. Ratzinger has insisted he never took part in combat or fired a shot – adding that his gun was not even loaded – because of a badly infected finger. He was sent to Hungary, where he set up tank traps and saw Jews being herded to death camps. He deserted in April 1944 and spent a few weeks in a prisoner of war camp. Ratzinger has since said that although he was opposed to the Nazi regime, any open resistance would have been futile – comments echoed this weekend by his elder brother Georg, a retired priest ordained along with the cardinal in 1951. "Resistance was truly impossible," Georg Ratzinger said. "Before we were conscripted, one of our teachers said we should fight and become heroic Nazis and another told us not to worry, as only one soldier in a thousand was killed. But neither of us ever used a rifle against the enemy." Some locals in Traunstein, such as Elizabeth Lohner, 84, whose brother-in-law was sent to Dachau as a conscientious objector, dismiss such suggestions. "It was possible to resist, and those people set an example for others," she said. "The Ratzingers were young and they had made a different choice." Oh, yeah, and he also helped to cover up a molestation scandal at the Vatican 3: The accusers say Vatican-based Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who heads the Vatican office to safeguard the faith and the morals of the church, quietly made the lawsuit [against Father Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legion of Christ which has raised millions of dollars for the Church, regarding allegations of sexual abuse] go away and shelved it. There was no investigation and the accusers weren't asked a single question or asked for a statement. He was appointed by the pope to investigate the entire sex abuse scandal in the church in recent days. But when approached by ABCNEWS in Rome last week with questions of allegations against Maciel, Ratzinger became visibly upset and actually slapped this reporter's hand. "Come to me when the moment is given," Ratzinger told ABCNEWS, "not yet." "Cardinal Ratzinger is sheltering Maciel, protecting him," said Berry, who expressed concerns that no response was being given to the allegations against the man charged with sex abuse. "These men knelt and kissed the ring of Cardinal Ratzinger when they filed the case in Rome. And a year-and-a-half later, he takes those accusations and aborts them, just stuffs them." 1 but "charming" he's not "More Zealous than the Pope." He's head of the Vatican's "Holy Inquisition" [modern, formal name: "Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith], and he's described as personally charming. The man who wrote last week's Vatican document ruling out same-sex marriage is a soft-spoken Bavarian who was once a liberal but has served as Pope John Paul II's ultra-conservative guardian of Catholic doctrine for more than 20 years. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has been at the Pope's side as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for so long he has been nicknamed "The Enforcer" or the "Panzerkardinal". Cardinal Ratzinger is regarded as the second most powerful man in the Church. [oddly, his nicknames immediately suggest the next governor of California and himself soon one of the most powerful men in American] If anything, he is even more zealous than the Pope, whom he meets every Friday evening, in laying down the law on social or sexual mores. One joke told in the Vatican has Cardinal Ratzinger arriving in heaven with the church dissidents he has suppressed. The dissenters emerge after meeting God, crying: "How could I have been so wrong?" Then Cardinal Ratzinger goes in to meet the Almighty, there is also wailing and gnashing of teeth -- and God emerges, crying: "How could I have been so wrong?" The former Hitler Youth member and Wehrmacht draftee was shocked by the reforms of Vatican II. The Australian site [news.com.au] linked above reports that he condemns Buddhism, Hinduism and other Eastern religions as offering false hope through "auto-erotic spirituality," that he insists the media exaggerates the extent of the American pedophilia scandals and that he's pushing for a return to the Latin Mass. Well-informed queers have known about Rat for over 10 years. In 1992, during a period of particularly virulent antigay violence in the U.S., he authorized a Vatican proclamation which said that that when lesbians and gay men demand civil rights, "neither the Church nor society should be surprised when ... irrational and violent reactions increase" Swell guy. Ratzinger will preside over the Conclave which elects the next Catholic autocrat when Wojtyla kicks. Off to the 17th century - in a hand basket! Posted by james at August 9, 2003 01:34 PM 2 Nazi link may dog favourite Justin Sparks and John Follain April 18, 2005 THE wartime past of the leading conservative contender to succeed John Paul II may return to haunt him as cardinals begin voting in the Sistine Chapel today. German cardinal Joseph Ratzinger – whose strong defence of Catholic orthodoxy has earned him sobriquets including "the enforcer", "the panzer cardinal" and "God's rottweiler" – is expected to poll about 40 votes in the first ballot as conservatives rally behind him. Although short of the requisite two-thirds majority of the 115 votes, this would almost certainly give Ratzinger, 78, an early lead in the voting. Unknown to many members of the church, however, Ratzinger's past includes brief membership of the Hitler Youth movement and wartime service with a German army anti-aircraft unit. There is no suggestion that he was involved in any atrocities, but his service may be contrasted by opponents with the attitude of John Paul II, who took part in anti-Nazi theatre performances in his native Poland and in 1986 became the first pope to visit Rome's synagogue. "John Paul was hugely appreciated for what he did for, and with, the Jewish people," said Lord Janner, head of Britain's Holocaust Education Trust, before attending ceremonies yesterday to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. "If they were to appoint someone who was on the other side in the war, he would start at a disadvantage, although it wouldn't mean in the long run he wouldn't be equally understanding of the concerns of the Jewish world." The son of a rural Bavarian police officer, Ratzinger was six when Hitler came to power in 1933. His father, also called Joseph, was an anti-Nazi whose attempts to rein in the activities of Hitler's Brown Shirts forced the family to move home several times. In 1937 Ratzinger's father retired and the family moved to Traunstein, a staunchly Catholic town in Bavaria. Ratzinger joined the Hitler Youth aged 14, shortly after membership was made compulsory in 1941. He soon won a dispensation on account of his training at a seminary. "Ratzinger was only briefly a member of the Hitler Youth and not an enthusiastic one," said John Allen, his biographer. Two years later Ratzinger was enrolled in an anti-aircraft unit that protected a BMW factory making aircraft engines. The workforce included slave labour from the Dachau concentration camp. Ratzinger has insisted he never took part in combat or fired a shot – adding that his gun was not even loaded – because of a badly infected finger. He was sent to Hungary, where he set up tank traps and saw Jews being herded to death camps. He deserted in April 1944 and spent a few weeks in a prisoner of war camp. Ratzinger has since said that although he was opposed to the Nazi regime, any open resistance would have been futile – comments echoed this weekend by his elder brother Georg, a retired priest ordained along with the cardinal in 1951. "Resistance was truly impossible," Georg Ratzinger said. "Before we were conscripted, one of our teachers said we should fight and become heroic Nazis and another told us not to worry, as only one soldier in a thousand was killed. But neither of us ever used a rifle against the enemy." Some locals in Traunstein, such as Elizabeth Lohner, 84, whose brother-in-law was sent to Dachau as a conscientious objector, dismiss such suggestions. "It was possible to resist, and those people set an example for others," she said. "The Ratzingers were young and they had made a different choice." In 1937 another family, a few hundred metres away in Traunstein, hid Hans Braxenthaler, a resistance fighter. SS troops repeatedly searched homes in the area looking for him and his fellow conspirators. "When he was betrayed and the Nazis came for him, Braxenthaler shot himself because he knew he couldn't escape," said Frieda Meyer, 82, Ratzinger's neighbour and childhood friend. "Even though they had tortured him in Dachau concentration camp he refused to give up his resistance efforts." Despite questions about Ratzinger's wartime conduct, the main obstacle to his prospects in the conclave – the assembly of cardinals to elect the new pope – is the conservative stance he has adopted as guardian of Catholic orthodoxy since John Paul named him to head the congregation for the doctrine of the faith in 1981. His condemnations are legion – of women priests, married priests, dissident theologians and homosexuals, whom he has declared to be suffering from an "objective disorder". He upset many Jews with a statement in 1987 that Jewish history and scripture reach fulfilment only in Christ – a position denounced by some as "theological anti-Semitism". He made more enemies in 2000, when he signed a document, Dominus Jesus, in which he argued "only in the Catholic Church is there eternal salvation". Some of his staunchest critics are in Germany. A recent poll in news magazine Der Spiegel showed opponents of a Ratzinger papacy outnumbered supporters by 36 to 29. As one cardinal who was in two minds about him put it: "He would probably be a great pope, but I have no idea how I would explain his election back home." One liberal theologian, when asked what he thought of a Ratzinger papacy, was more direct: "It fills me with horror." The Sunday Times 3. Priestly Sin, Cover-Up Powerful Cardinal in Vatican Accused of Sexual Abuse Cover-Up ABC News 8, CT/April 26, 2002 By Brian Ross A trusted ally of Pope John Paul II has been accused of sexually abusing boys a half-century ago at an elite seminary for the Catholic Church. The alleged victims say the Vatican knew of the allegations against Father Marcial Maciel and chose not to pursue them. In fact, the pope has continued to praise 82-year-old Maciel, a Mexico native, as an effective leader of Catholic youth, despite detailed allegations sent to the Vatican four years ago saying the man was also a long-time pedophile. Maciel denies the charges and said the men made them up only after leaving the Legion of Christ. Maciel is the founder of the little-known but well-connected and well-financed Legion of Christ which has raised millions of dollars for the Church. Operating in the United States and 19 other countries, the Legion of Christ recruits boys as young as 10 years old to leave their families and follow a rigorous course of study to become priests. "I think Father Maciel is one of the most powerful men in the Catholic Church today and also arguably the most mysterious," said Jason Berry, author of Lead Us Not Into Temptation: Catholic Priests and the Sexual Abuse of Children. Hidden Abuse, 50 Years Ago Maciel is alleged to have molested some of the young men under his control, some 50 years ago, at the well-manicured seminary and headquarters of the Legion of Christ, a few miles from the Vatican. It is hidden behind high walls and a steel gate that warns of a watch dog inside. "He pushed my hand onto his penis. And I didn't know anything about masturbation," Juan Vaca, who was first abused when he was 11 years old, told ABCNEWS. "And he says, 'You don't know how to do it. Let me show you.' And he gets my penis himself and starts to masturbate me. I was in shock." Now 65 years old and a psychology professor at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., Vaca, the former superior of the Legion of Christ in Orange, Conn., says he was one of some 30 boys abused by Maciel during his studies at the Legion in Rome. Vaca also told ABCNEWS how he was instructed to bring other boys from their bedrooms to Maciel's room. Vaca said Maciel had different boys visit his rooms on different nights. "In some instances, two were together with him myself and another one," he said. Vaca said Maciel rewarded him with special privileges, such as a private meeting with Pope Pius XII, who served as pope from 1939 to 1958. Maciel always assured Vaca he was doing nothing wrong. When Vaca admitted concerns of committing a sin, Vaca said Maciel absolved him from his sin "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." He told him not to worry and to forget about it. But Vaca said he could not forget. Eight Men's Allegations Went Unanswered Vaca is not alone. He is one of eight former students, now all in their 60s, who have signed sworn affidavits submitted to the Vatican that they were abused by Maciel. When they were members of the Legion, the accusers were devout followers of Maciel. But for the last eight years, they have been trying to get the Vatican to listen or even acknowledge their detailed allegations of sexual abuse at the hands of Father Maciel. They say they have not heard a response from the Vatican. In 1997, they went public, telling their story to The Hartford Courant, a newspaper in Connecticut. Courant reporters Jerry Renner and Jason Berry, who wrote the story, repeated the allegations to the Vatican, yet received no response from the Vatican. However, later that year, the pope took a step that surprised them. Maciel was appointed to represent the pope at a meeting of Latin American bishops, which Renner and Berry took as a clear signal the Vatican had ignored the allegations. 'He's Untouchable' "I would say he has the pope eating out of his hand. Who is going to touch him no matter what he does?" said J. Paul Lennon, a member of the Legion of Christ for 23 years, who has since left and has been helping those claiming to be victims. "He's untouchable." Lennon said Maciel is a master of Vatican politics: "He's worked with several popes, knows the inner workings, knows monsignors, knows cardinals, knows maybe the men who are really in power, knows that so well, so well." Then, four years ago, some of the men tried a last ditch effort, taking the unusual step of filing a lawsuit in the Vatican's secretive court, seeking Maciel's excommunication. Once again they laid out their evidence, but it was another futile effort - an effort the men say was blocked by one of the most powerful cardinals in the Vatican. The accusers say Vatican-based Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who heads the Vatican office to safeguard the faith and the morals of the church, quietly made the lawsuit go away and shelved it. There was no investigation and the accusers weren't asked a single question or asked for a statement. He was appointed by the pope to investigate the entire sex abuse scandal in the church in recent days. But when approached by ABCNEWS in Rome last week with questions of allegations against Maciel, Ratzinger became visibly upset and actually slapped this reporter's hand. "Come to me when the moment is given," Ratzinger told ABCNEWS, "not yet." "Cardinal Ratzinger is sheltering Maciel, protecting him," said Berry, who expressed concerns that no response was being given to the allegations against the man charged with sex abuse. "These men knelt and kissed the ring of Cardinal Ratzinger when they filed the case in Rome. And a year-and-a-half later, he takes those accusations and aborts them, just stuffs them." Maciel Denies Allegations As for Father Maciel, he would not agree to speak with ABCNEWS this week in Rome, although he issued an emphatic, written denial of the allegations, in which he strongly denied the allegations of what he called "repulsive behavior." He said the men made up these allegations only after leaving the Legion of Christ. Click here for his statement. "He has many other things to do rather than appear on a news program," said Father Tom Williams, who said he would serve as Maciel's spokesman. He called the allegations "patently false." "I know Father Maciel very well," Williams told ABCNEWS. "I've lived with him for 10 years." Williams has never asked him about the allegations, but when the Courant ran the story in 1997, Legion spokesman released a statement denying the allegations. Williams said the men making the accusations against Maciel can't be believed because they didn't raise the sexual abuse charges in the 1950s when Vatican investigators were looking into other matters relating to Maciel. According to Williams, the Vatican investigated Maciel on counts of mismanagement of funds, drug and substance abuse and drug trafficking. The Vatican pronounced Maciel innocent of those charges and reinstated him as superior general to the Legion. In addition, Williams noted, a ninth accuser retracted similar allegations, claiming he was pressured to lie by the other eight accusers. Those men stand by their story, now an open challenge to both the pope and Ratzinger, who just this week proclaimed there is no place for pedophiles in the church during the Vatican meetings with American cardinals. "It does not inspire much faith," said Berry.

P.J. Harvey - Stories from the city, stories from the sea

Placebo - Black market music

I have only heard an old album ("Download", 1994) and it's pretty good, i like it (by the way, Aaron, great Robert Smith's picture ;) )

don't agree with you ;) many new bands (just two of them: Muse, which rocks live; and Hope of the States, which are simply great) have shown up lately which - in my opinion - are pretty good

Depeche Mode - Black celebration

what kinda music do they play? I had never heard this band before...

Garbage - Version 2.0.

yes, there is a group of guys walking around my neighborhood (they belong to a "catholist social group", as they called themselves), knocking on people's doors and asking people to sign a document against same sex marriages and adoption (as you know - i've commented it somewhere else - Spain has just passed a law in the Parliament to allow same sex marriages and adoption by gay couples, which is going to be effective before the summer starts)... these guys from that "catholic social group" (how can they call themselves "social group" if they are going just against social improvement?? unbelievable...) havent knocked on my door yet but if they do, of course i will NOT sign such a document

yes, that's right, and just because budgeting money for bombs is profitable; fighting against hunger and social unjustices is not profitable... this is the sad part and this is what makes us human beings so selfish

dont really know if this movie fits the definition of "documentary"... for me it's a way to show how things really are, he bases his comments/ideas on facts, on documents from the CIA and FBI, from people who were involved opinions, from studies, from news from the media to call it a documentary or not? actually, i am not an audiovisual communication expert and i dont know if "documentary" would be the definition of this type of "movies" in my opinion, what matters is what is presented and how the facts, opinions, ideas are presented

The Cure - Disintegration

The Cure - Pornography

Depeche Mode - Black day

actually I don't remember... I'll log into their website to check again if they say something about a date

Jimmy Eat World - Futures

not necessarily

Placebo - Live at the Wireless, Sidney (19.03.2004)

Primal Scream (Maverick, the point is to use the alphabet to give a list of bands and we are already under "P" ;) )

there are some female-lead bands or female solo who are very good: take Björk, P.J. Harvey AND Garbage, for example ;)

Chevelle - This type of thinking

try the Hub, some people have them

The Cure - Join the dots: B-sides and rarities 1978-2001

The Cure - Mint car