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Democracy Now! Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Category: News & Current Affairs
Description:
Today's Headlines Iran Accuses Detained Americans of Espionage CBS: Obama to Send Up to 40,000 Troops to Afghanistan 40 Democrats Threaten to Reject Healthcare Bill over Abortion Restrictions Fort Hood Shooter to Be Tried in Military Court Survey Highlights Global Concerns over Free Market Capitalism Palestinians Knock Down Part of West Bank Wall Again EPA Attempts to Silence Agency Critics of Cap and Trade Maldives President Urges Developing Nations to Become Carbon Neutral Whistleblower: Peak Oil Closer than IEA Forecasts Show China Executes Nine over Xinjiang Riots Watchdog: New York State Regulation of Natural Gas Wells Has Been "Woefully Insufficient for Decades." The New York-based Toxics Targeting went through the Department of Environmental Conservation’s own database of hazardous substances spills over the past thirty years. They found 270 cases documenting fires, explosions, wastewater spills, well contamination and ecological damage related to gas drilling. Many of the cases remain unresolved. The findings are contrary to repeated government assurances that existing natural gas well regulations are sufficient to safeguard the environment and public health. The state is considering allowing for gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale watershed, the source of drinking water for 15 million people, including nine million New Yorkers. Filmmaker Philippe Diaz on "The End of Poverty?" Earlier this year, the IMF and the World Bank warned that the financial crisis posed a serious challenge to reducing poverty. The World Bank predicted that the economic crisis could push another 53 million people in the global South into poverty. Well, according to the latest numbers from the United Nations, we’re now up to 2.7 billion people around the world who survive on less than two dollars a day, one billion of whom live on less than a dollar a day. Given the dire statistics and the widening gap between the rich and the poor, how can we see the eradication of poverty? That’s the central question of a new documentary called The End of Poverty? Hoodwinked: Former Economic Hit Man John Perkins Reveals Why the World Financial Markets Imploded -- and How to Remake Them John Perkins calls himself a former economic hit man. He has seen the signs of today’s financial meltdown before. The subprime mortgage fiasco, the collapse of the banking industry, the rising unemployment rate—these are all familiar to him. Perkins was on the front lines of monitoring and helping create these very events that were once just confined to the Third World. From 1971 to 1981, he worked for the international consulting firm of Chas T. Main, where he was a self-described “economic hit man.” He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Confessions of An Economic Hit Man and The Secret History of the American Empire.
Seeders: 28
Leeches: 48

ARTE - Philip Short's - Mao, A Life

Category: Documentary
Description:
The video counterpart to Philip Short’s monumental book Mao: A Life, this four-part series guides viewers through the dynamic, innovative, and brutal accomplishments of the revolutionary Chinese leader. Short—a BBC and Times of London foreign correspondent assigned to China immediately after Mao Zedong’s death in 1976—serves as the series’ writer and narrator, providing the same rigor and panoramic scope that enriches his biography. But these programs go where no book can: into a trove of film and video materials kept secret for decades by Chinese authorities, and—through interviews granted exclusively to the filmmakers—into face-to-face meetings with the last surviving members of Mao’s inner circle. Viewers will encounter a spellbinding view of 20th-century Chinese history, as well as a glimpse of the country’s future. Members of Mao’s family, including his daughter-in-law and granddaughter, describe life in the Chairman’s home, while Sidney Rittenberg, an American scholar who worked alongside Mao, reflects on his harrowing experiences. Mao’s chief bodyguard, his doctor, and two former Politburo officials who took part in the Long March of 1934-35 share their wealth of knowledge and observations. Other staff members attached to Mao’s private office illuminate the Chairman’s cloistered but momentous twilight years. For students of Mao’s era, this series may well represent the most powerful learning tool available. Its four-part structure is organized around major phases of the leader’s life and career, with generous attention given to Mao’s influence on today’s China. Not available in French-speaking Canada. 4-part series, 60 minutes each.
Seeders: 0
Leeches: 0

The Anarchist Library on torrent

Category: eBooks, Magazines, Audio Books
Description:
The whole archive of theanarchistlibrary.org
Seeders: 14
Leeches: 3

Africa - America's New Oil Target (2005) (Repost)

Category: Documentary
Description:
Africa - America's New Oil Target (2005) (Repost) As world oil reserves decline, the US and other world powers are competing for African oil. US energy and foreign policies have now merged: they militarize choke points and oil-producing countries that can be loyal to the US. Currently 14% of US oil comes from Africa, while experts predict that America's own national oil supply will run out in eight years. Thus securing an energy supply is a top strategic priority in an oil-hungry world, which explains the sudden interest from America, Europe, China and Japan for Africa. Under the guise of the wars against terrorism America has now established a full military command devoted to Africa.
Seeders: 13
Leeches: 15

TVO - The Agenda with Steve Paikin, May 15, 2009: W(h)ither the United States?

Category: News & Current Affairs
Description:
TVO - The Agenda with Steve Paikin, May 15, 2009: W(h)ither the United States? The Debate: W(h)ither the United States? The Obama administration's emerging foreign policy: mea culpa or managing the relative decline of American power? Guests: Andrew Bacevich is professor of international relations at Boston University, and author of The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. Peter Beinart is a senior fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, and a columnist for the Washington Post. Wenran Jiang is an associate professor of political science and Mactaggart research chair of the China Institute at the University of Alberta. He is a senior fellow with the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, and an online columnist for Business Week. Sergei Plekhanov is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at York University. Janice Stein is TVO's international affairs analyst, the Belzberg professor of Conflict Management in the Department of Political Science and the director of the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto. For more information on this episode, including information on the guests and various other resources and links, visit the episode webpage ----- Note: This is an iPod video podcast that is available for free download from the website.Quality is good. Audio podcasts (mp3 format) are also available for free download for the individual segments. Type: mp4 file Size: 114MB Runtime: 00:54:27 Video: MPEG4 Video (H264) 320x240 Audio: AAC 32000Hz mono 48Kbps Download this episode using the attached torrent file or download it directly using this link: http://feeds.tvo.org/~r/tvo/TxZN/~5/M9G96kY7weU/TAWSP_Dbt_20090515_779513_0_320x240_304k.mp4 You can also watch a flash video of this episode through your web-browser here: http://www.tvo.org/cfmx/tvoorg/theagenda/index.cfm?page_id=7&bpn=779513&ts=2009-05-15%2020:00:35.0 ----- Andrew Bacevich is that rare breed in American political discourse: a principled conservative who stands out in stark contrast to the grotesque monstrosity and demonstrably incoherent, unprincipled ideology that is American conservatism, sometimes labelled libertarianism, of the Reagan revolution and Republican party variety, which is mostly a racist, "God Bless America and kill the darkies abroad!!" screeching, anti-government, anti-tax, corporate-and-private-power-worshipping philosophy. It is an ideology that hypocritically preaches incessantly about "limited government" but which is anti-government and anti-state only when it comes to social programs for the poor, the weak, the powerless and minorities, and whose criticisms of expansive government, coercive state-power, and executive and federal power overreach are notably absent when it comes to the expansion of the domestic police state and of the grotesque, weapons-of-mass-destruction-producing and mass-murdering apparatus that is the expansive American military establishment, American imperial power-structure and the National Security State. It is quite revealing to see a principled conservative like Andrew Bacevich arriving to very similar conclusions about American power, imperialism and foreign policy as someone from the left, such as Noam Chomsky. Resources and links to related material 1) Farewell to the American Century by Andrew Bacevich: Americans have perpetuated a mythic version of the past that never even approximated reality and today has become downright malignant. 2) Andrew Bacevich on PBS Bill Moyer's Journal: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/08152008/watch.html 3) Glenn Greenwald - The looming political war over Afghanistan 4) Glenn Greenwald - Our war-loving Foreign Policy Community hasn't gone anywhere 5) Chris Floyd - Beyond Here Lies Nothing: Surging Further Into the Abyss 6) Cheney/Obama ----- TVO - The Agenda with Steve Paikin The Agenda with Steve Paikin is TVO's flagship current affairs program - devoted to exploring the social, political, cultural and economic issues that are changing our world, at home and abroad. The Agenda airs weeknights at 8:00 PM EST on TVO - Canada's largest educational broadcaster. TVO's The Agenda with Steve Paikin website: http://www.tvo.org/agenda/
Seeders: 1
Leeches: 0

History Channel Sun Tzu's The Art Of War

Category: Documentary
Description:
History Channel Sun Tzu's The Art Of War All warfare is based on deception. Therefore, when capable of attacking, feign incapacity; when active in moving troops, feign inactivity. When near the enemy, make it seem that you are far away; when far away, make it seem that you are near. – Sun Tzu. Sun Tzu was the Nostradamus of warfare, and his book The Art of War, written 2,400 years ago, is still theArt of War weaves together several epic stories, including the story of Sun Tzu himself, and a war soon after his death where a city is saved using his tactics as China takes the first step toward unification. ultimate how-to book for winning. This two-hour special brings his words to life. Shot like a graphic novel, Art of War weaves together several epic stories, including the story of Sun Tzu himself, and a war soon after his death where a city is saved using his tactics as China takes the first step toward unification. Art of War also follows other epic battles in history—Roman battles, The American Civil War, World War II, and present day—that illustrate more of Sun Tzu’s lessons and how the people who understand his strategy are the most dangerous weapons of all. While his ideals were originally created for battle, his lessons could be used by anyone who wants to win—whether at sports, business, or life.
Seeders: 0
Leeches: 0

Spies R Us - A History Of The CIA (BBC R4)

Category: Documentary
Description:
BBC R4 Documentary - 'Spies R Us, A History Of The CIA' Presented by Tom Mangold Broadcast February 6, 13 & 20, 2003 NB Programmes 1 & 2 only here. Transcript of Programme 3 included. Coded from tape at 128/44.1 BBC Blurb These programmes offer new insights on the struggle with the Soviet Union, Vietnam and the deadly terrorist threat confronting the US and the wider world. Will the CIA survive for another fifty years? Programme 1 - Soviet Union Focuses on the Soviet Union: the key danger the CIA confronted for nearly fifty years of its history. Former top spies and intelligence analysts who advised successive Presidents speak frankly about how the Agency did in assessing the military strength, political intentions and economic power of the Soviet Union. They also reveal why some of its judgments were spectacularly off-beam, resulting in over-estimation of the threat. In particular, the programme tells the astonishing and hitherto little-known story of how close the world came to the brink of nuclear confrontation in the early 1980s partly because of the Agency's inability to understand the extent of Soviet paranoia about US military actions and the Reagan administration's rhetoric about 'the evil empire'. Programme 2 - Iran and Vietnam Looks at two examples of the CIA's remarkably broad impact on global history: Iran and Vietnam. Oil reserves and a common border with the Soviet Union put Iran high on the CIA's list of priorities from the start of the Cold War. Washington's fateful involvement with Tehran started early - joining the British in toppling the government there in the early 1950s. But after that coup the CIA's long support of the Shah fatally boomeranged with his precipitous fall in 1979 and the resulting US hostage crisis. Since then relations have been frosty with a country which has been dubbed by President Bush part of the "axis of evil" - yet remains one of the most strategically important for the US in the campaign against terrorism. With the help of those involved in plotting the 1953 coup through to those who thought the Shah would never be overthrown, the programme tells the story of how the Agency went from being the power behind the Peacock throne to outcast. The programme also reveals the role the CIA played in America's deeply traumatic - and hugely costly - Vietnam experience in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Contrary to popular myth, the CIA was not gung-ho about US involvement in Indo-China. In the face of the prevailing wisdom of the "domino theory" - which argued that Vietnam's succumbing to communism would trigger the collapse of all south-east Asia into the Soviet embrace - the programme shows how the Agency's lack of enthusiasm for military action led to it being cut out of the key decisions - ultimately leading to a drift towards internal crisis in the 1970s - and how those most intimately involved reacted to being ignored. Programme 3 - Present and Future [Transcript only] The final programme comes into the present and asks how the CIA is tackling the new threat of al Qaeda and associated terrorist networks. Ex-Agency officials - and those called back to it in a desperate effort to make up for lost time - candidly admit the extent of the intelligence failure which led to the horror of the September 11 attacks. The programme considers the huge problems the CIA faces in both confronting its new challenge and re-assuring the American public about the dangers. But how did the Agency get it so wrong? Can the battle still be won? What tools will be required? And will the CIA survive for another fifty years?
Seeders: 55
Leeches: 6

PBS Wide Angle- Once Upon a Coup 2009 08 26

Category: Documentary
Description:
PBS Wide Angle- Once Upon a Coup 2009 08 26 465 MiB/ 56mn 24s 818ms A failed coup attempt…a British mercenary in a notorious African prison…a dictator suspicious of Western powers…and beneath it all, a spectacular underwater oil reserve that the world’s major powers would love to get their hands on. It may sound like the latest John LeCarré bestseller, but in fact it’s the real-life intrigue of Once Upon a Coup, WIDE ANGLE’s penetrating look at the mysterious goings-on in Equatorial Guinea, a tiny West African nation newly rich with oil and infamous for corruption. The story begins in 2004, when a group of mercenaries, including a British ex-special forces officer named Simon Mann, is arrested in Zimbabwe. Equatorial Guinea’s president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, accuses them of plotting a coup against him. When Mann is sentenced to 34 years in Equatorial Guinea’s notorious Black Beach prison, he claims to be only one piece of an international plot to control the country’s vast oil resources. Once Upon a Coup travels the globe to unravel that plot, which stretches from Africa to the U.K., from a prime minister’s son to Zimbabwean arms dealers, from South Africa to Spain. But as this all plays out, another actor is bidding for a share of the oil: China. The Chinese government has showered the country with glittering new buildings and a new administrative capital. If President Obiang has grown skeptical of Western intentions, he has welcomed China as a new business partner. Starting with a small West African nation and stretching around the globe, Once Upon a Coup sheds light on the uncomfortable realities of oil politics in the 21st century. Source: http://www.demonoid.com/files/details/2047730/1417645/ Other shunster posts at:http://www.bt-chat.com/browse.php?category=11 Support your local PBS Station by making a contribution or by purchasing their DVDs. Enjoy! Ekolb
Seeders: 15
Leeches: 11

Workingmans Death (2005) (DVDRip) (QiX)

Category: Documentary
Description:
Synopsis: The toil of the workingman is the fascinating subject for this documentary from Austrian director Michael Glawogger. Taking five groups of workers from five different countries, Glawogger looks at the perils of being a coal miner in the Ukraine, a slaughterhouse worker in Nigeria, a sulfur miner in Indonesia, a ship-breaker in Pakistan, and a steel worker in China. Some of the conditions these men work in will come as a shock to the average office worker, and provides viewers with an important perspective on the harsh treatment meted out to certain factions of the workforce. Austrian director Michael Glawogger divides his documentary into a number of extended vignettes. In Heroes, college graduates can't find work in the desolate post-Soviet period in the Ukraine. So they descend upon abandoned, frigid coal mines. There they imperil their lives squeezing into crumbling tiny crawl spaces, in order to extract bits of coal to sell and eke out a subsistence. The free lance miners are embittered and demoralized, and Glawogger contrasts them with images from the past of optimistic, radiant Soviet coal miner collectives. In the chapter Ghosts, Glawogger moves on to Indonesia, where workers wind their way up and down the surreal, treacherous basin of a volcano under a punishing sun, gathering sulfur in overloaded, creaky bamboo baskets. The plumes of sulfur gas are visually captivating, yet unimaginably disturbing in the unspoken poisonous toll they are simultaneously inflicting on these impoverished workers' lives. Other episodes include the casual carnage of an unsanitary open air livestock slaughterhouse in Nigeria, with blood and entrails flowing unheeded through the city streets. Then in Pakistan, despairing migrant workers engage in the dangerous labor of dismantling gigantic oil carriers, while praying to Allah that they'll survive the task. The documentary concludes at a vast, defunct German steel mill that has been unbelievably transformed into an amusement park, complete with a light show. Meanwhile, young couples seek out remote corners among the rusty former smelting furnaces, to engage in a little sex. While the experience of Workingman's Death is rich in visual material for contemplation or just plain wonder, there is at the same time a gnawing feeling of voyeuristic objectification of these workers. It's as if the leisure class were sitting back and whimsically beholding their house servants sweating away at domestic tasks.
Seeders: 0
Leeches: 0

PBS POV - POV Shorts August 18 2009

Category: News & Current Affairs
Description:
PBS POV - POV Shorts August 18 2009 Utopia, Part 3: The World's Largest Shopping Mall By Sam Green, Carrie Lozano If you thought Minnesota's Mall of America was the world's biggest shopping center, think again. South China Mall is a Vegas-like spectacle built in 2005 that now sits almost entirely empty. In the current economic climate, could this be a symbol of things to come? City of Cranes By Eva Weber Cranes dominate our skylines, yet few people ever notice them, nor do they notice the men and women who operate them. Spending most of their time alone up in the crane, crane operators seem to merge with their machines, becoming invisible to passers-by. City of Cranes takes the viewer hundreds of feet above the ground to hear the insights of crane operators, and see a glimpse of the poetic, mesmerizing world of cranes. Nutkin's Last Stand By Nicholas Berger Something is rotten in England. A plague of North American grey squirrels threatens the beloved native red squirrel. The English are up in arms, and a band of patriots — including lords, priests, artists and farmers — have come together to fight back against the grey menace. 34x25x36 By Jesse Epstein This latest installment in a trilogy about body image shows the inner workings of the Patina V Mannequin Factory outside Los Angeles and the musings of the people who decide what the perfect female body should look like.
Seeders: 4
Leeches: 14