Documentary - Battle For Haiti

Caught this interesting documentary from PBS Frontline which looks at Haiti a year after the Earthquake. View here. Corruption is so endemic that I am not sure if elections will have much of an impact. Time will tell. But I have always questioned the aid strategy there. The focus should be on empowering Haitians to build their own economy, to work for themselves, etc...as opposed to relying so heavily on NGO's and the UN.

Also amazed (suppose I shouldn't be surprised) at how fast the World lost interest.

The Wounded Platoon - New Documentary on Mental Casualties of War

PBS Documentary on the often forgotten and often hidden casualties of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.



On November 30, 2007, 24-year-old Kevin Shields went out drinking with three Army buddies from Fort Carson, Colo., a base on the outskirts of Colorado Springs. A few hours later, he was dead -- shot twice in the head at close range and left by the side of the road by his fellow soldiers. Shields' murder punctuated a string of violent attacks committed by the three, who are now serving time in prison for this and other crimes, and it contributed to a startling statistic: Since the Iraq war began, a total of 17 soldiers from Fort Carson have been charged with or convicted of murder, manslaughter or attempted murder committed at home in the United States, and 36 have committed suicide.

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PBS Frontline Documentary - Flying Cheap

See an excellent PBS documentary highlighting how the airlines, via regional carriers, are cutting corners. This is why I don't fly. Yet another example of unchecked free market capitalism.... like Massey and BP. The pattern always seems to be the same.

PBS Documentary: Digital Nation

Watch the PBS Frontline Documentary "Digital Nation". Frontline always makes great documentaries. Watch Here.

Also check out "The Warning" about the financial crisis. See a behind the scenes view of government corruption at its worst. And it doesn't seem as if Obama gets it. Those (like myself) who were against insiders like Geithner, Summers and others getting cushy jobs in the Obama Administration might get a headache from watching this one. Video shows lapses by both Republicans and Democrats... or the Republicrats as I like to call them on occasion. One thing that they have shown they can do in a bipartisan way is screw the Country. Watch here.

New Documentary - Dreams Of Obama

Check out the new PBS Frontline Documentary "Dreams of Obama". You can watch the program online.

Media Alert- Frontline............Hurricane Katrina

This coming Tuesday, January 6th, on PBS, Frontline will air a documentary called " The Old Man and the Storm".

Background:

Six months after Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, producer June Cross came across 82-year-old Herbert Gettridge working alone on his home in the lower Ninth Ward, a neighborhood devastated when the levees broke in August 2005. Over the next two years, Cross would document the story of the extended Gettridge clan--an African-American family with deep roots in New Orleans--as they struggled to rebuild their homes and their lives. Their efforts would be deeply impacted by larger decisions about urban planning, public health, and the insurance industry, by the decisions of policymakers about federal funding for rebuilding the Gulf, and state and city plans for dispersing those monies. The moving personal story of Mr. Gettridge and his family reveals the human cost of this tragedy, the continued inadequacies of government’s response in the aftermath of Katrina, and how race, class, and politics have affected the attempts to rebuild this American city.

Here is the link to the PBS site for more information.

Sick Around the World - A Documentary from PBS

See an interesting documentary from PBS, entitled Sick Around the World. The program examines healthcare systems around the World, and asks how the U.S. system could improve. Watch documentary online.

Bonus:

Hear a discussion about the healthcare plans of Barack Obama and John McCain...actually it's a discussion about Obama's healthcare plan, since he is the only candidate who actually has a plan. McCain's "healthcare plan" involves giving you a $2,500.00 coupon if you're single or a $5000.00 coupon for a family and telling you to have a nice day... you're on your own... free to search for your own healthcare on the open market. What you may not know is that private plans are more expensive (because you don't have the benefit of getting a group rate)...and you can be excluded for pre-existing conditions. Also, the McCain coupon program won't cover catastrophic medical costs. More importantly, the $2,500/$5000 coupon won't come close to covering your costs....and it doesn't address issues such as dental care, home health services, etc. And McCain's program will tax employer benefits. It also wouldn't help those who are poor, out of work, etc. and it would be of little help to the 45 million + who are currently uninsured... or the 70-80 million + who are under-insured. In other words, the McCain program would be a disaster.

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