Reply #19: 20 "Must See" documentaries with links to where you can watch them

[Turborama]

BBC Horizon: Global Dimming - "a film that demands action"
Global Dimming This may be the one of the most important Horizon films of recent years. Climate scientists have just discovered a phenomenon that threatens to disrupt our world. It may already have contributed to the deaths of hundreds of thousands through drought and famine. Unchecked, it will strike again. The good news is that there is a cure. The bad news is that the cure may be worse than the disease.

If they are right, then in tackling the one problem, we may unleash a climate catastrophe on our planet. This is a film about stark choices and about the dawning realisation that all our predictions about the world's climate may be completely wrong. At its heart is something that scientists are calling "global dimming".

The thread with all the links (as with all these docs. I thoroughly recommend getting the torrent version if it's available as the picture and sound quality is far better): http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x271149

Iraq For Sale - The War Profiteers
Documentary portraying the actions of U.S. corporate contractors in the U.S.-Iraq war. Interviews with employees and former employees of such companies as Halliburton, CACI, and KBR suggest that government cronyism is behind apparent "sweetheart" deals that give such contractors enormous freedom to profit from supplying support and material to American troops while providing little oversight. Survivors of employees who were killed discuss the claim that the companies cared more for profit than for the welfare of their own workers, and soldiers indicate that the quality of services provided is sub-standard and severely in contradiction to the comparatively huge profits being generated. Also depicted are the unsuccessful attempts by the filmmakers to get company spokesmen to respond to the charges made by the interviewees

Google Video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3168421456806470433&ei=lzl_Sf7UI4PcwgO_vrGjDA&q=Iraq+for+Sale+The+War+Profiteers+&dur=3

Torrent (10 seeds as of writing): http://www.mininova.org/tor/512808

PBS's Soldiers of Conscience
Soldiers of Conscience is a dramatic window on the dilemma of individual U.S. soldiers in the current Iraq war — when their finger is on the trigger and another human being is in their gunsight. Made with cooperation of the U.S. Army and narrated by Peter Coyote, the film profiles eight American soldiers, including four who decide not to kill, and become conscientious objectors and four who believe in their duty to kill if necessary. The film reveals all of them wrestling with the morality of killing in war, not as a philosophical problem, but as soldiers experience it — a split-second decision in combat that can never be forgotten or undone.

Full synopsis here: http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2008/soldiersofconscience/about.html

(Warning: contains graphic images)

PBS stream (only available within the US): http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2008/soldiersofconscience/fullfilm.html

Full documentary on Google Video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3643788528127179145&ei=aWKjSb-6LYmmwgPmtui3Bw&q=+soldiers+of+conscience&hl=en&dur=3

Private Warriors
As the Army struggles to meet recruitment numbers, FRONTLINE takes a hard look at private contractors servicing U.S. military supply lines, running U.S. military bases, and protecting U.S. diplomats and generals. Between the logistics giant Halliburton and a myriad of armed security companies, private military contractors comprise the second largest "force" in Iraq, far outnumbering all non-U.S. forces combined. There are as many as 100,000 civilian contractors and approximately 20,000 private security forces.

In "Private Warriors," FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith travels throughout Kuwait and Iraq to give viewers an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at companies like Kellogg, Brown & Root, a Halliburton subsidiary, and its civilian army. KBR has 50,000 employees in Iraq and Kuwait that run U.S. military supply lines and operate U.S. military bases. KBR is also the largest contractor in Iraq, providing the Army with $11.84 billion dollars in services since 2002.

PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/warriors/view/

Why we fight
Why We Fight describes the rise and maintenance of the United States military-industrial complex and its fifty-year involvement with the wars led by the United States to date, especially its 2003 Invasion of Iraq. The documentary asserts that in every decade since World War II, the American public was told a lie, so that the Government (incumbent Administration) could take them to war and fuel the military-industrial economy maintaining American political dominance in the world. Interviewed about this matter, are politician John McCain, political scientist and former-CIA analyst Chalmers Johnson, politician Richard Perle, reporter William Kristol, writer Gore Vidal, and public policy expert Joseph Cirincione.

Why We Fight documents the consequences of said foreign policy with the stories of a Vietnam War veteran whose son was killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks, and who then asked the military to write the name of his dead son on any bomb to be dropped in Iraq; and that of a twenty-three-year-old New Yorker who enlists in the United States Army because he is poor and in debt, his decision impelled by his mother's death; and a military explosives scientist who arrived to the U.S. as a refugee girl from Vietnam in 1975.

Google Video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9219858826421983682

Torrent (25 seeds as of writing): http://www.mininova.org/tor/744554

Daylight Robbery - What Happened to the $23billion?
Jane Corbin investigates claims that as much as $23bn may have been lost, stolen or not properly accounted for in Iraq. Now more than 70 whistleblower cases threaten to reveal the scandals behind billions of dollars worth of waste, theft and corruption during the war. The US justice department has imposed gagging orders which prevent the real scale of the problem emerging

Google Video: http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=789547337385191959

Dispatches: Jon Snow's Hidden Iraq (2008)
Five years after the invasion, Jon Snow examines the brutal reality of life inside post-invasion Iraq, meeting a variety of its citizens.

Google Video: http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-3886376311962177051

Jesus Camp
Jesus Camp follows several young children as they prepare to attend a summer camp where the kids will get their daily dose of evangelical Christianity. Becky Fischer works at the camp, which is named Kids on Fire. Through interviews with Fischer, the children, and others, Jesus Camp illustrates the unswerving belief of the faithful. A housewife and homeschooling mother tells her son that creationism has all the answers. Footage from inside the camp shows young children weeping and wailing as they promise to stop their sinning. Child after child is driven to tears. Juxtapose these scenes with clips from a more moderate Christian radio host (who is appalled by such tactics), and Jesus Camp seems to pose a clear question: are these children being brainwashed?

Google Video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3929535037535102662

Jesus Camp Homepage: http://www.jesuscampthemovie.com/

Coca Cola - Corruption, Water Depletion, Pollution and Nazi Sponsorship
Coca-Cola is one of the most iconic brands of both the 20th and 21st centuries. Promoting itself as the drink of freedom, choice and US patriotism, the company's feel-good factor is recognised worldwide and reflected in its enormous profits.

But behind this carefully crafted image exists a company accused of environmental damage, human rights violations and questionable business practices.

Political activist and journalist Mark Thomas travels to South America, India and the US to investigate the way in which Coca-Cola and its suppliers operate and the extent to which they upholds moral and ethical obligations.

Thomas, a long-term critic of Coca-Cola's more controversial practices, finds disturbing evidence which undermines its effervescent image as a force for good and which has prompted a global consumer backlash.

Google Video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7838926807100638081&ei=tx8YSffBA4GQwgPJkMiQDQ&q=coca+cloa+corruption

Dispatches - Unseen Gaza

(Some graphic images)

Is what has been presented on our screens and in our papers a true reflection of events on the ground in Gaza? And how do these reports differ to those aired in other countries?

With reporters unable to enter Gaza, attempted media manipulation from both sides and strict regulations governing what images that can be shown on British TV, Jon Snow asks a range of journalists from at home and abroad about the challenges of getting the full story.

Featuring images that haven't before been aired on mainstream television, Jon also examines the difference between the coverage at home and that in the US, Europe and the Middle East.

He compares the coverage available on terrestrial channels with satellite TV and the internet and investigates the extent to which some British Muslims are by-passing the mainstream British media and looking elsewhere for their information.

To what extent does the choice of news outlet affect opinion of the conflict?

On Google Video:

Part 1
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8132449999430251419&ei=t8OASaqgJI3WwgPJ6pipDA&q=jon+snow+Unseen+Gaza

Part 2
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9074563122846363135=t8OASaqgJI3WwgPJ6pipDA&q=jon+snow+Unseen+Gaza

Youtube playlist
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=792BBB3E85F1B821

Well seeded torrent
http://www.mininova.org/tor/2208996

Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land provides a striking comparison of U.S. and international media coverage of the crisis in the Middle East, zeroing in on how structural distortions in U.S. coverage have reinforced false perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This pivotal documentary exposes how the foreign policy interests of American political elites--oil, and a need to have a secure military base in the region, among others--work in combination with Israeli public relations strategies to exercise a powerful influence over how news from the region is reported. Through the voices of scholars, media critics, peace activists, religious figures, and Middle East experts, Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land carefully analyzes and explains how--through the use of language, framing and context--the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza remains hidden in the news media, and Israeli colonization of the occupied terrorities appears to be a defensive move rather than an offensive one.

The documentary also explores the ways that U.S. journalists, for reasons ranging from intimidation to a lack of thorough investigation, have become complicit in carrying out Israel's PR campaign. At its core, the documentary raises questions about the ethics and role of journalism, and the relationship between media and politics.

Full documentary:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6604775898578139565

Youtube Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCL6WdnuNp4

Youtube Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo2HW4T7wK4

Well seeded torrent:
http://www.mininova.org/tor/232809

Occupation 101
A thought-provoking and powerful documentary film on the current and historical root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unlike any other film ever produced on the conflict -- 'Occupation 101' presents a comprehensive analysis of the facts and hidden truths surrounding the never ending controversy and dispels many of its long-perceived myths and misconceptions.

The film also details life under Israeli military rule, the role of the United States in the conflict, and the major obstacles that stand in the way of a lasting and viable peace. The roots of the conflict are explained through first-hand on-the-ground experiences from leading Middle East scholars, peace activists, journalists, religious leaders and humanitarian workers whose voices have too often been suppressed in American media outlets.

The film covers a wide range of topics -- which include -- the first wave of Jewish immigration from Europe in the 1880's, the 1920 tensions, the 1948 war, the 1967 war, the first Intifada of 1987, the Oslo Peace Process, Settlement expansion, the role of the United States Government, the second Intifada of 2000, the separation barrier and the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as well as many heart wrenching testimonials from victims of this tragedy.
http://www.occupation101.com

Google Video verison:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2451908450811690589

A well seeded torrent of it:
http://www.mininova.org/tor/819069

Beneath The Veil
A hard hitting documentary with presenter Saira Shah who went undercover prior to 9/11 to find out what the Afghanistan not shown in the press was like under Taliban rule. I strongly recommend this documentary to anyone who is interested in Afghanistan.

Google Video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4201322772364661561

Brought over from a post I put up in LBN...

I watched this quite shocking two part documentary series about extremists in Pakistan the other day; it really gave a good insight regarding the situation in Pakistan, how it affects the ongoing war in Afghanistan and helped me understand why it is so very important that we fix this terrible mess that Cheney/Bush have gotten us into properly. What worries me most about all this is that Pakistan has nuclear weapons and we have to do whatever it takes to make sure they DO NOT fall into the wrong hands...

I thoroughly recommend that anyone who wants to get a better understanding of what's really going on in that region takes the time to watch it all the way through.

Pakistan's War: The Battle Within
In this exclusive two-part series, Rageh Omaar travels from the capital, Islamabad, to the tribal heartlands to chart the spread of suicide bombings and the escalation of violence that has turned Pakistan into a war zone.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XJZnESwcgo

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30tGS-xDJg0

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px4lhZzaRpA

Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAVv1epfbqk

Pakistan's War: On the Front Line
In the second part of his special series Pakistan's War, Rageh Omaar gets exclusive access to the Pakistani army in their full-scale military offensive against fighters on the frontier with Afghanistan.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQB-IgktVEM

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u43ngbDH6og

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WmQTxwXrhA

Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k3XGlO7rWI

You can also bookmark this page which has all the links and a synopsis if you want to save it for later:

Pakistan's War
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/general/2008/12/200812211123302404.html

The Epic of Black Gold 1 & 2
The history of oil is the history of the 20th century. It is a history of corruption, violence, unimaginable profits and human suffering. In the last 100 years, oil has changed almost every part of human life in almost every corner of the globe. This series sets out to tell the tale of Black Gold, in suitably epic detail and scope; from John D Rockefeller and Henry Ford's Model-T, through both world wars, to the current US engagement in Iraq - everyone should watch this

YouTube Playlist:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=E55B553968A5A670

The history of oil
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5267640865741878159

Rageh inside Iran
Rageh Omaar embarks on a unique journey inside what he describes as one of the most misunderstood countries in the world, looking at the country through the eyes of people rarely heard - ordinary Iranians.

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjgl6ClLh7w

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTpPJn6X3lg

Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy1oH4ArIKA

Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG68_gg1WEw

Part 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxbxDj1QwOo

Hacking Democracy
This must watch, HBO featured, shocking documentary explores voter fraud in today´s electronic voting machines and how they have alterred past elections.

Google Video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4762159260759486531

The Corporation thread with links to the documentary:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x266726

The Century of the Self thread started by deutsey: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x265948

well seeded torrent of the full series: http://www.mininova.org/det/2092193

The best playlist on YouTube I've found so far (it has a huge amount interesting documentaries)
This guy sure has been very busy putting this lot together...
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=gosale1&view=playlists

Free and user friendly torrent downloading software (if you don't have it already)
http://www.utorrent.com/

I have a few more I could add, if you'd like me too...