tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57884352728056096042024-03-06T01:45:02.045+08:00Online Documentaries 4 UWatch documentaries online - the best place to watch free online documentaries - over 600 videos and counting - BBC, HBO, PBS documentaries and much more!!Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.comBlogger406125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-87475864895007322122009-10-21T07:29:00.004+08:002009-10-21T07:40:08.361+08:00Site UpdateThank you to all of those that have passed on their support in this difficult time for me...it really means a lot!<br /><br />You may have noticed that OD4U has seemingly disappeared from the internets...not true!<br /><br />I have unfortunately allowed my domain registration to lapse and am currently unable to use the onlinedocumentaries4u.com domain. I fully intend to recover this domain as the person or company that snapped it up when it became available is clearly cybersquatting and attempting to profit from their actions. This is not allowed under ICANN regulation and I have no doubt the domain will be back in my possession within a couple of weeks.<br /><br />In the meantime, I have reverted back to my original <a href="http://documentaries4u.blogspot.com/">http://documentaries4u.blogspot.com/</a> address...please update your bookmarks now and let your friends know.<br /><br />I would also like to let you all know that I will be back to posting documentaries on this site soon. I am currently reviewing where I am with the site and considering if I am going to take the opportunity to revamp OD4U or continue with the Blogger platform.<br /><br />Any ideas and wishes you may have about how OD4U can be improved will be invaluable to me during this review process.<br /><br />Finally, thank you all once again for your support.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-84436923564423502632009-09-23T02:12:00.001+08:002009-09-23T02:17:09.224+08:00Discussion PostI was disappointed to see some people (some long term users of this site), defacing our website via the chat box.<br /><br />I have removed the chat box until further notice, but you can use the comments on this post to get things off your chest. All of these comments will be moderated.<br /><br />For all those who were wondering what has happened to me, I have just posted an update on the OD4U Google Forum. Those that are subscibed to the forum will recieve this update as an email today.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-22354016169459516922009-08-29T16:58:00.002+08:002009-08-29T17:07:41.519+08:00Beer WarsBeer lovers eager to learn the facts about their favorite brew are invited to follow filmmaker Anat Baron as she takes an insider's look at America's highly competitive hops industry. The story gets under way as innovative, independent brewers begin challenging the corporate monoliths for a greater share of the thriving American beer market.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK1gByTgWnoSOcvdl7ZHU9RhWCtfA1QH-acdlnTMgx-Wu5O3ha8APajTr1PdN-IGH5JGLIEiDyG2-j98INq6w8QGe_QPun2lXjLf3kBrmX0IQKweUoxSzUjOqv7r8EyuOmKWsTDSoVBAEc/s1600-h/beerwars1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 211px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK1gByTgWnoSOcvdl7ZHU9RhWCtfA1QH-acdlnTMgx-Wu5O3ha8APajTr1PdN-IGH5JGLIEiDyG2-j98INq6w8QGe_QPun2lXjLf3kBrmX0IQKweUoxSzUjOqv7r8EyuOmKWsTDSoVBAEc/s320/beerwars1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375309687046447746" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Brewers Sam and Rhonda, in particular, are on the front lines in the battle against established industry giants that seem determined to put smaller breweries out of business. Is it possible for independent brewers like Sam and Rhonda to maintain their integrity while resisting the temptation to sell out?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">There are no embedable links for this film - click <a href="http://divxstage.net/player.php?v=p4j5fw3xbhr62">here</a> to watch.<br /></span></div><br />Click <a href="http://beerwarsmovie.com/">here</a> to visit the official website.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-22186960518123772972009-08-27T05:37:00.004+08:002009-08-27T05:48:01.249+08:00David Icke - Was He Right?David Icke (pronounced like "ike"), was born in Leicester, England on April 29, 1952. As a young child he always wanted to become a football player when he was older. His dream became a reality when he left school to play football in the English league as a goalkeeper. Due to arthritis that became increasingly worse Icke was forced to eventually give up the game and move into a new career at the age of 21.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqLJLIboElsnaXK1ylRgiPkNWZVpas3mHTa08b2-wf53d3SNUf9DAxnfNTKTOoUCQFpMoHhDWvWFDpafZEp0yiRwFjfK9kj8_YTKM7Er9dSScWdRJdk6QGhmyqefDqdAdJxEGHRuuj0jIU/s1600-h/icke1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 217px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqLJLIboElsnaXK1ylRgiPkNWZVpas3mHTa08b2-wf53d3SNUf9DAxnfNTKTOoUCQFpMoHhDWvWFDpafZEp0yiRwFjfK9kj8_YTKM7Er9dSScWdRJdk6QGhmyqefDqdAdJxEGHRuuj0jIU/s320/icke1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374391107781068546" border="0" /></a><br /><br />David became a reporter with a local newspaper in Leicester and eventually went on to become a sports presenter for BBC South's Program "South Today". David Icke went on a news presenter until 1988 when he joined the Green Party to become the national media spokesperson. During this time Icke started to become more and more spiritually involved and began experiencing contact with the spirit world. He was later banned from speaking on the Green Party's behalf in 1990 for telling them about a message he received from the spirit world.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com.au/googleplayer.swf?docid=6860946590182985661&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br /></div><br /><br />One of David Icke's most controversial subjects is that of the world being run by a secretive and extra-dimensional Reptilian alien race from the constellation Draco. David explains these beings as walking upright like humans and living not only on the planets they come from, but also underground in tunnels and caverns in the earth. Icke also explains how they have crossbred with humans which created "hybrids" who are possessed by the full-blooded reptilians. This hybrid DNA gives these reptilians the ability to shape-shift from reptilian to human form, granted they have consumed human blood. Icke believes this group includes many of the Global Elites such as George H.W. Bush, Hillary Clinton and Tony Blair to name a few. David claims that these people are either themselves reptilians or work for the reptilians.<p></p>Click <a href="http://www.davidicke.com/">here</a> to visit the official <span id="details-title">David Icke website.<br /></span><p></p>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-49257486744384312982009-08-25T05:41:00.003+08:002009-08-25T05:52:56.667+08:00Earth - The Power of the PlanetIn this landmark BBC series, Dr Iain Stewart tells the story of how our planet works and how, over the course of 4.6 billion years, it came to be the remarkable planet it is today. Examining the great forces that shape the earth - volcanoes, the ocean, the atmosphere and ice - the programme explores their central roles in our planet's story. How do these forces affect the earth's landscape, its climate, and its history?<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxLC3JnoXBIErhpRer4eI6xqd0U6nxRMCLMIAUBgbNnT7w6cInlodinyQOtsa_dTXTC4vMr_cSH6Q75V7cxop0h2VqRpfrPJoC6SmDjUL6AU03aJJBsvWe8qWcysFjwhZ27bjtXLGImVY/s1600-h/earth1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxLC3JnoXBIErhpRer4eI6xqd0U6nxRMCLMIAUBgbNnT7w6cInlodinyQOtsa_dTXTC4vMr_cSH6Q75V7cxop0h2VqRpfrPJoC6SmDjUL6AU03aJJBsvWe8qWcysFjwhZ27bjtXLGImVY/s320/earth1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373651562732669266" border="0" /></a><br /><br />CGI gives the audience a ringside seat at these great events, while the final episode brings together all the themes of the series and argues that earth is an exceptionally rare kind of planet - giving us a special responsibility to look after our unique world. This is a series that shows the earth in new and surprising ways.<br /><br />Extensive use of satellite imagery reveals new views of our planet, while time-lapse filmed over many months brings the planet to life. Offering a balance between dramatic visuals and illuminating facts, specialized imaging and gripping narrative, this ground-breaking series makes global science truly compelling.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;">Volcano<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed src="http://player.youku.com/player.php/sid/XODUxMjA1Mjg=/v.swf" quality="high" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" align="middle" height="400"></embed><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Atmosphere</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div><object width="512" height="322"><param name="movie" value="http://d.yimg.com/static.video.yahoo.com/yep/YV_YEP.swf?ver=2.2.46"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"><param name="flashVars" value="id=14264182&vid=5415134&lang=en-us&intl=us&thumbUrl=http%3A//l.yimg.com/a/p/i/bcst/videosearch/9721/88491922.jpeg&embed=1"><embed src="http://d.yimg.com/static.video.yahoo.com/yep/YV_YEP.swf?ver=2.2.46" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" bgcolor="#000000" flashvars="id=14264182&vid=5415134&lang=en-us&intl=us&thumbUrl=http%3A//l.yimg.com/a/p/i/bcst/videosearch/9721/88491922.jpeg&embed=1" width="512" height="322"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://video.yahoo.com/watch/5415134/14264182">BBC - Earth Planet Atmosphere</a> @ <a href="http://video.yahoo.com/">Yahoo! Video</a></div><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ice</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div><object width="512" height="322"><param name="movie" value="http://d.yimg.com/static.video.yahoo.com/yep/YV_YEP.swf?ver=2.2.46"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"><param name="flashVars" value="id=14250292&vid=5409524&lang=en-us&intl=us&thumbUrl=http%3A//l.yimg.com/a/p/i/bcst/videosearch/9706/88441810.jpeg&embed=1"><embed src="http://d.yimg.com/static.video.yahoo.com/yep/YV_YEP.swf?ver=2.2.46" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" bgcolor="#000000" flashvars="id=14250292&vid=5409524&lang=en-us&intl=us&thumbUrl=http%3A//l.yimg.com/a/p/i/bcst/videosearch/9706/88441810.jpeg&embed=1" width="512" height="322"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://video.yahoo.com/watch/5409524/14250292">BBC - Earth,The Power Of The Planet Ice</a> @ <a href="http://video.yahoo.com/">Yahoo! Video</a></div><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;">Oceans<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed src="http://player.youku.com/player.php/sid/XODUxMjA2OTY=/v.swf" quality="high" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" align="middle" height="400"></embed><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rare Earth</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed src="http://player.youku.com/player.php/sid/XODUxMjA3ODQ=/v.swf" quality="high" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" align="middle" height="400"></embed><br /></div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-40009644042848219972009-08-21T06:04:00.003+08:002009-08-21T06:12:24.100+08:00Money TalksThank you to Holly Mosher for allowing me to post this important documentary on my site. What is this documentary about? In the words of the film's makers...<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSSuMXVnSbjOFaYY5_2MWhQexhcbI2rtDu38yT7V8AAPfckZb6xxLM61IRO1lgiSb3Bd8IYhthqHPMInCvUhGPpwe95IYtwDL50pS3LQsxlGv76daFq5AaJLpd_5GomN0gEeaQs3PJ6qSS/s1600-h/moneytalks1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSSuMXVnSbjOFaYY5_2MWhQexhcbI2rtDu38yT7V8AAPfckZb6xxLM61IRO1lgiSb3Bd8IYhthqHPMInCvUhGPpwe95IYtwDL50pS3LQsxlGv76daFq5AaJLpd_5GomN0gEeaQs3PJ6qSS/s320/moneytalks1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372171727243535906" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Money Talks exposes the questionable tactics that big drug companies use to make record profits by playing with the safety of our family's health care. Using misleading advertising, attractive "drug reps" who wine and dine doctors and other unethical practices, the drug industry makes billions of dollars every year selling us unsafe, unnecessary and overpriced drugs. If you want to protect the people you love from their dangerous practices that compromise the safety and quality of our health care, Money Talks is a must-see film.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed src="http://blip.tv/play/AYGVjnkC" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="390" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br /></div><br /><br />Click <a href="http://www.moneytalksthemovie.com/">here</a> to visit the official website. If you a sympathetic to the filmaker's cause you may like to consider supporting them by buying the DVD.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-46710041480604914992009-08-08T07:24:00.003+08:002009-08-08T07:31:53.906+08:00EarthlingsNarrated by Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix, Earthlings is a feature-length documentary about humankind's absolute economic dependence on animals raised as pets, food, clothing, entertainment and for scientific research.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ekaBZenmUC74QIkvMkIR4qH_3bbhmYRkpUfLRtgdRKxF96cKhPe9a6H9_WoP5F15xNaZL-tp1OAKaZY0s5xtS4uXkedGRolCfXrVQTPQXm30vSjYVporMA_8fSVfwzKdsyAfHkePuKWF/s1600-h/earthling1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 234px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ekaBZenmUC74QIkvMkIR4qH_3bbhmYRkpUfLRtgdRKxF96cKhPe9a6H9_WoP5F15xNaZL-tp1OAKaZY0s5xtS4uXkedGRolCfXrVQTPQXm30vSjYVporMA_8fSVfwzKdsyAfHkePuKWF/s320/earthling1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367368226983794802" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Using hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, Earthlings chronicles the day-to-day practices at some of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit. Powerful, informative and thought-provoking, Earthlings is by far the most comprehensive documentary ever produced on the correlation between nature, animals and human economic interests.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com.au/googleplayer.swf?docid=6361872964130308142&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br /></div><br /><br />Click <a href="http://www.earthlings.com/">here</a> to visit the official website. If you identify with the issues and causes in this film, you may like to consider purchasing the DVD from the website...all profits go to help save animals.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-11853424522088474702009-08-06T20:11:00.002+08:002009-08-06T20:17:21.680+08:00Hoop DreamsThis is not a new documentary, but it is a very good one. This documentary follows two inner-city Chicago residents, Arthur Agee and William Gates, as they follow their dreams of becoming basketball superstars. Beginning at the start of their high school years, and ending almost 5 years later, as they start college, we watch the boys mature into men, still retaining their "Hoop Dreams".<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0KBrGAy7DTOUjepQD1gqq0OgEsGo7OuP0pvLHXOT1Gfds6qRFwrF1eG69jYse6giAgpp48DmUsb3GLmYpv1kPv4GCbOg75w1QJFE-q5XoEowwZKVR51ec6U9gNqc12ghRFMRcgKehKmma/s1600-h/Hoop1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 222px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0KBrGAy7DTOUjepQD1gqq0OgEsGo7OuP0pvLHXOT1Gfds6qRFwrF1eG69jYse6giAgpp48DmUsb3GLmYpv1kPv4GCbOg75w1QJFE-q5XoEowwZKVR51ec6U9gNqc12ghRFMRcgKehKmma/s320/Hoop1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366823592461894066" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Both are recruited into the same elite high school as their idol, former Detroit Piston superstar Isaiah Thomas. Only one survives the first year; the other must return to a high school closer to his home. Along the way, there is much tragedy, some joy, a great wealth of information about inner city life, and the suspense of not knowing what will occur next.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com.au/googleplayer.swf?docid=7616623046527114509&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br /></div><br /><br />The rich texture of Hoop Dreams' drama is its greatest asset. This is a film that goes beyond the verisimilitude of something to come from the pen of Spike Lee or John Singleton, into the realm of real life. The shattered illusions of William and Arthur are all the more poignant because these are not the dividends of a screenwriter's fertile imagination. And the drug deals depicted are chilling for exactly the same reason.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-29245286193829969542009-08-04T06:28:00.003+08:002009-08-04T21:46:45.980+08:00Bigger Than EnronOn June 15, a Houston jury convicted Arthur Andersen -- the 89-year-old accounting firm once known as the gold standard of integrity in auditing -- for obstruction of justice in the government's investigation of Enron, Andersen's biggest client. With the demise of Andersen, the American business landscape was forever altered. But something else was altered as well: the scandal surrounding Enron and Andersen, together with the wave of other major accounting scandals that have come to light in recent months, has dealt America's markets an unsettling psychological blow. If we can't trust the auditors, investors wonder, whom can we trust?<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihbbzDuwGQBAQPWNccf4vObuNJ8hkfr5O3yEFl5u7cDa30jwUlUlM9I91Tsnx2CMf-45CQ5v5iK62k83KpTqqTyWyjP9l-pPfnOSg5MABqFoMR4EIHUXoW4MbXVmI6G717QIOYR3BQMhUT/s1600-h/enron1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihbbzDuwGQBAQPWNccf4vObuNJ8hkfr5O3yEFl5u7cDa30jwUlUlM9I91Tsnx2CMf-45CQ5v5iK62k83KpTqqTyWyjP9l-pPfnOSg5MABqFoMR4EIHUXoW4MbXVmI6G717QIOYR3BQMhUT/s320/enron1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365868894010359138" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The meteoric rise and stunning collapse of Enron caused many to question why the corporate oversight system that was supposed to protect investors failed to sound any alarms about the company's dubious finances. But Enron and Arthur Andersen turn out to be merely the tip of the iceberg. In the 1990s, more than 700 U.S. companies were forced to correct misleading financial statements as a result of accounting failures, lapses, or outright fraud. Together with Enron -- the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history -- these failures have cost investors an estimated $200 billion.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com.au/googleplayer.swf?docid=7307488749505887449&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br /></div><br /><br />Enron's collapse in late 2001 galvanized Congress and brought urgent calls for reform. The House and Senate held hearings and introduced legislation to reform the accounting industry. But so far no bill has passed both chambers and been signed into law. Instead, after prolonged criticism for moving too slowly and being too soft on the accounting firms, SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt has taken the initiative, announcing on June 20 his proposal for a new Public Accountability Board. Critics, however, still say that his plans are too weak, and question whether he is genuinely prepared to cross his former clients in the accounting industry, which he represented as a top Wall Street lawyer throughout the 1990s.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-65307931390081954322009-08-02T06:34:00.002+08:002009-08-02T06:38:44.312+08:00They Chose ChinaIn January 1954, months after the end of the Korean War, U.S. soldiers held in POW camps were at last free to return home. A small group, however, refused repatriation to the U.S. and, after being given 90 days to reconsider their decision, 21 American soldiers decided to stay in China. In They Chose China, Academy Award-nominated Chinese documentarian Shuibo Wang tells the controversial story of these forgotten American dissidents.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6GkTGOie5bIl7KGheok6RJE3zBxnj7b5ql7V2Q-sy7_1-L6NlkU5fa2hS1aC8-l8zv_rmnu3_tcVHXBfcirDGDLXEQlVya6wUpIVPYqdb7tYG-WvCmEZnKRfItrFMAz_gk9GfPzJ0V6b/s1600-h/theychose1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6GkTGOie5bIl7KGheok6RJE3zBxnj7b5ql7V2Q-sy7_1-L6NlkU5fa2hS1aC8-l8zv_rmnu3_tcVHXBfcirDGDLXEQlVya6wUpIVPYqdb7tYG-WvCmEZnKRfItrFMAz_gk9GfPzJ0V6b/s320/theychose1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365128416416627506" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Using rare archival footage, excerpts from American and Chinese TV programs, as well as period and contemporary interviews, They Chose China chronicles the fascinating history of this group of young Americans who were hailed in China as "peace fighters" and denounced in America as "turncoats" and "traitors." U.S. media claimed that these young POW's had been "brainwashed" by the Chinese communists. The film shows conditions inside these Chinese camps, featuring never-before-seen footage, plus contemporary interviews with some of the camps' Chinese translators, instructors, lecturers, and officers.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com.au/googleplayer.swf?docid=7208903322333657947&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br /></div><br /><br />The majority of the 21 Americans became disillusioned and returned to America, where they recanted their statements and were imprisoned by the military. Others remained in China, got educations, worked in a variety of jobs, married and raised families. In interviews today, several of the surviving men—including those who remained in China and those who returned to the U.S—along with members of their families recount their unusual experiences, explain their thinking at the time, and the nature of their beliefs today.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-15896970855232278352009-08-02T06:29:00.003+08:002009-08-02T06:33:14.541+08:00The Forgotten RefugeesThe Forgotten Refugees is a documentary about the mass exodus of Jews from Arab countries and Iran in the 20th century. The Forgotten Refugees explores the history and destruction of Middle Eastern and North African Jewish communities, some of which had existed for over 2,500 years.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47AblkaH7KyCWFBZyAJOkN840ymBaauNWRxriG52pBNEvPcNR4f0YhFR5sZJ8Rd20evxtuxWVa_XUDxdHaMv0h-PD1stxYym4BsDufEv2YcPH5sv2IU41a8jorc6181KA9kcStkGvozyK/s1600-h/forgot1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47AblkaH7KyCWFBZyAJOkN840ymBaauNWRxriG52pBNEvPcNR4f0YhFR5sZJ8Rd20evxtuxWVa_XUDxdHaMv0h-PD1stxYym4BsDufEv2YcPH5sv2IU41a8jorc6181KA9kcStkGvozyK/s320/forgot1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365126720790658018" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Employing extensive testimony of survivors from Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Iraq and Iran, the film recounts the stories – of joy and of suffering – that nearly a million individuals have carried with them for so long. Segments on the contributions of Middle Eastern Jews to politics, business and music, testify to the enormously rich cultures which fleeing Jews left behind.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object id="veohFlashPlayer" name="veohFlashPlayer" width="410" height="341"><param name="movie" value="http://www.veoh.com/static/swf/webplayer/WebPlayer.swf?version=AFrontend.5.4.2.21.1003&permalinkId=v174042496wNYYEj3&player=videodetailsembedded&videoAutoPlay=0&id=anonymous"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.veoh.com/static/swf/webplayer/WebPlayer.swf?version=AFrontend.5.4.2.21.1003&permalinkId=v174042496wNYYEj3&player=videodetailsembedded&videoAutoPlay=0&id=anonymous" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" id="veohFlashPlayerEmbed" name="veohFlashPlayerEmbed" width="410" height="341"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Watch <a href="http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/faith_and_spirituality/watch/v174042496wNYYEj3">forgotten refugees.avi</a> in <a href="http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/faith_and_spirituality">Faith & Spirituality</a> | View More <a href="http://www.veoh.com/">Free Videos Online at Veoh.com</a></span><br /></div><br /><br />The film weaves personal stories with dramatic archival footage of rescue missions, historic images of exodus and resettlement, and analysis by contemporary scholars, to tell the story of how and why the Arab world’s Jewish population declined from one million in 1945 to several thousand today.<br /><br />Click <a href="http://www.theforgottenrefugees.com/">here</a> for the official website.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-70844207844377318292009-08-01T14:18:00.003+08:002009-08-01T14:24:41.527+08:00Tupac - ResurrectionTitle aside, we'll never see the likes of Tupac Shakur again. The late rap superstar was a complex, contradictory figure and, throughout the course of this riveting documentary, it's as if he's back in our world again. Produced by his mother, former Black Panther Afeni Shakur, Tupac Resurrection isn't so much "biased" as it's subjective.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYjhNns5nPkyUCQTvyzoeRbf4Im20wvrl-69cw-Fpi37zVNpltysP7tYjLl8veG5pJzMv6CgbuxRWtxXyLJJxhrmuLCfxnwop9VT4_q9QHUyb34uLG40h8Zd-dpprNKK_sLSHM1Qyq24p/s1600-h/tupac1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYjhNns5nPkyUCQTvyzoeRbf4Im20wvrl-69cw-Fpi37zVNpltysP7tYjLl8veG5pJzMv6CgbuxRWtxXyLJJxhrmuLCfxnwop9VT4_q9QHUyb34uLG40h8Zd-dpprNKK_sLSHM1Qyq24p/s320/tupac1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364876801670828274" border="0" /></a><br /><br />In the MTV film, accompanied by a book and soundtrack, director Lauren Lazin looks at Tupac's short, full life from beginning to end and doesn't avoid the dark times--the arrests, the shootings--but she does tend to emphasize the positive over the negative. More to the point, the narration comes from Tupac himself, smoothly edited from countless interviews, so we're constantly getting his take on events.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">English Version</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com.au/googleplayer.swf?docid=646246070582308746&hl=en&fs=true" style="width:400px;height:326px" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed> <br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Spanish Version</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com.au/googleplayer.swf?docid=4419209943220452787&hl=en&fs=true" style="width:400px;height:326px" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed> <br /></div><br /><br />He's more thoughtful and articulate than his detractors might expect (despite the profanity), but the contradictions remain, making this essential viewing for even the most casual of fans. There is a language warning on this documentary.<br /><br />Click <a href="http://www.tupac-resurrection.com/">here</a> to visit the official website.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-48470061285613608232009-08-01T05:42:00.002+08:002009-08-01T05:46:58.964+08:00Taxi to the Dark SideWith this extraordinary film director Alex Gibney makes a convincing and well researched case against the acts of torture, abuse and humiliation committed by the U.S. military against political prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjL1SzOmwHi5EbtcuwOTRUG_VGHzsoqoSLM7Ppq2maSSOKQQlG3HCv-RzxSP7XJ21YJZDbVrDTG-BMh67ZzQM2e57zp2u8QtD_ECGXTLru0ozm4ryK-dLSHP7B0eJOavDPV3EO6-rRzC0m/s1600-h/taxi1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjL1SzOmwHi5EbtcuwOTRUG_VGHzsoqoSLM7Ppq2maSSOKQQlG3HCv-RzxSP7XJ21YJZDbVrDTG-BMh67ZzQM2e57zp2u8QtD_ECGXTLru0ozm4ryK-dLSHP7B0eJOavDPV3EO6-rRzC0m/s320/taxi1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364743902823659698" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A major sub-plot is the story of Dilawar, an Afghan taxi driver who ended up dying from injuries suffered while he was held in Bagram, a former Soviet prison coverted into a U.S. detention center for suspected terroists. However, the film explains how Dilawar was actually an innocent man turned in by an actual terroist seeking to throw investigators off his trail. One expert explains how only about 1% of the detainees are actual terroists and that the vast majority were not even arrested by the U.S. military. But rather were turned in by Pakastani and Afghani bounty hunters seeking financial compensation.<br /><br />The numerous forms of abuse inflicted on these foreign detainees is depicted in gruesome detail. The methods of torture included not only water boarding but various means of sexual humiliation such as having women's panties placed on their heads, forced masturbation and female military officers caressing them while whispering "your mother is a whore" into their ears. The ultimate goal was inflicting a complete mental, physical and emotional breakdown on the prisoners. Other tactics used were sleep depravation achieved by handcuffing detainees to the ceiling for days at a time and the sort of brutal physical assaults that led to the death of the innocent Dilawar.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com.au/googleplayer.swf?docid=-2987535946644608661&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br /></div><br /><br />Of course, it was the low ranking soldiers who ended up facing punishment when these acts of illegal abuse were discovered. But the film makes it very clear that they were simply following orders handed down from the highest levels of the Bush administration. Particularly at fault were chicken hawks Cheney and Rumsfield. In fact, it was Cheney himself who gave this doc its title when he referred to how the U.S. must go over to the "dark side" in its military and intelligence methods.<br /><br />Click <a href="http://www.taxitothedarkside.com/taxi/">here</a> to visit the official website.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-47101198759245394472009-07-31T05:51:00.002+08:002009-07-31T05:57:09.357+08:00Last DaysGus Van Sant's Last Days is a film about the death of Kurt Cobain. While the name of the main character has been changed from Kurt to Blake and the setting of the suicide changed from a greenhouse in Seattle to a greenhouse in upstate New York, there's no mistaking this film is the product of Van Sant's imagination pursuing the final, lonely moments of the great '90s icon. Rock biopic fans seeking a traditionally gratifying plot should run as fast as they can from this movie and see Rock Star or Sid and Nancy instead; Gus Van Sant's methodology is all about the slow, oppressive creep of time.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV-yIkz6mhMRdgreK54Dxn1ZZucjhhFxhGwpSIQPmLU1PWG99x2f0ZQ_00ZL8tLa6qr_iCPbcyDQtPjN4En0txEsuI0FlSwkDRtrs90YdOhk7pVtA9EM5zohC3T7EK1vADE3YB1e9oZVC3/s1600-h/lastdays2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV-yIkz6mhMRdgreK54Dxn1ZZucjhhFxhGwpSIQPmLU1PWG99x2f0ZQ_00ZL8tLa6qr_iCPbcyDQtPjN4En0txEsuI0FlSwkDRtrs90YdOhk7pVtA9EM5zohC3T7EK1vADE3YB1e9oZVC3/s320/lastdays2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364375494772315250" border="0" /></a><br /><br />One shot lingers excruciatingly long on some random foliage outside Blake's (Michael Pitt, The Dreamers) mansion. In another, he makes cereal. Then he sits on a bench for awhile. Or mumbles dialogue to a Yellow Pages ad salesman played by a real-life Yellow Pages ad salesman. Or gradually collapses while watching a Boyz 2 Men video. Meanwhile, Blake's parasitical hangers-on are slightly more animated, occupying his chilly house and clearly on their way to becoming as existentially destitute as he.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com.au/googleplayer.swf?docid=9207256431272344928&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br /></div><br /><br />Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon appears, pretty much reprising an interventionist role she must have played with the real-life Cobain, but this rock star is far beyond rescuing from the brink. Later, when Blake ventures into town to see a punk show, he is cornered by an acquaintance played by Harmony Korine, who tells him a hilarious story about playing Dungeons and Dragons with Jerry Garcia. Where the accumulation of small moments like these don't add up to much drama, they create a pervading sense of dread and sad inevitability. In his life, Cobain railed against all that was phony and hyped; by crafting a visual poem resolutely defiant of rock star spectacle, Van Sant honors the late singer as sincerely as he can, by keeping it real.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-45401224684342546232009-07-29T06:42:00.003+08:002009-07-29T06:46:24.196+08:00Born into BrothelsBorn into Brothels is an inspiring look at the transformative journey of a group of extraordinary children in Calcutta’s red light district. Voted Best Documentary by the National Board of Review and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Born into Brothels, which was produced and directed by New York based filmmakers Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman, also garnered over 20 major film festival awards including the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and the Best Documentary Award at the Seattle International Film Festival.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDTwwF4CLFnsVygcd6IVN2x-JK7jZsb5s3HtQn3s5WrvA9i2-bz_4oIuwxvSTkB8OoVQ4H6gPhyphenhyphenlXT5p-hRFmpWttxFOzWefnMwtXztVtwKKLBbn-TzPux4qr0KcP7fE_ZPU8H8I93Gy3m/s1600-h/bornbroth1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 222px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDTwwF4CLFnsVygcd6IVN2x-JK7jZsb5s3HtQn3s5WrvA9i2-bz_4oIuwxvSTkB8OoVQ4H6gPhyphenhyphenlXT5p-hRFmpWttxFOzWefnMwtXztVtwKKLBbn-TzPux4qr0KcP7fE_ZPU8H8I93Gy3m/s320/bornbroth1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363645756007534674" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A tribute to the resiliency of childhood and the restorative power of art, Born into Brothels is a portrait of several unforgettable children who live in the red light district of Calcutta where their mothers work as prostitutes. Zana Briski, a New York based photographer, gives each of these youngsters a camera and teaches them how to take pictures, simultaneously causing them to look at their world with new eyes. Together with Ross Kauffman, Briski captures the magical way in which beauty can be found in the most unlikely of places and how a bright and promising future becomes a possibility for children who previously had no future at all.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com.au/googleplayer.swf?docid=-4952714190753324164&hl=en&fs=true" style="width:400px;height:326px" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed> <br /></div><br /><br />Touching and heartfelt, yet devoid of sentimentality, Born into Brothels defies the tear-stained tourist snapshot of the global underbelly. Briski spent years with these children and became a part of their lives. Their photographs are prisms into their souls, rather than anthropological curiosities, and a true testimony to the power of the indelible creative spirit.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-33378929245409112942009-07-28T05:45:00.003+08:002009-07-28T05:49:29.530+08:00Encounters at the End of the WorldWerner Herzog is a master filmmaker. Stretching back decades, genres, languages, styles and scope, he continues to be a pioneering creative force. Encounters at the End of the World is the newest reminder of his skill, and joins the growing list of ecologically/environmentally centered documentaries gracing us, the most famous being Davis Guggenheim/Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK3UhrAT34UiFAM-WeCYMN30zIJEdJScv66WKROB08kVWkNzZxs0BfvxTo4H_xxOH1_5z0rQ1QqrSafbAEljTJgkz4W3L1BYAxoSJMgSsrqckP6PBD9jfAy_6PFGLH__8zU6zDUZg2BIlT/s1600-h/edge1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK3UhrAT34UiFAM-WeCYMN30zIJEdJScv66WKROB08kVWkNzZxs0BfvxTo4H_xxOH1_5z0rQ1QqrSafbAEljTJgkz4W3L1BYAxoSJMgSsrqckP6PBD9jfAy_6PFGLH__8zU6zDUZg2BIlT/s320/edge1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363260061075276402" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Herzog's Encounters is a somewhat meandering trip to the Southernmost place on Earth, inspired by footage of Antarctica's marine world taken by a friend of his. From the early images of crammed passengers on a cargo plane to the buckethead testing of what to do to get to the outhouse in a blinding blizzard to absolutely stunning footage of underwater life to a wayward penguin's seemingly suicidal venturing into mountainous country, Herzog has fashioned together a commentary on life in one of our harshest environments and the quality and experience of what it is like. An ethereal, primal musical score accompanies the picture, which is narrated by Herzog, like his fabulous Grizzly Man, but more muted and ponderous.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com.au/googleplayer.swf?docid=3107028429636758396&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br /></div><br /><br />But the film in not merely a Discovery Channel opportunity to remind us of the staggering beauty that rests so far away, so deep and unhospitable. Though the Discovery Channel produced or funded it, Herzog infuses, through interviews of people who find themselves shaken down to this vagabond paradise, a philosophical questing that appears both wonderfully progressive and positive, to his own harsh expression of human futility.<br /><br />Click <a href="http://encountersfilm.com/">here</a> to visit the official site.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-30442523259830064972009-07-26T06:42:00.003+08:002009-07-26T07:00:33.863+08:00Next World - Future Life On EarthWhat will our future look like? Floating cities, flying to work and traveling in cars capable of operating underwater? And how will technology advance to make use of our natural resources to help feed our growing population in such areas as food, water and electricity?<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRn9IG0IEEhymYz8eE3L5sNh5VBwG6Lp4eGa7SHrPVu29wcr1wsiIBfXX25Wbe1lKooOq9OFTvfnMWv8VnBm9Vi-ZvbWEnQuQPB58kVpKiFUfRJ2AhrmOJfMQUJfMvMQ4Q8SI5bgHkSDjJ/s1600-h/future1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 202px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRn9IG0IEEhymYz8eE3L5sNh5VBwG6Lp4eGa7SHrPVu29wcr1wsiIBfXX25Wbe1lKooOq9OFTvfnMWv8VnBm9Vi-ZvbWEnQuQPB58kVpKiFUfRJ2AhrmOJfMQUJfMvMQ4Q8SI5bgHkSDjJ/s320/future1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362536453844888866" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The era of smog-filled skies will be over, because fewer of us will be driving cars. There will no longer be the use for cars and roads as we'll be piloting environmentally friendly personal vehicles between cities and under the seas. And we will never be lost again thanks to GPS-driven virtual mapping. Then again, with teleportation we will not need to travel at all.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com.au/googleplayer.swf?docid=-2155285566329647630&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br /></div><br /><br />And, best of all, we'll all have more time to enjoy the astounding advances of our near future, because we'll all be living longer. A lot longer. Find out what we can expect to see in the future in this well produced documentary.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-77691275365955102642009-07-21T20:28:00.003+08:002009-07-21T20:39:48.801+08:00Deliver Us From EvilA devastating investigation into the pedophilia scandals tearing apart the Catholic Church, Deliver Us From Evil begins by looking into one priest, Father Oliver O'Grady, who agreed to be interviewed by journalist/filmmaker Amy Berg. O'Grady's genial calm is at first ingratiating, until he begins to describe his crimes with an unsettling sociopathic detachment.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVyuL_XjVPTuu-QTJ16cKqIexqVspC4_wr0CYsdMdOjrPd7sc-JuvC-gp0D6jPfMwocQKTeT9NpAjjWenEOVY7IdB668fIvL3YfM4YRmZASupGZJ297kcx_Yvydekdj11L6fC0ghrbKGK2/s1600-h/deleveil2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVyuL_XjVPTuu-QTJ16cKqIexqVspC4_wr0CYsdMdOjrPd7sc-JuvC-gp0D6jPfMwocQKTeT9NpAjjWenEOVY7IdB668fIvL3YfM4YRmZASupGZJ297kcx_Yvydekdj11L6fC0ghrbKGK2/s320/deleveil2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360892100761954834" border="0" /></a><br /><br />But O'Grady's blithe interview is only half of the story, as the documentary also unveils how church superiors covered up O'Grady's crimes and shuffled him from diocese to diocese in northern California, finally placing him in an unsupervised position of authority in a small town, where he sexually assaulted dozens of children; the video deposition of Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahoney is a grotesque portrait in brittle denial.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com.au/googleplayer.swf?docid=7745088455537169028&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br /></div><br /><br />What makes Deliver Us From Evil crucial viewing, however, are the remarkable interviews with a few of the victims (now adults) and their parents, whose stories are wrenching and riveting. With the support of a priest seeking to reform the church, two of the victims actually go to the Pope, seeking some form of help in addressing O'Grady's crimes. This stunningly potent documentary combines raw feeling with lucid and persuasive discussions of the reasons for--and disturbing breadth of this crisis within the Church.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-46574129350384810862009-07-19T09:58:00.003+08:002009-07-19T10:25:17.978+08:00Standard Operating ProcedureIt's impossible to talk about Standard Operating Procedure without referencing Taxi to the Dark Side. Fortunately, both documentaries are vital to any discussion about US military interrogation techniques. While Alex Gibney's Oscar winner uses the death of an Iraqi taxi driver as a framing device, director Errol Morris and writer Philip Gourevitch (We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families) examine the issue through visual evidence (they also collaborated on a book of the same name).<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigc7NmAs1UkHUqD5n6caPTS5qOSJbtsZ8im_T7EAoVogCsonaMGkr-srPo0Cnlt-qLUl8CKqvBauQKty7KydqUg8uckgQB_BwoUanBne0AyIDTBuCHYgIGrCGC9Gc39qAu7LWXd4SEZWol/s1600-h/stand1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 230px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigc7NmAs1UkHUqD5n6caPTS5qOSJbtsZ8im_T7EAoVogCsonaMGkr-srPo0Cnlt-qLUl8CKqvBauQKty7KydqUg8uckgQB_BwoUanBne0AyIDTBuCHYgIGrCGC9Gc39qAu7LWXd4SEZWol/s320/stand1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359991133538414834" border="0" /></a><br /><br />While Gibney concentrates on Bhagram, Morris focuses on Abu Ghraib, but his self-described "non-fiction horror film," which features a dramatic Danny Elfman score and slow-motion reenactments, runs along two tracks. First, he aims to find out what happened at the infamous institution. Along with the photographs and video footage, he speaks to the guards and the brigadier general who oversaw their operations, including former army specialist Lynndie England, who has all the charm of Aileen Wuornos (so memorably immortalized in Monster). As in his Thin Blue Line, accounts contradict other accounts.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com.au/googleplayer.swf?docid=4030426275197703364&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br /></div><br /><br />In Morris's world, absolute truth doesn't exist; it's up to viewers to decide which subjects seem most reliable. This leads to his parallel goal, which is to question the reliability of imagery. Photography was prohibited at Abu Ghraib, so he identifies the responsible parties, the reasoning behind their rule-breaking, and the stories behind the most incendiary pictures. If less emotionally engaging than Gibney's feature, Standard Operating Procedure is just as essential--and every bit as disturbing.<br /><br />Click <a href="http://www.sonyclassics.com/standardoperatingprocedure/">here</a> to visit the official site.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-87303681497925430952009-07-18T06:53:00.003+08:002009-07-18T07:02:51.159+08:00Gonzo - The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. ThompsonMany of the documentaries I will be posting over the next month or so will be ones that won industry awards in 2008..."Gonzo" definately falls into this catagory. Bad boy journalist Dr. Hunter S. Thompson - equally famous for his railings against the Nixon administration in the pages of Rolling Stone and his well-chronicled personal adventures with drugs, alcohol and the Hell's Angels -was an iconic counter-cultural hero of the 1960s and '70s.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqadrhk-K3nPhH0BQGOBZTW8OSZlzsmtx3njz5Hd8vPwJMrPsJt-7KqkkZ2JJ6id46e9NsH7Aq402Cq8hXqJS_ttKfKUR9BI59dWQtNw_i6EVHkuMMdwag8_WBzM0L6F0Zm2Pf__FNgRj/s1600-h/gonzo1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqadrhk-K3nPhH0BQGOBZTW8OSZlzsmtx3njz5Hd8vPwJMrPsJt-7KqkkZ2JJ6id46e9NsH7Aq402Cq8hXqJS_ttKfKUR9BI59dWQtNw_i6EVHkuMMdwag8_WBzM0L6F0Zm2Pf__FNgRj/s320/gonzo1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359567447722010114" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and Taxi to the Dark Side, Hunter S. Thompson seems like an odd subject for Alex Gibney to take on. Unlike the Enron executives or Baghram guards, the gonzo journalist didn't bilk old ladies out of their savings or torture Iraqi citizens. Nonetheless, the director's follow-up to the Oscar-winning Taxi shares an interest in the uses and abuses of power.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">PART ONE</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object id="veohFlashPlayer" name="veohFlashPlayer" width="410" height="341"><param name="movie" value="http://www.veoh.com/static/swf/webplayer/WebPlayer.swf?version=AFrontend.5.4.2.21.1002&permalinkId=v17024273YWTZCBDT&player=videodetailsembedded&videoAutoPlay=0&id=anonymous"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.veoh.com/static/swf/webplayer/WebPlayer.swf?version=AFrontend.5.4.2.21.1002&permalinkId=v17024273YWTZCBDT&player=videodetailsembedded&videoAutoPlay=0&id=anonymous" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" id="veohFlashPlayerEmbed" name="veohFlashPlayerEmbed" width="410" height="341"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Watch <a href="http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/activism_non_profit/watch/v17024273YWTZCBDT">GONZO Pt1</a> in <a href="http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/activism_non_profit">Activism & Non-Profit</a> | View More <a href="http://www.veoh.com/">Free Videos Online at Veoh.com</a></span><br /></div><br /><br />Gibney recounts the major biographical details, from birth to suicide, but his film really comes alive when he gets to the late-1960s. Though Thompson remains best known for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Gonzo concentrates on his coverage of the 1968 and '72 presidential elections. The author was particularly excited about George McGovern, and chose advocacy over non-partisan reporting. McGovern, Pat Buchanan, Ralph Steadman, Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner, and others testify to Thompson's enthusiasm for the South Dakota senator--and hatred for Nixon.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">PART TWO</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object id="veohFlashPlayer" name="veohFlashPlayer" width="410" height="341"><param name="movie" value="http://www.veoh.com/static/swf/webplayer/WebPlayer.swf?version=AFrontend.5.4.2.21.1002&permalinkId=v17020775yaKB6qN5&player=videodetailsembedded&videoAutoPlay=0&id=anonymous"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.veoh.com/static/swf/webplayer/WebPlayer.swf?version=AFrontend.5.4.2.21.1002&permalinkId=v17020775yaKB6qN5&player=videodetailsembedded&videoAutoPlay=0&id=anonymous" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" id="veohFlashPlayerEmbed" name="veohFlashPlayerEmbed" width="410" height="341"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Watch <a href="http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/activism_non_profit/watch/v17020775yaKB6qN5">GONZO Pt2</a> in <a href="http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/activism_non_profit">Activism & Non-Profit</a> | View More <a href="http://www.veoh.com/">Free Videos Online at Veoh.com</a></span><br /></div><br /><br />Gibney argues that the fire started to die after Hunter witnessed the brutal treatment of protesters at Chicago’s Democratic Convention. Disillusionment led to an erosion of his talent and an escalation of his self-destructive tendencies. As Johnny Depp, who played him in Fear and Loathing, reads passages from his work, the doctor's friends and family provide a glimpse of the insecure man behind the brash image. Gibney's evenhanded depiction may disappoint true believers hoping for a glorified puff piece, but Thompson's ability to speak truth to power with wit and passion comes through loud and clear.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-20176828091819677152009-07-16T05:52:00.002+08:002009-07-16T05:58:01.606+08:00Flow - For Love of WaterIrena Salinas' documentary is about the global crisis we face as Earth's fresh water supply constantly diminishes. The film presents top experts and advocates to show us that every aspect of human life is affected by pollution, wastefulness, privatization and corporate greed as it relates to fresh water--a natural resource more valuable than oil. The film shows in no uncertain terms that if we continue to abuse our water supply, Earth will become uninhabitable and humankind will become extinct. The investigation points fingers at water companies such as Nestle, Vivendi, Thames, Suez, Coca Cola and Pepsi. This is an extremely important must-see documentary!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNb7hhFVikPBlBcdV8UHug5zDbp2R_ZCL1vTgiTRT6z61DBGjl3ybPYy-LK3kORdojrUCjzkyGpkWxBT7EulTaqOhGud6qeScYJiRxqdm1rNinMRMCIpA0scqK2xF9V2kJxIlpeCQ9ZupG/s1600-h/flow1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 218px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNb7hhFVikPBlBcdV8UHug5zDbp2R_ZCL1vTgiTRT6z61DBGjl3ybPYy-LK3kORdojrUCjzkyGpkWxBT7EulTaqOhGud6qeScYJiRxqdm1rNinMRMCIpA0scqK2xF9V2kJxIlpeCQ9ZupG/s320/flow1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358809160267136162" border="0" /></a><br /><br />From the documentary’s opening moments, director Salinas engages us with a beautifully photographed montage of babbling brooks, rushing waterfalls, melting icebergs and surfer-worthy ocean waves. Over the refreshing images and soothing audio, the title FLOW quickly appears on the screen, followed by its expanded version For Love Of Water. We are then reminded that water is essential for human life and well-being, and we are informed that millions of people--babies, in particular--die from lack of fresh water every year.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com.au/googleplayer.swf?docid=4548621530723720885&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br /></div><br /><br />Salinas takes us on a worldwide tour of water-related disasters, every one of them the product of human abuse--pollution, privatization and corporate greed, inexcusable wastefulness and, to put it in terms that are simplistic but true, lack of respect for mother nature’s grand design.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-74273127693932456422009-07-13T20:31:00.002+08:002009-07-13T20:36:00.851+08:00Bastards of the PartyRaised in the Athens Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, Cle "Bone" Sloan was four years old when his father died, and 12 when he became a member of the Bloods. Now an inactive member of the notorious gang, Sloan looks back at the history of black gangs in his city and makes a powerful call for change in modern gang culture with his insightful documentary, Bastards of the Party.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP0z9iTlk31Ch1UDEvYn2sab8gZEvTsNy9iakefJa4q-NuOqQTwDCv2_biyMv0CIdvDwwwEoD-S7O5hhwZS04jQmqyxFzqweEAh5UdGHgI3SPTuV2E-dUgkhp0hfdNrMjFhZVqoh9hkiyz/s1600-h/bast1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP0z9iTlk31Ch1UDEvYn2sab8gZEvTsNy9iakefJa4q-NuOqQTwDCv2_biyMv0CIdvDwwwEoD-S7O5hhwZS04jQmqyxFzqweEAh5UdGHgI3SPTuV2E-dUgkhp0hfdNrMjFhZVqoh9hkiyz/s320/bast1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357922468492909250" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Bastards of the Party draws its title from this passage in "City of Quartz": "The Crips and the Bloods are the bastard offspring of the political parties of the '60s. Most of the gangs were born out of the demise of those parties. Out of the ashes of the Black Panther Party came the Crips and the Bloods and the other gangs." Bastards of the Party traces the timeline from that "great migration" to the rise and demise of both the Black Panther Party and the US Organization in the mid- 1960s, to the formation of what is currently the culture of gangs in Los Angeles and around the world. <br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com.au/googleplayer.swf?docid=-9196997865462255171&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br /></div><br /><br /> The documentary also chronicles the role of the Los Angeles Police Department and the FBI in the evolution of gang culture. During his tenure from 1950 to 1966, Chief Robert Parker bolstered the ranks of the LAPD with white recruits from the south, who brought their racist attitudes with them. Parker's racist sympathies laid the groundwork for the volatile relationship between the black community and the LAPD that persists today.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-56345203944550279342009-07-12T11:16:00.002+08:002009-07-12T11:23:46.117+08:00Vlad The ImpalerThis documentary examines the bloody career of Vlad the Impaler, the 15th-century prince of Wallachia who took no prisoners in his resistance to the spread of the Ottoman Empire. Known as Dracula, he learned the arts of war as a hostage of the Turks, but asserted his independence by working his own disloyal nobles to death and repelling a Turkish invasion by filling the battlefield with 23,000 impaled corpses.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Ep0T_rKyDv9bLsHrh0pLpjpvWBKihtSpHYqkiiROFY5OQ2BKOrTL4fbYW_LNe8BJZAbEH0lsL924dFqrpsLIlpzBoIfBYnwTtNqB8OekYfCNUgaP3x38Qb9Kfm_fHkXJIy-EnBhP9Iyq/s1600-h/vlad1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 302px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Ep0T_rKyDv9bLsHrh0pLpjpvWBKihtSpHYqkiiROFY5OQ2BKOrTL4fbYW_LNe8BJZAbEH0lsL924dFqrpsLIlpzBoIfBYnwTtNqB8OekYfCNUgaP3x38Qb9Kfm_fHkXJIy-EnBhP9Iyq/s320/vlad1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357408991883775506" border="0" /></a><br /><br />When he came to power, Vlad immediately had all the assembled nobles arrested. The older boyars and their families were immediately impaled. The younger and healthier nobles and their families were marched north from Târgovişte to the ruins of Poienari Castle in the mountains above the Argeş River.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed src="http://www.guba.com/f/root.swf?video_url=http://free.guba.com/uploaditem/3000113740/flash.flv&isEmbeddedPlayer=true" quality="best" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" menu="true" name="root" id="root" scalemode="noScale" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" align="middle" height="360" width="375"></embed><br /></div><br /><br />Vlad was determined to rebuild this ancient fortress as his own stronghold and refuge. The enslaved boyars and their families were forced to labor for months, rebuilding the old castle with materials from another nearby ruin. According to tradition, they laboured until the clothes fell off their bodies and then were forced to continue working naked. Very few of the old gentry survived the ordeal of building Vlad's castle. This documentay is a must for those that like to seperate fact from myth.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-2114424896612701702009-07-12T10:58:00.002+08:002009-07-12T11:08:28.419+08:00I'm Back!After a prolonged absence, I am finally able to get back to my beloved website. I don't want to bore you all with the details...suffice to say I have been going through somewhat of a rough patch lately.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiymhOg5_Xmms6qd0pIzDYQCYaoknBijqjSGo3c_lNyuwMSpkkEKBkVQBHH3V3XYOI49c3rR2yJVqPo0Kv_1ND-W6dxVQewJ6-1XNXZd9-GequDhZOJWYv1Gnxn3JosVaw8M6RNp2W3pHTZ/s1600-h/sickman.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 175px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiymhOg5_Xmms6qd0pIzDYQCYaoknBijqjSGo3c_lNyuwMSpkkEKBkVQBHH3V3XYOI49c3rR2yJVqPo0Kv_1ND-W6dxVQewJ6-1XNXZd9-GequDhZOJWYv1Gnxn3JosVaw8M6RNp2W3pHTZ/s400/sickman.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357405075644717458" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Firstly, thank you to all of my loyal regular visitors. I have read through all of the comments on the chat box and it was nice to see so many well wishers. Thank you for your enduring support!<br /><br />It will no doubt take some time for me to "hit my stride" again, but I promise that you will see some of the most amazing documentaries here over the coming months.<br /><br />So without any further adieu...let's get into some great documentaries!Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788435272805609604.post-46610886742149042212009-06-20T07:02:00.003+08:002009-06-20T07:27:12.654+08:00Timothy Leary - The Man Who Turned on AmericaTimothy Leary was early advocate of LSD experimentation. Leary taught psychology at Harvard and by 1960 was doing experiments with LSD and other hallucinogens, first on prison inmates and then on himself and his friends. LSD was not illegal at the time. In 1960, Allen Ginsberg, supervised by Leary, ingested psilocybin mushrooms, (under the influence of the drug, he phoned Jack Kerouac, identifying himself as God to the telephone operator), and began to spread the word about the new powerful psychedelic drugs.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0YO1sYVpAobJnOKahP9_FYpz60kbR6BFZex6YNjJObgJ_fB0rKl80vziXwxkRpePBQCjnLjzyndujXP93_rn9W9plHgtfnJ_o1k8ouZKCFDdBvzrEVz3qm6egGKE2PX1nvWXh5mrwPdB/s1600-h/leary1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 245px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0YO1sYVpAobJnOKahP9_FYpz60kbR6BFZex6YNjJObgJ_fB0rKl80vziXwxkRpePBQCjnLjzyndujXP93_rn9W9plHgtfnJ_o1k8ouZKCFDdBvzrEVz3qm6egGKE2PX1nvWXh5mrwPdB/s320/leary1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349183619913420418" border="0" /></a><br /><br />In August 1960, Leary traveled to the Mexican city of Cuernavaca with Russo and tried psilocybin mushrooms for the first time, an experience that drastically altered the course of his life. In 1965, Leary commented that he "learned more about... (his) brain and its possibilities... (and) more about psychology in the five hours after taking these mushrooms than... (he) had in the preceding fifteen years of studying doing research in psychology."<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjswD9WCaDG-etrbQEG7g9flkHYpCiVHTQuyDjZhUXSiLfywYyiwukyE-IS2C1oQdhMLbSR9OKBIBMUDeI4DmrXW2S9Q4CK9numrJ4BvrQ2PH_HOSA4b98TyHsd_BvQR6ZC2QADk_w3jk-o/s1600-h/leary2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 305px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjswD9WCaDG-etrbQEG7g9flkHYpCiVHTQuyDjZhUXSiLfywYyiwukyE-IS2C1oQdhMLbSR9OKBIBMUDeI4DmrXW2S9Q4CK9numrJ4BvrQ2PH_HOSA4b98TyHsd_BvQR6ZC2QADk_w3jk-o/s320/leary2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349184272752361634" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Upon his return to Harvard that fall, Leary and his associates, notably Richard Alpert (later known as Ram Dass), began a research program known as the Harvard Psilocybin Project. The goal was to analyze the effects of psilocybin on human subjects (in this case, prisoners and later students of the Andover Newton Theological Seminary) using a synthesized version of the then-legal drug— one of two active compounds found in a wide variety of hallucinogenic mushrooms including Psilocybe mexicana. The compound was produced according to a synthesis developed by research chemist Albert Hofmann of Sandoz Pharmaceuticals.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com.au/googleplayer.swf?docid=6944322121257997276&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br /></div><br /><br />Leary argued that psychedelics, used with the right dosage, set and setting could, with the guidance of psychology professionals, alter behavior in unprecedented and beneficial ways. The goals of Leary's research included discovering better methods for treating alcoholism and to reform convicted criminals. Many of Leary's research participants reported profound mystical and spiritual experiences, which they claim permanently altered their lives in a very positive manner. According to Leary's autobiography, Flashbacks, they administered LSD to 300 professors, graduate students, writers and philosophers, and 75 percent of them reported it as being like a revelation to them and one of the most educational experiences of their lives.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13810739814291516090noreply@blogger.com3