May 24, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info Links

Amazon Indians Lead Battle Against Power Giant's Plan to Flood Rainforest (The Independent UK) May 23, 2008

US Empire in Somalia: Hidden Catastrophe, Hidden Agenda (Media Lens) May 13, 2008

US Senate Passes No-Strings War Funding Bill (Inter Press Service) May 23, 2008

“War, Inc.”: John Cusack’s New Film Satirizes the Corruption, Profiteering and Hubris Behind the Iraq War (Democracy Now!) May 23, 2008

Why Cusack's War, Inc.. Is Must-See Political Filmmaking (Alternet) May 21, 2008

Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU): Say No to Xenophobia (MR Zine) May 21, 2008

Union-Busting at Woodman’s Grocery Chain in Wisconsin (Socialist Worker) May 23, 2008

May 16, 2008 - News, Views, and Info

US Naval Fleet To Be Positioned Off the Coast of South America (Upside Down World) May 13, 2008

John Cusack’s War: The Actor Battles to Un-Embed Hollywood With His New Film, ‘War, Inc.’ (Common Dreams) May 16, 2008

The Horrors of ICE: Dangerous Forced Psychotropic Drugging, Frightening Lack of Medical Care (American Leftist) May 14, 2008

California Supreme Court Strikes Down Same Sex Marriage Ban (365Gay.com) May 15, 2008

China's All-Seeing Eye: With the help of U.S. defense contractors, China is building the prototype for a high-tech police state. It is ready for export. (Rolling Stone) May 29, 2008

Species are dying out at a rate not seen since the demise of the dinosaurs, according to a report published today – and human behaviour is to blame. (The Independent UK) May 16, 2008

The Water Front: What Happens When Water Is for Profit?

A new documentary shows the stark reality of trying to make a buck off a basic necessity.
By Zoe Maggio, Alternet, March 25, 2008

"What if you lived by the largest body of fresh water in the world but could no longer afford to use it?" The Water Front, a documentary film by Liz Miller, is the story of one community's determined resistance to water privatization.
Highland Park, Michigan, was once the center of the early 20th century's booming automobile industry -- the location of the first assembly line implemented by the Ford Motor Company, enabling mass production. Now, the post-industrial city is in financial crisis and the state of Michigan has appointed an Emergency Financial Manager, with the same power as an elected mayor, to sort it out. Seeing the municipal water plant as a potential source of revenue, the manager raises the water rates to impossible levels, with some residents receiving water bills as high as $10,000. If they are unable to pay, the water is shut off. Highland Park's residents, who are mostly poor or low-income and people of color, have organized a campaign to prevent the water plant from impending privatization, and to assert water, an essential life resource, as a human right.

Continue reading and/or watching 'The Water Front: What Happens When Water Is for Profit?'. . .

War Made Easy

By Louis Proyect, The Unrepentant Marxist, March 14, 2008

Now playing at the Quad Theater in New York, “War Made Easy” is the definitive study of how the mainstream media in the United States permitted itself to be used as a propaganda outlet of the Bush administration in the run-up to the war with Iraq. It places “embedded” journalism in the larger context of pro-war media going back to the early stages of the Cold War, and is particularly adept in making comparisons with the war in Vietnam. Just as the Gulf of Tonkin incident—an attack on American destroyers by Vietnamese patrol boats that never really happened—was used as a pretext for getting into Vietnam, so were false reports on weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein ties to al Qaeda used for this most recent imperialist debacle.
Serving as expert witness in this documentary written and directed by Loretta Alper and Jeremy Earp is Norman Solomon, an expert on corporate media abuse and author of the 2006 book “War Made Easy” that the movie is based on.

Continue reading 'War Made Easy'. . .

Burning the Future

By Louis Proyect, The Unrepentant Marxist, February 29, 2008

While watching “Burning the Future“, the powerful new documentary on the environmental impact of strip mining (more accurately referred to as “mountaintop removal”), I could not help but think of rape. As you watch the profit-mad coal companies turn a prone and helpless West Virginia into a victim, your soul cries out for justice. Unfortunately, unlike sex crimes, turning coal into electricity–no matter the environmental and human costs–becomes justified as a civic duty during an era of growing energy insecurity. When Bill Raney, a sleazy coal industry spokesman with dyed hair and mustache, appears throughout the film to defend mountaintop removal, you cannot help but notice the little placard on his bookshelf that says: “Bush Loves Coal”.

Continue reading 'Burning the Future'. . .

Howard Zinn's 'History' comes to TV

By Michael Schneider, Variety, December 10, 2007

Production is finally set to begin on a long-delayed TV version of Howard Zinn's landmark 1980 tome "A People's History of the United States."
The four-hour documentary miniseries -- titled "The People Speak" -- will include performances by Matt Damon, Marisa Tomei, Viggo Mortensen, Danny Glover, Josh Brolin, David Strathairn, Kerry Washington, Eddie Vedder and John Legend.
Zinn will host the longform project, which begins shooting next month in Boston.

Continue reading 'Howard Zinn's 'History' comes to TV'. . .

John Pilger's 'The War on Democracy'

from the youtube description:

Award-winning documentary maker John Pilger suggests that, far from bringing
democracy to the world as it claims, the US is doing its best to stifle its progress.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea

By Louis Proyect, The Unrepentant Marxist, September 8, 2007

“Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea” is a new documentary on an infamous body of water in southern California that forces us to think deeply about the environmental contradictions of capitalist society. Additionally, it is a glimpse into the lives of the quirky population that chooses to live on the shores of this looming ecological disaster. Think of a mixture of a more sophisticated version of Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” and Errol Morris’s study of eccentric characters in “Vernon, Florida” and you’ll end up with “Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea.”

Continue reading 'Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea'. . .

Seeing 'BANDITS' in Haiti: An Interview with Kevin Pina

By Marian Peleski, Atlantic Free Press, August 12, 2007

Documentary filmmaker and independent journalist Kevin Pina is interviewed by Marian Peleski about his work and current events unfolding in Haiti. Pina is preparing for a fall tour with his most recent documentary "Haiti: We must kill the BANDITS" that follows his earlier release of "Haiti: The UNtold Story." Peleski is a frequent host of "Progressive Voices" which is heard every Monday evening on WVUD, 91.3 FM from the University of Delaware in Newark.

Continue reading or listening to 'Seeing 'BANDITS' in Haiti: An Interview with Kevin Pina'. . .

Watch the Trailer for 'Haiti: We Must Kill the BANDITS'

"Arctic Tale" Shows How Global Warming Endangers Polar Bears

By Mat Thomas, AnimalRighter, August 8, 2007

Global warming threatens to dramatically change the world we live in, and the first ones to feel the heat are those living in glacier country. For example, scientists fear that polar bears in particular will become extinct by the end of the century if current trends persist and their habitat continues to melt.
"Arctic Tale" is a new movie from the makers of "March of the Penguins" that shows what is happening to the animals who have lived for millennia on the frozen tundra, and how drastically changing conditions could spell the end of their very existence.

Continue reading '"Arctic Tale" Shows How Global Warming Endangers Polar Bears'. . .

The Animals Refusing to Die

By Derek Wall, The Guardian/Comment is Free, July 31, 2007

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...The Animals Film, narrated by Julie Christie and directed by Victor Schonfeld. It covered military experiments on animals, with shocking footage of a dog chained up to be killed in a nuclear test. Vivisection, factory farming, hunting and other organised forms of abuse are all covered.
What really shocked me was footage of feedlots for cattle in the US, essentially the factory farming of cattle, crowded together with little space to move - an abomination. This was followed by footage of a major burger chain whose PR specialists told children that the burgers were grown like plants. All the cruelty had been airbrushed out of the picture. It was a moment I still remember today with horror.
The grinning burgers, complete with eyes, bouncing up and down in joyous anticipation of being eaten by toddlers, reminds me today of the fake information film promoting meat in the classic Lisa the Vegetarian episode of The Simpsons: "The Meat Council Presents: Meat and You: Partners in Freedom". I have not eaten a burger since 1984.
The Animals film has just been re-released.

Read all of 'The Animals Refusing to Die'. . .

Howard Zinn Film: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train

From the youtube description:

In these turbulent times, Howard Zinn is inspiring a new generation. This acclaimed film looks at the amazing life of the renowned historian, activist and author. Following his early days as a shipyard labor organizer and bombardier in World War II, Zinn became an academic rebel and leader of civil disobedience in a time of institutionalized racism and war. His influential writings shine light on and bring voice to factory workers, immigrant laborers, African Americans, Native Americans and the working poor.

Featuring rare archival materials and interviews with Zinn and colleagues such as Noam Chomsky, You Can't Be Neutral captures the essence of this extraordinary man who has been a catalyst for progressive change for more than 60 years.

Watch it online now in 7 parts.

-Part 1

-Part 2

-Part 3

-Part 4

-Part 5

-Part 6

-Part 7

Will Sicko Spark a Movement?

By Alan Maass, Socialist Worker, July 6, 2007

Alan Maass reports on the overwhelming response to Michael Moore’s Sicko--and the potential of a movement to win fundamental change.

Continue reading 'Will Sicko Spark a Movement?'. . .

SICKO and Political Health of Michael Moore

By Jon Flanders, MR Zine, July 3, 2007

I saw Michael Moore's SICKO last week. By now who doesn't know that SICKO is a savage and hilarious demolition job on the US health care insurance corporations and their self-serving myths about the national health care systems of countries like Canada and Cuba?
But this is not a review of SICKO. I'll just say go see it and then get involved in the fight for single-payer national health insurance, like the plan embodied in the labor-backed Conyers bill, HR 676.
Soon after I saw SICKO, I rented the recent documentary about Ralph Nader, An Unreasonable Man. In it, we follow Nader's career from crusading young lawyer taking on General Motors to the presidential campaigns of 2000 and 2004.

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What struck me after watching An Unreasonable Man was the "sickening" sight of Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon, and others, in the full flood of liberal panic, retreating from their principled and brave support of Nader in 2000. It was excruciating to watch their cringing backing of Kerry and the Democrats in 2004.

Read all of 'SICKO and Political Health of Michael Moore'. . .

Panama Deception Film

The 'Panama Deception' is an Acadamy Award winning documentary about the 1989 US invasion of Panama. It was released in 1992. From the youtube description:

This Oscar winning documentary covers the secret war in Panama and how the USA controls other countries with military might. Must watch.

Watch it online now in 3 parts:

-Part 1

-Part 2

-Part 3

Michael Moore and Healthcare

By Ralph Nader, Nader.org, June 25, 2007

He sat there dejected and indignant—twenty years ago—in our office. His position as editor of the monthly muckraking magazine, Mother Jones, had broken up. He was looking for a job that would allow him to bring his conscience to work.
We gave him a place and support to start Moore’s Weekly—a media critique.
Michael Moore has gone a long way since that short-lived publication. He went on to do documentary films, starting with Roger and Me—meaning of course, Michael Moore.
Rich, famous and Hollywood chic, Moore will open his latest film—‘Sicko’ in theatres around the country on June 29, 2007. To many of those who have already seen this indictment and conviction of the corporations that sell health care under an array of tricky conditions, it is his best move yet.

Continue reading 'Michael Moore and Healthcare'. . .

Earthlings Film

From the youtube description:

EARTHLINGS is a feature length documentary about humanity's absolute dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research) but also illustrates our complete disrespect for these so-called "non-human providers." The film is narrated by Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix (GLADIATOR) and features music by the critically acclaimed platinum artist Moby.

Watch 'Earthlings' online right now in 3 parts.

-Part 1


-Part 2


-Part 3

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised Film

'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' is an award-winning documentary about the April 11, 2002 coup that briefly deposed Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.

Watch 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' online right now.

An Hour with Michael Moore on "Sicko" on Democracy Now!

By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, June 18, 2007

Michael Moore is on the move. On Wednesday, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker will testify on Capitol Hill. He then heads to New Hampshire to challenge presidential candidates, Democrat and Republican, over the nation's healthcare system.
His latest documentary SiCKO is being released in thousands of theaters next week. The film is a seething indictment of the US healthcare system. It focuses not on the more than 40 million people who don't have healthcare but on the 250 million who do - many of whom are abandoned by the very health insurance industry they paid into for decades.
Yesterday I sat down with Michael Moore at the Tribeca Cinema just after he had done a sneak preview for 9/11 workers who fell ill after working in the toxic environment at Ground Zero. He was then doing a showing for the Center for Justice and Democracy - a tort reform group. I began by asking him what inspired him to make the film.

Continue reading, watching, or listening to 'An Hour with Michael Moore on "Sicko" on Democracy Now!'. . .

Open Letter from Michael Moore to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson

By Michael Moore, MichaelMoore.com, May 11, 2007

Secretary Henry Paulson
Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC 20220

May 11, 2007

Secretary Paulson,

I am contacting you in light of the document sent to me dated May 2, 2007, which was received May 7, 2007 indicating that an investigation has been opened up with regards to a trip I took to Cuba with a group of Americans that included some 9/11 heroes in March 2007 related to the filming of my next documentary, on the American Healthcare system. SiCKO, which will be seen in theaters this summer, will expose the health care industry’s greed and control over America’s political processes.
I believe that the decision to conduct this investigation represents the latest example of the Bush Administration abusing the federal government for raw, crass, political purposes.

Continue reading 'Open Letter from Michael Moore to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson'. . .