Online Documentaries 4 U

Site Update

2009-10-21T07:29:00.004+08:00

Thank you to all of those that have passed on their support in this difficult time for me...it really means a lot!

You may have noticed that OD4U has seemingly disappeared from the internets...not true!

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.

In the meantime, I have reverted back to my original http://documentaries4u.blogspot.com/ address...please update your bookmarks now and let your friends know.

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.

Any ideas and wishes you may have about how OD4U can be improved will be invaluable to me during this review process.

Finally, thank you all once again for your support.

Discussion Post

2009-09-23T02:12:00.001+08:00

I was disappointed to see some people (some long term users of this site), defacing our website via the chat box.

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.

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.

Beer Wars

2009-08-29T16:58:00.002+08:00

Beer 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.

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?

There are no embedable links for this film - click here to watch.

Click here to visit the official website.

David Icke - Was He Right?

2009-08-27T05:37:00.004+08:00

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.

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.

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.

Click here to visit the official David Icke website.

Earth - The Power of the Planet

2009-08-25T05:41:00.003+08:00

In 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?

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.

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.

Volcano

Atmosphere

BBC - Earth Planet Atmosphere @ Yahoo! Video

Ice

BBC - Earth,The Power Of The Planet Ice @ Yahoo! Video

Oceans

Rare Earth

Money Talks

2009-08-21T06:04:00.003+08:00

Thank 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...

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.

Click here 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.

Earthlings

2009-08-08T07:24:00.003+08:00

Narrated 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.

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.

Click here 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.

Hoop Dreams

2009-08-06T20:11:00.002+08:00

This 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".

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.

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.

Bigger Than Enron

2009-08-04T06:28:00.003+08:00

On 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?

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.

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.

They Chose China

2009-08-02T06:34:00.002+08:00

In 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.

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.

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.

The Forgotten Refugees

2009-08-02T06:29:00.003+08:00

The 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.

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.

Watch forgotten refugees.avi in Faith & Spirituality | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

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.

Click here for the official website.

Tupac - Resurrection

2009-08-01T14:18:00.003+08:00

Title 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.

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.

English Version

Spanish Version

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.

Click here to visit the official website.

Taxi to the Dark Side

2009-08-01T05:42:00.002+08:00

With 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.

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.

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.

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.

Click here to visit the official website.

Last Days

2009-07-31T05:51:00.002+08:00

Gus 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.

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.

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.

Born into Brothels

2009-07-29T06:42:00.003+08:00

Born 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.

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.

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.

Encounters at the End of the World

2009-07-28T05:45:00.003+08:00

Werner 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.

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.

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.

Click here to visit the official site.

Next World - Future Life On Earth

2009-07-26T06:42:00.003+08:00

What 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?

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.

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.

Deliver Us From Evil

2009-07-21T20:28:00.003+08:00

A 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.

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.

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.

Standard Operating Procedure

2009-07-19T09:58:00.003+08:00

It'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).

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.

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.

Click here to visit the official site.

Gonzo - The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

2009-07-18T06:53:00.003+08:00

Many 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.

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.

PART ONE

Watch GONZO Pt1 in Activism & Non-Profit | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

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.

PART TWO

Watch GONZO Pt2 in Activism & Non-Profit | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

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.

Flow - For Love of Water

2009-07-16T05:52:00.002+08:00

Irena 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!

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.

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.

Bastards of the Party

2009-07-13T20:31:00.002+08:00

Raised 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.

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.

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.

Vlad The Impaler

2009-07-12T11:16:00.002+08:00

This 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.

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.

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.

I'm Back!

2009-07-12T10:58:00.002+08:00

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.

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!

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.

So without any further adieu...let's get into some great documentaries!

Timothy Leary - The Man Who Turned on America

2009-06-20T07:02:00.003+08:00

Timothy 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.

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."

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.

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.

People Must Love Their Leader!

2009-06-16T21:32:00.005+08:00

Idi Amin Dada is a name that is familiar to many over the age of 35, but is almost unknown to those younger than that. The story of Idi Amin is an example the potential of humanity to carry out the most grave atrocities and offers a lesson for us all. This self proclaimed leader of Uganda came to power via a coup, but was eventually challenged by armed exile group. How Uncle Idi chose to deal with this threat makes him one of the most notorious genocidal dictators of the previous century.

Wiki has this to say about the dark years of Idi Amin's rule in Uganda during the 1970s.

Amin retaliated against the attempted invasion by Ugandan exiles in 1972 by purging the army of Obote supporters, predominantly those from the Acholi and Lango ethnic groups. In July 1971, Lango and Acholi soldiers were massacred in the Jinja and Mbarara Barracks, and by early 1972, some 5,000 Acholi and Lango soldiers, and at least twice as many civilians, had disappeared. The victims soon came to include members of other ethnic groups, religious leaders, journalists, senior bureaucrats, judges, lawyers, students and intellectuals, criminal suspects, and foreign nationals. In some cases entire villages were wiped out. In this atmosphere of violence, many other people were killed for criminal motives or simply at will. Bodies floated on the River Nile in quantities sufficient to clog the Owen Falls Hydro-Electric Dam in Jinja on at least one occasion.

The killings, motivated by ethnic, political and financial factors, continued throughout Amin's eight-year reign. The exact number of people killed is unknown. The International Commission of Jurists estimated the death toll at no less than 80,000 and more likely around 300,000. An estimate compiled by exile organizations with the help of Amnesty International puts the number killed at 500,000. In August 1972, Idi Amin declared what he called an "economic war", a set of policies that included the expropriation of properties owned by Asians and Europeans. Uganda's 80,000 Asians were mostly from the Indian subcontinent and born in the country, whose ancestors had come to Uganda when the country was still a British colony.

Many owned businesses, including large-scale enterprises, that formed the backbone of the Ugandan economy. On 4 August 1972, Amin issued a decree ordering the expulsion of the 60,000 Asians who were not Ugandan citizens (most of them held British passports). This was later amended to include all 80,000 Asians, with the exception of professionals, such as doctors, lawyers and teachers. A plurality of the Asians with British passports, around 30,000, emigrated to Britain. Others went to Australia, Canada, India, Pakistan, Sweden, and the U.S. Amin expropriated businesses and properties belonging to the Asians and handed them over to his supporters. The businesses were mismanaged, and industries collapsed from lack of maintenance. This proved disastrous for the already declining economy.

Stories From The Stone Age

2009-06-16T21:15:00.003+08:00

Stories From The Stone Age is a three-part documentary that attempts to explain why and how humans abandoned the nomadic hunting and gathering existence they had known for millennia to take up a completely new way of life - the decisive move to farming.

The programs also look at the beginning of the domestication of animals, permanent settlements and the discovery of metals - setting the stage for the arrival of the world's first civilisation. Based on extensive research, Stories From The Stone Age takes us on a journey where we get to live alongside our ancestors as they cross between the Old and the New Worlds and into civilisation.

PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE

The series utilises detailed re-enactments and short interviews with key archaeological experts. The series asks some intriguing questions. Why did some of our ancestors never become farmers at all? Why do some still continue hunting and gathering despite their contact with farming people and advanced technologies? How and why did our paths become uniquely shaped after emerging as a species from a single genetic family in Africa?

The Lost Gospel of Judas

2009-06-13T17:32:00.002+08:00

Thanks to Hung for suggesting this documentary. Old heresies die hard! The discovery of ancient texts such as the Gospel of Judas has sparked renewed interest in many ideas rejected by the early church. This documentary uncovers the truth behind the supposed "secrets" of Gnosticism. Featuring interviews with leading historians and scholars, it examines Gnosticism's origins, its early influence---and what's fueling its resurgence today.

What if an ancient gospel was rediscovered that offered a radically different perspective on a man that history has painted as the ultimate villain? What if this account turned Jesus' betrayal on its head, and in it the villain became a hero?

This documentary provides exclusive access to the documents and evidence that traces the incredible story of what has happened to the Gospel of Judas since it was found. Combining dramatic recreations and insightful analysis by the world's foremost experts, they ask and answer the question: Is the Gospel of Judas real?

Click here for the official website.

Grass - The History Of Marijuana

2009-06-13T14:16:00.002+08:00

This film explores the history of the American government's official policy on marijuana in the 20th century. Rising with nativist xenophobia with Mexican immigration and their taste for smoking marijuana, we see the establishment of a wrong headed federal drug policy as a crime issue as oppposed to a public health approach. Fuelled by prejudice, hysterical propaganda and political opportunism undeterred by voices of reason on the subject, we follow the story of a costly and futile crusade against a substance with questionable ill effects that has damaged basic civil liberites.

The history of marijuana in the United States since its unofficial introduction in the early twentieth century is presented. As a product, it has been a focus of a strong government campaign to rids its distribution and use, primarily from the 1930's to the 1970's. Harry J. Anslinger, the first Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, and President Richard Nixon were the chief persons waging the war. During the early battle, marijuana was popularly thought to cause a slew of maladies, including temporary insanity and murderous tendencies, as depicted through such movies as Marihuana (1936/I) aka "Reefer Madness".

This popular belief led to marijuana being effectively classified an illegal substance in the United States in 1937. When some of these myths were debunked, especially through the free-wheeling 1960's, anti-marijuana messaging turned to it being a gateway substance to stronger more dangerous illicit drugs, such as heroin. As much of the marijuana coming into the United States since the 1950's was from China, the government also used anti-Communist messaging. Both Anslinger and Nixon quashed any scientific reports that came out refuting the government's claims, such as a report commissioned by New York Mayor 'Fiorello Laguardia' . To the end of the century, America's war on marijuana has cost the government several billions of dollars

Phantoms in the Brain

2009-06-10T05:11:00.002+08:00

What would you say about a woman who, despite stroke-induced paralysis crippling the entire left side of her body, insists that she is whole and strong--who even sees her left hand reach out to grasp objects? Freud called it "denial"; neurologists call it "anosognosia." However it may be labeled, this phenomenon and others like it allow us peeks into other mental worlds and afford us considerable insight into our own.

The writings of Oliver Sacks and others have shown us that we can learn much about ourselves by looking closely at the deficits shown by people with neurological problems. V.S. Ramachandran has seen countless patients suffering from anosognosia, phantom limb pain, blindsight, and other disorders, and he brings a remarkable mixture of clinical intuition and research savvy to bear on their problems. He is one of the few scientists who are able and willing to explore the personal, subjective ramifications of his work; he rehumanizes an often too-sterile field and captures the spirit of wonder so essential for true discovery.

PART ONE

PART TWO

Phantoms in the Brain is equal parts medical mystery, scientific adventure, and philosophical speculation. Whether you're curious about the workings of the brain, interested in alternatives to expensive, high-tech science (much of Ramachandran's research is done with materials found around the home), or simply want a fresh perspective on the nature of human consciousness, you'll find this to be an interesting documentary.

The Science Of Stress

2009-06-07T23:31:00.004+08:00

Scientists have known for many decades that the brain has a system to calm the body (the parasympathetic system) and a system to activate the body or get it ready to deal with a specific stress or fear (the sympathetic nervous system). The sympathetic system, when stimulated, is responsible for the fight-or-flight response, a primitive state that gets us ready to fight or flee when we are threatened or scared.

This “hard-wired response” happens with overt physical threats (such as being approached by a vicious dog) and also with more covert, internal, emotional threats (such as a self-esteem injury or worry about the future). The heart beats faster, muscles tense, hands sweat to cool the body, breathing rate and blood pressure increase, the hands and feet become cooler to shunt blood from the extremities to the big muscles (to fight or run away), and the pupils dilate (to see better). This response to stress is powerful and immediate.

Watch Science Of Stress in Educational | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

This documentary is an investigation into the damaging affects of stress where foremost experts in fields stretching from psychology to cardiovascular science unravel the secrets of the greatest scourge of modern times. The film follows a fictional couple over the course of 24 hours as they confront the stresses of the 21st Century.

Inside North Korea

2009-06-07T06:49:00.003+08:00

Is it just me, or is North Korea one of the most insane places in the world these days? Are you ready to cross into one of the world's most secretive nations, for a rare glimpse of the country and its absolute dictator Kim Jong Il. In this documentary, Lisa Ling takes us on a rare look inside North Korea - something few Americans have ever been able to do.

Posing as an undercover medical coordinator and closely guarded throughout her trip, Lisa moves inside the most isolated nation in the world, encountering a society completely dominated by government and dictatorship. Glimpse life inside North Korea as you've never seen before with personal accounts and powerful footage. Witness first-hand efforts by humanitarians and the challenges they face from the rogue regime.

North Korea offers us a vision of perhaps the most excessive personality cult in modern history. Wiki has this to say about the Kim Jong Il...

Critics maintain Kim Jong-il is the centre of an elaborate personality cult inherited from his father and founder of the DPRK, Kim Il-sung. Defectors have been quoted as saying that North Korean schools deify both father and son. He is often the centre of attention throughout ordinary life in the DPRK. His birthday is one of the most important public holidays in the country.

On his 60th birthday (based on his official date of birth), mass celebrations occurred throughout the country. One point of view is that Kim Jong Il's cult of personality is solely out of respect for Kim Il-sung or out of fear of punishment for failure to pay homage. Media and government sources from outside of North Korea generally support this view, while North Korean government sources say that it is genuine hero worship. The song No Motherland Without You, sung by the North Korean Army Choir, was created especially for Kim and is one of the most popular tunes in the country.

The Dark Side Of Everest

2009-06-06T14:24:00.002+08:00

It's the highest peak in the world and holds a unique fascination for extreme climbers. The Dark Side Of Everest asks what it is about the mountain that seduces the sane and taunts the reckless. Why are people prepared to sacrifice their relationships, bank balances and even their lives, just to be able to say: "I've stood on top of the world"? Why, on its slopes, are people so readily prepared to walk past others who are dying? What is it about Everest that continues to lure men and women to its peak, whatever the cost?

"For some mountaineers, the top of the world also represents the peak of human ambition. But when things go badly high on Everest, as they will sooner or later, difficult moral dilemmas play out in dramatic fashion on a global stage.

Watch National Geographic - The Dark Side Of Everest.avi in Entertainment | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

National Geographic Channels International takes viewers to The Dark Side of Everest through the eyes and minds of those who've struggled with the mountain's powerful and potentially fatal allure. Everest veterans discuss how the mountain's hostile environment can affect the human values of those who dare to challenge its heights."

Control Room

2009-06-06T10:02:00.005+08:00

Thanks to Nik for suggesting this one. Startling and powerful, Control Room is a documentary about the Arab television network Al-Jazeera's coverage of the U.S.-led Iraqi war, and conflicts that arose in managed perceptions of truth between that news media outlet and the American military.

Egyptian-American filmmaker Jehane Noujaim catches the frantic action at Al-Jazeera headquarters as President Bush stipulates his 48-hour, get-out-of-town warning to Saddam Hussein and sons, soon followed by the network's shocking footage of Iraqi civilians terrorized and killed by invading U.S. troops.

Al-Jazeera's determination to show images and report details outside the Pentagon's carefully controlled information flow draws the wrath of American officials, who accuse it of being an al-Qaida propagandist. Most fascinating is the way Control Room allows well-meaning, Western-educated, pro-democratic Arabs an opportunity to express views on Iraq as they see it - in an international context, and in a way most Americans never hear about.

Moon Mysteries

2009-06-04T06:43:00.003+08:00

Drifting further from Earth, the Moon has created seasons, the 24-hour day, tides and perhaps even influenced evolution. Is the moon powerful enough to trigger natural disasters? Can the moon influence human behavior? This documentary puts a tightly-focused lens on the mysteries of the moon.

Without the moon in its regular orbit around the planet, would life exist on Earth? Or would the climate teeter between cataclysmic extremes? Today, the moon shines brightly in the night sky from about a quarter of a million miles away.

Watch Moon Mysteries - National Geographic in Educational | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

When it first formed though, it was 15 times closer to Earth and its gravity had a tremendous influence on the planet. Slowly drifting further away from Earth, the moon has reshaped the world. It created seasons, the 24-hour day, tides and may have even influenced the evolution of life here on Earth.

Oceans

2009-06-02T20:26:00.003+08:00

What lies below the frozen Arctic ice-sheets? Or in the black holes under the Caribbean Sea? The oceans are Earth's single most important feature. They shape our climate, our culture, our future. Yet we know more about the surface of Mars than we do about Earth's watery depths.

Explorer Paul Rose leads a team of ocean experts in a series of global science expeditions. With him, maritime archaeologist Dr Lucy Blue investigates our past and our relationship with the sea, exploring shipwrecks and lost civilisations; marine biologist and Oceanographer Tooni Mahto seeks the extraordinary life in our oceans today; and environmentalist Philippe Cousteau Jr looks to the future of our oceans and charts the way they're changing.

PART ONE - Sea of Cortez

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PART TWO - Southern Ocean

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PART THREE - Red Sea

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PART FOUR - Atlantic Ocean

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PART FIVE - Indian Ocean

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PART SIX - Not available yet!

PART SEVEN - Mediterranean Sea

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PART EIGHT - Not available yet!

Filmed in High Definition in some of the most beautiful, diverse and threatened seas on our planet, the team travels across the world to the Southern Ocean, the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, the Sea of Cortez, the Arctic Ocean and the Mediterranean, to dive the depths of the world's seas and oceans. The planet's seas are changing fast and Oceans builds up a timely global picture of our planet's most magnificent and vital asset.

Click here to visit the official website.

The Boy With The Incredible Brain

2009-06-02T20:09:00.002+08:00

Daniel Tammet is a twenty-something with extraordinary mental abilities, Daniel is one of the world’s few savants. He can do calculations to 100 decimal places in his head, and learn a language in a week. This documentary follows Daniel as he travels to America to meet the scientists who are convinced he may hold the key to unlocking similar abilities in everyone. He also meets the world’s most famous savant, the man who inspired Dustin Hoffman’s character in the Oscar winning film ‘Rain Man’.

As a baby, Daniel cried constantly and banged his head against the wall. His parents were frantic but all doctors could suggest was that he was understimulated. One afternoon when he was four, an accident changed the way Daniel thought forever. While playing with his brother in the living room he suffered a series of epileptic seizures which transformed his brain chemistry, giving him the gift of synaesthesia.

This condition occurs when the parts of the brain responsible for different areas of perception get mixed up. Brain scans of autistic savants suggest that the right hemisphere might be compensating for damage in the left hemisphere. While many savants struggle with language and comprehension - skills associated primarily with the left hemisphere - they often have amazing skills in mathematics and memory - primarily right hemisphere skills. Daniel began to respond emotionally to numbers, which he started to ‘see’ as complex, beautiful shapes and textures.

Jonestown - The Final Report

2009-06-02T17:41:00.003+08:00

This documentary looks at the tragic death of 913 men, women and children who lived in a religious compound in the jungles of Guyana, South America, and investigates leader Jim Jones and his message of brotherhood and social justice.

Wiki has this to say about Jonestown...

Jonestown was the informal name for the "Peoples Temple Agricultural Project", an intentional community in northwestern Guyana formed by the Peoples Temple, a cult from California, United States, led by Jim Jones. It became internationally notorious in November 1978, when 918 people died in the settlement as well as in a nearby airstrip and in Georgetown, Guyana's capital. The name of the settlement became synonymous with the incidents at those locations.

On November 18, 1978, 909 Temple members died in Jonestown, all but two from apparent cyanide poisoning in an event termed "revolutionary suicide" by Jones and some members on an audio tape of the event and in prior discussions. To the extent the actions in Jonestown were viewed as a mass suicide, it is the largest such event in modern history and resulted in the largest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the events of September 11, 2001. The poisonings in Jonestown followed the murder of five others by Temple members at a nearby Port Kaituma airstrip. The victims included Congressman Leo Ryan, the first and only Congressman murdered in the line of duty in the history of the United States.

The Human Senses

2009-06-01T06:08:00.003+08:00

Nearly everyone has experienced a moment when a faint fragrance brings a memory of a long-lost moment in time crashing back to the forefront of their minds.Often we will have forgotten about the event completely, yet it transpires our unfathomable minds have filed it neatly in some unreachable corner of the brain, primed for instant retrieval.

This documentary sets out to discover the biological reasons why humans eat such a range of diverse tasting dishes, from rotten raw ducks eggs to a sweaty blue cheese, and watch while contestants at chilli eating contest push their taste buds to the limit. Compared to many animals, humans have a ‘try anything once’ attitude to food and this has allowed us to populate every corner of the planet, while many other animals depend totally on one food source for their energy, which limits where they can survive.

PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE

Watch Programme 3 - Touch and Vision in Educational | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Humans are very sensitive to touch and different parts of our body have different sensitivities. In fact, when it comes to our sense of touch, humans are similar to elephants.We have a few areas where we are extremely sensitive, just like the elephant's trunk, and the rest of our body is surprisingly insensitive, like the elephant's thick hide. The different density of touch sensors in the skin, in different parts of the body, explains why some parts of the body seem to have a much lower pain threshold. A microscopic splinter in a finger can be extremely painful, while a
cut on your leg may not hurt as much!

The Myths of Pearl Harbour

2009-05-29T05:15:00.004+08:00

Every American knows the date December 7, 1941 the morning the Japanese Imperial Navy launched a massive attack on Pearl Harbor. What most people don't know is that the first shots of the battle were fired by an American naval vessel, nearly an hour before the air attack started! The ship's target? One of Japan's four secret weapons the so-called "midget? subs two-man vessels designed to cripple U.S. ships from below, while Japanese bombers rained fire from above.

Examine the role these midget subs played in the Pearl Harbor attack, the technology and strategy behind the subs and the recent discovery of one sub sunk outside the harbor that morning. Accompany marine archaeologists on a dive as they get their first look at the sub and watch as a World War II vet gets his second look 61 years later. Forensic photo analysts use state-of-the-art technology to determine whether a controversial photo taken from a Japanese plane reveals a mysterious fifth sub firing on American ships inside Pearl Harbor that morning. Could the Americans have been warned in time to defend themselves against the Japanese attack?

Pearl Harbor was one of the greatest sea and air battles of the history. For many years, it's been said that the Japanese soldiers attacked first and that they were guilty of the deaths. However, many historians have doubts about this and they believe that the American soldiers overreacted against a simple exploration mission, provoking the Japanese troops to attack. With the help of experts and pictures taken during the battle, this documentary will try to determine what really happened that day.

Busted - The Citizens Guide to Surviving Police Encounters

2009-05-28T18:23:00.002+08:00

Most people don't know their basic constitutional rights, and those who do usually waive them in the face of police intimidation. Worse, police rely on people's fear and ignorance of the law to trick them into waiving their rights, which often lands them in jail. That's why Flex Your Rights (FyR) -- a Washington, DC-based educational group -- created BUSTED: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters.

This fun 45-minute educational film realistically depicts three common police scenarios -- traffic stop, street stop, and home entry. Narrator Ira Glasser, a former ACLU executive director, shows you how to avoid cops gotcha games as they try to trick you into waiving your rights; how to be courteous but not intimidated by police tactics; and how phrases such as I don't consent to any searches can keep you out of jail.

BUSTED was made for anyone who's afraid that their looks or lifestyle makes them a target for law enforcement. This includes skaters, smokers, rockers, and freedom-loving people of all sorts.

Inside Hamas

2009-05-27T05:15:00.003+08:00

What is the reality of daily life in Gaza under Hamas and can a militant religious organisation move from international pariah to meaningful political player? David Rosenberg explores the issues. ‘A man once jumped from the top floor of a burning building in which many members of his family had already perished. He managed to save his life; but as he was falling he hit a person standing down below and broke that person's legs and arms. The jumping man had no choice; yet to the man with the broken limbs he was the cause of his misfortune... The injured man blames the other for his misery and swears to make him pay for it.

The other, afraid of the crippled man's revenge, insults him, kicks him and beats him up whenever they meet.’ The Polish Jewish writer, Isaac Deutscher, used this analogy to illustrate the tragedy of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the basis on which it would endure. Deutscher doesn’t state the nationality, ethnicity or religion of the man who jumped or of the passer-by. There were enough conflicts throughout the 20th century to show that no community or nation has a monopoly either of doing harm or of being victims. Every group is capable of trampling on the rights of another.

While the creation of Israel in 1948 promised a secure future for Jewish refugees who had survived the Holocaust, it inflicted a permanent injustice on the Palestinian people, most of whom were dispossessed and turned into refugees. The Palestinians call this the Nakba (catastrophe). They fled mainly to neighbouring Arab states and some later reached Europe and America. In further wars (1956 and 1967), Israel gained more territory – Gaza from the Egyptians and the West Bank from Jordan – and annexed East Jerusalem. Today around half the Palestinians in the world live under military occupation in the West Bank, or under Israeli rule in East Jerusalem, or confined in Gaza – a narrow strip of land 40km by 5km along the Mediterranean, home to 1.5 million people, which Israel has evacuated while keeping the population there dependent on it for essential supplies.

The Day the Earth Nearly Died

2009-05-24T16:06:00.003+08:00

250 million years ago, long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth, the land and oceans teemed with life. This was the Permian, a golden era of biodiversity that was about to come to a crashing end. Within just a few thousand years, 95% of the lifeforms on the planet would be wiped out, in the biggest mass extinction Earth has ever known. What natural disaster could kill on such a massive scale? It is only in recent years that evidence has begun to emerge from rocks in Antarctica, Siberia and Greenland.

The demise of the dinosaurs, 65 million years ago (at the so-called K/T boundary), was as nothing compared to the Permian mass extinction. The K/T event killed off 60% of life on Earth; the Permian event 95%. Geological data to explain the destruction have been hard to find, simply because the rocks are so old and therefore subject to all kinds of erosion processes. It seems plausible that some kind of catastrophic environmental change must have made life untenable across vast swathes of the planet.

In the early 1990s, the hunt for evidence headed for a region of Siberia known as the Traps. Today it's a sub-Arctic wilderness but 250 million years ago, over 200,000km² of it was a blazing torrent of lava. The Siberian Traps were experiencing a 'flood basalt eruption', the biggest volcanic effect on Earth. Instead of isolated volcanoes spewing out lava, the crust split and curtains of lava were released. And the Siberian flood eruption lasted for millions of years. Could volcanic activity over such a long time alter the climate enough to kill off 95% of life on Earth?

China's Stolen Children

2009-05-24T07:11:00.003+08:00

Through the personal stories of several men, women and children whose lives are impacted by the stolen-child black market in China, China's Stolen Children brings viewers face-to-face with a crisis brought on by the controversial one-child policy, implemented in 1979 to slow the country's explosive population growth. As narrator Ben Kingsley explains, "The Chinese government doesn't want the outside world to know about the crisis facing China's children, so this film had to be made entirely undercover. The film crew posed as tourists, moved hotels every three days, and changed SIM cards after every phone call." Remarkably, the subjects all agreed to appear on-camera, although several interviews are held in darkened cars or out-of-the-way locations to avoid detection. The result is a harrowing look at an illegal but largely uncontrollable practice that has reached epidemic proportions.

The film is a powerful indictment of the unforeseen impact of the world's largest experiment in social engineering. One man, Detective Zhu, works full-time to locate missing children, with modest success. His latest case involves Chen Jie, a boy kidnapped at 5 while under his grandmother's care (his heartbroken parents hire Zhu to track him down). Also profiled are Wang Li, a trafficker who once sold his own son; Jong Jang, one of the lucky few stolen children to be rescued; and Way Ling, a mother-to-be who, at 19, is too young to be legally married, and who now faces a dilemma: whether to pay exorbitant fines to keep a baby born without identity or rights, or sell it through a broker like Wang Li. While thousands of heart-wrenching tales like these unfold each year, Zhu laments that authorities seem more concerned with keeping the crisis quiet than tracking down stolen sons and daughters.

PART ONE

Watch China's Stolen Children [Part 1] in Educational | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

PART TWO

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PART THREE

Watch China's Stolen Children [Part 3] in Educational | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Legal abortions are commonplace for Chinese families in the one-child era. Moreover, with ultrasound machines allowing parents to determine gender at 4-5 months, many first-time pregnancies are aborted if the fetus is female. This selective (and illegal) practice is the result of China's traditional preference for sons; here and in other Asian cultures, brides migrate to husbands' families, leaving their own parents to fend for themselves in old age. Because of this, parents covet male babies. In the one-child era, as many as 40 million baby girls have been selectively aborted - creating a gender gap that has left millions of men with little hope of finding wives. And while the black market for male children remains robust, there is a growing demand for girls as well.

Crater of Death

2009-05-23T07:03:00.002+08:00

This is the profile of an extraterrestrial mass murderer: one whose existence was denied by scientific orthodoxy for nearly two decades, but has now been tracked down. 65 million years ago a 15km wide asteroid hit the Earth. In 1978 Walter Alvarez, a Nobel-prize-winning physicist, and his son Luis, first proposed the outrageous idea that a meteorite strike blasted the dinosaurs into extinction, taking with them half of life on the planet.

Their theory was hotly disputed. Now the irrefutable evidence is rolling in. Martin Belderson's dramatic film retraces the hunt for evidence for the hidden 'smoking cannon': the crater left by the impact 65 million years ago. In 1991 it was found, buried beneath the coastline of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. The central crater is at least 180km wide and nearly 20km deep. The outer impact rings may stretch to 300km in diameter, making it the largest crater produced in the inner solar system in the last four billion years. But did it cause extinction?

The fossil record seemed to show a gradual decline and extinction of animals like the dinosaur before the line of the impact. The in-fighting forced many scientists to re-examine their fossil beds. What they discovered has overturned the orthodoxy and led to a new understanding of how extinction works, and why some species survived whilst others vanished. Alvarez, father and son, have finally been vindicated.

First Olympian

2009-05-21T05:54:00.002+08:00

Two and a half thousand years ago, sport was tough. Few athletes survived the rigours of the great sporting arenas of the Ancient Greeks and only one athlete has survived the ravages of time to offer a unique insight into a remarkable ancient world. First Olympian tells the “Athlete of Taranto´s” fascinating story.

Fifty years ago, a skeleton was found in Taranto in Southern Italy. On opening an ancient tomb,archaeologists found the skeleton with four richly decorated jars in each corner of the tomb, revealing that the owner had an obsession for sport. Cutting edge forensic analysis reveals fascinating details about his diet, general health and appearance and which sports he excelled at.

Watch THE FIRST OLYMPIAN in Educational | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Lavish special effects and dramatic reconstruction then recreate the awesome sight of ancient Olympia and the games that would have drawn up to 40,000 spectators. They were definitely more brutal than the Olympics of today - one wrestler ensured victory by breaking his opponents’ fingers - but were they more physically challenging? To discover the truth, modern athletes are put to the test in a series of events using equipment designed from the remains of ancient originals.

The Betrayed

2009-05-20T22:13:00.002+08:00

Fergal Keane investigates how a terrible slaughter, three quarters of a century ago, has returned to haunt the relationship between Turkey and its western allies. For decades the Armenian people have campaigned to have the killings of hundreds of thousands of their forefathers in Ottoman Turkey in 1915 recognised as genocide.

But there has been an equally determined campaign by Turkey to deny genocide with threats of reprisals against any country which uses the word to describe the slaughter. Now as the United States steps up its efforts to win Ankara's support in any conflict with Iraq Correspondent reveals new Turkish pressures. Threats to withdraw military bases have forced the American Congress to abandon legislation which would have used the all important term, "genocide".

The programme also discloses how President George W Bush and his predecessor Bill Clinton both broke promises to the Armenian community that they would recognise genocide. Talking to Armenian survivors, Turkish officials and key political figures in the United States Correspondent investigates a story of terrible slaughter, political intrigue and a people betrayed.

A Comet's Tale

2009-05-19T06:31:00.003+08:00

Although believed to be gods by many ancient civilisations, who saw them as bringers of life or harbingers of doom, to Isaac Newton they were the key to unlocking the secrets of gravity. Hundreds of years later, a new breed of space mission can show what comets are really made of, where they come from, and their surprising influence on events on Earth.

A rare chance to see space agency footage as a comet strikes Jupiter and is caught on camera. In one of the biggest explosions that have ever been witnessed, scientists discuss the theoretical impact of a relative blast on Earth.

This film cannot be embeded...click HERE to watch on Google Video.

Lost Treasures of the Ancient World - Ancient China

2009-05-18T17:40:00.002+08:00

The Great Wall of China remains the most soaring architectural achievement of the Chinese people - but it's not the only one, as this program reveals.

Man has constructed many remarkable monuments, but only one can be seen from space. The Great Wall of China remains the most soaring architectural achievement of the Chinese people –but it’s not the only one, as this entertaining and informative program reveals.

Highlights include dazzling graphic re-creations of a Chinese village from seven thousand years ago, the terracotta army of the First Chinese Emperor and Beijing’s Forbidden City. Features superb 3D graphics, State-of-the-art computer generated animation, all new location footage, and expert commentary and analyses.

The Boy who Sees Without Eyes

2009-05-18T06:26:00.002+08:00

This is the miraculous story of American teenager Ben Underwood, who has been completely blind since the age of three when he lost both eyes to retinal cancer. Yet, Ben zooms around on a skateboard, shoots basketball hoops, and dodges lamp-posts and parked cars unaided. How does Ben do all this without the use of his eyes? Incredibly, Ben has taught himself to see with sound, using an extraordinary technique he has created. Ben makes a sharp click with his tongue from which the echo bounces off the object right back at him, allowing him to know precisely where objects are located.

The technique, called 'echo-location', is not dissimilar to the way a bat or dolphin uses sound to see. Ben was able to distinguish objects with his clicking by noticing that objects 'sounded' different. Driving along in the car for example, Ben noticed that the side streets sounded different to the buildings, something his family, and the scientists at the University of California in Santa Barbara who are conducting tests into Ben's amazing ability, find astonishing. Seeing with sound has transformed Ben's life.

His mum lets him play in the street, just like all the other kids, because his sound pictures seem to make him more aware of danger than his sighted friends. He can even rollerblade quite easily and do chores around the house. Ben refuses to let society label him as disabled, so when he meets another blind man who also uses echo-location with the extra assistance of a white cane to help him get around extra tricky situations, Ben finds it hard to take up the use of a tool he sees as not for him - a young boy who has relied on his own extraordinary ability to allow him to see in his own way for so many years.

Marijuana Nation

2009-05-17T21:52:00.006+08:00

This one is just for Cheryl. The big question after all these years and scientific findings, is why the US government still classifies marijuana as a class one drug, akin to heroin and crank. Doctors will tell you the miracles it works for the chronically ill, cancer patients and for a natural sleep aid. It's a crop that earns more than corn, and Americans grow some of the best of it in the world. The legitimate earning potential for farmers and distributors is astronomical.

Correspondent Lisa Ling goes undercover to private fields and indoor state of the art hydroponic farms talking to the very reasonable and resolute people who will not buckle under possible legal ramifications. The movement to end the draconian punishments for possession and growing increase every day, as the population is getting older and sicker, insurance is harder to obtain and pay for and who refuse to be held hostage by Big pharmaceutical companies gouging consumers for legal alternatives.

Ling goes to "Oaksterdam", a part of Oakland that has become a legal medical marijuana haven and in the process, has revitalized the entire neighborhood by invigorating nearby businesses and shops. Even those who are not users are happy about the transformative nature the pot trade has done to help the local economy. One advocate estimated that nearly $3 million in annual tax revenue was contributed to the city of Oakland in 2003 alone, with revenue increasing annually.

Deadly Ascent

2009-05-17T18:54:00.002+08:00

In an exploration of extreme medical science, we ascend Alaska's Denali—aka Mt. McKinley—to try to solve the mystery of high-altitude deaths on one of the most dangerous mountains on Earth. This documentary chronicles daring mountain rescues and emergency medical evacuations as it accompanies an expedition team of researchers and experts employing the latest NASA technology to investigate the lethal diseases attacking climbers all over the world.

Each year, more than 1,000 people attempt to reach Denali's summit. Nearly half of those fail and several die trying—sliding off of icy cliffs, crushing bones against rocks, falling into hidden crevasses, or simply getting lost and succumbing to the cold. It's no secret—cold can kill . But why? Even some of the most physically fit and well-equipped climbers still die on Denali, debilitated by a strange and confounding sickness.

Watch Deadly Ascent - PBS Nova in Educational | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

The producers of this documentary assembled a team of medical researchers, rescuers, world-class mountaineers, military special forces, and an astronaut taking part in a study by Dr. Peter Hackett, who turns the mountain's vertical arctic landscape into a high-altitude lab. Home to the highest medical rescue camp in the U.S., Denali offers a unique opportunity, since it's one of the few places on Earth where doctors can study humans in extreme conditions.

Click here to visit the official website of this documentary.

Monsters We Met

2009-05-17T06:43:00.003+08:00

When our early ancestors entered new lands they encountered a variety of strange new creatures, monsters that no longer exist. What were they like and where are they now? What are the real answers to the mystery of the missing megafauna?

Some scientists believe there is damning evidence that humanity hunted the megafauna to extinction. The 'overkill' hypothesis holds that the megafauna vanished only a few centuries after the arrival of man and that hunting was the primary cause of the extinctions, for the following reasons:

only the larger animals disappeared
there is archaeological evidence of human hunting
animals had survived previous times of climate change

There have been many mass extinctions throughout geological history, the most well-known being the disappearance of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous Period. In analysing these events, scientists find that small, medium and large species all become extinct, although large animals (those over 44kg adult weight) always suffer the heaviest loss. These large animals are termed 'megafauna'.

In contrast, the extinctions at the end of the Pleistocene seem to target large animals, with the small to medium ones escaping relatively lightly. Scientists that support the overkill hypothesis believe that this evidence points to humans as the culprits. The impact of human hunters on populations of large, slow-maturing, slow-breeding animals, such as mammoths and diprotodons, was bound to be far greater than any effect they might have had on small, rapidly breeding prey such as hares or squirrels. Therefore, the overkill theory seems to explain why only the megafauna died out.

PART ONE

PART TWO

Opponents of the overkill hypothesis point to a variety of evidence that human hunters were not the culprits. Their arguments against humanity as killers are:

long periods of human-megafauna coexistence
little evidence of hunting
people were hunting the wrong species

For the overkill hypothesis to hold true, prehistoric humans must have killed off the megafauna very rapidly - within 1,000 years of arriving in a region. If the extinction happened more slowly than this, it wouldn't have been true overkill. More to the point, it may be impossible to pick apart all the interrelated factors (hunting, climate and competition) that would have played a part over a longer period.

The Assassination Of King Tut

2009-05-16T17:18:00.002+08:00

Three thousand years ago, a boy became king. Tutankhamun, the most famous of all the Egyptian pharaohs, died before his 20th birthday. The cause of death: a mystery. Even though the crime occurred over 3,000 years ago, evidence still remains.

Examine the clues and see if you can name the prime suspect.You be the detective and evaluate the clues. Find out about the victim and the prime suspects. Whodunit? Was it Tut's ambitious commander-in-chief of the most powerful army in the known world, fearful that Tut's youth and physical weaknesses might leave Egypt vulnerable to attack? Perhaps Maya, Tut's chief finance minister and the man who held the country's purse strings, felt his wealth threatened by the young king.

Did Ankhesenamun, Tut's bride since childhood, blame him for two heartbreaking miscarriages? Or could it have been Ay, Tut's prime minister, advisor, protector and father figure, who wanted the boy king cast aside in his own insatiable quest for power?

Click here to visit the official website.

Did Darwin Kill God?

2009-05-16T10:37:00.001+08:00

There are some who believe that Darwin's theory of evolution has weakened religion, fuelled in part by Richard Dawkins' publishing phenomenon The God Delusion. Conor Cunningham argues that nothing could be further from the truth. Cunningham is a firm believer in the theory of evolution, but he is also a Christian. He believes that the clash between Darwin and God has been hijacked by extremists - fundamentalist believers who reject evolution on one side, and fundamentalist atheists on the other.

Cunningham attempts to overturn what he believes are widely held but mistaken assumptions in the debate between religion and evolution. He travels to the Middle East where he shows that from the very outset, Christianity warned against literal readings of the biblical story of creation. In Britain, he reveals that, at the time, Darwin's theory of evolution was welcomed by the Anglican and Catholic Churches.

Instead, he argues that the conflict between Darwin and God was manufactured by American creationists in the 20th century for reasons that had very little to do with science and religion and a great deal to do with politics and morality. Finally, he comes face to face with some of the most eminent evolutionary biologists, geneticists and philosophers of our time to examine whether the very latest advances in evolutionary theory do in fact kill God.

Patent for a Pig

2009-05-16T07:34:00.002+08:00

The American biotechnology firm, Monsanto, has applied for a patent for pig breeding in 160 countries. The patent is for specific parts of the genetic material of pigs which Monsanto's genetic researchers have decoded. If this patent is granted, pig breeding would be possible with the approval of the company.

Farmers and breeders are naturally alarmed because these genes have long existed in the great majority of their pigs. Using DNA tests they can prove that there is no new invention in the patent applications but that, instead, granting this patent would be to allow a part of nature to fall into the hands of a single company.

Monsanto's influence on the patent offices is huge. If the patent is approved, money will have to be paid to Monsanto for every pig in the world carrying this genetic marker. This has long been the case for certain feedstuffs, such as genetically modified maize. Many farmers in the US have already become dependent on the company. It is not merely a question of money, however, but also a question of the risk posed to consumers. In America, as in Europe, cases of infertility in animals fed with genetically modified maize are becoming increasingly common. No-one yet knows what effects such products are having on humans.

Biography - Barrack Obama

2009-05-15T22:43:00.002+08:00

When he called himself "a skinny kid with a funny name" at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, his political star was already on the rise. By the time he decimated the competition in 2004 race for the Illinois Senate, he was the bona fide golden child of a Democratic party desperately in need of a winner. In many ways, the story of Barack Obama is a uniquely American tale of the 21st century, where racial lines are blurry and the most interesting chapter is just beginning.

This prophetic biography about the life of Illinois senator Barack Obama was made before he began campaigning to be the Democratic party's candidate for the 2008 presidential race. Still, the program suggests Obama has one or another kind of profound, Anerican destiny as a mixed-race activist who never comfortably fit into one or another group, and had to look deep into his own roots to understand his identity. The son of a white American mother and black Kenyan father, Obama was abandoned by the latter when he returned to his native country to work for its improvement.

Raised by his mother--whom Obama credits with teaching him many of his values--and his grandmother, Obama lived in Hawaii as a child but moved to Indonesia for a few years when his mom remarried. There, Obama saw cyclical poverty and the underlying factors that perpetuate it before returning to Hawaii. Interviews with childhood friends and his sister describe Obama's restlessness before attending Harvard law school and propelling himself into a life of public service and community activism. Often accused of lacking enough political experience to qualify him for the White House, Obama comes across in this show as a visionary and experienced consensus-builder who can reach across opposing points of view.

Secret Lives - L. Ron Hubbard

2009-05-15T05:22:00.002+08:00

An intriguing, but bizarre, biographical documentary by Channel 4 on the 'Secret Life' of L Ron Hubbard - the Sci Fi author and creator of the Scientology cult. This biopic from 1997, with some fantastic archive interviews with the man (and other people from the 'org' who knew him) - is an interesting look at the start/development of the weird cult and its even stranger founder: L Ron Hubbard.

There's some revealing information inside, such as Hubbard's spiralling manic-depressive emotional state, the use of drugs on himself/family and the resentment he felt towards his son due to Quentin's homosexuality (eventually causing suicide). Also, the political repercussions to L Ron's actions as Scientology's leader - especially legally in Europe, is an important history to the world's largest (and most farcical) cult.

A controversial public figure, many details of his life are subjects of contention. The Church of Scientology has produced numerous official biographies which present Hubbard's character and his multi-faceted accomplishments in an exalted light. Biographies of Hubbard by independent journalists and accounts by former scientologists paint a much darker picture of Hubbard and in many cases contradict the material presented by the Church.

The Man Who Lost His Body

2009-05-14T17:09:00.002+08:00

In 1971 Ian Waterman was a butcher on Jersey. He was nineteen, newly qualified and working flat out to make a go of the business. Then suddenly he went down with what seemed to be gastric flu. But it wasn’t. He became wobbly and weak. Within days he had collapsed and was in hospital, unable to move or feel his body.

He has never regained that feeling, yet against all the odds, he has made an apparently miraculous recovery. HORIZON tells Ian’s extraordinary story. Ian had contracted a disease of the nervous system so rare that the doctors on Jersey were unable to diagnose it. It had destroyed all the sensory nerves responsible for touch, and for conveying information about muscle and joint position, senses so fundamental to our capacity to move in the world that they have been called a sixth sense.

PART ONE

Watch The Man Who Lost His Body [Part 1] in Educational | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

PART TWO

Watch The Man Who Lost His Body [Part 2] in Educational | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Without this “proprioception” we can have no inner sense of posture or limb position and cannot initiate or control movement. Ian was told that he would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. But Ian wasn’t paralysed, and he was determined that he was going to lead as normal a life as he could. With the help of physiotherapists he discovered that he could regain control of his limbs through his eyes. So long as he could see the limbs he was moving, he could will his muscles into action and monitor their movements. Doggedly, he taught himself to stand and walk, to use cutlery and a pen, to pick up mugs of tea and to gesture convincingly while talking, but each movement required unfaltering conscious effort.

Biometrics

2009-05-14T08:02:00.002+08:00

In an increasing fear-driven world (which the establishment media helps drive) , the NWO keep pushing for less civil rights in the name of ‘the war on terror’ . These can come into effect of RFID tagging, biometrics in school and work places. The original purpose of biometrics would to be easier ID and security, and that such a thing. But wouldn’t it be bad if laws were passed to make it mandatory to have very tight biometric-like ID systems?

This is a documentary about how advances in technology are providing more innovative methods of personal identification - describing the pros & cons. It depicts technologies like scans of our fingerprints, retinas, veins in our hands & facial recognition.

PART ONE

PART TWO

Through interviews with researchers ,manufacturers and promoters of biometric techniques, this French documentary examines the various uses of biometrics (border control, building access security, workplace checks) and the way biometrics is implemented to serve political, military and technological interests in various parts of the world.

Gimme Shelter

2009-05-13T06:12:00.002+08:00

Gimme Shelter is a 1970 documentary film directed by Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin, chronicling the Rolling Stones' 1969 US tour, which culminated in the disastrous Altamont Free Concert. The film is named after "Gimme Shelter", the lead track from the Rolling Stones' 1969 album Let It Bleed.

The film depicts some of the Madison Square Garden concert, later featured on the live album, Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!, as well as the photography session for the cover, featuring Charlie Watts and a donkey. It also shows the Stones at work in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, recording "Wild Horses". Performances documented in the film include Ike and Tina Turner (who were one of the Rolling Stones' opening acts for the 1969 tour), the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Jefferson Airplane.

Much of the film chronicles the behind-the-scenes dealmaking that took place to make the free Altamont concert happen. The action then turns on the concert itself at the Altamont Speedway, the security for which was provided by the Hells Angels. As the day progressed, with drug-taking and drinking by the Angels and members of the audience, the mood turned ugly. Fights broke out during performances by The Flying Burrito Brothers and Jefferson Airplane. At one point Jefferson Airplane lead singer Marty Balin was knocked out by a Hells Angel. The Grateful Dead opted not to play after learning of the incident with Balin. By the time the Stones hit the stage, the crowd was especially restless.

What's the Problem with Nudity?

2009-05-12T18:00:00.002+08:00

What is wrong with nudity? Why are people embarrassed about their bodies? How and why did they get the way they are?

This documentary takes a group of volunteers and subjects them to a series of psychological and physical tests to challenge attitudes to the naked human form. The questions raised strike at the heart of human physical and social evolution.

Human beings are the only creatures that can be 'naked' - but why, how and when did people lose their fur? That question takes Horizon around the world to meet scientists from Africa to Florida, and they are finding answers in unexpected places: the chest hair of Finnish students, the genetic history of lice, and the sweat of an unusual monkey. It turns out that something everyone takes for granted may hold the key to the success of the entire human species.

THIS DOCUMENTARY CONTAINS SOME NUDITY...CONSUME AT OWN RISK!!!

My Strange Brain

2009-05-12T17:49:00.002+08:00

This documentary explores unusual neurological conditions. It profiles four people with different disorders that affect their memories and sleeping patterns. One woman was struck down by a virus that has erased all her recollections of the last 20 years, while another woman is unable to record new memories. The film also meets a man who loses his muscle tone every time he experiences heightened emotions.

For Mohammad Doud, each day is a constant battle to stay awake. One second he is talking normally, the next he slumps to the floor as if paralysed. Mohammad has cataplexy, which means that any feeling of heightened emotion leads to a total loss of muscle tone. His condition is so severe it can strike up to 60 times a day. Now, for the first time in more than 20 years, he embarks on the 30-minute train journey into London, battling the effects of his condition all the way.

PART ONE

Watch My Strange Brain [Part 1] in Educational | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Claire Rutherford and her husband preside over a family of boisterous teenagers in their large house near Peterborough. So far, so ordinary - but Claire's story is anything but normal. Four years ago, the same common herpes virus that causes cold sores attacked Claire's brain, completely wiping out her memories of the previous 20 years. This film follows Claire as she battles to rebuild her memories.

PART TWO

Watch My Strange Brain [Part 2] in Educational | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Nicola Pomphrett was also struck down by viral encephalitis, but in her case it has left her unable to lay down new memories. Nicola lives in a perpetual present time with a working memory of no more than two minutes. Now she undergoes a series of experiments which vividly demonstrate her goldfish-like inability to recall new information. And for Seattle teenager Alanna Wong, "normal" life is measured in periods of seven to ten days at a time. She suffers from the rare sleeping disorder Kleine-Levin Syndrome, which causes her to sleep for up to 20 hours a day. In attempt to confirm her diagnosis once and for all, this film records Alanna as she undergoes an advanced brain scan.

Nukes in Space

2009-05-10T05:57:00.003+08:00

Boasting material that was recently declassified, this documentary presents some startling material about how the United States detonated a number of atomic bombs in space during a top-secret cold war weapons program. The history of military rockets is detailed, beginning with the Nazi V2 rockets that attacked England late in World War II.

The problems encountered in the America's cold war rocketry program is dramatically illustrated with a film montage of U.S. missiles spectacularly blowing up on their launch pads. After the Soviets launched Sputnik, America's resolve to be able to wage war in space stiffened, and test detonations of atomic weapons in space began. The effects of these little-known tests were bizarre and included electromagnetic disturbances that blew fuses in Hawaii while creating beautiful, if dangerous, artificial auroras that gave the tests the nickname of the "Rainbow Bombs."

Of particular interest in this documentary are tapes of White House meetings at which President John F. Kennedy and his top science and military advisers discussed the atomic tests in space. The bomb detonations caused radiation problems in space, damaging fledgling communications satellites, and the government eventually called an end to the program. This is an entertaining and very informative look at a piece of cold war history that seems like vintage science fiction, yet it's all real.

The Codebreakers

2009-05-10T05:48:00.003+08:00

The famous digital divide is getting wider. This documentary examines whether free/open source software (FOSS) might be the bridge? FOSS contains 'source code' that can be used, copied, studied, modified and redistributed without restriction. It has been around for over 20 years but most PC owners are not aware that the Internet search engines and many computer applications run on FOSS.

"It's not that FOSS has had a bad press, it has had no press because there is no company that 'owns' it," says executive producer Robert Lamb. "But we found that in the computer industry and among the afficionados, it is well known and its virtues well understood." The crew of the independent producers who made the film went to nearly a dozen countries around the world to see how the adoption of FOSS presents opportunities for industry and capacity development, software piracy reduction, and localization and customization for diverse cultural and development needs.

Stories from The Codebreakers include computer and Internet access for school children in Africa, reaching the poor in Brazil, tortoise breeding programmes in the Galapagos, connecting villages in Spain, and disaster management in Sri Lanka. The documentary also includes interviews from key figures around the world. Intel, IBM, Sun and Microsoft all seem to agree that FOSS is a welcome presence in computer software. According to Jonathan Murray of Microsoft "The Open Source community stimulates innovation in software, it's something that frankly we feel very good about and it's something that we absolutely see as being a partnership with Microsoft."

Flu Time Bomb

2009-05-10T05:40:00.002+08:00

Thanks again to 'Simmons' for suggesting this documentary. Flu Time Bomb is a one-hour documentary that explores the connections between the 1918 flu pandemic and the threat of a deadly new strain of influenza, H5N1. The program interweaves the story of Russian virologists tracking the spread of H5N1 in migratory birds with the groundbreaking efforts of Jeffery Taubenberger and Johan Hultin to unearth and rebuild the genome for the 1918 flu virus.

Today, as a deadly new strain of influenza spreads across the world, scientists are looking to the past in order to prepare for the future. The clues needed to prevent a global pandemic, they believe, are locked in the long-dormant genes of one of the greatest plagues in history-the 1918 Spanish flu.

Watch Flu Time Bomb in Educational | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

To understand the 1918 catastrophe and its implications for today's battle, we travel around the world. In Siberia and Mongolia former Soviet bioweapons scientists hunt the virus in the field; in the United States a 1918 pandemic flu survivor remembers the terror in his small New England town; in labs around the globe researchers push the limits of science to develop new ways of making vaccines. Flu Time Bomb is the first documentary to interweave the story of the devastating 1918 flu pandemic with the modern investigation into the virus that caused it, and explore the deep implications that this research has on today's battle against H5N1 - perhaps the most dangerous strain of influenza mankind has ever seen.

Constantine's Sword

2009-05-09T06:22:00.003+08:00

This documentary by James Carroll (who wrote the book of the same name) is especially compelling and insightful."Constantine's Sword" is a reflection and historical journey into how many denominations of Christianity evolved into a warring religion from the peaceful teachings of Jesus. Carroll focuses on the Roman Emperor Constantine who elevated the cross into a symbol that sanctified war, and made killing justified in the name of Christ and God.

Carroll is the narrator and traveler who takes us on an expedition into how Christ's message became distorted over time, leading up to where the movie starts: the evangelical hot bed of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the evangelical takeover of the U.S. Airforce Academy in that city. He then moves backwards in time to about 350 years after Christ's death, interweaving his journey with personal remembrances of growing up in an observant Catholic family.

PART ONE

Click here to watch this part of the documentary on Veoh.

PART TWO

Click here to watch this part of the documentary on Veoh.

Constantine's Sword is an astonishing exploration of the dark side of Christianity, following acclaimed author and former priest James Carrol on a journey of rememberance and reckoning. Warning of what happens when military power and religious fervor are joined, this new film from Oscar-nominated director Oren Jacoby asks: Is the fanaticism that threatens the world today fueled by our own deeply held beliefs?

Click here to visit the official website.

Union - The Business Behind Getting High

2009-05-09T06:15:00.002+08:00

Thanks to 'Simmons' for suggesting this documentary. The Union: The Business Behind Getting High is a 2007 documentary film by Canadian filmmaker Brett Harvey. The film explores the illegal growth, sale and trafficking of marijuana in the Canadian province of British Colombia. Its theatrical run was limited to film festivals. The film follows host Adam Scorgie as he examines the underground market, interviewing growers, police officers, criminologists, economists, doctors, politicians and pop culture icons, revealing how the industry can function despite being a criminal enterprise.

The history of marijuana and the reasons for its present prohibition are discussed, often comparing it to the prohibition of alcohol in the United States in the 1930s, suggesting that gang drug warfare and other negative aspects associated with marijuana are a result of prohibition, not the drug itself. The gangs that grow and traffic the drugs are likened to those that appeared in major U.S. cities during the Prohibition, with the intention of profiting from the sale of illegal alcohol.

The film received numerous honors, some of which included the National Film Board Award for "Best Canadian Documentary" at the 2007 Edmonton International Film Festival, "Outstanding Documentary Feature" at the 2007 Winnipeg International Film Festival, "Grand Prize Best Editing" at the 2007 Rhode Island International Film Festival, "People's Choice" and "Best Canadian Documentary" at the 2008 Okanagan Film Festival and runner up for "People's Choice Most Popular Canadian Film" at the 2007 Vancouver International Film Festival. All together the documentary was officially accepted to 31 International Film Festivals. Most recently it was also nominated for "Best British Columbia Feature Film of 2007" by the Vancouver Film Critics Circle.

Click here to visit the official website.

The War On Democracy

2009-05-09T06:05:00.002+08:00

Set both in Latin America and the United States, the film explores the historic and current relationship of Washington with countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile. Pilger claims that the film "...tells a universal story... analysing and revealing, through vivid testimony, the story of great power behind its venerable myths. It allows us to understand the true nature of the so-called "war on terror". According to Pilger, the film’s message is that the greed and power of empire is not invincible and that people power is always the "seed beneath the snow".

Pilger interviews several ex-CIA agents who purportedly took part in secret campaigns against democratic countries and who he claims are profiting from the war in Iraq. He investigates the School of the Americas in the U.S. state of Georgia, where General Pinochet’s torture squads were reportedly trained along with tyrants and death-squad leaders in Haiti, El Salvador, Brazil and Argentina.

The film uses archive footage to support its claim that democracy has been wiped out in country after country in Latin America since the 1950s. Testimonies from those who fought for democracy in Chile and Bolivia are also used.

The Secret Life of Your Bodyclock

2009-05-09T05:57:00.003+08:00

If you’re reading this any time after lunch and you’re not dead, well done. You have, in the words of Professor Russell Foster, a chronobiologist, “survived the most dangerous part of the day”. Chronobiologists study the body’s various internal clocks. In this documentary, specialists reveal, among other things, that you are three times more likely to have a heart attack between 6.00am and noon, when the blood is stickier and the vessels stiffer. These are the “danger hours”.

Why are you more likely to have a heart attack at eight o'clock in the morning or crash your car on the motorway at two o'clock in the afternoon? Can taking your medication at the right time of day really save your life? And have you ever wondered why teenagers will not get out of bed in the morning?

The answers to these questions lie in the secret world of the biological clock.

The Manson Women

2009-05-05T20:56:00.002+08:00

Barely out of their teens, Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel, laughed their way through their trial for multiple murder. Did cult tactics make them kill?

Some thirty years on, Charles Manson and his infamous ‘family’ still repel and fascinate us. We can't seem to forget the trio of hippie girls who laughed their way through their death penalty trial-and offered up bizarre displays of devotion to their scrawny, enigmatic guru.

Barely out of their teens, Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel didn't fit our notions of what brutal killers should look like. All grew up in California's booming, post-war suburbs. They were children of the middle class who went out into the night and butchered seven people they did not know.

Watch Biography - The Manson Women in Entertainment | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

How did it happen? Were they victims themselves, brainwashed by Manson's personality, and a mix of drugs and sex? And what of the most devoted of Manson's girls - Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme - who led daily vigils on the sidewalks outside of court? Who was she? How did this brew of personalities lead to the country's first cult murders?

The Battle for Canada

2009-05-05T07:35:00.002+08:00

In the first half of the 18th century, British and French interests in North America increasingly overlapped. British war minister William Pitt ordered an invasion up the St. Lawrence. Racing winter, British forces scaled the cliffs near Quebec City at night, with no retreat possible.

For 3 years French and British soldiers had fought for control of North America. In a suprise attack led by English General James Wolfe in 1759, British forces scaled the steep cliffs surrounding the fortress of Quebec, overtaking the French and ushered in an era of British rule of Canada.

This excellent documentary is part of the 'History's Turning Points" series and is a definative history of this important event in the history of North America.

Darwin's Struggle - The Evolution of the Origin of Species

2009-05-02T06:31:00.004+08:00

This stunning documentary tells the little-known story of how Darwin came to write his great masterpiece, On the Origin of Species, a book which explains the wonderful variety of the natural world as emerging out of death and the struggle of life.

In the twenty years he took to develop a brilliant idea into a revolutionary book, Darwin went through a personal struggle every bit as turbulent as that of the natural world he observed. Fortunately, he left us an extraordinary record of his brilliant insights, observations of nature, and touching expressions of love and affection for those around him.

He also wrote frank accounts of family tragedies, physical illnesses and moments of self-doubt, as he laboured towards publication of the book that would change the way we see the world. The story is told with the benefit of Darwin's secret notes and correspondence, enhanced by natural history filming, powerful imagery from the time and contributions from leading contemporary biographers and scientists.

More documentaries like this...

The Genius of Charles Darwin

Evolution - Darwin's Dangerous Idea

Was Darwin Right?

Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life

Suggest a Documentary - Final Post

2009-05-01T06:47:00.000+08:00

We will be initiating a page for documentary suggestions over the next few days, but you can feel free to make your suggestions here in the meantime. The new Suggest a Documentary page will have a simple form you need to fill out, so you need to just put in as much information as possible.

The Celts

2009-04-30T18:18:00.003+08:00

For 800 years, a proud, vibrant, richly imaginative warrior people swept ruthlessly across Europe. The ancient Greeks called them "Keltoi" and honored them as one of the great barbarian races. Follow their fascinating story from their earliest roots 2,500 years ago through the flowering of their unique culture and their enduring heritage today, enhanced with stunning reconstructions of iron-age villages, dramatizations of major historical events and visits to modern Celtic lands.

The Celts gives an in depth view on Celtic civilization from past to present. It shows culture, history, music and language and the struggles of the Celtic people to find their identity. It covers all genres of the culture and is beautifully written. This collection contains a wealth of information and is probably one of the best sources of information on the Celts ever.

PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE

Click here for more on the Celts.

Affluenza

2009-04-30T17:55:00.003+08:00

Through revealing personal stories, expert commentary, hilarious old film clips, dramatized vignettes, and "anti-commercial" breaks, Affluenza examines the high cost of achieving the most extravagant lifestyle the world has ever seen.

Last year, Americans, who make up only five percent of the world's population, used nearly a third of its resources and produced almost half of its hazardous waste. Add overwork, personal stress, the erosion of family and community, skyrocketing debt, and the growing gap between rich and poor, and it's easy to understand why some people say that the American Dream is no bargain. Many are opting out of the consumer chase, redefining the Dream, and making "voluntary simplicity" one of the top 10 trends of the '90s.

Affluenza is a one-hour television special that explores the high social and environmental costs of materialism and overconsumption.

Click here to visit the official website.

Why Do We Dream?

2009-04-28T19:31:00.003+08:00

This documentary looks at the secret world of our dreams. In a series of cutting-edge experiments and personal stories, we go in search of the science behind this most enduring mystery and ask: where do dreams come from? Do they have meaning? And ultimately, why do we dream?

What the film reveals is that much of what we thought we knew no longer stands true. Dreams are not simply wild imaginings but play a significant part in all our lives as they have an impact on our memories, the ability to learn, and our mental health.

Most surprisingly, we find nightmares, too, are beneficial and may even explain the survival of our species.

Legend of the Crystal Skulls

2009-04-28T08:51:00.003+08:00

Skulls are humanity's foremost symbol of death, and a powerful icon in the visual vocabularies of cultures all over the globe. Thirteen crystal skulls of apparently ancient origin have been found in parts of Mexico, Central America and South America, comprising one of the most fascinating subjects of 20th Century archaeology.

This documentary takes a look at the history of all four known skulls and discover their age and origin. We discover how each was found, who it was owned by and passed to over the last hundred years.

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The two most famous of these skulls, originally misidentified as Aztec, and for years shown in the British Museum and the Musée de l'Homme in Paris, have long been known to owe their provenance to nothing more exotic than a French antiquities dealer called Eugène Boban. But this has not stopped the gurus of nonsense from making preposterous claims for similar artefacts. There are, they will tell you, 13 of them and one day they will meet and reveal, talking head to talking head, the secrets of the Universe.

In Debt We Trust

2009-04-28T08:32:00.002+08:00

In America's earliest days, there were barn-raising parties in which neighbors helped each other build up their farms. Today, in some churches, there are debt liquidation revivals in which parishioners chip in to free each other from growing credit card debts that are driving American families to bankruptcy and desperation.

While many Americans may be "maxing out" on credit cards, there is a deeper story: power is shifting into fewer hands.....with frightening consequences.

In Debt We Trust shows how the mall replaced the factory as America's dominant economic engine and how big banks and credit card companies buy our Congress and drive us into what a former major bank economist calls modern serfdom. Americans and our government owe trillions in consumer debt and the national debt, a large amount of it to big banks and billions to Communist China.

Click here to visit the official website.

Owning the Weather

2009-04-28T08:16:00.002+08:00

Back in 1995, a document titled "Owning the Weather in 2025" was submitted to the director of the United States Air Force, under a disguised notion that it was a fictional report and was not intended to be applied to real-life scenarios. The document was a detailed research analysis paper which described the potential of developing aerospace technologies, and more importantly, how they might best be used to harness, control and manipulate the natural forces of weather on this planet.

The technologies and capabilities described in this report have now become a reality, and have been documented all over the world. The "Space Preservation Act of 2001" was introduced on the floor of the House of Representatives by Dennis Kucinich and was an attempt to legislate the use of certain types of advanced weaponry, and not surprisingly, did not pass. Although Kucinich is just another gear in the NWO mechanism, the first-draft edition of this bill contains some very startling admissions to the types of weaponry the United States Air Force has been developing since the end of WWII, including such categories of weaponry as "biological", "electromagnetic", "tectonic", and most disturbingly, "chemtrails."

This film attempts to show that chemtrails are not a hoax, they are real, and they are part of an international conspiracy aimed not only at controlling the elements, but also at ascribing this new technology immediately to war-fighting applications.

Right America - Feeling Wronged

2009-04-26T05:35:00.002+08:00

On the day Barack Obama was elected the 44th President, more than 58 million voters cast their ballots for John McCain. In the months leading up to this historic election, filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi took a road trip to meet some of the conservative Americans who waited in line for hours to support the GOP ticket, and saw their hopes and dreams evaporate in the wake of that Democratic victory. These voters share their feelings about the changing America in which they live.

For her fifth HBO project, Pelosi visited 28 states and spoke about the fight for the soul of the country with mostly conservative Americans, who feel underrepresented by the mainstream media. From the Pulpit Freedom Day in Bethlehem, Ga. to the NASCAR circuit, RIGHT AMERICA: FEELING WRONGED shows a country at war with itself over the religious and cultural identities that define America.

Many interviewees were particularly incensed by what they saw as a lack of any meaningful media attention given to their message during the election campaign - including their views on such hotly contested issues as gun control, abortion rights, religion and gay rights - and by a perceived media bias against McCain and running mate Sarah Palin.

Stephen Hawking and the Theory of Everything

2009-04-26T05:19:00.004+08:00

How did the universe come into being? Why are we here? And where are we headed? Stephen Hawking--one of the world’s most famous physicists and author of the international bestseller A Brief History of Time--wants to answer those questions.

Trying to unify Einstein’s theory of relativity and quantum mechanics, he seeks a single explanation for the entire universe. But he’s racing against time, trapped in a relentlessly deteriorating body ravaged by Lou Gehrig’s disease. Join Hawking and other renowned thinkers as they explore the revolutionary new ideas that have evolved since the publication of his blockbuster book.

Besides interviews, this stimulating documentary uses computer graphics and simple, easy-to-understand demonstrations to explain complex concepts. Topics include black holes, string theory, supersymmetry, dimensions beyond our perception, and the mysterious M force--all potential keys to unlocking the elusive "theory of everything" that seems so tantalizingly close.

Click here to watch part one.

Click here to watch part two.

More documentaries like this...

Stephen Hawking's Universe

The Hawking Paradox

Astrospies

2009-04-26T05:07:00.003+08:00

Thanks to Simon for suggesting this documentary.

Millions remember the countdowns, launchings, splashdowns, and parades as the U.S. raced the USSR to the moon in the 1960s. But few know that both countries also ran parallel space programs, whose covert goal was to launch military astronauts on spying missions. In this program, NOVA delves into the untold story of this top-secret space race, which might easily have turned into a shooting war in orbit.

Coproduced by investigative journalist James Bamford, acclaimed best-selling author of The Puzzle Palace and Emmy Award-winning producer Scott Willis, "Astrospies" uncovers new clues about the tensest period of the Cold War, when the U.S. and USSR were on the verge of war and desperate for intelligence on each other's nuclear capabilities.

In the U.S., the Air Force-run program was given the cover name Manned Orbiting Laboratory. The public was informed only that the project involved placing military astronauts in space to conduct scientific research. But in reality, as the MOL pilots themselves tell NOVA, their actual mission was far different—although even they were kept in the dark at first.

Click here to visit the official website.

This film cannot be embedded, click here to watch this documentary.

No Internet Access

2009-04-21T13:14:00.002+08:00

I am currently in the process of moving house...one of the most stressful activities known to man! There will be no new posts for a couple more days as my ISP is really dragging its feet in moving my account to my new address.

Thanks for you patience.

Titanic Documentaries

2009-04-18T12:09:00.003+08:00

Thanks to Kevin for suggesting a documentary about who sank the Titanic. I am not sure if the one you had in mind is amongst the following two films, but they are good Titanic documentaries nonetheless.

Wiki has this to say about the Titanic...

On the night of 14 April 1912, during her maiden voyage, Titanic hit an iceberg and sank two hours and forty minutes later, early on 15 April 1912. The sinking resulted in the deaths of 1,517 people, making it one of the most deadly peacetime maritime disasters in history. The high casualty rate was due in part to the fact that, although complying with the regulations of the time, the ship did not carry enough lifeboats for everyone aboard. The ship had a total lifeboat capacity of 1,178 people even though her maximum capacity was 3,547 people. A disproportionate number of men died also, due to the women-and-children-first protocol that was followed.

The Titanic used some of the most advanced technology available at the time and was, after the sinking, popularly believed to have been described as “unsinkable”. It was a great shock to many that, despite the extensive safety features and experienced crew, the Titanic sank. The frenzy on the part of the media about Titanic's famous victims, the legends about the sinking, the resulting changes to maritime law, and the discovery of the wreck have contributed to the interest in and fame of the Titanic that continues to this day.

The Iceburg that Sank the Titanic

The Ship that Never Sank

Thunderbolts of the Gods

2009-04-18T12:00:00.008+08:00

Thanks to Andreas for suggesting this documentary - Thunderbolts of the Gods introduces the reader to a former age of planetary instability and earthshaking electrical events, and offers a revolutionary synthesis of historical investigation and the newly discovered Electric Universe. Solar system cosmic upheaval occurred so recently as to have profoundly affected early human cultures, provoking incomprehensible myths, symbols, and commemorative practices.

Through a synthesis of ancient testimony, high-energy plasma experiments, and space age discoveries, the authors bring the ancient world to life. If their hypothesis is correct, it will surely alter many paths of scientific investigation as well. The little-known study of powerful electrical discharges in plasma is a new and exciting development in plasma cosmology , with profound implication for space age astronomy.

THIS VIDEO CANNOT BE EMBEDDED, CLICK HERE TO WATCH ON GOOGLE VIDEO

To advance their case, the authors present side-by-side comparisons of laboratory plasma experiments and globally recurring symbols of the ancient sky. The evidence, they report, shows an ancient obsession with extremely violent electrical discharge formations in the heavens.

There are some pretty controversial ideas put forth in this documentary...what do you think? Click here to visit the official website.

The Primitive Celts

2009-04-15T19:40:00.002+08:00

Terry Jones travels round the geography of the Roman Empire - through Europe and Africa - bringing wit, irreverence, passion and the very latest scholarship to transform a history that seemed well past its sell-by date, and make it relevant to living with the new American world empire.

In De Bellico Gallico, Julius Caesar wrote that he invaded Celtic Gaul in 58 BC to protect the Northern borders of the Empire from these volatile people. But Caesar's account was a smokescreen for a more sinister truth.

The Celts, according to Rome, were a warring and illiterate people. Yet Terry Jones discovers that the Celts had culture, tradition and even mathematical know-how beyond that of Rome itself.

The 50 Greatest Documentaries

2009-04-14T19:30:00.004+08:00

In 2005, Channel 4 conducted a poll to determine what the British public considered to be the 50 greatest documentary films. This series is based upon a poll of film makers, and takes a facinating look at the lives of those film makers.

PART ONE

Watch The 50 Greatest Documentaries [Part 1] in Entertainment | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

PART TWO

Watch The 50 Greatest Documentaries [Part 2] in Entertainment | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

PART THREE

Watch The 50 Greatest Documentaries [Part 3] in Entertainment | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

PART FOUR

Watch The 50 Greatest Documentaries [Part 4] in Entertainment | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

PART FIVE

Watch The 50 Greatest Documentaries [Part 5] in Entertainment | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

PART SIX

Watch The 50 Greatest Documentaries [Part 6] in Entertainment | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

The Power Of The Situation

2009-04-13T16:20:00.003+08:00

This powerful documentary takes us on a journey of self-discovery. We learn just what humans are capable of through the study of our responses to commands and leadership. How is it that dictators are so easily able to manipulate the masses? Are humans pre-programmed to carry out any actions necessary to our group acceptance?

Specifically, this documentary takes a close look at the Milgram Experiment that were carried out in the early '60s. Wiki quotes Dr. Milgram and the results of his experiment...

The legal and philosophic aspects of obedience are of enormous importance, but they say very little about how most people behave in concrete situations. I set up a simple experiment at Yale University to test how much pain an ordinary citizen would inflict on another person simply because he was ordered to by an experimental scientist. Stark authority was pitted against the subjects' [participants'] strongest moral imperatives against hurting others, and, with the subjects' [participants'] ears ringing with the screams of the victims, authority won more often than not. The extreme willingness of adults to go to almost any lengths on the command of an authority constitutes the chief finding of the study and the fact most urgently demanding explanation.

Find out what humans are capable of...you'll be suprised!

Fractals - The Colors Of Infinity

2009-04-13T16:13:00.002+08:00

Arthur C. Clarke, through interviews with scientists and mathematicians like Benoit Mandlebrot, use the popular Mandlebrot Set to explore how easy formulas can bring about intricate results. It is also used in an attempt to answer questions about the longevity of the universe.

Benoit Mandelbrot discovered what is now called the M-Set in the early seventies and coined the term fractal to describe the geometry behind it. The power and the beauty of fractals were only capable of being seen with the advent of computers, which become psychedelic windows on the infinite when using simple fractal equations.

In 1992 Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon made the TV documentary, The Colors of Infinity about the Mandelbrot Set and fractals, which has since been seen right round the world. Nigel s enthusiasm brought together a dream team of contributors for the film who all now contribute to the book tracking how fractals have developed since the film was made. Sir Arthur C Clarke presented the film and in the book gives a lucidly simple account of the mathematics of the M-Set.

Satan - Prince of Darkness

2009-04-12T07:20:00.002+08:00

Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, the Devil...known by many names, he was the once-favorite angel who fell from grace. Cast out from Heaven, he became mankind's tormentor, vowing to destroy the creation of his former master.

From the Biblical tale of his fall to the incredible stories of those who believe they have crossed his path, this documentary takes us on a chilling journey through the long and legendary history of Satan. Scholars, historical experts, and theologians examine classic paintings, academic texts, and modern movies for an unprecedented look at the many ways Satan has been portrayed throughout the centuries.

Satan - Prince of Darkness paints the ultimate portrait of the face of evil, and reveals how over millennia the Devil has come to personify mankind's greatest fears.

Global Warming Doomsday Called Off

2009-04-12T06:50:00.003+08:00

I would like to point out for the record that I do not agree with the premise of a global warming swindle. I earnestly belive that global warming is real and that humanity needs to act before it is too late.

This documentary claims to be about the real cause of global warming. It discusses the idea that CO2 is not cause of global warming. This documentary discusses many topics that are not covered in the Global Warming Swindle such as the hockey stick graph, from the viewpoint of Willie Soon and Sallie Baliunas.

I find it amazing the lengths that 'flat-worlders' will go to when trying to prove their illogical arguments. Are these people visionaries or just nut-jobs...you decide!

Looking for the Revolution

2009-04-12T06:44:00.004+08:00

THIS DOCUMENTARY IS IN JAPANESE ONLY...ENGLISH LINK WILL BE POSTED SOON!

Che Guevara died in Southern Bolivia while trying to ignite the sparks of revolution throughout South America. His death at the hands of Bolivian Rangers trained and financed by the US Government, marked the beginning of the cocaine era in Bolivia. Forty years later and under pressure from the masses who gave him a clear mandate, the first indigenous President Evo Morales (an ex-coca leaf farmer) is promising to continue the revolution.

He has nationalised the oil industry and passed laws on Agrarian reform. Despite the revolutionary-sounding election speeches and campaign iconography that accompanied his landslide victory, on closer inspection it emerges that the old system is pretty much alive inside the new one. Corruption, nepotism and old-fashioned populism are at the core of this movement.

Watch ã��ã�ªã��ã�¢ï¼�ã��å��ä½�æ°�ã��ã�¡ã�®é�©å�½ï¼�Looking for the Revolutionã�� in Politics | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

The more Morales does to create employment, the more the landowners conspire against him and paralyse Bolivia’s economy. As a result, no jobs are created and the pressure from the poor increases. The cycle of tension threatens to crush both the country and the indigenous revolution. Looking for the Revolution is about the dynamics of that tension as witnessed by the characters of the film - the struggle for power between landowners and the indigenous movement, and the continuation of a revolution Morales-style, started so long ago.

Opus Dei Revealed

2009-04-11T06:48:00.003+08:00

The bad guys from the Da Vinci Code, Opus Dei is a semi-autonomous cult operating within the Catholic Church. It devout members, known as Numeraries, are chaste and engage in personal mortification to remember the sacrifice of Jesus.

Founded in 1928 by Josemaría Escrivá (now a Saint within the Catholic church), it has received criticism as being secretive, cladestine and cultish. Opus Dei is a very conservative and orthodox flavour of Catholicism, and the organization also supported the fascist Franco regime in Spain.

Wiki has this to say about Opus Dei...

Opus Dei is an organization of the Catholic Church. As such, it shares the theology of the Catholic Church. Opus Dei places special emphasis on certain aspects of Catholic doctrine. A central feature of Opus Dei's theology is its focus on the lives of the ordinary Catholics who are neither priests nor monks. Opus Dei emphasizes the "universal call to holiness": the belief that everyone should aspire to be a saint, that sanctity is within the reach of everyone, not just a few special individuals.

Opus Dei does not have monks or nuns, and only a minority of its members are part of the priesthood. A related characteristic is Opus Dei's emphasis on uniting spiritual life with professional, social, and family life. Whereas the members of some religious orders might live in monasteries and devote their lives exclusively to prayer and study, members of Opus Dei lead ordinary lives, with traditional families and secular careers, and strive to "sanctify ordinary life". Indeed, Pope John Paul II called Escrivá "the saint of ordinary life".

John & Yoko's Year of Peace

2009-04-11T06:41:00.003+08:00

The year: 1969. Headlines blare war and civil unrest while John Lennon and Yoko Ono are in love. The eccentic rock 'n' roll couple has just gotten married, and more than happy to be together, they want to change the world.

Lying in a hotel bed surrounded by journalists, they announce their mission for peace and invite the rest of the world to symbolically climb into bed with them and share their dream. People call them silly, naive, even ridiculous, yet one famous couple's bed-in spread new hope that there really could be an end to war, hate and violence.

Here is rare footage from that amazing time, including footage from John and Yoko's wedding, the infamous bedside confrontation between John and conservative cartoonist Al Capp, Lennon debating media expert Marshall McLuhan, and meeting Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Now twenty years after Lennon's murder, Yoko and others involved in the peace mission reflect on the events of that magical, mystical year.

1929 - The Great Crash

2009-04-11T06:37:00.002+08:00

This documentary explores the causes of the 1929 Wall Street Crash.

Over six terrifying, desperate days in October 1929, shares crashed by a third on the New York Stock Exchange. More than $25 billion in individual wealth was lost. Later, three thousand banks failed, taking people's savings with them. Surviving eyewitnesses describe the biggest financial catastrophe in history.

In 1919, the US had emerged victorious and dominant from World War One. Britain and its European allies were exhausted financially from the war. In contrast, the US economy was thriving and the world danced to the American tune.

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Easy credit and mass production set the tone in the roaring twenties for an era of consumption like none that had ever been seen before. The stock market rose and investors piled in, borrowing money to cash in on the bubble. In 1928, the market went up by 50 per cent in just 12 months. The crash was followed by a devastating worldwide depression that lasted until the Second World War. Shares did not regain their pre-crash values until 1954.

This is the story of a financial disaster that we hoped could never happen again.

The Genius of Mozart

2009-04-10T04:07:00.005+08:00

The story begins with the composer's father Leopold with whom Mozart conducted a passionate and tortured correspondence. It is Leopold who knows Mozart's secrets. And there is another voice: that of the music itself. Music is the key to unlocking the emotions of Mozart, starting in this film with the great piano works.

Without this key, how can we ever understand the emotions that gave birth to some of the most beautiful sounds the world has ever heard? The first great phase of Mozart's brief life was that of the travelling child prodigy - gifted as a performer and writer of music - who grew into the genius who, working within the restrictions of his time, began to rewrite the musical rules.

But there was another facet to Mozart - the adult thinker aware of the bigger picture, passionately attached to the progressive values of the Enlightenment - impressively well-read, a speaker of most European languages (even a little English), an Austrian Catholic, a Freemason and above all a composer at the height of his formidable powers, determined to succeed in the most difficult and lucrative area of all - Opera.

Towards the end of his life, Mozart mastered the language of instrumental and orchestral writing - and how both love and loss provoked in him an extraordinary burst of creativity. This was essentially crystallised in three ambitious works that changed the future course of music: his last, great trilogy of symphonies - numbers 39, 40 and 41 - which he wrote in six short weeks. This is a must watch film for lovers of music and life!

PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE

Palestine Is Still The Issue

2009-04-10T03:58:00.003+08:00

In 1977, the award-winning journalist and film-maker, John Pilger, made a documentary called Palestine Is Still The Issue. He told how almost a million Palestinians had been forced off their land in 1948, and again in 1967.

In this in-depth documentary, he has returned to the West Bank of the Jordan and Gaza, and to Israel, to ask why the Palestinians, whose right of return was affirmed by the United Nations more than half a century ago, are still caught in a terrible limbo -- refugees in their own land, controlled by Israel in the longest military occupation in modern times.

"The fate and struggle of the Palestinians," says Pilger, "are not just critical to the overdue recognition of their basic human rights, but are also central to whether the region, and the wider world, are plunged into war. Israel is now one of the biggest military powers in the world. While nothing changes, the dangers become greater. This is a film about a nation of people, traumatized, humiliated and yet resilient. In trying to liberate less than a quarter of historic Palestine, they have had no army, no air force, and no powerful friends -- and have fought back with slingshots and now with the terrorism of the suicide bombers."

In a series of extraordinary interviews with both Palestinians and Israelis, John Pilger weaves together the issue of Palestine. He speaks to the families of suicide bombers and their victims; he sees the humiliation of Palestinians imposed on them at myriad checkpoints and with a permit system not dissimilar to apartheid South Africa's infamous pass laws. He goes into the refugee camps and meets children who, he says, "no longer dream like other children, or if they do, it is about death." Continually asking for the solution, John Pilger says it is time to bring justice, as well as peace, to Palestine.

Who's Got God's Millions?

2009-04-07T19:22:00.002+08:00

Robert Llewellyn attempts to discover which of the world's top four monotheistic religions has the most money. His journey takes him from Canterbury Cathedral to Vatican City and Israel, as he bids to calculate the income and assets of the Anglican Commune, the Catholic Church, Judaism and Islam.

“As an atheist, I’ve always wondered how much money the faiths keep stuffed under the mattress,” says Robert Llewellyn. In this time of financial crisis, when billions of pounds are being coughed up to support struggling banks, Robert feels it is time to discover the financial interests of the world’s great monotheistic faiths – Anglicanism, Catholicism, Judaism and Islam.

Robert’s first stop is Canterbury Cathedral, where he is surprised to learn that financial figures for the Church of England are readily available. Robert then travels to Westminster Cathedral to learn about the Catholic Church’s status in England. Part of the Catholic Church’s income in the UK goes to fund the Vatican, so Rome is Robert’s next destination. It soon becomes apparent that Vatican City is a financial black hole, and no one wants to admit how much money the Pope actually has.

Next Robert travels to Jerusalem to scour the finances of Judaism, only to find the Israeli government cannot even put a figure on the number of synagogues in the country. “There’s one God – that’s the only figure I can think of,” says Ariel Catane of the National Authority of Religious Services.

Finally, Robert heads to the East London Mosque to get a handle on the wealth of Islam. Despite the plethora of statistics available, he finds that no one has ever conducted an audit of the UK’s 1,600 mosques. And his efforts to obtain the global income for Islam founder when none of the embassies of the world’s biggest Muslim countries agree to meet him. Undeterred, Robert eventually comes up with a total figure – but which of the top religions is the richest?

Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life

2009-04-06T19:29:00.003+08:00

David Attenborough asks three key questions: how and why did Darwin come up with his theory of evolution? Why do we think he was right? And why is it more important now than ever before?

David starts his journey in Darwin's home at Down House in Kent, where Darwin worried and puzzled over the origins of life. David goes back to his roots in Leicestershire, where he hunted for fossils as a child, and where another schoolboy unearthed a significant find in the 1950s. And he revisits Cambridge University, where both he and Darwin studied, and where many years later the DNA double helix was discovered, providing the foundations for genetics.

At the end of his journey in the Natural History Museum in London, David concludes that Darwin's great insight revolutionised the way in which we see the world. We now understand why there are so many different species, and why they are distributed in the way they are. But above all, Darwin has shown us that we are not set apart from the natural world, and do not have dominion over it. We are subject to its laws and processes, as are all other animals on earth to which, indeed, we are related.