WUF13 | World Urban Forum

WUF13 | Absheron Peninsula

Religious Unity & Coexistence 25 Pope Leo

During some reflection days, post the political changes in Syria, I was reminded to stop and reflect on this peacefully unifying event of having His Excellency visit our troubled, weary region.

Following some mediated words of this
(i Pray),
sustainable, peaceful efforts

May we all enjoy an inner lasting 

inner Peace

May it reflect within our communities 

and ripple worldwide.

Witnessing this, 

I couldn't help but remember previous peace makers, 

Ode to their memory 

and 

them nurturing

generations of peace

Rest in Power 

RIP

 

Kevin Spacey at the Oxford Union

Academy Award Winner Kevin Spacey Addresses the Oxford Union

 0:02

[Applause]

0:35

I used to believe. Can you all hear me?

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I used to believe

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that the truth would win.

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But if you kept calm,

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stayed quiet, and let the system work,

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eventually

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the facts

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would speak louder than the noise.

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But I was wrong.

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I am here to tell you with the authority

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that very few others have

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that once accusations are made,

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the facts don't matter.

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[Applause]

1:19

They don't want the truth.

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They want a villain.

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And I was perfect for the part.

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I was a legendary star. I was eccentric.

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And I didn't play by their rules. The

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media

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ran headlines that said I had committed

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sexual assault.

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And then the pylon.

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People suddenly coming out of the

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woodwork to say that I was a monster,

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that I was drunk, that I laughed while

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it happened. It was grotesque,

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sensational,

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and completely false.

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But it sold papers. It gave the audience

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what they wanted.

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three trials.

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The first

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a mistrial, the second a mistrial, the

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third it took the jury just a few

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minutes to return a unanimous acquitt.

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And then they issued a public apology.

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The jury did.

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I thought that was going to be the end

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of it,

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but it wasn't.

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Am I still angry after all these years?

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Well, the bigger question might be,

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why aren't you?

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I mean, you believe in justice, don't

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you? Don't you?

3:02

Don't you?

3:05

It gets worse.

3:08

During my trials, unbeknownst to me, t

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of the top studio bosses in Hollywood

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bonded together to hire a zar to show

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Wall Street and the public that they

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took their concerns of immoral behavior

3:25

that were rumored to be taking place and

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that they would clean up Hollywood once

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and for all.

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And so

3:34

one week to the day that I was cleared

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of all charges,

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I was officially blacklisted to ever

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work again in the industry and the

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profession I had only ever known.

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Not when I was accused,

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not during the trials,

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but only after I finally won my case.

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after the system had done its job.

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That's when they threw me away.

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Not because I was guilty,

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but because I was inconvenient.

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And in this business,

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truth doesn't redeem you. It embarrasses

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the people who are wrong about you. And

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so, they bury you even deeper.

4:30

Now that story,

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that story that I just shared with all

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of you

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happened

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over 100 years ago.

4:43

Oh, did you think I was talking about

4:44

myself?

4:47

Oh, no, no, no. I have been sharing with

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you the story of Rosco Fatty Arbuckle,

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one of the most beloved bankable stars

5:00

of the silent era. In fact, in 1918,

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he signed the biggest contract in

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Hollywood to that point. Paramount

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Pictures paid him $3 million,

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which made him the highest paid actor at

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the time in Hollywood. And then just a

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few years later, he was accused of a

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crime he didn't commit.

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Three trials,

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full acquitt,

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and then blacklisted.

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Not because of guilt,

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because of a narrative.

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I I want to read to you what the jury

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wrote in their letter of apology in

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their own words after they exonerated

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him. This is directly from a New York

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Times article entitled Arbuckle

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acquitted in one minute verdict. One

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minute dated April 13th, 1922.

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This is a quote now. A quiddle is not

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enough for Rosco Arbuckle. We feel that

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a great injustice has been done him. We

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feel also that it was only our plain

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duty to give him this exoneration under

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the evidence for which there was not the

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slightest proof aduced to connect him in

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any way with the commission of a crime.

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He was manly throughout the case. They

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literally that's how they wrote this. He

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was manly throughout the case and told a

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straightforward story on the witness

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stand which we all believed.

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The happenings at the hotel was an

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unfortunate affair for which Arbuckle,

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so the evidence showed, was in no way

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responsible. We wish him success and

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hope that the American people will take

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the judgment of 14 men and women who

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have sat listening for 31 days to the

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evidence that Rosco Arbuckle is entirely

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innocent and free from all blame.

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That was in 1922.

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103 years ago.

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So

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what exactly have we learned?

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[Applause]