THE DOCUMENTARIUM - online documentaries

[jhonnik]

PRIVATE WARRIORS (2005)

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.

Historically, there is nothing new about the military's use of private contractors, but the Iraq war has seen outsourcing on an unprecedented scale. The policy change came after the Cold War when the Pentagon was downsizing under then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney. Cheney first hired Halliburton as a consultant and later became the company's president. Halliburton subsidiary KBR is now one of the largest recipients of government contracts.

FRONTLINE visits the biggest Halliburton/KBR run base, Camp Anaconda, in the Sunni triangle. Behind concrete walls 28,000 soldiers and 8,000 civilians live in bases that offer Taekwondo and Salsa lessons, movie theatres, fast food courts, and four meals a day. The amenities are impressive, but some argue that there is a price to pay. Says a former base commander Marine Colonel Thomas X. Hammes, "it's misguided luxury … somebody's risking their lives to deliver that luxury."

And while KBR was glad to provide Smith with a tour of the facilities, they weren't able or willing to answer some basic questions about how much certain services -- like feeding the troops -- cost. Smith eventually finds some answers from the Army base commander, but numerous audits are underway to determine just how the contracts are being fulfilled. In response to allegations of overcharging in the tens of millions of dollars, KBR's Vice President of Worldwide Military Affairs, Paul Cerjan says, "the only thing we can do is stand up and give a true and honest evaluation of what we've done. … And let whoever is making the assessment make the assessment. We are not afraid of that process."

"Private Warriors" also explores a very different kind of contractor -- the private world of security teams that work for firms like Blackwater, Aegis, and Erinys. They provide armed protection for U.S. government officials, government offices, military installations and even military commanders.

"The Pentagon's increasing reliance on outsourcing military functions raises important questions about accountability and the chain of command," says Smith. Through conversations with top military commanders, policy planners, military experts, and contractors, "Private Warriors" explores some of the dangers in bringing in the private sector to prosecute the war.

Warns George Washington University Professor Steve Schooner, an expert on military contracting, "We have tens of thousands of armed contractors in Iraq defending the Green Zone, defending the military, defending contractors… But they're not part of the military command structure." Schooner suggests there can be trouble when private contractors carry weapons and have tactical responsibilities yet aren't getting the same information or direction. Peter Singer, a fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of "Corporate Warriors" agrees: "There's a bubbling resentment … and you're starting to sense a backlash from the military."

Smith obtains unusual access to Erinys, a British private security company. They have been charged with protecting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and are paid $50 million a year for the task. Erinys is staffed with an assortment of ex-Special Forces and policemen from around the world. A private security guard at Erinys makes approximately $400 dollars a day, twice what a soldier makes. Some guards make up to $1000 a day. While some see these men as hired guns, they do not view themselves that way. They say they are just men with more expertise than the military when it comes to protection. If Andy Melville, a project manager with Erinys in Iraq is correct, private warriors could become more prevalent in Iraq.

"Americans would like to withdraw troop members," says Melville. "And perhaps it is part of their policy to reduce troop members and replace them with private security contractors."

Given the recent difficulties in obtaining enough recruits for the Army, FRONTLINE asked the Pentagon for a high-ranking official to discuss if there are plans to place greater reliance on private warriors and to address other questions about accountability and costs. The Pentagon declined to provide anyone to be interviewed after acknowledging this was a sensitive issue.

Like regular soldiers, security contractors have a high profile, and increasingly, find themselves being targeted by insurgents and have suffered casualties as a result. Indeed, the dangers of this war come into sharp focus in the film. A security guard with another company, who accompanies Smith on a run to a reconstruction site north of Baghdad, was killed less than 24 hours later by a suicide car bomb. The next day, Blackwater lost six men when a helicopter carrying their employees was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade. In a spike of violence, 18 private contractors were killed during the two-week period the FRONTLINE team was in Iraq.

"Private Warriors" also reexamines one of the most shocking episodes of the war, when the charred remains of Scott Helvenston, Wes Batalona, Jerry Zovko, and Michael Teague -- killed while protecting a truck convoy headed to pick up kitchen equipment -- were desecrated and strung over a bridge in Fallujah in March 2004. FRONTLINE follows their story and speaks to close personal friends and family who claim that the four men were poorly equipped for the mission, lacking vehicle armor and sufficient manpower to fend off an attack.

In addition to lingering questions about accountability in the incident, Marine Colonel John A. Toolan, who was ordered into the city to find the killers, found himself forced to change his original plan for quelling hostilities. The private contractors had gone in unbeknownst to the Marines. Colonel Toolan tells FRONTLINE, "Certainly the next time … I'm sent some place with Marines, the amount of control that I need to establish up front is gonna be clear."

"Private Warriors" ends on the infamous Baghdad Airport Road. In the last four months there have been at least 150 attacks on this 5-mile stretch. So far the U.S. military and their partners in the private sector have been unable to secure this vital link. Smith has his own private security guards as he travels along what Iraqis call Death Road. He leaves behind a country where the fact that business for the private contractors is booming signals how difficult and dangerous the situation remains.

source: pbs frontline

[jhonnik]

YOUNG, NAZI & PROUD (2002)

Dispatches reporter David Modell films a remarkable six months spent in the questionable company of Mark Collett, leader of the youth wing of the British National Party, and reveals the true nature of a party trying to reinvent itself and broaden its appeal.

A rising star of the party, Collet reveals to Modell his deeply held Nazi sympathies. This despite the party's claim it no longer has any association with Nazism.

It's clear why the BNP want intelligent young men like Mark, a university graduate. BNP leader Nick Griffin tells Dispatches that Collett is a potential leader of the party.

But Modell is interested in trying to determine what motivates a bright young man to throw in his lot with a party which will make him reviled in public.

Modell has little in common with his subject and finds himself taking an exception to some of Collett's interests and occupations - which range through rabid anti-Semitism ('Jews aren't white') to explaining how he likes to "break" people, in particular his ex girlfriend.

Modell first films with Collett as he is canvassing for local elections in Bradford. They visit a predominantly white estate.

Some residents share a perception that their Asian neighbours are favoured by the social security system. "Bunch of bloody pakis get money all the bloody time," as one of them puts it, just before her takeaway curry arrives.

The elections are a major success for the BNP in some parts of England but despite all the flesh pressing, Mark only pulls in 209 votes. He is not disheartened.

Mark is very close to his parents. Modell films them as they arrive for Mark's graduation from Leed's university.

His dad says he goes into his other mode when he's doing his "party bit" but he defends his son's politics. In a slightly unfortunate turn of phrase he claims the BNP are always being "painted black."

Mark appears to have no university mates to congratulate him on his achievement but he is among friends later in the summer at Red, White and Blue, the BNP's annual rally.

Although the BNP has supposedly dropped its nazi associations, at Red White and Blue there is plenty of evidence of the opposite.

There are discreet symbols everywhere. For example, men in shirts numbered 88 - H is the eighth letter of the alphabet - HH is Heil Hitler.

Mark is explicit in his adoration of Nazi Germany when he thinks the camera is turned off. "I'd never say this on camera, the Jews have been thrown out of every country including England. It's not just persecution. There's no smoke without fire," he declares.

Modell's six months filming Collett's activities conclude with a September 11 demonstration outside the Finsbury Park Mosque in London, where the BNP are joined by the NF and the chanting gets nasty. "Burn, burn, burn that paki - ear-ly in the morning."

In the end Modell has to confront Collett to explain he has recorded his anti-Semitic pro-Nazi comments on tape. When he realises Modell is of Jewish descent, for once Collett is speechless.

Collett tells Modell he is going to resign from the party. At the moment the BNP won't let him - they've currently put his position on hold.

source: channel4

[jhonnik]

THE FOURTH WORLD WAR (2003)

What this documentary calls "the Fourth World War" is the struggle of poor and working-class people all over the globe who must battle both large corporations and oppressive governments in order to survive and win basic human rights. Filmed in the streets of Mexico, Korea, Argentina, Palestine, Quebec City, and other locations all over the world, this is an emotional and very politicized look at glaring injustice and the emerging movements that seek to combat it.

source: bignoisefilms

[jhonnik]

INTERVIEW WITH A POLTERGEIST (2007)

Documentary looking at the case of Janet Hodgson in 1977, an eleven-year old girl who became the focus of extraordinary poltergeist activity for several months. Sound recordings and film footage from the time are examined, and various witnesses talk about what they saw. Considers whether the events were an elaborate hoax or real paranormal activity.

source: bfi.org

[Gullveig]

thanks very much, my friend, some good watching there. all are of interest(except the last one, maybe) so, cheers again!
and did you see that joke that goes; belgium, a country invented as a place for britain and germany to sort out their differences? maybe there's a documentary about that out there? lol

[jhonnik]

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO BUSH (2004)

Who is Georges W. Bush ? This movie tells about the 1000 days of his presidency, from the 9/11 to the war in Iraq. It shows how is America today and tries to understand how a small group of people, under the influence of the neo-conservatives, took the control of the american foreign policy.

source: imdb.com

[jhonnik]

MURDER BY NUMBERS IN PUTINLAND (2008)

This probing French documentary examines the suppression of dissent in contemporary Russia, opening with the assassination of former agent Alexander Litvinenko in London. Two weeks earlier, Litvinenko had publicly accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of murdering journalist Anna Politkovskaya, a fierce Putin critic. But Litvinenko had been a thorn in the Russian Government's side for years, accusing security forces of corruption and murder.

There are interviews with key dissidents and security figures, including the prime suspect in Litvinenko's murder, Andre Lugovoy. Considered a hero in Russia, Lugovoy is calm and cocky, saying that he'd like Brad Pitt to play him in a planned movie about Litvinenko's assassination. In a more reflective moment, he explains how Putin restored the honour of the security forces following the humiliating break-up of the Soviet Union.

Wide-ranging and meticulously researched, this examines claims that Russian security forces engineered the 1999 Moscow apartment bombings as a way to catapult Putin to power. It paints a depressing picture of a country in which the line between the security forces and organised crime has become hopelessly blurred.

source: smh.com

[mapko]

more please

[jhonnik]

GHOSTS OF RWANDA (2004)

Rwanda was supposed to be easy.

Thirteen years ago, when the United Nations sent peacekeepers to this small, Central African nation -- with the full support of the U.S. government -- most of the policy-makers involved believed it would be a straightforward mission that would help restore the U.N.'s battered reputation after failures in Bosnia and Somalia. Few could imagine that, a decade later, Rwanda would be the crisis that still haunts their souls.

"Ghosts of Rwanda," a special two-hour documentary to mark the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide -- a state-sponsored massacre in which some 800,000 Rwandans were methodically hunted down and murdered by Hutu extremists as the U.S. and international community refused to intervene -- examines the social, political, and diplomatic failures that converged to enable the genocide to occur.

"With the perspective of time, the Rwandan crisis can be seen as a crucial test of the international system and its values -- a clash between the ideals of humanitarianism and the cold logic of realism and national interest," says Frontline producer Greg Barker.

Through interviews with key government officials, diplomats, soldiers, and survivors of the slaughter, "Ghosts of Rwanda" presents groundbreaking, first-hand accounts of the genocide from those who lived it: the diplomats on the scene who thought they were building peace only to see their colleagues murdered; the Tutsi survivors who recount the horror of seeing their friends and family slaughtered by Hutu friends and co-workers; and the U.N. peacekeepers in Rwanda who were ordered not to intervene in the massacre happening all around them. The documentary features interviews with Canadian Gen. Romeo Dallaire, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and former National Security Adviser Anthony Lake as well as haunting interviews with the Hutu killers themselves, and a powerful interview with BBC journalist Fergal Keane who travelled through Rwanda as the genocide was drawing to a close.

source: pbs.org

[jhonnik]

BAGHDAD ER (2006)

"Baghdad ER" allows viewers to experience the physical and emotional toll of war by capturing soldiers and care providers in personal moments amidst intense crises inside the 86th Combat Support Hospital. Located in Baghdad's Green Zone, the facility was formerly the site of an elite medical center for Saddam Hussein's supporters. Thanks in part to the skill and dedication of trauma center teams like the one depicted in the film, wounded troops in Iraq have a 90 percent chance of survival - the highest rate of war survivors in U.S. history. The selflessness and dedication of those caring for wounded Americans and Iraqis stands in sharp contrast with the chaos of war.
"This is hard-core, raw, uncut trauma. Day after day, every day," says Specialist Saidet Lanier, an operating room nurse. "Even if you're lucky enough not to go home with war wounds on the outside, if you're not equipped with coping skills, you'll definitely have them on the inside."

The documentary offers a taste of daily life in the thick of war, including exclusive frontline rescue footage of the 54th Medical Company Air Ambulance Team, and dangerous missions of soldiers patrolling "IED Alley," also known as "Route Irish," the most dangerous road in the world. IEDs (improvised explosive devices) are homemade bombs, which are the leading cause of injuries and death in Iraq.

source: hbo.com

[jhonnik]

IRAQ FOR SALE - THE WAR PROFITEERS (2006)

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.

source: imdb.com

[mapko]

[matahari]

Um...and for a change of pace, how about some science?

Nova: "The Elegant Universe"
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/program.html

[mapko]

Undercover In The Secret State - 49 min

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...27739408864997

Alos try,

North Korea Nuclear Documentary - 45 min

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...umentary&hl=en

[mapko]

Watch "Bloodline" Movie


One man's journey into the world of the so-called 'Bloodline' conspiracy, at the heart of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code...