This is a documentary/drama about the possible consequences for humanity should the “H5N1″ Bird Flu virus mutate into a highly contagious humanised form, as currently predicted, capable of causing the next world wide pandemic.
Pandemic
A pandemic (from Greek παν pan all + δήμος demos people) is an epidemic of infectious disease that spreads through populations across a large region; for instance a continent, or even worldwide.
Agents spread easily and sustainably among humans.
A disease or condition is not a pandemic merely because it is widespread or kills many people; it must also be infectious. For instance, cancer is responsible for many deaths but is not considered a pandemic, because the disease is not infectious or contagious.
Pandemics and notable epidemics through history
There have been a number of significant pandemics recorded in human history, generally zoonoses which came about with domestication of animals, such as influenza and tuberculosis. There have been a number of particularly significant epidemics that deserve mention above the “mere” destruction of cities:
Plague of Athens, 430 BC. Typhoid fever killed a quarter of the Athenian troops, and a quarter of the population over four years. This disease fatally weakened the dominance of Athens, but the sheer virulence of the disease prevented its wider spread; i.e. it killed off its hosts at a rate faster than they could spread it. The exact cause of the plague was unknown for many years. In January 2006, researchers from the University of Athens analyzed teeth recovered from a mass grave underneath the city, and confirmed the presence of bacteria responsible for typhoid.[2]
Antonine Plague, 165–180. Possibly smallpox brought to the Italian peninsula by soldiers returning from the Near East; it killed a quarter of those infected, and up to five million in all.[3] At the height of a second outbreak, the Plague of Cyprian (251–266), which may have been the same disease, 5,000 people a day were said to be dying in Rome.
Plague of Justinian, from 541 to 750, was the first recorded outbreak of the bubonic plague. It started in Egypt, and reached Constantinople the following spring, killing (according to the Byzantine chronicler Procopius) 10,000 a day at its height, and perhaps 40% of the city’s inhabitants. The plague went on to eliminate a quarter to a half of the human population that it struck throughout the known world. [4][5] It caused Europe’s population to drop by around 50% between 550 and 700.[6]
Black Death, started 1300s. Eight hundred years after the last outbreak, the bubonic plague returned to Europe. Starting in Asia, the disease reached Mediterranean and western Europe in 1348 (possibly from Italian merchants fleeing fighting in the Crimea), and killed 20 to 30 million Europeans in six years;[7] a third of the total population, and up to a half in the worst-affected urban areas.[8] It was the first of a cycle of European plague epidemics that continued until the 18th century.[9] During this period, more than 100 plague epidemics swept across Europe.[10] The Third Pandemic started in China in the middle of the 19th century, spreading plague to all inhabited continents and killing 10 million people in India alone.[11]
Cholera
First cholera pandemic 1816-1826. Previously restricted to the Indian subcontinent, the pandemic began in Bengal, then spread across India by 1820. 10,000 British troops and countless Indians died during this pandemic.[12] It extended as far as China, Indonesia (where more than 100,000 people succumbed on the island of Java alone) and the Caspian Sea before receding. Deaths in India between 1817 and 1860 are estimated to have exceeded 15 million persons. Another 23 million died between 1865 and 1917. Russian deaths during a similar time period exceeded 2 million.[13]
Second cholera pandemic 1829–1851. Reached Russia (see Cholera Riots), Hungary (about 100,000 deaths) and Germany in 1831, London in 1832 (more than 55,000 persons died in the United Kingdom),[14] France, Canada (Ontario), and United States (New York) in the same year,[15] and the Pacific coast of North America by 1834. A two-year outbreak began in England and Wales in 1848 and claimed 52,000 lives.[16] It is believed that over 150,000 Americans died of cholera between 1832 and 1849.[17]
Third pandemic 1852–1860. Mainly affected Russia, with over a million deaths. In 1852, cholera spread east to Indonesia and later invaded China and Japan in 1854. The Philippines were infected in 1858 and Korea in 1859. In 1859, an outbreak in Bengal once again led to the transmission of the disease to Iran, Iraq, Arabia and Russia.[18]
Fourth pandemic 1863–1875. Spread mostly in Europe and Africa. At least 30,000 of the 90,000 Mecca pilgrims fell victim to the disease. Cholera claimed 90,000 lives in Russia in 1866.[19]
In 1866, there was an outbreak in North America. It killed some 50,000 Americans.[17]
In 1892, cholera contaminated the water supply of Hamburg, Germany, and caused 8606 deaths.[22]
Sixth pandemic 1899–1923. Had little effect in Europe because of advances in public health, but Russia was badly affected again (more than 500,000 people dying of cholera during the first quarter of the 20th century).[23] The sixth pandemic killed more than 800,000 in India. The 1902-1904 cholera epidemic claimed over 200,000 lives in the Philippines.[24]
The Greek physician Hippocrates, the “Father of Medicine”, first described influenza in 412 BC.[25]
The first influenza pandemic was recorded in 1580 and since then influenza pandemics occurred every 10 to 30 years.[26][27][28]
Influenza pandemics in 1729-1730, 1732-1733, 1781-1782, 1830, 1833-1834, 1847-1848.[29]
The “Asiatic Flu“, 1889–1890. Was first reported in May of 1889 in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. By October, it had reached Tomsk and the Caucasus. It rapidly spread west and hit North America in December 1889, South America in February–April 1890, India in February-March 1890, and Australia in March–April 1890. It was purportedly caused by the H2N8 type of flu virus, and had a very high attack and mortality rate. About 1 million people died in this pandemic.”[30]
The “Spanish flu“, 1918–1919. First identified early in March 1918 in US troops training at Camp Funston, Kansas. By October 1918, it had spread to become a world-wide pandemic on all continents, and eventually infected 2.5 to 5% of the human population, with 20% or more of the world population suffering from the disease to some extent. Unusually deadly and virulent, it ended nearly as quickly as it began, vanishing completely within 18 months. In six months, some 50 million were dead;[31] some estimates put the total of those killed worldwide at over twice that number.[32] An estimated 17 million died in India, 675,000 in the United States[33] and 200,000 in the UK. The virus was recently reconstructed by scientists at the CDC studying remains preserved by the Alaskan permafrost. They identified it as a type of H1N1 virus.[citation needed]
The “Asian Flu“, 1957–58. An H2N2 caused about 70,000 deaths in the United States. First identified in China in late February 1957, the Asian flu spread to the United States by June 1957. It caused about 2 million deaths globally.[34]
The “Hong Kong Flu“, 1968–69. An H3N2 caused about 34,000 deaths in the United States. This virus was first detected in Hong Kong in early 1968, and spread to the United States later that year. This pandemic of 1968 and 1969 killed an estimated one million people worldwide.[35] Influenza A (H3N2) viruses still circulate today.
Typhus
Typhus is sometimes called “camp fever” because of its pattern of flaring up in times of strife. (It is also known as “gaol fever” and “ship fever”, for its habits of spreading wildly in cramped quarters, such as jails and ships.) Emerging during the Crusades, it had its first impact in Europe in 1489, in Spain. During fighting between the Christian Spaniards and the Muslims in Granada, the Spanish lost 3,000 to war casualties, and 20,000 to typhus. In 1528, the French lost 18,000 troops in Italy, and lost supremacy in Italy to the Spanish. In 1542, 30,000 people died of typhus while fighting the Ottomans in the Balkans.
In the Thirty Years’ War, an estimated 8 million Germans were wiped out by bubonic plague and typhus fever.[36] The disease also played a major role in the destruction of Napoleon’s Grande Armée in Russia in 1812. Felix Markham thinks that 450,000 soldiers crossed the Neman on 25 June 1812, of whom less than 40,000 recrossed in anything like a recognizable military formation.[37] In early 1813 Napoleon raised a new army of 500,000 to replace his Russian losses. In the campaign of that year over 219,000 of Napoleon’s soldiers were to die of typhus.[38] Typhus played a major factor in the Irish Potato Famine. During the World War I, typhus epidemics have killed over 150,000 in Serbia. There were about 25 million infections and 3 million deaths from epidemic typhus in Russia from 1918 to 1922.[38] Typhus also killed numerous prisoners in the Nazi concentration camps and Soviet prisoner of war camps during World War II. More than 3.5 million Soviet POWs died in the Nazi custody out of 5.7 million.[39]
HIV went directly from Africa to Haiti, then spread to the United States and much of the rest of the world beginning around 1969.[40]HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is currently a pandemic, with infection rates as high as 25% in southern and eastern Africa. In 2006 the HIV prevalence rate among pregnant women in South Africa was 29.1%.[41] Effective education about safer sexual practices and bloodborne infection precautions training have helped to slow down infection rates in several African countries sponsoring national education programs. Infection rates are rising again in Asia and the Americas. AIDS could kill 31 million people in India and 18 million in China by 2025, according to projections by U.N. population researchers.[42] AIDS death toll in Africa may reach 90-100 million by 2025.[43]
Smallpox
Smallpox is a highly contagious disease caused by the Variola virus. The disease killed an estimated 400,000 Europeans each year during the 18th century.[44] During the 20th century, it is estimated that smallpox was responsible for 300–500 million deaths.[45][46] As recently as early 1950s an estimated 50 million cases of smallpox occurred in the world each year.[47] After successful vaccination campaigns throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the WHO certified the eradication of smallpox in December 1979. To this day, smallpox is the only human infectious disease to have been completely eradicated.[48]
Measles
Historically, measles was very prevalent throughout the world, as it is highly contagious. According to the National Immunization Program, 90% of people were infected with measles by age 15. Until the vaccine was developed in 1963, measles was considered to be deadlier than smallpox.[49] In roughly the last 150 years, measles has been estimated to have killed about 200 million people worldwide.[50] In 2000 alone, measles killed some 777,000 worldwide. There were some 40 million cases of measles globally that year.[51]
Measles is an endemic disease, meaning that it has been continually present in a community, and many people develop resistance. In populations that have not been exposed to measles, exposure to a new disease can be devastating. In 1529, a measles outbreak in Cuba killed two-thirds of the natives who had previously survived smallpox.[52] The disease had ravaged Mexico, Central America, and the Inca civilization.[53]
Encounters between European explorers and populations in the rest of the world often introduced local epidemics of extraordinary virulence. Disease killed the entire native (Guanches) population of the Canary Islands in the 16th century. Half the native population of Hispaniola in 1518 was killed by smallpox. Smallpox also ravaged Mexico in the 1520s, killing 150,000 in Tenochtitlán alone, including the emperor, and Peru in the 1530s, aiding the European conquerors.[54]Measles killed a further two million Mexican natives in the 1600s. In 1618–1619, smallpox wiped out 90% of the Massachusetts Bay Native Americans.[55] Smallpox epidemics in 1780–1782 and 1837–1838 brought devastation and drastic depopulation among the Plains Indians.[56] Some believe that the death of up to 95% of the Native American population of the New World was caused by Old World diseases.[57] Over the centuries, the Europeans had developed high degrees of immunity to these diseases, while the indigenous peoples had no such immunity.[58]
Smallpox devastated the native population of Australia, killing around 50% of Indigenous Australians in the early years of British colonisation.[59] It also killed many New ZealandMāori.[60] As late as 1848–49, as many as 40,000 out of 150,000 Hawaiians are estimated to have died of measles, whooping cough and influenza. Introduced diseases, notably smallpox, nearly wiped out the native population of Easter Island.[61] In 1875, measles killed over 40,000 Fijians, approximately one-third of the population.[62] The disease decimated the Andamanese population.[63]Ainu population decreased drastically in the 19th century, due in large part to infectious diseases brought by Japanese settlers pouring into Hokkaido.[64]
Researchers concluded that syphilis was carried from the New World to Europe after Columbus‘ voyages. The findings suggested Europeans could have carried the nonvenereal tropical bacteria home, where the organisms may have mutated into a more deadly form in the different conditions of Europe.[65] The disease was more frequently fatal than it is today. Syphilis was a major killer in Europe during the Renaissance.[66] Disease killed more British soldiers in India than war. Between 1736 and 1834 only some 10% of East India Company’s officers survived to take the final voyage home.[67]
As early as 1803, the Spanish Crown organized a mission (the Balmis expedition) to transport the smallpox vaccine to the Spanish colonies, and establish mass vaccination programs there.[68] By 1832, the federal government of the United States established a smallpox vaccination program for Native Americans.[69] From the beginning of the 20th century onwards, the elimination or control of disease in tropical countries became a driving force for all colonial powers.[70] The sleeping sickness epidemic in Africa was arrested due to mobile teams systematically screening millions of people at risk.[71] In the 20th century, the world saw the biggest increase in its population in human history due to lessening of the mortality rate in many countries due to medical advances.[72]World population has grown from 1.6 billion in 1900 to an estimated 6.7 billion today.[73]
Tuberculosis
One–third of the world’s current population has been infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and new infections occur at a rate of one per second.[74] About one in ten of these latent infections will eventually progress to active disease, which, if left untreated, kills more than half of its victims. Annually, 8 million people become ill with tuberculosis, and 2 million people die from the disease worldwide.[75] In the 19th century, tuberculosis killed an estimated one-quarter of the adult population of Europe;[76] and by 1918 one in six deaths in France were still caused by TB. In the 20th century, tuberculosis killed approximately 100 million people.[50]
Leprosy
Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s Disease, is caused by a bacillus, Mycobacterium leprae. It is a chronic disease with an incubation period of up to five years. Since 1985, 15 million people worldwide have been cured of leprosy.[77] In 2002, 763,917 new cases were detected. It is estimated that there are between one and two million people permanently disabled because of leprosy.[78]
Historically, leprosy has affected mankind since at least 600 BC, and was well-recognized in the civilizations of ancient China, Egypt and India.[79] During the High Middle Ages, Western Europe witnessed an unprecedented outbreak of leprosy.[80][81] Numerous leprosaria, or leper hospitals, sprang up in the Middle Ages; Matthew Paris estimated that in the early 13th century there were 19,000 across Europe.[82]
Malaria
Malaria is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Each year, there are approximately 350–500 million cases of malaria.[83]Drug resistance poses a growing problem in the treatment of malaria in the 21st century, since resistance is now common against all classes of antimalarial drugs, with the exception of the artemisinins.[84]
Malaria was once common in most of Europe and North America, where it is now for all purposes non-existent.[85]Plasmodium falciparum became a real threat to colonists and indigenous people alike when it was introduced into the Americas along with the slave trade. Malaria devastated the Jamestown colony and regularly ravaged the South and Midwest. During the American Civil War, there were over 1.2 million cases of malaria among soldiers of both sides.[86]
Yellow fever
Yellow fever has been a source of several devastating epidemics.[87] Cities as far north as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston were hit with epidemics. In 1793, the largest yellow fever epidemic in U.S. history killed as many as 5,000 people in Philadelphia—roughly 10% of the population.[88] About half of the residents had fled the city, including President George Washington. Aproximately 300,000 people are believed to have died from yellow fever in Spain during the 19th century.[89] In colonial times, West Africa became known as “the white man’s grave” because of malaria and yellow fever.[90]
Unknown causes
There are also a number of unknown diseases that were extremely serious but have now vanished, so the etiology of these diseases cannot be established. The cause of English Sweat in 16th-century England, which struck people down in an instant and was more greatly feared than even the bubonic plague, is still unknown.
Some Viral Hemorrhagic Fever causing agents like Lassa fever, Rift Valley fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus and Bolivian hemorrhagic fever are highly contagious and deadly diseases, with the theoretical potential to become pandemics. Their ability to spread efficiently enough to cause a pandemic is limited, however, as transmission of these viruses requires close contact with the infected vector, and the vector only has a short time before death or serious illness. Furthermore, the short time between a vector becoming infectious and the onset of symptoms allows medical professionals to quickly quarantine vectors, and prevent them from carrying the pathogen elsewhere. Genetic mutations could occur, which could elevate their potential for causing widespread harm; thus close observation by contagious disease specialists is merited.
Antibiotic resistance
Antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, sometimes referred to as “superbugs“, may contribute to the re-emergence of diseases which are currently well-controlled. For example, cases of tuberculosis that are resistant to traditionally effective treatments remain a cause of great concern to health professionals. Every year, nearly half a million new cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) are estimated to occur worldwide.[91] The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that approximately 50 million people worldwide are infected with multiple-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB), with 79 percent of those cases resistant to three or more antibiotics. In 2005, 124 cases of MDR TB were reported in the United States. Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB) was identified in Africa in 2006, and subsequently discovered to exist in 49 countries, including the United States. About 40,000 new cases of XDR-TB emerge every year, the World Health Organization estimates.[92]
The plague bacterium could develop drug-resistance and become a major health threat.[93]Plague epidemics have occurred throughout human history, causing over 200 million deaths worldwide. The ability to resist many of the antibiotics used against plague has been found so far in only a single case of the disease in Madagascar.[94]
In the past 20 years, common bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, Serratia marcescens and Enterococcus, have developed resistance to various antibiotics such as vancomycin, as well as whole classes of antibiotics, such as the aminoglycosides and cephalosporins. Antibiotic-resistant organisms have become an important cause of healthcare-associated (nosocomial) infections (HAI). In addition, infections caused by community-acquired strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in otherwise healthy individuals, have become more frequent in recent years.
SARS
In 2003, there were concerns that SARS, a new, highly contagious form of atypical pneumonia caused by a coronavirus dubbed SARS-CoV, might become pandemic. Rapid action by national and international health authorities such as the World Health Organization helped slow transmission, and eventually broke the chain of transmission, ending the localized epidemics before they could become a pandemic. The disease has not been eradicated, however, and could re-emerge unexpectedly, warranting monitoring and case reporting of suspicious cases of atypical pneumonia.
Wild aquatic birds are the natural hosts for a range of influenza A viruses. Occasionally, viruses are transmitted from these species to other species, and may then cause outbreaks in domestic poultry or (rarely) give rise to a human pandemic. [95][96]
In February 2004, avian influenza virus was detected in birds in Vietnam, increasing fears of the emergence of new variant strains. It is feared that if the avian influenza virus combines with a human influenza virus (in a bird or a human), the new subtype created could be both highly contagious and highly lethal in humans. Such a subtype could cause a global influenza pandemic, similar to the Spanish Flu, or the lower mortality pandemics such as the Asian Flu and the Hong Kong Flu.
From October 2004 to February 2005, some 3,700 test kits of the 1957 Asian Flu virus were accidentally spread around the world from a lab in the US.[97]
In May 2005, scientists urgently call nations to prepare for a global influenza pandemic that could strike as much as 20% of the world’s population.[98]
In October 2005, cases of the avian flu (the deadly strain H5N1) were identified in Turkey. EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said: “We have received now confirmation that the virus found in Turkey is an avian flu H5N1 virus. There is a direct relationship with viruses found in Russia, Mongolia and China.” Cases of bird flu were also identified shortly thereafter in Romania, and then Greece. Possible cases of the virus have also been found in Croatia, Bulgaria and the United Kingdom.[99]
By November 2007, numerous confirmed cases of the H5N1 strain had been identified across Europe[100]. However, by the end of October only 59 people had died as a result of H5N1 which was atypical of previous influenza pandemics.
Avian flu cannot yet be categorized as a “pandemic”, because the virus cannot yet cause sustained and efficient human-to-human transmission. Cases so far are recognized to have been transmitted from bird to human, but as of December 2006 there have been very few (if any) cases of proven human-to-human transmission. Regular influenza viruses establish infection by attaching to receptors in the throat and lungs, but the avian influenza virus can only attach to receptors located deep in the lungs of humans, requiring close, prolonged contact with infected patients, and thus limiting person-to-person transmission.
With the 2009 outbreak of Swine Influenza A (H1N1), there is a fear that it possesses pandemic potential.
Biological warfare
In 1346, the bodies of Mongol warriors who had died of plague were thrown over the walls of the besieged Crimean city of Kaffa (now Theodosia). After a protracted siege, during which the Mongol army under Jani Beg was suffering the disease, they catapulted the infected corpses over the city walls to infect the inhabitants. It has been speculated that this operation may have been responsible for the advent of the Black Death in Europe.[101]
The Native American population was decimated after contact with the Old World due to the introduction of many different fatal diseases. There is, however, only one documented case of germ warfare, involving British commander Lord Jeffrey Amherst and Swiss-British officer Colonel Henry Bouquet, whose correspondence included a reference to the idea of giving smallpox-infected blankets to Indians as part of an incident known as Pontiac’s Rebellion which occurred during the Siege of Fort Pitt (1763) late in the French and Indian War.[102] It is uncertain whether this documented British attempt successfully infected the Indians.[103]
During the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), Unit 731 of the Imperial Japanese Army conducted human experimentation on thousands, mostly Chinese. In military campaigns, the Japanese army used biological weapons on Chinese soldiers and civilians. Plague fleas, infected clothing, and infected supplies encased in bombs were dropped on various targets. The resulting cholera, anthrax, and plague were estimated to have killed around 400,000 Chinese civilians.[104]
^ Diamond, Jared (1997), Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, W.W. Norton & Company, ISBN 0-393-03891-2
^ Dixon, Never Come to Peace, 152–55; McConnell, A Country Between, 195–96; Dowd, War under Heaven, 190. For historians who believe the attempt at infection was successful, see Nester, Haughty Conquerors”, 112; Jennings, Empire of Fortune, 447–48.
Steward’s “The Next Global Threat: Pandemic Influenza”.
American Lung Association. (2007, April), Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis Fact Sheet. As retrieved from www.lungusa.org/site/pp.aspx?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35815 November 29, 2007.
Larson, E. (2007). Community Factors in the Development of Antibiotic Resistance. [Electronic Version]. Annual Review of Public Health. 28 pp. 437-447. As accessed November 29, 2007.
Bancroft, E. A., (2007, October). Antimicrobial Resistance It’s Not Just for Hospitals. [Electronic Version]. JAMA 298(15) pp. 1803-1804. As accessed November 29, 2007.
The sequel to Fahmi Reza’s cult favourite 10 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka, Revolusi ‘48 chronicles the largely forgotten armed revolution for national liberation launched against British colonial rule in Malaya 60 years ago.
This documentary tells the untold story of those who struggled in the anti-colonial guerrilla war of independence, during the Malayan Revolution of 1948.
Coming 20th October 2008!
#2. Mad About English! – Official Theatrical Trailer 2008
The official trailer for the documentary feature “Mad About English!”.
#3. Official FUEL Trailer (2008)
The trailer for the movie FUEL. “Fuel” is a vital, superbly assembled documentary that presents an insightful overview of America’s troubled relationship with oil and how alternative and sustainable energies can reduce our country’s and the world’s addictive dependence on fossil fuels.
#4. Flow (2008) Movie Trailer
Flow is a 2008 documentary film directed by Irena Salina. It examines the global water crisis and presents a case against the growing privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply.
The documentary was an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008, won the International Jury Prize at the Mumbai International Film Festival, the award for Best Human Interest Film at the 2008 Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival, and the award for Best Documentary at the 2008 Vail International Film Festival.
#5. “The Last Word” Documentary Trailer (2008)
The inevitable story of failure which every American anticipated but hoped would never have to be told. This documentary takes the “Innocent Man on Texas Death Row” tale to a dark corner feared by all – - proving that an innocent man has been executed by the State. http://www.thelastworddocumentary.com
Director, Jesse Quackenbush
90 Minutes
A clash between good and evil strikes up on the High Plains of Texas when Johnny Frank Garrett, a 17 year old retarded boy is arrested, convicted and ultimately executed for the Halloween night rape, mutilation and murder of Sister Tadea Benz. The 76 year old nun was attacked while she slept in her room at the St. Francis Convent in Amarillo, Texas. Garrett claimed his innocence from the time of his arrest until his dying breath. Sixteen years after Garrett’s execution new evidence rose up from the cold case grave of the Amarillo Police Department proving they executed the wrong man!
During interviews with key players the case of Johnny Frank Garrett unfolds like a recipe for executing the innocent. A death penalty obsessed District Attorney and his lap-dog medical examiner, ladder climbing cops, bloodthirsty media, enraged and fearful jurors, incompetent defense lawyers, politicized judges, witchhunting religious zealots and an ironfisted Governor with national ambitions meld together as perfect ingredients for a plate of government sponsored murder.
In Garrett’s final statement he professed his innocence one last time but did so in a voice driven by hate and vengeance. In his chilling conclusion Garrett promised those responsible for his murder that someday he would have the last word and they would pay for what they had done. For most of Garrett’s enemies “someday” happened long ago.
Regardless of faith, for or against the death penalty, liberal or conservative The Last Word compels viewers to feel not only the collective pain our societal conscience suffers for executing the innocent but also the individual fear of not knowing what margins of error our judges, jurors and executioners will find acceptable tomorrow.
#6. “HAYEDEH, Legendary Persian Diva” (Documentary Trailer) تریلر مستند سخن از هایده
Trailer of the first documentary about the late singer HAYEDEH (1942-1990) by Pejman Akbarzadeh.
(Edited by Mostafa Heravi, Camera: Sholeh Zahraei & M. Heravi; Language: Persian, Subtitle: English, 100 min. ), Netherlands, 2008. (www.PejmanAkbarzadeh.com) – Premier in Amsterdam, Griffioen Cultural Centre, 24th January 2009.
US PREMIER: NOOR FILM FESTIVAL, LOS ANGELES, MAY 1, 2009: http://www.noorfilmfestival.com/schedule.html
Since the 1979 revolution in Persia (Iran), which brought a fundamentalist religious government to power, women have not been allowed to sing in public. All Persian women singers were forced to end their careers and many of them moved abroad to sing. Hayedeh was one of those who fled Iran. (more: http://www.payvand.com/news/09/jan/1043.html )
#7. Foundations Documentary Trailer 2008-09
Late 70’s, early 1980’s New York City Forthcoming Documentary given to me by the film maker himself. For those who never lived in NYC or moved here from another state, this is the way we used live in the city late 70’s, early 80s. This is how it all started! The Big Bang! Video Copyrighted and shall not be re-broadcasted without permission. – Most Club Footage in this Video is from the infamous club “The FunHouse”!
#8. Old Partner – 2008 Korean Documentary Trailer
A South Korean independent documentary, by director Lee Chung-ryoul will have its North American premiere in competition at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Held in Park City, Utah, the festival will run January 15 25, this year celebrating its 25th anniversary.
#9. [Standard Operating Procedure] War Documentary Trailer 2008
Errol Morris examines the incidents of abuse and torture of suspected terrorists at the hands of U.S. forces at the Abu Ghraib prison.
Release Date:29 May 2008 (Germany)
#10. ‘WILD HORSES’ Extended Documentary Trailer
Jakki Cunningham with the SLL – White Horses 2008 team: 5 British and 5 French teens from difficult backgrounds on the adventure of a lifetime as they ride beautiful Camargue horses across France to England, hand delivered to centres for severely disabled children in Brittany and England.www.sllassoc.com
‘Wild Horses’ Directed by Dominic Dandridge, Presented by Sadie Kaye and Produced by Create4TV www.create4.tv Dominic Dandridge and Sadie Kaye 2008
This is the first 20 minutes of the global film phenomenon “The Secret”. It is authorized by The Secret LLC for personal use only. Please enjoy this gift!
The Secret, a film[1] produced by Prime Time Productions, consists of a series of interviews related to “The Law of Attraction”. Distributed through DVD, and online (through streaming media), the film and the subsequent publication of a book by the same name and of the same topic as the film, has attracted interest from media figures such as Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, and Larry King as well as criticism from the mainstream press. The film is largely influenced by Wallace D. Wattles’ 1910 book The Science of Getting Rich.
Contents
* 1 Synopsis
o 1.1 Tenets
* 2 Teachers of the Law of Attraction
* 3 Historical foundations in New Thought ideas
o 3.1 Portrayal of ideas preceding the New Thought movement
o 3.2 Elements in opening sequences
* 4 Production
* 5 Marketing
o 5.1 Packaging
o 5.2 Marketing campaign
* 6 The Books
* 7 Reception
o 7.1 Cultural phenomenon
+ 7.1.1 Spoofs and parodies on television
+ 7.1.2 Satire
+ 7.1.3 Public response — favorable quotes
+ 7.1.4 Public response — unfavorable quotes
o 7.2 Broadcast coverage
+ 7.2.1 Talk show circuit
+ 7.2.2 News shows
+ 7.2.3 Interviews of purported “secret teachers”
* 8 Criticism
o 8.1 Editorial coverage
o 8.2 Criticism of health claims
o 8.3 Religious criticism
o 8.4 Criticism of the Law of Attraction
o 8.5 Criticism of society
o 8.6 Societal benefit
* 9 Legal controversies
* 10 Releases
o 10.1 Release dates
o 10.2 Future releases and spin-offs
* 11 Further reading
* 12 See also
* 13 References
* 14 External links
Synopsis
The Secret, described as a self-help film, [2][3] uses a documentary format to present the Law of Attraction. This law is the “secret” that, according to the tagline, “has traveled through centuries to reach you.” The film features the short dramatized experiences and interviews of a team called personal transformation specialists, spiritual messengers, feng shui masters, and other “experts”.[citation needed] As described in the film, the “Law of Attraction” principle posits that feelings and thoughts can attract events, from the workings of the cosmos to interactions among individuals in their physical, emotional, and professional affairs. The film also suggests that there has been a strong tendency by those in positions of power to keep this central principle hidden from the public. The previews or “clues” to the film, show men who “uncovered the Secret…”. As Lisa Nichols, who makes an appearance in the film, puts it: “What you think about; you bring about.”
Chapters
Chapter 1 - The Secret Revealed Chapter 2 - The Secret made Simple Chapter 3 - How to use the Secret Chapter 4 - Powerful Processes Chapter 5 - The Secret to Money Chapter 6 - The Secret to Relationships Chapter 7 - The Secret to Health Chapter 8 - The Secret to the World Chapter 9 - The Secret to You Chapter 10 - The Secret to Life
Deleted Chapter Science of the Secret Available on DVD.
Tenets
Julie Ann Storr, founder of Nibbana (Sydney) in a how-to of the film’s tenets, reports, “it all starts with gratitude”[4] )|The Gazette]] notes, “proponents … talk about a universal intelligence that responds to our desires.[5] The film encourages the viewer to see “the Universe [as] ‘a catalog’ that we can flip through and shop”[6] and from which we can surround ourselves with “positive” people.[7] Visualization and Vision boards—anything on which one has placed images of what one wants—are recommended as aids for manifesting desires.[8] Paul Harrington, the co-producer, uses his computer’s screen saver as a vision board.[9] The Secret lists three required steps — “ask, believe, receive” — as the essence of the Law of Attraction.
Teachers of the Law of Attraction
The film includes interviews of individuals described as professionals and authors in the fields of quantum physics, psychology, metaphysics, coaching, theology, philosophy, finance, feng shui, medicine, and personal development, who are referred to as “secret teachers”. Some of these individuals, at their Web sites, promote the film and their connection to it. A few of the individuals with only brief appearances do not specifically speak of the “Law of Attraction” in their interviews, so their support of the concepts is based on viewer assumption.
Individuals who focus on the “Law of Attraction”, are interviewed in the film, and have later been featured on prominent American TV shows, are: Rusty G. Parrish, John Assaraf, Dr. Rev. Michael Beckwith, Dr. John Demartini, Bob Proctor, Jack Canfield, James Arthur Ray, “Dr.” Joe Vitale, Lisa Nichols, Marie Diamond, and Dr. John Gray. Other people involved in the film, who have spoken of their strong belief in the Law of Attraction include Esther Hicks and Jerry Hicks [11] (original edition only),[12] Mike Dooley, Bob Doyle, David Schirmer, and Marci Shimoff. Others interviewed in the film, and who voice very similar views without actually using the phrase “Law of Attraction” include: Lee Brower, Hale Dwoskin, Cathy Goodman, Morris E. Goodman, Dr. John Hagelin, Bill Harris, Dr. Ben Johnson, Loral Langemeier, Denis Waitley, Neale Donald Walsch, and Dr. Fred Alan Wolf.
Historical foundations in New Thought ideas
This article may require copy-editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling. You can assist by editing it now. A how-to guide is available. (December 2008)
The authors of The Secret cite the New Thought movement that began in the late 19th century as the historical basis for their ideas.[13][14]
Essentially, The Secret is … touting the principles of New Thought and Unity Christianity. The teachers of The Secret have been regulars on New Thought/Unity circuit for years — now more “prosperous” than ever.[14] – Illuminati
The New Thought book The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles, the source of Rhonda Byrne’s inspiration for the film, was preceded by numerous other New Thought books, including the 1906 book Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World by William Walker Atkinson,[15] editor of New Thought magazine. Other New Thought books Byrne is purported to have read include self-help authors like Charles F. Haanel’s The Master Key System from 1912; Prentice Mulford’s 19th-century Thoughts Are Things; and Robert Collier’s Secret of the Ages from 1926.[11]
The fast-paced, opening sequences of the film portray the alleged history of The Secret — showing:
In a sequence titled, “The Secret was Buried:”
* The text of the Emerald Tablet being copied on to a scroll and given to a priest.
* The Emerald Tablet being buried near the Pyramids of Giza.[16]
Followed by a sequence titled, “The Secret was Coveted:”
* The ornate title page of the 1906 book The Life Power and How To Use It by Elizabeth Towne[17]
* A Knight Templar giving the scroll to a Catholic priest.
* Scroll with text of the Emerald Tablet being analyzed by alchemist St. Germain.[18]
* A drawing of the Azoth of the Philosophers in the alchemist’ shop.[14]
Followed by a sequence titled, “The Secret was Suppressed:”
* A series of brief scenes of the business elite meeting in a contemporary board room.
Portrayal of ideas preceding the New Thought movement
The Secret website cites the Emerald Tablet, supposedly written by Hermes Trismegistus (purportedly a “secret teacher”), as “… one of the most important historical documents known to mankind”.[16] Byrne posits that the earliest trace of “the secret” occurred in the Emerald Tablet,[19] followed much later by the Rosicrucians — a “secret order that espoused many of the ideas of The Secret.”[14] Mention is made of Victor Hugo and Ludwig van Beethoven’s supposed membership in the order as well as Isaac Newton’s purported work in translating the tablet.[16]
Carolyn Sackariason of the Aspen Times, when commenting about Byrne’s intention to share The Secret with the world, identifies the Rosicrucians as keepers of The Secret:
“The Mastery of Life” [ a Rosicrucian teaching similar to The Secret ] is not difficult to grasp, but the secret of the Rosicrucian tradition has been protected and preserved for thousands of years, shown only to those who have proven a true desire to know.[20]
Neither the words “Emerald Tablet” nor “Rosicrucian” are spoken in the film, however, at key transition points the screen image rapidly zooms in on the word “Rosicrucian”.[14]
During these transitions a page will be seen containing the quote “the Rosicrucians were a “secret” Order. Their members believed or could “demonstrate” healing powers that were believed to be a gift from God” this exact quote is also referred to at [1] />
Elements in opening sequences
Many elements pass quickly in the cinematic, historical sequences at the beginning of the film and are not explained or otherwise mentioned in the film (listed in the order in which they appear — excepting Rosicrucian element):
Production
The film was created by Prime Time Productions of Melbourne Australia with Rhonda Byrne, executive producer; Paul Harrington, producer; and Drew Heriot, director. Gozer Media of Collingwood, a suburb of Melbourne, is the design house responsible for the visual style and feel of the film and book.[18][22][23] Byrne’s company TS Production LLC, a Hungarian company, is responsible for marketing and distribution of the film and book.[24] Byrne commented about the research she did prior to making the film:
So I sat down and did a huge list of everything I had read … and when I finished the list I handed it to them [the film production team]. They said that’s impossible, you couldn’t read that many books in a year, two years, and I had read all of those books in two and a half weeks – and well, that’s The Secret.[25]
Byrne’s inspiration for creating The Secret came from reading the 1910 book The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles.[3] The film was done as a project for Channel Nine an Australian TV Network. Nine put up less than 25% of the $3 million project[26] with additional funding from mortgaging Byrne’s home and from an investment by Bob Rainone, “a former Internet executive in Chicago”.[11] Rainone became the CEO of one of Byrne’s companies, The Secret LLC, and is described by Byrne as, “delivered to us from heaven”.[27]
Shooting of the interviews was done in July and August 2005 with editing “effectively completed by Christmas time”.[9] About 55 teachers and authors were interviewed[26] at locations including Chicago, Aspen, Alaska[9], and a Mexican Riviera Cruise (interviewing Esther Hicks).[10] The film uses 24 of these teachers in the “Extended Edition” of the film. The first edition featured a 25th teacher, Esther Hicks, known “as the most prominent interpreter of the Law of Attraction”.[11] Since the first release of the DVD, Esther Hicks declined to continue with the project, mentioning contractual issues in a letter to friends.[10] Her 10% share of sales netted the Hickses $500,000.[11] As a result of this, scenes with Esther Hicks, are instead narrated by Lisa Nichols and Marci Shimoff.[11] No other “secret teachers” received compensation for their appearance in the film — revealed by Bob Proctor in an interview[28] on Nightline.[29]
Betsy Chasse, one of the producers, directors, and screenwriters for What the Bleep Do We Know!? interviewed Paul Harrington, the co-producer of The Secret. In the interview, Harrington gave this description of Byrne’s production methods:
We used the law of attraction during the making of the program. We went very unconventional, in terms of scheduling and budgeting. We allowed things to come to us… We just had faith that things would come to us.[9]
Channel Nine, after viewing the completed film, chose to not broadcast it. A new contract was negotiated with all DVD sales going to Byrne’s companies (Prime Time, and The Secret LLC). In hindsight, Len Downs of Channel Nine commented, “we looked at it and we didn’t deem it as having broad, mass appeal”. The film was eventually broadcast by Channel Nine on 3 February 2007.[26] Downs reported that “it didn’t do all that well”.[3]
Marketing
Packaging
The film has been described as a “slick repackaging” of the Law of Attraction,[7] a concept originating in the New Thought ideas of the late 19th century.[14] In producing the film, the law was intentionally “packaged” with a focus on “wealth enhancement” — differing from the more spiritual orientation of the New Thought Movement.[30] One of the film’s backers stated, “we desired to hit the masses, and money is the number one thing on the masses’ minds”.[31] A review in salon.com described the packaging of the products related to the film as having “a look… that conjures a ‘Da Vinci Code’ aesthetic, full of pretty faux parchment, quill-and-ink fonts and wax seals.[32]
The Genie during a dramatization of “Your wish is my command.”
Choosing to package the film’s theme as a “secret” has been called an important component of the film’s popularity. Donavin Bennes, a buyer who specializes in metaphysics for Borders Books stated “We all want to be in on a secret. But to present it as the secret, that was brilliant.” [3]
Marketing campaign
The movie was advertised on the Internet using tease advertising and viral marketing techniques in which The Secret and the specific details of the film were not revealed. Additionally, Prime Time Productions granted written permission to individuals or companies, via application at the official site, to provide free screenings of the film to public audiences. Optionally, the DVD may be sold at these screenings.
While continuing to speak highly of the film, Esther Hicks, presented as a “secret teacher” in the first edition of the film, later said, “Jerry and I were uncomfortable with what felt to us like a rather aggressive marketing campaign (just not our style, nothing wrong with it)…Allowing them to edit us out was the path of least resistance.”[10]
The Books
Two books, The Secret (Simon & Schuster, 2007) and its companion volume, The Secret Gratitude Book, (Atria Books, 2007), both by Rhonda Byrne, were published in 2007.
The Secret was featured on two episodes of Oprah[33][34] — and as the film reached number one on the Amazon DVD chart in March 2007, the book version of The Secret reached number one on The New York Times bestseller list.[31]
For much of February through April 2007, both the book and the DVD versions were #1 or #2 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders. Simon & Schuster released a second printing of 2 million copies of The Secret — “the biggest order for a second printing in its history”.[35], while Time reported brisk sales of the DVD through New Age bookstores, and New Thought churches, such as Unity and Agape International Spiritual Center.[31]
Reception
The Secret has been described as a “self-help phenomenon”,[36] a “publishing phenomenon”[30], and a “cultural phenomenon”.[2][37] Some examples of published criticism of the film include: “breathless pizzazz” for a tired self-help genre;[3] “emphatically cinematic” and “driven by images and emotions rather than logic”;[38] a blend of Tony Robbins and The Da Vinci Code;[2] and “the Unsolved Mysteries of infomercials”[38]
Several critics wrote about the Secret as related to the more general self-help phenomenon. Julie Mason of the Ottawa Citizen wrote that word-of-mouth about the film spread through Pilates classes, “get-rich-quick websites” and personal motivation blogs.[39] Jane Lampman of the Christian Science Monitor described The Secret as a brand promoting secret-related teachers, seminars and retreats.[30] According to Jill Culora of the New York Post, fans of The Secret have posted on a wide range of blogs and web forums accounts of how shifting from negative to positive thoughts had created major improvements in their lives.[35]
Cultural phenomenon
The Secret is reportedly being discussed in “e-mails, in chat rooms, around office cubicles, [and] on blind dates”. It is recognized as having a broad and varied impact on culture and is likened to a “Hollywood phenomenon”. — New York Post[35]
Spoofs and parodies on television
* In the March 17, 2007 episode of Saturday Night Live, cast members spoofed The Secret in a sketch with Oprah Winfrey (Maya Rudolph) interviewing Rhonda Byrne (Amy Poehler).[40] Includes a scene of a man in Darfur being scolded for his lousy attitude.[41]
* The film was parodied in the Boston Legal episode “Brotherly Love,”[42] where Denny Crane tried to use the “Law of Attraction” to draw Raquel Welch to him (he was planning to move on to world peace if successful). Unfortunately, Phyllis Diller was the person he eventually drew in.
* On May 16, 2007, the concept was parodied on The Chaser’s War on Everything, a satirical comedy program on Australia’s ABC network.[43] The show provided an analysis of The Secret, with various themes and theories of the film tested to see if they work in real life, including asking for a parking spot and then pulling into it, despite the fact that there was a car already there, and asking the universe for objects in stores and then just taking them. It was the first subject of the segment “Nut Job of the Week”.
* In season 3, episode 5 of Weeds, Nancy is given a copy of The Secret DVD by her boss U-turn. He tells her to watch it tonight, and that, “She could use it”. As soon as he drives off, she promptly throws it away in the middle of the street.
* During the opening scene in the season 3 The Venture Bros. episode “Home Is Where The Hate Is”, the Monarch tells his bride Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, “You know what’s insane? That you slept with a guy who read The Secret!”, referring to her time spent with Phantom Limb.
* In season 4, episode 12 of the HBO series Entourage, Drama recalls begging E to watch The Secret, and E responds, “I just don’t buy that you can get a Ferrari for wishing for one.”
Satire
* Pulitzer Prize-winning political columnist Maureen Dowd invoked The Secret while wondering if wishful thinking could lead to a change in the White House.[13]
* Greg Beato, of Reason, reported:
…if you think really, really hard, say, about vigorously cavorting with Salma Hayek on a soft, fluffy bed of Google Series A preferred stock, you will emit a magnetic signal to the universe that will make your vision a reality.[38]
* Humorous motivational speaker Vinny Verelli’s satirical rant on The Secret, “If you’re falling out of an airplane, the law of gravity trumps the law of attraction.” On YouTube, I Got Your Secret Right Here
* A parody in MAD magazine issue #480 mocked The Secret and its authors in a fake ad, which included the phrase “Buy your copy today! (Please don’t use the teachings of The Secret to wish for a free copy of The Secret)”
Public response — favorable quotes
* “Some say they watch the DVD repeatedly, and have uncovered new secrets within The Secret with every viewing.” — New York Post[35]
* “I was resistant at first,” says Julia Holmes, a Los Angeles resident who saw the DVD on the day after Christmas. “But after watching it, I decided to play a game. I was late for a yoga class and I thought about a particular place in the room next to a wall that I wanted to be in. When I got there, the space was open. I went through the rest of the day smiling to myself and thinking, this stuff works.” — Time magazine[31]
* “Cathy Jacobs—owner of Angels Cappuccino and Ice Cream Cafe, a small operation … has sold nearly 1,400 copies of the DVD. Jacobs says customers buy several copies at a time to give as gifts.” — Calgary Herald[8]
* Critics of The Secret, and even some fans, are bothered by its obsession with using ancient wisdom to acquire material goods. — Time magazine[31]
* …the whole idea that any of this is a “secret” is widely considered a joke. — New York Post[35]
* To sane people this is laughable, like the Tooth Fairy or Ouija boards. To others it’s downright offensive — where does God fit into this DIY [do-it-yourself] existence? — Beliefnet[6]
Broadcast coverage
The Secret has been featured on national talk and news programs for TV and radio.
Talk show circuit
* Two special episodes of the Larry King Live Show on November 2, 2006[44] and November 16, 2006.[45] The episodes are called “The Power of Positive Thoughts” and “The Power of Positive Thinking.”
* On December 1, 2006, comedian Ellen DeGeneres followed suit by presenting two of The Secret teachers on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
* Oprah Winfrey presented two episodes on The Secret: “Discovering The Secret”.[33] on February 8, 2007 and “The Reaction”.[34] on February 16, 2007.
* The Montel Williams Show presented Jack Canfield and real life stories of the Law of Attraction in an episode titled “Unlocking Secrets to Success”[46] on March 12, 2007.
* On March 29, 2007 Oprah Winfrey invited author Esther Hicks to discuss the controversy of “The Secret Behind The Secret”[47] on her radio show, Oprah & Friends.
* On April 5, 2007 Winfrey interviewed Hicks about her involvement with the original version of The Secret and questions “non-physical entities Abraham-Hicks” (channelled by Esther) about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, disease, children, and how they all relate to “The Law of Attraction” — on Oprah & Friends, titled “Esther Hicks and the Law of Attraction”.[48]
News shows
* The Today Show[49] with Matt Lauer interviewed James Arthur Ray and reported that Byrne had canceled her appearance at the last minute the day of the show, February 27, 2007.
* The March 25, 2007 edition of Nightline with Cynthia McFadden discussed the universal Law of Attraction and “The Secret” criticism by mainstream institutions with secret teacher Bob Proctor.[29][28]
Interviews of purported “secret teachers”
Contributors featured in the film have been interviewed on various TV shows. These comments have been made by them:
* James Ray, interviewed by Harry Smith on The Early Show (CBS), aired Mar. 1, 2007:[50]
SMITH: If I get this straight, the secret of The Secret is, “ask — believe — receive”. Is it as simple as that?
RAY: Well that’s one of the author’s interpretations. I believe that you have to think, feel, and act…
* Bob Proctor, interviewed by Cynthia McFadden on Nightline (ABC), aired Mar. 23rd, 2007:[28]
McFADDEN: Given the fact that so many of these ideas have been written about before…why do you think this book [and film] has struck a chord?
PROCTOR: …I think she [Rhonda Byrne] has an understanding or a way with this that no one’s ever had before. I’ve been in this [ New Thought ] industry for thirty-eight years and I have never seen anything that will even come close to this.
* Joe Vitale, on Larry King Live (CNN), “The Secret” episode aired Mar. 8th, 2007:[51]
CALLER: I’m just curious, where does God come into the whole “Secrets”.
VITALE: God is all of us. God is the secret and everything about it. This is a law from God.
Criticism
Editorial coverage
Catherine Bennett, of the London based Guardian compares the behavior of the leader of the UK Conservative Party to the principles espoused in the film. Touching on themes of greed and blaming-the-victim, Bennett asserts the film is a “moronic hymn to greed and selfishness” and that it “nastily suggests that victims of catastrophe are the authors of their misfortunes”.[52]
Slate Human Guinea Pig, Emily Yoffe, experimented with living according to The Secret’s precepts for two months, concluding that the film/book’s message was “pernicious drivel.” Yoffe found it particularly “repulsive” for its tendency to blame the victim and its suggestion to “not just blame people for their illness, but to shun them, lest you start being affected by their bummer thoughts, too.”[53]
Journalist Jeffrey Ressner, reporting in Time, writes that some critics are concerned with the film’s attitude toward “using ancient wisdom to acquire material goods.” In one example in the film, “a kid who wants a red bicycle cuts out a picture in a catalog, concentrates real[sic] hard, and is rewarded with the spiffy two-wheeler.”[31]
Jerry Adler of Newsweek notes that despite the film’s allusions to conspiratorially suppressed ancient wisdom, the notions presented by the motivational speakers who make up the film’s cast have been commonplace for decades. Adler notes that the film is ethically “deplorable,” fixating on “a narrow range of middle-class concerns — houses, cars, vacations, followed by health and relationships, with the rest of humanity a very distant sixth.” Noting that the scientific foundations of the movie are clearly dubious, the Newsweek article quotes psychologist John Norcross, characterizing it as “pseudoscientific, psychospiritual babble.”[3]
In an article for the Chicago Reader, Julia Rickert questions the validity and authenticity of certain quotations attributed by the film to “past secret teachers”. The article[54] describes the extensive, unsuccessful efforts by Rickert to verify a quote claimed to be by “secret teacher” Ralph Waldo Emerson — “The secret is the answer to all that has been, all that is, and all that will ever be”. Rickert also examines a quotation in the film by Winston Churchill. She claims Byrne has taken it out of context to suggest Churchill held beliefs in accord with The Law of Attraction — “You create your own universe as you go along”. Rickert points out that the full context shows that Churchill found such ideas “perfectly useless”.[54]
Karin Klein, editorial writer for the Los Angeles Times, called The Secret “just a new spin on the very old (and decidedly not secret) The Power of Positive Thinking [book by Norman Vincent Peale (1952)] wedded to ‘ask and you shall receive’.” The editorial, in one of its strongest criticisms, asserted Rhonda Byrne “took the well-worn ideas of some self-help gurus, customized them for the profoundly lazy, [and] gave them a veneer of mysticism…”[2]
Tony Riazzi, columnist for the Dayton Daily News, also questions the merits of The Secret, calling Byrne’s background as a reality TV producer a “red flag.” He also said that The Secret’s ideas are nothing more than “common sense. Take out the buzzwords and pseudo religious nonsense about what you ‘manifest’ for yourself, ignore the vague prose and you get the message that thinking positively serves you better than thinking negatively.”[55]
Criticism of health claims
ABC News referred to claims that the mind has power over our health as “perhaps the most controversial” in The Secret. They quote Rev. Michael Beckwith, founder of Agape International Spiritual Center[31] in Culver City, California, and one of The Secret “teachers” as saying: “I’ve seen kidneys regenerated. I’ve seen cancer dissolved.”[56] The film features one man who was paralyzed, mute, and on a ventilator after his spine and diaphragm were crushed in an airplane accident. He credits his full recovery to the power of his mind. A similar story is told by another interviewee whose breast cancer went into spontaneous remission without medical intervention.
Several critics have expressed concern about detrimental effects the film may have on the health and well-being of individuals. Dr. Richard Wender, president of the American Cancer Society, worries that guidelines in the film will prompt others to “reject helpful therapies in favor of positive thinking”,[29] even though the film verbally asserts that traditional medicine should be pursued for serious illness.[57] Julia Mckinnell of Canada’s Maclean’s magazine in a commentary about the film and book titled, “Some people are finding the self-help phenomenon is actually screwing them up”, cited several real-life cases of alleged detrimental effects.[58] She closed with a line Oprah used when urging a guest to seek medical attention for cancer: “The Secret is merely a tool; it’s not treatment.”[58] On the spiritual side, Valerie Reiss, in a review for BeliefNet, expressed concerns that others might get into “head-tripping” on negative thoughts as she did when younger.
I would realize I was thinking negative thoughts, which would trigger more thoughts about how awful I was for thinking negative thoughts and how I was ruining my life with those thoughts, and so on and so on, until my head was ready to explode with all the bad juju. The only thing that freed me from that loop was something else I also learned that summer at the ashram, meditation.[6]
Religious criticism
Mark Earley—president of Prison Fellowship, a group of ministries founded by Charles Colson — in a commentary titled “New Book, Old Lie”, claims “Byrne’s hot new trend” repeats “the oldest lie there is — ‘You shall be like God’.” Earley asserts this is a prescription for “misery”.[59]
USA Today reported on the impact The Secret has had on New Thought churches, such as First Unity Church of St. Petersburg, Florida, led by Rev. Temple Hayes. The church uses the film and book as a teaching tool. James Trapp, CEO of the Association of Unity Churches, calls The Secret “superficial” and Ms. Hayes amends The Secret’s promise of everything-is-yours-to-have with “…you may face some pain along the way. Nothing comes easy.”[13]
Prof. John G. Stackhouse, Jr., Professor of Theology and Culture at Regent College in Vancouver, Canada, in a commentary at his blog, calls the film “the newest packaging for gnosticism”.[60] He portrays the film’s message as just another choice among many religions to choose from, not the “Lowest Common Denominator of all religions” and notes:
[The film] is wishful thinking that does not correspond to the way things are. Some of it does, yes, which is why people can honestly testify to good things resulting from it. But some of it does not…[60]
Stackhouse finds the good in the film “genuinely nourishing” and the bad “genuinely toxic”. He makes it clear he is “…all for proper positive thinking” — the alleged good aspect of the film — and finds fault with Christian culture for not being better at it:
By God’s grace to us, we know better, we know Christ and his Gospel of new life, and yet often we have failed to speak to the spiritual realities so skillfully addressed by proponents of The Secret.[60]
The toxins are, in Stackhouse’s eyes, a spiritually lethal concoction.[60] The identified “poisons” include:
* “blaming the victim”
* “refusal to admit” that life has worthwhile “trade-offs … [and] sacrifices”
* “It’s all about me and it’s all up to me”
Criticism of the Law of Attraction
The Law of Attraction is the essence of the film’s message. The film’s presentation of the law has been criticized for claiming “quantum physics is a part of the Law”,[5] for not getting it right according to New Thought practitioners,[13] and for mistakenly usurping the role of God.[59]
Criticism of society
A number of critics wrote satirical comments about society’s relationship to the film.
* Karin Klein, of the Los Angeles Times, on greed:
Americans are never too jaded for another get-rich-quick chimera… My sister says I’m over-intellectualizing. She, after all, had manifested a fine leather satchel. And I have to admit, if there were designer leather goods to be had out of this, I was interested.[2]
* Emily Yoffe, writing for Slate, ran with a quote by one of the “past secret teachers” — a quote from Einstein that never made it into the film:
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.[53]
* Catherine Bennett, writing for the The Guardian describes adherence to The Secret’s “law of attraction” as:
[a] creed so transparently ugly and stupid that it seems impossible that anyone could take it seriously.[52]
Societal benefit
Some critics find much to fault in the film and nevertheless see it as providing positive opportunities or benefits for society.
* Greg Beato of Reason Magazine, described previous “A-list hucksters” as “…infectious, helping to create a national mood of high-octane optimism.” He closes with:
… If there’s anything our current bleak era needs, it’s a little irrational exuberance. Perhaps The Secret is the Grand Genie of the Universe’s answer to our prayers.[38]
* Jefrey Ressner, at Time—in his final remarks—finds parallels between Madonna and Bob Rainone, Byrne’s U.S. business partner:
“The Da Vinci Code was entertaining, but this film is a personal tool for people who want to change their lives,” says Rainone. “It’s a gift to the world, to help humanity.” Or, as another empowerment teacher, Madonna, sang in her own 1994 hit Secret: “Happiness lies in your own hand.”[31]
* Jerry Adler of Newsweek, writing about the producer, Rhonda Bryne:
…Irene Izon, [mother to Rhonda Byrne] did offer this assessment to NEWSWEEK: “The thing is that Rhonda just wants to bring happiness to everybody. That’s the reason it all began. She just wants everybody to be happy.”
And to give her her due, she might actually be achieving some of that. There is nothing, in principle, wrong with thinking about what makes you happy.[3]
Legal controversies
The Australian Nine Network’s A Current Affair—an Australian TV tabloid show—on 14 May 2007 segment titled, “The Secret Stoush”, interviews Australian author Vanessa J. Bonnette. In the interview, Bonnette—when referring to the book version of The Secret—asserts, “that is my work and Rhonda Byrne has stolen it”.[61] Bonnette and a reporter compare her book to Byrne’s on the use of the “TV transmission” analogy. Bonnette’s book, Empowered for the New Era (2003 Empowered For Life) will be released in 2007 as a second edition. Bonnette, at her website, claims 100 instances of plagiarism.[62] Byrne’s marketing company, TS Production LLC, has responded with a lawsuit to restrain Bonnette.[24] From the statement of claim:
Analogy between frequency transmissions, including a television station transmission via a frequency, and humans and human thought is used by many persons in the field of self-help and motivation.[24]
David Schirmer, the “investment guru”—and only Australian—in the film, has his business activities under investigation by the Australian Securities Investment Commission (ASIC). This was reported on 1 June 2007 by A Current Affair in a segment titled “The Secret Con”[63] with those words and The Secret logo appearing in the background behind the newscaster. The show initially confronted Schirmer in a segment titled “The Secret Exposed”, aired on 28 May 2007, with complaints from people who say Schirmer owed them money.[64]
On February 12, 2008 Bob Proctor’s company, LifeSuccess Productions, L.L.C. successfully sued “investment guru” David Schirmer, his wife Lorna, and their several companies (including LifeSuccess Pacific Rim PTY LTD, Schirmer Financial Management PTY LTD, LifeSuccess Productions PTY LTD, Excellence in Marketing PTY LTD, and Wealth By Choice PTY LTC) for “misleading or deceptive conduct”. [65]
Releases
Paul Harrington, the producer for the film, reported that broadcast TV—instead of the Internet—was initially planned as the medium for the first release:
…we had as our vision to go out to the whole world in 24 hours on television. It was a grand vision, which we weren’t able to pull off for various reasons. We were trying to force, to control the “how” of the universe, when what we were supposed to do was just focus on the vision…[9]
Release dates
The Secret premiere was broadcast through the Internet on March 23, 2006 using Vividas technology. It is still available either on a pay-per-view basis via streaming media (or on DVD at theSecret.tv, the official site for the film). A new extended edition of The Secret was released to the public on October 1, 2006. The Australian television premiere was on Nine Network on Saturday, February 3, 2007.[26]
Future releases and spin-offs
Plans have been announced to produce a sequel to The Secret and a spin-off TV series.[66] An August release is planned for the sequel and “spinoff books expected in 2007 are The Secret Workbook and a collection of The Secret Success Stories”.[31]
Further reading
* Byrne, Rhonda (2006) [2006]. The Secret. Hillsboro, OR: Beyond Words. ISBN 978-1-58270-170-7.
See also
* Affect heuristic
* Anchoring
* As a Man Thinketh
* Attitude (psychology)
* Heuristic
* Intentionality
* Just-world phenomenon
* Law of Attraction
* Magical thinking
* New Thought
* ONE: The Movie
* Propositional attitude
* Spiritual film
* Think and Grow Rich
* Wishful thinking
References
1. ^ The Secret film, 1st 20 minutes [DVD]. Melbourne, Australia: Prime Time Productions. Retrieved on 2007-06-06. — online access authorized by The Secret LLC.
2. ^ a b c d e Klein, Karin (2007-02-13). “Self-help gone nutty” (in English). LA Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-klein13feb13,0,3953992.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail. Retrieved on 2007-01-13.
3. ^ a b c d e f g Adler, Jerry (2007-03-05). “Decoding The Secret” (in English). Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/id/36603. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
4. ^ a b {{cite news | last = Storr | first = Julie Ann | title = Open the Gates of Manifestation | language = English | year = 2006 | month = 11 | url = http://www.nibbana.com.au/page.aspx?id=64 | accessdate = 2007-06-10
5. ^ a b c Whittaker, Stephanie (2007-05-12). “Secret attraction” (in English). http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=78fc94dd-c0b2-4ade-891d-98770bfae388&k=70777. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
6. ^ a b c Reiss, Valerie (2006). “The Hubris of ‘The Secret’ ” (in English). Beliefnet, Inc.. http://www.beliefnet.com/story/213/story_21359_1.html. Retrieved on 2007-05-04.
7. ^ a b Flaim, Denise (2007-03-12). “It’s mind over what matters” (in English). TMCnet.com. http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2007/03/12/2406985.htm. Retrieved on 2007-05-01.
8. ^ a b Zelinsky, Tonya (2007-01-19). “The Secret is out” (in English). Calgary Herald. http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=52d99af3-ade2-42fc-a94d-bfcb99529ac8. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
9. ^ a b c d e Chasse, Betsy (2006-07-01). “A Conversation with The Secret co-producer Paul Harrington” (in English). The Bleeping Herald. http://www.whatthebleep.com/herald15/secret.shtml. Retrieved on 2007-05-21. — this is an interview by one of the producers for the film, What the Bleep Do We Know!?
10. ^ a b c d Hicks, Esther. “Letter to friends”. http://www.andydooley.com/products/secretWHY.html. Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
11. ^ a b c d e f g Salkin, Allen (2007-02-25). “Shaking Riches Out of the Cosmos” (in English). New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/25/fashion/25attraction.html?ex=1330059600&en=81538d3b85977700&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
12. ^ “Esther Hicks” explains the secret behind “The Secret.”
13. ^ a b c d della Cava, Marco R. (2006-03-29). “Secret history of ‘The Secret’ ” (in English). USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2007-03-28-the-secret-churches_N.htm. Retrieved on 2007-05-04.
14. ^ a b c d e f g h i Melanson, Terry (2007-04-11). ” Oprah Winfrey, New Thought, “The Secret” and the “New Alchemy”" (in English). Illuminati Conspiracy Archive. http://www.conspiracyarchive.com/Commentary/Oprah_The_Secret.htm. Retrieved on 2007-05-02.
15. ^ Atkinson, William Walker. Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World. Cornerstone. ISBN 978-156459-660-4. (Out of copyright, published on the Internet)
16. ^ a b c d e “The secret teachers”. TS Production LLC. 2006. http://www.thesecret.tv/pastteachers.html. Retrieved on 2007-06-06. — page at official website of The Secret film.
17. ^ a b Towe, Elizabeth (1997) [1906]. The Life Power And How To Use It. Kessinger. ISBN 978-156459-958-2. Use this link for an online version of the book.
18. ^ a b c “The Secret Press Release” (in English) (PDF). TS Production LLC. 2006. http://www.thesecret.tv/ts_presskit.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
19. ^ Sunderland, Kerry (2007-03-07). “The secret to self distribution” (in English) (PDF). QPIX News. http://cms.evolvemedia.com.au/files/pdfs/2007/qn_summer_2007_the_secret.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-05-17.
20. ^ Sackariason, Carolyn (2007-02-06). “The big ‘Secret’ is finally out” (in English). http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20070206/COLUMN/102060041&SearchID=73282611489273. Retrieved on 2007-06-04.
21. ^ Hauck, Dennis William (1999) [1999]. “10: Seven Steps to Transformation”. The Emerald Tablet: Alchemy for Personal Transformation. New York, NY: Penguin Arkana. p. 153. ISBN 978-014019-571-2. “This meditative emblem first published in 1659 as an illustration for the book Azoth of the Philosophers by the legendary German alchemist Basil Valentine. The word ‘Azoth’ in the title is one of the more arcane names for the One Thing.” Use this link for an online extract from the book.
22. ^ “Gozer Media visual effects & graphic design”. http://www.gozer.com.au. Retrieved on May 2007. “Gozer worked closely with the producers … to develop the visual style of the show. We supplied all visual effects and other graphical components for the show and its subsidiaries.” — navigate web: motion > The Secret
23. ^ Byrne, Rhonda (2006) [2006]. “Acknowledgments”. The Secret. Hillsboro, OR: Beyond Words. p. xiv. ISBN 978-158270-170-7. “Goze Media, for the creation of the superb graphics and for impregnating them with the feeling of The Secret.”
24. ^ a b c Robinson, Russell (2007-05-31). “Self-help gurus take plagiarism battle to court” (in English). Herald Sun. http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21824989-5005941,00.html?from=public_rss. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
25. ^ Two part interview of Rhonda Byrne made before the release of the film: Storr, Julie Ann (2005). “The Secret will be revealed in 2006 – part 1 interview” (in English). Nibbana. http://www.nibbana.com.au/page.aspx?id=17. Retrieved on 2007-05-22. and Storr, Julie Ann (2005). “The Secret has been Revealed – part 2 interview” (in English). Nibbana. http://www.nibbana.com.au/page.aspx?id=24. Retrieved on 2007-05-22.
26. ^ a b c d Le Plastrier Aboukhater, Jacinta (2007-02-01). “Not a secret for long” (in English). The Age Company Ltd.. http://www.theage.com.au/news/film/not-a-secret-for-long/2007/01/31/1169919400946.html#. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
27. ^ Byrne, Rhonda (2006) [2006]. “Acknowledgments”. The Secret. Hillsboro, OR: Beyond Words. p. xiv. ISBN 978-158270-170-7.
28. ^ a b c McFadden, Cynthia (2007-03-23). “Transcript With ‘Secret’ Contributor Bob Proctor” (in English) (PDF). ABC’s Nightline. http://www.abcnews.go.com/images/Nightline/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Proctor%20Transcript.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
29. ^ a b c McFadden, Cynthia; Sherwood, Roxanna; Weinberg, Karin (2007-03-23). “Science behind ‘The Secret’?” (in English). ABC’s Nightline. http://www.abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2975835&page=1. Retrieved on 2007-04-19.
30. ^ a b c Lampman, Jane (2007-03-28). ” ‘The Secret,’ a phenomenon, is no mystery to many ” (in English). Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0328/p13s01-lire.html. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
31. ^ a b c d e f g h i Ressner, Jeffrey (2006-12-28). “The Secret of Success” (in English). Time.com. http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1573136,00.html. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
32. ^ Birkenhead, Peter (2007-03-05). “Oprah’s ugly secret” (in English). Salon.com. http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2007/03/05/the_secret/index_np.html. Retrieved on 2007-05-01.
33. ^ a b “Discovering The Secret”. Oprah. 2007-02-08. Transcript. – text summary
34. ^ a b “One Week Later: The Huge Reaction to The Secret”. Oprah. 2007-02-16. Transcript. – text summary
35. ^ a b c d e Culora, Jill (2007-03-04). “A ’secret’ Oprah Craze Hits New Yorkers” (in English). The New York Post. http://www.nypost.com/seven/03042007/news/regionalnews/a_secret_oprah_craze_hits_new_yorkers_regionalnews_jill_culora.htm?page=0. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
36. ^ Dundzila, Reverend Vilius (2007-04-10). “Not sold on The Secret” (in English). The Advocate. http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid44343.asp. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
37. ^ Dawes, David F. (2007-05-03). “Pop culture’s best-kept Secret” (in English). Christian Info Society. http://www.canadianchristianity.com/nationalupdates/070503secret.html#articletop. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
38. ^ a b c d Beato, Greg (2007-04-01). “The Secret of The Secret” (in English). Reason Magazine. http://www.reason.com/news/show/119132.html. Retrieved on 2007-05-01.
39. ^ Mason, Julie (2007-02-04). “The secrets of the secret” (in English). Ottawa Citizen. http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/citizensweekly/story.html?id=59f86670-db12-4731-a656-1fc0d43a950d. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
40. ^ “SNL: Oprah on The Secret”. Saturday Night Live Transcripts (not affiliated with Saturday Night Live or NBC). 2007-03-17. http://snltranscripts.jt.org/06/06o.phtml. Retrieved on 2007-07-07. “Oprah Winfrey (Maya Rudolph) loudly praises the work of Rhonda Byrne’s (Amy Poehler) new book, “The Secret.”"
41. ^ Watkin, Tim (2007-04-08). “Self-Help’s Slimy ‘Secret’” (in English). Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/06/AR2007040601819_pf.html. Retrieved on 2007-07-07. “They scolded him when he lamented that his people were starving, saying it was all the result of his lousy attitude.”
42. ^ William Shatner as Denny Crane. (2007). “Brotherly Love” episode [Posted video promo of TV show]. Boston Legal. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
43. ^ “Nut Job of the Week”. The Chaser’s War on Everything. Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Sydney, Australia. 2007-05-16. Official site
44. ^ “The Power of Positive Thoughts”. CNN Larry King Live. 2006-11-02. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0611/02/lkl.01.html. Retrieved on 2007-07-27. — transcripts.
45. ^ “The Power of Positive Thinking”. CNN Larry King Live. 2006-11-16. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0611/16/lkl.01.html. Retrieved on 2007-07-27. — transcripts.
46. ^ “Unlocking Secrets to Success”. Montel Williams. 2007-03-12. http://www.montelshow.com/show/detail/5103/. Retrieved on 2007-07-27.
47. ^ “The Secret Behind The Secret”. Oprah & Friends Radio. XM Satellite Radio, Chicago, USA. 2007-03-29. Transcript. – text summary
48. ^ “Esther Hicks and the Law of Attraction”. Oprah & Friends Radio. XM Satellite Radio, Chicago, USA. 2007-04-05. Transcript. – text summary
49. ^ “What’s The Secret to Happiness?” The Today Show – Video
50. ^ Smith, Harry (2007-03-01). “Early Show: Experts Debate Self-Help Phenomenon” (in English). CBS News Video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWfmkh7eN-4. Retrieved on 2007-03-01.
51. ^ King, Larry (2007-03-08). “Larry King Live” (in English). CNN. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0703/08/lkl.01.html. Retrieved on 2007-03-08.
52. ^ a b Bennett, Catherine (2007-04-26). “Only an idiot could take The Secret seriously” (in English). Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,2065656,00.html. Retrieved on 2007-04-29.
53. ^ a b Yoffe, Emily (2007-05-07). “I’ve Got The Secret” (in English). Slate. http://www.slate.com/id/2165746/pagenum/all/#page_start. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
54. ^ a b Rickert, Julia (2007), “A Little Secret About The Secret”, The Chicago Reader 36 (36): 1, 18, http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/springbooks07/thesecret/
55. ^ Riazzi, Tony (2007-03-23). ” ‘The secret’ secret: just be happy” (in English). Dayton Daily News. http://www.daytondailynews.com/search/content/oh/story/entertainment/2007/03/23/ddn032307goentweakly.html. Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
56. ^ Mastropolo, Frank (2006-11-26). “The Secret to Success?” (in English). ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2681640&page=1. Retrieved on 2006-12-27.
57. ^ Byrne, Rhonda (2006). “The Secret”. Beyond Words Publishing. ISBN 13: 978-1582701707.
58. ^ a b Mckinnell, Julia (2007-04-16). “Some people are finding the self-help phenomenon is actually screwing them up” (in English). Maclean’s Magazine. http://www.macleans.ca/homepage/magazine/article.jsp?content=20070416_104195_104195. Retrieved on 2007-05-04.
59. ^ a b Earley, Mark (2007-05-03). “New Book, Old Lie” (in English). Prison Fellowship. http://www.breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=6455. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
60. ^ a b c d Stackhouse, Prof. John (2007-02-21). “Oprah’s Secret: New? Old? Good? Bad?” (in English). http://stackblog.wordpress.com/2007/02/21/oprahs-secret-new-old-good-bad/#more-36. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
61. ^ Ben Fordham (News Caster), Vanessa J. Bonnette (interviewee). The Secret Stoush [Television production]. Sydney, AU: A Current Affair. Retrieved on 2007-06-12. — requires Windows platform.
62. ^ Vanessa J., Bonnette. “Secret Scandal”. http://www.shekinahtherapy.com.au/13.html. Retrieved on 2007-06-11. “I have reason to believe that Byrne has infringed copyright of my work to the of order of 100 (plus) citations that constitute as plagiarism according to Australian Copyright Council…”
63. ^ Ben Fordham (News Caster), David Schirmer (subject). The Secret Con [Posted video]. Sydney, AU: A Current Affair. Retrieved on 2007-06-06.
64. ^ Ben Fordham (Newscaster), David Schirmer (subject). The Secret Exposed [Television production]. Sydney, AU: A Current Affair. Retrieved on 2007-06-06. — requires Windows platform.
65. ^ “LifeSuccess Productions, L.L.C. v Excellence in Marketing Pty Ltd ACN 087 507 695 & Ors”
66. ^ Pursell, Chris (2007-03-26). “Telepictures Shoots Secret Pilot” (in English). TV Week. http://www.tvweek.com/news/2007/07/telepictures_shoots_secret_pil.php. Retrieved on 2007-07-13.
External links
* Official website for the film
* The Secret film, 1st 20 minutes — authorized by The Secret, LLC.
* ‘The Secret’ is out” — Courier Post serving South Jersey (New Jersey)
* USA Today article, “The Secret”
* CBS Eye to Eye with Katie Couric: “The Secret”
* “A Secret That’s Spreading” — ABC’s World News
* “Exposing The Secret” — Listen Up TV. “Listen Up” is a Canadian television newsmagazine that addresses Christian issues.
* London Free Press article (Ontario Canada), “Trends: Milking it?: Three authors are following up onThe Secret”
* “The Secret Behind The Secret – What is Attracting Millions to the Law of Attraction?”, from the Skeptic Magazine
* Abe Talk: Forum for discussing how to apply The Secret in your life
* Psychologist’s free collection of inspirational videos and eBooks, related to “The Secret”
* A Christian Apologetics Ministry review of “The Secret”
* Article Examining The Law Of Attraction And Its Practical Application In Money-Making
Panel 1 of a 3-part symposium on “The Current State of North Korea and the Future of the U.S.-Korea Alliance”, hosted by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs (Princeton University) and Foreign Policy Magazine, Oct 13, 2006. Moderator: Aaron Friedberg, Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University Panelists Discussants: Stephen Kim, North Korea Analyst, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Marcus Noland, Senior Fellow, Institute for International Economics; Betsy Henderson, Director of Research, Radio Free Asia; Christopher Chyba, Professor of Astrophysical Sciences and International Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University. Oct 13, 2006.
THE NURSES ARE NOW FREE. THANK GOODNESS. WHAT IS UNFORTUNATE TODAY IS THAT kaddafi IS GAINING BENEFIT FROM THIS RELEASE. I JUST RETURNED FROM BULGARIA AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER 2007 WITH INTERVIEWS I DID WITH SOME OF THE BENGHAZI 6. ONE OF MY AMAZING DISCOVERIES IS THAT SOME OF THEM WERE ABLE TO VIEW INJECTION IN PRISON IN LIBYA. ALSO, I LEARNED THAT THE AIDS OUTBREAK IN LIBYA IS SO LARGE THAT THEY HAVE BUILT CLASSIFIED TOWNS FOR THE HIV VICTIMS TO LIVE. A NEW VERSION OF THE FILM WILL BE RELEASED FOR BROADCAST IN EARLY 2008. FOR MORE INFO ON THE FILM: U.S.PHONE 214-282-2671 In Libya in 1999, five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor were arrested and convicted of infecting over four hundred Libyan children with HIV in a Benghazi hospital. Libyan dictator Moammar Khadaffi proclaimed before the trial that the nurses conspired with the American CIA and the Israeli Mossad to maliciously infect the children. Widespread reuse of disposable syringes is responsible for as many as seven million cases of AIDS in Africa. Public health officials are reluctant to discuss this problem, perhaps in fear that Africans will avoid critical medical care, such as inoculations for malaria and other virulent diseases. The thrust of public AIDS prevention campaigns is on safe sex, and healthcare risks are critically overlooked. In this investigative documentary, Mickey Grant travels to Kenya, Bangkok, Sofia, Benghazi, Tripoli, Rome and London in an attempt to discover the truth. He follows the trail of syringes from hospital to garbage dump, and then back into Africa’s health care system. You’ll hear moving testimony from leaders of the World Health Organization, Amnesty International, African government officials, the Khadaffi opposition, journalists, medical scientists, doctors, and health care workers. You’ll also hear from one of the accused, the son of Moammar Kaddafi, a spokesman for the infected children, and other participants. Could these healthcare workers have committed this horrific crime? Or, are they scapegoats to divert attention from institutional shortcomings? Is Moammar Khadaffi responsible for this tragedy? Is re-use of contaminated syringes a common practice in Libya and the rest of Africa? Are safer syringes available, and if so, why aren’t they in common use?
Rageh Omaar embarks on a unique journey inside what he describes as one of the most misunderstood countries in the world, looking at the country through the eyes of people rarely heard – ordinary Iranians.
It took a year of wrangling to get permission to film inside Iran but the result is an amazing portrayal of an energetic and vibrant country that is completely different to the usual images seen in the media.
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“Leprosy”. Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Leprosy. 
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